Chitosan Hollow Fiber Membranes: Preparation, Characterization and modelling of adsorptive properties

In recent years, adsorptive membranes have emerged as powerful means for removal of pollutants from effluents [1]. Chitosan (CS) has attracted more attention among materialswith reactive functional groups for preparing adsorptive membranes [2]. To increase the specific surface area, hollowfibers are usually the preferred membrane configuration [3]. The weak mechanical properties and the solubility of chitosan in acidic media [4] are the major obstacle for using chitosanhollow fibers as adsorbent. The purpose of the present study was to prepare CS hollow fibers, with a high mechanicalstrength, and to use them as biosorbents for dye removal. Morphology, mechanical and swelling properties of fibers were examined. In this study, Reactive blue 19 (RB19) wasselected as a model anionic dye. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed for the modeling of adsorption capacity of fibers.