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Polymers
Special Issues
Application of Polymer Materials in Water Treatment
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Application of Polymer Materials in Water Treatment

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Analysis and Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 January 2023) | Viewed by 14243

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Simona Popa

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Industrial Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Politehnica University Timisoara, Bd. V.Parvan, No. 6, 300223 Timisoara, Romania
Interests: bubble column reactor used in chemical technology for obtaining eco-friendly products; color analysis of organic and food materials; adsorption of dye traces and other toxic products from wastewater
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Gheorghe Ilia

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, West University of Timişoara, 300223 Romania, Timisoara, Romania
Interests: organic synthesis; polymers; green chemistry; adsorption
Dr. Sorina Boran

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Faculty of Industrial Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Politehnica University Timisoara, Bd. V.Parvan, No. 6, 300223 Timisoara, Romania
Interests: polymers; thermal analysis; adsorption; water treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of polymeric materials is becoming the most promising future alternative to meet environmental water standards. Polymers may be used as chemical additives that are effective, safe to use, and environmentally friendly scale coagulant aids or scale inhibitors in thermal plants for reducing scale formation and increasing process performance. The addition of polymeric materials could reduce or eliminate acid feed, thereby reducing hazardous risk and increasing water production in desalinization processes. Polymeric materials are used in membrane filtration devices for the removal of suspended solids and microorganisms, or of large chemical molecules and colloidal particles. Natural polymers (cellulose or chitosan) have been exploited either directly after extraction or by mixing them in polymeric composites for more compactness and especially efficiency, revealing their absorption capacity, simplicity of operation designs, and cost-effective aspects. Some novel adsorbents based on polyelectrolyte multilayered (PEM) biopolymeric materials have been studied as potent biosorbents. Polyanionic polymers were found to be effective in adsorbing positively charged molecules and grafted polycationic polymers have demonstrated excellent performance in removing negatively charged molecules and dye wastes.

This Special Issue aims to collect high quality manuscripts on the recent applications of polymer materials in water treatment.

Prof. Dr. Simona Popa
Dr. Gheorghe Ilia
Dr. Sorina Boran
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • polymeric materials
  • membrane filtration
  • polymeric composites
  • adsorption
  • polyelectrolyte
  • biopolymers
  • wastewater treatment

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4417 KiB  
Article
Substantial Copper (Cu2+) Uptake by Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer and Its Resistance to Acid Leaching and Ion Exchange
by Nenad Grba, Cyrill Grengg, Mirjana Petronijević, Martin Dietzel and Andre Baldermann
Polymers 2023, 15(8), 1971; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15081971 - 21 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2289
Abstract
Geopolymers are inorganic, chemically resistant aluminosilicate-based binding agents, which remove hazardous metal ions from exposed aqueous media. However, the removal efficiency of a given metal ion and the potential ion remobilization have to be assessed for individual geopolymers. Therefore, copper ions (Cu2+ [...] Read more.
Geopolymers are inorganic, chemically resistant aluminosilicate-based binding agents, which remove hazardous metal ions from exposed aqueous media. However, the removal efficiency of a given metal ion and the potential ion remobilization have to be assessed for individual geopolymers. Therefore, copper ions (Cu2+) were removed by a granulated, metakaolin-based geopolymer (GP) in water matrices. Subsequent ion exchange and leaching tests were used to determine the mineralogical and chemical properties as well as the resistance of the Cu2+-bearing GPs to corrosive aquatic environments. Experimental results indicate the pH of the reacted solutions to have a significant impact on the Cu2+ uptake systematics: the removal efficiency ranged from 34–91% at pH 4.1–5.7 up to ~100% at pH 11.1–12.4. This is equivalent to Cu2+ uptake capacities of up to 193 mg/g and 560 mg/g in acidic versus alkaline media. The uptake mechanism was governed by Cu2+-substitution for alkalis in exchangeable GP sites and by co-precipitation of gerhardtite (Cu2(NO3)(OH)3) or tenorite (CuO) and spertiniite (Cu(OH)2). All Cu-GPs showed excellent resistance to ion exchange (Cu2+ release: 0–2.4%) and acid leaching (Cu2+ release: 0.2–0.7%), suggesting that tailored GPs have a high potential to immobilize Cu2+ ions from aquatic media. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Polymer Materials in Water Treatment)
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14 pages, 3071 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Ruthenium-Promoted ZnO/SBA-15 Composites for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye
by Dănuţa Matei, Abubakar Usman Katsina, Sonia Mihai, Diana Luciana Cursaru, Raluca Şomoghi and Cristina Lavinia Nistor
Polymers 2023, 15(5), 1210; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15051210 - 27 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1646
Abstract
Synthetic organic pigments like xanthene and azo dyes from the direct discharge of textile effluents are considered colossal global issues and attract the concern of scholars. Photocatalysis continues to be a very valuable pollution control method for industrial wastewater. Incorporations of metal oxide [...] Read more.
Synthetic organic pigments like xanthene and azo dyes from the direct discharge of textile effluents are considered colossal global issues and attract the concern of scholars. Photocatalysis continues to be a very valuable pollution control method for industrial wastewater. Incorporations of metal oxide catalysts such as zinc oxide (ZnO) on mesoporous Santa Barbara Armophous-15 (SBA-15) support to improve catalyst thermo-mechanical stability have been comprehensively reported. However, charge separation efficiency and light absorption of ZnO/SBA-15 continue to be limiting its photocatalytic activity. Herein, we report a successful preparation of Ruthenium-induced ZnO/SBA-15 composite via conventional incipient wetness impregnation technique with the aim of boosting the photocatalytic activity of the incorporated ZnO. Physicochemical properties of the SBA-15 support, ZnO/SBA-15, and Ru-ZnO/SBA-15 composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 physisorption isotherms at 77 K, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The characterization outcomes exhibited that ZnO and ruthenium species have been successfully embedded into SBA-15 support, andtheSBA-15 support maintains its structured hexagonal mesoscopic ordering in both ZnO/SBA-15 and Ru-ZnO/SBA-15 composites. The photocatalytic activity of the composite was assessed through photo-assisted mineralization of aqueous MB solution, and the process was optimized for initial dye concentration and catalyst dosage. 50 mg catalyst exhibited significant degradation efficiency of 97.96% after 120 min, surpassing the efficiencies of 77% and 81% displayed by 10 and 30 mg of the as-synthesized catalyst. The photodegradation rate was found to decrease with an increase in the initial dye concentration. The superior photocatalytic activity of Ru-ZnO/SBA-15 over the binary ZnO/SBA-15 may be attributed to the slower recombination rate of photogenerated charges on the ZnO surface with the addition of ruthenium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Polymer Materials in Water Treatment)
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17 pages, 2684 KiB  
Article
Development of Azo Dye Immobilized Poly (Glycidyl Methacrylate-Co-Methyl Methacrylate) Polymers Composites as Novel Adsorbents for Water Treatment Applications: Methylene Blue-Polymers Composites
by Mohamed R. El-Aassar, Tamer M. Tamer, Mohamed Y. El-Sayed, Ahmed M. Omer, Ibrahim O. Althobaiti, Mohamed E. Youssef, Rawan F. Alolaimi, Emam F. El-Agammy, Manar S. Alruwaili and Mohamed S. Mohy-Eldin
Polymers 2022, 14(21), 4672; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14214672 - 02 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1429
Abstract
Methylene blue azo dye (MB) immobilized onto Poly (glycidyl methacrylate-Co-methyl methacrylate), (PGMA-co-PMMA), and sulphonated Poly (glycidyl methacrylate-Co-methyl methacrylate), (SPGMA-co-PMMA), polymers composites have been developed as novel adsorbents for water treatment applications. The effect of copolymer composition and sulphonation on the MB content has [...] Read more.
Methylene blue azo dye (MB) immobilized onto Poly (glycidyl methacrylate-Co-methyl methacrylate), (PGMA-co-PMMA), and sulphonated Poly (glycidyl methacrylate-Co-methyl methacrylate), (SPGMA-co-PMMA), polymers composites have been developed as novel adsorbents for water treatment applications. The effect of copolymer composition and sulphonation on the MB content has been studied. Maximum MB content was correlated to the Polyglycidyl methacrylate content for both native and sulphonated copolymers. Furthermore, the effect of the adsorption conditions on the MB content was studied. Sulfonated Poly (glycidyl methacrylate; SPGMA) was the most efficient formed composite with the highest MB content. The developed composites’ chemical structure and morphology were characterized using characterization tools such as particle size, FTIR, TGA, and SEM analyses. The developed MB-SPGMA composite adsorbent (27 mg/g), for the first time, was tested for the removal of Cr (VI) ions and Mn (VII) metal ions from dichromate and permanganate contaminated waters under mild adsorption conditions, opening a new field of multiuse of the same adsorbent in the removal of more than one contaminants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Polymer Materials in Water Treatment)
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17 pages, 6664 KiB  
Article
Multifunctional Silica-Based Amphiphilic Block Copolymer Hybrid for Cu(II) and Sodium Oleate Adsorption in Beneficiation Wastewater
by Jia Qu, Liangliang Chang, Mingbao Liu, Baoyue Cao, Meilan Li, Qiang Yang and Wei Gong
Polymers 2022, 14(19), 4187; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14194187 - 06 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1340
Abstract
Beneficiation wastewater contains various types of pollutants, such as heavy metal ions and organic pollutants. In this work, a silica-based amphiphilic block copolymer, SiO2–g–PBMA–b–PDMAEMA, was obtained by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) for Cu(II) and sodium oleate adsorption in beneficiation [...] Read more.
Beneficiation wastewater contains various types of pollutants, such as heavy metal ions and organic pollutants. In this work, a silica-based amphiphilic block copolymer, SiO2–g–PBMA–b–PDMAEMA, was obtained by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) for Cu(II) and sodium oleate adsorption in beneficiation wastewater, using butyl methacrylate (BMA) as a hydrophobic monomer and 2-(dimethylamino)ethylmethacrylate (DMAEMA) as a hydrophilic monomer. FTIR, TGA, NMR, GPC, XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms and TEM were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the hybrid adsorbent. The introduction of PBMA greatly increased the adsorption of sodium oleate on SiO2–g–PBMA–b–PDMAEMA. Adsorption kinetics showed that the adsorption of Cu(II) or sodium oleate on SiO2–g–PBMA–b–PDMAEMA fitted the pseudo-second-order model well. Adsorption isotherms of Cu(II) on SiO2–g–PBMA–b–PDMAEMA were better described by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model, and sodium oleate on SiO2–g–PBMA–b–PDMAEMA was better described by the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cu(II) and sodium oleate calculated from Langmuir adsorption isotherm equation reached 448.43 mg·g−1 and 129.03 mg·g−1, respectively. Chelation and complexation were considered as the main driving forces of Cu(II) adsorption, and the van der Waals force as well as weak hydrogen bonds were considered the main driving forces of sodium oleate adsorption. The adsorbent was recyclable and showed excellent multicomponent adsorption for Cu(II) and sodium oleate in the mixed solution. SiO2–g–PBMA–b–PDMAEMA represents a satisfying adsorption material for the removal of heavy metal ions and organic pollutants in beneficiation wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Polymer Materials in Water Treatment)
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15 pages, 3555 KiB  
Article
Adsorptive Behavior of Cu2+ and Benzene in Single and Binary Solutions onto Alginate Composite Hydrogel Beads Containing Pitch Pine-Based Biochar
by Saerom Park, Jeong Woo Lee, Ji Eun Kim, Gwangnam Kang, Hyung Joo Kim, Yong-Keun Choi and Sang Hyun Lee
Polymers 2022, 14(17), 3468; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14173468 - 25 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1697
Abstract
In this study, we prepared alginate composite hydrogel beads containing various compositions of biochar produced from pitch pine (Pinus rigida) for the removal of Cu2+ and benzene from model pollutant solutions. The properties of the alginate/biochar hydrogel beads were evaluated [...] Read more.
In this study, we prepared alginate composite hydrogel beads containing various compositions of biochar produced from pitch pine (Pinus rigida) for the removal of Cu2+ and benzene from model pollutant solutions. The properties of the alginate/biochar hydrogel beads were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmet–Teller analyses. Adsorption behavior of alginate/biochar hydrogel beads indicated that the adsorption capacities for Cu2+ (28.6–72.7 mg/g) were enhanced with increasing alginate content, whereas the adsorption capacities for benzene (20.0–52.8 mg/g) were improved with increasing biochar content. The alginate/biochar hydrogel beads exhibited similar adsorption capacities for Cu2+ and benzene in the concurrent system with Cu2+ and benzene compared to those in a single pollutant system. Adsorption kinetics and isotherm studies of the alginate/biochar hydrogel beads followed the pseudo-second-order model (r2 = 0.999 for Cu2+, and r2 = 0.999 for benzene), and Langmuir model (r2 = 0.999 for Cu2+, and r2 = 0.995 for benzene). In addition, alginate/biochar hydrogel beads (containing 1 and 4% biochar) exhibited high reusability (>80%). Therefore, alginate/biochar hydrogel beads can be applied as adsorbents for the removal of multiple pollutants with different properties from wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Polymer Materials in Water Treatment)
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20 pages, 4346 KiB  
Article
Biosorption Potential of Microbial and Residual Biomass of Saccharomyces pastorianus Immobilized in Calcium Alginate Matrix for Pharmaceuticals Removal from Aqueous Solutions
by Lăcrămioara Rusu, Cristina-Gabriela Grigoraș, Andrei-Ionuț Simion, Elena-Mirela Suceveanu, Bogdan Istrate and Maria Harja
Polymers 2022, 14(14), 2855; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14142855 - 13 Jul 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1385
Abstract
Two types of biosorbents, based on Saccharomyces pastorianus immobilized in calcium alginate, were studied for the removal of pharmaceuticals from aqueous solutions. Synthetized biocomposite materials were characterized chemically and morphologically, both before and after simulated biosorption. Ethacridine lactate (EL) was chosen as a [...] Read more.
Two types of biosorbents, based on Saccharomyces pastorianus immobilized in calcium alginate, were studied for the removal of pharmaceuticals from aqueous solutions. Synthetized biocomposite materials were characterized chemically and morphologically, both before and after simulated biosorption. Ethacridine lactate (EL) was chosen as a target molecule. The process performance was interpreted as a function of initial solution pH, biosorbent dose, and initial pharmaceutical concentration. The results exhibited that the removal efficiencies were superior to 90% for both biosorbents, at the initial pH value of 4.0 and biosorbent dose of 2 g/L for all EL initial concentrations tested. Freundlich, Temkin, Hill, Redlich-Peterson, Sips, and Toth isotherms were used to describe the experimental results. The kinetic data were analyzed using kinetic models, such as pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich, and Avrami, to determine the kinetic parameters and describe the transport mechanisms of EL from aqueous solution onto biosorbents. Among the tested equations, the best fit is ensured by the pseudo-second-order kinetics model for both biosorbents, with the correlation coefficient having values higher than 0.996. The many potential advantages and good biosorptive capacity of Saccharomyces pastorianus biomass immobilized in calcium alginate recommend these types of biocomposite materials for the removal of pharmaceuticals from aqueous solutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Polymer Materials in Water Treatment)
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17 pages, 5466 KiB  
Article
Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solutions Using a New Natural Lignocellulosic Adsorbent—Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) Leaves Powder
by Giannin Mosoarca, Simona Popa, Cosmin Vancea, Mircea Dan and Sorina Boran
Polymers 2022, 14(10), 1966; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14101966 - 11 May 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3716
Abstract
In this work, raspberry (Rubus idaeus) leaves were converted to powder and used as a new natural lignocellulosic low-cost adsorbent for methylene blue removal from aqueous solutions. Different techniques (FTIR, SEM, color analysis, and pHPZC determination) were applied for adsorbent [...] Read more.
In this work, raspberry (Rubus idaeus) leaves were converted to powder and used as a new natural lignocellulosic low-cost adsorbent for methylene blue removal from aqueous solutions. Different techniques (FTIR, SEM, color analysis, and pHPZC determination) were applied for adsorbent characterization. The effects of pH, ionic strength, contact time, adsorbent dose, initial deconcentration, and temperature on adsorption capacity were investigated. Equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies have shown that the adsorption is best described by the Sips isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model and that the process is spontaneous, favorable, and endothermic, involving physisorption as the main mechanism. The maximum adsorption capacity was 244.6 (mg g−1) higher compared to other adsorbents based on plant leaves. The Taguchi method and the ANOVA analysis were used to optimize the adsorption conditions. The contact time was the factor with the highest influence on the process, while the temperature had the lowest influence. A desorption study was also performed to determine the possibility of adsorbent regeneration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Polymer Materials in Water Treatment)
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