Transport of cadmium and iron through a carboxylic membrane based on a poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐divinyl benzene) system

The transport of cadmium and iron through a poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐divinyl benzene) carboxylic ion‐exchange membrane was investigated with a system containing HCl as the receiver solution and CdCl₂ or FeCl₃ as the feed solution. Transport of the ions through the membrane depended on the H⁺ concentration in the receiver solution and the metal concentration in the feed solution. The rate of transfer for cadmium was about 35% higher than that for iron under the same conditions (0.5 mol/dm³ of HCl, 0.1 mol/dm³ of CdCl₂ or FeCl₃, and 5 h of dialysis). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 705–707, 2005     

Extraction separation of Ir(III) and Rh(III) with Cyanex 923 from chloride media: a possible recovery from spent autocatalysts

Liquid–liquid extraction of Ir(III) and Rh(III) with Cyanex 923 from aqueous hydrochloric acid media has been studied. Quantitative extraction of Ir(III) was observed in the range of 5.0–8.0 mol dm^?3 HCl with 0.1 mol dm^?3 Cyanex 923, while Rh(III) was extracted quantitatively in the range of 1.0–2.0 mol dm^?3 HCl with 0.05 mol dm^?3 Cyanex 923 in toluene along with 0.2 mol dm^?3 SnCl₂. The Ir(III) was back extracted with 4.0 mol dm^?3 HNO₃ quantitatively from the organic phase while Rh(III) was stripped with 3.0 mol dm^?3 HNO₃. The extraction of Rh(III) with Cyanex 923 was not quantitative without use of SnCl₂. However in the extraction of Ir(III) a negative trend was observed in the presence of SnCl₂. Varying the temperature of extraction showed that the extraction reactions of both the metal ions are exothermic in nature, and the stoichiometric ratio of Ir(III)/Rh(III) to Cyanex 923 in organic phase was found to be 1:3. The methods developed were applied to the recovery of these metal ions from a synthetic solution of similar composition to that from leaching of spent autocatalysts in 6.0 mol dm^?3 HCl. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Copper(II) extraction by 4‐chloro‐N‐8‐quinolinylbenzenesulfonamide dissolved in toluene

4‐Chloro‐N‐8‐quinolinylbenzenesulfonamide (HL) was synthesised and characterised by elemental analysis, IR and FT‐Raman spectroscopy. The synthesised reagent dissolved in toluene was used for copper(II) extraction from 1.0 mol dm^?3 KNO₃. The experimental extraction data have been treated graphically and numerically and the complexes CuL₂ and Cu(NO₃)L have been proposed as being responsible for the metal extraction. Values of the corresponding stoichiometric extraction constants have been determined. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Solvent extraction of some metal ions with di‐2‐methylnonylphosphoric acid into heptane

Di‐2‐methylnonylphosphoric acid (HA) as an extractant was investigated for the extraction of divalent metal ions into heptane at an aqueous ionic strength of 0.10 mol dm^?3 (NaClO₄) and at 25 °C. The extraction ability of metal complexes decreased in the order Cd(II) ≈ Mn(II) > Cu(II) > Co(II) > Ni(II). The metal complexes extracted were found to be all monomeric species for these metal ions using a slope analysis method. The curve fitting method was also applied to analyze the types of metal complexes extracted: MnA₂3HA and MnA₂4HA for manganese(II), CdA₂3HA and CdA₂4HA for cadmium(II), CuA₂2HA and CuA₂3HA for copper(II), CoA₂3HA and CoA₂4HA for cobalt(II) and NiA₂4HA and NiA₂5HA for nickel(II). Further, the extraction constants for the extracted metal complexes were evaluated. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Cobalt removal from waste‐water by means of supported liquid membranes

BACKGROUND: Supported liquid membranes (SLM) are an alternative technique to remove and recover metals from diluted process solutions and waste‐water. In the present work, the removal of Co(II) from a synthetic CoSO₄ solution containing initial amounts of cobalt(II) in the range 100–200 ppm (0.1–0.2 g dm^?3) has been studied on a pilot scale. By performing batch equilibrium experiments, the optimal settings, i.e. the composition of the organic phase, the pH of the feed, the type and concentration of the stripping agent were determined. RESULTS: It is shown that the equilibrium characteristics of a synergistic extractant mixture containing di‐2‐ethyl‐hexylphosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and 5‐dodecylsalicylaldoxime (LIX 860‐I) are superior to D2EHPA. Both hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid have been evaluated as stripping solutions in liquid–liquid extraction tests and as the receiving phase in a SLM configuration. Although equilibrium tests showed no difference in stripping characteristics between both chemicals, it was observed that in a SLM configuration the stability of the system when hydrochloric acid is used is poor. With a commercially available SLM module (Liqui‐Cel Extra‐Flow 4 × 28) having a surface area of 19 m², a steady Co(II) flux of 0.140 gm^?2h^?1 has been obtained at influent concentrations of cobalt between 100 and 200 ppm with 3 mol dm^?3 sulfuric acid as stripping phase. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained show that a supported liquid membrane containing a synergistic mixture of LIX 860‐I and D2EHPA gives the possibility of recovering cobalt from dilute solutions. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Comparative study of the determination of platinum by extraction with Cyanex 923 and Cyanex 471X from bromide media

The extraction equilibrium study of Pt(IV) was carried out with Cyanex 923 and Cyanex 471X in toluene from hydrobromic acid media to investigate their extraction capacity, since they have different donor atoms, ‘O’ and ‘S’. Their distribution equilibria were studied as a function of extractant concentration, diluents, hydrobromic acid concentration and the effect of temperature on extraction. Pt(IV) was quantitatively extracted with 0.1 mol dm^?3 Cyanex 923 in toluene from 5.0–8.0 mol dm^?3 HBr media and was stripped with 4.0 mol dm^?3 perchloric acid. However it was also quantitatively extracted with 0.1 mol dm^?3 Cyanex 471X (with 0.1 mol dm^?3SnCl₂) in toluene from 6.0–8.0 mol dm^?3 HBr media and was stripped with 1.0 mol dm^?3 stabilized sodium thiosulfate solution at pH 9.0. The slope analysis method indicated metal complex species of 1:1 for Pt(IV) with Cyanex 923 and Cyanex 471X in toluene from HBr media. These methods were successfully applied to the analysis of platinum in real samples. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

EQUILIBRIUM OF PALLADIUM(II) EXTRACTION WITH 1-OCTYLTHEOBROMINE

ABSTRACT

1-Octyltheobromine was synthesized to study extraction equiliburium of palladium(II). To evaluate its efficiency as an extractant, the extraction of palladium(II) from acidic chloride media was studied at 303K using toluene. The extraction of palladium(II) from hydrochloric acid media by 1-octyltheobromine exhibited high selectivity for palladium(II) over the platinum group metals. The stoichiometrics of the extraction of palladium(II) with 1-octyltheobromine was elucidated by examining the effects of hydrochloric acid, chloride ion, hydrogen ion, extractant and metal ion concentrations on its extractability. Palladium(II) was found to be extracted as two molecules of 1-octyltheobromine reacted with PdCl₂ as follows: PdCl₂ +{2}¯RN ? ¯PdCl₂(RN)₂. The extraction equilibrium constant was K=2.72?×?10⁸(mol?dm^?3)^?2. The complex of 1-octyltheobromine with PdCl₂ was confirmed by mass spectrometric analysis. The stripping of palladium(II) was performed over 60% by a single batchwise treatment with an aqueous solution of thiourea or ammonia.     

Solvent extraction of Zn(II) by Cyanex 923 and its application to a solid‐supported liquid membrane system

The extraction of zinc(II) by Cyanex 923 (phosphine oxides mixture) in Solvesso 100 from hydrochloric acid solution has been investigated. The extraction reaction is exothermic. The numerical analysis of metal distribution data suggests the formation of ZnCl₂·L₂,HZnCl₃·2L and H₂ZnCl₄·2L(L = ligand) in the organic phase with formation constants K_ext = 4.1,5.6 × 10⁹ and 6.7 × 10⁹, respectively. The results obtained for zinc(II) distribution have been implemented in a solid‐supported liquid membrane system. The influence of source phase stirring speed, membrane composition and metal concentration on zinc transport have been investigated. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Adsorption of cadmium and zinc from aqueous solution on natural and activated bentonite

The adsorption of cadmium and zinc ions on natural bentonite heat-treated at 110°C or at 200°C and on bentonite acid-treated with H₂SO₄ (concentrations: 0·5 mol dm^?3 and 2·5 mol dm^?3), from aqueous solution at 30°C has been studied. The adsorption isotherms corresponding to cadmium and zinc may be classified respectively as H and L types of the Giles classification which suggests the samples have respectively a high and a medium affinity for cadmium and zinc ions. The experimental data points have been fitted to the Langmuir equation in order to calcualte the adsorption capacities (X_m) and the apparent equilibrium constants (K_a) of the samples; X_m and K_a values range respectively for 4·11 mg g^?1 and 1·90 dm³ g^?1 for the sample acid-treated with 2·5 mol dm^?3 H₂SO₄ [(B)-A(2·5)] up to 16·50 mg g^?1 and 30·67 dm³ g^?1 for the natural sample heat-treated at 200°C [B-N-200], for the adsorption process of cadmium, and from 2·39 mg g^?1 and 0·07 dm³ g^?1, also for B-A(2·5), up to 4·54 mg g^?1 and 0·45 dm³ g^?1 [B-N-200], for the adsorption process of zinc. X_m and K_a values for the heat-treated natural samples were higher than those corresponding to the acid-treated ones. The removal efficiency (R) has also been calculated for every sample; R values ranging respectively from 65·9% and 8·2% [B-A(2·5)] up to 100% and 19·9% [B-N-200], for adsorption of cadmium and zinc.     

Effect of an electric field on the transport of Th(IV) in the presence of Eu(III) and U(VI) through supported liquid membrane containing di‐2‐ethylhexylphosphoric acid

This paper investigates the transport of Th(IV) ions in nitric acid media through a supported liquid membrane (SLM) impregnated with di‐2‐ethylhexylphosphoric acid (HDEHP) in kerosene using an electric field. The transport was carried out in a three compartment cell fitted with microporous cellulose nitrate (SLM) and cation exchange membrane (Nafion). The effect of different parameters including nitric acid concentration in the feed solution, HDEHP concentration in the membrane, and HCl concentration were studied. The optimal conditions for Th(IV) transport were 0.1 mol dm^?3 HDEHP, 10^?3 mol dm^?3 HNO₃ in the feed solution, 1 mol dm^?3 HCl in compartment 2 and 1 mol dm^?3 HCl in compartment 3 at 25 °C. Under the optimal conditions of Th(IV) transport the recovery factor after 90 min was 0.25 without applying an electrostatic field, compared with 0.9 when the electric field was applied. The effect of electric current on the flux of Th(IV) through the membrane was also studied. The flux increased as the current density increased from 10 to 30 mA cm^?2 to reach a maximum value at 30 mA cm^?2 (8 × 10^?9 g eq cm^?2 s^?1). The transport percentages of 0.3 g dm^?3 Th(IV) in the presence of 0.1 g dm^?3 Eu(III) and 1 g dm^?3 U(VI) were 66, 84 and 15%, respectively. The determined selectivities of U(VI)–Th(IV) and Th(IV)–Eu(III) were 0.12 and 0.3, respectively, after 90 min. Therefore, the order of selectivity of this system is Eu(III) > Th(IV) > U(VI). © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Coupled transport of Tl3+ through triethanolamine–xylene–polypropylene supported liquid membranes

This study has been carried out for the uphill transport of Tl³⁺ across triethanolamine (TEA)–xylene based supported liquid membrane. The mechanism of transport of Tl³⁺ has been found to be based on the association of Tl³⁺ with six chloride ions to form anions, which associate with three protonated triethanolamine molecular cations (HOH₄C₂)₃N⁺H at the feed side of the membrane face and form a complex. The complex is extracted into the liquid membrane organic phase, from where it diffuses towards the stripping side of membrane due to the concentration gradient and is dissociated due to alkaline conditions present in the stripping phase. It is also confirmed that proton addition to triethanolamine takes place at the N site and not at the –OH sites. 5.26 mol/dm³ of TEA in xylene in membrane phase, 1.0 mol/dm³ of HCl in feed and 1.0 mol/dm³ of NaOH in stripping phase have been found to be the optimum concentrations for the extraction of Tl³⁺. The method developed for transport of Tl³⁺ has been successfully applied to remove Tl³⁺ from coal ash acid leach liquors along with nickel, chromium and zinc ions.     

An alternative for pre‐treatment of high‐strength raw whey wastewaters: submerged membrane bioreactors

The direct treatment of whey wastewater at various sludge ages (10–75 days) and high biomass concentration (above 50 g mixed liquor suspended solid (MLSS) dm^?3) in a submerged membrane bioreactor (sMBR) is described. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) of raw whey varied in the range of 60 and 90 g dm^?3. After feeding the sMBR with raw whey, effluent COD reduced to about 20 g dm^?3. The effluent was free of suspended solids and total coliform bacteria. Total phosphorus (TP) and orthophosphate (Ortho‐P) in the influent varied between 204 and 880 mg dm^?3 and between 180 and 620 mg dm^?3, and effluent TP and Ortho‐P reduced to 113 and 109 mg dm^?3, respectively. The ammonium and nitrate concentrations in the influent were in the ranges of 3.4 and 120 mg dm^?3 and 10 and 503 mg dm^?3, respectively. The effluent ammonium concentration varied between 17.6 and 198 mg dm^?3 and nitrate concentrations varied between 0.9 and 69 mg dm^?3. Effluent turbidity varied between 23 and 111 FAU (Formazin Attenuation Unit). The results show that sMBR is an effective pre‐treatment system for high‐strength agro‐wastewaters because of its ability to reduce the pollution load. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Graft copolymerization of acrylamide onto cellulose in presence of comonomer using ceric ammonium nitrate as initiator

The graft copolymerization of acrylamide (AAm) and ethylmethacrylate (EMA) monomers onto cellulose has been carried out using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as initiator in presence of nitric acid at (25 ± 1)°C and varying feed molarity from 7.5 × 10^?2 mol dm^?3 to 60.0 × 10^?2 mol dm^?3 at fixed feed composition (f_AAm = 0.6). The graft yield (%G_Y) has shown a linear increasing trend upto a feed molarity of 37.5 × 10^?2 mol dm^?3. The composition of grafted copolymer chains was found to be constant (F_AAm = 0.56) during feed molarity variation but shown variations with feed composition (f_AAm) and reaction temperature. The grafting parameters have shown increasing trends up to 7.5 × 10^?3 mol dm^?3 concentration of ceric (IV) ions and decreased on further increasing the concentration of ceric (IV) ions beyond 7.5 × 10^?3 mol dm^?3. The IR and elemental analysis data were used to determine the composition of grafted chains (F_AAm) and reactivity ratio of acrylamide (r₁) and ethylmethacrylate (r₂) comonomers. The reactivity ratio for acrylamide (r₁) and ethylmethacrylate (r₂) has been found to be 0.7 and 1.0 respectively, which suggested for an alternate arrangement of average sequence length of acrylamide (mM?₁) and ethylmethacrylate (mM?₂) in grafted chains. The rate of graft copolymerization of comonomers onto cellulose was found to be proportional to square concentration of comonomers and square root to the concentration of ceric (IV) ions. The energy of activation (ΔEa) of graft copolymerization was found to be 9.57 kJ mol^?1 within the temperature range of 20–50°C. On the basis of experimental findings, suitable reaction steps have been proposed for graft copolymerization of selected comonomers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 2546–2558, 2006     

Leaching and electrochemical recovery of copper,lead and tin from scrap printed circuit boards

The recovery of copper, lead and tin from scrap printed circuit boards (PCBs) has been achieved using a combination of leaching, electrochemical ion exchange and electrodeposition. A simple aqueous nitric acid stripping solution, with the concentration range of 1–6 mol dm^?3, has demonstrated the potential for selective extraction of copper and lead from the PCBs. Precipitation of tin as H₂SnO₃ (metastannic acid) occurred at acid concentrations above 4 mol dm^?3. Preliminary galvanostatic electrolysis from simulated leaching solutions has investigated the feasibility of electrodeposition of copper and lead at different concentrations of HNO₃. Cathodic lead deposition, particularly at high electrolyte conditions, resulted in poor current efficiency. This was mainly due to dentritic metal formation and subsequent re‐dissolution. An alternative method investigated for recovering the metal values was the simultaneous electrodeposition of copper at the cathode and lead dioxide at the anode. Electrohydrolysis for acid and base regeneration from the spent nitric acid electrolyte has also been investigated. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

A sensing behavior synergistic liquid–liquid extraction and spectrophotometric determination of nickel(II) by using 1-(2ˊ,4ˊ-dinitro aminophenyl)-4,4,6-trimethyl-1,4-dihydropyrimidine-2-thiol: Analysis of foundry and electroless nickel plating waste water

We report the sensing behavior of liquid–liquid extraction of nickel(II), which has been selectively determined from contaminated water samples by a simple UV-visible spectrophotometer. The method is based on synergistic extraction of nickel(II) by 1-(2ˊ,4ˊ-dinitro aminophenyl)-4,4,6-trimethyl-1,4-dihydropyrimidine-2-thiol [2ˊ,4ˊ-dinitro APTPT] with pyridine. Nickel(II) reacts with 2ˊ,4ˊ-dinitro APTPT and forms a green-colored complex at pH 9.2. In addition, the Ni(II) ions were detected with the naked eye with the ligand. The absorbance of the coloured complex was measured at 660 nm and the colored complex is stable for more than 48 h even in the presence of other competing ions. The system obeyed Beer’s law in the concentration range of 5–50 μg mL^?1 of nickel(II) and the optimum range evaluated by Ringbom’s plot method is 10–40 μg mL^?1 with an excellent linearity and a correlation coefficient of 0.999. The molar absorptivity and Sandell’s sensitivity of the extractive species were found to be 1.64 × 10³ dm³ mol^?1 cm^?1 and 0.0585 μg cm^?2 in the presence of pyridine, and 7.4 × 10² dm³ mol^?1 cm^?1 and 0.78 μg cm^?2 in the absence of pyridine, respectively. The composition of nickel(II)-2ˊ,4ˊ-dinitro APTPT-pyridine was established by the slope ratio method, the mole ratio method and Job’s method of continuous variation. It was found that the metal:ligand:synergent (M:L:Sy) ratio is 1:2:2. To assess the precision and accuracy of the developed method, determinations were carried out at n = 5. The relative standard deviation of all measurements does not exceed 0.16%. Excellent selectivity was found towards the Ni(II) ion due to a specific complex formation between the Ni(II) ion and the organic ligand. In the extraction of Ni(II), several affecting factors, including the solution pH, ligand concentration, equilibrium time, initial Ni(II) ion concentration and foreign ions, were investigated and the applicability of the method was checked by the analysis of synthetic mixtures and alloys. The developed method was successfully used for the determination of nickel(II) from waste water effluents from the foundry region and the nickel plating industry (Kolhapur city). The results obtained by the developed method were also confirmed by AAS. We claimed from this study that Ni(II) could be successfully determined by the spectrophotometric method developed in the current work. The present work is obviously much simpler than the conventional method comprising multistep processes.     

Solvent Impregnated Resins containing Quinizarin: Preparation and Application to Batch‐mode Separation of Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) in Aqueous Media Prior to the Determination by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Abstract

Preparation of a high stable solvent impregnated resins (SIR) containing 1,4‐dihydroxyanthraquinone (quinizarin, QNZ) was proposed using Amberlite XAD‐16 beads. The SIR was applied for the separation of Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) in aqueous media prior to the determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The optimum conditions for batch mode extraction of the above metal ions were investigated and it was found that the sorption of these metal ions from a 1000‐ml aliquots of the solution on 1.5 g of the SIR can be carried out quantitatively at pH of 9.5 and an ionic strength of 0.01 mol dm^?3. The sorbed metal ions were subsequently eluted with 10 ml 2 mol dm^?3 HCl and the eluent was subjected to FAAS. Beer's law was obeyed in the range of 9×10^?9 ?1×10^?7 mol dm^?3 for Cd(II) and Zn(II), and 9×10^?8 ?1×10^?6 mol dm^?3 for Cu(II) and Ni(II) contents. Significant interference was not observed due to the various ions, which could be found in natural water samples. The practical applicability of the method was confirmed using a synthetic certificated reference material (CRM) and spiked natural water samples.     

The application of reticulated vitreous carbon rotating cylinder electrodes to the removal of cadmium and copper ions from solution

The removal of cadmium and cupric ions from 0.50 mol dm^?3 Na₂SO₄ at pH 2 and 298 K was studied using a reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) rotating cylinder electrode (RCE). The cathode was a 100 pores per linear inch porosity grade with a radius of 0.5 cm, a height of 1.2 cm and a volume of 0.94 cm 3 . The cathode was rotated a constant speed of 1500 rev min^?1. A rate enhancement of approximately three times is reported for the removal of cupric ions from a chloride solution (0.05 mol dm^?3 cupric ions in 0.1 mol dm^?3 NaCl at pH 7) when compared with the analogous reaction in acid sulfate solutions (0.50 mol dm^?3 Na₂SO₄ at pH 2). SEM images of the metal deposit morphology allow the morphology of the metal deposits to be characterised. The deposits showed incomplete coverage of the RVC surface and appreciable roughness developed with time due to dendritic growths. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Reactive extraction of succinic acid using supercritical carbon dioxide

Reactive extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) and tri-n-octylamine (TOA) was evaluated as a separation method of succinic acid from an aqueous solution. The reactive extraction of succinic acid was performed at varying initial acid concentrations in aqueous solution (0.07–0.45 mol?dm^?3), temperature (35–65°C) and pressure (8–16 MPa). The succinic acid separation was conducted in both batch mode and semi-continuous mode. The highest reactive extraction efficiency of approx. 62% was obtained for the process conducted in semi-continuous mode at 35°C and 16 MPa for the initial acid concentrations in aqueous phase of 0.39 mol?dm^?3.     

Studies concerning the growth of cadmium dendrites. II. Morphology in acidic media

The morphology of cadmium deposits formed during potentiostatic deposition onto etched cadmium substrates in a range of cadmium sulphate solutions with 0.5 mol dm^?3 sulphuric acid as supporting electrolyte has been investigated. The deposit morphology and induction time was found to be both concentration and overpotential dependent. At 10^?1 mol dm^?3 CdSO₄ for an overpotential range ?20 to ?80 mV, large crystalline aggregates were observed and large dendrites resulted after longer deposition times. The induction time was less than 1 min and the current time curves linear, indicating instantaneous rather than progressive initiation. At 10^?2 mol dm^?3 CdSO₄ the morphology varied from fine, 2D-fern dendrites atη=?75 mV to needle dendrites atη=?150 mV. The morphology at 10^?3 mol dm^?3 CdSO₄ closely resembled that at 10^?2 mol dm^?3 CdSO₄ but, showed finer structural detail with less filling in of the main skeletal structure. The induction time was an order of magnitude greater at 10^?3 mol dm^?3 CdSO₄ than at 10^?2 mol dm^?3 CdSO₄, and the time taken to grow dendrites of the same length was also increased.     

In vitro cadmium removal from human serum by Cibacron Blue F3GA–thionein‐complex conjugated affinity membranes

A new membrane affinity biosorbent carrying thionein has been developed for selective removal of cadmium ions from human serum. Microporous poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) membranes were prepared by photopolymerization of HEMA. The pseudo dye ligand Cibacron Blue F3GA (CB) was covalently immobilized on the pHEMA membranes. Then, the cysteine‐rich metallopeptide thionein was conjugated onto the CB‐immobilized membrane. The maximum amounts of CB immobilized and thionein conjugated on the membranes were 1.07 µmol cm⁻² and 0.92 µmol cm⁻², respectively. The hydrophilic pHEMA membrane had a swelling ratio of 58% (w/w) with a contact angle of 45.8 °. CB‐immobilized and CB‐immobilized–thionein‐conjugated membranes were used in the Cd(II) removal studies. Cd(II) ion adsorption appeared to reach equilibrium within 30 min and to follow a typical Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The maximum capacity (q _m) of the CB‐immobilized membranes was 0.203 (µmol Cd(II)) cm⁻² membrane and increased to 1.48 (µmol Cd(II)) cm⁻² upon CB–thionein‐complex conjugation. The pHEMA membranes retained their cadmium adsorption capacity even after 10 cycles of repeated use. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry