Porous and Cross-Linked Cellulose Beads for Toxic Metal Ion Removal: Hg(II) Ions

Abstract

Mercury is a highly toxic and hazardous pollutant even in trace quantity which poses a major threat to the ecosystem on deposition in the environment. Removal of mercury from aqueous systems has been a subject of immense interest for researchers. The synthesis of highly cross-linked cellulose beads embedded with ferric oxide for removal of Hg(II) ions from aqueous systems has been investigated. The beads were synthesized by solution polymerization technique. The impact of solution pH, ferric oxide content, and initial concentration of Hg(II) ions on the uptake of Hg(II) ions revealed that maximum adsorption occurs at pH 6.0 with beads having 10 wt% Fe2O3 content. Equilibrium adsorption of Hg(II) ions followed the Langmuir isotherm model. Adsorption was observed to follow pseudo second-order kinetic model and intraparticle diffusion model.