Background
Granulated active carbon is the most common sorbent used for water filtration. However, it is not a pollutant-specific sorbent, which can result in poor removal of some pollutants, especially in the presence of naturally-occurring organic matter. Furthermore, with the rising concern of pharmacologically-active compounds in water sources, there is an urgency to improve the removal of these emerging micropollutants.
Our Innovation
This project discloses a novel clay-polymer sorbent that successfully demonstrated the superior removal of various groups of micropollutants, including herbicides, pharmaceuticals, industrial compounds and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, even in the presence of naturally-occurring organic matter.
The expertise of the research group relates to modifying clay surfaces to optimize the affinity for micropollutants. It is expected that this approach will result in the rapid uptake of micropollutants at rates much greater than activated carbon. Under certain conditions, the clay-polymer column can be regenerated at a cost much less than transporting and incinerating spent active carbon. It addition, the form factor is not limited to columnar
Advantages
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Broad Applicability: Relevant for various categories of micropollutants
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Low-cost: The clay-polymer composite is low-cost and widely available
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Non-fouling: Not susceptible to fouling by natural-occurring organic matter
Opportunity
Relevant for removing water pollutants from in- and outflows
Fig 1. Representative filtration-regeneration-filtration activity by polymer-clay sorbent for an organo-phostphate pesticide
