ABSORBENT HYDROPHILIC COPOLYMER FOR THE REMOVAL OF MERCURY AND THE NOBLE METALS FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS AND A PROCESS FOR PREPARING THE SAME

摘要

1504887 Removing metal ions from waste water &c YORKSHIRE CHEMICALS Ltd 15 Dec 1975 [14 Dec 1974] 54130/74 Headings C1A and C1C [Also in Division C3] Mercury and the noble metals are selectively absorbed from aqueous solutions of compounds thereof, including treatment of industrial effluents to reduce the toxicity thereof, by contact with a modified copolymer obtained by treating with hydrogen sulphide (or a source thereof), an aqueous solution or colloidal or fine dispersion of a copolymer of acrylonitrile with a water-soluble comonomer of formula in which R' is H or C 1-4 alkyl, and RSP2/SP is a carboxylic, carboxylate, amide or ORSP3/SP group, RSP3/SP being C 1-4 alkyl. The modified copolymer may be stirred with the aqueous solution, used to pack a column, or deposited on a porous substrate which may then be used to pack a column. Examples illustrate the recovery of Hg (mercurous and mercuric), Pt, Pd, Au and Ag from various solutions, and also the removal of mercury catalyst residues from a filtrate derived from an anthraquinone sulphonation process, the copolymer in each case being acrylonitrile/acrylamide copolymer reacted with H 2 S or Na 2 S.