Efficient Hg (II) Ions Sorption from their Aqueous Solutions by Using Microwave-assisted Grafted Psyllium Husk

Yousif, Ahmed M.; Gad, Ehab S.

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2022.112471.5098

Efficient Hg (II) Ions Sorption from their Aqueous Solutions by Using Microwave-assisted Grafted Psyllium Husk

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ahmed M. Yousif ¹^{, 2}
Ehab S. Gad ¹

¹ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Arts, Jouf University, Gurayat, KSA

² Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, Shebin El-Kom, Egypt

10.21608/ejchem.2022.112471.5098

Abstract

To utilize the psyllium husk, an anionic polysaccharide, for developing it to Hg (II) removal from aqueous solutions, we have prepared psyllium based polymeric networks by grafting glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) polymeric chain and by using N,N0-methylene bis-acrylamide (N,N-MBAAm) as a cross-linker. It was synthesized under microwave irradiation without adding any radical or catalyst with 140 % grafting efficiency using 850 W MW power in 70 seconds at 2 M GMA, and 10g/L psyllium husk concentrations as optimum conditions. The synthesized sorbent was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, and thermal techniques. The effect of various parameters such as pH, time, and temperature towards Hg (II) adsorption by the sorbent was analyzed. The optimum conditions of Hg (II) ions sorption were pH (6), 30 min contact time, and 5 x 103- M initial concentration of mercury. The kinetic data followed the second-order kinetics and reached the maximum uptake capacity after 20 min. Regeneration efficiency was found to be 96% over 5 cycles using acidified thiourea. Recorded high removal efficiencies (up to 97.6 %) of heavy metal ions from real industrial wastewater samples make the investigated sorbent promising in the field of wastewater treatment.

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