Adsorption of copper ions onto chitosan films was studied, and the matrix effect was evaluated using a synthetic solution and a real effluent from closed copper mine. Chitosan films were prepared by casting technique and characterized. The adsorption study was carried out by equilibrium isotherms, thermodynamics, and kinetics. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the copper adsorption onto chitosan film was favorable, spontaneous, and exothermic, suggesting an increased randomness at the solid/solution interface. The matrix effect was evaluated in kinetic assays, where a synthetic solution and a real system were carried out at different stirring rates. The highest values of adsorption capacity reached in all stirring rates were about 20% lower in the real effluent, and this reduction in the competitiveness was due to the presence of other ions in the matrix of the real effluent. The maximum adsorption capacity of copper ions onto chitosan films for the synthetic solution was of 450 mg g-1, and the removal percentage was in the range from 78 to 96%, and these values for the real effluent were of 360 mg g-1 and removal ranging from 62 to 76%. The mapping done of ions present in the water adsorbed of the mine in the films showed that the same was homogeneously distributed in the films' surfaces.
Keywords: Adsorption; Chitosan film; Copper ions; Matrix effect; Wastewater.