Wilson, Joseph; Philip, Joseph Y. N.; Mdoe, James E. G.
Description:
This work was aimed at synthesizing Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) based polymer particles for adsorption of
Cr(III) ions from aqueous solutions. Natural CNSL was used as a starting material in synthesizing amino pentadecylphenols
(APP). This was achieved through isolating anacardic acid from the CNSL via calcium anacardate
procedure, followed by hydrogenation of the alkenyl side chains, and subsequently decarboxylating the product
to form 3-pentadecylphenol, which was then nitrated and reduced to a mixture of APP. APP were co-polymerized
with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) to form poly(APP-co-EGDMA) particles. The chemical
structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by Fourier Transform IR and 1H-NMR. The co-polymer
particles were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to establish their morphological
properties. The prepared co-polymer particles were found to have -NH loading of 46 mmol/g and a maximum
adsorption capacity for Cr(III) ions of 16 mg per g of dry polymer particles. The spent polymer particles were
recoverable and reusable.