Novel Micro-Mesoporous Resins Prepared by Non-Thermal Plasma for Enhancement of Pahs Adsorption from Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

In this study, micro-mesoporous polystyrene (m-Meso-PST) and poly styrene-divinylbenzene (m-Meso-PSTD) resins are successfully prepared by non-thermal plasma (NTP). This micro-mesoporous resin showed higher adsorption capacity for Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The characterized results showed that the specific surface area of m-Meso-PST 30 and m-Meso-PSTD 20 are 685.5 m 2 g -1 and 681.1 m 2 g -1 , which is much higher than the raw 480.6 m 2 g -1 and 389.4 m 2 g -1 , respectively. Furthermore, the modified resins have a new pore size ranging from 0.4 to 2 nm and a new oxygen group of C=O. The adsorption amount of m-Meso-PST 30 and m-Meso-PSTD 20 for PAHs increased by 129.7% and 121.5%, respectively, compared with the raw. The effect of the PAHs concentration, mass of adsorbent, and the rotational rate of the solution that affect the efficiency of adsorption was investigated. The PAHs concentration in the range of 30-50 mg L -1 has no influence on the adsorption efficiency, while the rotation rate at 150 r min -1 has a significant effect on the adsorption efficiency. The adsorption kinetics of the raw and modified resins was studied in detail. The results showed that the kinetic of m-Meso-PST/PSTD followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and that the adsorption rate was controlled by an intraparticle diffusion mechanism. Additionally, the as-prepared m-Meso-PST/PSTD had good reusability without apparent capacity loss after five adsorption-desorption cycles.