Current Analytical Chemistry
Vedat Tolga Özdemir
1
, Himmet Mert Tuğaç
1
and Özgür Arar
1,*
1
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ege University, Izmir 35040, Turkey
Abstract: Background: Cellulose is one of the most abundant, non-toxic, and renewable natural bi-
opolymers. The presence of hydroxyl groups in cellulose leads to further modification of it. Prepara-
tion and modification of cellulose-based sorbents and their applications on water treatment gained
traction in recent years.
Objective: A low-cost and eco-friendly biosorbent was designed and fabricated by introducing the
acetate functional groups into cellulose for removing Beryllium (Be
2+
) from an aqueous solution. The
sorption of Be
2+
on acetate containing cellulose was evaluated for varying sorbent doses and initial
solution pH values.
Methods: The sorbent was prepared by a two-step oxidation process. In the initial step, cellulose re-
acted with NaIO
4
and aldehyde groups were introduced to the cellulose. In the second step, newly
obtained aldehyde groups were oxidized to create acetate groups.
Results: The kinetics of the sorption process showed that Be
2+
uptake reached equilibrium in 3
minutes. The sorption isotherm was well fitted in the Langmuir model, and the maximum sorption
capacity was 4.54mg/g. Moreover, the thermodynamic studies demonstrated that Be
2+
sorption was
spontaneous and exothermic. Furthermore, the prepared sorbent can be regenerated by using 0.1 M
HCl or H
2
SO
4
solutions.
Conclusion: It is concluded that the removal of Be
2+
is pH-dependent and it is favorable at high solu-
tion pH. The kinetics of the prepared sorbent were rapid and equilibrium attained in 3 minutes. The
prepared sorbent can be regenerated with 0.1 M acid solution with > 99% efficiency.
A R T I C L E H I S T O R Y
Received: March 22, 2020
Revised: May 17, 2020
Accepted: June 10, 2020
DOI:
10.2174/1573411016999200719232310
Keywords: Beryllium, biopolymer, cellulose diacetate, ion-exchange, regeneration, water treatment.
1. INTRODUCTION
Beryllium (Be) is a member of group IIA of the periodic
table and is found in the Earth’s crust mainly as the silicate
mineral beryl, Be
3
Al
2
[Si
6
O
18
]. It is also found in many natu-
ral minerals, including bertrandite, Be
4
Si
2
O
7
(OH)
2
[1, 2].
With its unmatched combination of unique properties, Be has
become an indispensable metal for a wide variety of applica-
tions in automotive electronics, telecommunications, aircraft
industry, computers, aerospace, in modern X-ray technology,
and defense equipment [3-7].
The primary source of Be compounds in water appears to
be species that are released from coal-burning and other in-
dustries using Be. Other sources of Be in surface water in-
clude deposition of atmospheric Be and weathering of rocks
and soils containing Be [8].
*Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Chemistry,
Faculty of Science, Ege University, Izmir 35040, Turkey;
Tel: +90323112248; E-mail: ozgurarar@gmail.com
Chronic beryllium disease (CBD), which is a granuloma-
tous lung disease that causes both restrictive and obstructive
lung function abnormalities, is the most common chronic
occupational reaction to beryllium and typically involves the
lungs and skin, with isolated reports of granulomas in the
liver, kidney, muscle, and lymph nodes. An important fea-
ture of Be toxicity is a considerable latent period, which usu-
ally lasts up to 6-10 years since significant attention to Be
was paid to the occupational exposure, and yet mechanisms
of Be toxicity remain to be elucidated [5, 9].
The sorption/biosorption [10-14], ion-exchange [15-17],
reverse osmosis [18], and lime-neutralization [19] are the
conventional methods for the removal of Be
2+
from water
and wastewater.
Ion exchangers are a class of functional materials that
display ion exchange properties owing to the existence of
fixed ionic sites bonded to their framework. They are water-
insoluble, organic or inorganic, materials that capable of
exchanging their active ions into those coming from the sur-
1875-6727/22 $65.00+.00 © 2022 Bentham Science Publishers
Send Orders for Reprints to reprints@benthamscience.net
360
Current Analytical Chemistry, 2022, 18, 360-369
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Two-pot Oxidative Preparation of Dicarboxylic Acid Containing Cellulose
for the Removal of Beryllium (Be
2+
) from Aqueous Solution