Comparative Study Regarding Efficiency Of Magnetite And Zirconium Hydroxide For Antimony Removal From Aqueous Solutions

In this paper are analysed several approaches with the goal of removing non-radioactive antimony on selective media. In the first part are presented some dissolving tests of metallic antimony in LiOH solutions which were performed at different oxygen concentrations. For antimony removal from aqueous solutions have been studied a magnetite (Fe₃O₄) powder and a zirconium hydroxide (Zr(OH)₄) powder. The efficiency of these adsorption media has been highlighted after the quantitative analyses of Sb performed at the Inductively Coupled Plasma Optic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The temperature and pH of the solutions were also discussed and some studies have shown that the solution pH had an important role regarding the efficiency of magnetite and zirconium hydroxide for antimony removal. Tests have shown that lowering the pH value of the solutions, both magnetite powder and zirconium hydroxide powder were able to remove a much higher quantity of antimony from the samples. (author).