Studies on Removal of Low Content Copper from the Sea Nodule Aqueous Solution using the Cationic Resin TP 207

Abstract

Selective removal of copper remaining in the raffinate, obtained after solvent extraction of copper with LIX 84-I from the sea nodule leach solution, containing 0.512 g/L Cu(II), 0.212 g/L Fe(III), 15.16 g/L Ni(II), and 2.012 g/L Co(II), was carried out with TP 207, in the batch and column adsorption system. The operational factors affecting the copper adsorption such as initial copper ion concentration (0.05–1.0 g/L), pH (1–4), resin dosage (5–100 g/L), and temperature (293–338 K) were investigated. Adsorption of copper was found to be maximum at an equilibrium pH of 1.97 without any adsorption of other metal ions in the solution and was strongly affected by the resin dosage. Adsorption equilibrium data was well fitted with the Langmuir isotherm, and the monolayer adsorption capacity of copper ion was determined as 68.7 mg g−1, at 298 K. The positive values of ΔHo (11.5, 10.4, and 10.1 kJ mol−1) determined at corresponding initial copper concentrations: 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 g/L, respectively, in the solution, indicated that the adsorption was endothermic in nature. Kinetic studies confirmed that the adsorption of copper followed pseudo second order reaction with intra particle diffusion.