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Frontiers in Nanomaterials Utilization in Water Treatment

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 11437

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ihsanullah Ihsanullah

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Guest Editor

Center for Environment & Water (CEW) Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Interests: water treatment; membrane separations; adsorption; nanomaterials; carbon-based adsorbents; desalination; MXenes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Mu Naushad

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Co-Guest Editor

Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Interests: wastewater treatment; bio-nanocomposite; biosorbent; adsorption
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Dr. Muhammad Bilal

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Co-Guest Editor

School of Life Science and Food Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian 223003, China
Interests: nanotechnology; nanomaterials; nanobiocatalysis; environmental remediation; environmental biotechnology/engineering; bioremediation; bio-catalysis; enzymes; immobilization; chemical engineering; green chemistry; materials; bioenergy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wastewater discharged from modern chemical industries and other sources is a significant environmental threat. Pollutants present in water, such as nutrients, organic contaminants, metals, dyes, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals, have potentially adverse impacts on the environment. In recent years, we have witnessed tremendous progress in the development of novel techniques for wastewater remediation.

Nanomaterials have gained considerable attention in the past few decades for applications in various fields. Owing to their unique characteristics, nanomaterials have also been widely explored for application in water remediation. Their high surface area, ease of surface modification, presence of abundant functional groups, chemical stability, excellent thermal and mechanical properties, and easy regeneration have made them ideal candidates for the removal of numerous pollutants from water.

The target of this Special Issue is to document the recent advances in this field (via research articles and review), particularly regarding the applications of various nanomaterials in water treatment, including but not limited to the synthesis and application of nanomaterials in adsorption, membranes, nanocomposites, photocatalysis, capacitive deionization, and degradation of pollutants. The goal of this Special Issue is to assist researchers in the field of water treatment to study the current significant progress in nanomaterials toward the development of effective water treatment applications.

Dr. Ihsanullah Ihsanullah
Guest Editor

Prof. Dr. Mu Naushad
Dr. Muhammad Bilal
Co-Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

nanomaterials
adsorption
membranes
nanocomposite
water treatment
catalysis
carbon-based adsorbents
novel nanomaterials
MXenes

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 5199 KiB

Open AccessArticle

CoO, Cu, and Ag Nanoparticles on Silicon Nanowires with Photocatalytic Activity for the Degradation of Dyes

by Olda Alexia Cárdenas Cortez, José de Jesús Pérez Bueno, Yolanda Casados Mexicano, Maria Luisa Mendoza López, Carlos Hernández Rodríguez, Alejandra Xochitl Maldonado Pérez, David Cruz Alejandre, Coraquetzali Magdaleno López, María Reina García Robles, Goldie Oza, José Germán Flores López and Hugo Ruiz Silva

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13361; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013361 - 17 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1389

Abstract

Photocatalytic semiconductors require maintaining stability and pursuing higher efficiencies. The studied systems were silicon nanowires (Si_NWs), silicon nanowires with cobalt oxide nanoparticles (Si_NWs-CoO_NPs), and silicon nanowires with copper nanoparticles (Si_NWs-Cu_NPs). Si_NWs were synthesized by metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) from silicon wafers keeping the remaining silver nanoparticles for all three sample types. The nanowires were about 23–30 µm in length. CoO_NPs and Cu_NPs were deposited on Si_NWs by the autocatalytic reduction processes (electroless). There were many factors in the process that affect the resulting structures and degradation efficiencies. This work shows the degradation of methyl orange (MO) together with the chemisorption of methylene blue (MB), and rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) by direct illumination with visible radiation. The MO degradation kinetics were in the sequence Si_NWs-Cu_NPs (88.9%) > Si_NWs (85.3%) > Si_NWs-CoO_NPs (49.3%), with the Si_NWs-Cu_NPs having slightly faster kinetics. However, Si_NWs-CoO_NPs have slow degradation kinetics. The chemisorptions of MB and Rh6G were Si_NWs-Cu_NPs (87.2%; 86.88%) > Si_NWs (86%; 87%) > Si_NWs-CoO_NPs (17.3%; 12%), showing dye desorptions together with lower chemisorption capacities. This work shows iridescence in optical microscopy images by the visible light interference caused by the spaces between the nanowire bundles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Nanomaterials Utilization in Water Treatment)

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13 pages, 2582 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Green Nanoparticle-Aided Biosorption of Nickel Ions Using Four Dry Residual Biomasses: A Comparative Study

by Adriana Herrera-Barros, Candelaria Tejada-Tovar and Ángel Darío González-Delgado

Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7250; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127250 - 14 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1452

Abstract

The green synthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles was performed using the sol-gel method for their use in the modification of several agricultural biomasses (orange, lemon, cassava and yam peels) to evaluate the enhancement of adsorption capacity. To this end, different particle sizes (0.355, 0.5 and 1.0 mm) and initial solution pHs (2, 4 and 6) were assessed to identify the optimum conditions for further experimentation with the selected lignocellulosic materials. The defined conditions reporting the highest removal yields were used to perform adsorption experiments for chemically modified biosorbents. The biomaterials were characterized via elemental and bromatological analysis in order to quantify their composition. After the incorporation of TiO₂ nanoparticles, the resulting biosorbents were characterized via FT-IR and SEM techniques. The results revealed that the pH solution significantly affects the nickel ion uptake, reaching the best performance at pH = 6 for all biomasses. Unmodified biomasses shown adsorption capacities between 18–20 mg/g. For chemically modified with TiO₂ orange peels and yam peels biomass, the increase in adsorption capacities was 21.3 and 18.01 mg/g, respectively. For cassava and lemon peels chemically modified, it was found the increasing in adsorption capacities with values of 21.3 and 18.01 mg/g, respectively, which suggested that the incorporation of nanoparticles enhances adsorption capacities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Nanomaterials Utilization in Water Treatment)

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23 pages, 6447 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mg-Al Layered Double Hydroxide Doped Activated Carbon Composites for Phosphate Removal from Synthetic Water: Adsorption and Thermodynamics Studies

by Abdelrahman K. A. Khalil, Fikri Dweiri, Ismail W. Almanassra, Anjaneyulu Chatla and Muataz Ali Atieh

Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 6991; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14126991 - 07 Jun 2022

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 2225

Abstract

Increased phosphate concentration in water bodies has led to eutrophication, and its removal is an inevitable requirement of sustainable wastewater purification systems. In this study, MgAl layered doubled hydroxide (LDH) composites doped on the surface of activated carbon (AC/MgAl LDH) with various (Mg + Al) total metal loading (5 wt%, 10 wt%, and 15 wt%) were prepared by the co-precipitation method. The influence of (Mg + Al) total metal loading onto AC was examined to remove phosphate ions from aqueous solutions. The effect of adsorption parameters, including adsorbent dosage, initial solution pH, initial phosphate concentration, contact time, and experiment temperature, were investigated via batch adsorption experiments. The adsorption results demonstrated that the phosphate adsorption capacity significantly improved with increasing the (Mg + Al) metal loading on the surface of AC. The maximum Langmuir phosphate adsorption capacity was 337.2 mg phosphate per gram of AC/MgAl-3 LDH composite (15 wt% Mg + Al) composite at pH ~6.3, 22 °C, and 1 g/L of adsorbent. The kinetic data were best fitted with the pseudo-second order model. The initial solution pH notably influenced the phosphate removal by AC/MgAl-3 LDH composite with a maximum removal at pH 2.3. According to the spent adsorbent characterization results, the dominant mechanisms of phosphate removal by AC/MgAl-3 LDH were electrostatic interactions, ion exchange, and inner-sphere complexation. The phosphate adsorption capacity was gradually increased with increasing the experiment temperature, suggesting an endothermic adsorption process. Overall, the AC/MgAl LDH composites pave the way for an effective strategy for phosphate removal from aqueous solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Nanomaterials Utilization in Water Treatment)

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24 pages, 6138 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Hydrodynamic Modeling Study of Epoxy/Carbon Nanospheres (Epoxy-CNS) Composite Coatings for Water Filtration Applications

by Estefanía Espinoza-Márquez, José Luis Pineda-Delgado, Juan Alejandro Menchaca-Rivera, José de Jesús Pérez-Bueno, Aaron Rodríguez-López, Genaro Martín Soto-Zarazúa and Juan Francisco Pérez-Robles

Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 4114; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074114 - 30 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1795

Abstract

Coatings for filtration applications based on epoxy resin mixtures with isopropanol were synthesized using the dip-coating technique. The nanomaterials used were carbon nanospheres (CNS) synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and commercially obtained Vulcan XC-72 (VC). The permeation flux and permeability of the coatings were determined by vacuum filtration of pure water applying different working pressures obtaining maximum values of 0.5555 cm³/s and 1.19 × 10⁻⁹ m², respectively, for the CNS6 coating at 26,664 Pa. The minimum values obtained for the permeation flux and permeability were 0.0011 cm³/s and 1.21 × 10⁻¹¹ m², for the coating CNS3 at 39,996 Pa. This study analyzed the effect of nanomaterials and the addition of isopropanol at different volumes on the permeability of the coatings. The results show that the permeability was influenced by the number of pores present rather than by their diameter. The number of pores were obtained between the ranges 1–12 μm for all the coatings. The study of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) through a free and porous medium, showed that it is possible to accurately determine flow velocities (m/s) through and inside the composite coatings. Understanding the flow behavior is a practical strategy to predict the performance of new nanocomposite coatings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Nanomaterials Utilization in Water Treatment)

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11 pages, 3171 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis, Characterization and Application of Carbon Nanotubes Decorated with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Removal of Benzene, Toluene and p-Xylene from Aqueous Solution

by Basim Ahmed Abussaud

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11716; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111716 - 23 Oct 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2135

Abstract

The removal of benzene, toluene and p-xylene (BTX) from water is necessary to avoid various health and environmental concerns. Among various techniques, adsorption is suitable and widely used for the removal of BTX from water. In this study, the adsorption of BTX from water was performed using carbon nanotubes that were impregnated with zinc oxide nanoparticles. The impregnation was performed using the wet impregnation technique. The synthesized materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis. In batch adsorption experiments, the effect of adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, and contact time were investigated. The percentage removal for a given time and dosage was in the order of p-xylene > toluene > benzene. The kinetics models’ fitting revealed that the pseudo-second-order model fits well the adsorption of benzene, toluene and p-xylene with R² > 99.4%. The results of adsorption isotherm fitting revealed the best fit with Sips isotherm model (R² > 99.7%) and the adsorption capacity was p-xylene: 125 mg/g > toluene: 105 mg/g > benzene: 70 mg/g. This behavior is observed probably due to a decrease in solubility and an increase in the molecular weight of BTX. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Nanomaterials Utilization in Water Treatment)

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19 pages, 25951 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of the Textural Characteristics of the Hierarchical Porous Carbons on the Removal of Lead and Cadmium Ions from Aqueous Solution

by Turki N. Baroud

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5790; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115790 - 21 May 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1381

Abstract

Developing efficient adsorbent materials for water treatment is deemed as one of the key solutions towards mitigating the contaminated water problem. Herein, several Hierarchical Porous Carbons (HPCs) with large mesopore volumes (up to 3 cm³/g) and a wide range of BET surface areas (747–1037 m²/g) were synthesized, and their heavy metal removal behaviors were investigated. Specifically, simulated lead and cadmium aqueous solutions were used to investigate the HPCs adsorption performance towards lead and cadmium removal. All the HPCs demonstrated high affinities towards lead removal compared with cadmium. Additionally, a systematic investigation was carried out to understand the structure—performance relationships for the HPCs. Interestingly, varying the adsorbent pore structure leads to different adsorbent behavior for lead compared with cadmium. The textural characteristics of the HPCs have a limited effect on the removal of cadmium ions. Accordingly, to expedite cadmium removal from aqueous samples, factors other than textural characteristics (i.e., surface chemistry) might enhance the removal process. Conversely, the removal of lead ions can be significantly controlled by the HPCs pore structure. HPC1221 (with 17 nm mesopore size, 2.8 cm³/g pore volume, 907 m²/g) showed the maximum adsorption capacity value of 12.32 mg/g for Cd²⁺ and 89 mg/g for Pb²⁺ compared to other HPCs. The significant adsorption parameters were evaluated using the response surface methodology (RSM) design. We believe that the reported insights for the structure–performance relationships will be useful for better designing highly efficient adsorbent materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Nanomaterials Utilization in Water Treatment)

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