Abstract
The production of organic effluents derives from several industry areas, and the increase of this production accompanied those industries growth. The components of those effluents have high toxicity, which may cause serious damages to the affected environment. For this reason, the research for alternative materials (derived naturally or from industrial residues) for wastewater treatment has increased. Thus, biopolymers, such as chitosan, are a sustainable alternative, since they come from renewable and biodegradable sources. Chitosan has properties, such as adsorption capacity and flocculation and coagulation abilities, which allow it to replace, partially or completely, synthetic materials. Several methods have been applied for the treatment of those organic effluents in order to achieve their maximum limit for wastewater disposal or reuse set in each country. Among those treatments, adsorption can be considered the most advanced and efficient for residual treatment, removing selectively several organic compounds. Therefore, this paper reviewed the applicability of chitosan in phenol and oil removal from industrial effluents. Several authors highlighted its use as an environmentally friendly alternative, once chitosan presented a pollutant removal capacity similar or even better than those commonly used materials. The majority of the studies reviewed indicated the best condition for adsorptive capacity of natural or modified chitosans at acidic pH, due to the great influence of the electrostatic attraction mechanism. In addition, the review encourages further researches for more in-depth studies such as those of mechanism of adsorption, simultaneous pollutant adsorption and industrial-scale process.
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Vidal, R.R.L., Moraes, J.S. Removal of organic pollutants from wastewater using chitosan: a literature review. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 16, 1741–1754 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-2061-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-2061-8