Sorption potential of modified nanocrystals for the removal of aromatic organic pollutant from aqueous solution

Chemically modified starch nanocrystals were used as adsorbents for the removal of aromatic organic compounds from water. The nanocrystals were chemically modified by grafting with stearate moieties which enhanced the adsorption capacity of the nanometric substrate. Their adsorption capacity ranged between 150 and 900 mu mol g(-1) of modified nanoparticles and the adsorption isotherms could be described accurately by the Langmuir model. The adsorption kinetics followed a two-step process with first pure adsorption of the aromatic compounds onto the surface of the nanoparticles followed by a diffusion of the compounds into the layer of surface chains grafted onto the nanoparticles. Furthermore, the feasibility of using these nanoparticles in continuous flow mode processes was confirmed using a fixed bed column setup. The fixed bed column could also be regenerated by washing with ethanol and was found not to exhibit any loss in adsorption capacity over multiples adsorption-desorption cycles. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.