Removal of boron from geothermal water by a novel boron selective resin Original Research Article

In this study, a novel chelating resin poly(N-(4-vinylbenzyl)-N-methyl-d-glucamine) (P(VbNMDG)) was synthesized. The sorption performance of this resin was compared with boron selective commercial resin Diaion CRB02 containing N-methyl-d-glucamine (NMDG) groups for boron removal from geothermal water. The P(VbNMDG) resin gave a higher sorption capacity and faster kinetics than that of Diaion CRB02 for boron removal from geothermal water. The kinetic data obtained were evaluated using classical kinetic models and diffusion/reaction models. It was concluded that both P(VbNMDG) and Diaion CRB02 resins obeyed pseudo second order kinetic model. Also, the rate controlling step of boron sorption was particle diffusion for both resins. The breakthrough profile of P(VbNMDG) resin for boron was sharper than that of Diaion CRB02. Thus, the degree of the column utilization of P(VbNMDG) resin was also high. The boron loaded on both resins was eluted using 5% H2SO4 solution with a percentage of around 80%.