Activated carbon nanofiber nonwoven for removal of emulsified oil from water

Activated carbon nanofiber nonwoven (ACNFN) has the potential for being high capacity and throughput sorbent for a variety of contaminants in water due to high porosity and permeability, respectively. In this work, we explore the removal of emulsified oil from water using ACNFNs in both a batch and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microporous and mesoporous materials 2020-04, Vol.296, p.109966, Article 109966
Main Authors: Waisi, Basma I., Arena, Jason T., Benes, Nieck E., Nijmeijer, Arian, McCutcheon, Jeffrey R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activated carbon
And adsorption
Batch
Emulsion
Flow-through
Nonwoven
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Summary:Activated carbon nanofiber nonwoven (ACNFN) has the potential for being high capacity and throughput sorbent for a variety of contaminants in water due to high porosity and permeability, respectively. In this work, we explore the removal of emulsified oil from water using ACNFNs in both a batch and flow-through mode. The ACNFNs were prepared by pyrolysis of electrospun polyacrylonitrile and characterized for specific surface area, hydrophobicity, and mechanical strength. The ACNFNs exhibit a removal efficiency of up to 95% in batch mode and outperform our control tests with non-activated carbon nanofiber nonwoven and a commercial granular activated carbon. Adsorption tests in a flow-through mode demonstrated characteristic breakthrough behavior with subsequent clogging. Removal efficiency increased with the thickness of the mat and with prolonged operation due to ripening. [Display omitted] •PAN based electrospun ACNFN can be used for emulsified oil adsorption from oily wastewater.•The ACNFN has unique surface properties, high specific surface area, mesoporous structure, and high hydrophobicity.•This implies that the inherent oil sorption kinetics of the ACNFN are fast as compared to the external mass transport resistances.•The results imply that ACNFN allows for much faster removal of emulsified oil compared to other (commercially available) forms of activated carbon.
ISSN:1387-1811
DOI:10.1016/j.micromeso.2019.109966