Applying electronic microscopy to determine the microstructure and absorption capacity of a bun-based sorbent in relation to heavy metals

Abstract

The authors have made an assessment of the absorption capacity of a new sorbent based on the bun of the technical “Surskaya” hemp variety in relation to heavy metal ions: copper (II), chromium (III) and chromium (VI), using scanning electronic microscopy. It has been established that in the process of absorption, the bun surface morphology changes, namely, the number of micropores decreases. The use of special detectors has allowed to perform an elemental analysis of the surface of the studied samples. According to the data obtained, it can be seen that hemp bun absorbs both copper cathions (II) and sulfur in a sulphate ion form from 0.1 M of CuSO₄ solution. The content of sulphur has increased 13 times as compared with the original bun. The studied samples of the hemp bun are 3 times more actively sorbing trivalent chlorine (19.8 wt.%) from solutions than hexavalent chlorine (6.6 wt.%).