Investigation on synthesis of ion-imprinted mesoporous adsorbents by using ultrasound- and microwave-assisted preparation and their dynamic adsorption properties on heavy metals.

Removal of the heavy metal ions in aqueous solution is an important technology for waste water treatment. The effects of using ultrasonic and microwave on synthesizing Pb, Zn, and Cu imprinted mesoporous adsorbents (Pb-IMA-UM, Zn-IMA-UM, and Cu-IMA-UM) and their dynamic adsorption properties were studied. The microstructure and composition of the ion-imprinted mesoporous adsorbents were discussed in detail by TEM, FTIR, N adsorption-desorption, XRD, and EDS. The pore sizes of mesoporous absorbents were improved more uniformly by using ultrasonic agitation than magnetic stirring. The elution efficiency of imprinting ions can be enhanced by microwave elution. Prepared Pb-IMA-UM, Zn-IMA-UM, and Cu-IMA-UM were used for dynamic adsorption study of heavy metals. The detected optimal feed rate was 20.0 mL/min and the influent concentration was 60 mg/L; the equilibrium adsorption capacities of Pb-IMA-UM, Cu-IMA-UM, and Zn-IMA-UM could reach 198 mg/g, 51.5 mg/g, and 57.3 mg/g, respectively. The dynamic regeneration performance of the adsorbent was also investigated with the Cu-IMA-UM sample. The adsorption rate remained above 89% after five dynamic regeneration experiments. At last, the actual wastewater from an electroplating industry was used as the research object. Three groups of dynamic adsorption coefficient contours of Pb-IMA-UM, Zn-IMA-UM, and Cu-IMA-UM were obtained when influents flowed into three adsorption columns separately. The experimental results showed that an ion-imprinted adsorbent had a much better adsorption capacity of imprinted ions under the various metals mixed conditions.