Nanoparticle and Nanoporous Carbon Adsorbents for Removal of Trace Organic Contaminants from Water

Abstract

Removal of a wide range of trace organic contaminants from water to concentrations below USEPA Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) remains an important goal for the water industry. Design of advanced carbon based adsorption systems represents a unique approach to solving these problems. A number of successful examples are cited in this paper and are briefly summarized in the following section. (1) Removal of foulants such as humic acid using nanoparticle carbon blacks and chemically activated nanoporous fibers; (2) Removal of trace organic contaminants such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and p-xylene (BTEX) to levels below USEPA MCL using nanoporous carbon fibers; (3) Removal of trace chemical warfare simulants such as diisopropylmethyl phosponate and chloroethylethylsulfide using enlarged nanoporous carbon fibers; (4) Removal of trace chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and chloroform using tailored nanoporous carbon fibers; (5) Removal of the trace herbicide, atrazine, to below USEPA MCL level using nanoporous chemically activated fibers. In this paper the enormous improvement of the above systems over commercially available products in static and dynamic adsorption evaluation is described.