Recyclable Functionalized Polymer for Cu(II) Decontamination from Aqueous Media

In the endeavor to explore more and more materials, this work is focused on the study of the potential applicability of a chelating sorbent based on an acrylic copolymer functionalized with amidoethylenamine groups in Cu(II) removal from wastewaters in batch and dynamic conditions. The proposed sorbent was synthesized by the chemical transformation reaction of ethylacrylate (EA): acrylonitrile (AN):2% divinylbenzene (DVB) copolymer with ethylenediamine (EDA). Batch sorption results pointed out that the Cu(II) retention by the acrylic copolymer functionalized with amidoethylen-amine groups was dependent on the initial solution pH, initial metal concentration and contact time. The sorption of Cu (II) on the tested chelating copolymer obeyed both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The Langmuir maximum sorption capacity was 65.21mg Cu (II)/g of polymer. The kinetic experimental data fitted well with the pseudo - second order model. The dynamic behavior of a fixed bed column filled with the acrylic copolymer functionalized with amidoethylenamine groups has been studied in terms of breakthrough curve. The experimental breakthrough data have been well described by Thomas model. The tested chelating copolymer is suitable for multiple processes of Cu(II) sorption-desorption. The column studies with real wastewater sample presented a removal efficiency of 100% for Cu (II) and a significant improvement of the wastewater quality. The acrylic copolymer functionalized with amidoethyleneamine groups can be successfuly applied for the Cu (II) removal - recovery - recycling.