The presence of dyes in the aquatic environment as a result of anthropogenic activities, especially textile industries, is a critical environmental challenge that hinders the availability of potable water. Different wastewater treatment approaches have been used to remediate dyes in aquatic environments; however, most of these approaches are limited by factors ranging from high cost to the incomplete removal of the dyes and contaminants. Thus, the use of adsorption as a water treatment technology to remove dyes and other contaminants has been widely investigated using different adsorbents. This study evaluated the significance of chitosan as a viable adsorbent for removing dyes from water treatment. We summarised the literature and research results obtained between 2009 and 2020 regarding the adsorption of dyes onto chitosan and modified chitosan-based adsorbents prepared through physical and chemical processing, including crosslinking impregnation, grafting, and membrane preparation. Furthermore, we demonstrated the effects of various chitosan-based materials and modifications; they all improve the properties of chitosan by promoting the adsorption of dyes. Hence, the application of chitosan-based materials with various modifications should be considered a cutting-edge approach for the remediation of dyes and other contaminants in aquatic environments toward the global aim of making potable water globally available.
Keywords: Adsorption; Chitosan-based materials; Modified chitosan.
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