1. A method comprising:
exposing a fluid sample comprising a metal to a chalcogenide compound having the formula (AxBx\u2032)MyQz, where A is an alkali cation or an alkylammonium cation; B is an alkaline earth cation; M is Sn, Zn, P, Cu or Sb; and Q is S or Se, wherein the values of x, y and z can be the same or different; x, x\u2032 and y can range, independently, from 0 to 9, provided that if one of x and x\u2032 is zero, the other is not; and z can range from 1 to 25, whereby the chalcogenide compound absorbs the metal; and
removing the absorbed metal from the fluid sample.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal is at least one metal ion that undergoes ion exchange with the chalcogenide compound, and further wherein the at least one metal ion is selected from the group consisting of ions of Cs, Sr, Hg, Pb, Cd, Co, Ni, Cu, Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, and Tl.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal is a radionuclide ion.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal is an elemental metal.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the metal is mercury.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the fluid sample comprises a liquid hydrocarbon.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the metal is mercury and the liquid hydrocarbon is petroleum or crude oil.
8. The method of claim 4, wherein the fluid sample comprises natural gas.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluid sample comprises both ionic and elemental metal and further wherein ionic and elemental metal are removed simultaneously from the fluid sample.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the chalcogenide compound has the formula AxMyQz, wherein A is an alkali cation, x and y are in the range from 1 to 9, and z is in the range from 1 to 25.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein x is 1 or 2, M is Sn or Sb; y is 2, 4 or 8; and z is in the range from 6 to 23.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the chalcogenide compound has a formula selected from the group consisting of A2Sn4S9, A2Sn2S5, A2Sn3S7, and A2Sb4S7, and A is selected from the group consisting of K, Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the metal comprises Cs or Sr radionuclide ions.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the chalcogenide compound has the formula BxMyQz, wherein x and y are in the range from 1 to 9 and z is in the range from 1 to 25.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein x is 1 or 2, M is Sn or Sb, y is 2 or 4, and z is in the range of 5 to 25.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the chalcogenide compound has the formula (AxBx\u2032)MyQz, where x, x\u2032, and y are in the range from 1 to 9 and z is in the range from 1 to 25.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein x is 4, x\u2032 is 2, M is Sn or Sb, y is 4, and z is 12.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein at least 90 percent by weight of the metal is removed from the fluid sample.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein at least 98 percent by weight of the metal is removed from the fluid sample.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein the chalcogenide is selected from the group consisting of A2Sn4Sz, BSnSz, and A4B2Sn4S12, where x is in the range from 4 to 25.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A composition comprising a compound having the following formula: (SiO2)x(OH)yMzSaF:
wherein M is at least one of the following metal or metalloid cations: boron, magnesium, aluminum, calcium, titanium, vanadium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, zirconium, molybdenum, palladium, silver, cadmium, tin, platinum, gold, and bismuth; wherein S is a sulfur-based species selected from at least one of the following: sulfide salts, dithiocarbamates, polymer-based dithiocarbamates, and polysulfide salts; wherein F optionally exists and said F is at least one of the following: a functionalized organosilane, a sulfur-containing organosilane, an amine-containing organosilane, and an alkyl-containing organosilane at a surface area coverage of 0.01-100%; and wherein the molar ratio of yx is equal to 0.01-0.5, the molar ratio of xz is equal to 3-300, and the molar ratio of az is 1-5.
2. A composition comprising a compound having the following formula: (SiO2)15.Cu1S5, wherein S is a sulfur-based species selected from at least one of the following: sulfur, sulfide salts, dithiocarbamates, polymer-based dithiocarbamates, and polysulfide salts.
3. The composition of claim 1, further comprising an aqueous-based slurry wherein the compound comprises 3% to 15% by weight in the aqueous based slurry.
4. The composition of claim 1, further comprising a wet cake form wherein the compound comprises 15% to 40% by weight in the wet cake form.
5. The composition of claim 1, further comprising a powder form wherein the compound comprises 40% to 99% by weight in the powder form.
6. The composition of claim 4, wherein the compound has a particle size of 5 to 200 \u03bcm containing aggregated nanoparticles ranging from 3 to 500 nm.
7. The composition of claim 4, wherein the compound has a surface area of 30 m2g to 800 m2g.
8. The composition of claim 4, wherein the compound has a pore volume of 0.3 ccg to 2.0 ccg.
9. A product produced by filtering an aqueous-based material from a composition comprising a compound containing the following formula (SiO2)x(OH)yMzSaF in the aqueous-based material: wherein M is at least one of the following metal cations: boron, magnesium, aluminum, calcium, titanium, vanadium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, zirconium, molybdenum, palladium, silver, cadmium, tin, platinum, gold, and bismuth; wherein S is a sulfur-based species selected from at least one of the following: sulfide salts, dithiocarbamates, polymer based dithiocarbamates, and polysulfide salts; wherein F optionally exists and said F is at least one of the following: a functionalized organosilane, a sulfur-containing organosilane, an amine-containing organosilane, and an alkyl-containing organosilane at a surface area coverage of 0.01-100%; wherein the molar ratio of yx is equal to 0.01-0.5, the molar ratio of xz is equal to 3-300, and the molar ratio of az is 1-5; and
wherein the compound comprises 3% to 15% by weight in the aqueous-based material.
10. A product produced from drying a composition at a temperature of 100\xb0 C. to 350\xb0 C., wherein said composition comprises a compound containing the following formula (SiO2)x(OH)yMzSaF in an aqueous medium: wherein M is at least one of the following metal or metalloid cations: boron, magnesium, aluminum, calcium, titanium, vanadium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, zirconium, molybdenum, palladium, silver, cadmium, tin, platinum, gold, and bismuth; wherein S is a sulfur-based species selected from at least one of the following: sulfide salts, dithiocarbamates, polymer-based dithiocarbamates, and polysulfide salts; wherein F optionally exists and said F is at least one of the following: a functionalized organosilane, a sulfur-containing organosilane, an amine-containing organosilane, and an alkyl-containing organosilane at a surface area coverage of 0.01-100%; and wherein the molar ratio of yx is equal to 0.01-0.5, the molar ratio of xz is equal to 3-300, and the molar ratio of az is 1-5.
11. The composition of claim 1 further comprising a compound having the following formula: (SiO2)15(OH)y.Cu1S5.