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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Preparation of Expanded Chitin Foams and their Use in the Removal of Aqueous Copper
Published on: February 27, 2021
Use of microorganisms immobilized on composite polyurethane foam to remove Cu(II) from aqueous solution
Lin-Cheng Zhou1, Yan-Feng Li, Xue Bai
1State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute of Biochemical Engineering & Environmental Technology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, PR China.
Abstract:
Composite polyurethane (PU) foams were made via the polymerization of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and polyether polyol with activated carbon fiber, and immobilized microorganisms on polyurethane (IPU) foam were prepared by cultivating the microbe B350 in a mixture of culture medium and PU. We used batch adsorption techniques to study the removal of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions via PU and IPU. Moreover, the effects of pH, temperature, carrier amount, and biosorption time on the removal rate of Cu(II), adsorption equilibrium, and adsorption kinetics were investigated in detail. The IPU showed an excellent removal rate for Cu(II). The adsorption kinetics data were in good agreement with the pseudo-second-order rate model, and the adsorption isotherms could be adequately described by the Langmuir equation. For synthetic wastewater containing Cu(II), the removal rates for Cu(II) and COD after 4h treatment were 85% and 80%, respectively.
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