Separation and Subsequent Determination of Iron in Aqueous and Non-Aqueous Solutions Using Modified Polymer

Iron has been eliminated from different media using Chloromethyl polystyrene polymer (CMPS-polymer) has been modified with 2-carboxy-2-hydroxy-5-sulfoformazyl benzene (Zincon) in batch and column modes. The obtained modified polymer was characterized by partial elemental analysis and infrared spectra. The extraction isotherm was applied at different pH’s. Fe (III) was sorbed from aqueous solution at pH 2 - 7 and stripped using different concentrations of HCl. The maximum sorption capacity, the preconcentration factor and the detection limit of Fe (III) ion were 0.946 mmol g-1, 300 and 6.7 ppb, respectively. The loaded zincon-polymer can regenerated for at least 50 cycles. The utility of the modified polymer was tested in water, ash coal, drugs, vitamin, kerosene and oil (food and petroleum) samples and showed RSD value of < 3% reflecting its accuracy and reproducibility. Iron (III) is highly extracted from mixtures containing different metal ions in the presence of thiocyanate and thiosulfate. The polymer is found highly sensitive to Fe (III) than thiocyanate. Iron (II) may be eliminated from iron (III) by controlling the pH. The method is successfully used for the removal of iron from crude phosphoric acid.