Highly cost-effective and high-strength hydrogels as dye adsorbents from natural polymers: chitosan and cellulose

Author(s): Hu Tu ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Yi Yu ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Jiajia Chen ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Xiaowen Shi ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Jialin Zhou ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Hongbing Deng ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵ , Yumin Du ¹ ^, ² ^, ³ ^, ⁴ ^, ⁵

Publication date (Electronic): 2017

Journal: Polymer Chemistry

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)

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Abstract

Cost-effective chitosan/REC/cellulose hydrogels with high-strength are used for highly efficient dye adsorption.

Abstract

Search for cost-effective and high-strength dye adsorbents has become an urgent problem in wastewater treatment. Natural polymers such as chitosan and cellulose are low-cost and can be fabricated as hydrogels for dye adsorption, but these hydrogels usually have weak strength. Here, novel high-strength and highly cost-effective hydrogels with a high capacity of dye adsorption were prepared with chitosan and cellulose. The chitosan/cellulose hydrogels could be knotted and twisted without fracture and could be restore rapidly after compression. These features showed that the hydrogels had good elasticity, high strength and excellent resilience. Also, the incorporation of rectorite into hydrogels could increase the thermal stability and strength of composite hydrogels. Subsequently, the adsorption capacity of hydrogels to Congo Red was investigated: chitosan was the main functional material for adsorption and rectorite participated in dye adsorption as well, but cellulose supported the structure. Furthermore, the adsorption process fitted closely with the Freundlich model, and was best described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The hydrogels were biodegradable and could be easily collected after adsorption. These environmental friendly hydrogels could be promising candidates for dye removal in the future.

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Most cited references 47

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Remediation of dyes in textile effluent: a critical review on current treatment technologies with a proposed alternative.

T. Robinson, G McMullan, R. Marchant … (2001)

The control of water pollution has become of increasing importance in recent years. The release of dyes into the environment constitutes only a small proportion of water pollution, but dyes are visible in small quantities due to their brilliance. Tightening government legislation is forcing textile industries to treat their waste effluent to an increasingly high standard. Currently, removal of dyes from effluents is by physio-chemical means. Such methods are often very costly and although the dyes are removed, accumulation of concentrated sludge creates a disposal problem. There is a need to find alternative treatments that are effective in removing dyes from large volumes of effluents and are low in cost, such as biological or combination systems. This article reviews the current available technologies and suggests an effective, cheaper alternative for dye removal and decolourisation applicable on large scale.