화학공학소재연구정보센터
Separation and Purification Technology, Vol.143, 115-124, 2015
Solvent impregnated carbon nanotube embedded polymeric composite beads: An environment benign approach for the separation of rare earths
An environment benign process for the separation of rare earths has been delineated for the first time by developing polyethersulfone based composite beads through phase inversion method, where the use of hazardous organic diluents could be circumvented. The porosity and pore structure of these beads were controlled through different additives, of which, polyvinyl alcohol and multiwall carbon nanotubes proved to be the most efficacious. The extraction efficiency of rare earths was ameliorated by four fold with the application of the developed nanotube incorporated beads. The influence of various process parameters, namely, aqueous phase acidity, metal ion concentration, presence of other competitive ions and temperature on the separation of representative yttrium ion has been elaborated in the present investigation. The experimental results attribute to the excellent stability and reusability of the developed beads. The feasibility of employing this novel technology in large scale has been established by successful operation in continuous column mode. The developed assay exhibits profound application towards a greener approach due to the elimination of hazardous organic diluents and prevention of significant organic extractant loss during the process of recovery of rare earths from aqueous media. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.