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Selective separation of some heavy metals by poly(vinyl alcohol)‐grafted membranes
Author(s) -
ElRehim H. A. Abd,
Hegazy ElSayed A.,
Ali A. M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(20000411)76:2<125::aid-app2>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - membrane , vinyl alcohol , acrylic acid , copolymer , styrene , permeation , polymer chemistry , chemistry , grafting , nuclear chemistry , ion , polystyrene , organic chemistry , polymer , biochemistry
A poly(vinyl alcohol) membrane (PVA) was modified by radiation graft copolymerization of acrylic acid/styrene (AAc/Sty) comonomers. The Cu and Fe ion‐transport properties of these membranes were investigated using a diaphragm dialysis cell. In the feed solution containing CuCl 2 or a mixture of CuCl 2 and FeCl 3 , the PVA‐ g ‐P(AAc/Sty) membranes showed high degrees of permselectivity toward Cu 2+ rather than toward Fe 3+ . The permeation of Cu 2+ ions through the membranes was found to increase with decrease in the grafting yield. However, as the content of Cu 2+ ions in the Cu/Fe binary mixture feed solutions decreased, the rate and the amount of transported Cu 2+ through the grafted membrane decreased, with no appreciable permselectivity toward Fe 3+ . When Fe 2+ ions were used instead of Fe 3+ ions in the feed solution containing Cu 2+ , the transport of both Cu 2+ and Fe 2+ through the membrane was observed. The rate of transport of Fe 2+ was higher than that of Cu 2+ . In addition, it was found that the selective transport of ions was significantly influenced by the pH difference between both sides of the membranes. As the pH of the feed or the received solution decreased, both Cu 2+ and Fe 3+ passed through the membrane and were transported to the received solution. The role of carboxylic acid and the hydroxyl groups of the grafted membranes in the transportation process of ions is discussed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 76: 125–132, 2000