NOVEL ALGINATE/BENTONITE HYDROGELS: APPLICATION IN WASTEWATER REMEDIATION

MARIO D. NINAGO; SOLEDAD M. M. LENCINA; MARÍA F. HORST; VERÓNICA LASSALLE; MARCELO A. VILLAR

Buenos Aires

Workshop; II Workshop on Bio-degradable Polymers and Biocomposites III Workshop BIOPURFIL, Bio-based Polyurethane Composites with Natural Fillers; 2015

The use of bentonite for heavy metal and organicdyes removal in water system is an economical andhighly efficient alternative against the usuallyapplied purification methods. However, during thepost-treatment stage two important limitations arefound: (I) upon contact with water, bentonite swellsand forms highly stable colloidal suspensions, beingdifficult to separate from the aqueous system and(II), their suspensions clogged filtration columnshindering water from flowing through [1]. Immobilizationof clay sorbents is the approach adoptedto mitigate clogging and post-treatment separationproblems. In this work, we report the use of calciumalginate hydrogels with and without enologicalbentonite for water remediation. In this case, cadmium(Cd(II)), a toxic heavy metal, was selected asa model contaminant. This research includes thecharacterization of