Demeestere, Kristof

Du Laing, Gijs

Mohseni, Mojtaba

Wessling, Matthias

Yüce, Süleyman

English

Ghent University Academic Bibliography

   A temperature-assisted cyclic process with tailor-made carbon microtubes for the removal of antibiotics from water M. Mohseni*, **, ***, K. Demeestere**, G. Du Laing***, S. Yüce*, and M. Wessling*, **** * Aachener Verfahrenstechnik, Chemical Process Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstrasse 51, 52074 Aachen, Germany, Mojtaba.Mohseni@avt.rwth-aachen.de ** Research Group EnVOC, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium, Kristof.Demeestere@UGent.be *** Research Group EcoChem, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium, Gijs.DuLaing@UGent.be **** DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstrasse 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany     Abstract:  In this presentation, we introduce a new microtubular porous carbon as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of the frequently detected antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) from water. In this adsorbent, the carbon nanotube (CNT), besides providing mesopores, fundamentally acts as a binder while powdered activated carbon (PAC) embedded in the CNT network supplies micropores which are known as high-energy centers for adsorption. In this regard, carbon microtubes (CMTs) with different PAC content were fabricated, characterized and tested in adsorption processes. In addition, the versatility of the fabrication method in tailoring the porosity and designing the inner structure has been demonstrated. Moreover, the best fabricated CMT with respect to both adsorption kinetics and capacity could be regenerated through Fenton chemistry and reused up to 12 times in a so-called cyclic process. A moderate increase of temperature (T=50°C) shows to enhance the regeneration capacity of the adsorbent up to 50% compared to ambient conditions.  Keywords: Antibiotics removal; Cyclic process; Tailor-made carbon   The occurrence of antibiotics in water bodies is of great concerns due to their negative impact on the environment, especially developing antibiotic resistant genes and bacteria [1]. Since these kinds of pharmaceuticals are chemically designed to supress or hinder the growth of infection made by bacterial community, one cannot consider biological treatment as an effective removal method. Thus, physiochemical treatment methods have been regaining considerable attention regarding antibiotics removal. Among different approaches, adsorption on powdered activated carbon (PAC) is a safe option as it does not encounter any secondary pollution like oxidation by-products which forms during oxidation process. Utilizing PAC as adsorbent, however, requires an additional separation step as well as extra efforts for carbon sludge handling and disposal. This means that fresh PAC must be continuously supplied to the system which is not only unsustainable but also energy-intensive. In addition, the  degradation of antibiotics through Fenton chemistry is a viable alternative due to formation of extremely strong oxidant called OH radical. Yet, the acidic pH of Fenton (pH=3) does not allow its direct application in wastewater treatment due to high demand of chemicals. Therefore, to avoid the pH adjustment of wastewater, Fenton process can be indirectly employed in a so-called cyclic process to regenerate the spent adsorbent (Figure 1.1).    Figure 1.1: This is the schematic of cyclic process used in this study  The essential prerequisite for the cyclic process is to have an adsorbent that is easily removable from water phase. In this regard, carbon nanotube (CNT) has been chosen given their intrinsic features in fabrication of freestanding geometries like buckypapers [2] and microtubes [3]. Although the functionality of CNT-made microtubes has been illustrated as a gas diffusion electrode through cyclic process to remove Acid Red 14[4], CNT is considered as expensive materials especially in the field of water and wastewater treatment while it contents much less specific surface area in comparison to PAC. Moreover, Acid Red 14 is not an eligible representative for persistent antibiotics.   REFERENCES [1] Bouki, C., Venieri, D. and Diamadopoulos, E., 2013. Detection and fate of antibiotic resistant bacteria in wastewater treatment plants: a review. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety, 91,1-9. [2] Li, Z., Xu, J., O'Byrne, J.P., Chen, L., Wang, K., Morris, M.A. and Holmes, J.D., 2012. Freestanding bucky paper with high strength from multi-wall carbon nanotubes. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 135(2-3), 921-927. [3] Gendel, Y., David, O. and Wessling, M., 2014. Microtubes made of carbon nanotubes. Carbon, 68, 818-820.  [4] Roth, H., Gendel, Y., Buzatu, P., David, O. and Wessling, M., 2016. Tubular carbon nanotube-based gas diffusion electrode removes persistent organic pollutants by a cyclic adsorption–electro-Fenton process. Journal of hazardous materials, 307, 1-6. 

A temperature-assisted cyclic process with tailor-made carbon microtubes for the removal of antibiotics from water

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8662474/file/8662477

A temperature-assisted cyclic process with tailor-made carbon microtubes for the removal of antibiotics from water

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