STRUCTURAL, MORPHOLOGICAL AND THERMAL ANALYSIS OF SOME ALGINATE/STARCH/DELLITE HPS COMPOSITES FOR AQUEOUS Cu(II) REMOVAL

The aim of the present paper is to investigate the properties of three binary systems based on 2% w/v sodium alginate (AlgNa) and 3% w/v starch, prepared by means of a magnetic stirrer. 3% w/v n-clay was added over the binary mixtures, while the amount of n-clay to all mixtures was 1.5% and 3%, respectively. Microspheres were obtained by crosslinking the prepared mixtures with 1.5 M CaCl 2 2 H 2 O. The resulted composites were evaluated in terms of surface morphology (scanning electron microscopy -SEM), elemental composition (energy dispersive X-ray -EDX), swelling, thermal analysis (differential scanning calorimetry -DSC), electrochemical surface properties (zeta potential) and batch adsorption-desorption. The obtained results evidenced that the tested alginate/starch/n-clay 1/2/3 composite has the most promising properties for a biomaterial with potential applications in recovery of Cu(II) from polluted water.