Sorption properties of the nanostructured powder of MgO produced from bischofite

Magnesium oxide is used as adsorbent, catalyst and material for decontamination of chemicals and toxic substances. This is important for water and gas purification. In this work mesoporous magnesium oxide was prepared from bischofite water solutions by easy and cheap wet chemistry method. It is established that the nanostructured mesoporous powder of magnesium oxide is an effective sorbent of heavy metal ions in aqueous media. The possibility of the increasing adsorption capacity of MgO by chemical activation with magnesium chloride has been studied. It was revealed that in the presence of chloride ions the adsorption capacity of MgO powder increases by 20-30 % with respect to the heavy metal ions. That means magnesium oxide can be considered as a practically significant material for purification of bischofite from heavy metal impurities.