Simultaneous adsorption of heavy metals and organic dyes by β-Cyclodextrin-Chitosan based cross-linked adsorbent

Herein, a new adsorbent Nitrilotriacetic acid β-Cyclodextrin-Chitosan (NTA-β-CD-CS) was synthesized for the effective simultaneous removal of dyes and metals. In this process, the β-CD cavities captured Methylene blue (MB) by host/guest contacts, and the remaining functional groups were able to act as adsorption sites for metal ions and Methyl orange (MO). In the single process, the maximum adsorption capacities of NTA-β-CD-CS adsorbent toward the Hg (II) MB and MO were 178.3, 162.6, and 132.5 mg/g, respectively. Sips and Langmuir's model were appropriate to define the adsorption system and mechanism. Most prominently, the NTA-β-CD-CS adsorbent was highly effective in the simultaneous adsorption of metals and cationic dyes and remained consistent with the mono system. The adsorbent performance efficiency remained constant even after four cycles. Therefore, the advantages of non-toxic chemicals, excellent adsorption, and regeneration performance revealed that NTA-β-CD-CS possessed great potential to treat realistic and model wastewater from different industries.