Adsorbability of Modified PBS Nanofiber Membrane to Heavy Metal Ions and Dyes

In the current work, cost-effective, high efficiency, eco-friendly and biodegradable absorption adsorbents were prepared by loading rhodamine onto the surface of poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) electrostatic spinning film for the water purification. The adsorbability to heavy metal ions (such as: Hg(II) and Ag(I)) and dyes (such as: Congo red(CR), Crystal violet(CV)) were investigated. After the coating, it was found that PBS fibrous membranes exhibited better adsorption capacity toward these metal ions and dyes. Based on surface complex and electrostatic interaction mechanisms, the maximum adsorption capacity of Hg(II), Ag(I) CR and CV were 122.3, 91.2 138.5 and 109.4 mg/g respectively. Then the dynamic adsorption was tested of CR and CV by the suction filter, and the adsorption capacity of CR and CV were 111.2 and 83.0 mg/g within 10 s. What’s more, studies on adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms showed that the adsorption behavior of the modified PBS fibrous membrane could be well described by the pseudo second-order model, which means the adsorption process transform from physical adsorption (pure PBS) to chemisorptions (rhodamine/PBS). This study provides the eco-friendly method to fabricate polymer adsorbent to remove heavy metal ions and organic dyes from wastewater.