Functionality screening to help design effective materials for radioiodine abatement.

This paper is part of a growing body of research work looking at the synthesis of an optimal adsorbent for the capture and containment of aqueous radioiodine from nuclear fuel reprocessing waste. 32 metalated commercial ion exchange resins were subjected to a two-tier screening assessment for their capabilities in the uptake of iodide from aqueous solutions. The first stage determined that there was appreciable iodide capacity across the adsorbent range (12-220 mg·g).

Adsorption studies of a multi-metal system within acetate media, with a view to sustainable phosphate recovery from sewage sludge.

Phosphate shortages and the ensuing pressures on food security have led to an interest in processed sewage sludge as a substitute for commercial fertilisers. The presence of heavy metals in this nutrient source causes concerns around environmental release and pollution. This work builds towards a resin-in-pulp sludge detoxification process.

Water-Gated Transistor Using Ion Exchange Resin for Potentiometric Fluoride Sensing.

We introduce fluoride-selective anion exchange resin sorbents as sensitisers into membranes for water-gated field effect transistors (WGTFTs). Sorbents were prepared via metal (La or Al)-loading of a commercial macroporous aminophosphonic acid resin, Puromet MTS9501, and were filled into a plasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) phase transfer membrane. We found a potentiometric response (membrane potential leading to WGTFT threshold shift) to fluoride following a Langmuir-Freundlich (LF) adsorption isotherm with saturated membrane potential up to ~480 mV, extremely low characteristic concentration c = 1/K, and picomolar limit of detection (LoD), even though ion exchange did not build up charge on the resin.

Characterisation of aluminium black dross before and after stepwise salt-phase dissolution in non-aqueous solvents.

Aqueous leaching to recover salts from black dross is accompanied by hazardous gas generation. The gas-generating phases vary significantly across differently sourced black dross. The challenge for the industry is how to accurately qualify and quantify the problematic components of black dross, especially minor reactive phases.

Selective Environmental Remediation of Strontium and Cesium Using Sulfonated Hyper-Cross-Linked Polymers (SHCPs).

Sulfonated hyper-cross-linked polymers based on 4,4'-bis(chloromethyl)-1,1'-biphenyl (BCMBP) were synthesized via metal-free (SHCP-1) and conventional Lewis acid-catalyzed (SHCP-2) Friedel-Crafts alkylation routes. The sulfonated polymers possessed BET surface areas in excess of 500 m·g. SHCP-1 was investigated for its ability to extract Sr and Cs ions from aqueous solutions via the ion-exchange reaction of the sulfonic acid moiety.

Highly efficient fluoride extraction from simulant leachate of spent potlining via La-loaded chelating resin. An equilibrium study.

Spent potlining (SPL) hazardous waste is a potentially valuable source of fluoride, which may be recovered through chemical leaching and adsorption with a selective sorbent. For this purpose, the commercially available chelating resin Purolite S950+ was loaded with lanthanum ions, to create a novel ligand-exchange sorbent. The equilibrium fluoride uptake behaviour of the resin was thoroughly investigated, using NaF solution and a simulant leachate of SPL waste.

Developing cellulosic waste products as platform chemicals: protecting group chemistry of α-glucoisosaccharinic acid.

Alpha and beta-glucoisosaccharinic acids ((2S,4S)-2,4,5-trihydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)pentanoic acid and (2R,4S)-2,4,5-trihydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)pentanoic acid) which are produced when cellulosic materials are treated with aqueous alkali are potentially valuable platform chemicals. Their highly functionalised carbon skeleton, with fixed chirality at C-2 and C-4, makes them ideal starting materials for use in synthesis. In order to assess the potential of these saccharinic acids as platform chemicals we have explored the protecting group chemistry of the lactone form of alpha-glucoisosaccharinic acid (α-GISAL).