Electrospun Carbon Nanofiber Supported Zero Valent Iron Nanoparticles (nZVI@ECNFs) for Cr (VI) Remediation in Ground and
- PDF / 328,627 Bytes
- 7 Pages / 432 x 648 pts Page_size
- 89 Downloads / 302 Views
Electrospun Carbon Nanofiber Supported Zero Valent Iron Nanoparticles (nZVI@ECNFs) for Cr (VI) Remediation in Ground and Waste Water Nikhil R. Mucha1, Ramesh Ravella2 , Muchha R. Reddy2, and Lifeng Zhang1* 1 Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27401, USA. E-mail: [email protected]; Tel: +1 336 285 2875 2 Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27401, USA. E-mail: [email protected]; Tel: +1 336 285 4848 ABSTRACT Zero Valent Iron nanoparticles (nZVI) were synthesized and immobilized on electrospun carbon nanofibers (ECNFs) surface in a controllable manner through redox reaction. The novel nanomaterial, ECNFs-supported nZVI (nZVI@ECNFs), were evaluated for Cr(VI) ions removal from water for the first time. nZVI@ECNFs outperformed stand-alone nZVI as well as state-ofthe-art nZVI research for Cr(VI) remediation in water. nZVI@ECNFs with 0.4 g/L nZVI loading could remove 100% Cr(VI) from 50 mg/L Cr(VI) aqueous solution in as little as 5 min at pH = 4. This is enabled by coupling nanofibrous form ECNFs with dispersed distribution of individual and/or cluster nZVI on surface of ECNFs. It is envisioned that nZVI@CNFs is going to serve as a novel supported nZVI nanomaterial for super-fast heavy metal remediation in ground water and waste water treatment with adjustable high capacity as well as straightforward and energysaving heavy metal recovery. INTRODUCTION Industrial and urban activities have led to increasing concentrations of a wide range of inorganic, organic and radioactive chemical contaminants in soil, sediments and surface as well as ground and waste water, affecting health of millions of people worldwide [1]. Among all pollutants, hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) has become a major concern for human health and environment owing to its wide range of sources such as metal plating, leather tanning, metal corrosion inhibition, pigment production, mining and wood-preserving industries as well as its high toxicity and carcinogenicity in aquatic system [2-4]. Cr (VI) is on the list of top toxic pollutants by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for Cr (VI) is 0.1 mg/L for drinking water. Common methods for removing Cr (VI) from contaminated water include chemical precipitation, electrodeposition, ion exchange, and filtration/adsorption [5], but investigations on more economic and effective Cr (VI) remediation in ground and waste water are still under way [6,7]. Zero valent iron (ZVI) particles have been used as a versatile remediation agent in groundwater treatment since early 1990s because they are excellent electron donor under ambient conditions and thus very reactive in water treatment [8-10]. With the development of nanotechnology, ZVI nanoparticles (nZVI) have attracted intensive attention to address Cr(VI) contamination these days because of their high specific surface area and high reactivity [11,12]. nZVI now has become a new
Data Loading...
