PEI-modified chitosan/activated carbon composites for Cu(II) removal from simulated pyrophosphate plating rinsing wastewater.

It is a challenging task to remove heavy metal ions efficiently from the wastewater containing high concentrations of complexants. In this work, a novel PEI-modified chitosan/activated carbon composite adsorbent (PCA) was prepared and applied to the removal of Cu(II) from pyrophosphate plating rinsing wastewater. The main species of Cu(II) in the pyrophosphate wastewater was [Cu(HPO)] or [Cu(PO)], which were denoted as [Cu(II)-PP] anions. The maximum adsorption capacity of PCA for Cu(II) reached 1.41 mmol g under the condition of pH = 8 and molar ratio of pyrophosphate to Cu(II) = 4:1. The adsorption kinetic behavior of Cu(II) on PCA followed the Elovich model best and PCA attained adsorption equilibrium within 36 h. The thermodynamic studies showed that the adsorption process of Cu(II) by PCA was endothermic and spontaneous. The PCA fixed bed column was used to remove Cu(II) from simulated pyrophosphate plating rinsing wastewater. After three consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles, the adsorption performance, hydraulic conductivity, and mechanical stability of PCA column did not decrease. The FTIR and XPS analysis results indicated that [Cu(II)-PP] anions can be adsorbed on PCA by electrostatic attraction with protonated amine groups or coordination with the amine groups of PCA via ligand substitution.