Removal Of Mercuric Ions (II) From Aqueous Solutions by Chelating Resin Containing Carboxylic Groups

Pollution by heavy metals, due to their toxic nature and other adverse effects, is one of the most serious environmental problems. Many heavy metal ions, such as mercuric ions are detected in industrial wastewaters originating from metal plating, mining activities, paint manufacture, etc. This ion isn’t biodegradable and tends to accumulate in living organisms, causing various diseases and disorders. Therefore, it should be removed from aqueous solution before discharge. In this paper it has been done an experimental work regarding the optimal conditions of removing mercury from water using ion exchange resins namely maleic acid–vinyl acetate copolymer (PMA-VA). The adsorption behavior of mercury ions on PMA-VA was studied as a function of the following variables: contact time, pH solutions, initial concentration of metal ions, resin dosage, and ionic strength. Equilibrium studies showed that, the maximum adsorption capacity of adsorbent for mercuric ions was: 0.75 mmol/g PMA-VA. Regeneration of PMA-VA resin is possible by treatment with appropriate diluted mixtures of nitric acid and sodium nitrate. The results show that, PMA-VA resin holds great potential to remove mercuric ions from polluted wastewater.