Sorption of Some Rare Elements Using Modified Titanium Oxide

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1 Sorption of Some Rare Elements Using Modified Titanium Oxide Evdokimova O.V., Pechischeva N.V., Estemirova S.Kh., Shunyaev K.Yu. Institute of Metallurgy of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 101, Amundsen street, Ekaterinburg, Russia Abstract In order to create an efficient sorbent for the hydrometallurgical extraction of gallium, germanium and rhenium from the poor raw materials a modification of commercially available titanium oxide and its sorption properties studies were performed. The mechanical activation in the high-energy planetary mill and ultrasonication of the aqueous suspension were used for modification of the TiO 2. Particle size analysis of modified material performed by dynamic light scattering indicated the presence of particles of nanometer range. According to X-ray diffraction, the proportion of nanoscale fraction is significant. It was found that the mechanical activation and subsequent ultrasonic treatment of TiO 2 increases sorption of gallium and germanium, from 20 % to 96 % at the optimum ph values of the solution (for gallium - ph , for germanium - ph 6-8). At the same time the sorption capacity for rhenium is lowest, however, the obtained data show that the degree of sorption of rhenium can increased by using surfactants. Introduction Germanium, gallium and rhenium are strategic metals, extremely important for the modern industry. Their own minerals are extremely rare. There is a need of extraction of germanium, gallium, rhenium from ores of other metals, and from waste and recycled materials, in which they are presented in low concentrations. Nowadays sorption technologies are the most efficient and environmentally friendly. Currently, there is a number of sorbents for gallium, germanium and rhenium, having good sorption properties. However, the improvement of their characteristics, as well as the development of cost-effective, simple, express techniques of synthesis are still relevant objectives. Titanium dioxide - a popular sorption material, characterized the low cost, environmental safety and chemical stability. It is used for sorption of radionuclides, organic substances, various cations and anions, for purification of fluids from them and also for determining of their contents (1-4). There are several crystallographic modifications of titanium dioxide. Only rutile is thermodynamically stable among all modifications, but it has the lowest sorption properties, it was found that the sorption capacity increases in a series of rutile <anatase <amorphous TiO 2 (1). Sorption active modifications of titanium dioxide (anatase, amorphous TiO 2 ) are obtained by chemical methods, such as hydrolysis of inorganic salts or organic derivatives of titanium. The high sorption degree of germanium and gallium (over 96%) was obtained on the nanoscale anatase (5). The aim of this work is development of a technique for improving of the sorption properties of the most stable modification of titanium dioxide - rutile - with respect to 1-17

2 germanium, gallium and rhenium. Studies about the effect of modification of rutile on its sorption ability to rare elements had not been conducted before. Results and Discussion There are various ways to change the material properties. Among them the mechanical activation in various types of mills, ultrasonic effect and others are the most effective. In this paper both the above mentioned methods were applied. Rutile modification of TiO 2 was performed by mechanical activation followed by ultrasonic treatment of its aqueous suspension. Previously, it was established that these methods increase the sorption properties of titanium dioxide to malachite green, methylene blue (4), manganese (II), iron (II) (6). Ultrasonic treatment promotes disaggregate of the agglomerates, mechanical activation causes grinding of powder oxide particles and increases its surface area and modifies the surface properties, promotes the growth of crystal defects. Mechanical activation of TiO 2 (qualification -. special purity grade, 100% rutile) was carried out in a high-energy planetary ball mill Pulverisette 7 PremiumLine with a headset from tungsten carbide (diameter balls - 10 mm, the primary disk rotation speed rpm). Duration of mechanical activation min. Mode of grinding is dry, beakers cools in air every 15 minutes. X-ray examination of TiO 2 samples was carried out on a Shimadzu XRD-7000 diffractometer in Cu Ka-radiation using certified silicon powder as an internal standard. Measurement conditions: I = 30 ma, V = 40 kv, the angle range from 25 to 85 in 2Θ, a step size of 0.03 and a step scan of 3 s. It was found that during of mechanical activation crystalline modification - α- TiO 2 (rutile structure) was not changed (Figure 1). 1-18

3 Fig. 1. X-ray diffraction patterns of TiO 2 after different time of mechanical activation. The mean size of coherent scattering regions (CSR) of the samples was calculated using Scherrer s formula. Figure 2 shows that the intensive milling takes place in the first 60 minutes of grinding. The average size CSR is reduced from 220 nm to 24 nm. Over the next 90 minutes, size CSR is reduced slightly - to 15 nm. Using dynamic light scattering method, it was confirmed that the size of the particles formed during the mechanical activation TiO 2 is almost identical to the size of the crystallites, measured by X-ray diffraction. For measurements 0.2 g TiO 2 after 150 minutes of mechanical activation was dispersed in 75 ml of a 0.2% solution of anionic surfactant - sodium dodecyl sulfate - in an ultrasonic bath PSB (ultrasonic frequency is 35 khz). After that obtained suspension was filtered through the Green Ribbon filter paper moistened to remove of indestructible agglomerates. The results of three consecutive measurements of particle diameter on analyzer Zetasizer Nano S90 are presented in Fig. 3 - a maximum of particle size distribution is 14 nm. Fig. 2. The dependence of average size CSR TiO 2 vs the duration of mechanical activation. 1-19

4 Fig. 3. The results of dynamic light scattering measurements of TiO 2 particle size, mechanically activated 150 min. The aqueous suspension was stabilized by sodium dodecyl sulfate (0.2 wt.%). Sorption of germanium, gallium and rhenium from the aqueous solutions were carried out in static mode. A solution of metal was prepared (all reagents were of analytical grade and purchased - GeO 2, NH 4 ReO 4, metallic gallium with purity of wt. %), then 50 mg rutile were placed (per 25 ml of solution, unless otherwise specified) initial TiO 2 (calcined at 700 С) or after mechanical activation. The required ph of solution was adjusted by addition of NaOH and HCl solutions by using ionomer. To investigate rhenium sorption anionic and cationic surfactants were added in solutions. Sorption without ultrasonic treatment was performed for one day, using - for 30 min. After sorption the sorbent was separated by centrifuging for 15 min at 8000 rpm. The metal content in solution before and after sorption was measured by atomic emission spectrometer «Optima 2100 DV» («Perkin Elmer»). The recovery sorption degree (R) was calculated on following equation: Сo Сe R = 100%, Сo where C 0 and C e (mol/l) are the initial and equilibrium concentrations of metals in solution, respectively. The following operational parameters were employing RF power 1300 W; Ar gas flow rate 15 l/min; gas flow rates for auxiliary 0.20 l/min; gas flow rates for nebulizer 0.80 l/min; pump flow rate 1.5 ml/min; observation optics radial; delay time 45 sec. Spectral analytical lines: Ge I nm, Ga I nm, Re II nm. The effect of ph on the recovery degree of Ga and Ge is shown on Fig.4 and Table 1. R, % a) b) рн рн Fig.4. Effects of ph on the sorption a) germanium b) gallium on sorbents: initial TiO 2 with ultrasonic treatment, modified (mechanical activation 120 min) TiO 2, - modified (mechanical activation 120 min) TiO 2 with ultrasonic treatment; C(Ga)=С(Ge)=5 mg/l. R, % 1-20

5 Table 1. The maximum degree of sorption of germanium, gallium and rhenium on the modified and unmodified TiO 2 Metal germanium gallium rhenium mechanical activation 120 min ultrasonic treatment Options anionic surfactant cationic surfactant рн Degree of sorption, % It can be seen that the mechanical activation of TiO 2 without ultrasonic treatment causes a more than twofold increase of the recovery degree of germanium and gallium sorption, and with treatment increases it to nearly 96%. The gap in the center of dependencies for gallium in Fig. 4 (b) due to the formation of gallium hydroxide precipitate at this ph range. As for the rhenium, it is practically not adsorbed on unmodified rutile - the mechanical activation or ultrasonic treatment in an aqueous solution could not affect the sorption capacity of the sorbent respect to Re. Only ultrasound treatment in a surfactant medium (0.2 wt.% benzalkonium chloride solution) increased the recovery degree on TiO 2 in almost 25 times. When using anionic surfactants (sodium dodecyl sulfate) such effect is not observed (see. Table 2, Fig. 5). As can be seen, the recovery degrees such as for germanium and gallium, were not reached for rhenium. The reasons for such behavior of sorbent required further study. 1-21

6 R, % Fig. 5. Effects of ph on the sorption rhenium on modified (mechanical activation 120 min) TiO 2 with ultrasonic treatment aqueous solution, solution of anionic surfactants, - solution of cationic surfactants; C(Re) = 10 mg/l, m (TiO 2 ) = 100 mg, V = 20 ml ph Effects of ph on the sorption rhenium were investigated also for modified TiO 2 after mechanical activation 150 min. Type of dependencies was not fundamentally changed, but the expansion of the ph range where recovery degree for Ge is higher than 90% was observed - from 3.2 to 10.6 (maximum - 97% - is observed at ph 7.3). Thus, it is shown that modified rutile in the experimental conditions are not inferior to the recovery degree of germanium and gallium sorption on nanoscale anatase (in (5) the maximum recovery degree of sorption was determined for germanium and gallium on the anatase with particle size nm 96.6% and 96.3%, respectively). In the optimum sorption ph range the isotherm of germanium and gallium (see. Figs. 6 and 7) were obtained. The Langmuir model and Freundlich model are often used to describe equilibrium sorption isotherms (see. Table 2) (7-8). In a series of 25 ml flasks aliquot volumes of metal solutions corresponding to different concentrations (from 10 to 250 mg/l) were placed, ph was adjusted to the optimum value, 0.05 g of sorbent was added and amounts of metal sorbed per unit weight were determined a mg/g a mg/g С mg/l Fig.6. Isotherm of Ge sorption on TiO 2, mechanical activated: min, 150 min, after ultrasonic treatment; рн= С mg/l Fig.7. Isotherm of Ga sorption on TiO 2, mechanical activated: min, 150 min, after ultrasonic treatment; рн=

7 The Langmuir model assumes that the adsorbed layer is one molecule in thickness. The Langmuir equation is based on the assumption of a structurally homogeneous adsorbent where all sorption sites are identical and energetically equivalent. Theoretically, the sorbent has a finite capacity for the sorbate. The Langmuir equation can be represented by the expression С α e = 1 + L C, а K K e e L L where a e is the solid-phase sorbate concentration at equilibrium (mmol/g), Ce is the aqueous phase sorbate concentration at equilibrium (mmol/l), K L and a L (l/mmol)are the Langmuir isotherm constants. A plot of Ce/a e versus C e gives a straight line of slope a L /K L and intercept 1/K L, where K L /a L gives the theoretical monolayer saturation capacity. Freundlich model assumes that there is a continuous variation of absorption energy, since first there is the filling of the most active centers of sorption, then the surface is continuously filled up until not busy centers with the lowest energy. A linear form of the Freundlich expression can be represented 1 ln а = ln K + lnc, e F n e where a e is the solid-phase sorbate concentration at equilibrium (mmol/g), C e is the liquid-phase sorbate concentration at equilibrium (mmol/l), K F is the Freundlich constant (l) 1/n (mmol) 1-1/n, and 1/n is the heterogeneityfactor. A plot of lnae versus lnc e enables the constant K F and the exponent 1/n to be determined. Table 2 shows that for modified TiO 2 after the ultrasonic treatment experimental data closely follow the Langmuir model of sorption (the correlation coefficients were high). Comparing the characteristics of TiO 2 with different time of mechanical activation, it can be seen that the maximum sorption capacity is observed for 150 minutes. At the same time the maximum sorption capacity is even higher than the values obtained for the sorption of germanium at nanoscale anatase (in (5)) mg/g vs mg/g, and for the sorption of gallium (in (9)) 21.8.mg/g vs 8.28 mg/g. The affinity of gallium and germanium to TiO 2 (mechanical activation 150 min) is higher than to TiO 2 (mechanical activation 120 min), as indicated by a parameter K F in Freundlich isotherm equation, which is a quantitative measure of the affinity of sorbate to the sorbent surface. Table 2. Langmuir and Freundlich constants for sorption of Ge and Ga on modified TiO 2 The Langmuir model Analyte Time of mechanical activation, min K L, l/g a L, l/mmol a m, mg/g (sorption capacity) R 1-23

8 Ge Ga Analyte Ge Ga The Freundlich model Time of mechanical activation, min K F, (l) 1/n (mmol) 1-1/n 1/n n R CONCLUSION A result of investigations it was found that the mechanical activation in combination with ultrasonic treatment radically changes the sorption properties of rutile. Characteristics of germanium and gallium sorption obtained for modified rutile are not only reach, but exceed the characteristics of nanoscale anatase, which has so far been the most active sorbent (sorption degree for Ge - about 97%, for Ga - about 96%, the static sorption capacity for Ge mg/g, for Ga mg/g). It was found that the maximum sorption degree of germanium is achieved at ph 7-8, and gallium - ph = 3-4. Obtained sorption isotherms of gallium and germanium from aqueous solutions are adequately described by the Langmuir equation. Increasing the time of mechanical activation TiO 2 from 120 to 150 min increases the maximum sorption capacity for gallium and germanium and expansion of ph range with a high sorption degree of germanium. There was an increase sorption degree of rhenium on rutile modified with a cationic surfactant to more than 35% at ph 6. The study is supported by State program of IMET UB RAS, References 1. Spendlıkova I., Raindl J., Nemec M.: 'Preparation of pure TiO 2 sorption material'. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem (3) Jegadeesan G., Al-Abed S.R., Sundaram V., Choi H., Scheckel K.G., Dionysiou D.D.: 'Arsenic sorption on TiO 2 nanoparticles: size and crystallinity effects'. Water research (3) Kuzmicheva G.M., Savinkina E.V., Obolenskaya L.N., Belogorokhova L.I., Mavrin B.N., Chernobrovkin M.G., Belogorokhov A.I.: 'Synthesis, characterization, and properties of nanoscale titanium dioxide modifications with anatase and TiO 2 structures'. Crystallography Reports (5) Uzunova-Bujnova M., Dimitrov D., Radev D., Bojinova A., Todorovsky D.: 'Effect of the mechanoactivation on the structure, sorption and photocatalytic 1-24

9 properties of titanium dioxide'. Materials Chemistry and Physics (2-3) Zhang L., Guo X., Li H., Yuan Z., Liu X., Xu T.: 'Separation of trace amounts of Ga and Ge in aqueous solution using nano-particles micro-column'. Talanta Smirnova V.V.: 'Effect of the structure, properties and surface treatment for titanium dioxide sorption activity'. Sovremennue problemu nauki i obrazovanija 2012 (5) 89 (in Russian). 7. Wong Y.C., Szeto Y.S, Cheung W.H., McKay G.: 'Equilibrium studies for acid dye adsorption onto chitosan'. Langmuir (19) Onyago M.S., Kojima Y., Aoyi O., Bernardo E.C., Matsuda H.: 'Adsorbtion equilibrium modeling and solution chemistry dependence of fluoride removal from water by trivalent-cation-exchanged zeolite F-9'. J. Coll.Int. Sc (3) Zhang L., Zhu Y., Li H., Liu N., Liu X., Guo X.: 'Kinetic and thermodynamic studies of adsorption of gallium(iii) on nano-tio 2 '. Rare Metals (1)

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