Removal of UO22+ from Aqueous Solutions by Maleic Anhydride-Styrene-vinyl acetate Terpolymer Modified with Ethylenediamine and Diethylenetriamine

Abstract

Maleic anhydride-styrene-vinyl acetate (MA-S-VA) terpolymer was prepared. It was modified by ethylenediamine (EDA) and diethylenetriamine (DETA) in order to get cross-linked polymers bearing carboxyl and amine groups. They were shown as MA-S-VA-EDA and MA-S-VA-DETA, and used as an adsorbent for the removal of UO₂²⁺ from water. The characterizations of structures of all the polymers were performed by Fourier transform infrared. The adsorptive features of adsorbents were then investigated for UO₂²⁺ in view of dependency on ion concentration, temperature and kinetics. Experimentally obtained isotherms were evaluated with reference to Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich models. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity for UO₂²⁺ was found to be 0.58 and 2.56 mol kg^-1 for MA-S-VA-EDA and MA-S-VA-DETA, respectively. It is suggested that the new modified polymers prepared in our laboratory as new adsorbents for uranyl ions.