TITLE:
Chitosan—The Application of a Natural Polymer against Iron Hydroxide Deposition
AUTHORS:
Simona Schwarz, Christine Steinbach, Dana Schwarz, Mandy Mende, Regine Boldt
KEYWORDS:
Chitosan, Adsorption of Iron- and Sulfate Ions, Iron hydroxide Deposition
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Analytical Chemistry,
Vol.7 No.8,
August
10,
2016
ABSTRACT: As a consequence of mining, heavy metal ions can be exposed to the environment hence contaminate ground water and surface water amongst others. The natural polymer chitosan was proved to be an excellent adsorber material for the effective removal of iron and sulfate ions in batch as well as in column experiments. The adsorption behavior of iron ions, as well as sulfate ions was investigated by utilizing chitosan flakes as a natural adsorbent. The removal was studied using adsorbance measurements, SEM and SEM-EDX. The adsorption capacity of chitosan was determined at different times. The received adsorption capacities for iron ions were very promising with a maximum adsorption capacity of 85 mg/g and a rate of separation of 100%. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained for sulfate ions was 188.8 mg/g and a rate of 80%.