Adsorption and Separation of Mercury: Sorption-Desorption of Hg²⁺with Cross-Linked Graft Copolymer of Acrylic Acid and its Application in the Metal Ion Separation Process

Abstract

A selective and reliable method has been developed for the extraction and separation of mercuric ion with cross-linked graft copolymer of acrylic acid based on sorption-desorption studies. The graft copolymer acts as an ion exchanger. The physicochemical properties of the exchanger, and optimum pH, time, and temperature for Hg 2þ adsorption were determined. Metal ion adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics have been studied. A plausible mechanism for mercury ion extraction has been suggested. Mercuric ion has been separated quantitatively from various synthetic mixtures containing metal ions (Ni 2þ , Cd 2þ , Pb 2þ , and Zn 2þ ).