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Removal of aromatic and hydrophobic fractions of natural organic matter (NOM) using surfactant modified magnetic nanoadsorbents (MNPs)

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Abstract

The present study investigated the potential of surfactant modified magnetic nanoadsorbents (MNPs) for the removal of aromatic and hydrophobic fractions of natural organic matter (NOM), leading to the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) in chlorinated drinking water. Co-precipitation method was used for the synthesis of MNPs. However, MNPs have a tendency to form an agglomeration. Therefore, polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used as a surface modifier to reduce the agglomeration. The PEG-coated MNPs were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), BET surface area, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform spectrometer (FTIR), and zeta (ζ) potential. FESEM observation indicates that PEG-coated MNPs were spherical in shape and 25 nm in size. Zeta potential values (− 58.35 to − 74.9 mV) indicated excellent stability of PEG-MNPs. FTIR spectra indicated the presence of a −CH2 group, responsible for the chemical interaction between aromatic and humic content. Batch experiments were conducted by studying the effect of pH, contact time, and adsorbent dosage on NOM removal. Excellent removal of DOC (94.49%) and UV254 (89.32%) was observed at the optimum dose of adsorbent (0.75 g/L) and at pH 7.0. Adsorption kinetics followed pseudo-second-order reaction (R2, 0.973) and occurs by multilayer chemisorption which is due to the chemical interaction between aromatic and humic compounds of NOM with MNPs. Thus, MNPs showed great potential as a novel adsorbent for the removal of aromatic and hydrophobic compounds of NOM and can significantly be used to curtail the problem of THMs in drinking water supplies.

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Funding

The authors thank the financial support from Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad under Junior Research Fellowship scheme for carrying out this study.

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  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, 826004, India

    Minashree Kumari & Sunil Kumar Gupta

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  1. Minashree Kumari
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Correspondence to Minashree Kumari.

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Kumari, M., Gupta, S.K. Removal of aromatic and hydrophobic fractions of natural organic matter (NOM) using surfactant modified magnetic nanoadsorbents (MNPs). Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 25565–25579 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2611-0

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