BACKGROUNDThe performance of newly prepared fibrous boron selective adsorbent was investigated via equilibrium isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics of boron adsorption from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent was obtained by radiation induced graft copolymerization (RIGC) of vinyl benzyl chloride (VBC) onto nylon-6 fibers followed by chemical treatment with N-methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG). RESULTSThe effect of solution pH on the boron adsorption capacity was investigated. The equilibrium adsorption data was fitted to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Redlich-Peterson isotherms, with the experimental data best fitting the Redlich-Peterson model. The kinetic data analyzed using the intra-particle diffusion model indicated that adsorption onto the fibrous chelating adsorbent is governed by a film diffusion mechanism. The thermodynamic adsorption parameters including the Gibb's free energy change (G(o)), enthalpy change (H-o) and entropy change (S-o) were determined and the results indicated that adsorption onto the fibrous adsorbent occurs spontaneously. CONCLUSIONThe high adsorption capacity and rapid kinetics suggest that the newly prepared fibrous adsorbent could have strong potential for boron removal from aqueous solutions. (c) 2015 Society of Chemical Industry