Le phénomène de carbonatation des matériaux cimentaires est l'une des causes majeures de la corrosion des armatures de structures en béton armé. Ce phénomène est étudié depuis de nombreuses années sur les ciments Portland ordinaires CEM I, et les mécanismes sont relativement bien identifiés. Néanmoins, on remarque que si l'on substitue une partie du ciment par des ajouts tels que des cendres volantes, la réaction pouzzolanique ou les réactions d'hydratation qui s'en suivront amèneront à un contenu molaire plus faible en CHet aboutiront à la création d'une plus grande quantité d'hydrates de type C-S-H. Le pouvoir tampon qu'exerce la portlandite sur le pH de la solution interstitielle sera affaibli et le matériau cimentaire sera potentiellement plus sensible à la présence de CO2 au travers d'une carbonatation des C-S-H qui sera plus marquée. D'un point de vue physique, les évolutions microstructurales induites par un niveau élevé de carbonatation des C-S-H deviennent complexes et peuvent accélérer la diffusion du CO2. Cette thèse a ainsi pour but de caractériser le comportement vis-à-vis de la carbonatation des ciments contenant de forts dosages en cendres volantes et de développer une modélisation des systèmes cimentaires correspondants. Des pâtes de ciment et mortiers ont été formulés avec des rapports E/C variables et différents taux volumiques de substitution en cendre volante. Après une longue cure endogène, des essais de carbonatation accélérée ont été réalisés (10% de CO2, 25°C et 63% HR). À diverses échéances, des essais destructifs (analyse thermique, porosimétrie au mercure et projection de phénolphtaléine) et non-destructifs (gammadensimétrie) ont permis de quantifier le dioxyde de carbone fixé dans chaque type d'hydrate (CH et C-S-H), les changements de microstructure induits (porosité, distribution poreuse), ainsi que l'eau de structure libérée par carbonatation. On a ainsi pu relier les changements de microstructure et la libération d'eau avec les niveaux de carbonatation de la portlandite et des C-S-H.Dans un second temps, la plateforme de modélisation, Bil (sous licence GPL), développée à l'Ifsttar a été utilisée comme support pour le développement d'un modèle aux volumes finis. Il permet de décrire simultanément des réactions chimiques couplées à un transport de matière. Les lois de comportement chimiques - microstructurales (évolution du volume molaire des C-S-H en fonction de leur état de décalcification) et hydriques (eau relarguée par la carbonatation) mises en évidence par la campagne expérimentale ont pu être ainsi introduites dans le modèle. La cinétique de dissolution de la portlandite est paramétrée par une réduction d'accessibilité des amas de cristaux de CH qui, au cours du temps, se recouvrent d'une gangue de calcite de moins en moins perméable. La contribution des C-S-H est prise en compte. Une approche thermodynamique originale permet de décrire leur état de décalcification à l'équilibre au cours de la carbonatation. Au final, de nombreuses espèces chimiques, ainsi que leur spéciation, sont introduites dans le modèle, notamment les alcalins qui ont un effet marqué sur le pH / Reaction of gaseous atmospheric CO2 with calcium-bearing phases in concrete infrastructure components is known to cause a lowering of alkalinity, leading to depassivation and corrosion of rebars. Carbonation mechanism is quite well understood from a physico-chemical point of view, especially in the case of materials made of OPC. Nonetheless the impact of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), such as fly-ash, on carbonation is still an active research field. The pozzolanic reaction between CH and fly ash implies a lower portlandite content and a higher C-S-H content. Whilst CH is buffering the pH, its lower content in these materials may lead to a lower resistance to carbonation and to a higher contribution of C-S-H in terms of microstructural changes. Thus, this PhD thesis aims at understanding the effect of cement substitution by high contents of fly ash and develop a numerical model describing the carbonation of these cementitious materials. Accelerated carbonation tests (10% CO2, 25°C and 63% RH) were performed on various cement pastes containing fly ash (0%, 30% and 60% of volumic substitution and water-to-cement ratio before substitution of 0.45 and 0.6). Carbonation profiles were assessed by destructive and non-destructive methods such as thermogravimetric analysis and mercury intrusion porosimetry (destructive), as well as gamma-ray attenuation (non-destructive). Carbonation penetration was studied at different ages of CO2 exposure. By correlating microstructure changes with the degree of carbonation of each hydration product related to the formation of calcium carbonate, we are able to propose analytical relationships linking the decrease in porosity and the amount of released water to the carbonation level of CH and C-S-H.The modeling platform Bil (GPL) developed at Ifsttar was used to develop a reactive transport modeling of atmospheric carbonation, using a finite volume method. We introduced in the model the constitutive equations we highlighted using the experimental data. Microstructure evolution was quantified, taking into account the effect of the progressive decalcification of C-S-H linked to their molar volume, as well as the quantity of water released by carbonation. Combined with a kinetic formulation of CH dissolution, C-S-H decalcification was described by an original thermodynamic approach. In the end, many chemical species were introduced in the model, such as alkalis which strongly affect pH

This research presents the results on an experimental investigation to identify the effects of rebar temperature, fly ash and water to cement ratio on concrete porosity in continuously reinforced concrete pavements (CRCP). Samples were cast and analyzed using pullout tests. Water to cement ratio (w/c) and rebar temperature had a significant influence on the rebar-concrete bond strength. The 28-day shear strength measurements showed an increase in rebar-concrete bond strength as the water to cement ratio (w/c) was reduced from 0.50 to 0.40 for both fly ash containing and non fly ash control samples. There was a reduction in the peak pullout load as the rebar surface temperature increased from 77o F to 150o F for the cast samples. A heated rebar experiment was performed simulating a rebar exposed to hot summer days and the rebar cooling curves were plotted for the rebar temperatures of 180o F - 120o F. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was performed to show the moisture content of cement samples at the rebar-concrete interface. Mercury intrusion porosimetry test results on one batch of samples were used for pore size distribution analysis. An in-depth analysis of the morphological characteristics of the rebar-concrete interface and the observation of pores using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) was done.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Fly ash is the major waste material produced by power plants in the combustion of coal to generate electricity. The main constituents of fly ash are Si, Al, Fe and Ca with smaller amount of S, Mn, Na, K, and traces of many other elements such as Co, Cd, As, Se, Zn, Mo, Pb, B, Cu and Ni. Fly ash is usually disposed either by dry or wet disposal methods. These disposal methods have raised major environmental concerns due to the potential leaching of chemical species from the ash heap by ingress of rainfall and brine used to transport the fly ash to the dam. This study focuses on the changes in chemical composition, morphology and mineral phases due to weathering, of coal fly ash co-disposed with brine over 20 years at Sasol Secunda ash dump in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The design and operation of the Secunda ash dump presupposes that the ash dump may act as a sink for the salts which originated from chemicals used for normal operation in the plants. The majority of these salts come from the brines generated during desalination and raw water regeneration. The aim of this study is to ascertain if the ash dump could serve as a sustainable salt sink.Samples were drawn along the depth of two drilled cores (S1 and S3) from the weathered Secunda ash dump and analysed in conjunction with the fresh (unweathered) Secunda fly ash taken from the fly ash hoppers for comparative analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractive (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry were employed to obtain a detailed morphological, mineralogical and bulk chemical composition of all the samples. Pore water analysis was used to determine the pH, EC and moisture content of fly ash samples. A five step sequential chemical extraction procedure was used to establish the geochemical association of particular elements with various mineral phases. The total acid digestion test was also used to determine the total elemental compositions of the Secunda fly ash samples. The SEM results showed that the fly ashes consist of irregular and numerous spherically shaped particles. Changes (encrustations, etchings and corrosion) in the morphologies of the weathered ash particles were also observed. The XRD results revealed quartz, mullite, lime and calcite as the major mineral phases. Other minerals identified in very minor quantities in the drilled Secunda ash core that were dried prior to analysis were halite, kaolinite, nitratine, bassanite, microline. and hydrophitte. These phases may have formed during sample handling. XRF investigation revealed that the major oxides present in the dumped ash samples were SiO₂, A₂2O₃, CaO, Fe₂O₃, MgO, Na₂O, TiO₂ and the minor elements present were K₂O, P₂O₅, SO₃ and MnO. The sum of the mean values of the % composition of SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and Fe₂O₃ was 70.19 %, and 72.94 % for the two drilled ash core samples (S1 and S3) respectively, and 78.67 % for the fresh ash which shows the significant alteration of the Si, Al and Fe content in the ash matrix over time. The fly ash is classified as Class F using the ASTM C 618 standards. The loss on ignition (LOI) which is an indication of unburned carbon or organic content was 4.78 %, 13.45 % and 8.32 % for the fresh ash, drilled ash cores S1 and S3 respectively. The high LOI values for the drilled ash cores could indicate high hydrocarbon content in the ash dump because of co-disposal practises where hydrocarbon waste are included in the brine stream for disposal on the ash. While the ash samples from the surface appeared dry, moisture content (MC) analysis showed that there is considerable water entrained in the fly ash dump. The fresh ash MC was 1.8 % while core S1 ranged from 41.4 – 73.2 %; core S3 ranged from 21.7 – 76.4 %. The variations in the MC values can be attributed to uneven flow paths due to inconsistent placement conditions or variations in ambient weather conditions during placement. The fresh fly ash (n=3) had a pH of 12.38±0.15, EC value of 4.98±0.03 mS/cm and TDS value of 2.68±0.03 g/L, the pH of the drilled ash core S1 (n=35) was 10.04 ±0.50, the EC value was 1.08±0.14 mS/cm and the TDS value was 0.64 ±0.08 g/L. Core S3 (n=66) had pH of 11.04±0.09; EC was 0.99 ±0.03 and TDS was 0.57 ± 0.01. The changes in pH values can be attributed to the dissolution and flushing out from the dump basic alkaline oxides like CaO and MgO These variations in pH values shows that the fly ash is acidifying over time and metal mobility can be expected under these conditions. The large decrease of EC in the drilled ash cores S1 and S3 compared to the fresh ash indicated a major loss of ionic species over time in the ash dump. The sequential extraction scheme revealed that the elements Al, Si, Ca, Mg, Ba, Sr, Fe, Mn, Na, K, As, Pb, Cr, Mo, Cu, Ni and Zn are present in Secunda fresh and weathered fly ash and are partitioned between the water soluble, exchangeable, carbonate, iron and manganese, and residual fractions of the coal fly ash. It also showed that the trace elements As, Pb, Cr, Mo, Cu, Ni and Zn do not show permanent association with particular mineral phases as a continuous partitioning between different mineral phases was observed in the weathered drilled core. Generally, all the elements had the highest concentration in the residual fraction. But it was evident that the labile phase (water soluble, exchangeable and carbonate fractions) had fairly high concentrations of Si (± 6.5 %), Al (± 6.5 %), Ca (±10 %), Mg (± 5.5 %), Ba (± 7.5 %),Sr (± 7.5 %), Na (± 12 %) and K (± 12 %) for the Secunda drilled ash core (S1 and S3) and fresh fly ash samples. This indicates that these species can leach easily upon water ingress and could pose a danger to the environment. Na and K had the highest concentrations leached out in the labile phase in all the ash samples. The amount of Na leached out of the drilled Secunda ash core in the labile phase was 13.21 % of 18584.26 mg/kg in the five geochemical phases of core S1; and 9.59 % of 11600.17 mg/kg in the five geochemical phases of core S3 while the fresh Secunda fly ash leached out 11.28 % of 16306.30 mg/kg of Na in the five geochemical phases. This study provided significant insight into the pore water chemistry, morphology, mineralogy and chemical composition and the elemental distribution pattern of the major and trace elements in the Secunda fly ash and weathered drilled Secunda ashm core S1 and S3. Though results from XRF analysis and the sequential extraction scheme shows that Na, K, S, Ca and Mg were slightly captured from the co-disposed brine by the Secunda fly ash, these species were however released in the labile phase. Hence there was no significant retention of these species in the ash dump. The amount of these species retained in the weathered ash were (0.26 % and 0.55 %) for Na, (0.02 % and 0.34 %) for K, (0.08 % and 0.06 %) for S, (0.94 % and 0.01 %) for Ca and (0.37 % and 0.96 %) for Mg in drilled ash cores S1 and S3 respectively. This poor retention of Na K, S, Ca and Mg which are major components of Sasol Secunda brine in the drilled ash cores S1 and S3 clearly shows the unsustainability of the Secunda fly ash dump as a salt sink.

In South Africa, as much as 33 million tons of ash, a waste product of burning coal, are produced per year. Of the total ash produced, just over 8% is sold for utilisation, the remainder of which is disposed of in landfills or ash lagoons. Countries like the UK, USA, Germany, Poland and Russia are producing Lightweight Aggregates (LWAs) commercially by using fly ash and clay, however, this technology is not available in many developing countries. The opportunity to utilise the fly ash produced in South Africa for the production of coarse LWA for use in structural concrete has therefore been identified and investigated in this dissertation. This dissertation consists of two phases, firstly to determine a suitable method for the manufacture of a high quality LWA, and secondly to determine the manufactured aggregate’s performance and potential for use in structural concrete. In the first phase, different LWA batches were produced using fly ash as the main constituent and kaolin clay, in contents of 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% by mass, as a binder. Green aggregate particles were produced in a disc granulator and then hardened using sintering at 1200°C for one hour. It was found that the LWA batch containing 20% kaolin produced LWA with the most suitable mechanical properties for use in concrete, and was therefore mass produced for further aggregate testing and for the production of concrete specimens for concrete testing. The final LWA produced was found to have an apparent density of 1600 kg/m3 and 24 hour water absorption of 12% by mass. The produced LWA was also found to have an Aggregate Crushing Value (ACV) and 10% FACT of 24.4% and 185 kN, respectively, which indicated that it would be suitable for use in High Strength Concrete (HSC). The sintering process was found to induce liquid phase sintering and the formation of new phases, mainly mullite, which contributed to the relatively high strengths of the aggregates. In the second phase of this dissertation, the manufactured LWA was then used to produce HSC and Normal Strength Concrete (NSC) specimens for concrete testing, which were compared to control mixes made with normal weight dolomite aggregate. In the HSC testing, concrete with a density of 2300 kg/m3 and compressive strength of 90 MPa was produced with the LWA. In HSC, it was found that internal curing was improved when up to 50% of the normal weight coarse aggregate was replaced by saturated LWA for this specific concrete mix. By using different stiffness relationship models between the concrete constituents, it was found that the manufactured LWA modulus of elasticity was between 8-23 GPa, and had a compressive strength of between 49-60 MPa. The Interface Transition Zone (ITZ) in concrete produced with the LWA was found to be stronger than the LWA as a result of the impregnation of the cement paste within the aggregate, and that the LWA was reactive in an alkaline environment. This resulted in an improved early age strength development, as well as caused the concrete failure surface to occur through the LWA particles rather than at the ITZ. Finally, Lightweight Concrete (LWC), having a dry density below 2000 kg/m3, was produced with the manufactured LWA. The LWC, produced with a water-to-cement ratio of 0.75, 28 day compressive strength of 24 MPa, modulus of elasticity of 21 GPa and dry density of 1800 kg/m3, was found to be suitable for use as structural concrete when assessed in terms of EN 1992-1-1 (2004). / Dissertation (MEng (Structural Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Civil Engineering / MEng (Structural Engineering) / Restricted

Fly ash is now much used as an admixture to concrete. This master´s thesis focuses on the use of fly ash as an active admixture in concrete environment for XF. The thesis has two parts. The first part collected theoretical information about the origin and behavior of fly ash in fresh and hardened concrete. In the second part was experimental verification of these characteristics. The purpouse of this thesis is to demonstrate that the fly ash attribute to meet all environmental XF.

This work contains a proposal for constructions and workings of a worm mixer of clay, lime, cementand fly ash with water for delivery quantity 18 tons per an hour. The introduction describes problems of mixing and mixers in the preparation of building materials. I have mentioned calculation of the main proportions and drive under the relevant norms and self-fortress control of the stresssed parts of mixer. Drawing documentation is worked into the ACad program and contains the configurations of the proposed machinery and detailed subassembly of important parts of worm mixer.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The catalytic support materials used in the present study are zeolite HBEA and MCM-41. These high silica zeolites were synthesised from coal fly ash (CFA) waste via a novel approach that involved a fusion step, acid assisted silica extraction and removal of Al, Ca and Na from the silica by treatment with oxalic acid. The generated silica was converted to HBEA and MCM-41 via conventional hydrothermal treatment. The metal incorporation onto HBEA was done via two approaches namely; liquid phase ion exchange (LIE) and wet impregnation (WI) while the loading on MCM-41 was only done via WI since the material does not possess exchange sites. The metal solution precursors were AMD and Fe extracted from CFA (FeAsh) via acid leaching followed by pH regulation by concentrated NaOH. This is the first time these solutions were tested as possible metal precursors in catalyst synthesis. / 2021-08-30

No description available.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / South African power stations generate large amounts of highly alkaline fly ash (FA). This waste product has a serious impact on the environment. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is another environmental problem associated with mining. AMD has high heavy metal content in addition to high SO/- concentrations. Several studies have shown that 80-90 % of SO/- can be removed when FA is codisposed with AMD rich in Fe and AI. In South Africa, many sources of contaminated mine waters have circumneutral pH and much lower concentrations of Fe and Al (unlike AMD), but are rich in Ca, Mg and SO2-4. This study evaluated sol removal from circumneutral mme water (CMW) collected from Middleburg coal mine using coal FA collected from Hendrina power station. The following parameters were investigated: the effect of the amount of FA, the effect of the final pH achieved during treatment, the effect of the initial pH of the mine water and the effect of Fe and Al on SO/- removal from mine water. The precipitation of ettringite at alkaline pH was evaluated to further reduce the SO/- concentration to below the DWAF limit for potable water. Removal of sol from mine water was found to be dependent on: the final pH achieved during treatment, the amount of FA used to treat the mine water and the presence of Fe and Al in the mine water. Treatment of CMW using different CMW:FA ratios; 5:1, 4:1, 3:1, and 2:1 resulted in 55, 60, 70 and 71 % SO/- removal respectively. Treatment of CMW to pH 8.98, 9.88, 10.21, 10.96, 11.77 and 12.35 resulted in 6, 19, 37, 45, 63 and 71 % SO/- removal respectively. When the CMW was modified by adding Fe and Al by mixing with Navigation coal mine AMD and treated to pH 10, 93 % SO/- removal was observed. Further studies were done to evaluate the effects of Fe and Al separately. Treatment of simulated Fe containing AMD (Fe-AMD) to pH 9.54, 10.2, 11.8, and 12.1 resulted in 47, 52,65, and 68 % SO/- removal respectively. When Al containing AMD was treated to pH 9.46, 10.3, 11.5 and 12 percentage SO/- removal of 39, 51,55 and 67 % was observed respectively. Ion chromatography (IC), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission (ICP-AES) analysis of the product water, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry analysis of FA and solid residues collected after treatment of mine water complemented with PHREEQC thermodynamic modelling have shown that the mechanism of S042 - removal from mine water depends on the composition of the mine water. The sol- removal mechanism from CMW was observed to depend on gypsum precipitation. On the other hand sol- removal from mine water containing Fe and Al was dependent on the precipitation of gypsum and Fe and Al oxyhydroxysulphates. The oxyhydroxysulphates predicted by PHREEQC as likely to precipitate were alunite, basaluminite, ettringite, jarosites and jurbanite. Treatment of CMW with FA to pH 12.35 removed sol- from 4655 ppm to approximately 1500 ppm. Addition of amorphous AI(OH)3 to CMW that was treated to pH greater than 12 with FA was found to further reduce the sol concentration to 500 ppm which was slightly above the threshold for potable water of 400 ppm. The further decrease of sol concentration from 1500 to 500 ppm was due to ettringite precipitation. Mine water treatment using FA was found to successfully remove all the major elements such as Fe, AI, Mn and Mg to below the DWAF limit for drinking water. The removal of the major elements was found to be pH dependent. Fe and Al were removed at pH 4-7, while Mn and Mg were removed at pH 9 and 11 respectively. The process water from FA treatment followed by gypsum seeding and addition of AI(OH)3 had high concentration of Ca, Cr, Mo and B and a pH of greater than 12. The pH of the process water from FA treatment followed by gypsum seeding and addition of AI(OH)3 was reduced by reacting the process water with CO2 to 7.06. The process water from the carbonation process contained trace elements such as Cr, Mo and B above the DWAF effluent limit for domestic use. Carbonation of the process water reduced the water hardness from 5553 ppm to 317 ppm due to CaC03 precipitation, thereby reducing the Ca concentration from 2224 ppm to 126 ppm.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Technology: Chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / In this present study, the physicochemical properties, nature and morphology of prepared composite materials involving activated carbon, fly ash, nFe3O4, nSiO2 and nZnO in the 1:1 ratio for two components composite materials and 1:1:1 for three components composite materials were investigated. The nature, morphology and elemental characterizations of these materials were carried out by means of modern analytical methods such as scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Other physicochemical characterizations undertaken were CNH analysis, ash content, pH, point of zero charge and surface area and porosity determination by Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET). The precursors and composite materials were then applied to the sorption (remediation) of tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) from artificial seawater and wastewater and the adsorption efficiencies for the precursors and the composites compared. The adsorption of TBT and TPT onto these materials as a function of adsorbent amount, contact time, pH, stirring speed, initial adsorbate concentration and temperature was investigated. Maximum organotin adsorption was recorded within the pH range of normal saline water (pH 8). Approximately 99.95 %, 95.75 %, 96.78 %, 99.88 %, 96.96 %, 99.98 %, 99.99 %, 99.99 % and 99.99 % TBT were removed from 25 mL of 100 mg/L TBT-contaminated artificial seawater using 0.5 g adsorbents at a contact time of 60 min, pH 8, stirring speed 200 rpm and temperature of 80 oC by activated carbon, fly ash, nFe3O4, nSiO2, nZnO, fly ash/activated carbon, nFe3O4/activated carbon, nSiO2/activated carbon and nZnO/activated carbon composite, respectively and the adsorption of TBT onto these adsorbents was endothermic. Approx. 99.99 %, 96.54 %, 95.50 %, 96.92 %, 97.14 %, 99.99 %, 98.44 %, 98.98 % and 99.66 % TPT were also removed from 25 mL of 100 mg/L TPT-contaminated artificial seawater using 0.5 g adsorbents at a contact time of 60 min, pH 8, stirring speed 200 rpm and a temperature of 20 oC by the activated carbon, fly ash, nFe3O4, nSiO2, nZnO, fly ash/activated carbon, nFe3O4/fly ash, nSiO2/fly ash and nZnO/fly ash composite, respectively. The adsorption of TPT onto activated carbon and fly ash/activated carbon composite from TPT – contaminated artificial seawater was endothermic while TPT adsorption onto fly ash, nFe3O4, nSiO2, nZnO, nFe3O4/fly ash, nSiO2/fly ash and nZnO/fly ash composites from TPT – contaminated artificial seawater was exothermic. The adsorption of TBT and TPT onto nFe3O4/fly ash/activated carbon and nSiO2/fly ash/activated carbon composites from TBT – and TPT – contaminated water, respectively were endothermic and approx. 99.98 % and 99.99 % of TBT and TPT, respectively were removed from the initial concentration of 100 mg/L OTC by the composites at a temperature of 80 oC, 60 min contact time, pH 8 and a stirring speed of 200 rpm. The adsorption kinetics of all the precursors and composite materials fitted well with the pseudo second-order kinetic model while the adsorption isotherm data could be well described by the Freundlich isotherm model except TBT adsorption onto nZnO/activated carbon and nFe3O4/activated carbon composite from TBT contaminated artificial seawater, TPT adsorption onto activated carbon and fly ash/activated carbon from TPT contaminated artificial seawater, and TPT sorption onto nSiO2/fly ash/activated carbon composite from TPT – contaminated water which could be described by both the Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm models. Optimal conditions for the adsorption of TBT and TPT from artificial seawater were further applied to TBT and TPT removal from TBT – and TPT – contaminated natural seawater obtained from Cape Town harbour and the results obtained show that 99.71 %, 79.23 %, 80.11 %, 82.86 %, 80.42 %, 99.75 %, 99.88 %, 99.83 % and 99.88 % TBT were removed from TBT – contaminated natural seawater by activated carbon, fly ash, nFe3O4, nSiO2, nZnO, fly ash/activated carbon, nFe3O4/activated carbon, nSiO2/activated carbon and nZnO/activated carbon composite, respectively while 99.90 %, 96.44 %, 95.37 %, 96.75 %, 97.03 %, 99.92 %, 98.42 %, 98.92 % and 99.58 % TPT were removed from TPT – contaminated natural seawater by activated carbon, fly ash, nFe3O4, nSiO2, nZnO, fly ash/activated carbon, nFe3O4/fly ash, nSiO2/fly ash and nZnO/fly ash composite, respectively. Experimental results therefore show that the composite materials present higher organotin adsorption efficiency than the precursors due to the nature and improved properties of the composite materials and can therefore be utilized for the remediation of organotin contamination from industrial and/or shipyards process wastewater to > 99 % reduction before discharge into the environment.