Heavy Metals Ions Removal from Local Tarnita Aquatic Streams by Reusable Zwitterionic Acrylic Ion-Exchange Resins

Herein, ionic exchange resins (IExRs) were synthesized by the copolymerization of ethyl acrylate, acrylonitrile, and 8% divinylbenzene cross-linker, and functionalized with ethylenediamine and triethylenetetramine to produce weak cationic resins with amino groups. Hydrazine hydrate (HA) was employed to synthesize hydrazide-functionalized weak anionic resins. In addition, zwitterionic resins (Zw) were generated by reacting with sodium chloroacetate. The structures and morphology of the synthesized resins were undertaken by infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Sorption performance was studied by batch tests using simulated mono-HMI and multi-HMI aqueous samples, as well as polluted water samples collected from the Tarnita area. The HMIs residual concentrations after the solutions interaction with IExR in batch were quantified via atomic absorption spectroscopy. Additionally, sorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamic parameters studies were conducted. Wheat germination was included to test the efficiency of the batch sorption using IExRs, as compared to the stream collected in Tarnita mine area, emphasizing the water cleaning process which leads to healthy plants growth. The results demonstrate that after IExR sorption the tested HMIs content is below the permissible maximum level for surface water, enabling to resolve the pollution of the steam close to Tarnita closed mine area, removing of the major contaminants found in it.