Skip to main content
Journal of Industrial and Engineering ChemistryVolume 144, 25 April 2025, Pages 512-525

Citric acid functionalized chitosan hydrogel beads for enhanced Cr(VI) removal: Experimental assessment and COMSOL modelling of adsorption in a fixed-bed system(Article)

  Save all to author list
  • a“Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences – National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, P. O. Box 522, Belgrade, 11001, Serbia
  • bFaculty of Physical Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 12-16, Belgrade, 11158, Serbia
  • cChemical Engineering Department, Loughborough University, Leicestershire, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom

Abstract

Chitosan hydrogel beads (CHB) and cross-linked CHB functionalized with tricarboxylic citric acid (CA-GLA-CHB) were synthesized and used for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions in batch and dynamic adsorption systems. Applicability of COMSOL Multiphysics software as a tool for predictive modelling of column dynamics using a minimum set of experimental parameters was tested and compared with experimental results. Batch experiments demonstrated that CA-GLA-CHB showed almost 20% higher adsorption capacity and wider operational pH range compared to non-functionalized CHB. In a dynamic system, CA-GLA-CHB was used as column packing material and the column dynamics was investigated at different conditions. The breakthrough and exhaustion time of the column increased with an increase in bed height and a decrease in feed flow rate and initial Cr(VI) concentration. Computational modeling by COMSOL software with implemented Advection-Dispersion-Reaction (ADR) equation was used to simulate breakthrough curves for the applied dynamic system in order to validate the possibility of its application for process design in the scaled-up fixed-bed column systems for wastewater treatment. The simulated breakthrough curves of Cr(VI) adsorption matched well with the experimental, thus proving that COMSOL Multiphysics software can be used for scaling-up fixed-bed column systems packed with low-cost and effective CA-GLA-CHB bioadsorbent. © 2024 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry

Author keywords

BiosorptionChromium(VI)Citric acidCOMSOLFixed-bed columnFunctionalized chitosan hydrogel beads

Indexed keywords

Engineering controlled terms:ChitosanCrosslinkingDesign of experimentsHydrogelsWastewater treatment
Engineering uncontrolled termsBreakthrough curveChitosan hydrogel beadsChromium VIColumn dynamicsColumn systemsCOMSOLFixed bed columnsFunctionalizedFunctionalized chitosan hydrogel beadMultiphysics software

Funding details

Funding sponsor Funding number Acronym
451-03-66/2024-03/200017,451-03-66/2024-03/200146,200146
  • 1

    This research was funded by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia through contracts No. 451-03-66/2024-03/200017 and No. 451-03-66/2024-03/200146.

  • ISSN: 1226086X
  • Source Type: Journal
  • Original language: English
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2024.09.051
  • Document Type: Article
  • Publisher: Korean Society of Industrial Engineering Chemistry

  Kumrić, K.R.; “Vinča” Institute of Nuclear Sciences – National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, P. O. Box 522, Belgrade, Serbia;
© Copyright 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Cited by 1 document

Muñoz-Martinez, M.X. , Macías-Quiroga, I.F. , Sanabria-González, N.R.
Adsorption of Cr(VI) Using Organoclay/Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Their Application to Tannery Effluent
(2024) Gels
View details of this citation
{"topic":{"name":"Adsorption; Chitosan; Heavy Metal","id":6950,"uri":"Topic/6950","prominencePercentile":97.23993,"prominencePercentileString":"97.240","overallScholarlyOutput":0},"dig":"177975e69fb2baf0c5501fd74bfaf258a5001881a0cca09ba25aec0000150acc"}

SciVal Topic Prominence

Topic:
Prominence percentile: