KINETICS OF COPPER AND NICKEL REMOVAL FROM INDUSTRIAL WASTE WATER USING CHITOSAN IMPREGNATED POLYURETHANE FOAM

Heavy metal ions from waste water are commonly removed by micro organisms, chemical precipitation, reverse osmosis and ion exchange processes. The method depends on the process conditions. The use of microorganisms takes a long time to remove metals. Reverse osmosis is an important option for separation of solids of heavy metals by forcing water through a semi permeable membrane but the cost of the membrane is very high. Hence the present study aims at the preparation of an alternative biodegradable material, viz, chitosan, for treatment of heavy metals from contaminated waste water. Chitosan is weak and soluble in acid and hence it is modified by blending with polyurethane foam. Chitosan impregnated polyurethane foam has been attempted to synthesize and characterize by IR and the same biodegradable polymer is tried for separation of heavy metals present in contaminated waste water. The material synthesized is cheap and cost effective. The results are discussed in the paper.