Development and Reuse of Amine-Grafted Chitosan Hybrid Beads in the Retention of Nitrate and Phosphate

A variety of adsorbent materials have been tried day by day to minimize the effects of blue baby syndrome and eutrophication but most of them constitute academic interest because of their properties such as powder form, poor selectivity, not easily separable, and difficult regeneration; hence, they could not be used at field conditions. To overcome such technological bottle-necks, the present study has been carried out with amine-functionalized magnetic chitosan (AFMCS) composite beads which was prepared and applied for the remediation of nitrate and phosphate in batch scale. The fabricated adsorbent materials were characterized by Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy, I3runauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, transmission electron-micros- copy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and- energy dispersive X-ray analysis with mapping analysis. The numerous adsorption-influenced parameters such as contact-time, adsorbent dosage, initial ions concentration, co-anions, solution pH, and temperature were optimized. The various sorption isotherm models were used to fit the equilibrium data. The feasible mechanism toward nitrate and phosphate removal was interpreted. The efficient regeneration and- repeated use of AFMCS composite beads were achieved up to six cycles. The applicability of easily separable AFMCS composite beads at field conditions was checked by collecting nitrate and phosphate contaminated water sample from the nearby area of Dindigul district. .