Innovative hybrid mineral-organic composites for the remediation of polluting metal ions
Hosting laboratories : CIRIMAT (Toulouse) and Institut Charles Gerhardt de Montpellier (ICGM), Montpellier
1- Context and objectives
The depollution of industrial wastewaters containing various metal
cations is a major issue. Retention by sorption is a key approach but it
requires performing adsorbents for the efficient and fast
decontamination of multicomponent solutions. In this context, the
original approach envisioned in this PhD work aims at elaborating hybrid
multifunctional solids combining chelating polymers and optimized
calcium phosphate substrates (stability, performances) to address actual
industrial needs.
2- PhD program
The objective of this PhD thesis is to combine the performances of
mineral and organic absorbents by developing hybrid mineral-organic
systems. The challenge is to associate the two components to develop
materials allowing for the efficient elimination of target pollutants
(fast sorption kinetics, high sorption amounts more or less selective
versus the target wastewaters), while remaining environment-friendly
(low-energy process, bio-inspired components…). We will associate
apatitic calcium phosphates (expertise of the CIRIMAT lab) with
chelating copolymers in link with a detailed physicochemical
investigation (specialties of ICGM).
While the calcium phosphate component will confer mechanical support to
the whole system as well as a porous network aiming at increasing the
contact surface with the surrounding liquid medium, the chelating
polymer moiety will ensure the retention of metal cations, aiming
effective depollution kinetics in conditions close to actual industrial
use. The association between the mineral and organic components will be
provided by functionalization of the polymers by functional groups known
to adsorb efficiently on apatitic surfaces. A challenge will be to
combine the two components without being deleterious to their respective
properties, to ensure the stability of the hybrid materials and to
maintain an optimal retention efficacy of the chelating organic
functions in the supported form. The shaping and costs of the hybrid
materials will also have to be optimized.
The materials will be evaluated on all the criteria to envision in the
depollution process, first in terms of sorption capacity and kinetics,
especially via ITC calorimetry (Isothermal titration Calorimetry,
expertise of ICGM) with the view to identify the most efficacious
systems. A first challenge will be in obtaining an efficient retention
of various metal cations. A second challenge will consist in
demonstrating the non-alteration of the polymer performances once
supported on a calcium phosphate matrix. The hybrid materials will be
characterized (before and after sorption) by different techniques
including XRD, IR/Raman, SEM and chemical titrations. We will then
explore the possible recyclability of the sorbents.
Keywords : depollution, chelating polymers, calcium phosphates, processing/shaping, adsorption
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