Tourmaline Mineral Powder Shows Promise in Removing Water Pollutants

Researchers at the Hebei University of Technology in Tianjin, China, have discovered that tourmaline mineral powder can effectively remove weakly polar pollutants from water environments. The study, published in Environmental Research, found that tourmaline powder exhibited satisfactory adsorption ability for Zearalenone (ZEN) mycotoxin, a common pollutant in water environments. The researchers believe that the unique crystal structure and spontaneous electrical polarization properties of tourmaline mineral powder could provide a novel, green, and efficient strategy for removing pollutants from water.

Key Takeaways:

• The tourmaline mineral powder showed a maximum theoretical adsorption capacity of 10.29 mg/g for ZEN mycotoxin.
• The adsorption process involved monolayer adsorption and chemisorption, with the major interaction mode being chemisorption.
• The adsorption mechanism of tourmaline mineral powder for ZEN involved hydrogen bonding, electron donor-acceptor interaction, iron ion complexation, and electrostatic attraction.
• The coupling enhancement effect of the spontaneous electrical polarization property of tourmaline mineral powder adjusted the pH value of the ZEN solution and generated an electrostatic field.
• The study provided a potential green and efficient strategy for removing weakly polar pollutants from water environments.

Statistics:

• Maximum theoretical adsorption capacity of tourmaline powder for ZEN mycotoxin: 10.29 mg/g.
• Adsorption isotherm analysis demonstrated that the adsorption of tourmaline powder for ZEN was monolayer adsorption.
• Adsorption kinetic analysis demonstrated that chemisorption was the major interaction mode, with an adsorption process mainly occurring on the external surface of tourmaline mineral powder.
• The adsorption mechanism involved hydrogen bonding, electron donor-acceptor interaction, iron ion complexation, and electrostatic attraction.
• The pH value of the ZEN solution was adjusted from 3.0 to 12.0 to 6.05-10.38.

Sources:

• Environmental Research, 2025;284:122244.
• Na Zhang et al. "Adsorption of weak polar zearalenone mycotoxins from water environment by tourmaline mineral powder of spontaneous electrical polarization properties." Environmental Research, 2025;284:122244.
• NewsRx. Hebei University of Technology Reports Findings in Chemicals and Chemistry (Adsorption of weak polar zearalenone mycotoxins from water environment by tourmaline mineral powder of spontaneous electrical polarization properties). Chemicals & Chemistry. July 18, 2025; p 1342.