Title
Preparation of thiol-functionalized cellulose and its application to the removal of Hg(II) from water environment
Authors
ZHI ZHANG YINGLAN CAO LINA CHEN and ZHIYONG HUANG

Received May 4, 2015
Published Volume 51 Issue 5-6 May-June
Keywords bio-adsorbent, thiol-functionalized cellulose, Hg (II), water treatment

Abstract
A bio-adsorbent of thiol-functionalized cellulose (TFC) was chemically prepared for the removal of Hg (II) from aqueous solutions. The surface morphology and thiol content of TFC were characterized and measured, and the adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherm of Hg (II) were investigated. Results showed that the maximum adsorption efficiency (99%) of the as-prepared TFC was obviously higher than that of the raw cellulose (66%). More than 96% of Hg (II) at the concentration of 1.0 mg L-1 could be removed from real wastewater samples within 20 min. The adsorption behavior could be fitted by Langmuir and Freundlich models with R2>0.96. The results demonstrated that the as-prepared TFC is a novel bio-adsorbent for the removal of Hg (II) from water environment with the advantages of rapidity, high efficiency, simple preparation and environment protection.