Homogeneous succinylation of cellulose acetate: Design, characterization and adsorption study of Pb(II), Cu(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions

In this study, the removal of Pb(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) ions from aqueous solutions was investigated using succinic anhydride modified cellulose monoacetate. In the first part, the cellulose acetate was successfully succinylated in a homogenous medium of DMF using 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as a catalyst. The obtained material (AcS) was analyzed by FTIR and CP/MAS 13 C NMR Spectroscopy, thermogravimetry analysis and DRX patterns. The titration method was used to determinate the degree of hydroxyl group substituted by carboxyl group (DS) and was found to be 1.36. In the second part, the Bach technique was used to study the effects of pH, contact time, concentration of metals, ionic selectivity and regeneration. Maximum sorption capacities of AcS for Pb(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) were 241.81, 133.76, 156.61 and 73,58 mg.g-1 , respectively. The Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo second order kinetic models provided best fit to the experimental data of metal ion sorption. The nature of the adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous in nature with negative values of ΔG° and ΔH°. Regeneration of the modified cellulose acetate was accomplished using nitric solution and showed high stability and good recyclability.