Search

It is challenging work to develop a low-cost, efficient, and environmentally friendly Cr(VI) adsorbent for waste water treatment. In this paper, we used hemicelluloses from chemical fiber factory waste as the raw material, and prepared two kinds of carbon materials by the green hydrothermal method as adsorbent for Cr(VI). The results showed that hemicelluloses hydrothermally treated with citric acid (HTC) presented spherical shapes, and hemicelluloses hydrothermally treated with ammonia solution (HTC-NH 2 ) provided spongy structures. The adsorption capacity of the samples can be obtained by the Langmuir model, and the adsorption kinetics could be described by the pseudo-second-order model at pH 1.0. The maximum adsorption capacity of HTC-NH 2 in the Langmuir model is 74.60 mg/g, much higher than that of HTC (61.25 mg/g). The green hydrothermal treatment of biomass with ammonia solution will provide a simple and feasible way to prepare adsorbent for Cr(VI) in waste water treatment.

Aqueous suspensions of polysaccharide (cellulose, chitin or starch) nanocrystals can be prepared by acid hydrolysis of biomass. The main problem with their practical use is related to the homogeneous dispersion of these nanoparticles within a polymeric matrix. Water is the preferred processing medium. A new and interesting way for the processing of polysaccharide nanocrystals-based nanocomposites is their transformation into a co-continuous material through long chain surface chemical modification. It involves the surface chemical modification of the nanoparticles based on the use of grafting agents bearing a reactive end group and a long compatibilizing tail.