Application of modified starches in wastewater treatment

Recently natural polysaccharides have been developed as environmentally friendly materials for removing toxic pollutants from aqueous solutions. Amongst numerous polysaccharides starch is an abundant, inexpensive, renewable and fully biodegradable natural raw material. The main criterion in the design of modified starch with substantial stability is fast complexation of toxic pollutants. A new class of modified starches has been synthesized and applied as adsorbents for dyes and heavy metals. In this chapter, the preparation and application of the modified starches were introduced. The adsorption kinetics, equilibrium isotherm and interaction mode were discussed. Moreover, the advancement of surface structures and adsorption mechanism were reviewed. Some suggestions in design of starch-based materials for wastewater treatment were put forward in consideration of the stability of modified starches.