Abstract: In order to remove dyes from printing and dyeing effluent, a novel methylcellulose aerogel adsorbent based on methylcellulose (MC) and chitosan (CS) were developed. Discussion was made on the influence of ratio of methylcellulose and chitosan, concentration of glutaraldehyde, cross-linking temperature, and aerogel density on the adsorption capacity and compression strength of aerogel, with congo red (CR) and methylene blue(MB) as target object. And then the preparation process was optimized, and the results show that the adsorption capacities of aerogel based on methylcellulose for the anionic dyes CR and cationic dyes MB are as high as 518.12 and 237.86 mg/g respectively with the ratio of MC/CS of 6∶4, the glutaraldehyde concentration 5%, cross-linking temperature 50 ℃, and the aerogel density reach a high of 10 mg/cm 3 . Besides,the compression strength of aerogel is 1.57 kPa, and MC/CS can maintain the major structure after adsorption process.

Key words: methylcellulose; chitosan; aerogel; adsorption; dyes