Removal of copper(II) from aqueous solution using nanochitosan/sodium alginate/microcrystalline cellulose beads

The present study was aimed to prepare the novel ternary biopolymeric beads of nanochitosan (NCS)/sodium alginate (SA)/microcrystalline cellulose (MC) for the removal of heavy metal copper from aqueous solution through batch adsorption mode. The polymeric beads were characterized before and after adsorption using FTIR, XRD and EDX-SEM studies. The efficiency of the adsorbent was analyzed by varying the parameters such as initial metal ion concentration, contact time, adsorbent dose and pH. The experimental data obtained were fitted in the isotherm models such as Langmuir, Freundlich and Tempkin models and in pseudo first and second order kinetics studies. The isotherm and kinetics models revealed that the adsorption was found to fit well with Freundlich isotherm and follows pseudo second-order kinetics. (c) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.