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Removal of oxide nanoparticles in a model wastewater treatment plant: influence of agglomeration and surfactants on clearing efficiency.
Journal article

Removal of oxide nanoparticles in a model wastewater treatment plant: influence of agglomeration and surfactants on clearing efficiency.

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  • 2008-08-30
Published in:
  • Environmental science & technology. - 2008
Adsorption
Cerium
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Models, Chemical
Nanoparticles
Nanotechnology
Oxides
Sewage
Solubility
Surface-Active Agents
Time Factors
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Water Pollutants, Chemical
English The rapidly increasing production of engineered nanoparticles has created a demand for particle removal from industrial and communal wastewater streams. Efficient removal is particularly important in view of increasing long-term persistence and evidence for considerable ecotoxicity of specific nanoparticles. The present work investigates the use of a model wastewater treatment plant for removal of oxide nanoparticles. While a majority of the nanoparticles could be captured through adhesion to clearing sludge, a significant fraction of the engineered nanoparticles escaped the wastewater plant's clearing system, and up to 6 wt % of the model compound cerium oxide was found in the exit stream of the model plant. Our study demonstrates a significant influence of surface charge and the addition of dispersion stabilizing surfactants as routinely used in the preparation of nanoparticle derived products. A detailed investigation on the agglomeration of oxide nanoparticles in wastewater streams revealed a high stabilization of the particles against clearance (adsorption on the bacteria from the sludge). This unexpected finding suggests a need to investigate nanoparticle clearance in more detail and demonstrates the complex interactions between dissolved species and the nanoparticles within the continuously changing environment of the clearing sludge.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/47252
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