In-situ synthesis of CrOx(OH)3-2x for synchronous adsorption of Si and V from high concentration Cr (VI) solution and converted to excellent Cr2O3 pigment

Abstract

Removing impurities from hexavalent chromium system without secondary pollution is the key to the successful development of green chromate production technology. Here, hydrated chromium oxide CrOx(OH)3-2x with lamellar cluster microsphere structure was prepared by in-situ hydrothermalmethod and used to simultaneously adsorb Si (IV) and V (V) in high concentration Cr (VI) solution. In the in-situ hydrothermal process of pH 7, 160 ℃ for 8 h, the Si (IV) and V (V) removal rates of the actual chromate production Na2Cr2O7-Na2SiO3-NaVO3-H2O solution can reach 92.27 % and 94.81 %, respectively, which is higher than the ex-situ removal efficiency of Si (IV) (62.88 %) and V (V) (63.16 %) under the same conditions. Further characterization of STEM-elemental mapping, XPS and FT-IR results indicate that during in-situ adsorption, Si (IV) and V (V) are mainly adsorbed on the surface of CrOx(OH)3-2X adsorbent by interacting with surface hydroxyl groups. More importantly, the simultaneous formation and adsorption of the adsorbent are more conducive to the full utilization of active adsorption sites on the adsorbent surface. After that, CrOx(OH)3-2x was converted into nano Cr2O3 with a purity of 97.87 % by simple desorption and calcination processes. In addition, the results of UV–vis DRS and SEM show that the residual Si and V elements in Cr2O3 unexpectedly increase the size of the particles to about 300 nm, which redshifts the absorption band of the blue region by 3.3 nm. This results in more red absorption and makes Cr2O3 more yellowish-green and exhibits excellent pigment properties. Thus, the in-situ synthesis, synergistic adsorption and green conversion of trivalent chromium adsorbent provide a promising and sustainable technology for the purification of high concentration Cr (VI) solution that avoids the discharge of Cr (VI) containing slag.