Purification of heavy metals from industrial waste water using grafted corn husks pulp ion exchanger

This study focuses on the development of an ion exchanger based on cellulose extracted from corn husks and grafted with acrylamide followed by base hydrolysis. Corn husk was prehydrolyzed with diluted acid followed by pulping in one or two pulping stages, then bleached by alkaline hydrogen peroxide. Alpha cellulose, lignin, ash and other parameters were measured in the produced pulp. Graft copolymerization of acrylamide onto the pulp was done using Potassium persulfate as initiator followed by sodium hydroxide reflux to convert the amide group to carboxylate group that was used to remove Ni from waste water. Factors affecting grafting such as time, temperature, monomer ratio, and initiator concentration were studied. In addition Factors affecting metal ion removal such as pH, temperature, amount, and time were studied.