Preparation of porous chitosan gel beads for copper(II) ion adsorption

In this paper, chitosan porous beads were prepared by using a phase inversion technique, and then used for the adsorption and removal of copper(II) ions. The porosity, diameter and other characteristics were characterized. With the increase of chitosan and NaOH concentration used to prepare the beads, the amount of adsorbed Cu2+ per gram of the beads decreased. A maximum adsorption amount was observed at a pH value of 6.0 for the cross-linked porous chitosan beads. The amount of the adsorbed Cu2+ increased with the Cu2+ concentration used in the adsorption experiments. By the relationship of the ratio of the equilibrium Cu2+ concentration in the solution (Ce) to the adsorbed equilibrium amount (Pe) (Ce/Pe) and Ce, we concluded that the adsorption of Cu2+ to the porous chitosan beads was Langmuir adsorption. The Cu2+-loaded porous chitosan beads were stable in water, which is useful for further study on selectively adsorption of IgG. The results suggested that the porous chitosan beads were useful adsorbents for copper ions removal in water treatment, and the Cu2+-loaded beads may be good sorbents for IgG removal in blood purification.