Comparison of adsorption performance of nanocomposite materials of whey protein nanofibrils, polycaprolactone and activated carbon for mercury removal

Abstract

This study reports the preparation and comparison of the mercury adsorption properties of nanocomposite materials based on whey protein. The adsorption capacity of the nanocomposites of whey protein fibrils (WPF) with activated carbon (AC) and WPF with polycaprolactone (PCL) were compared and analyzed. These materials were characterized by SEM-EDX, FTIR, and XPS. The maximum mercury adsorption capacities were 74.4, 54.7, and 16.7 mg/g for AC, WPF-AC, and WPF-PCL nanocomposites, respectively, at 30 °C and pH 5. The adsorption capacity increased with the temperature, and this thermodynamic behavior confirmed the endothermic nature of the mercury adsorption on tested materials. The results reported in this study open the possibility to use WPF to remove mercury from polluted water, which is a promising low-cost raw material to prepare a wide variety of nanocomposite materials for different industrial and environmental applications.