Scientists at the Siberian Federal University have synthesized new sorbents for the detection and extraction of palladium, capable of highly selectively extracting metal from acidic media. The resulting sorbents are efficiently consumed and have a relatively low cost. The research work was carried out within the framework of one of the priority areas of activity of the REC “Yeniseiskaya Sibir” – advanced production technologies.
Palladium is widely used in industry due to a special combination of its physico-chemical properties: good ductility and malleability, low melting point, hardness and rolling ability. It is used to make catalysts for the automotive and petrochemical industries.
The basis of the sorbents synthesized by scientists is silicon oxide (silica), the advantages of which are accessibility and the ability to give it various properties. To make silica “sensitive” to palladium, the researchers fixed special chemical groups on the surface of the grains that interact exclusively in acidic environments only with palladium and gold.
“We dissolve the ore and concentrates in acid mixtures and then use our sorbent to isolate only palladium from the solution. Thus, we concentrate it and eliminate the interfering influence of the main components of the studied samples,” said Elena Borodina, co–author of the scientific study, senior researcher at the research engineering center “Kristall” of the Siberian Federal University.