Polyethyleneimine/activated carbon paper-based material for low-concentration hexavalent chromium removal

Activated carbon paper-based materials were prepared from softwood pulp, activated carbon powder, and polyester fiber through wet forming process. Then polyethyleneimine was loaded on the activated carbon paper-based materials using physical impregnation method to fabricate green, low cost, and degradable PEI/activated carbon composite paper-based adsorbent materials (PPCA) for the removal of Cr(VI) from drinking water. The surface characteristics of the adsorbent were analyzed by SEM, EDX, BET, FT-IR, and XPS. It was found that the maximum adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) could reach up to 1.58 mg g(-1) when the PEI immersion concentration is 1%, the contact time is 180 min, the temperature is 30 degrees C and pH = 2. The adsorption of Cr(VI) on PPCA conformed to both the freundlich isotherm model and the quasi-second-order kinetic model, indicating that the adsorption was multi-molecular layer adsorption controlled by chemical reaction process. The adsorption mechanism of Cr(VI) on PPCA included electrostatic attraction, redox and chelation. Overall, this study provides a green, large-scalable production way for the preparation of biodegradable adsorption materials for the efficient removal of Cr(VI) from drinking water aiding the safe management of aqueous system. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

Activated carbon paper-based materials were prepared using softwood pulp, activated carbon powder, and polyester fiber, and polyethyleneimine was loaded onto the materials to fabricate degradable PEI/activated carbon composite paper-based adsorbent materials. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) was found to be 1.58 mg g(-1) under specific conditions. The adsorption mechanism involved electrostatic attraction, redox, and chelation.