Seafood wastes as an attractive biosorbent: Chitin-based shrimp shells

In recent years, water quality deteriorated with Zn (II) ions has started to take place among the important environmental problems. Zn (II) is a primary type of toxic and bioaccumulative pollutant commonly found in industrial wastewater. Biosorption is the most practical method in the treatment of water contaminated with Zn (II). Researchers have evaluated the biosorption efficiency with various innovative adsorbents in the aquatic environment recently. In this study, the biosorption capacity of chitin based shrimp shell waste (Cht-SSW) was investigated in Zn (II) containing wastewater. Initial findings showed that Cht-SSW is an effective biosorbent due to high porosity and functional groups. Within the scope of the study, the effects of Cht-SSW dose, contact time, pH and temperature on the treatment efficiency of Zn (II) were evaluated by batch mode experiments. The surface morphology and functional groups of Cht-SSW used in the study were determined using FT-IR and SEM. The isotherms and kinetics confirmed that Cht-SSW has high value of adsorption capacity. Experimental results point out Cht-SSW is a biosorbent that eco-friendly, economical, easily available and efficiently (4e) on the removal of Zn (II) from aqueous solution.