Electroextraction of heavy metals from diluted solutions by a process combining ion-exchange resins and membranes

Abdelaziz Smara (1) , Rachid Delimi , Christiane Poinsignon (1) , Jacqueline Sandeaux (2)

1 LEPMI - Laboratoire d'Electrochimie et de Physico-chimie des Matériaux et des Interfaces
2 IEM - Institut Européen des membranes

The electroextraction of heavy metals (Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺) from diluted solutions was achieved by continuous electropermutation combining ion-exchange resins and membranes. Under an applied current, the metallic cations fixed onto the resin are substituted by protons coming from the anodic compartment, and are transferred into a receiver compartment, at the cathodic side, where they are concentrated. Electroextraction operations were performed under various experimental conditions of current density (2–7 A m^–2), flow rate (0.09–0.9 dm³ h^–1), cation concentration (40–400 mg dm^–3) and nature of regenerating acid solutions (HNO₃, HCl, H₂SO₄). Despite the resins were loaded with the metallic cations before introducing in the feed compartment of the cell, high levels of removal (up to 99%) were achieved. High mass transfer was obtained leading to a concentration factor of about five in the receiver.

Mots clés: Heavy metals; Electrodialysis; Ion-exchange resins; Electropermutation

Domaines: Matériaux

Abdelaziz Smara, Rachid Delimi, Christiane Poinsignon, Jacqueline Sandeaux. Electroextraction of heavy metals from diluted solutions by a process combining ion-exchange resins and membranes. Separation and Purification Technology, 2005, 44 (3), pp. 271-277. ⟨10.1016/j.seppur.2005.02.003⟩. ⟨hal-00333274⟩