Development of composition and study of sorbent properties based on saponite

The development of a comprehensive approach to preventing the pollution of natural objects is necessary due to the high requirements of environmental legislation for the discharge of industrial wastewater. Adsorbents are used in various industries to extract heavy metals from wastewater. In this study the possibility of using saponite clay as a raw material for the production of sorbent for the extraction of copper ions Cu2+ from industrial wastewater is considered, a recipe and technology of sorbent production are developed, and its chemical composition is established. It has been established that the optimum temperature for heat treatment of the sorbent and corresponds to 550 ºC, since at this temperature saponite extrudates acquire strength (strength 34.1 kg/mm2) and textural properties (specific surface area of pellets 22.803 m2/g), allowing them to be used as sorbents. The kinetics of molecular adsorption was studied using model solutions of copper (II) sulfate. The extraction efficiency of copper (II) ions from the model solutions is 93 %. Extraction efficiency of copper (II) ions from copper plating wastewater reaches 94 %. SEM results confirm the presence of metal on the sorbent surface.