A new type of chitosan-zirconium composite particles (CTS-Zr) has been prepared through coordination reaction between zirconium oxychloride and chitosan

and in-situ precipitation of zirconium hydroxide for the adsorption of boron from solution. The CTS-Zr composite was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The effects of pH

initial boron concentration

contact time

temperature and co-existing ions Cl-

NO3-

and SO42- on adsorption performance were also investigated systematically. The results demonstrated that prepared adsorbent could maintain high boron adsorption efficiency in a pH range from 2 to 7. The equilibrium adsorption behavior of boron on the CTS-Zr composite had a good agreement with the Langmuir isotherm model

and the maximum adsorption capacity was calculated as 21.1 mg·g-1 with pH of 7. The uptake kinetics was fitted well with the pseudo-second order rate equation

and the common coexisting anions almost had no negative effect on the boron adsorption. The results of adsorption thermodynamics of boron on CTS-Zr indicate the exothermic and not spontaneous nature of the adsorption process. The boron adsorbed on CTS-Zr particles was regenerated with an efficiency of 96.3% using NaOH solution of pH of 12

and the adsorption efficiency was not significantly reduced after three adsorption-desorption cycles.