Optimization of Carboniferous Egyptian Kaolin Treatment for Pharmaceutical Applications

Ahmed Gad, Bandar A. Al-Mur, Waleed A. Alsiary and Sahar M. Abd El Bakey
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Ahmed Gad: Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt
Bandar A. Al-Mur: Environmental Science Department, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Waleed A. Alsiary: Environmental Science Department, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Sahar M. Abd El Bakey: Department of Biological and Geological Sciences, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11341, Egypt

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: This paper quantitatively determines the occurrences of potentially toxic elements in Carboniferous kaolin in southwestern Sinai, Egypt. This research describes, in detail, the experimental treatment optimization to be used in pharmaceutical applications. The concentrations of As, Co, Ni, Pb, and V in these kaolin deposits exceed the Permitted Concentrations of Elemental Impurities for oral use in pharmaceutical applications. Herein, six desorbing agents (acetic acid, citric acid, DTPA, EDDS, EDTA, and NTA) were utilized as extracting solutions in batch-wise extractions to select the proper reagents. Parameters such as the pH, the mixing speed and time, and the solid–solution ratio were varied to optimize the extraction conditions. The findings indicate that citric acid and EDTA were effective in the removal of the aforementioned elements. The results reveal that the optimum removal of potentially toxic elements from kaolin can be achieved using citric acid and EDTA concentrations of 0.2 M and 0.1 M, respectively, for the treatment of 5 g of kaolin, under a pH of 4 for citric acid, and a pH of 10 for EDTA. The ideal mixing speed and time are 500 rpm and 6 h, respectively. Using 1:10 S/L of citric acid and EDTA showed removal rates of 100% for all the investigated PTEs. We recommend this treatment for different kinds of kaolin showing various degrees of contamination.

Keywords: kaolin; potentially toxic elements; desorption; citric acid; EDTA; pharmaceutical applications (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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