Comparison of porous poly (vinyl alcohol)/hydroxyapatite composite cryogels and cryogels immobilized on poly (vinyl alcohol) and polyurethane foams for removal of cadmium

Three novel adsorbents of hydroxyapatite/poly (vinyl alcohol) (HAp/PVA) cryogel, HAp/PVA cryogel immobilized on PVA foam and HAp/PVA cryogel immobilized on polyurethane (PU) foam have been investigated to compare the morphology and sorption performances for removal of cadmium. The adsorption kinetics was interpreted by double-exponential model, pseudo-first-order model and pseudo-second-order models. The equilibrium time was found to be 36, 24, and 12 h for cryogel, cryogel immobilized on PVA foam and PU foam, respectively. The adsorption was found to follow Langmuir isotherm model and the maximum sorption capacity was estimated to be 53.3, 53.1 and 47.7 mg g−1 for cryogel, cryogel immobilized on PVA foam and PU foam. The effects of HAp/PVA ratio and drying method on cadmium sorption were also studied. The difference of adsorption kinetics model and equilibrium time among the three adsorbents was suggested to be ascribed to different pore size. Oven-dried HAp/PVA cryogel immobilized on PU foam was preferable due to short equilibrium time and good sorption ability.