Novel High-Performance Functionalized and Grafted Bio-Based Chitosan Adsorbents for the Efficient and Selective Removal of Toxic Heavy Metals from Contaminated Water

Novel functionalized and/or grafted crosslinked chitosan adsorbents were synthesized and used to remove several toxic heavy metal ions such as nickel, lead, chromium, and cadmium ions from contaminated water. The chitosan biopolymer was functionalized by maleic anhydride (CS_MA) acting also as a crosslinking agent. Glutaraldehyde-crosslinked chitosan (CS_GA) grafted with poly(methyl methacrylate) (CS_MMA) was also synthesized. The synthesized adsorbents were characterized using a variety of analytical techniques such as SEM, TGA, and FTIR, which confirmed their chemical structures and morphology. The adsorption capacity of the adsorbents was analyzed under various conditions of contact time, adsorbent dose, initial concertation, temperature, and pH and evaluated against those of pure chitosan (CS) and the crosslinked chitosan(CS_GA). The ultimate removal conditions were 0.5 g/100 mL adsorbent dose, an initial metal ion concentration of 50 ppm, a temperature of 45 °C, and pH 9. CS_MMA had the highest removal percentages for all metal ions, ranging from 92% to 94%. The adsorption was demonstrated to fit a pseudo-first-order model that followed a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The results highlight the capacity of the synthesized polymers to efficiently remove major toxic contaminants at low cost from contaminated water, present especially in low-income areas, without harming the environment.