Effective removal of ruthenium(III) ions from wastewater by xanthate-modified cross-linked chitosan

Abstract

Abstract Xanthate-modified cross-linked chitosan (chitosan-SH) was synthesized by hydrothermal method. The adsorption mechanism and capacity of removing ruthenium [Ru(Ⅲ)] from aqueous solutions with chitosan-SH as an adsorbent was investigated. The characterization results indicated that carbon disulfide (CS2) was successfully loaded into cross-linked chitosan. Structural characterization of the samples was performed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), specific surface area and porosity analysis (BET) analysis methods. The results of kinetics data suggested that the ruthenium ion adsorption process by chitosan-SH could be fast to reach equilibrium within 30\xa0min. Additionally, the removal percentage of uranium was obtained 94.7% at pH 7.0. Several parameters affecting adsorption capacity, including pH, contact time, initial Ru(Ⅲ) concentration and solution volume, and adsorbent concentration, were also investigated. Overall, chitosan-SH could be applied as a superior adsorbent for Ru(Ⅲ) in wastewater.