Innovative use of drinking water treatment solids for heavy metals removal from desalination concentrate: Synergistic effect of salts and natural organic matter

Removal of heavy metals from water using electrospun polyelectrolyte complex fiber mats

This study investigates the contributions of natural organic matter (NOM) and bacteria to the aggregation and deposition of TiO(2) nanoparticles (TNPs) in aquatic environments. Transport experiments with TNPs were conducted in a microscopic parallel plate system and a macroscopic packed-bed column using fluorescently tagged E. coli as a model organism and Suwannee River Humic Acid as a representative NOM. Notably, TNPs were labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate allowing particles and cells to be simultaneously visualized with a fluorescent microscope. Results from both experimental systems revealed that interactions among TNPs, NOM, and bacteria exhibited a significant dependence on solution chemistry (pH 5 and 7) and ion valence (K(+) and Ca(2+)), and that these interactions subsequently affect TNPs deposition. NOM and E. coli significantly reduced deposition of TNPs, with NOM having a greater stabilizing influence than bacteria. Ca(2+) ions played a significant role in these interactions, promoting formation of large clusters of TNPs, NOM, and bacteria. TNPs transport in the presence of both NOM and E. coli resulted in much less deposition than in the presence of NOM or E. coli alone, indicating a complex combination of interactions involved in stabilization. Generally, over the aquatic conditions considered, the extent of TNPs deposition follows: without NOM or bacteria > with bacteria only > with NOM only > combined bacteria and NOM. This trend should allow better prediction of the fate of TNPs in complex aquatic systems.

Review: 157 refs.

Exacerbated interfacial impacts of nanoplastics and 6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate by natural organic matter in adult zebrafish: Evidence through histopathology, gut microbiota, and transcriptomic analysis

Aqueous pollutants in water bodies can be photocatalytically reduced by TiO2 nano-particles in the presence of natural organic matters

Application of three dimensional porous aerogels as adsorbent for removal of heavy metal ions from water/wastewater: A review study

Competitive adsorption in natural water: role of activated carbon pore size

The biodegradation of 13C-labeled 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP labeled at the C-2 and C-6 positions), in the presence and absence of natural organic matter (NOM), by the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium, was examined using 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Using this method permitted the chemistry occurring at or near the labeled site to be followed. The formation of alkyl ethers and alkene ethers was observed. No aromatic by-products were detected, indicating that aromatic compounds are quickly degraded. Examining the reaction with time shows the exponential removal of 2,4-DCP and the consequential formation of labeled by-products, whose concentration reaches a maximum just before all 2,4-DCP is consumed. After this, the by-products degrade exponentially. The presence of NOM causes 2,4-DCP to be removed from the aqueous phase more quickly than in its absence and also causes the by-products to reach their maximum concentration much earlier. Degradation of the by-products occurs at a much greater rate in the presence of NOM. One hypothesis for this behavior is that the NOM interacts with 2,4-DCP and its by-products, allowing them to be incorporated into the fungal biomass. 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the fungal biomass after NaOH extraction show the presence of alkanes and a small amount of 2,4-DCP.

Understanding major NOM properties controlling its interactions with phosphorus and arsenic at goethite-water interface

This study has investigated how to simultaneously remove both heavy metals (Cu, Mn, and Zn) and natural organic matters (NOM; humic acid and fulvic acid) from river water using potassium ferrate (K2FeO4), a multipurpose chemical acting as oxidant, disinfectant, and coagulant. In water sample including each 0.1 mM heavy metal, its removal efficiency ranged 28–99% for Cu, 22–73% for Mn, and 18–100% for Zn at the ferrate(VI) doses of 0.03–0.7 mM (as Fe). The removal efficiency of each heavy metal increased with increasing pH, whereas an overall temperature did not make any special effect on the reaction between the heavy metal and ferrate(VI). A high efficiency was achieved on the simultaneous treatment of heavy metals (0.1 mM) and NOM (10 mg/l) at the ferrate(VI) doses of 0.03–0.7 mM (as Fe): 87–100% (Cu), 31–81% (Mn), 11–100% (Zn), and 33–86% (NOM). In the single heavy metal solution, the optimum ferrate dose for treating 0.1 mM Cu or Mn was 0.1 mM (as Fe), while that for treating 0.1 mM Zn was 0.3 mM (as Fe). In the mixture of three heavy metals and NOM, on the other hand, 0.5 mM (as Fe) ferrate(VI) was determined as an optimum dose for removing both 0.1 mM heavy metals (Cu, Mn, and Zn) and 10 mg/l NOM. Prior to the addition of ferrate(VI) into the solution of heavy metals and NOM (HA or FA), complexes were formed by the reaction between divalent cations of heavy metals and negatively charged functional groups of NOM, enhancing the removal of both heavy metals and NOM by ferrate(VI).

Emerging water quality problems in developing countries.

A leading challenge in drinking water treatment is to remove small-sized viruses from the water in a simple and efficient manner. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) are new generation adsorbents with previously demonstrated potential as filter media to improve virus removal. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the field applicability of MWCNT-filters for virus removal in water containing natural organic matter (NOM) as co-solute to viruses, using batch equilibrium experiments. Contrary to previous studies, our results showed with MS2 bacteriophages single-solute systems that the affinity of MWCNT for MS2 was low, since after 3 h of equilibration only 4 log10 reduction value (LRV) of MS2 (20 mL at an initial concentration of 106 PFU MS2/mL) were reached. Single solute experiments with Suwannee river NOM (SRNOM) performed with environmentally-relevant concentrations showed MWCNT surface saturation at initial SRNOM concentrations between 10 and 15 mgC/L, for water pH between 5.2 and 8.7. These results suggested that at NOM:virus ratios found in natural waters, the NOM would competitively suppress virus adsorption onto MWCNT, even at low NOM concentrations. We confirmed this expectation with SRNOM-MS2 co-solute experiments, which showed an exponential decrease of the MS2 LRV by MWCNT with an increase in the initial SRNOM concentration. More interestingly, we showed that pre-equilibrating MWCNT with a SRNOM solution at a concentration as low as 0.4 mgC/L resulted in a LRV decrease of 3 for MS2, due to the formation of a negatively charged SRNOM adlayer on the MWCNT surface. Complementary batch experiments with natural NOM-containing waters and competition experiments with SRNOM in the presence of CaCl2 confirmed that the presence of NOM in waters challenges virus removal by MWCNT-filters, irrespective of the concentration and type of NOM and also in the presence of Ca2+. We therefore conclude that MWCNT-filters produced with commercially available pristine MWCNT cannot be considered as a viable technology for drinking water virus removal.

A novel photodegradation approach for the efficient removal of natural organic matter (NOM) from water

A systematic investigation on the bactericidal transient species generated by photo-sensitization of natural organic matter (NOM) during solar and photo-Fenton disinfection of surface waters

The kinetics of the decay rate of atrazine from surface water by ozonation was studied at pH 3, 7, and 9 without and with pretreatment with several pressure-driven membrane filtration methods: ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO), in order to determine the influence of the feedwater quality on the chemical oxidation of atrazine. First, the atrazine decay rate was determined in surface water (without pretreatment with membranes) in the presence of natural organic matter (NOM). An increase in the atrazine decay rate is observed at pH 3 and 7 in surface water, which can be attributed to the presence of NOM since it acts as OH radicals promoter. However, at pH = 9, the NOM effect vanishes since at this high pH, the advanced oxidation process (AOP) effect becomes far dominant. The efficiency of combining membrane filtration techniques with a subsequent ozonation step for removing atrazine from surface water mainly depends on the pH and the molecular weight fraction of the NOM. Under acidic conditions only UF enhances the atrazine decay rate since this technique does not retain the low molecular weight fraction of the NOM, which acts as OH radical promoter, while removing the high molecular weight fraction of the NOM which acts as a radical scavenger. At pH = 7, the presence of carbonate/bicarbonate ions as OH radical scavengers starts to prevail over the NOM effect. Because RO is the most efficient technique to decrease the carbonate/bicarbonate content, RO enhances the atrazine decay by more than 50%. At pH = 9, the AOP effect becomes by far dominant and annuls the NOM and carbonate/bicarbonate effect. The efficiency of membrane filtration techniques becomes doubtful in view of their marginal effect on the atrazine removal rate and the low statistical confidence levels of the measured kinetic constants under alkaline conditions.