Recycling of Cr (VI) from weak alkaline aqueous media using a chitosan/ triethanolamine/Cu (II) composite adsorbent

Abstract A Chitosan/triethanolamine/Cu (Ⅱ) (CTS/TEA/Cu (Ⅱ)) composite adsorbent was prepared and applied to recycle Cr (Ⅵ) from aqueous media in alkaline conditions. To investigate the adsorption behavior, the influence of pH was evaluated via batch experiments, and the prepared adsorbent was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, XRD, and Zeta potential. This adsorbent exhibited high adsorption capacity for Cr (Ⅵ) in a wide pH range (especially above 7), suggesting a possible way to separate Cr (Ⅵ) from other metal cations by adjusting the pH value prior to adsorption. Adsorption kinetic and thermodynamic experiments were conducted to explore the adsorption mechanism. Regeneration studies showed that the adsorbent can be reused for five adsorption-desorption cycles without substantial loss of adsorption capacity. Overall, the CTS/TEA/Cu (Ⅱ) adsorbent exhibits high potential for recyclingCr (Ⅵ) from wastewater.