Fabrication of a novel polyvinylpyrrolidone/abietic acid hydrogel by gamma irradiation for the recovery of Zn, Co, Mn and Ni from aqueous acidic solution

Abstract

A sustainable hydrogel from polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/abietic acid (AA) was prepared by gamma irradiation and was implanted for the removal of Co, Ni, Zn and Mn from aqueous acidic solution. The characterization of PVP/AA hydrogel investigated by water absorbency, gel content, SEM-EDX, XRD, and FTIR which indicated that bio-sorbent composite hydrogel networks are more advantageous than conventional preparation techniques. Batch results indicate that the highest uptake percentage was obtained at absorbed dose 30 kGy and pH = 3. The maximum adsorption capacity of PVP/AA reached 32, 32.5,19 and 32.5 mg.g⁻¹ for Zn(II), Co(III), Ni (III) and Mn(II) ions, respectively. The change in the values of free energy (ΔG) and enthalpy (ΔH) confirm the spontaneous nature of the adsorption process. The desorption of the investigated metal ions was achieved with 1 M HNO₃ and found to be 97%, 98%, 70% and 60%, which indicates that the desorption process takes the sequence: Co > Ni > Zn > Mn.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Polyvinylpyrrolidone
• abietic acid
• hydrogel
• radiation
• nickel
• manganese

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo, Egypt for the fruitful cooperation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.