Grantee Research Project Results
Final 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 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 EDCs at the Little Falls Water Treatment Plant, both in New Jersey.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
We synthesized new composites using sewage sludge and fish waste. A synergistic effect of the improvement in the volume of small pores was found in comparison with the physical 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 of the carbon phase).
The surface characterization indicates a similar composition of the adsorbents obtained at 650oC and 950oC from the point of view of the elements present in the inorganic matter. The sample obtained at 650oC has a higher content of carbon than the sample obtained at 950oC (36% vs. 27%), whereas the sample obtained at 950oC has higher surface area than the sample obtained at 650oC (86 m2/g vs. 58 m2/g) owing to the development of mesopores (transport channels for adsorbates) at higher temperatures. These differences result in much higher adsorption of the pharmaceutical carbamazepine on the sample obtained at 950oC than on the sample obtained at 650oC (26 mg/g vs. 11 mg/g). After adsorption of carbamazepine, significant changes in surface chemistry are found. They are linked to the presence of carbamazepine on the surface and its interactions with the active centers.
We noted high pH of the composite materials and leaching of some metals (Al in particular) at levels exceeding drinking water standards. Therefore, we tested several acid washing procedures in an effort to neutralize the composite materials and minimize metal leaching. We found that by washing with acetic acid (pH 2.88) twice we were able to neutralize most of the materials. The acetic acid washed samples then were rinsed with ultrapure Milli-Q water three times, dried, and subjected to batch leaching tests with Milli-Q or tap water. A total of 22 elements in the leachate (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Ru, Sb, Se, Th, Tl, U, V, and Zn) were analyzed. For the acid washed SS75F25_650 material, only Sb in the leachate (9 μg/L) slightly exceeded the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 6 μg/L. The other 21 elements in the leachate were all below MCLs. For the SS90F10_650 material, Sb and Mn in leachate were about twice the MCLs, and the remaining 20 elements were all below MCLs. For the SS90F10_950 and SS75F25_950 materials, Arsenic (As) in leachate was about twice the MCL, and Sb in leachate was about four times the MCL. Mn in leachate was 5 to 18 times the MCLs. The remaining 19 elements were all below MCLs. When leaching tests were conducted under dynamic flow through conditions with an empty-bed contact time (EBCT) of ~ 5 minutes (i.e., similar to conditions used in packed carbon filters), all the above mentioned metals that exceeded MCLs dropped to below their respective MCLs within 10 bed volumes.
We conducted batch adsorption experiments for pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), nitrosamines, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with raw and acid washed materials. For the pharmaceuticals/EDCs the maximum amounts adsorbed (total of all compounds) were around 20 mg/g for the unwashed SS90F10_950 and SS75F25_950 materials, whereas those for the corresponding acid washed materials were almost double that amount (close to ~ 38 mg/g). This amount is about half of the maximum adsorption by a commercial activated carbon. For nitrosamines, the maximum amounts of adsorption by the raw and acid washed materials were similar (~ 15 mg/g), about half of that of the activated carbon. The observed maximum adsorption of VOCs by the acid washed SS90F10_950 and SS75F10_950 materials (~ 11.3 mg/g) was almost 150% of that of the unwashed counterparts (~ 6-8 mg/g), and was similar to the maximum adsorption by a commercial activated carbon (~ 12.7 mg/g). In short, the adsorption of these three groups of compounds was either unchanged or enhanced with acid washed materials. Material characterizations show that with the exception of the SS90F10_650 material, all materials have an increased BET surface area as well as micro- and total porosity, which may have contributed to the enhanced adsoprtion.
We performed a detailed study of the 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 also performed a detailed mechanistic study of adsorption of three pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, CBZ, sulfamethoxazole, SMX, and Trimethoprim, TMP) from multicomponent solutions on the waste derived adsorbents. Such a system was considered to simulate, to some extent, the complexity of the real life systems. The results show that CBZ was removed in the highest quantity from the multi-component solution containing CBZ, SMX, and TMP in equal concentrations. We found that polarity was an important feature impacting the adsorption success—the least polar substance, CBZ, was adsorbed in nearly 10-fold greater quantity than the most polar pharmaceutical, SMX. Both the organic and the inorganic components of the adsorbents were responsible for adsorption of the contaminants, and physical adsorption played a rather minor role.
Small pilot scale column tests also were performed at the Cadmus Place Groundwater Treatment Plant (for VOCs removal) and at the Little Falls Water Treatment Plant (for pharmaceuticals and EDCs removal) using the plant source waters as the column input. The input concentration of VOCs in the source groundwater was relatively constant at ~ 110-140 μg/L. The effluent concentration was initially zero but gradually increased to about 80% of the input when the experiment was terminated (~ 1 month, or 6000 bed volumes). The total amount of VOCs removed was around 0.6 mg per g of adsorbent, about 1/10 of the maximum capacity determined by the batch tests. The input concentration of total pharmaceuticals and EDCs in the Passaic River source water varied from about 200 to 1000 ng/L, and the two duplicate columns were generally able to remove about 85%-90% of the input compounds over the course of the experiment. There was no sign of reduced performance at the end of ~1-month operation (~3500 bed volumes), when the columns were gradually clogged by high sediment loading of the source water.
Journal Articles on this Report : 8 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 19 publications | 8 publications in selected types | All 8 journal articles |
---|
Type | Citation | ||
---|---|---|---|
|
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) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
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) |
Exit |
|
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) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
Nielsen L, Bandosz TJ. Analysis of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim adsorption on sewage sludge and fish waste derived adsorbents. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 2016;220:58-72. |
R835178 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
|
Nielsen L, Bandosz TJ. Analysis of the competitive adsorption of pharmaceuticals on waste derived materials. Chemical Engineering Journal 2016;287:139-147. |
R835178 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
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) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
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) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
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) |
Exit Exit Exit |
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.
Project Research Results
- 2015 Progress Report
- 2014 Progress Report
- 2013 Progress Report
- 2012 Progress Report
- Original Abstract
8 journal articles for this project