Adsorption of Mercury(II) on Amidoxime Chelating Resins with Magnetic Properties

Two amidoxime chelating resins were prepared. The preparation process was carried out through copolymerization of acrylonitrile with N,N′-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinker in the presence and absence of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) particles. The resins obtained were subsequently treated with hydroxylamine to give the corresponding amidoxime chelating resins. The uptake behavior of the resins toward Hg(II) in aqueous solutions using batch and column techniques was studied. The oxide containing resin gave higher uptake capacities relative to oxide free resin confirming the advantage of embedded particles on the uptake capacity. Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of the uptake process were calculated. Regeneration of the resins was carried out using 0.5 M KI and the desorption ratio was found to be more than 97%.