Silver-modified Mexican clinoptilolite-rich tuffs with various particle sizes as antimicrobial agents against escherichia coli

Abstract

Water disinfection was performed using Mexican clinoptilolite- rich tuffs from Oaxaca and Sonora with different particle sizes exchanged with silver ions. Samples of Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739) suspended in distilled water (wastewater-like) and municipal wastewater containing coliforms (E. coli as a representative microorganisms from the coliform consortium), were treated in this investigation. E. coli is considered an indicator of microbiological contamination of water, so levels of this microorganism after zeolite treatment indicate how well the disinfection process worked. It was found that particle size, the amount of silver in the modified zeolitic rocks, the origin of the zeolitic material and the type of aqueous media containing E. coli all play important roles in the wastewater disinfection process. © 2010, Sociedad Química de México.