Study of Using Starch-Modified Chitosan for Removal of Phthalates from Aqueous Solution

Phthalates are chemical pollutants whose presence in the environment poses a serious health threat. They leach from various consumer products and contaminate water bodies. In order to minimize the health risks that they constitute, studies on the cheap and innovative ways of treating phthalates in contaminated waters are considered relevant and important. Starch-chitosan complex was synthesized and studied for its adsorptive removal of selected phthalates: dimethyl phthalate (DMP); diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) from aqueous solutions. Results from the adsorption study show the potency of the synthesized starch-chitosan complex for the sorption of the selected pollutants in water. At a lower concentration of 0.10 mg/L, DEHP was adsorbed most (with an adsorption capacity of 0.495 mg/g) while at a higher concentration of 0.40 mg/L, DEHP was adsorbed most (with an adsorption capacity of 1.998 mg/g) by the adsorbent. Results also show that as the concentration of the phthalates in aqueous solutions increased from 0.1 to 0.4 mg/L, the adsorption efficiency of the starch-chitosan complex increased. It was concluded that the cheap and nontoxic starch-chitosan complex has the application potential to effectively remove the phthalates DMP, DEP, DEHP, and DnBP from an aqueous environment.