Adsorption behavior of mercury and precious metals on cross-linked chitosan and the removal of ultratrace amounts of mercury in concentrated hydrochloric acid by a column treatment with cross-linked chitosan

Environmental applications of chitosan and its derivatives

Chitosan originates from the seafood processing industry and is one of the most abundant of bio-waste materials. Chitosan is a by-product of the alkaline deacetylation process of chitin. Chemically, chitosan is a polysaccharide that is soluble in acidic solution and precipitates at higher pHs. It has great potential for certain environmental applications, such as remediation of organic and inorganic contaminants, including toxic metals and dyes in soil, sediment and water, and development of contaminant sensors. Traditionally, seafood waste has been the primary source of chitin. More recently, alternative sources have emerged such as fungal mycelium, mushroom and krill wastes, and these new sources of chitin and chitosan may overcome seasonal supply limitations that have existed. The production of chitosan from the above-mentioned waste streams not only reduces waste volume, but alleviates pressure on landfills to which the waste would otherwise go. Chitosan production involves four major steps, viz., deproteination, demineralization, bleaching and deacetylation. These four processes require excessive usage of strong alkali at different stages, and drives chitosan's production cost up, potentially making the application of high-grade chitosan for commercial remediation untenable. Alternate chitosan processing techniques, such as microbial or enzymatic processes, may become more cost-effective due to lower energy consumption and waste generation. Chitosan has proved to be versatile for so many environmental applications, because it possesses certain key functional groups, including - OH and -NH2 . However, the efficacy of chitosan is diminished at low pH because of its increased solubility and instability. These deficiencies can be overcome by modifying chitosan's structure via crosslinking. Such modification not only enhances the structural stability of chitosan under low pH conditions, but also improves its physicochemical characteristics, such as porosity, hydraulic conductivity, permeability, surface area and sorption capacity. Crosslinked chitosan is an excellent sorbent for trace metals especially because of the high flexibility of its structural stability. Sorption of trace metals by chitosan is selective and independent of the size and hardness of metal ions, or the physical form of chitosan (e.g., film, powder and solution). Both -OH and -NH2 groups in chitosan provide vital binding sites for complexing metal cations. At low pH, -NH3 + groups attract and coagulate negatively charged contaminants such as metal oxyanions, humic acids and dye molecules. Grafting certain functional molecules into the chitin structure improves sorption capacity and selectivity for remediating specific metal ions. For example, introducing sulfur and nitrogen donor ligands to chitosan alters the sorption preference for metals. Low molecular weight chitosan derivatives have been used to remediate metal contaminated soil and sediments. They have also been applied in permeable reactive barriers to remediate metals in soil and groundwater. Both chitosan and modified chitosan have been used to phytoremediate metals; however, the mechanisms by which they assist in mobilizing metals are not yet well understood. In addition, microbes have been used in combination with chitosan to remediate metals (e.g., Cu and Zn) in contaminated soils. Chitosan has also been used to remediate organic contaminants, such as oil-based wastewater, dyes, tannins, humic acids, phenols, bisphenoi-A, p-benzoquinone, organo-phosphorus insecticides, among others. Chitosan has also been utilized to develop optical and electrochemical sensors for in-situ detection of trace contaminants. In sensor technology, naturally-derived chitosan is used primarily as an immobilizing agent that results from its enzyme compatibility, and stabilizing effect on nanoparticles. Contaminant-sensing agents, such as enzymes, microbes and nanoparticles, have been homogeneously immobilized in chitosan gels by using coagulating (e.g., alginate, phosphate) or crosslinking agents (e.g., GA, ECH). Such immobilization maintains the stability of sensing elements in the chitosan gel phase, and prevents inactivation and loss of the sensing agent. In this review, we have shown that chitosan, an efficient by-product of a waste biomaterial, has great potential for many environmental applications. With certain limitations, chitosan and its derivatives can be used for remediating contaminated soil and wastewater. Notwithstanding, further research is needed to enhance the physicochemical properties of chitosan and mitigate its deficiencies.

Chitosan membranes as sorbents for trace elements determination in surface waters: chitosan membranes as sorbents for trace elements

PURPOSE

Chitosan membranes (non-crosslinked, crosslinked, and modified with L-cysteine) were evaluated as sorbents prior to electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) determination of total dissolved metal content in surface water samples.

METHODS

Different types of chitosan membranes were prepared in the presence or absence of L-cysteine. Chemical parameters for quantitative sorption/desorption of trace analytes have been optimized.

RESULTS

The optimal pH for Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II) sorption using L-cysteine-modified membrane is between 7 and 8.5 and coincides with typical surface water pH, allowing in situ preconcentration of analytes without any additional water sample pretreatments. Non-crosslinked chitosan membrane could be used for simultaneous sampling, transportation, and laboratory determination of Hg(II). Determination limits (calculated as 10σ) achieved for total dissolved metal contents are: Cd 0.001 μg/L, Cu 0.02 μg/L, Ni and Pb 0.05 μg/L, and relative standard deviations were 10-15% for all elements at concentration level of 0.05-2 μg/L. The determination limit achieved for Hg(II) was 0.012 μg/L and relative standard deviations at concentration levels 0.015-2 μg/L were within 9% and 15%.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-crosslinked chitosan membrane was proposed as an efficient sorbent for Hg(II) preconcentration and determination in river and lake waters; L: -cysteine modified chitosan membrane was recommended for solid phase extraction of Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II) from surface (lake, river, and sea) waters. The application of chitosan membranes as adsorbents for in situ field preconcentration of the analytes and their subsequent determination by CVAAS and ETAAS in water samples has been demonstrated.

Synthesis of novel chitosan resin derivatized with serine diacetic acid moiety and its application to on-line collection/concentration of trace elements and their determination using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry

A novel chelating resin functionalized with serine diacetic acid moiety was synthesized by using chitosan as base material, and applied to the collection/concentration of trace elements in environmental water samples, followed by the determination using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES). The synthesized resin, crosslinked chitosan serine diacetic acid (CCTS-SDA), showed good adsorption behavior toward trace amounts of Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni, V, Ga, Sc, In, and Th in a wide pH range. Additionally, rare earth elements also can be retained on the resin at neutral pH region. The adsorbed elements can be easily eluted with 1 mol L(-1) of nitric acid, and their recoveries were found to be 90-100%. The CCTS-SDA was packed in a mini-column, which was then installed in a computer-controlled auto-pretreatment system (Auto-Pret System) for on-line trace elements collection and determination with ICP-AES. Experimental parameters which related to the improvement of sensitivity and reproducibility were optimized. The limits of detection (LOD) for 13 elements were found to be in sub-ppb level. The proposed method with CCTS-SDA resin was successfully applied to the determination of trace elements in river water samples. The method was validated by determining a certified reference material of river water, SLRS-4.

Thiourea catalysis of MeHg ligand exchange between natural dissolved organic matter and a thiol-functionalized resin: a novel method of matrix removal and MeHg preconcentration for ultratrace Hg speciation analysis in freshwaters

Ultratrace analysis of dissolved MeHg in freshwaters requires both dissociation of MeHg from strong ligands in the sample matrix and preconcentration for detection. Existing solid phase extraction methods generally do not efficiently adsorb MeHg from samples containing high concentrations of natural dissolved organic matter. We demonstrate here that the addition of 10-60 mM thiourea (TU) quantitatively releases MeHg from the dissolved matrix of freshwater samples by forming a more labile complex (MeHgTU+) that quantitatively exchanges MeHg with thiol-functionalized resins at pH approximately 3.5 during column loading. The contents of these columns were efficiently eluted with acidified TU and MeHg was analyzed by Hg-TU complex ion chromatography with cold-vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry detection. Routinely more than 90% of MeHg was recovered with good precision (average relative standard deviation of 6%) from natural waters-obtained from pools and saturated sediments of wetlands and from rivers-containing up to 68.7 mg C L-1 dissolved organic matter. With the preconcentration step, the method detection limit of 0.29 pg absolute or 0.007 ng L-1 in 40-mL samples is equivalent to that of the current state-of-the- art as practiced by skilled analysts. MeHg in 20-50-mL samples was completely trapped. On the basis of our knowledge of the chemistry of the process, breakthrough volume should depend on the concentrations of TU and H+. At a TU concentration of 12 mM breakthrough occurred between 50 and 100 mL, but overall adsorption efficiency was still 85% at 100 mL. Formation of artifactual MeHg is minimal; only about 0.7% of ambient MeHg is artifactual as estimated from samples spiked with 4 microg L-1 HgII.

Mechanism of gold adsorption by persimmon tannin gel

Gold adsorption by persimmon tannin (PT) gel from a solution containing hydrogen tetrachloroaurate(III) was examined. A flow-rate examination in a column system indicated the reduction of Au(III) ion to Au(0). XRD patterns clarified the existence of Au(0) on the gel which adsorbed gold. The gel could also adsorb colloidal Au(0) prepared independently. A model consisting of ligand exchange, Au(III) reduction to Au(0), and resulting Au(0) adsorption by PT gel was presented for the gold adsorption mechanism.