Removal of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals from Water: Adsorption of Bisphenol-A by Biobased Hydrophobic Functionalized Cellulose

Antonio Tursi, Efthalia Chatzisymeon, Francesco Chidichimo, Amerigo Beneduci and Giuseppe Chidichimo
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Antonio Tursi: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, Cubo 15D, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy
Efthalia Chatzisymeon: School of Engineering, Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, University of Edinburgh, The King’s Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JL, UK
Francesco Chidichimo: Department of Environment and Chemical Engineering, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, Cubo 41B, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy
Amerigo Beneduci: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, Cubo 15D, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy
Giuseppe Chidichimo: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci, Cubo 15D, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine the efficiency of biobased Spanish broom (SB) surface modified cellulose fibers to remove bisphenol A (BPA), a well-known endocrine disruptor, from water. Spanish brooms are flowering plants, which are native and abundant to Mediterranean regions. The functionalized fibers (FF) were found to have the best adsorption efficiency at pH 5, due to the optimal hydrophobic interaction between the FF fiber and BPA. Adsorption kinetics of BPA was found to fit well a pseudo-second order reaction. Equilibrium isotherm data were fitted by Langmuir and Freundlich models. A very fast and simple regeneration method was developed and it was observed that adsorption capacity of the fibers was kept almost unchanged after 3 consecutive uses. Bottled water and synthetic wastewater were also tested to assess the efficiency of the process under more realistic water and wastewater treatment conditions. It was found that BPA removal was slightly decreased from 77% in ultrapure water to 64% in synthetic wastewater matrix, indicating that FF has a high selectivity toward BPA, even in the presence of other organic compounds. Overall, it was observed that SB-modified fibers can be a new promising green biotechnology for water purification.

Keywords: endocrine disruptors; wastewater treatment; priority pollutants; surface modified cellulose; EDCs; Spanish broom (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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