Removal of Aromatic Amines from Water by Cu 2 + – impregnated Chitosan / alumina Bionanocomposite

The pollution of natural waters with aromatic amines originating from wastewaters of many industries is of serious concern due to its negative impact on environment and living organisms. In this research work, Cu–impregnated chitosan/alumina nanocomposite was prepared and employed as an adsorbent for removal of aromatic amines from water. The results showed that the adsorption capacity of the prepared adsorbent toward aromatic amines such as aniline is much higher than that of neat chitosan and chitosan/alumina nanocomposite. Adsorption behavior of the modified adsorbent was also studied using adsorption isotherms at room temperature. The adsorption data for the modified adsorbent were fitted well by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Chemical and morphological properties of the adsorbent were studied using FTIR and SEM. A much higher surface area of the modified adsorbent compared to neat chitosan and the presence of Cu(II) bonded to the adsorbent surface are main causes of the higher adsorption capacity for the prepared adsorbent compared to neat chitosan and chitosan/alumina nanocomposit. According to the obtained results, the introduced bionanocomposite can be applied for effective removal of aromatic amines from water. Keywords—Adsorption, Aromatic amines, Bionanocomposite, Chitosan