The extraction of metal ions (either valuable ions such as Li+ or heavy metal ions) from waters has attracted much interest as a means to meet increasing demand for lithium with the rapid expansion of the electric vehicle and electronics markets. Herein, a series of renewable and recyclable biomass (cellulose, chitosan and sodium alginate) based composites was developed and investigated toward the extraction of lithium from industrial sewage and seawaters. The porous structrue of the biomass films and aerogels was characterized, and its extraction efficacy and selectivity toward lithium and heavy meal ions from an aqueous solution (ppm level) and seawater (ppb level) were investigated. The HMO/cellulose film exhibited a higher Li+ adsorption capacity (21.6 mg g−1 HMO) than those reported in literature for lithium extraction, and the chitosan and sodium alginate aerogels perform excellent selective adsorption abilities for heavy metal ions (81.15, 38.87 and 38.15 mg g-1 for Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+, respectively). Furthermore, the adsorption capacity and mechanical strength of the composites remained stable even after 5-10 times of adsorption−desorption cycles. The present findings demonstrate the potential of the as-prepared biomass based composites for the recovery of a series of metal ions from seawater or wastewater.

The extraction of metal ions (either valuable ions such as Li^+^ or heavy metal ions) from waters has attracted much interest as a means to meet increasing demand for lithium with the rapid expansion of the electric vehicle and electronics markets. Herein, a series of renewable and recyclable biomass (cellulose, chitosan and sodium alginate) based composites was developed and investigated toward the extraction of lithium from industrial sewage and seawaters. The porous structrue of the biomass films and aerogels was characterized, and its extraction efficacy and selectivity toward lithium and heavy meal ions from an aqueous solution (ppm level) and seawater (ppb level) were investigated. The HMO/cellulose film exhibited a higher Li^+^ adsorption capacity (21.6 mg g^−1^ HMO) than those reported in literature for lithium extraction, and the chitosan and sodium alginate aerogels perform excellent selective adsorption abilities for heavy metal ions (81.15, 38.87 and 38.15 mg g^-1^ for Cu^2+^, Pb^2+^ and Cd^2+^, respectively). Furthermore, the adsorption capacity and mechanical strength of the composites remained stable even after 5-10 times of adsorption−desorption cycles. The present findings demonstrate the potential of the as-prepared biomass based composites for the recovery of a series of metal ions from seawater or wastewater.

Biomass based composites for the selective adsorption of a series of metal ions from waters

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.