Carbon black retention in saturated natural soils: Effects of flow conditions, soil surface roughness and soil organic matter.

We evaluated factors affecting the transport, retention, and re-entrainment of carbon black nanoparticles (nCBs) in two saturated natural soils under different flow conditions and input concentrations using the two-site transport model and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Soil organic matter (SOM) was found to create unfavorable conditions for the retention. Despite an increased flow velocity, the relative stability of the estimated maximum retention capacity in soils may suggest that flow-induced shear stress forces were insufficient to detach nCB. The KPFM observation revealed that nCBs were retained at the grain boundary and on surface roughness, which brought about substantial discrepancy between theoretically-derived attachment efficiency factors and the ones obtained by the experiments using the two-site transport model. Thus, decreasing ionic strength and increasing solution pH caused re-entrainment of only a small fraction of retained nCB in the soil columns.

Adsorption and recovery of alkylphenol polyethoxylates from synthetic wastewater using hexagonal mesoporous silicate.

A large amount of alkylphenol polyethoxylate (APnEOs), one of endocrine disrupters, is disposed of directly to biological wastewater treatment plants. But microbial oxidation processes cannot completely degrade these molecules to nontoxic forms. Adsorption and recovery efficiency of APnEOs was investigated using four different types of Hexagonal Mesoporous Silicate (HMSs) and powdered activated carbon (PAC). HMSs were synthesized by surfactant-templating methods, and two of them were subsequently grafted with surface functional groups. The two types of organic functional groups grafted on the surface were n-octyldimethyl- and 3-mercaptopropyl- groups. Titanium substituted HMS was also made in the same way as HMS. Adsorption of APnEOs on synthesized HMSs was higher than that on PAC. Larger pore sizes of HMS and Ti-HMS enhanced accessibility of APnEOs to active surface sites in mesopores, which realized higher adsorption capacities and L-shape (Langmuir) adsorption isotherms. Adsorption capacities of APnEOs are influenced by water solubility of APnEOs. APnEOs adsorbed on HMSs can be completely recovered by a mixture of alcohol and water at 5:5 ratio, which is more effective than the recovery from PAC.