Separation and recovery of gold(III) from base metal ions using melamine–formaldehyde–thiourea chelating resin

Melamine–formaldehyde–thiourea (MFT) chelating resin has been prepared. Au3+ ions uptake behavior and selectivity of the chelating resin were investigated by both batch and column methods. MFT resin showed higher affinity toward Au3+ compared with base metal ions, Cu2+ and Zn2+. The highest Au3+ uptake values were obtained at pH 2 and Au3+ adsorption capacity of the resin was calculated as 48 mg Au3+/g resin (0.246 mmol Au3+/g resin) by batch method. It was concluded that Au3+ ions could be selectively concentrated from the solution including Cu2+ and Zn2+ base metal ions by column method.