STUDY ON FABRICATION OF CHITOSAN/POLY (VINYL ALCOHOL) NANOFIBER MATS FOR HEAVY METAL ION REMOVAL IN WATER

Abstract

Adsorption is an effective method which is widely used for the removal of toxic heavy metal ions in an aqueous solution. The purpose of this research is fabrication of Chitosan/Poly (vinyl alcohol) (CS/PVA) nanofiber mats as an adsorbent for removing Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ ions. CS/PVA nanofiber mats were fabricated by electrospinning mixture of 6 %wt CS solution in acetic acid and 12 wt% PVA solution in water with ratio of 3/7 of CS/PVA. The electrospinning conditions were voltage of 18 kV, feed rate of 0.5 ml/h, distance between the needle tip and collector of 13 cm. The prepared nanofiber mats were stabilized by glutaraldehyde vapor. The diameter of nanofibers was in the range from 170 nm to 305 nm. Chemical characteristics of nanofiber mats before and after stablizing by glutaraldehyde vapor were examined by IR. The tensile strength and strain of CS/PVA nanofiber mat were 3.05 N/mm² và 77.02 %, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacities of nanofiber mat was 39.5 mg/g for Cu²⁺ and 40.9 mg/g for Pb²⁺. The CS/PVA nanofiber mat was also used for heavy metal removal of waste water of electroplating manufactory. As the result, the concentration of Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ni²⁺ và Cr³⁺ ions in waste water significantly reduced after treating by CS/PVA nanofiber mat.