Removal of heavy metal ions using polydithiocarbamate resin supported on polystyrene

Abstract

Polydithiocarbamate chelating resin supported on XAD-2 type polystyrene was synthesised by emulsion polymerisation of styrene and its subsequent reaction with carbondisulphide in alkaline medium. The polydithiocarbamate resin was characterised by elemental analysis, thermal studies and IR studies. The sorbent was evaluated for its analytical characteristics and the optimum sorption conditions for metals like Cu, Ni, Pb, Fe, As and Mn were determined in order to assess the efficiency of the resin. The sorption capacity was considerably higher when compared to other conventional chelating polymers. The sorption kinetics was fairly rapid as apparent from the loading t 1 / 2 values, indicating a better accessibility of the chelating sites.