Sorption of Denatonium to Kaolinite Clay from Water

Abstract

Denatonium benzoate is an aversive agent proposed for use in certain anti-freeze formulations to reduce poisoning events of pets and humans. Unfortunately, the sorption properties of denatonium cations to soil and/or soil components have not been investigated. In this paper, denatonium sorption to reference kaolinite clay under varied pH, ionic strength, and cation identity is described. The data clearly indicate that the nature of the background electrolyte cation modulates denatonium sorption with enhanced sorption occurring the presence of potassium ions versus minimal sorption occurring in a calcium chloride electrolyte at each pH studied as estimated using Dubinin-Raduskevich (D-R) isotherms. The effect of background electrolyte concentration on sorption was consistent with an ion-exchange process wherein the sorption capacity increased with decreased background electrolyte concentration. An interesting and unexpected observation of increased sorption capacity (estimated using the D-R model) with decreasing pH was observed in 10 mM CaCl2 in contrast to an observed and expected increase in denatonium sorption to kaolinite in the presence of either of 10 mM NaCl or 10 mM KCl. Estimates of the mean sorption energy using D-R isotherms ranging from 2.65 kJ/mol in 10 mM CaCl2 at pH 4 to 4.68 kJ/mol at pH 10 suggesting that the sorption process is not exclusively ion-exchange.