(611b) 3D-Printed Activated Carbon with Controlled Porosity for Removal of Toxic Chemicals from Contaminated Water

Removal of toxic chemicals from water is an attractive subject now, as the growing population and effects of climate change have rendered access to potable water more important than ever before.[1] Atrazine (ATZ) and carbamazepine (CBZ) are among the most frequently detected and top 10 contaminates in the water system.[1] In this study, we focused on removing ATZ and CBZ from water sources using a continuous flow system. To implement activated carbon into our continuous flow process, we developed 3D-printed monoliths which were optimized for aqueous stability. 3D printing was selected for monolith production because it allows for fine tuning of the monolith geometry, and physio/chemical/mechanical properties of monoliths.[2–4] To formulate these monoliths, we used bentonite clay as a binder and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a co-binder. The 3D printing technology provides the ability to build activated carbon monoliths with various thicknesses and porosity in a fast and smooth operation. The 3D-prinetd carbon monolith precursors were pyrolyzed in nitrogen environment and then characterized. To study competitive adsorption, both dynamic and steady-state adsorption experiments were conducted by using different ratios of ATZ and CBZ. The effective diffusion coefficient of the 3D-prinetd carbon monolith adsorbates were increased with decease in monoliths internal patterns. The adsorption of both compounds onto powder and 3D-printed monoliths in dilute aqueous solutions (1-10 mg/L) were investigated for 6 h time-on-stream. All samples were analyzed by HPLC/ultraviolet equipped with a C-18 column. From these experiments, it was revealed that the monoliths were able to adsorb 27% of ATZ and 24% of CBZ from the system.

References

[1] M.J. Benotti, R.A. Trenholm, B.J. Vanderford, J.C. Holady, B.D. Stanford, S.A. Snyder, Environ. Sci. Technol. 43 (2009) 597–603.

[2] F. Magzoub, X. Li, J. Al-Darwish, F. Rezaei, A.A. Rownaghi, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 245 (2019) 486–495.

[3] S. Lawson, B. Adebayo, C. Robinson, Q. Al-Naddaf, A.A. Rownaghi, F. Rezaei, , Chem. Eng. Sci. 218 (2020) 115564.

[4] X. Li, F. Rezaei, A.A. Rownaghi, React. Chem. Eng. 3 (2018) 733–746.