Heavy metal adsorption on solution-blown biopolymer nanofiber membranes

Nanofiber membranes containing such biopolymers as lignin, oats, soy protein, sodium alginate and chitosan used in this work were formed by solution blowing. The heavy metal adsorption on these membranes from aqueous solutions was studied in equilibrium in the batch experiments, as well as under the throughflow conditions. The mechanical properties of nylon-6-based biopolymer-containing membranes important under the throughflow conditions were also evaluated using tensile tests. A novel model of metal adsorption in the throughflow experiments was also proposed here and verified by the successful comparison with the present experimental data. The results revealed attractive capabilities of these inexpensive nano-textured biopolymer adsorbents formed from waste materials using the process scalable to the industrial level. The results also elucidated the physico-chemical mechanisms of heavy metal adsorption on biopolymers.