Modified Nylon Fibers with Amino Chelating Groups for Heavy Metal Removal

This study reports a feasible method for heavy metal ions removal from aqueous via modified nylon fibers. Modified nylon fibers were used as sorbent materials in batch experiment. The amine/amide groups on nylon fibers' surface were modifies by acrylic acid graft copolymerization and ethylenediamine solution. Surface modification was observed to enhanced the sorption capacity of nylon fibers by more than about 90% and 20% for Pb(II) and Cr(IV) removal, respectively. These caused of ability of the amine/amide chelating groups on the fiber. The experiments also investigated the influencing of pH, initial concentration, and contact time. The adsorption mechanisms of Pb(II) and Cr(IV) were following Freundlich's isotherm and pseudo second-order reaction.