Development of Titanium-Supported Ion-Exchange Adsorbent for Removal of Metal Pollutants

Abstract

An ethylenediaminetetraacetate-supported ethylenediaminetetraacetate–Ti(IV) phosphate (ETP) hybrid ion-exchange material has been synthesized using sol–gel chemical route. Characterization of ETP has been carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. Semicrystalline morphology of the material was identified via XRD and SEM analyses. The material was explored for the removal of metal ions from real and synthetic wastewaters. The hybrid material showed good ion-uptake capacity for \(\hbox {Ba}^{2+}\) ion (\(2.9~\hbox {eq}~\hbox {kg}^{-1})\). In terms of thermal stability, ETP has potential to resist up to \(200\,{^{\circ }}\hbox {C}\) with retention of 98% initial ion-uptake capacity. Studies on the distribution coefficients using solvents (\(\hbox {CH}_{3}\)CN, ACOH) and surfactant (CTAB) verified their selective behavior toward \(\hbox {Pb}^{2+}\), \(\hbox {Cd}^{2+}\), \(\hbox {Ni}^{2+}\), \(\hbox {Fe}^{3+}\), \(\hbox {Cu}^{2+}\), \(\hbox {Bi}^{3+}\) and \(\hbox {Th}^{4+}\). Separations of some metal ion in binary mixtures and natural waters have been achieved using columns of this material.