The Interactions between Water-soluble Polymer and Copper (II ) in the Foam Treatment

Poly (methylacrylate) (PMA) prepared by radical polymerization of methylacrylate was allowed to react with 2-aminoethanol (AE) to obtain water soluble polymer “PMA-AE”. This polymer reacts with copper (II) ion in dilute aqueous solution to form complex which has a good foaming ability. The visible spectra of this complex slightly change with pH. The best removal effect of copper was obtained by foam treatment at pH 6 where the complex exhibits its absorption maximum, More than 85% of copper was recovered selectively at the same pH when (PMA-AE) was used for the foam treatment of a model leaching solution of manganese nodules.