Abstract
The East Kazakhstan Region contains substantial bentonite reserves associated with the Tagan deposit. Bentonite, a natural aluminosilicate with high cation-exchange capacity, exhibits strong affinity toward heavy-metal ions; however, its application in mine-water treatment is often constrained by increased turbidity. To overcome this limitation, an integrated sorption–flocculation strategy was developed by combining bentonite with water-soluble polymeric flocculants. Composite organomineral materials were synthesized and evaluated for advanced industrial wastewater treatment, achieving residual metal concentrations below the maximum permissible limits for fishery waters. Using cationic and anionic polyacrylamide derivatives (Zetag-89 and Magnofloc-156) a pronounced synergistic effect was observed, whereby sequential addition of oppositely charged polymers promoted the formation of compact secondary aggregates, resulting in enhanced sedimentation efficiency. Bentonite from the Tagan deposit exhibited favorable physicochemical and mineralogical properties for high-performance sorbent fabrication. Under optimal conditions (1.75·10 −3 g/dm 3 ), aggregate sedimentation rates exceeded unity, indicating improved compactness and structural stability of the bentonite–polymer system.