Sorbents based on xerogels of zirconium, aluminum and manganese oxyhydroxides

• Main Authors: R.V. Smotraiev, E.O. Sorochkina, А.V. Dzuba, Y.D. Galivets
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Odessa National Polytechnic University 2016-05-01
• Series: Trudy Odesskogo Politehničeskogo Universiteta
• Subjects: sorbent capacity; xerogel; aluminum oxyhydroxide; zirconium oxyhydroxide; manganese oxyhydroxide
• Online Access: http://pratsi.opu.ua/articles/show/5258
• ISSN: 2076-2429; 2223-3814

The actual problem of water supply in the world and in Ukraine, in particular, is a high level of pollution in water resources and an insufficient level of drinking water purification. With industrial wastewater, a significant amount of pollutants falls into water bodies, including suspended particles, sulfates, iron compounds, heavy metals, etc. Aim: The aim of this work is to determine the impact of aluminum and manganese ions additives on surface and sorption properties of zirconium oxyhydroxide based sorbents during their production process. Materials and Methods: The sorbents based on xerogels of zirconium, aluminum and manganese oxyhydroxides were prepared by sol-gel method during the hydrolysis of metal chlorides (zirconium oxychloride ZrOCl2, aluminum chloride AlCl3 and manganese chloride MnCl2) with carbamide. Results: The surface and sorption properties of sorbents based on xerogels of zirconium, aluminum and manganese oxyhydroxides were investigated. X-ray amorphous structure and evolved hydroxyl-hydrate cover mainly characterize the obtained xerogels. The composite sorbents based on xerogels of zirconium oxyhydroxide doped with aluminum oxyhydroxide (aS = 537 m2/g) and manganese oxyhydroxide (aS = 356 m2/g) have more developed specific surface area than single-component xerogels of zirconium oxyhydroxide (aS = 236 m2/g) and aluminum oxyhydroxide (aS = 327 m2/g). The sorbent based on the xerogel of zirconium and manganese oxyhydroxides have the maximum SO42--ions sorption capacity. It absorbs 1.5 times more SO42–-ions than the industrial anion exchanger AN-221. The sorbents based on xerogels of zirconium oxyhydroxide has the sorption capacity of Fe3+-ions that is 1.5…2 times greater than the capacity of the industrial cation exchanger KU-2-8. The Na+-ions absorption capacity is 1.47…1.56 mmol/g for each sorbent. Conclusions: Based on these data it can be concluded that the proposed method is effective for sorbents production based on xerogels of zirconium, aluminum and manganese oxyhydroxides for further use them to remove both polyvalent anions and heavy metals from aqueous solutions.