Effect of amino acids on the retention of copper by beidellite

The evaluation of environmental hazards related to Cu in urban and industrial runoff, as well as the introduction of possible technologies for the remediation of environmentally compromised areas should not be considered without a sound understanding of structural features of the different interacting species. Low-cost clay-minerals are potentially very promising materials for effectively exchanging and storing Cu. A low-cost beidellite was thus evaluated, and the effects of two amino acids were investigated. The sorption behavior of this mineral is completely different for the natural sample and for amino acid complexed forms, with a major influence of the amino acid itself. Different experimental techniques were used, namely chemical, X-ray diffraction, thermal, mass spectrometry, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy analyses. All the knowledge thus acquired on natural and treated species was finally related to their adsorption and retention capacity.