Multi-walled carbon nanotubes with selected properties for dynamic filtration of pharmaceuticals and personal care products

In this study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with selected properties, including pristine MWCNT, hydroxylated MWCNT (H-MWCNT), thin-walled MWCNT with large inner diameter (L-MWCNT), aminated MWCNT, and high-purity MWCNT were investigated for dynamic removal of eight pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP). The removal ratios of different PPCP by the pristine MWCNT followed a decreasing order of triclosan (0.93) > prometryn (0.71) > 4-acetylamino-antipyrine (0.67) > carbendazim (0.65) > caffeine (0.42) > ibuprofen (0.34) > acetaminophen (0.29) at 100 min of filtration. Similar or even higher PPCP removals were obtained for all PPCP as the influent concentration decreased, suggesting potential consistent PPCP removals at environmental PPCP concentrations. The removal ratio of acetaminophen was increased to 0.74 by using H-MWCNT. SRFA (Suwannee River fulvic acid) suppressed PPCP adsorption to MWCNT, to greater extents with increasing SRFA concentrations. The L-MWCNT, despite a large inner diameter of 52 ± 3 nm, did not provide better resistance to the competitive adsorption of SRFA than MWCNT with a small inner diameter of 10 ± 2 nm. Future research will be conducted to minimize the effect of SRFA and facilitate application of MWCNT to the treatment of PPCP-contaminated water.