Cyclic desorption based efficacy of polyvinyl alcohol-chitosan variant resins for multi heavy-metal removal

Abstract

The simultaneous removal of Cu, Pb and Fe from water bodies has been targeted in this work with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (low, medium, and high molecular weight) derivative and with cyclic desorption efficacy target. For a varied range of adsorbent loading (0.2–2 g L−1), initial concentration (187.7–563.1 mg L−1 for Cu, 5.2–15.6 mg L−1 for Pb, and 61.85–185.55 mg L−1 for Fe), and resin contact time (5 to 720 min), batch adsorption-desorption studies were conducted. After first adsorption-desorption cycle, the optimum absorption capacity was 6.85 mg g−1 for Pb, 243.90 mg g−1 for Cu, and 87.72 mg g−1 for Fe for the high molecular weight chitosan grafted polyvinyl alcohol resin (HCSPVA). The alternate kinetic and equilibrium models were analyzed along with the interaction mechanism between metal ions and functional groups. The cyclic desorption studies were carried out with simple eluent systems such as HCl, HNO3, H2SO4, KOH, and NaOH. The experiments revealed that the HCSPVA derivative has been an impressive, reusable, and effective sorbent for the mitigation of Pb, Fe, and Cu in complex wastewater systems. This is due to its easy synthesis, excellent adsorption capacity, quick sorption rate, and remarkable regeneration capabilities.