Facile Fabrication of a Low-Cost Alginate-Polyacrylamide Composite Aerogel for the Highly Efficient Removal of Lead Ions

Abstract

In this study, we demonstrate a one-step method for fabricating a novel sodium alginate-polyacrylamide (Alg−PAM) composite aerogel, which exhibits a very high affinity and selectivity towards Pb2+. The as-prepared Alg−PAM composite aerogel can uptake 99.2% of Pb2+ from Pb2+-containing aqueous solution (0.1 mM) and the maximum adsorption capacity for Pb2+ reaches 252.2 mg/g, which is higher than most of the reported Pb2+ adsorbents. Most importantly, the prepared Alg−PAM adsorbent can be regenerated through a simple acid-washing process with only a little loss of the adsorption performance after five adsorption−desorption cycles. In addition, the influence of the experimental conditions, such as the solution pH, contact time, and temperature, on the adsorption performance of the Alg−PAM adsorbent was studied. It is clear that the low-cost raw materials, simple synthesis, regeneration ability, and highly efficient removal performance mean that the designed Alg−PAM aerogel has broad application potential in treating Pb2+-containing wastewater.

Keywords

• wastewater
• composite
• aerogel
• adsorbent
• heavy metal ions