Phosphate removal using surface enriched hematite and tetra-n-butylammonium bromide incorporated polyacrylonitrile composite nanofibers

Chengshuang Wang; Sooyoun Yu; David M Cwiertny; Yadong Yin; Nosang V Myung

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145364

Phosphate removal using surface enriched hematite and tetra-n-butylammonium bromide incorporated polyacrylonitrile composite nanofibers

Sci Total Environ. 2021 May 20:770:145364. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145364. Epub 2021 Jan 24.

Authors

Chengshuang Wang¹, Sooyoun Yu², David M Cwiertny³, Yadong Yin⁴, Nosang V Myung⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China; Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
² Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
⁵ Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. Electronic address: nmyung@nd.edu.

PMID: 33736373
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145364

Abstract

The nanosized iron oxides-based adsorbent has been widely used to alleviate water eutrophication. However, it is challenging to industrialize the application of nanosized iron oxides-based adsorbent due to their poor stability, difficult separation and recovery. Herein, hematite and tetra-n-butylammonium bromide incorporated polyacrylonitrile (PAN/Fe₂O₃/TBAB) composite nanofibers with a controlled diameter (i.e., 66 to 305 nm) and composition were systematically synthesized as an adsorbent for phosphate removal from water using surfactant-mediated electrospinning. During the electrospinning process, polar TBAB surfactant enhanced the migration of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles toward the surface of nanofibers resulting in Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles/TBAB surface enriched nanofibers. The synthesized nanofiber membranes were used for phosphate removal, and their adsorption kinetics, adsorption mechanism, and reusability were investigated. Data showed that adsorption kinetic followed the pseudo-second-order model whereas the adsorption mechanism follows the Langmuir model. The phosphate removal was mainly derived from the chemisorption of surface-enriched α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles at acidic and circumneutral pH values, with a small contribution from anion exchange at TBAB sites. The maximum phosphate removal capacity was approx. 8.76 mg/g (i.e., 23.1 mg/g, P/active materials) at pH 3. Additionally, the synthesized nanofiber membrane also shows excellent reusability.

Keywords: Electrospinning; Nanofiber mat; Phosphorus removal; Surfactant-mediated.

Grants and funding

P30 ES005605/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States