Abstract
Being more and more widely used for a variety of water treatments, chitosan and activated carbons are playing an increasingly significant part nowadays. Activated carbons purify water through the pore structure and adsorb ions or other particles. Chitosan also adsorb a large amount of metallic ions and purifies water through the reactions by the functional groups. This paper discusses the different features of the two substances and then gives a comparison between the two types of adsorbents by comparing their characteristics, conditions and applications. Specifically, the suitable temperatures, the specific modifications and solubility are discussed, together with other factors. The difference in their physical and chemical properties plays an important role in the comparison. For physical properties, the activated carbons have strong mechanical strength and are soluble in many types of solvents. By contrast, chitosan is generally soluble in an acidic solution. There are also some differences in the adsorption abilities and ways to purify solutions. Next, chitosan is more easily dissolved in solution with low PH and at room temperature. However, the activated carbons require lower PH and lower temperature to be dissolved. Then, activated carbons are more likely to cause secondary pollution due to the impurities in the activated carbons. The two substances require different modifications to increase the rate of adsorption. As a result, the firms should consider the features of the two types of adsorbents and choose the better one. They should also understand the suitable conditions for each adsorbent.