Stable immobilized amine sorbents for REE and heavy metal recovery from liquid sources
AssigneeUnited States Department of Energy
InventorsMcmahan L. Gray, Brian W. Kail, Walter C. Wilfong, Qiuming Wang
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Abstract
Materials, methods of making, and methods of using a stable and regenerable immobilized amine sorbents for rare earth element and heavy metal recovery from liquid sources. Embodiments of the invention relate to the novel combination of different polyamines, primarily polyethylenimine Mw=800 (PEI800), and an epoxysilane, namely 2-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyltrimethoxysilane (ECTMS), covalently immobilizing theREE and heavy metal-adsorbing amine sites within low cost, porous silica particles.
Claims23
A stable and regenerable immobilized amine sorbent, characterized by:
- covalently immobilized polyamine covalently attached to a silica surface by an epoxysilane, wherein the covalently immobilized polyamine includes polyethylenimine having a molecular weight of 800, wherein the epoxysilane is 2-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyltrimethoxysilane.
A method of making a stable and regenerable immobilized amine sorbent composition, comprising;
- selecting an amount of different polyamines and epoxysilane;
- and
- combining the selected amounts of different polyamines with the epoxysilane, forming the sorbent,
- wherein the polyamines are covalently attached to a silica surface by an epoxysilane,
- wherein the polyamines include polyethylenimine having a molecular weight of 800, and
- wherein the epoxysilane is 2-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyltrimethoxysilane.
The method of 4, further comprising aminosilane.
A method of using a stable and regenerable sorbent material to capture a rare earth element from a source, the sorbent material characterized by:
- covalently immobilized polyamine covalently attached to a silica surface by an epoxysilane, wherein the covalently immobilized polyamine includes polyethylenimine having a molecular weight of 800,
- wherein the epoxysilane is 2-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyltrimethoxysilane;
- the method comprising:
- exposing the sorbent material to the liquid source;
- and
- capturing at least one rare earth element in the source.
A method of using a stable and regenerable sorbent material to capture an element from a source, the sorbent material characterized by:
- covalently immobilized polyamine covalently attached to a silica surface by anepoxysilane, wherein the covalently immobilized polyamine includes polyethylenimine having a molecular weight of 800,
- wherein the epoxysilane is 2-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyltrimethoxysilane;
- the method comprising:
- exposing the sorbent material to the liquid source;
- and
- capturing at least one naturally occurring element in the source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.