Phosphorus removal from eutrophic waters with an aluminium hybrid nanocomposite

An excess of phosphorus (P) is the most common cause of eutrophication of freshwater bodies. Thus, it is imperative to reduce the concentration of P to prevent harmful algal blooms. Moreover, recovery of P has been gaining importance because its natural source will be exhausted in the near future. Therefore, the present work investigated the removal and recovery of phosphate from water using a newly developed hybrid nanocomposite containing aluminium nanoparticles (HPN). The HPN-Pr removes 0.80 ± 0.01 mg P/g in a pH interval between 2.0 and 6.5. The adsorption mechanism was described by a Freundlich adsorption model. The material presented good selectivity for phosphate and can be regenerated using an HCl dilute solution. The factors that contribute most to the attractiveness of HPN-Pr as a phosphate sorbent are its moderate removal capacity, feasible production at industrial scale, reuse after regeneration and recovery of phosphate.The authors acknowledge the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) Project SFRH/BD/39085/2007 for the financial support

Step towards the sustainable toxic dyes removal and recycling from aqueous solution- A comprehensive review

The synthetic dyes and chemicals used in industries produce a tremendous amount of contaminated water. Most of the poisonous dyes generated from different textile industries are released directly to the environment. As a consequence, the discharge of wastewater from a large number of textile industries without prior treatment leads to significant negative impacts on human health. The utilization of efficient and inexpensive nano-adsorbent may reduce the adverse impacts of dyes in the environment due to their unique properties. To alleviate these issues, attention has been paid to develop efficient adsorbents for the removal of undesirable species from wastewater. Efficient and selective removal of dyes is gaining importance to reduce the environmental problems. Comparison of degradation efficiency for different catalysts could be a holistic approach that should be taken under consideration owing to search a suitable adsorbent. An in-depth evaluation of extensive variety of advanced adsorbents reported in literature for dye degradation has been furnished. In addition to underscoring the physico-chemical properties of different adsorbents, this review also endorses the mechanisms and efficiencies within the adsorption process. The challenges of dye degradation process are focused to reduce the adverse impacts of dyes in the environment. The critical assessment of next generation adsorbents would presumably be promoted the clean and affordable water purification process in practice

Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants in Water Using Graphene Oxide Composite

Developing sustainable and less-expensive technique is always challenging task in water treatment process. This chapter explores the recent development of photocatalysis technique in organic pollutant removal from the water. Particularly, advantages of graphene oxide in promoting the catalytic performance of semiconductor, metal nanoparticle and polymer based photocatalyst materials. Owing to high internal surface area and rapid electron conducting property of graphene oxide fostering as backbone scaffold for effective hetero-photocatalyst loading, and rapid photo-charge separation enables effective degradation of pollutant. This chapter summaries the recent development of graphene oxide composite (metal oxide, metal nanoparticle, metal chalcogenides, and polymers) in semiconductor photocatalysis process towards environmental remediation application