Grantee Research Project Results

2012 Progress Report: Municipal Sewage Sludge Based Composite Adsorbents For Removal Of Contaminants from Drinking Water Sources

EPA Grant Number: R835178
Title: 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, 2011 through November 30,2012
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 proposed 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:
1. carcinogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs);
2. nitrosamine disinfection byproducts; and
3. 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 in New Jersey and removal of pharmaceuticals and EDCs at the Little Falls Water Treatment Plant, which also is in New Jersey.

Progress Summary:

New composites were synthesized using sewage sludge and fish waste. A synergistic effect of mixture of the components. The surface features of the adsorbents were characterized by various chemical and physical methods. Physical activation was not found to be beneficial for the development of pores in the composites owing to the reactivity of inorganic phase with CO₂(an activation agent). The adsorption of VOCs, nitrosamines, and pharmaceuticals/EDCs by the waste derived composite materials, as well as by a commercially available carbon was examined. Again, a synergistic effect was observed when the sewage sludge and fish waste were combined. The maximum amounts of VOCs, nitrosamines, and pharmaceuticals/EDCs adsorbed by the composite materials are 4.9-7.2 mg/g, 10-16 mg/g, and 20-23 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption capacities of the composition materials for the aforementioned pollutant groups are roughly one-half to one-third of the capacities of the activated carbon, even though the surface areas and pore volumes of the waste derived composite materials are an order of magnitude less than those of the activated carbon.

Future Activities:

In the second year of the project the efforts of material synthesis will be continued with an emphasis on development of porosity. This will be achieved using an addition of nanoporous carbon phase and washing with acid. All surface characterization method mentioned in the proposal will be applied to get maximum information about the nature of the new composites. The pollutants with differences in chemistry and physical properties will be used to evaluate their adsorption from a single component solution. This will be done to enhance the understanding of the behavior of the composite in the complex mixture systems and of the effects of the competition for the high energy adsorption sites.

Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format

Publications Views
Other project views:	All 19 publications	8 publications in selected types	All 8 journal articles

Publications
Type	Citation	Project	Document Sources
Journal Article	Ding R, Zhang P, Seredych M, Bandosz TJ. Removal of antibiotics from water using sewage sludge-and waste oil sludge-derived adsorbents. Water Research 2012;46(13):4081-4090.	R835178 (2012) R835178 (Final)	Abstract from PubMed Full-text: ScienceDirect-Full Text HTML Exit Abstract: ScienceDirect-Abstract Exit Other: ScienceDirect-Full Text PDF Exit

Supplemental Keywords:

waste reduction, remediation, environmental chemistry;

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

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.