Water treatment by enhanced ultrafiltration

The efficiency of removal of copper ions from aqueous solutions was investigated by means of ultrafiltration enhanced with chitosan. The different experimental parameters such as initial concentration of metal ions, background electrolytes, pH solutions, ultrafiltration membranes of different molecular weight cut-offs on the kinetic of copper extraction as well as polymer rejection were studied. Presence of chitosan in feed solution provided effective removal of metal ions from an aqueous medium because of formation of complexes and their consequent deposition on the membrane surface and pores. The metal rejection increased with pH growth, exceeding 90% in neutral/alkaline solutions. The same tendency was observed at the different ratio values between chitosan and copper. The effectiveness of metal rejection improved with the increase in this ratio due to intensification of the entire metal-biopolymer interaction.