Mechanistic insight into efficient removal of tetracycline from water by Fe/graphene

Sara Maaria Alatalo, Ehsan Daneshvar, Niko Kinnunen, Arūnas Meščeriakovas, Senthil K. Thangaraj, Janne Jänis, Daniel C.W. Tsang, Amit Bhatnagar, Anna Lähde

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

78 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The release of pharmaceuticals into aquatic environments is a serious concern due to the persistence and potential health and environmental risks of these substances. Surface and ground waters are polluted with a variety of pharmaceuticals due to insufficient water purification processes in wastewater treatment plants. Here, we report a simple procedure for the production of composite materials consisting of zero-valent iron embedded in few-layer graphene, Fe/graphene, through induction annealing at 900 °C. Zero-valent iron was observed as magnetic 1 µm-sized crystals embedded in the graphene matrix appearing in the α- and γ-forms. This Fe/graphene composite was applied as an adsorbent for the removal of tetracycline (a pharmaceutical) from water. The Fe/graphene showed high tetracycline removal efficiency (422 mg/g) under optimized conditions. Furthermore, the Fe/graphene possessed self-regenerating features prolonging its lifetime and total removal capacity up to 660 mg/g, thus making it a potential material for removing tetracycline from water.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)821-830
Number of pages10
JournalChemical Engineering Journal
Volume373
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2019

Keywords

  • Adsorption
  • Carburization
  • Graphene
  • Tetracycline
  • Water treatment
  • Zero-valent iron

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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