Remediation of Contaminated Water with Chromium VI by Sorption in Surface-activated-nanocellulose spheroids

Chromium VI is a frequent pollutant of industrial liquid effluents. It is a substance classified as a carcinogen group I. In this study, a Cr VI sorption mechanism was developed by using nanocellulose spheroids (hydrogel) obtained from ivory nut. Cr VI was detected in water by a colorimetric method, using 1, 5-diphenylcarbazide at λ 540 nm. Then, the sorption capacity of nanocellulose spheroids was tested by varying the solution's pH and temperatures. The outcome of the experiment shows that the most efficient pollutant’s adsorption conditions are occur at pH 4 and 25 °C. Removal percentages of Cr VI reached 91.29% (+/-1.36) and 95.33% (+/- 0.86). Additionally, the sorption kinetics showed that the adsorption reaction on the material reaches its equilibrium 20 to 30 minutes after the reaction starts. Finally, an analysis of adsorption isotherms showed a high adjustment with the Langmuir and Freundlinch isotherms. In this frame, this work’s results show that nanocellulose beads are an interesting alternative to efficiently reduce Cr VI from industrial and drinking water.