Recovery of Lithium(I), Strontium(II), and Lanthanum(III) Using Ca-Alginate Beads

In this paper, Ca-alginate beads were explored as a potent adsorbent for trace metals and rare earth ions. The biosorption ability of Ca-alginate beads toward trace metal ions (i.e., Li, Sr, and La) was investigated under different conditions of contact time, initial concentration, pH, and existence of competing ions. Adsorption characteristics were examined by means of a kinetic model and Langmuir and Fruendlich adsorption isotherms. The electrostatic interaction between the trace metal ions and alginate beads and the effect of the metal ion on adsorbents were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that Ca-alginate beads, which are well-known for their special ability to sorb various metals, are also able to take up precious trace metal ions from aqueous solutions.