Background:
Cellulose is one of the most abundant, non-toxic, and renewable natural biopolymers. The presence
of hydroxyl groups in cellulose leads to further modification of it. Preparation and modification of cellulose-based sorbents
and their applications on water treatment gained traction in recent years.
Objective:
A low-cost and eco-friendly biosorbent was designed and fabricated by introducing the acetate functional groups
into cellulose for removing Beryllium (Be2+) from an aqueous solution. The so
rption of Be2+ on acetate containing cellulose
was evaluated for varying sorbent doses and initial solution pH values.
Method:
The sorbent was prepared by a two-step oxidation process. In the initial step, cellulose reacted with NaIO4 and
aldehyde groups were introduced to cellulose. In the second step, newly obtained aldehyde groups were oxidized to create
acetate groups.
Results:
The kinetics of the sorption process showed that Be2+ uptake reached equilibrium in 3 minutes. The sorption
isotherm was well fitted in the Langmuir model, and maximum sorption capacity was 4.54 mg/g. Moreover, the
thermodynamic studies demonstrated that Be2+ sorption is spontaneous and exothermic. Furthermore, the prepared sorbent
can be regenerated by using 0.1 M HCl or H2SO4 solutions.
Conclusion:
Removal of Be2+ is pH dependent and it is favorable at high solution pH. The kinetics of the prepared sorbent
is rapid and equilibrium attained in 3 minutes. The prepared sorbent can be regenerated with 0.1 M acid solution with >
99% efficiency.