Preparation of mixed rare earths modified chitosan for fluoride adsorption

This paper described the fluoride removal from water using a new adsorbent namely mixed rare earths modified chitosan (CR). Mixed rare earths mainly contained La followed by Ce which was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). La(III)-modified chitosan (CL) was also prepared as control. For the batch technique, the effects of various parameters such as contact time, pH, adsorbent dose, initial fluoride concentration and co-ions on fluoride adsorption were studied. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize adsorbents. It was observed that the fluoride adsorption capacity of CR (3.72 mgF−/g) was higher than CL (3.16 mgF−/g) at 2 h. The presence of co-ions such as bicarbonate and carbonate greatly affected the fluoride adsorption from water. Characterization experiments indicated the successful chelation between mixed rare earths and chitosan. The possible fluoride adsorption mechanism of CR was explained by a chemical reaction.