Efficiency of macroporous poly(vinylphosphoramidic acid) resin adsorbing of selected elements and determination of trace dysprosium, holmium, erbium, and ytterbium in waste water by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

A macroporous poly(vinylphosphoramidic acid) resin is synthesized through the reaction of macroporous poly(vinylethylenediamine) resin with formaldehyde and phosphorus acid. The adsorption efficiency of the resin to selected elements is determined. An ICP-OES method has been established for the resin enrichment and separation of trace Dy, Ho, Er and Yb ions in waste water. The ability of the Na-form resin to adsorb Dy, Ho, Er, and Yb ions is far better than the H-form resin. The IR spectra of the resin before and after adsorbing Dy are shown. The mechanism of resin adsorption of Dy is explored. The results of resin enriched waste water analysis from a smelter plant are 31.0 ng/ml for dy, 41.1 ng/ml for Hl, 20.6 ng/ml for Er and 20.2 ng/ml for Yb ions. The recovery of standard additions of Dy, Ho, Er, and Yb to the waste water is in the range of 97.0-98.5%.