Adsorption of Cu(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) from aqueous single metal solutions by mercerized cellulose and mercerized sugarcane bagasse chemically modified with EDTA dianhydride (EDTAD)

This work describes the preparation of new chelating materials derived from cellulose and sugarcane bagasse for adsorption of Cu2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ ions from aqueous solutions. The first part involved the mercerization treatment of cellulose and sugarcane bagasse with NaOH 5 mol/L. Non- and mercerized cellulose and sugarcane bagasse were then reacted with ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride (EDTAD) in order to prepare different chelating materials. These materials were characterized by mass percent gain, X-ray diffraction, FTIR, and elemental analysis. The second part consisted of evaluating the adsorption capacity of these modified materials for Cu2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ ions from aqueous single metal solutions, whose concentration was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. These materials showed maximum adsorption capacities for Cu2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ ions ranging from 38.8 to 92.6 mg/g, 87.7 to 149.0 mg/g, and 192.0 to 333.0 mg/g, respectively. The modified mercerized materials showed larger maximum adsorption capacities than modified non-mercerized materials.