Long Term and Large-Scale Continuous Studies on Zinc(II) Sorption and Desorption on Hybrid Pectin-Guar Gum Biosorbent

Optimization of LDO-Pectin Synthesis Conditions for the Removal of Metals from Wastewater: A Comparison of Response Surface Methods and Taguchi Approaches

With the continuous growth of industrialization, the presence of heavy metals (HMs) in the environment has become a critical issue, necessitating cost-effective and efficient techniques for their removal. The present study aimed to determine the optimal preparation conditions for synthesizing pectin (PC) as a polymer sorbent, combined with Magnesium (Mg) Aluminum (Al) layered double oxides (LDOs), using a fast and facile co-precipitation method. Both the response surface method (RSM) and the Taguchi method were employed to optimize the influence of key independent variables, including the molar ratio of cations Mg:Al, the ratio of pectin to LDO, and the temperature for removing multiple elements from wastewater. The results indicated that RSM is more accurate and examines more interactions, while Taguchi reduces the number of tests and is more economical than RSM. However, both statistical methods showed good potential for predicting the adsorption capacity (Qe) of HMs. The optimal preparation conditions were identified as a molar ratio of 3:1, a ratio of pectin to LDO of 7% w/w, and a temperature of approximately 600 °C. In conclusion, the application of RSM and Taguchi approaches was found to be feasible and effective in optimizing the preparation conditions of modified LDO, which can be utilized as a potential adsorbent for removing multiple elements from wastewater.

Green and Superior Adsorbents Derived from Natural Plant Gums for Removal of Contaminants: A Review

The ubiquitous presence of contaminants in water poses a major threat to the safety of ecosystems and human health, and so more materials or technologies are urgently needed to eliminate pollutants. Polymer materials have shown significant advantages over most other adsorption materials in the decontamination of wastewater by virtue of their relatively high adsorption capacity and fast adsorption rate. In recent years, "green development" has become the focus of global attention, and the environmental friendliness of materials themselves has been concerned. Therefore, natural polymers-derived materials are favored in the purification of wastewater due to their unique advantages of being renewable, low cost and environmentally friendly. Among them, natural plant gums show great potential in the synthesis of environmentally friendly polymer adsorption materials due to their rich sources, diverse structures and properties, as well as their renewable, non-toxic and biocompatible advantages. Natural plant gums can be easily modified by facile derivatization or a graft polymerization reaction to enhance the inherent properties or introduce new functions, thus obtaining new adsorption materials for the efficient purification of wastewater. This paper summarized the research progress on the fabrication of various gums-based adsorbents and their application in the decontamination of different types of pollutants. The general synthesis mechanism of gums-based adsorbents, and the adsorption mechanism of the adsorbent for different types of pollutants were also discussed. This paper was aimed at providing a reference for the design and development of more cost-effective and environmentally friendly water purification materials.

Boron Removal by Sorption on Modified Chitosan Hydrogel Beads

An excess concentration of boron in irrigation and drinking water can negatively affect the yield of plants and the human nervous system, respectively. To meet the recommended levels, hybrid biosorbent hydrogel beads based on chitosan and manganese (II-IV) were employed for the removal of boron from aqueous media. The results showed that the biosorbent effectively removed boric acid from the aqueous medium at neutral pH over a sorption time of 2 h and the liquid/hydrogel ratio of 20 mL/g, achieving a maximum sorption capacity near 190 mg/g. The modeling of the sorption equilibrium data indicated that the Freundlich isotherm equation gave the best fit out of the isotherm models examined. A pseudo-second-order model was found to best describe the sorption kinetics. The favorable attachment of manganese to the chitosan structure enabled the sorption of boron and was confirmed by FTIR, RS, XRD, SEM and ICP-OES methods. Boron desorption from the spent biosorbent was successfully achieved in three cycles using a NaOH solution. In general, the results of this research indicate that this method is one of the possibilities for improving water quality and may contribute to reducing pollution of the aquatic environment.

Phosphorylation of Guar Gum/Magnetite/Chitosan Nanocomposites for Uranium (VI) Sorption and Antibacterial Applications

The development of new materials is needed to address the environmental challenges of wastewater treatment. The phosphorylation of guar gum combined with its association to chitosan allows preparing an efficient sorbent for the removal of U(VI) from slightly acidic solutions. The incorporation of magnetite nanoparticles enhances solid/liquid. Functional groups are characterized by FTIR spectroscopy while textural properties are qualified by N2 adsorption. The optimum pH is close to 4 (deprotonation of amine and phosphonate groups). Uptake kinetics are fast (60 min of contact), fitted by a pseudo-first order rate equation. Maximum sorption capacities are close to 1.28 and 1.16 mmol U g-1 (non-magnetic and magnetic, respectively), while the sorption isotherms are fitted by Langmuir equation. Uranyl desorption (using 0.2 M HCl solutions) is achieved within 20-30 min; the sorbents can be recycled for at least five cycles (5-6% loss in sorption performance, complete desorption). In multi-component solutions, the sorbents show marked preference for U(VI) and Nd(III) over alkali-earth metals and Si(IV). The zone of exclusion method shows that magnetic sorbent has antibacterial effects against both Gram+ and Gram- bacteria, contrary to non-magnetic material (only Gram+ bacteria). The magnetic composite is highly promising as antimicrobial support and for recovery of valuable metals.

Preparation of pectin/poly(m-phenylenediamine) microsphere and its application for Pb2+ removal

Novel pectin/poly(m-phenylenediamine) (P/PmPDA) microspheres with different content of PmPDA were prepared by assembling PmPDA on the surface of pectin microsphere. The successful preparation was confirmed by the results of Fourier Transform Infrared spectra (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis. Compared with pectin microsphere, the Pb²⁺ adsorption performance of P/PmPDA microspheres was significantly improved. The results of batch adsorption experiments were in good agreement with the Langmuir isotherm model for Pb²⁺ adsorption, indicating the adsorption was monolayer. The maximum adsorption capacity of Pb²⁺ was found to be 390.9 mg/g. The kinetic adsorption process was well described by the pseudo-second-order model and chemical adsorption dominated the adsorption process. The potential mechanisms of Pb²⁺ adsorption were speculated as ion exchange and chelation, which were supported by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The P/PmPDA microspheres showed good recyclability after five adsorption/desorption cycles. All these results indicated the potential of P/PmPDA microspheres for removing Pb²⁺.

The Use of Lanthanum Ions and Chitosan for Boron Elimination from Aqueous Solutions

Boron is an essential element for plants and living organisms; however, it can be harmful if its concentration in the environment is too high. In this paper, lanthanum(III) ions were introduced to the structure of chitosan via an encapsulation technique and the obtained hydrogel (La-CTS) was used for the elimination of the excess of B(III) from modelling solutions. The reaction between boric acid and hydroxyl groups bound to the lanthanum coordinated by chitosan active centres was the preponderant mechanism of the bio-adsorption removal process. The results demonstrated that La-CTS removed boric acid from the aqueous solution more efficiently than either lanthanum hydroxide or native chitosan hydrogel, respectively. When the initial boron concentration was 100 mg/dm³, the maximum adsorption capacity of 11.1 ± 0.3 mg/g was achieved at pH 5 and the adsorption time of 24 h. The successful introduction of La(III) ions to the chitosan backbone was confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy. Due to its high-performance boron adsorption-desorption cycle and convenient form, La-CTS seems to be a promising bio-adsorbent for water treatment.