Adsorptive removal of bisphenol A, chloroxylenol, and carbamazepine from water using a novel β-cyclodextrin polymer

The emerging organic micro-pollutants, such as bisphenol A (BPA), chloroxylenol (PCMX) and carbamazepine (CBZ), have raised concerns owing to their adverse impact on human health and ecological security. In this study, a novel cyclodextrin polymer (beta-CDP) has been successfully prepared by nucleophilic substitution of beta-cyclodextrin with tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile (TFP). The removal of three emerging organic micro-pollutants (BPA, CBZ and PCMX) by beta-CDP under a single or mixture adsorption system was examined, and the adsorption behavior was investigated by adsorption kinetics and isotherm study. The maximum adsorption capacity of beta-CDP for BPA, PCMX and CBZ according to Langmuir isotherm in single system was 164.4, 144.1 and 136.4 mg/g, respectively. Compared with single system, the competitive adsorption of each pollutant on beta-CDP in mixture system was only slightly inhibited. Changing the pH, raising the presence of fulvic acid (FA) or ionic strength had no significant influence on the adsorption of BPA, PCMX and CBZ onto beta-CDP. The removal of these three organic micro-pollutants was related to the value of logK(ow) of the contaminants. These results demonstrated remarkable advantages of beta-CDP material relevant to organic micro-pollutants removal in wastewater treatment.