Grantee Research Project Results
NanoActive™ Materials: Unique Sorbents for Perchlorate Removal From Water
EPA Contract Number: EPD05030Title: NanoActive™ Materials: Unique Sorbents for Perchlorate Removal From Water
Investigators: Rajagopalan, Shyamala
Small Business: NanoScale Materials, Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: March 1, 2005 through August 31, 2005
Project Amount: $70,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (2005) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) , Watersheds , SBIR - Water and Wastewater
Description:
Perchlorate contamination of ground and surface waters has placed drinking water supplies at risk in communities throughout the United States. Perchlorate is a human health concern at high doses because of its capability to interfere with iodide uptake and the ability of the thyroid to regulate hormone production and metabolism. Health risks at lower doses are not well understood. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency studies are continuing to determine safe levels in drinking water. As a result of perchlorate anion’s fundamental physical and chemical nature, the contamination is difficult to treat.
The goal of this research project is to develop sorbents based on NanoActive™ materials for destructive adsorptive removal of perchlorate ions from contaminated water. It is anticipated that the low capacity and/or slow kinetics of conventional sorbents towards perchlorate anions can be considerably improved by employing unique NanoActive™ materials as sorbents. To meet this goal, NanoScale Materials, Inc., proposes to investigate NanoActive™ TiO2 and its derivatives as adsorbents for removal of perchlorate from contaminated water. NanoActive™ materials should provide a substantial advantage over other conventional adsorbents because they possess desired adsorbent characteristics such as high surface areas, large pore size and pore volume, and numerous defect sites, which lead to unique surface properties that can enhance their adsorptive capabilities.
The project is divided into five tasks: (1) investigation of NanoActive™ TiO2 for removal of perchlorate from contaminated water; (2) preparation and characterization of Fe(II) incorporated NanoActive™ TiO2; (3) investigation of the adsorption capabilities of modified NanoActive™ materials; (4) preliminary column adsorption experiments with promising materials; and (5) preliminary economic and production scale-up studies to estimate the overall cost of using a nanoparticle-based perchlorate adsorbent.
Phase II will focus on determining the application process for the down-selected adsorbent(s). These formulations will be tested under “real life” conditions by introducing competing ions, typical temperature ranges, and realistic flow rates. NanoScale Materials’ aim is to develop novel, highly effective adsorbent materials for point-of-use/point-of-entry filters.
Supplemental Keywords:
small business, SBIR, perchlorate contamination, groundwater, surface water, drinking water, sorbents, NanoActive™ materials, TiO2, perchlorate anions, adsorbent materials, contaminated water, EPA, RFA, PHYSICAL ASPECTS, Scientific Discipline, Waste, Water, TREATMENT/CONTROL, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Remediation, Treatment Technologies, Environmental Chemistry, Physical Properties, Fate & Transport, Hazardous Waste, Groundwater remediation, Hazardous, Drinking Water, Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, gasoline, Methyl tert butyl ether, fate and transport, solubility, fate and transport , fate and transport modeling, cleanup, perchlorate, biodegradation, nanotechnology, oxygenates, spills, chemical contaminants, oil spills, treatment, adsorption mechanism, human exposure, sorbents, groundwater contamination, perchlorate removal, ground water, other - risk management, drinking water contaminants, drinking water treatment, groundwater, aquifer remediation, bioremediationProgress and Final Reports:
The 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.