Enhanced Sorption of Europium and Scandium Ions from Nitrate Solutions by Remotely Activated Ion Exchangers

Abstract

The escalating demand for rare earth metals (REM) in situations of limited availability has spurred scientists to seek alternative sources of REM, such as industrial waste solutions. This paper investigates the potential for improving the sorption activity of readily available and inexpensive ion exchangers, specifically the interpolymer systems “Lewatit CNP LF and AV-17-8”, towards europium and scandium ions, in comparison to the unactivated ion exchangers. The sorption properties of the improved sorbents (interpolymer systems) were evaluated using conductometry, gravimetry, and atomic emission analysis. The results demonstrate that the “Lewatit CNP LF:AV-17-8” (5:1) interpolymer system exhibits a 25% increase in europium ion sorption compared to the raw Lewatit CNP LF (6:0), and a 57% increase in europium ion sorption compared to the raw AV-17-8 (0:6) ion exchanger after 48 h of the sorption process. In contrast, the “Lewatit CNP LF:AV-17-8” (2:4) interpolymer system exhibits a 310% increase in scandium ion sorption compared to the raw Lewatit CNP LF (6:0), and a 240% increase in scandium ion sorption compared to the raw AV-17-8 (0:6) after 48 h of interaction. The improvement in europium and scandium ion sorption levels by the interpolymer systems, compared to the raw ion exchangers, may be attributed to the high ionization degree resulting from the remote interaction effect of the polymer sorbents as the interpolymer system in aqueous media.