Spray-dried chitosan microspheres containing 8-hydroxyquinoline -5 sulphonic acid as a new adsorbent for Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions.

In the present study, a new chelating adsorbent was prepared from chitosan microspheres cross-linked with glutaraldehyde by spray drying using 8-hydroxyquinoline -5 sulphonic acid as chelant agent (CTS-SX-CL). Microspheres of the new adsorbent were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX). The effect of pH, contact time and concentration of metallic ions in solution were evaluated on the adsorption behavior of Cd(II) and Zn(II) by CTS-SX-CL. Adsorption was maximum for both Cd(II) and Zn(II) at pH 8.0. Adsorption kinetic curves were obtained and could be fit by the pseudo second-order adsorption model. An analysis of equilibrium adsorption data using the Langmuir isotherm model indicated that the maximum adsorption capacity of CTS-SX-CL was higher than that of CTS-CL for both ions investigated. The adsorption capacity increased 74% for Cd(II).