Comparative performance evaluation of Cobalt-MXene for organic pollutant degradation
Industrialization has profoundly shaped the world, ushering in transformative economic and technological advancements while significantly impacting the environment and global trade. This rapid industrialization has simultaneously exerted immense pressure on water resources, leading to increase...
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Format: | Final Year Project |
Language: | English |
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Nanyang Technological University
2023
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/172729 |
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Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
Language: | English |
Summary: | Industrialization has profoundly shaped the world, ushering in transformative economic and
technological advancements while significantly impacting the environment and global trade. This
rapid industrialization has simultaneously exerted immense pressure on water resources, leading to
increased pollution levels, contamination of aquatic ecosystems, and compromised water quality due
to the discharge of harmful chemicals by-products and pollutants. Exposure to organic pollutants like
Bisphenol-A (BPA) and Acid Orange 7 (AO7) through contaminated water sources are related to
serious health issues in humans, including hormonal imbalances, reproductive disorders, and a risk of
certain cancers due to them being potential carcinogens. Hence, innovative solutions with MXene
were explored to address these challenges, with the aim of producing advanced water treatment
technologies to effectively remove organic pollutants from various water sources.
In this study, a catalytic Cobalt-MXene nanocomposite was explored and fabricated using a simple
metal-ion initiated gelation technique, to treat wastewater containing BPA and AO7 coupled with the
integration of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) by Peroxymonosulfate activation. The fabrication
method was modified slightly to include the use of Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) and hydrothermal
reaction, to form a new modified Cobalt-MXene. The performances of both catalysts were compared
and analysed to uncover the changes incurred, owing to the new catalyst synthesis method.
The performance comparison analysis was investigated under identical experimental conditions, using
0.3g/L of nanocomposite catalyst to degrade organic pollutants of Bisphenol-A (BPA) and Acid
Orange 7 (AO7). The original Cobalt-MXene (CoM) catalyst achieved rapid high degradation
efficiency ( 93.8% of AO7 in 6 minutes and 100% of BPA in 3.5 minutes). Similarly, modified
Cobalt-MXene (MCoM) had exemplary results, albeit lesser removal rate than CoM (90.4% of AO7
in 6 minutes and 92.3% of BPA in 10 minutes). The reusability of these nanocomposites was explored
in the form of repeated treatment usage of AO7 and the corresponding degradation results of UV-VIS
tests were recorded. Both catalysts were subjected to ICP-OES to evaluate the degree of metal ions
leaching during the tests. Evidently, MCoM was found to be the nanocomposite catalyst of higher
stability, resulting in higher rate of repeated usage. The removal efficiency of CoM at the fourth cycle
of AO7 treatment had drastic decrease to 60% while MCoM retained a high 86.3%. The reusability
test pressed forward to a fifth cycle in which both catalysts had drastic decrease in degradation
efficiency. The superior performance by MCoM was attributed to the internal structure changes,
affected by the method of synthesis hence, the characterization was explored with FESEM, EDX and
XRD. In essence, this study exemplifies an improved, time saving technique for the fabrication of a
novel catalyst with high performance, stability, reusability, and other dormant potentials. |
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