Comparative evaluation of dithiocarbamate-modified cellulose and commercial resins for recovery of precious metals from aqueous matrices

Economic and ecological issues motivate the recovery of precious metals (PMs: Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt) from secondary sources. From the viewpoint of eco-friendliness and cost-effectiveness, biomass-based resins are superior to synthetic polymer-based resins for PM recovery. Herein, a detailed comparative study of bio-sorbent dithiocarbamate-modified cellulose (DMC) and synthetic polymer-based commercial resins (Q–10R, Lewatit MonoPlus TP 214, Diaion WA30, and Dowex 1X8) for PM recovery from waste resources was conducted. The performances and applicability of the selected resins were investigated in terms of sorption selectivity, effect of competing anions, sorption isotherms, impact of temperature, and PM extractability from industrial wastes. Although the sorption selectivity toward PMs in acidic solutions by DMC and other resins was comparable, the sorption efficiency of commercial resins was adversely affected by competing anions. The sorption of PMs fitted the Langmuir model for all the studied resins, except Q–10R, which followed the Freundlich model. The maximum sorption capacity of DMC was 2.2–42 times higher than those of the resins. Furthermore, the PM extraction performance of DMC from industrial wastes exceeded that of the commercial resins, with a sorption efficiency ≥99% and a DMC dosage of 5–40 times lower.