Sorption of pollutants by porous carbon, carbon nanotubes and fullerene- An overview
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REVIEW ARTICLE
Sorption of pollutants by porous carbon, carbon nanotubes and fullerene - An overview Vinod K. Gupta & Tawfik A. Saleh
Received: 9 October 2012 / Accepted: 25 January 2013 / Published online: 21 February 2013 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract The quality of water is continuously deteriorating due to its increasing toxic threat to humans and the environment. It is imperative to perform treatment of wastewater in order to remove pollutants and to get good quality water. Carbon materials like porous carbon, carbon nanotubes and fullerene have been extensively used for advanced treatment of wastewaters. In recent years, carbon nanomaterials have become promising adsorbents for water treatment. This review attempts to compile relevant knowledge about the adsorption activities of porous carbon, carbon nanotubes and fullerene related to various organic and inorganic pollutants from aqueous solutions. A detailed description of the preparation and treatment methods of porous carbon, carbon nanotubes and fullerene along with relevant applications and regeneration is also included. Keywords Porous carbon . Carbon nanotubes . Fullerene . Adsorption . Pollutants
Introduction Various agricultural processes and industrial sectors are the major sources of pollutants into the environment. These
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues V. K. Gupta (*) Chemistry Department, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, India e-mail: [email protected] V. K. Gupta e-mail: [email protected] V. K. Gupta : T. A. Saleh Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
include oil and petrochemical production, mining and mineral processing, battery manufacture, printing and photographic industry, electroplating processes, textile industries and agricultural activities. Many inorganic, organic, and biological substances have been reported as water contaminants, however, the toxicity of these is observed beyond a certain limit called permissible limit. The limit is determined based on the type of pollutant. For drinking water quality, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards called maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) of each pollutant that may be present with no adverse health effects. Another level called the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) is non-enforceable public health goal. MCL is higher than the MCLG because of difficulties in measuring small quantities of a contaminant, lack of available treatment technologies and analytical methods. Remediation of hazardous materials in water is considered a high national and international priority (Franklin 1991; Droste 1997; Goyal et al. 2005, 2007a, b, 2008a, b, 2009; John 1990; Laws 2000). Considerable quantities of organic pollutants are released into the environment through other routes like burning of fossil fuels, incineration of wastes, automobile exhausts processes. Moreover, the by-products of various industries are wastes and their disposal is always a challenging task for
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