Removal of lanthanum and gadolinium from nitrate medium using Aliquat-336 impregnated onto Amberlite XAD-4

Aliquat-336 in benzene was supported on Amberlite XAD-4 crosslinked polystyrene resin. The use of XAD-4 impregnated with Aliquat-336 resin for removal of lanthanum(III) and gadolinium(III) from nitrate medium was carried out using batch technique. Various parameters affecting the uptake of these metal ions such as contact time, metal ion concentrations, V/m and pH value were separately studied. Effect of temperature on the equilibrium distribution values has been studied to evaluate the changes in standard thermodynamic quantities. A comparison of kinetic models applied to the adsorption rate data was evaluated for Lagergren first order, the pseudo second order and Morris-Weber kinetic models. From the results, both pseudo second order and intraparticle diffusion models were found to best correlate the experimental rate data. The capacity of the impregnated resin for both lanthanum(III) and gadolinium(III) was found to be 4.73 and 4.44 mg/g. From the results, impregnation of Aliquat-336 onto Amberlite XAD-4 provides an efficient impregnated resin for the removal of lanthanum(III) and gadolinium(III) from 0.1M nitrate aqueous solution.