POLY(ETHYLENE IMINE)-BASED GRANULAR SORBENTS BY A NEW PROCESS OF TEMPLATED GEL-FILLING - HIGH-CAPACITY AND SELECTIVITY OF COPPER SORPTION IN ACIDIC AND ALKALINE MEDIA

A new process has been developed for making granular gel-type sorbents from chelating resins using metal ion as template. Named as templated gel-filling, the process uses the chosen metal as templating host ion on high-surface-area silica to build a templated gel layer from a solution of the chelating resin in a suitable solvent in which the resin is soluble but its metal complex is insoluble. After cross-linking the templated gel layer, the silica support is removed by alkali to produce a hollow shell of the templated gel. The shells are then soaked in a concentrated aqueous solution of the same metal ion and suspended in the same resin solution to afford gel filling. The shells thus filled with metal-templated gel are treated with cross-linking agent, followed by acid to remove the template ion and activate the resin for metal sorption. Poly(ethylene imine) and its partially ethylated derivative have been used to produce granular gel-type sorbents by this process, with Cu(II) as the template ion. These sorbents are found to offer high capacity and selectivity for copper over nickel, cobalt, and zinc in both acidic and alkaline media. Containing a relatively high fraction of imbibed water, the sorbents exhibit markedly enhanced rate behavior, in both sorption and stripping.