Removal of heavy metals by polysaccharide: a review

Industries produce large amounts of heavy metal waste that are hazardous to the environment. Thus, heavy metal ions such as nickel (II), lead (II), copper (II), cadmium (II), and zinc (II), must be removed from wastewater. One commonly employed method is biosorption, which is the adsorption of metal ions by biomaterials such as polysaccharides. In this review, polysaccharides are classified into four groups: polysaccharide homopolymers, polysaccharide blends, copolymers, and polysaccharide composites. Pristine natural polysaccharides like chitin, chitosan, cellulose, starch, and alginate which have multiple functional groups. Additional functionalization is introduced in the form of blending, grafting, or mixing with various nanomaterials having additional functional group to make it more efficient for heavy metal ion adsorption. Introduction of second component onto the main polymer chain not only introduce functionality but enhance mechanical strength which is one of the vital requirements for the recyclability of adsorbent. Longer the time adsorbent is reused more economical is the removal process of metal ions from wastewater. Heavy metal ions undergo various types of interaction like pi-pi interactions, dipole-dipole interaction, hydrogen bonding or van der walls force with homopolymer, copolymers, blends, or nanocomposite having anions or electron-rich group. Adsorption process is studied by adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms. This review represents the adsorption behavior of chitosan, cellulose, starch, alginate, and their derivatives.