Wastewater Treatment Using Imprinted Polymeric Adsorbents

Abstract

In twenty-first century, numbers of synthetic dyes are used in many industries, for example paper, textile, cosmetic, leather for coloring, vs. The dyeing industries wastes is the most found contaminant to be recognized in wastewater. There are various treatment methods including oxidation processes, biological degradation, membrane filtration and coagulation/flocculation have been studied to treat dyeing wastewater. Unfortunately, these methods are high operational costs, complicated operations and possibility of producing more toxic products. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are interesting and alternative polymeric adsorbents that can be applied in wastewater treatment for sample preparation and for the quantification of dyes present in wastewater. Molecular imprinting is a process in which functional and crosslinking monomers are co-polymerized in the presence of the target analyte, the imprint molecule. Initially, the functional monomer forms a complex and, after polymerization, their functional groups are held by the highly crosslinking polymeric structure. Upon leaching of the imprint molecule from the polymer matrix, a polymer with binding sites complementary in size and shape to the imprint molecule is created. MIPs can function under extreme conditions of pH, temperature and complex environment. Also, MIPs present wide recognition due to their stability, ease of production and low-cost potential.

Factors Affecting Preparation of Molecularly Imprinted Polymer and Methods on Finding Template-Monomer Interaction as the Key of Selective Properties of the Materials

“…The increasing contaminants in the environmental water is an alarming issue [ 18 ]. Environmental monitoring can be carried out on environmentally hazardous materials such as dyes [ 19 ], persistent organic pollutants [ 20 ], pesticide residues [ 21 ], mycotoxins [ 22 ], heavy metals, and antibiotics [ 23 ]. The presence of these contaminants can cause harmful effects on public health, either directly or indirectly [ 24 ].…”

Comparative Study between Imprinted Polymer Technology and Economic Adsorption Methodologies for the Removal of Arsenic Species from Water

“…Meanwhile, all of these excellent characteristics make imprinted polymer technology good alternative adsorbents for wastewater treatment [29]. The easy preparation, resistance to hard conditions (pH, temperature, storage stability), easy to use with real complex examples (directly wastewater) make imprinted polymer technology more suitable for different samples [45].…”

Amelioration of Smoke Taint in Wine via Addition of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers during or after Fermentation

“…During synthesis, functional and cross-linking monomers are polymerized around a “template” (the target compound), which on removal, leaves a three-dimensional network polymer comprising binding sites that specifically correspond to the shape, size, and functionality of the target . The reversible binding of target compounds by MIPs enables their regeneration and reuse; , coupled with their (purported) selectivity, MIPs offer promising alternatives to existing sorptive materials, and are already being used as separation media in HPLC columns and solid-phase extraction cartridges, and for food analysis, drug delivery, and water purification . In wine, magnetic polymers have been used to manage methoxypyrazine concentrations, while several wine constituents, including guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol (two of the volatile phenols routinely used as markers of smoke taint ,,− ), have been used as templates in MIP production. ,, However, the potential for MIPs to selectively remove free or glycosylated volatile phenols from wine, thereby remediating smoke taint, has not yet been explored.…”