Highly efficient removal of copper ions from water by using a novel alginate-polyethyleneimine hybrid aerogel

Min Wang; Qi Yang; Xiuqin Zhao; Zhuqing Wang

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.07.160

Highly efficient removal of copper ions from water by using a novel alginate-polyethyleneimine hybrid aerogel

Int J Biol Macromol. 2019 Oct 1:138:1079-1086. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.07.160. Epub 2019 Jul 26.

Authors

Min Wang¹, Qi Yang¹, Xiuqin Zhao¹, Zhuqing Wang²

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, China.
² College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 31356951
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.07.160

Abstract

In this study, a novel alginate-polyethyleneimine hybrid aerogel (Alg-PEI) that could remove Cu²⁺ from wastewater was prepared by using a simple one-step synthesis and vacuum freeze-drying technology. As-prepared Alg-PEI exhibited high affinity and selectivity toward Cu²⁺ and could take up 95.1% of the Cu²⁺ in a 0.1 mM Cu²⁺ solution. The selectivity coefficients of Alg-PEI for Cu²⁺ exceeded 10 even in the presence of Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Cr³⁺, or Cd²⁺. The maximum adsorption capacity of the Alg-PEI for Cu²⁺ reached 214.4 mg/g, which is higher than that of most reported Cu²⁺-sorbents. Moreover, Alg-PEI could be regenerated by simple acid-washing and used repeatedly. Analysis of the adsorption mechanism of the aerogel revealed that Alg-PEI binds Cu²⁺ mainly through ion exchange and chemical coordination effects.

Keywords: Copper ion; Polyethyleneimine; Sodium alginate.

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Alginates / chemistry*
Copper / chemistry*
Gels / chemistry*
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Ions / chemistry*
Kinetics
Molecular Structure
Polyethyleneimine / chemistry*
Water / chemistry*

Substances

Alginates
Gels
Ions
Water
Copper
Polyethyleneimine