REMOVAL OF NONIONIC ORGANIC POLLUTANTS FROM WATER BY SORPTION TO ORGANO-OXIDES

Anionic surfactant monomers can be adsorbed onto mineral oxides from the aqueous phase if the pH of the solution is below the oxide's zero point of charge (ZPC). The oxide with anionic surfactant sorbed to it is called organo-oxide, and it acts as a sorbent for nonionic organic pollutants, since these pollutants will partition between water and the organic phase of the sorbent. The advantage of this sorbent is that, unlike activated-carbon, it can be regenerated in-situ. Batch and column experiments were done to demonstrate the use of an organo-oxide for the treatment of water contaminated with a nonionic organic pollutant. The results from column experiments matched well with theoretical predictions based on parameters obtained from batch experiments.