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. 2024 Jun 14;17(12):2917.
doi: 10.3390/ma17122917.

Application of Mesoporous Silicas for Adsorption of Organic and Inorganic Pollutants from Rainwater

Anna Marszałek  1 , Ewa Puszczało  2 , Katarzyna Szymańska  3 , Marek Sroka  4 , Edyta Kudlek  1 , Agnieszka Generowicz  5
Affiliations

Application of Mesoporous Silicas for Adsorption of Organic and Inorganic Pollutants from Rainwater

Anna Marszałek et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Precipitation is an important factor that influences the quality of surface water in many regions of the world. The pollution of stormwater runoff from roads and parking lots is an understudied area in water quality research. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of the physicochemical properties of rainwater flowing from parking lots was carried out, considering heavy metals and organic micropollutants. High concentrations of zinc were observed in rainwater, in addition to alkanes, e.g., tetradecane, hexadecane, octadecane, 2,6,10-trimethyldodecane, 2-methyldodecane; phenolic derivatives, such as 2,6-dimethoxyphenol and 2,4-di-tertbutylphenol; and compounds such as benzothiazole. To remove the contaminants present in rainwater, adsorption using silica carriers of the MCF (Mesostructured Cellular Foams) type was performed. Three groups of modified carriers were prepared, i.e., (1) SH (thiol), (2) NH2 (amino), and (3) NH2/SH (amine and thiol functional groups). The research problem, which is addressed in the presented article, is concerned with the silica carrier influence of the functional group on the adsorption efficiency of micropollutants. The study included an evaluation of the effects of adsorption dose and time on the efficiency of the contaminant removal process, as well as an analysis of adsorption isotherms and reaction kinetics. The colour adsorption from rainwater was 94-95% for MCF-NH2 and MCF-NH2/SH. Zinc adsorbance was at a level of 90% for MCF-NH2, and for MCF-NH2/SH, 52%. Studies have shown the high efficacy (100%) of MCF-NH2 in removing organic micropollutants, especially phenolic compounds and benzothiazole. On the other hand, octadecane was the least susceptible to adsorption in each case. It was found that the highest efficiency of removal of organic micropollutants and zinc ions was obtained through the use of functionalized silica NH2.

Keywords: adsorption; functionalized silica; heavy metals; organic compounds; rainwater.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Stages of the testing of mesoporous silicas, including the assessment of their physicochemical properties and the characteristics of the adsorption process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Location of the rainwater collection site used for the research.
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM (A), EDS analysis (B), and TEM (C) images of MCF carrier.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Nitrogen adsorption and desorption isotherms of silica mesoporous cell foam (−196 °C) before and after its functionalization.
Figure 5
Figure 5
FTIR spectra of the pristine MCF after functionalization.
Figure 6
Figure 6
A chromatogram obtained for rainwater before the treatment process.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Degrees of removal of micropollutants for each adsorbent used.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Effect of adsorbent dose on the concentration of zinc in rainwater (C0 = 4.5 mg/L, time of processes = 120 min, pH rainwater = 6.7).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Effect of adsorbent dose on colour in rainwater (C0 = 87 mg/L, time of processes = 120 min, pH rainwater = 6.7).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Effect of processing time on the effectiveness of the removal of colour from rainwater (C0 = 5 mg/L, dose of adsorbents = 1 g/L, pH rainwater = 6.7).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Effect of processing time on the effectiveness of the removal of zinc from rainwater (C0 = 87 mg/L, dose of adsorbents = 1 g/L, pH rainwater = 6.7).
Figure 12
Figure 12
Freundlich (A), Langmuir (B), and Dubinin-Radushkevich (C) isotherms of zinc and colour for MCF-NH2.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Freundlich (A), Langmuir (B), and Dubinin-Radushkevich (C) isotherms of zinc and colour for MCF-NH2.
Figure 13
Figure 13
The pseudo-second-order kinetic model for the adsorption of zinc and colour by MCF-NH2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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