Hydrothermal synthesis of hydroxyl terminated polymer boron adsorbents

Environmental boron removal and salt lake brine boron enrichment are important separation processes, which are of great significance to animal and plant health, environmental safety, and effective use of resources. Polymers are often used for boron separation due to their low cost and high performance. In this study, Tris(hydroxymethyl) methyl aminomethane (TRIS) and glucose functionalized polymer (P(GMA-co-TRIM)) were synthesized by hydrothermal method, and the polymer structure were characterized by FTIR, SEM, Mapping, XRD, XPS, PZC and TG-DSC-DTG. P(GMA-co-TRIM)-TRIS and P(GMA-co-TRIM)-Glu were used as boron adsorbents and the performance test were carried out. When the pH = 8 of boron solution, the two adsorbents have the best adsorption performance, with the adsorption capacity of 16.25 and 18.09 mg/g, respectively. The effects of initial concentration and contact time on boron adsorption were studied. Langmuir adsorption isothermal model and pseudosecond-order model were more consistent with the adsorption data, and the adsorption process was chemical adsorption. The two adsorbents have strong resistance to ion interference and cycle life, and have potential application value in environmental boron removal and boron extraction from salt lake.

Automated summary

TRIS and glucose functionalized polymers were synthesized by hydrothermal method for boron adsorption, showing best performance at pH = 8, with strong resistance to ion interference and cycle life, suitable for environmental boron removal and boron extraction from salt lake.