Sulfonated peat prepared by the reaction of peat with sulfuric acid-boron trifluoride adduct at 100°C for 90 min, was used as an adsorbent for methylmercury chloride in aqueous solution. The sulfur content of the sulfonated peat was about 4 %.
After shaking 100ml of 1 ppm aqueous methylmercury solution (pH 5) with 100mg of sulfonated peat for 24 hr at room temperature, the concentration of methylmercury was decreased to 13 ppb, which was less than 1/4 of the value obtained by use of the activated carbon.
It was found that sulfonated peat had a good adsorptive ability for methylmercury chloride from aqueous solution over a wide range of pH, and the presence of 100 times as much foreign metal ions as methylmercury such as calcium, cadmium (II), zinc and iron (III) did not interfere with the adsorption of methylmercury.
Sulfonated peat adsorbed methylmercury can be regenerated by treatment with 4 N hydrochloric acid.
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