Water bodies contaminated by heavy metals cause a series of severe environmental and health issues. Chromium compounds stand out as one of the main contaminants since they are widely used by several industries. The low efficiency of effluent treatment facilities and the expensive sanitation procedures needed to remove metals from the water lead to serious concerns about the water quality in Brazil. In this study, a rigid polyurethane foam incorporated with green liquor dregs waste was prepared by the free expansion method. The foam composite and its isolated phases were evaluated for removing Cr(III) from water. The isolated dregs removed 81.93% of the Cr(III), which yielded a removal capacity of 135.45 mg·g-1. Whereas, the foam composite displayed Cr(III) removal percentage and capacity of 36.15% and 58.50 mg·g-1, respectively. Results suggests that the hybrid material may be considered for selective removal and extraction of Cr(III) from contaminated water.
