Removal of ZnO and CuO Nanoparticles from Water Using an Activated Carbon Column
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 3
Abstract
Efficient removal of nanoparticles (NPs) is particularly important in view of the increasing long-term persistence and evidence of considerable ecotoxicity of some nanoparticles. The aim of this study was to understand the effects of flowrate (0.5, 1, and ), concentration (1, 10, and ), and the type of nanoparticles (ZnO, CuO, and ) on the removal of the nanoparticles in an activated carbon column. Flowrate, concentration of NPs, and type of NPs were found to influence the removal at room temperature. Complete removals of both ZnONPs and CuONPs in both single and binary suspensions from water were achieved. Breakthrough was achieved after treating 3 L of water for nearly 50 h for concentrations of 1 and of ZnONPs and CuONPs. The breakthrough was reached faster for Cu (49.5 h) than Zn (53 h). More work is required to understand the effect of water quality on the removal, to develop methods for quantifying the concentration of nanoparticles after any kind of nanoparticle-water interaction, and to understand the fate and removal mechanism of NPs in the column.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi for providing all facilities and financial assistance to carry out this work. The authors are also grateful to the Nano-Research Facility Laboratory (IIT Delhi) and the Textile Department (IIT Delhi) for assisting in the TEM and EDS analysis of the sample.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 3 • March 2018
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 7, 2016
Accepted: Aug 25, 2017
Published online: Dec 26, 2017
Published in print: Mar 1, 2018
Discussion open until: May 26, 2018
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