Effective sorption of strontium and cobalt ions from aqueous solutions using strong acid polystyrene gel cation exchange resin

This article examined reducing the hazardous effects of Sr(II) and Co(II) using a sodium-based purolite C100 cation exchange adsorbent. The sorption behaviour of Sr(II) and Co(II), including the impact of time, pH, initial concentrations, and temperature. The results reveal that purolite C100 has a fast equilibrium time and follows pseudo-2nd-order kinetics. The saturation capacity has high values of 190.5 and 182.1 mg g−1 for Sr(II) and Co(II), respectively. The Langmuir isotherm model is more applicable than other isotherm models. Negative Gibbs energy values demonstrated the excellent feasibility and spontaneity of the sorption process. Positive enthalpy readings indicate that this process was endothermic. Positive entropy values demonstrated that the disorder between the solid and liquid phases was enhanced during adsorption. Desorption of Sr(II) and Co(II) from the loaded purolite C100 was done by KCl (99.2%) and CaCl2 (99.3%), respectively. The recycling results indicated that the purolite C100 should be reused for repeated sorption-desorption regeneration cycles up to 14 cycles, with a low reduction in the uptake percentage. The excellent recycling results reveal the applicability of the purolite C100 to be used as an effective cation exchange adsorbent for the sorption of Sr(II) and Co(II) from aqueous media.