The potential of microplastics as adsorbents of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate and chromium in an aqueous environment

Liying Zhang; Yonggan Li; Wenxia Wang; Wei Zhang; Qiting Zuo; Amor Abdelkader; Kai Xi; Philippe M Heynderickx; Ki-Hyun Kim

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2021.111057

The potential of microplastics as adsorbents of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate and chromium in an aqueous environment

Environ Res. 2021 Jun:197:111057. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111057. Epub 2021 Mar 20.

Authors

Liying Zhang¹, Yonggan Li², Wenxia Wang², Wei Zhang³, Qiting Zuo⁴, Amor Abdelkader⁵, Kai Xi⁶, Philippe M Heynderickx⁷, Ki-Hyun Kim⁸

Affiliations

¹ School of Ecology and Environment Science, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Water Resource and Environment, Zhengzhou, 450001, China; Henan International Joint Laboratory of Water Cycle Simulation and Environmental Protection, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China.
² School of Ecology and Environment Science, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Water Resource and Environment, Zhengzhou, 450001, China; Henan International Joint Laboratory of Water Cycle Simulation and Environmental Protection, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China.
³ School of Ecology and Environment Science, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, PR China; Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Water Resource and Environment, Zhengzhou, 450001, China; Henan International Joint Laboratory of Water Cycle Simulation and Environmental Protection, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China; School of Water Conservancy Engineering, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, PR China; Yellow River Institute for Ecological Protection and Regional Coordination Development, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, PR China. Electronic address: zhangwei88@zzu.edu.cn.
⁴ Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Water Resource and Environment, Zhengzhou, 450001, China; Henan International Joint Laboratory of Water Cycle Simulation and Environmental Protection, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China; School of Water Conservancy Engineering, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, PR China; Yellow River Institute for Ecological Protection and Regional Coordination Development, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, PR China.
⁵ Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB, United Kingdom.
⁶ Cambridge Graphene Centre, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0FA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: kx210@cam.ac.uk.
⁷ Center for Environmental and Energy Research (CEER) - Engineering of Materials Via Catalysis and Characterization, Ghent University Global Campus, 119-5 Songdomunhwa-Ro, Yeonsu-Gu, Incheon, 406-840, South Korea; Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Ghent, B-9000, Belgium.
⁸ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, South Korea. Electronic address: kkim61@hanyang.ac.kr.

PMID: 33757825
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111057

Abstract

Considering the omnipresence of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic environments, they are expected to exert significatn impacts as carriers for diverse waterborne pollutants. In this work, the adsorptive behavior of two ionic components (i.e., sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) and Cr(VI)) has been explored against the two types of MPs as model adsorbents, namely poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polystyrene (PS). The influence of key variables (e.g., pH, particle size, and dose of the MPs) on their adsorption behavior is evaluated from various respects. The maximum adsorption capacity values of SDBS on PET and PS are estimated to be 4.80 and 4.65 mg⋅g^-1, respectively, while those of Cr(VI) ions are significantly lower at 0.080 and 0.072 mg⋅g^-1, respectively, The adsorptive equilibrium of SDBS is best described in relation to pH and MP size by a Freundlich isotherm. In contrast, the adsorption behavior of Cr(VI) is best accounted for by a Langmuir isotherm to indicate its adsorption across at least two active surface sites.

Keywords: Adsorption modeling; Cr(VI); Microplastics; Particle size; SDBS; pH.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Benzenesulfonates
Chromium
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Kinetics
Microplastics*
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Benzenesulfonates
Microplastics
Plastics
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Chromium
dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid