This study presents the effect of thermal treatment (450, 500, 600, 750, and 800 °C) on a Romanian clinoptilolite-rich natural zeolite, along with the interaction of raw and thermally treated zeolites with simulated gastric fluid (SGF, pH = 1.20) at different zeolite to SGF ratios and exposure times. The zeolites were characterized using gravimetric analysis, X-ray fluorescence, powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The chemical composition of the zeolite subjected to thermal treatment did not change significantly with the increase of temperature. Structural changes were not detectable by pXRD and FT-IR analyses in the zeolites thermally treated up to 500 °C, while above 600 °C a gradual structural breakdown of zeolite was noticed. At high temperatures, the broad, low-intensity peaks in pXRD patterns indicated the partial amorphization of the crystalline structure. The pXRD and FT-IR analyses showed that the crystalline structure of zeolites remains unaffected after their exposure to SGF. The results revealed that the amounts of Fe, Na, Mg, K, Ca, Al, and Si released depends mainly on the zeolite to SGF ratio, and to a lower extent on the thermal treatment temperature, while the exposure time of 1 to 7 days does not have a significant impact on the elements released in SGF.
Keywords: clinoptilolite; natural zeolite; simulated gastric fluid; thermal treatment.