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Effects of pH and natural organic matter (NOM) on the adsorptive removal of CuO nanoparticles by periphyton

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Abstract

The presence of nanoparticles (NPs) in natural aquatic environment is a potential risk to aquatic and human life. Periphyton, ubiquitous in aquatic environment, has been used to remove pollutants from aquatic systems. Understanding the interaction between NPs and periphyton will help to better predict the behavior and fate of NPs in aquatic media. This study was aimed to investigate the CuO NP biosorption mechanism by periphyton at acidic, neutral, and alkaline pH and with varying natural organic matter (NOM) concentrations. The rate of adsorption and removal of CuO NPs was decreased with increase in initial pH and NOM concentration. The zeta potential study suggests that the biosorption of CuO NPs by periphyton was related to electrostatic force of attraction. The particle size distribution of CuO NPs in solution with different NOM concentrations played an important role in CuO NP removal. The well fit between pseudo-first-order kinetics and adsorption process indicated that physical sorption appears to be the dominating process. These results show that periphyton can be employed for an environmentally benign and effective solution for NP removal.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the grants from the National Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 51225901), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51479047, 51109058, and 51209069), Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT13061), Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University (2013B14114), Open Foundation of Huaian Research Institute of Hohai University, and Jiangsu Province Ordinary University Graduate Student Scientific Research Innovation Plan (No. KYZZ14_0157).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resources Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, People’s Republic of China

    Lingzhan Miao, Chao Wang, Jun Hou, Peifang Wang, Yanhui Ao, Shanshan Dai & Bowen Lv

  2. College of Environment, Hohai University, 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Lingzhan Miao, Chao Wang, Jun Hou, Peifang Wang, Yanhui Ao, Shanshan Dai & Bowen Lv

  3. Huaian Research Institute, Hohai Universtiy, Huaian, 223001, People’s Republic of China

    Lingzhan Miao & Jun Hou

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  1. Lingzhan Miao
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  2. Chao Wang
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  3. Jun Hou
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  4. Peifang Wang
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  5. Yanhui Ao
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  6. Shanshan Dai
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  7. Bowen Lv
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Correspondence to Jun Hou.

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Responsible editor: Céline Guéguen

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Miao, L., Wang, C., Hou, J. et al. Effects of pH and natural organic matter (NOM) on the adsorptive removal of CuO nanoparticles by periphyton. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 7696–7704 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3952-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3952-y

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