Selective recovery of europium from real acid mine drainage using modified Cr-MIL and SBA15 adsorbents

Abstract

The successful adoption and widespread implementation of innovative acid mine drainage treatment and resource recovery methods hinge on their capacity to demonstrate enhanced performance, economic viability, and environmental sustainability compared to conventional approaches. Here, an evaluation of the efficacy of chromium-based metal–organic frameworks and amine-grafted SBA15 materials in adsorbing europium (Eu) from actual mining wastewater was conducted. The adsorbents underwent comprehensive characterization and examination for their affinity for Eu. Cr-MIL-PMIDA and SBA15-NH-PMIDA had a highest Langmuir adsorption capacity of 69 mg/g and 86 mg/g, respectively, for an optimum level of pH 4.8. Preferential adsorption tests followed using real AMD collected at a disused mine in the north of Norway. A comparative study utilizing pH-adjusted real AMD revealed that Cr-MIL-PMIDA (88%) exhibited slightly higher selectivity towards Eu compared to SBA15-NH-PMIDA (81%) in real mining wastewater. While Cr-MIL-PMIDA displays excellent properties for the selective recovery of REEs, practical challenges related to production costs and potential susceptibility to chromium leaching make it less appealing for widespread applications. A cost–benefit analysis was then undertaken to quantify the advantages of employing SBA15-NH-PMIDA material. The study disclosed that 193.2 g of EuCl3 with 99% purity can be recovered by treating 1000 m3 of AMD.