Molybdate Sorption by Cross‐Linked Chitosan Beads: Dynamic Studies

Chitosan, a biopolymer extracted from crustacean shells, exhibits high sorption capacities for metal ion recovery. Sorption efficiency and removal rates are controlled by several diffusion mechanisms. Chitosan gel beads have been prepared and have shown enhanced sorption performance in batch systems. This study shows that, in continuous systems, sorption capacities can reach 700 mg/g, a level close to that obtained in batch studies. The effects of metal concentration, flow velocity, and column size are investigated and demonstrate that, because of diffusion mechanisms, the optimum concentration range is approximately 50 to 100 mg/L. In column systems, the Biot number, though greater than 1, is lower than the Biot number obtained in batch systems, indicating that external mass transfer influences mass transfer at the low superficial velocity investigated in this work (0.5 to 2 m/h).