Use of Microwaves to Activate Bentonite in the Processes of Sorption of Nickel Ions from Concentrated Aqueous Solutions

The physicochemical parameters of the process of sorption water purification from compounds of Nickel with clay sorbent in static conditions are studied. The absorption isotherm of ions of this metal from concentrated aqueous solutions on samples of bentonite using ultrahigh-frequency irradiation (microwave) is analyzed. Most correctly, it is described by the linear equation of Langmuir. It is shown that irradiation of this sorbent by microwaves in the process of nickel ion sorting almost 2 times increases the value of the marginal sorption capacity for this metal (in comparison with the method of "stimulation" - preliminary washing of bentonite with pure water under the action of microwaves). The results of the study of spent bentonite by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion and X-ray diffraction analysis indicate that the metal under action of the microwave is deposited on the surface of the bentonite not only in the form of an adsorbed monolayer of ions, but also in the form of a separate crystalline phase, nickel silicate. Changes in the acidity of the medium during sorption purification under the action of microwave are observed: from pH approximate to 5.7 ... 6.5 (before exposure) to pH approximate to 6.7 ... 7.1 (after irradiation). Confirmed assumption about that under the action of microwaves in the aqueous medium there is a partial destruction of the silicate framework of clay sorbents with the release of silicon ions SiO32-. These ions undergo hydrolysis, as a result of which the pH of the solution increases. Also, the direct discontinuity of the Si-O bonds in the near-surface groups equivalent to Si-OH is not excluded, which leads to an increase in the number of "free" hydroxyl groups.