Starch-modified filters used for the removal of dyes from waste water

The present article proposes the use of starch-enriched flour as low-cost adsorbent of dyes. The adsorbents have been prepared by reticulation of starch-enriched flour using epichlorohydrin as crosslinking agent. These starch-modified filters exhibit interesting properties in terms of sorption rate. Studies concerning the sorption capacity are presented. The influence of the amine groups and the chemical structure of dyes are also studied. The regeneration procedure of the filters is showed and discussed. In order to explain the results, an adsorption mechanism mainly based on physical adsorption and interactions such as hydrogen bonds and ion-exchange due to the nature of the polymer network is proposed.