Organic micropollutants are hazards to the environment and human health. Conventional technologies are often inefficient at removing them from wastewater. For example, commercial activated carbon (AC) exhibits slow uptake rates, limited capacities, and is costly to regenerate. Here, we report the utility of porous calix[4]arene-based materials, CalPn (n = 2-4), for water purification. Calixarenes are a common motif in supramolecular chemistry but have rarely been incorporated into extended, porous networks such as organic polymers. CalPn exhibit pollutant uptake rates (k) and adsorption capacities (q) that are among the highest reported. For example, the k of CalP4 for bisphenol A (BPA) is 2.12 mg/g·min, which is significantly higher (16 to 240 times) than k for ACs and 1.4 times higher than that of the most efficient material previously reported; the q of CalP4 for BPA is 403 mg/g. The CalPn polymers can be regenerated several times, with performance levels left undiminished, by a simple wash procedure that is less energy intensive than that required for ACs. These findings demonstrate the potential of calixarene-based materials for organic micropollutant removal.
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Institute of Environmental Engineering and Building Installations, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Poznan University of Technology, Berdychowo 4, 60-965, Poznan, Poland.
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January 2025
HydroSciences Montpellier, University of Montpellier, IRD, CNRS, 15 Av. Charles Flahault, 34090, Montpellier, France.
Water scarcity in the Mediterranean area has increased the number of intermittent rivers. Recently, hyporheic zones (HZ) of intermittent rivers have gained attention since a substantial part of the stream's natural purification capacity is located within these zones. Thus, understanding the flow dynamics in HZs is crucial for gaining insights into the degradation of organic micropollutants.
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December 2024
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sciences, Institute IWAR, Chair of Water and Environmental Biotechnology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. Electronic address:
Organic micropollutants (OMP) are ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems and have a proven negative impact on the environment and drinking water resources. To remove OMP from municipal wastewater, the use of superfine Powdered Activated Carbon (sPAC) (d = 1.0 µm) compared to Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) (d = 30.
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Olaf Malm Laboratory of Environmental Studies (LEA-OM), Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute (IBCCF), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), 21941-902, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Laboratory of Oceanology, Freshwater and Oceanic Sciences Unit of Research (FOCUS), University of Liege, Belgium.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnal Chem
January 2025
Separation Science Group, Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S4bis, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
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