title: A review on chitosan-based flocculants and their applications in water treatment.
abstract: In recent years, the use of chitosan and its derivatives as flocculants in water treatment has received considerable attention due to their many advantages, including their widespread availability, environmental friendliness, biodegradability, and prominent structural features. However, it is a significant strategy for selection and design of the high-performance materials on the basis of their structure-activity relationships. Here we describe several of the chemical modification methods commonly used to prepare chitosan-based flocculants. These methods allow convenient control and adjustment of the structures of the obtained materials to meet the different practical requirements. The influence of structural elements of the chitosan-based flocculants on their flocculation properties are emphasized in this review by examining different flocculation mechanisms and their applications in the treatment of various wastewaters containing different pollutants (insoluble suspended colloids but also dissolved matters). Above all, the chitosan-based flocculants with proper structures by precise structure control bear great application potentials in water treatment.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR China.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR China.
authors.forename: Haijiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR China.
authors.forename: Mu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR China. Electronic address: yanghu@nju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR China.
authors.forename: Aimin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D005427:Flocculation; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D048271:Chitosan; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Chemical modification; Chitosan-based flocculants; Flocculation mechanism; Structural factors; Structure-activity relationship; Water treatment