Synthesis of waterborne polyurethane-carboxymethyl chitosan cross-linked biodegradable bio-based porous materials for the adsorption of methylene blue.

The development of green and cost-effective biomass adsorbents is necessary for removing large amounts of dyes from wastewater. In this study, polyurethane prepolymers were synthesized using polycaprolactone diol (OH-PCL-OH), isophorone diisocyanate, and 2,2-dihydroxymethylpropionic acid, which were subsequently dispersed in aqueous carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) solution to produce waterborne polyurethane (WPU)-CMCS porous materials. The adsorbent was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), thermogravimetric (TGA) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The effects of pH, temperature, initial concentration and contact time on the adsorption properties of the adsorbents were investigated. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were used to fit the adsorption data, and the reusability and biodegradability of the adsorbent were investigated. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of WPU-CMCS was 222.65 mg·g and the adsorption process followed the Langmuir model. After four adsorption-resolution cycles, the removal of dyes remained at 70.36 %, whereas in the biodegradability test, the mass loss of WPU-CMCS reached 43.04 % after 25 weeks, indicating that the adsorbent had good reusability and biodegradability.