Sorption and desorption of quaternary amine cations on clays

Journal Article · Sun Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · Environmental Science and Technology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/es00045a020· OSTI ID:6799107

Zhang, Z Z; Sparks, D L ^[1]; Scrivner, N C ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)
2. DuPont Engineering, Newark, DE (United States)

The authors have studied the sorption and desorption of three quaternary amines, namely, nonyltrimethylammonium, dodecyltrimethylammonium, and hexadecyltrimethylammonium, on homoionic Na- and K-montmorillonite using a titration procedure. More than 99% of all three of the quaternary amine cations studied were sorbed on the montmorillonite when the added amines were less than 70% of the cation-exchange capacity of the montmorillonite. Sorption of quaternary amine cations involves at least two types of reactions, namely, an exchange reaction and the adsorption of amines at nonexchangeable sites. The exchange reaction proceeded almost to completion when Na[sup +] was the exchangeable cation. Exchangeable K[sup +] was much more difficult to replace. The adsorbed quaternary amine cations were not easily desorbed in the presence of 0.1 M NaCl and KCl solutions. In addition, desorption of quaternary amines did not increase with prolonged equilibrium time, up to 180 days. Therefore, it appears that there is good promise in using quaternary amine-modified clays as effective sorbents for removing organic pollutants or mitigating their mobilities in the environment. 26 refs., 5 figs., 6 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 6799107
• Journal Information: Environmental Science and Technology; (United States), Journal Name: Environmental Science and Technology; (United States) Vol. 27:8; ISSN ESTHAG; ISSN 0013-936X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400105* -- Separation Procedures
ADSORPTION
AMINES
AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
CLAYS
DESORPTION
INORGANIC ION EXCHANGERS
ION EXCHANGE CHROMATOGRAPHY
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
MATERIALS
MONTMORILLONITE
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
QUATERNARY COMPOUNDS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SORPTION
SORPTIVE PROPERTIES
SURFACE PROPERTIES