Mobility of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes in Porous Media

Engineered multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are the subject of intense research and are expected to gain widespread usage in a broad variety of commercial products. However, concerns have been raised regarding potential environmental and human health risks. The mobility of MWCNTs in porous medi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2009-11, Vol.43 (21), p.8153-8158
Main Authors: Liu, Xueying, O’Carroll, Denis M, Petersen, Elijah J, Huang, Qingguo, Anderson, C. Lindsay
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Carbon
Computer Simulation
Environment
Environmental Processes
Exact sciences and technology
Experiments
Flow velocity
Glass - chemistry
Models, Chemical
Motion
Nanotubes
Nanotubes, Carbon - chemistry
Osmolar Concentration
Pollution
Porosity
Porous materials
Quartz
Quartz - chemistry
Rheology
Water - chemistry
Water treatment
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Summary:Engineered multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are the subject of intense research and are expected to gain widespread usage in a broad variety of commercial products. However, concerns have been raised regarding potential environmental and human health risks. The mobility of MWCNTs in porous media is examined in this study using one-dimensional flow-through column experiments under conditions representative of subsurface and drinking water treatment systems. Results demonstrate that pore water velocity strongly influenced MWCNT transport, with high MWCNT mobility at pore water velocities greater than 4.0 m/d. A numerical simulator, which incorporated a newly developed theoretical collector efficiency relationship for MWCNTs in spherical porous media, was developed to model observed column results. The model, which incorporated traditional colloid filtration theory in conjunction with a site-blocking term, yielded good agreement with observed results in quartz sand-packed column experiments. Experiments were also conducted in glass bead-packed columns with the same mean grain size as the quartz sand-packed columns. MWCNTs were more mobile in the glass bead-packed columns.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es901340d