Synthesis and Characterization of Modified Resins and Their Selective Sorption Towards Rhenium from Binary (Re & Mo) Solutions

Three amine-functionalized resins were prepared by suspension polymerization of vinyl-benzyl chloride, divinylbenzene, and subsequent amination process. The effect of chain length and cyclic amine on the performance of resins was investigated in a multicomponent system (Re & Mo). Different amines were used in the investigation. Different analyses such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform InfraRed (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Inductively Coupled Plasma- Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), Kiejdahl’s and Volhard’s methods were used to characterize the synthesized resins. The synthesized resins then were assayed in a batch mode using binary solutions of Re(VII) and Mo to evaluate their efficiency in the selective sorption of rhenium ions. Among all investigated resins, resin C revealed better separation properties in acidic solution (pH=1) with the highest sorption capacity up to 46.4 mg Re/g and a distribution coefficient of 870 that is more attributed to a steric barrier created against the polymeric molybdenum ions that are larger than objective ions in the studied system.