Applications of chitin- and chitosan-derivatives for the detoxification of water and wastewater — A short review

Chitin and chitosan-derivatives have gained wide attention as effective biosorbents due to low cost and high contents of amino and hydroxyl functional groups which show significant adsorption potential for the removal of various aquatic pollutants. In this review, an extensive list of chitin- and chitosan-derivatives from vast literature has been compiled and their adsorption capacities for various aquatic pollutants as available in the literature are presented. This paper will give an overview of the principal results obtained during the treatment of water and wastewater utilizing chitin and chitosan-derivatives for the removal of: (a) metal cations and metal anions; (b) radionuclides; (c) different classes of dyes; (d) phenol and substituted phenols; (e) different anions and other miscellaneous pollutants. The review provides a summary of recent information obtained using batch studies and deals with the various adsorption mechanisms involved. It is evident from the literature survey that chitin- and chitosan-derivatives have shown good potential for the removal of various aquatic pollutants. However, still there is a need to find out the practical utility of such developed adsorbents on commercial scale.