A new chelating resin containing 2-aminothiophenol: Synthesis characterization and determination of mercury in waste water using 203Hg radiotracer

A new stable chelating resin was synthesized by incorporating 2-aminothiophenol into Merrifield polymer through C-N covalent bond and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and thermal study. The sorption capacity of the newly formed resin for Hg²⁺ as a function of pH has been studied using ²⁰³Hg radioisotope. The resin exhibits no affinity to alkali or alkaline earth metal ions and common anions. The separation of mercury(II) in presence of different alkali and alkaline earth metal ions (Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Sr²⁺, Ba²⁺), common anions (ClO₄ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻) and other diverse ions (Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺ and Zn²⁺) has been checked. In column operation it has been observed that Hg²⁺ content of the waste water can be removed at usual pH of natural water. Mercury was determined by isotope dilution method and the concentration of Hg²⁺ in the waste water spiked with ²⁰³Hg was found to be 0.05 to 0.09 μg/ml.