Adsorption of copper cyanide on chemically active adsorbents

An inorganic chemically active adsorbent (ICAA), SG(1)-TEPA (tetraethylenepentaamine)-propyl, is developed for removal, recovery, and recycling of copper cyanide from industrial waste streams. Equilibrium studies are executed to determine and model adsorption of the copper cyanide complex from aqueous solutions in a batch and packed column. It appears that adsorption is dependent on anionic copper cyanide species and the basicity of the ligand. Aqueous-phase equilibrium modeling shows that monovalent (Cu(CN)₂^-), divalent (Cu(cN)₃^2-), and trivalent (Cu(CN)₄^3-) species of copper cyanide exist in the solution, depending on the pH and the concentration of total cyanide ions. Batch adsorption data are modeled using a modified multicomponent Langmuir isotherm which includes aqueous-phase speciation and basicity of the SG(1)-TEPA-propyl. This developed model is applied with a mass balance equation to describe the adsorption of copper cyanide complexes in a packed column.