The objective of this research is to conduct a comprehensive characterization of chitosan while also improving its attributes by crosslinking with malonic acid, with a focus on its efficacy in removing hexavalent chromium, arsenite and fluoride ions. Crosslinking chitosan in 1:0.5 mass ratio forming a film led to substantial enhancement in confiscation of these target pollutants. The characterization of the adsorbent involved several techniques, including FT-IR, TGA-DSC, SEM-EDX, XRD, and BET surface area analysis. In batch adsorption experiments, Chitosan-malonic acid (CMA) was employed to remove CrVI, AsIII and F- from aqueous solutions. These experiments were conducted while varying conditions such as pH, dosage, concentration, temperature, and time. Through the implementation of response surface methodology (RSM), parameters were optimized, resulting in over 95% removal of CrVI, AsIII and F- ions. The isotherm and kinetics data demonstrated a good fit with the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo second-order kinetics, respectively. According to the Langmuir isotherm, the maximum adsorption capacities on CMA for CrVI, AsIII and F- were determined to be 687.05 mg g-1, 26.72 mg g-1 and 51.38 mg g-1 respectively under optimum pH of 4.0, 7.0 and 5.0 respectively under ambient temperature of 303 K. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and driven by enthalpy. The regenerability of the adsorbent was validated through five adsorption-desorption cycles, signifying its reusability. An assessment of the adsorbent's sustainability indicated an eco-friendly synthesis, as reflected by the low E-factor value of 0.0028.
Keywords: Adsorption; Arsenic; Chitosan; Chromium; Fluoride; Response surface methodology.
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