Palladium(II) sequestration by natural and synthetic chelating agents

Palladium belongs to the so called “Platinum group elements” (PGE), and it is normally present at very low concentration in the environment. In the last twenty years, there has been an increasing PGE demand in different fields such as medicine, electronics, jewellery and car industry. Moreover, palladium (and other PGE) is broadly used as catalyst in a wide number of reactions. The high catalytic properties of PGE favoured their use in the production of catalytic converters. Unfortunately, this caused a noticeable increasing of PGE concentration in the environment, mainly constituted by platinum, with a particular accumulation in urban areas. However, since 1993 platinum has been increasing…

Investigation on magnesium hydroxide recovery from real bitterns

Potentials for critical raw materials recovery from Mediterranean saltworks bitterns

Minerals extraction from seawater brines is currently regarded as the most practical approach to reduce European dependency from the import of many Critical Raw Materials. The technical feasibility of such approach has been widely demonstrated in several different research and development projects but the economic sustainability has always been found to depend on the local demand for sodium chloride, which is always the most abundant product of the extraction. Starting from this crucial node, the SEArcularMINE project has investigated the possibility to use the residual brines originated by sea-salt extraction in traditional saltworks, regarded as an already well-established marketplace. Th…

Speciazione di Sn(II) in presenza di leganti O-donatori di interesse biologico

Lo stagno è il ventiquattresimo elemento più abbondante nella crosta terrestre ed ha il più elevato numero di isotopi stabili (dieci). Generalmente questo elemento non viene annoverato tra gli inquinanti più importanti, in quanto lo stagno inorganico non risulta particolarmente tossico. Tuttavia, molti dei suoi sali lo sono. Infatti, la corrosione di contenitori in stagno da parte di cibi e bevande acide ha causato in passato numerosi intossicazioni ad opera di composti solubili di questo metallo. Inoltre, la bioalchilazione dello stagno inorganico porta alla formazione di composti ancor più nocivi per l’ambiente. Per tali ragioni, per esempio, la Food Standards Agency del Regno Unito ha im…