Application of Chitosan for Treatment of Wastewaters

Significant volumes of wastewaters, with organic and inorganic contaminants such as suspended solids, dyes, pesticides, toxicants, and heavy metals, are discharged from various industries. These wastewaters create a serious environmental problem and pose a threat to water quality when discharged into rivers and lakes. Thus, such contaminants must be effectively removed to meet increasingly stringent environmental quality standards. It is becoming increasingly recognized that the nontoxic and biodegradable biopolymer chitosan can be used in wastewater treatment (Peniston and Johnson 1970).