Synthesis and Characterization of Porous Chitosan/Saccharomycetes Adsorption Microspheres

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Chitosan is a biocompatible polymer with potential for pollutant adsorption.
• Saccharomycetes (yeast) can enhance the properties of chitosan-based materials.
• Effective removal of food additives and pharmaceutical contaminants from water is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare and characterize porous chitosan/saccharomycetes adsorption microspheres.
• To investigate the adsorption capabilities of these microspheres for food additives and doxycycline.
• To explore the influence of saccharomycetes ratio and silica gel on microsphere properties.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of porous microspheres using silica gel as a porogen.
• Characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphology.
• Analysis using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for molecular interactions.
• X-ray diffraction (XRD) for crystallization properties.

Main Results:

• Porous chitosan/saccharomycetes microspheres were successfully synthesized.
• Microspheres provide amino and hydroxyl adsorption sites for removing food additives.
• Increased saccharomycetes ratio enhanced surface roughness; increased silica gel compacted the structure.
• The microspheres demonstrated potential for adsorbing doxycycline from wastewater.

Conclusions:

• Porous chitosan/saccharomycetes microspheres are effective adsorbents for food additives.
• These microspheres show promise for removing doxycycline from wastewater.
• Material properties can be tuned by adjusting saccharomycetes and silica gel content.