Sodium hydroxide (97%), sodium aluminate (90%), calcium chloride (90%), potassium chloride (99.5%), hydrogen potassium phosphate (99.5%), and urea (99.4%) were purchased from Sigma Aldrich (Darmstadt, Germany). Hydrochloric acid (35%), magnesium chloride (99.99%), sodium chloride (99.6%), sodium sulfate (99.2), trisodium citric acid (99.2%), sodium oxalate (99.99%) and ammonium chloride (99.99%) were purchased from VWR prolab chemicals (Pennsylvania, USA). Creatine (98%) was purchased from Alfa Aesar (Massachusetts, USA). Clinoptilolite was received from Pratley Perlite Mining Company (Gauteng, South Africa), coal fly ash was supplied by Duvha Thermal Power Plant (Mpumalanga, South Africa). All chemicals were AR grade and used as received without any further purification.