Selected elements cations exchange in acidic medium on sorbents surface based on modified brown coal

Abstract

Abstract Studies on the sorption and desorption of selected Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Cu2+ and Cr3+ cations by materials based on modified brown coal were carried out. The chemical modification of the sorbent material consisted of grinding involving different inorganic substances and organic polymers. Samples were subjected to chemical modification at elevated temperatures for several hours. For comparative purposes, as apart from brown coal, pure humic acids are known for the highest cations exchange capacity, samples of brown coal before and after purification were also analyzed. The ion capacity was determined under static conditions, measuring the difference in the concentration of cations in the sorbent before and after sorption and then after rinsing the sorbent with distilled water (A), and after the desorption process with hydrochloric acid (B). Studies have shown that sorbents based on modified brown coal have rather significant exchange capacities in the range of 270-450 meq/100 g for the first stage and 90-200 meq/100 g for the second stage. It was also found that purified humic acid (450-200 meq/100 g) has the highest exchange capacity and modified brown coal obtained at 250°C has the lowest. The measurement of desorption showed that approximately 10% of the cations are already leached by distilled water and the residue is desorbed under the influence of 10% hydrochloric acid, but the total amount of cations is compatible with the measurement process of the second stage. The sorption affinity to various cations is different. In the case of the sorption measurements, modified sorbents show the highest sorption affinity with respect to calcium, while the unmodified raw brown coal with respect to chromium. The next stage of the measurement showed that the valence of the cation has the highest impact on the sorption affinity.