Abstract
Cellulose fibrous sorbent (Chelest Fiber IRY) containing aminopoly carboxylic groups has been used for the preconcentration of indium from aqueous solution in both batch and column experiments. Indium was quantitatively (above 98%) adsorbed on to the Chelest Fiber IRY in the pH range of 2-5.2 (studied pH range 1.2-5.2). The retention of indium on the Chelest Fiber IRY was not affected by the flow rate of sample solution up to 30 mL/min. Based on this result, the solution passed through the column at a flow rate of 20 mL/min. The extracted indium was stripped from the column using 20 mL of 1 mol/L HCl at a flow rate of 4.0 mL/min. The sorption capacity was found to be 0.36±0.01 mmol/g for indium. The adsorbent is chemically stable and adsorption-desorption cycles could be repeated at least 50 times. A high concentration factor of 200 could be achieved. The method could be successfully applied to the separation and determination of indium in solar salt samples.
