Adsorption Mechanisms of Heavy Metal Ions from Drinking Water by Weakly Basic Anion Exchange Resins

Heavy metal micro-contaminants can be removed from water sources such as rivers and lakes using variations of conventional treatment technologies. Weakly basic anion exchange resins offer the best ability to remove trace amounts of heavy metals with high selectivity. This paper discusses how weakly basic resins adsorb heavy metals using two different approaches. The removal of mercury, cadmium, and lead ions is based on the fundamental theory of coordination chemistry. The mechanism is not ion exchange but extractive adsorption of heavy metal salts. However, the marked preferential adsorption of chromate by weakly basic anion exchange can be explained using the traditional theory of ion exchange. A lab-scale study produced positive results for the removal of trace amounts of heavy metal ions from drinking water.