Selective removal of lanthanides from natural waters, acidic streams and dialysate

The increased demand for the lanthanides in commercial products result in increased production of lanthanide containing ores, which increases public exposure to the lanthanides, both from various commercial products and from production wastes/effluents. This work investigates lanthanide (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu, Gd and Lu) binding properties of self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous silica supports (SAMMS™), that were functionalized with diphosphonic acid (DiPhos), acetamide phosphonic acid (AcPhos), propionamide phosphonic acid (Prop-Phos), and 1-hydroxy-2-pyridinone (1,2-HOPO), from natural waters (river, ground and sea waters), acid solutions (to mimic certain industrial process streams), and dialysate. The affinity, capacity, and kinetics of the lanthanide sorption, as well as regenerability of SAMMS materials were investigated. Going from the acid side over to the alkaline side, the AcPhos- and DiPhos-SAMMS maintain their outstanding affinity for lanthanides, which enable the use of the materials in the systems where the pH may fluctuate. In acid solutions, Prop-Phos- and 1,2-HOPO-SAMMS have differing affinity along the lanthanide series, suggesting their use in chromatographic lanthanide separation. Over 95% of 100 μg/L of Gd in dialysate was removed by the Prop-Phos-SAMMS after 1 min and 99% over 10 min. SAMMS can be regenerated with an acid wash (0.5 M HCl) without losing the binding properties. Thus, they have a great potential to be used as in large-scale treatment of lanthanides, lanthanide separation prior to analytical instruments, and in sorbent dialyzers for treatment of acute lanthanide poisoning.