Selective extraction of mercury(II) from water samples using mercapto functionalised-MCM-41 and regeneration of the sorbent using microwave digestion

Salah Ali Mahgoub Idris, Sophie R. Harvey, Lorraine Gibson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

90 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Silica sorbents, based on mesoporus crystalline material-41 (MCM-41), were functionalized using mercaptopropyl (MP) or diethylenetriamine (DETA) to extract mercury (II) ions from water. MP-MCM-41 was an extremely efficient and selective sorbent for the removal of mercury (II) from samples of distilled water doped with heavy metal ions, tap or river water. DETA-MCM-41 preferentially removed hard metal ions (chromium, manganese, lead and zinc) over soft metal ions such as mercury. During extraction, the influence of pH on adsorption capacity was examined; a maximum adsorption capacity of 1245 μmol g-1 was achieved for MP-MCM-41 even at pH values as low as 3. Significantly, a method has been developed, for the first time, to remove Hg (II) from loaded MP-MCM-41 allowing this analyte to be selectively removed from waters contaminated with a wide range of heavy metal ions. The regeneration method does not disrupt the chelating agent which remains on the surface of the silica permitting reuse of the sorbent in further extractions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)171-176
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Hazardous Materials
Volume193
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Oct 2011

Keywords

  • water treatment
  • sorbent regeneration
  • mercury removal

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Selective extraction of mercury(II) from water samples using mercapto functionalised-MCM-41 and regeneration of the sorbent using microwave digestion'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this