Ji Hyeon Kim  Gyu Na Sim  Jaekyoung Lee

Vol. 32,  No. 1, pp. 69-77, Mar.  2026
10.7464/ksct.2026.32.1.69

Alginate Metal-alginate complex Crosslinking Pb removal

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Alginate is a polysaccharide derived from seaweed that can bind with a variety of metal ions. It is a promising eco-friendly adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. In this study, gel and dry beads were prepared by cross-linking alginates with different molecular weights using various metal ions (Cu2+, Ca2+, Ba2+). The physicochemical properties of the prepared samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The lead removal performance of the samples was evaluated in an aqueous solution containing 1,000 ppm of lead (Pb2+) for 24 h. The results showed that the lead removal performance of the Ca2+ sample was the highest followed by the Cu2+ and Ba2+ samples. In contrast, no significant differences were observed according to the molecular weight of the alginate. The lead removal efficiency was closely related to the specific surface area of the metal-alginate composites, indicating that a high surface area is a critical parameter for lead removal. This work demonstrates that alginate derived beads are highly effective adsorbents for the removal of lead from aqueous solutions, and that their performance can be optimized by controlling the type of metal ions used for crosslinking.