RESUMEN

First ever ionic liquid derived sorbent for antimony was synthesised. The charged functional groups of the polymer showed preferential binding and strong affinity for difficult to remove anionic species of antimony. The sorbent was synthesised by crosslinking co-polymerisation of 1-butyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide with N,N-methylenebis(acrylamide). SEM-EDS analysis showed that the polymer retained the bromide counter ions. Antimony removal properties under wide solution conditions, including the presence of competitor ions, were investigated. Maximum antimony binding and selectivity was at pH 3.0. Variation in saturation capacity with respect to the crosslinker amount matched with the calculated capacity values. Maximum uptake obtained was 4.6 and 3.2 mmol/g for Sb(III) and Sb(V) respectively. Tartrate salt of Sb(III) showed better binding through the interaction of tartrate with the imidazole moieties of the polymer. In less than 15 min, saturation capacity was achieved for Sb(III), while over 90% of uptake was complete for Sb(V). Investigations on sorption mechanism, which included synthesis and comparative evaluation of the non-ionic counterpart polyvinylimidazole as sorbent, indicated the uptake to be through anion exchange. Sb(III) specific binding against Sb(V) was seen in the presence of nitrilotriacetic acid.

RESUMEN

Antimony is classified as a pollutant of priority importance by USEPA. We have earlier reported the synthesis of nano-titania impregnated epichlorohydrin crosslinked chitosan (TA-Cts-Epi) beads, in a format suitable for large scale applications with high sorption capacity for antimony. To understand the sorption mechanism, and to fine tune the bead composition, the effect of crosslinking density on the swelling and sorption properties of the beads was investigated in detail. Epichlorohydrin effected significant changes in physical and sorption properties of the beads. The antimony sorption capacity of the TA-Cts-Epi beads prepared by crosslinking 0.3g non-crosslinked titania-chitosan beads (TA-Cts-NCL) with 6.4mmol epichlorohydrin was 493µmol/g, while those crosslinked with 0.64mmol showed a capacity of 133µmol/g. Whereas, TA-Cts-NCL beads showed a capacity of 75µmol/g. The increase in uptake capacity with increase in crosslinking demonstrated the active involvement of the epichlorohydrin moieties in antimony binding leading to enhanced sorption. Apart from altering the stability, swelling behaviour and sorption kinetics of the beads, crosslinking significantly increased the uptake of the anionic species via electrostatic interactions. Epichlorohydrin crosslinked chitosan beads prepared without TiO2 also showed similar behaviour. The results demonstrated the involvement of chitosan, TiO2 and epichlorohydrin in sorption.

RESUMEN

Removal of radioactive antimony, especially at low levels, is a difficult problem faced by nuclear power plants all over the world. Further, antimony is classified as a pollutant of priority importance by the United States and the European environmental protection agencies. Chitosan, a biopolymer well known for its sorption properties, can also serve as a stable matrix for inorganic sorbents such as titania on crosslinking. A robust high performing sorbent for antimony, in the form of stable beads, has been prepared using nano-TiO2 and chitosan. Raman spectra of the beads confirmed the incorporation of nano-TiO2 in the chitosan matrix. The sorbent exhibited complete sorption of antimony from aqueous solutions with antimony concentrations ranging from as low as 150 ppb to as high as 120 ppm. The sorption dependence on equilibrium pH has been investigated. The beads have been shown to be effective sorbent of antimony in both +3 and +5 oxidation states. The sorption properties of the beads were attributed to the TiO2 component present in the beads, while the crosslinked chitosan provided strong matrix and influenced the formation of much needed stable spherical beads suitable for real life large scale applications. The beads exhibited high sorption efficiency in the column mode, and were found to be physically stable at a flow rate of one bed volume per minute.

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RESUMEN

Separation and isolation of radioactive cobalt ((60)Co), one of the main contributors towards the activity build up in nuclear reactors, is essential for radioactive waste volume reduction during nuclear reactor decontamination procedures. In this context, sorption of free and complexed Co(II), Cu(II) and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) on the biosorbent, chitosan was studied. A detailed investigation on the role of pH on sorption of Co(II), Cu(II) and NTA was done. Uptake capacities of the metal ions and NTA were measured within pH range of 2.0-7.0. At pH above 5, the NTA uptake capacities were found to be higher in presence of the metal ions than in their absence. Effect of NTA was found to be more pronounced on copper uptake than on cobalt uptake. Significant change in selectivity of chitosan towards metal ion uptake from NTA medium was observed with respect to change in pH. At pH 2.9, the uptake of cobalt was found to be more than that of copper, while the selectivity was reversed at pH 6.0. The respective selectivity coefficient (k(Co/Cu)) values were found to be 2.06 and 0.072.

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