Thioether‐Functionalized Corn Oil Biosorbents for the Removal of Mercury and Silver Ions from Aqueous Solutions

Heavy‐metal contamination is one of the most important environmental problems faced in the world, particularly in developing countries. Metals such as silver and mercury from drinking water, food, and air sources can accumulate in living organisms and present significant health concerns. Meanwhile, the demand for these metals in many industries continues to increase. In the present study, thioether‐functionalized corn oil (TFCO) from a photoinitiated thiol‐ene synthesis was utilized to remove Ag+ and Hg2+ ions from an aqueous solution. An aqueous solution containing AgNO3 and Hg[NO3]2 was prepared and contacted directly with TFCO. After vortex mixing for 60 s, the experiment ran for 351 min with the aqueous phase being periodically sampled for the analysis of metal ions (M n+). Results showed that 88.9% of Ag+ and 99.6% of Hg2+ ions were removed from the aqueous phase by the TFCO. Mass balances indicated that the total M n+ concentration in the oil phase was 13.890 g kg−1 under the conditions studied. TFCO exhibited higher selectivity for removing Hg2+ than for Ag+ ions. Analysis of the adsorption kinetics showed that a pseudosecond‐order model may be used to determine the rate of Ag+ ion sorption by the oil phase. The presence of the Hg2+ ions interfered with the adsorption of Ag+ ions from the aqueous solution.