Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Transport in Representative
Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Conditions
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Abstract
Single-walled
carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are being used in many consumer
products and devices. It is likely that as some of these products
reach the end of their useful life, they will be discarded in municipal
solid waste landfills. However, there has been little work evaluating
the fate of nanomaterials in solid waste environments. The purpose
of this study is to systematically evaluate the influence of organic
matter type and concentration in landfill-relevant conditions on SWNT
transport through a packed-bed of mixed municipal solid waste collectors.
The influence of individual waste materials on SWNT deposition is
also evaluated. Transport experiments were conducted through saturated
waste-containing columns over a range of simulated leachate conditions
representing both mature and young leachates. Results indicate that
SWNT transport may be significant in mature waste environments, with
mobility decreasing with decreasing humic acid concentration. SWNT
mobility in the presence of acetic acid was inhibited, suggesting
their mobility in young waste environments may be small. SWNTs also
exhibited collector media-dependent transport, with greatest transport
in glass and least in paper. These results represent the first study
evaluating how leachate age and changes in waste composition influence
potential SWNT mobility in landfills