Abstract
Two types of activated carbon, namely, Filtrasorb 400 and Nuchar SA, were functionalized by quaternary ammonium salts (quats), as to enhance perchlorate adsorption. Results showed that the adsorption of quats on Nuchar SA increased with increase in chain length (hydrophobicity) of quats. Filtrasorb 400, however, had limited uptake of long-chain quats such as dodecyltrimethylammonium and hexadecyltrimethylammoium (HDTMA). Results indicated that perchlorate removal by the functionalized activated carbon was directly related to the chain length of the modifying quats. Perchlorate removal by functionalized activated carbon increased with increase in chain length of the modifying quats and became less pH-dependent. Modified Nuchar SA had higher overall perchlorate removal capacity than the modified Filtrasorb F400, but was more strongly affected by pH than Filtrasorb 400. Activated carbon treated with HDTMA exhibited the best perchlorate removal capacity among all quats studied. Results indicated that tailoring the activated carbon surface with HDTMA rendered the activated carbon surface positively charged, which resulted in substantial increase in perchlorate removal compared to unfunctionalized activated carbons.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bradford C M, Rinchard J, Carr J A, Theodorakis C. Perchlorate affects thyroid function in eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) at environmentally relevant concentrations. Environmental Science & Technology, 2005, 39(14): 5190–5195
Wolff J. Perchlorate and the thyroid gland. Pharmacological Reviews, 1998, 50(1): 89–105
Tikkanen M W. Development of a drinking water regulation for perchlorate in California. Analytica Chimica Acta, 2006, 567(1): 20–25
Urbansky E T. Perchlorate as an environmental contaminant. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 2002, 9(3): 187–192
Urbansky E T, Brown S K. Perchlorate retention and mobility in soils. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2003, 5(3): 455–462
Jackson W A, Anandam S K, Anderson T, Lehman T, Rainwater K, Rajagopalan S, Ridley M, Tock R. Perchlorate occurrence in the Texas southern high plains aquifer system. Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation, 2005, 25(1): 137–149
Motzer W E. Perchlorate: Problems, detection, and solutions. Environmental Forensics, 2001, 2(4): 301–311
Liu J, Choe J K, Sasnow Z, Werth C J, Strathmann T J. Application of a Re-Pd bimetallic catalyst for treatment of perchlorate in waste ion-exchange regenerant brine. Water Research, 2013, 47(1): 91–101
Xie D, Yu H, Li C, Ren Y, Wei C, Feng C. Competitive microbial reduction of perchlorate and nitrate with a cathode directly serving as the electron donor. Electrochimica Acta, 2014, 133: 217–223
Gu B H, Ku Y K, Brown G M. Sorption and desorption of perchlorate and U(VI) by strong-base anion-exchange resins. Environmental Science & Technology, 2005, 39(3): 901–907
Gu B, Brown G M, Chiang C. Treatment of perchloratecontaminated groundwater using highly selective, regenerable ionexchange technologies. Environmental Science & Technology, 2007, 41(17): 6277–6282
Kim Y, Choi M. Synergistic integration of ion-exchange and catalytic reduction for complete decomposition of perchlorate in waste water. Environmental Science & Technology, 2014, 48(13): 7503–7510
Memon S, Bhatti A A, Memon N. New calix[4]arene appended amberlite XAD-4 resin with versatile perchlorate removal efficiency. Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 2013, 58(10): 2819–2827
Wang P, Shah S I, Huang C P. Preparation and characterization of functionalized poly(vinyl chloride) membrane for the selective separation of perchlorate from water. Journal of Membrane Science, doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2014.10.0540376-7388
Chen W, Cannon F, Rangel-Mendez J. Ammonia-tailoring of GAC to enhance perchlorate removal. I: Characterization of NH3 thermally tailored GACs. Carbon, 2005, 43(3): 573–580
Chen W, Cannon F, Rangel-Mendez J. Ammonia-tailoring of GAC to enhance perchlorate removal. II: Perchlorate adsorption. Carbon, 2005, 43(3): 581–590
Byrne T M, Gu X, Hou P, Cannon F S, Brown N R, Nieto-Delgado C. Quaternary nitrogen activated carbons for removal of perchlorate with electrochemical regeneration. Carbon, 2014, 73: 1–12
Hou P, Cannon F S, Nieto-Delgado C, Brown N R, Gu X. Effect of preparation protocol on anchoring quaternary ammonium/epoxideforming compound into granular activated carbon for perchlorate adsorption: Enhancement by response surface methodology. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2013, 223: 309–317
Hou P, Cannon F S, Brown N R, Byrne T, Gu X, Delgado C N. Granular activated carbon anchored with quaternary ammonium/epoxide-forming compounds to enhance perchlorate removal from groundwater. Carbon, 2013, 53: 197–207
Bors J. Sorption of radioiodine in organo-clays and organo-soils. Radiochimica Acta, 1990, 51(3): 139–143
Bowman R S, Sullivan E J, Haggerty G M. Sorption of inorganic oxyanions by surfactant-modified zeolites. Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society, 1994, 207: 178
Celik A, Yildiz N, Calimli A. Adsorption of some organic compounds by hexadecyltrimethylammonium-bentonite. Reviews in Chemical Engineering, 2000, 16(3): 301–309
Dentel S K, Jamrah A I, Sparks D L. Sorption and cosorption of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene and tannic acid by organo-clays. Water Research, 1998, 32(12): 3689–3697
Li Z H, Bowman R S. Retention of inorganic oxyanions by organokaolinite. Water Research, 2001, 35(16): 3771–3776
Stapleton M G, Sparks D L, Dentel S K. Sorption of pentachlorphenol to Hdtma-clay as a function of ionic-strength and pH. Environmental Science & Technology, 1994, 28(13): 2330–2335
Yildiz N, Gonulsen R, Koyuncu H, Calimli A. Adsorption of benzoic acid and hydroquinone by organically modified bentonites. Colloids and Surfaces. A, Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2005, 260(1–3): 87–94
Basar C A, Karagunduz A, Keskinler B, Cakici A. Effect of presence of ions on surface characteristics of surfactant modified powdered activated carbon (PAC). Applied Surface Science, 2003, 218(1–4): 169–174
Bagherifam S, Komarneni S, Lakzian A, Fotovat A, Khorasani R, Huang W, Ma J, Hong S, Cannon F S, Wang Y. Highly selective removal of nitrate and perchlorate by organoclay. Applied Clay Science, 2014, 95: 126–132
Komarneni S, Aref A R, Hong S, Noh Y D, Cannon F S, Wang Y. Organoclays of high-charge synthetic clays and alumina pillared natural clays: Perchlorate uptake. Applied Clay Science, 2013, 80–81: 340–345
Seliem M K, Komarneni S, Byrne T, Cannon F S, Shahien M G, Khalil A A, Abd El-Gaid I M. Removal of perchlorate by synthetic organosilicas and organoclay: Kinetics and isotherm studies. Applied Clay Science, 2013, 71: 21–26
Chitrakar R, Makita Y, Hirotsu T, Sonoda A. Montmorillonite modified with hexadecylpyridinium chloride as highly efficient anion exchanger for perchlorate ion. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2012, 191: 141–146
Xie Y, Li S, Liu G, Wang J, Wu K. Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies on perchlorate adsorption by cross-linked quaternary chitosan. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2012, 192: 269–275
Mahmudov R H, Huang C P. Perchlorate removal by activated carbon adsorption. Separation and Purification Technology, 2010, 70(3): 329–337
Mahmudov R, Huang C P. Selective adsorption of oxyanions on activated carbon exemplified by Filtrasorb 400 (F400). Separation and Purification Technology, 2011, 77(3): 294–300
Lou J C, Hsu Y S, Hsu K L, Chou M S, Han J Y. Comparing the removal of perchlorate when using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) or granular activated carbon: Adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics. Journal of Environmental Science and Health. Part A, Toxic/Hazardous Substances & Environmental Engineering, 2014, 49(5): 503–513
Parette R, Cannon F S. The removal of perchlorate from groundwater by activated carbon tailored with cationic surfactants. Water Research, 2005, 39(16): 4020–4028
Parette R, Cannon F S, Weeks K. Removing low ppb level perchlorate, RDX, and HMX from groundwater with cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) pre-loaded activated carbon. Water Research, 2005, 39(19): 4683–4692
Zhang Z Z, Sparks D L, Scrivner N C. Sorption and desorption of quaternary amine cations on clays. Environmental Science & Technology, 1993, 27(8): 1625–1631
Fragneto G, Thomas R K, Rennie A R, Penfold J. Neutron reflection from hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide adsorbed on smooth and rough silicon surfaces. Langmuir, 1996, 12(25): 6036–6043
Rennie A R, Lee E M, Simister E A, Thomas R K. Structure of a cationic surfactant layer at the silica water interface. Langmuir, 1990, 6(5): 1031–1034
Turner S F, Clarke SM, Rennie A R, Thirtle P N, Cooke D J, Li Z X, Thomas R K. Adsorption of sodium dodecyl sulfate to a polystyrene/water interface studied by neutron reflection and attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy. Langmuir, 1999, 15(4): 1017–1023
Chen Y L, Chen S, Frank C, Israelachvili J. Molecular mechanisms and kinetics during the self-assembly of surfactant layers. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 1992, 153(1): 244–265
Haggerty G M, Bowman R S. Sorption of chromate and other inorganic anions by organo-zeolite. Environmental Science & Technology, 1994, 28(3): 452–458
Manne S, Gaub H E. Molecular-organization of surfactants at solidliquid interfaces. Science, 1995, 270(5241): 1480–1482
Kiraly Z, Findenegg G. Calorimetric evidence of the formation of half-cylindrical aggregates of a cationic surfactant at the graphite/water interface. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 1998, 102(7): 1203–1211
Corapcioglu M O, Huang C P. The surface-acidity and characterization of some commercial activated carbons. Carbon, 1987, 25(4): 569–578
Hiemenz P C, Rajagopalan J. Principles of Colloid and Surface Chemistry. 3rd ed. New York, NY, USA: Marcel Dekker, 1997
Gao Y, Chai J, Xu J, Li G, Zhang G. Dynamic surface tension and adsorption mechanism of surfactant benzyltrimethylammonium bromide at the air/water interface. Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, 2006, 27(8): 1059–1063
Mosquera V, del Rio J M, Attwood D, Garcia M, Jones M N, Prieto G, Suarez M J, Sarmiento F. A study of the aggregation behavior of hexyltrimethylammonium bromide in aqueous solution. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 1998, 206(1): 66–76
Hamai S, Sasaki Y, Hori T, Takahashi A. Interactions of tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin with gamma-cyclodextrin and alkyltrimethylammonium bromides in aqueous solutions. Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry, 2006, 54(1–2): 67–76
Li Z H, Alessi D, Zhang P F, Bowman R S. Organo-illite as a low permeability sorbent to retard migration of anionic contaminants. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2002, 128(7): 583–587
Rosen M J. Surfactants and Interfacial Phenomena. 2nd ed. New York, NY, USA: Wiley, 1989
Bijsterbosch B. Characterization of silica surfaces by adsorption from solution—Investigations into mechanism of adsorption of cationic surfactants. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 1974, 47(1): 186–198
Furlong T E, Elliker P R. An improved method of determining concentration of quaternary ammonium compounds in water solutions and in milk. Journal of Dairy Science, 1953, 36(3): 225–234
El-Shahawi M S, Bashammakh A S, Bahaffi S O. Chemical speciation and recovery of gold (I, III) from wastewater and silver by liquid-liquid extraction with the ion-pair reagent amiloride mono hydrochloride and AAS determination. Talanta, 2007, 72(4): 1494–1499
Tanford C. How protein chemists learned about the hydrophobic factor. Protein Science, 1997, 6(6): 1358–1366
Krishnan A, Siedlecki C A, Vogler E A. Traube-rule interpretation of protein adsorption at the liquid-vapor interface. Langmuir, 2003, 19(24): 10342–10352
Xu J, Gao N, Deng Y, Sui M, Tang Y. Perchlorate removal by granular activated carbon coated with cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2011, 357(2): 474–479
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mahmudov, R., Chen, C. & Huang, CP. Functionalized activated carbon for the adsorptive removal of perchlorate from water solutions. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 9, 194–208 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-015-1517-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-015-1517-3