COPPER REMOVAL FROM SYNTHETIC AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS BY CHEMICALLY MODIFIED BEADS OF CHITOSAN

This study deals with the preparation and characterization of chitosan-glutardialdehyde (Chit-GLA) copolymers at different glutardialdehyde concentration. The sorption properties of Chit-GLA copolymers were evaluated comparatively in copper ions removal process from aqueous solutions. For this purpose, the experiments were carried out in a batch regime. The sorption properties of the copolymers have been correlated with the level of the accessibility of the sorption sites in accordance with the relative cross-linker content. The relative sorption capacity of the Chi-Gla copolymers decreases as the level of cross-linking increases. The contact time, the concentration of copper ions in the initial solution, and pH were the main parameters studied. The experimental data were better fitted with Freundlich isotherm.