Abstract
Strontium (Sr) is a valuable metal found in abundance in seawater. However, its recovery from seawater has received little attention despite its many industrial applications. Batch and column adsorption experiments were conducted on the removal of Sr by resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) resin in the presence of co-existing cations at pH7.5–8.5, where maximum adsorption was found. Batch adsorption capacities of cations followed the decreasing order of Sr>Ca>Mg>K, the order being the same as that of reduction of negative zeta potential. The adsorption data for Sr, Ca and Mg satisfactorily fitted to the Langmuir adsorption model with maximum adsorption capacities of 2.28, 1.25 and 1.15meq/g, respectively. Selectivity coefficients for Sr with respect to other metals showed that Sr was selectively adsorbed on RF. Column adsorption data for Sr only solution fitted well to the Thomas model. Sr adsorption capacity in the presence of seawater concentrations of Ca, Mg, K and Na was reduced in both batch and column experiments with highest effect from Ca and Mg. However, if Ca and Mg are removed prior to RF adsorption process by precipitation, the negative effect of these ions on Sr removal can be significantly reduced.
Highlights
Seawater is becoming an important source of several valuable mineral resources because of the depletion of high-grade mineral ores on land and recent problems associated with landbased industries resulting from sustainable water and energy demand and environmental issues [1]
The results showed that of the five adsorbents tested, resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) had the highest adsorption capacity (Fig. 2)
An RF resin synthesised by poly-condensation of formaldehyde and resorcinol followed by conditioning it with high concentration of NaOH had higher Sr adsorption capacity than RF resins conditioned with KOH and Ca(OH)2
Summary
Seawater is becoming an important source of several valuable mineral resources because of the depletion of high-grade mineral ores on land and recent problems associated with landbased industries resulting from sustainable water and energy demand and environmental issues [1]. Due to its large reserve, seawater is an attractive resource for valuable minerals such as lithium, uranium, rubidium, and strontium (Sr) despite their very low concentrations. Among these valuable minerals, Sr is one of the most abundant minerals in seawater with an average concentration of 6-7 mg/L [2]. Removing radioactive Sr from seawater is important since the Fukushima nuclear plant accident in 2011, which led to serious seawater contamination by radioactive strontium 90Sr [7,8]
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