Characterization of the binding properties of iota-carrageenan towards Pb, Zn and Cd

• Main Author: Ajero, Michael Dominic M.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1999
• Subjects: Heavy metals; Chondrus crispus; Solution (Chemistry); Carrageen seaweed; Chemistry
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/2024
• Institution: De La Salle University

Iota-Carrageenan is known to be capable of binding with Pb, Cd and Zn ions. This study investigates the binding properties of i-carrageenan with Pb, Cd, and Zn. Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry is used for the analysis of the bound metals.The effective binding capacity was found to be around 1 mmol metal/g of i-carrageenan for the three metals. Below this point, metal binding was found to be efficient. It began to decrease significantly after the binding capacity was exceeded. In competition studies, the order of addition of the metals was found to have no effect on the ratios of metals occupying binding sites. The affinity of i-carrageenan for the metals studied decrease in the order Pb, Cd, and Zn. The relative affinities measured from equimolar quantities of the metals are 39 percent for Pb, 29 percent for Cd and 32 percent for Zn.A decrease in the amount of metals bound was observed when the binding experiments were done at higher temperatures. This is probably due to the disruption of the tertiary structure of i-carrageenan. Two weeks of stability testing showed no significant change in the amount of metals bound to the polymer.