RESEARCH ARTICLE Use of nicotinamide decorated polymeric cryogels as heavy metal sweeper Elif Bilgin 1 & Kadir Erol 2 & Kazım Köse 3 & Dursun A. Köse 4 Received: 15 May 2018 /Accepted: 16 July 2018 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Cryogels are synthetic polymers used in adsorption experiments in recent years. Because of their macropores, they provide an excellent advantage as an adsorbent in continuous and batch adsorption processes. In this study, nicotinamide (NAA) decorated poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate), poly(HEMA-GMA), cryogels were synthesized. Heavy metal adsorp- tion was carried out in wastewater obtained from six different sources in Çorum, Turkey. This study has a novelty regarding the application, i.e., it is the first time to use a polymeric adsorbent for the removal of 15 different heavy metal at the same time without any competition (despite the fact that there is a competition between the metals, the only thing is the removal regarding the purpose the study) as a heavy metal sweeper. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) was used for the determination of the initial amount of heavy metal in the wastewater samples. Adsorption studies were performed using poly(HEMA-GMA) and NAA-decorated poly(HEMA-GMA) cryogel to see the effect of NAA decoration. Higher adsorption capacity was achieved using NAA decorated poly(HEMA-GMA) cryogel. The total heavy metal amount adsorbed from six different sources was about 686 and 387 mg for poly(HEMA-GMA)-NAA and poly(HEMA-GMA) cryogels, respectively. The highest heavy metal adsorption value was obtained in the wastewater from source 2, and Zn (II) was the heavy metal adsorbed most for both cryogel. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal, surface area, elemental, and computerized microtomography (μCT) analyses were used for the characterization of cryogels. Keywords Adsorption . Heavy metal . Wastewater . Cryogel . Nicotinamide Introduction Technological developments, which play a significant role in solving problems, generate a considerable amount of waste while offering many new and alternative products for the benefit of humanity (Rehan et al. 2018; Mohan et al. 2018). These wastes can be entirely different from the quantitative and qualitative aspects (Rehan et al. 2018). Heavy metal wastes containing metal ions such as mercu- ry, zinc, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, chromium, arsenic, and silver increase the environmental pollution (Ma et al. 2018). The heavy metals reaching the water sources are diluted to a considerable extent and are partially enriched in carbonate, sulfate, and sulfides (Kahvecioğlu et al. 2010). Since the adsorption capacity of the solid layer is limited, the concentration of heavy metals in the water is continuously increasing (Kahvecioğlu et al. 2010). It was seen in the treatment systems which are never fragmented and useful in the primary treatment, that sufficient treat- ment is not carried out because microorganisms (activated sludge, etc.), which play an important role especially in biological treatment processes, are toxic even in tiny quan- tities (Sağlam and Cihangir 1995). In the absence of an effective treatment, the release of such wastes to streams, lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans is highly toxic to aquatic living systems (Jordão et al. 1996). Also, the heavy metals Responsible editor: Tito Roberto Cadaval Jr * Kazım Köse kazimkose@hitit.edu.tr 1 Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Hitit University, Çorum, Turkey 2 Osmancık Ömer Derindere Vocational School, Department of Property Protection and Safety, Hitit University, Osmancık, Turkey 3 Alaca Avni Çelik Vocational School, Department of Food Processing, Hitit University, Alaca, Turkey 4 Faculty of Science and Arts, Department Chemistry, Hitit University, Çorum, Turkey Environmental Science and Pollution Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2784-6