Adsorption removal of boron in aqueous solutions by amine-modified tannin gel

A tannin gel (TG) synthesized from condensed tannin molecules has a remarkable ability to adsorb various metal ions in aqueous solutions. In the present study, the adsorption removal of boron in solutions at various pHs and temperatures has been examined using the TG and the amine-modified tannin gel (ATG) prepared with ammonia treatment of the TG. The adsorption amounts of boron for the TG and the ATG were relatively small and almost constant below pH 7, whereas the boron adsorption amounts increased with increasing pH in the range of pH above 7. Considering that in aqueous solutions above pH 7, the mole fraction of boric acid decreases while that of tetrahydroxyborate ion increases with increasing pH, the boron adsorption onto both gels takes place probably through the chelate formation of tetrahydroxyborate ion with the hydroxy and the amino groups in the gels. Besides, the adsorbability of the ATG for boron was higher than that of the TG due to the stable coordination bond between boron and nitrogen of the amino group in the ATG. The adsorption kinetics were adequately described by the pseudo-second order kinetic equation while the adsorption isotherms followed both the Langmuir and the Freundlich equations. The boron adsorbability of both the TG and the ATG at low boron concentration were comparable or fairly good compared with other adsorbents.

► Tannin gels can effectively adsorb boron in aqueous solutions.
► Amine modification of tannin gel leads to an increase in boron adsorbability.
► Possible adsorption mechanism is chelate formation between boron and tannin gels.