Abstract
Chitosan has several shortcomings that limit its practical application for the adsorption of heavy metals: mechanical instability, a challenging separation and recovery process, and low equilibrium capacity. This study describes the synthesis of a magnetic xanthate-modified polyvinyl alcohol and chitosan composite (XMPC) for the efficient removal and recovery of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. The XMPC was synthesized from polyvinyl alcohol, chitosan, and magnetic Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles. The XMPC was characterized, and its adsorption performance in removing heavy metal ions was studied under different experimental conditions. The adsorption kinetics fit a pseudo-second-order kinetic model well. This showed that the adsorption of heavy metal ions by the XMPC is a chemical adsorption and is affected by intra-particle diffusion. The equilibrium adsorption isotherm was well described by the Langmuir and Freundlich equations. The XMPC reached adsorption equilibrium at 303 K after approximately 120 min, and the removal rate of Cd(II) ions was 307 mg/g. The composite material can be reused many times and is easily magnetically separated from the solution. This makes the XMPC a promising candidate for widespread application in sewage treatment systems for the removal of heavy metals.
Highlights
Published: 10 March 2022As the global population increases and the world becomes more industrialized, water pollution has become a rapidly escalating global environmental problem that threatens the lives of the planet’s inhabitants
Water pollution originates from a variety of sources, and the availability of safe drinking water is of global concern, with the number of detected pollutants increasing, including inorganic anions, dyes, oil spills, and heavy metals
The procedure used to synthesize the xanthate-modified polyvinyl alcohol and chitosan composite (XMPC) is illustrated in Scheme 1
Summary
As the global population increases and the world becomes more industrialized, water pollution has become a rapidly escalating global environmental problem that threatens the lives of the planet’s inhabitants. Water pollution originates from a variety of sources, and the availability of safe drinking water is of global concern, with the number of detected pollutants increasing, including inorganic anions, dyes, oil spills, and heavy metals. Heavy metal ions are water soluble and non-biodegradable and have many environmental, economic, and public health impacts [4,5]. The heavy metals of most concern are toxic heavy metals such as mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), and copper (Cu) [6]. Excessive lead ion content can affect children’s intelligence, including their speaking ability, memory, and concentration. The safe limit for lead ions in drinking water is
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
