Russian scientists, in collaboration with colleagues from France, have developed a new material for ultra-efficient removal of toxic copper ions from water. According to the developers, it outperforms activated carbon by 14 times and can remove 99% of copper from water within two hours, the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) press service told Sputnik.
The effective alternative to activated carbon can be produced at room temperature from silica and glue in a single step, and the material requires no additional treatment. The production of the new sorbent uses minimal resources: water, electricity, and chemicals, the RSF added.
Currently, copper removal relies on membrane filtration or ion-exchange resins, which can be insufficient and require expensive reagents and complex equipment. Copper concentrations above regulatory limits in wastewater not only expose enterprises to multimillion-ruble fines but also pose a threat to ecosystems, the RSF explained.
“Copper is one of the most toxic heavy metals and is widely used in the production of electrical cables and wires, mechanical engineering, and construction. Copper levels in water can exceed the standard (1 milligram per liter) due to inadequate water treatment in industrial regions,” the RSF statement said.
When the new material is used in copper-containing water, the metal precipitates on the sorbent surface as insoluble compounds, which remain firmly fixed to the carrier.
“Raising the temperature from room temperature (around 25 °C) to 40 °C improves copper removal, allowing the sorbent to be used for treating hot industrial effluents in metallurgy and the chemical industry. The process is most effective in acidic and neutral environments, where it removes 99% of copper,” said one of the developers, leading engineer of the Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Ecology at Daghestan State University, Shanaz Ammaev, according to the RSF.
Kamil Rabadanov, senior researcher at the Analytical Center for Shared Use of the Daghestan Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that in the future, scientists plan to adapt the sorbent for the extraction of other metals — mercury, cadmium, and lead — as well as radioactive atoms.
The work was carried out with the support of the Russian Science Foundation.
