Precious metal recovery using poly(tyramine) prepared by radical polymerization with horseradish peroxidase

Abstract

Tyramine was polymerized by an enzymatic reaction with horseradish peroxidase, and the polymer was used in the recovery of precious metals from acidic media. The obtained poly(tyramine) was a macroporous aggregate of particles and had a molecular mass of 1700 Da. In HCl solution, platinum and palladium were selectively adsorbed to the amino group in poly(tyramine). Poly(tyramine) had an adsorption capacity of 0.65 mol/kg for platinum and 0.51 mol/kg for palladium in 5.0 mol/L HCl. These results demonstrate that this polymer could be applied to the treatment of wastewater containing precious metals. © 2012 The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan.