Grantee Research Project Results
2014 Progress Report: Municipal Sewage Sludge Based Composite Adsorbents For Removal Of Contaminants from Drinking Water Sources
EPA Grant Number: R835178Title: Municipal Sewage Sludge Based Composite Adsorbents For Removal Of Contaminants from Drinking Water Sources
Investigators: Bandosz, Teresa J , Zhang, Pengfei
Institution: The City College of New York
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: December 1, 2011 through May 31, 2016
Project Period Covered by this Report: December 1, 2013 through November 30,2014
Project Amount: $499,746
RFA: Research and Demonstration of Innovative Drinking Water Treatment Technologies in Small Systems (2011) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Drinking Water , Water
Objective:
The objectives of the research are to:
- Conduct laboratory batch tests to evaluate the performance of sewage sludge based adsorbents for the removal of the following groups of compounds: (a) carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs); (b) nitrosamine disinfection byproducts; and (c) pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs);
- Optimize processing conditions to produce the most efficient sludge based adsorbent for the removal of aforementioned contaminants from drinking water sources; and
- Conduct field pilot scale column tests to evaluate the performance of the optimal adsorbent for the removal of VOCs at the Cadmus Place Groundwater Treatment Plant and pharmaceuticals and EDCs at the Little Falls Water Treatment Plant, both in NJ.
Progress Summary:
We continued on leaching tests, material characterization, and adsorption tests. In our previous report we noted that wash with acetic acid neutralized the sludge-derived materials and significantly reduced metal leaching. However, in batch leaching tests there are still a few metals (As, Mn, Sb, and Se) leached out at concentrations above their maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). During this reporting period we conducted column leaching tests with an empty-bed contact time of ~ 5 min, and all the above mentioned metals dropped to below their respective MCLs within 10 bed volumes.
We conducted batch adsorption experiments for pharmaceuticals and EDCs, nitrosamines, and VOCs, with raw and acid washed materials. The adsorption of these three groups of compounds were either unchanged or enhanced with the acid washed materials. Material characterizations show that except for the SS90F10_650 material, all materials have increased BET surface area as well as micro- and total porosity, all of which may have contributed to the enhanced adsorption.
We performed a detailed study of carbamazepine (CBZ) adsorption mechanism of the fish/sludge derived adsorbents. Trials with varied carbonization temperatures indicated that higher temperatures yielded more effective adsorbents of CBZ. The successful removal of CBZ from aqueous solution was attributed to the favorable combination of a highly dispersed polar inorganic phase and a carbon phase. The inorganic phase was able to interact with CBZ via polar, acid-based interactions and complexation, whereas the carbon phase provided hydrophobicity in micropores and promoted the dispersion of the inorganic phase.
We further studied the adsorption of pharmaceuticals on activated carbon of different surface features. It has been shown for the first time that depending on the chemical affinity between a pharmaceutical molecule and the carbon surface, important transformations of the adsorbed species take place. This is owing to the oxygen groups incorporated to the carbon matrix. These species, besides attracting polar molecules, also react with functional groups of the pollutants, especially with amines, resulting in very strong adsorption forces/covalent bonds. Moreover, the carbon surface activates oxygen and results in the partial oxidation of the adsorbed species.
Future Activities:
In the next few months, we will conduct the laboratory and pilot scale column experiments and complete the project.Journal Articles on this Report : 4 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 19 publications | 8 publications in selected types | All 8 journal articles |
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Nielsen L, Biggs MJ, Skinner W, Bandosz TJ. The effects of activated carbon surface features on the reactive adsorption of carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole. Carbon 2014;80:419-432. |
R835178 (2014) R835178 (2015) R835178 (Final) |
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Nielsen L, Zhang P, Bandosz TJ. Adsorption of carbamazepine on sludge/fish waste derived adsorbents:effect of surface chemistry and texture. Chemical Engineering Journal 2015;267:170-181. |
R835178 (2014) R835178 (2015) R835178 (Final) |
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Vidal CB, dos Santos AB, do Nascimento RF, Bandosz TJ. Reactive adsorption of pharmaceuticals on tin oxide pillared montmorillonite: effect of visible light exposure. Chemical Engineering Journal 2015;259:865-875. |
R835178 (2014) R835178 (2015) R835178 (Final) |
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Vidal CB, Seredych M, Rodriguez-Castellon E, Nascimento RF, Bandosz TJ. Effect of nanoporous carbon surface chemistry on the removal of endocrine disruptors from water phase. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 2015;449:180-191. |
R835178 (2014) R835178 (2015) R835178 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
waste reduction, remediation, environmental chemistry;Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.