Removal of Chromium(VI) Ions by Adsorption onto Binary Biopolymeric Beads of Sodium Alginate and Carboxymethyl Cellulose

The removal of chromium ions from dilute aqueous solution using biopolymeric beads of cross-linked sodium alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose as the adsorbent is reported in this article. The biopolymeric alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose beads were prepared and characterized by FTIR spectra. On the surface of the prepared beads were performed static and dynamic adsorption studies of chromium ions at fixed pH and ionic strength of the aqueous metal ion solution. The adsorption data were applied to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm equation and various static parameters were calculated. The dynamic nature of adsorption was quantified in terms of several kinetic constants such as rate constant for adsorption (k1) and Lagergreen rate constant (kad). The influence of various experimental parameters such as pH, time, temperature, solid–liquid ratio, presence of salt, and chemical composition of beads were investigated on the adsorption of chromium ions.