Insight into polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons removal using novel surfactant-clay hybrid material

FUNES, ISRAEL G.; DUARTE, LUCIANO; MUSSO, TELMA BELEN; CARLOS, LUCIANO; PAROLO, MARIA E.

APPLIED CLAY SCIENCE

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2025 vol. 276

0169-1317

In order to satisfy increasingly strict legal regulations, wastewater treatment technologies require improvements, adaptations, or new developments for the removal of toxic compounds. This work analyses the removal of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from water using two low-cost organoclays as alternative sorbents (H5-Mt/TPODAC-1.5 and Mt./TPODAC-1.5) through static and dynamic experiments. The kinetics features, optimal sorbent dosage, and competitive effects were study by batch adsorption tests using two aqueous solutions spiked with anthracene (ANT) and sixteen PAHs, respectively. Both organoclays showed a high removal capacities for high molecular weight PAHs, which are classifed as carcinogenic. The maximum adsorption capacity for ANT was estimated to be 2700 μg g- 1 for H5-Mt/TPODAC-1.5 and 3300 μg g- 1 for Mt./TPODAC-1.5. The most effcient organoclay was selected for further evaluation in fxed bed columns to assess the influence of operating flow rate, bed length, and initial concentration on the ANT removal. Effciency parameters such as useful and total bed capacity, mass transfer zone, bed breakpoint time and removal were analysed. Dynamic study using a fxed bed column of 8.5 cm length flled with organoclay conducted over 22 h showed that the remaining concentration of ANT was <4 μg L- 1 when the initial ANT concentration in the feed solution was 41 μg L-1.