Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Removal of nonylphenol polyethoxylates by raw lignite coal and activated carbon: materials characterization, adsorption studies, and modeling the adsorption isotherms

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present work deals with the evaluation of raw lignite coal (LC) as a low-cost adsorbent to remove nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEOs) from wastewater. Commercial activated carbon (AC) was also studied for comparison purposes. Both adsorbents were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, BET surface area, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The AC surface was more irregular than LC due to the presence of cavities on the surface of AC particles. BET surface area of AC was two orders of magnitude higher than the corresponding to LC. FTIR spectra of both adsorbents revealed the presence of abundant surface functional groups. Adsorption assays demonstrated that NPEOs followed a Langmuir-type equation. However, Langmuir constants were a function of the average length of the ethoxylate chain (n) of the tested NPEOs samples. A mathematical model was developed to represent the obtained adsorption equilibrium isotherms of NPEOs. Using a single set of parameters, the developed model can describe the adsorption of different mixtures of NPEOs. The model can also predict the distribution of oligomers in equilibrium, which is crucial to evaluate the endocrine-disrupting potential of the treated wastewater.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

References

  • Acir I-H, Guenther K (2018) Endocrine-disrupting metabolites of alkylphenol ethoxylates—A critical review of analytical methods, environmental occurrences, toxicity, and regulation. Sci Total Environ 635:1530–1546

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Energy Information Administration. "Coal explained. Retrieved 2021–09–26 from https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/coal/

  • Ali R, Aslam Z, Shawabkeh RA, Asghar A, Hussein IA (2020) BET, FTIR, and RAMAN characterizations of activated carbon from waste oil fly ash. Turk J Chem 44:279–295

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Othman ZA (2012) A review: fundamental aspects of silicate mesoporous materials. Materials 5:2874–2902

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aoki N, Kinoshita K, Mikuni K, Nakanishi K, Hattori K (2007) Adsorption of 4-nonylphenol ethoxylates onto insoluble chitosan beads bearing cyclodextrin moieties. J Incl Phenom Macrocycl Chem 57:237–241

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arturi TS, Zaritzky NE, Contreras EM (2014) Simple high-performance liquid chromatography−ultraviolet method to quantify the molecular size distribution of nonylphenol ethoxylates. Ind Eng Chem Res 53:1327–1333

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Asada T, Oikawa K, Kawata K, Ishihara S, Iyobe T, Yamada A (2004) Study of removal effect of bisphenol A and β-estradiol by porous carbon. J Health Sci 50:588–593

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bhatnagar A, Sillanpää M (2009) Applications of chitin-and chitosan-derivatives for the detoxification of water and wastewater —A short review. Adv Coll Interface Sci 152:26–38

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bonenfant D, Niquette P, Mimeault M, Hausler R (2010) Adsorption and recovery of nonylphenol ethoxylate on a crosslinked b-cyclodextrin-carboxymethylcellulose polymer. Water Sci Technol 61:2293–2301

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brandão PC, Souza TC, Ferreira CA, Hori CE, Romanielo LL (2010) Removal of petroleum hydrocarbons from aqueous solution using sugarcane bagasse as adsorbent. J Hazard Mater 175:1106–1112

    Google Scholar 

  • Calvo E, Bravo R, Amigo A, Gracia-Fadrique J (2009) Dynamic surface tension, critical micelle concentration, and activity coefficients of aqueous solutions of nonyl phenol ethoxylates. Fluid Phase Equilib 282:14–19

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chakraborty S, Chowdhury S, Das Saha P (2011) Adsorption of crystal violet from aqueous solution onto NaOH-modified rice husk. Carbohyd Polym 86:1533–1541

    Google Scholar 

  • Chokwe TB, Okonkwo JO, Sibali LL (2017) Distribution, exposure pathways, sources and toxicity of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates in the environment. Water SA 43:529–542

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chong N-M, Luong M, Hwu C-S (2012) Biogenic substrate benefits activated sludge in acclimation to a xenobiotic. Bioresour Technol 104:181–186

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deng H, Zhang G, Xu X, Tao G, Dai J (2010) Optimization of preparation of activated carbon from cotton stalk by microwave assisted phosphoric acid-chemical activation. J Hazard Mater 182:217–224

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duggan O, Allen SJ (1997) Study of the physical and chemical characteristics of a range of chemically treated, lignite based carbons. Water Sci Technol 35:21–27

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferro Orozco AM, Lobo CC, Contreras EM, Zaritzky NE (2013) Biodegradation of bisphenol-A (BPA) in activated sludge batch reactors: analysis of the acclimation process. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 85:392–399

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferro Orozco AM, Morales Urrea DA, Contreras EM, Zaritzky NE (2020) Loss of bisphenol A removal ability of activated sludge in semi-continuous reactors. J Environ Chem Eng 8:103778

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Finqueneisel G, Zimny T, Albiniak A, Siemieniewska T, Vogt D, Weber JV (1998) Cheap adsorbent. Part 1: active cokes from lignites and improvement of their adsorptive properties by mild oxidation. Fuel 77:549–556

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Girish CR (2017) Various isotherm models for multicomponent adsorption: a review. Int J Civil Eng Technol 8:80–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Han Q, Wang J, Goodman BA, Xie J, Liu Z (2020) High adsorption of methylene blue by activated carbon prepared from phosphoric acid treated eucalyptus residue. Powder Technol 366:239–248

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hesas RH, Arami-Niya A, Daud WMAW, Sahu JN (2013) Preparation and characterization of activated carbons from apple waste by microwave-assisted phosphoric acid activation: application in methylene blue adsorption. BioResource 8:2950–2966

    Google Scholar 

  • Hines KM, Ross DH, Davidson KL, Bush MF, Xu L (2017) Large-scale structural characterization of drug and drug-like compounds by high-throughput ion mobility-mass spectrometry. Anal Chem 89:9023–9030

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hou S-G, Sun H-W, Gao Y (2006) Sorption of small metabolites of nonylphenol polyethoxylates in single and complex systems on aquatic suspended particulate matter. Chemosphere 63:31–38

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim S, Wang S, Ang HM (2010) Removal of emulsified oil from oily wastewater using agricultural waste barley straw. Biochem Eng J 49:78–83

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ji X, Li N, Yuan S, Zhou X, Ding F, Rao K, Ma M, Wang Z (2019) A comparison of endocrine disruption potential of nonylphenol ethoxylate, vanillin ethoxylate, 4-n-nonylphenol and vanillin in vitro. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 175:208–214

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • John DM, House AW, White GF (2000) Environmental fate of nonylphenol ethoxylates: differential adsorption of homologs to components of river sediment. Environ Toxicol Chem 19:293–300

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karim R, Alam M, Chowdhury MMH, Hossain F (2012) Generalized minimum perpendicular distance square method of estimation. Appl Math 3:1945–1949

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar A, Jena HM (2016) Preparation and characterization of high surface area activated carbon from Fox nut (Euryale ferox) shell by chemical activation with H3PO4. Results Phys 6:651–658

    Google Scholar 

  • Lalonde B, Garron C (2021) Nonylphenol, octylphenol, and nonylphenol ethoxylates dissemination in the canadian freshwater environment. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 80:319–330

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • León M, Silva J, Carrasco S, Barrientos N (2020) Design, cost estimation and sensitivity analysis for a production process of activated carbon from waste nutshells by physical activation. Processes 8:945

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Ma C, Wang J, Lyu X, Zhang Q, You X, Li L (2020) Investigation of nonylphenol ethoxylate on the surface characteristics of low rank coal. Part Sci Technol 38:1012–101838

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Zhao Y, Li Q, Jiao T, Niu J (2016) Surface and interfacial tension of nonylphenol polyethylene oxides sulfonate. J Mol Liq 216:185–191

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo Y, Li D, Chen Y, Sun X, Cao Q, Liu X (2019) The performance of phosphoric acid in the preparation of activated carbon-containing phosphorus species from rice husk residue. J Mater Sci 54:5008–5021

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma W, Nie C, Su F, Cheng X, Yan Y, Chen B, Lun X (2015) Migration and biotransformation of three selected endocrine disrupting chemicals in different river-based aquifers media recharge with reclaimed water. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 102:298–307

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mendes P, Kell D (1998) Non-linear optimization of biochemical pathways: applications to metabolic engineering and parameter estimation. Bioinformatics 14:869–883

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Noroozi B, Sorial GA (2013) Applicable models for multi-component adsorption of dyes: a review. J Environ Sci 25:419–429

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oostra A (2008) Sobre la solución de ecuaciones de tercer y cuarto grado. Tumbaga 3:174–186

    Google Scholar 

  • Priac A, Morin-Crini N, Druart C, Gavoille S, Bradu C, Lagarrigue C, Torri G, Winterton P, Crini G (2017) Alkylphenol and alkylphenol polyethoxylates in water and wastewater: a review of options for their elimination. Arab J Chem 10:S3749

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Santacesaria E, Di Serio M, Lisi L, Gelosa D (1990) Kinetics of nonylphenol polyethoxylation catalyzed by potassium hydroxide. Ind Eng Chem Res 29:719–725

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sis H, Chander G, Chander S (2005) Synergism in sodium oleate/ethoxylated nonylphenol mixtures. J Dispersion Sci Technol 26:605–614

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soares A, Guieysse B, Jefferson B, Cartmell E, Lester JN (2008) Nonylphenol in the environment: a critical review on occurrence, fate, toxicity and treatment in wastewaters. Environ Int 34:1033–1049

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stenholm A, Hedeland M, Arvidsson T, Pettersson CE (2020) Removal of nonylphenol polyethoxylates by adsorption on polyurethane foam and biodegradation using immobilized Trametes versicolor. Sci Total Environ 724:138–159

    Google Scholar 

  • Streat M, Patrick JW, Camporro Perez MJ (1995) Sorption of phenol and para-chlorophenol from water using conventional and novel activated carbons. Water Res 29:467–472

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thommes M, Kaneko K, Neimark AV, Olivier JP, Rodriguez-Reinoso F, Rouquerol J, Sing KS (2015) Physisorption of gases, with special reference to the evaluation of surface area and pore size distribution (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure Appl Chem 87:1051–1069

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tibor ST, Grande CA (2022) Industrial production of activated carbon using circular bioeconomy principles: case study from a Romanian company. Clean Eng Technol 7:100443

    Google Scholar 

  • Water Framework Directive. Directive 2000/60/EC (2000) Establishment and framework for community action in the field of water policy. European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, Luxembourg

    Google Scholar 

  • Yakout SM, Sharaf El-Deen G (2016) Characterization of activated carbon prepared by phosphoric acid activation of olive stones. Arab J Chem 9:S1155

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang J, Qiu K (2010) Preparation of activated carbons from walnut shells via vacuum chemical activation and their application for methylene blue removal. Chem Eng J 165:209–217

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan X, Xing W, Zhuo S-P, Si W, Gao X, Han Z, Yan Z-F (2008) Adsorption of bulky molecules of nonylphenol ethoxylate on ordered mesoporous carbons. J Colloid Interface Sci 322:558–565

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuasa A, Li F, Cheong E-J, Matsui Y (2005) Adsorption of nonylphenol ethoxylates in the presence of competing natural organic matter. Adsorption 11:243–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Zgoła-Grześkowiak A, Grześkowiak T, Rydlichowski R, Łukaszewski Z (2009) Determination of nonylphenol and short-chained nonylphenol ethoxylates in drain water from an agricultural area. Chemosphere 75:513–518

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Drs. TSA, EMC, and NEZ gratefully acknowledge the financial support given by Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), and Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCYT).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación Y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos (CIDCA)−CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La, Plata 47 Y 116, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    T. S. Arturi & N. E. Zaritzky

  2. Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de La, Plata 1 Y 47, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    T. S. Arturi & N. E. Zaritzky

  3. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia Y Tecnología de Materiales (INTEMA-CONICET-UNMDP), Avenida Juan B. Justo 4302-CP, B7608FDQ, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    E. M. Contreras

  4. Catalysis and Surfaces, Institute of Materials Science and Technology Research (INTEMA), Av. Cristóbal Colón 10850, B7606BWV, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    E. M. Contreras

Authors
  1. T. S. Arturi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. N. E. Zaritzky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E. M. Contreras
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. M. Contreras.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Ethical approval

The facts and views in the manuscript are solely ours, and we are responsible for authenticity, validity, and originality. We also declare that this manuscript is our original work, and we have not copied it from anywhere else. There is no plagiarism in the present manuscript.

Consent for publication

We undertake and agree that the manuscript submitted to your journal has not been published elsewhere and has not been simultaneously submitted to other journals.

Additional information

Editorial responsibility: Maryam Shabani.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 56 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Arturi, T.S., Zaritzky, N.E. & Contreras, E.M. Removal of nonylphenol polyethoxylates by raw lignite coal and activated carbon: materials characterization, adsorption studies, and modeling the adsorption isotherms. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 21, 3553–3566 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05203-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05203-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation