Comparative removal of emerging contaminants from aqueous solution by adsorption on an activated carbon

Gil, Antonio; Taoufik, Nawal; Garcia, Aline; Korili, S.A.

doi:10.1080/09593330.2018.1464066

Cited by 84 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Biological technologies have been suggested by several authors to remove these compounds from aqueous systems including anaerobic digestion [7], membrane bioreactors [8,9], phytotreatment [10], biodegradation by pure cultures [5,11,12], and activated sludge [13,14]. Physicochemical technologies as activated carbon adsorption [15,16], pine bark and almond shell [17], and clays adsorbents [18,19], ozonation and ozone/activated carbon coupling [20], and chemical oxidation [21] have also been considered. Several disadvantages are associated with physicochemical methods as the generation of secondary pollutants and the high operational costs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of widespread pharmaceuticals by activated sludge: Kinetic study, toxicity assessment, and comparison with adsorption processes

Quintelas

Mesquita

Torres

et al. 2020

Journal of Water Process Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The growing presence of pharmaceutical compounds in aqueous systems leads to the search for new efficient and eco-friendly solutions to this problem. Although pharmaceutical products are widely found in the aqueous environments, there is limited understanding of their ecological effects. To augment the removal of pharmaceuticals, a bench reactor was inoculated with activated sludge and fed with a synthetic medium. Two pharmaceuticals of widespread usage, ibuprofen (IBU) and paracetamol (PARA) in the range 0.4-1 mg L -1 were used. The uptake values increased from 0.192 to 0.660 mg g -1 for IBU and from 0.104 to 0.341 mg g -1 for PARA. The removal efficiency reached values from 99.1-99.5 % and is independent of the initial IBU concentration. For PARA the removal percentage ranged from 93.3-98.8 decreasing with the increase on the initial concentration. The removal mechanism is well described by pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetic models for all concentrations tested. At same time, batch assays were performed in order to assess the toxicity of both pharmaceuticals into the activated sludge using quantitative image analysis (QIA). For IBU experiments, QIA studies showed that this compound favors the growth of aggregated biomass rather than filamentous bacteria. A comparison between this biological technology and adsorption by a commercial porous ceramic material and Pinus bark was also performed. The results showed that the biological technology allowed better results (99.5 % against 19.4 and 9.3 %, respectively for the ceramic material and Pinus bark) for IBU. The results obtained for PARA showed comparable results for the biological technology and for adsorption by the ceramic material. The activated sludge system presented here appears to be a promising treatment for pharmaceutical contaminated effluents and the biomass present in the activated sludge seems do not be negatively affected by the presence of high concentrations of both pharmaceuticals.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of widespread pharmaceuticals by activated sludge: Kinetic study, toxicity assessment, and comparison with adsorption processes

Quintelas

Mesquita

Torres

et al. 2020

Journal of Water Process Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…After determining the q e and the SMX equilibrium concentration ( C e ), the resulting plot was fitted with the Freundlich mathematical model. The Langmuir model was also utilized, but a poor fit suggested a distribution of active adsorbent sites rather than formation of a homogeneous monolayer at adsorption equilibrium [45]. The Freundlich isotherm model is an empirical equation introduced to describe the processes of adsorption.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanocellulose-Block Copolymer Films for the Removal of Emerging Organic Contaminants from Aqueous Solutions

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The prevalence of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in ground and surface water has sparked the search for more effective methods to remove EOCs from the environment. In pursuit of a solution for this environmental concern, herein we present the development of reusable films based on cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and the block copolymer, poly(4-vinylpyridine-b-ethylene oxide) (P4VP-PEO) to adsorb sulfamethoxazole (SMX) as an EOC model compound. We hypothesize that the adsorption of SMX was achieved mainly by π-π interactions between the pyridine functionalities of the block copolymer and the electron deficient phenyl group of the SMX. Preceding preparation of the films, CNFs were modified with the alkoxysilane trimethoxy(2-phenylethyl)silane (TMPES) to increase their stability in aqueous solution. After the addition of P4VP-PEO, the process was completed by filtration followed by oven-drying. XPS and FTIR were employed to confirm the addition of TMPES and P4VP-PEO, respectively. Adsorption batch experiments were performed in aqueous solutions of SMX at a neutral pH, obtaining adsorptions of up to 0.014 mmol/g in a moderate time of 60 min. For the reusability tests, films were immersed in ethanol 95 wt.% to elude the adsorbed SMX, rinsed with deionized (DI) water, and dried at room temperature to be reused in a new adsorption cycle. We found that this new composite material could be reused several times with negligible loss of adsorption capacity. The films presented have been shown to be of substantial importance for water remediation as they find direct application in the adsorption of electron deficient aromatic compounds and are reusable.

show abstract

“…Gil, Taoufik, García, and Korili (2019) studied the adsorption effect of industrial granular AC on caffeine, chlorofibric acid, diclofenac, gallic acid, ibuprofen, and salicylic acid in aqueous solution. The effects of process parameters, including pH value, initial concentration of organic molecules, adsorbent mass, and contact time, on the adsorption effect were also studied.…”

Section: Physical and Physicochemical Separation Coagulation And Somentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging pollutants—Part II: Treatment

Liu

Zhang

Chang

2020

Water Environment Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Emerging pollutants (EPs) refer to a class of pollutants, which are emerging in the environment or recently attracted attention. EPs mainly include pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). EPs have potential threats to human health and ecological environment. In recent years, the continuous detections of EPs in surface and ground water have brought huge challenges to water treatment and also made the treatment of EPs become an international research hotspot. This paper summarizes some research results on EPs treatment published in 2019. This paper may be helpful to understand the current situations and development trends of EP treatment technologies.

show abstract

Comparative removal of emerging contaminants from aqueous solution by adsorption on an activated carbon

Cited by 84 publications

References 55 publications

Degradation of widespread pharmaceuticals by activated sludge: Kinetic study, toxicity assessment, and comparison with adsorption processes

Degradation of widespread pharmaceuticals by activated sludge: Kinetic study, toxicity assessment, and comparison with adsorption processes

Nanocellulose-Block Copolymer Films for the Removal of Emerging Organic Contaminants from Aqueous Solutions

Emerging pollutants—Part II: Treatment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About