ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the technology for separation and recovery of metals from aqueous solution employing adsorption, cementation, electrowinning, ion exchange, membrane separations, precipitation, and solvent extraction. Twenty two literature citations were obtained in the Chemical Abstracts search for applications of adsorption separation for copper and nickel from industrial wastes. Metals presented included Ag, As, Al, Be, Cd, Cu, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pd, Sb, Sn, Tl, Th, U, and Zn. Chemical and physical adsorption separation removal from dilute aqueous solutions on the low-cost, non regenerable adsorbents may prove to be an attractive cleanup process for the non precious metals. If the adsorbents are in any measure regenerable it is probably because the attachment mechanism is an ion exchange process. Concentration from dilute solution on substrates which can be destroyed by combustion can be an attractive alternative for recovery of the precious metals from dilute solutions.
