Grantee Research Project Results

2013 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, 2012 through November 30,2013
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: (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 removal of EDCs at the Little Falls Water Treatment Plant, both in NJ.

Progress Summary:

We optimized material washing procedures and continued on leaching tests, material characterization, and adsorption tests. We found that wash by acetic acid (pH 2.88) twice was able to neutralize most of the composite materials and significantly reduce metal leaching in batch leaching tests with pure water or tap water. For instance, for the acid washed SS75F25_650 material, only Sb (out of 22 elements examined) in the leachate (9 µg/L) slightly exceeded its maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 6 µg/L. We expect that the Sb level will be significantly lower than its MCL under flow through operations with short contact time and large dilution. Batch adsorption tests showed that the washed and unwashed SS75F25_650 materials adsorbed a similar amount of the model pharmaceutical carbamazepine, indicating that the washing procedures did not compromise the adsorption capacity for organic contaminants.

The surface characterization indicates a similar elemental and mineral composition of the composite materials obtained at 650 and 950 °C. The sample obtained at 650 °C has a higher content of carbon than the sample obtained at 950 °C (36% vs 27%), whereas the sample obtained at 950 °C has higher surface area than the sample obtained at 650 °C (86 m²/g vs 58 m²/g) owing to the development of mesopores (transport channels for the adsorbates) at higher temperatures. This difference results in higher adsorption of carbamazepine on the sample obtained at 950 °C than on the sample obtained at 650 °C (26 mg/g vs 11 mg/g). After adsorption of carbamazepine significant changes in surface chemistry are found to be linked to the presence of carbamazepine on the surface and its interactions with the active centers.

Future Activities:

In the third year of the project, we will continue adsorption experiments (with groups of contaminants), with a particular focus on column experiments. We will monitor metals from column effluents during the adsorption experiments and make sure that the effluent meets MCLs for metals. We also will conduct pilot scale column tests during this period.

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	Wallace R, Seredych M, Zhang P, Bandosz TJ. Municipal waste conversion to hydrogen sulfide adsorbents: investigation of the synergistic effects of sewage sludge/fish waste mixture. Chemical Engineering Journal 2014;237:88-94.	R835178 (2013) R835178 (Final)	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.