Activation of carbon magnetic nanocomposites for adsorption of inorganic and organic compounds

• Grant number: 21/09126-3
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Regular Program Grants
• Duration: November 01, 2021 - October 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Márcia Cristina Bisinoti
• Grantee: Márcia Cristina Bisinoti
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In the search for increased agricultural productivity, due to population growth and increased demand for food, the use of pesticides has been constant around the world, especially in developing countries such as Brazil, which is currently the largest consumer of pesticides in the world. In this context, the state of São Paulo stands out with around 20% of the national consumption, especially of fipronil, applied in sugarcane plantations for pest control. The indiscriminate use of pesticides can contribute to the contamination of soils, water bodies and impact the local ecosystem. Inorganic compounds are used in various activities and are responsible for environmental contamination, and the development of materials for their removal and especially with the practicality of removing them from the environment is of great interest. Given the above, several materials have been produced and applied for the adsorption of organic and inorganic compounds, among which magnetic coal (CM) and hydrothermal coal (CH) have been highlighted, obtained from hydrothermal carbonization (CHT) of various biomasses. Furthermore, activation processes can be used after the synthesis of these materials, aiming to increase the surface area and provide greater adsorption capacity. Given the above, the objective of this work will be to activate and characterize CM and CH produced, respectively, by CHT from sugarcane bagasse and iron (III) nitrate and CHT from sugarcane bagasse, vinasse and phosphoric acid. Activated materials (AMC) will be characterized as to their composition, porosity, structure and morphology to verify the impact of the activation process on the material. For characterization, different techniques will be used, such as CHNS, FTIR, DRX, TGA, XPS, MEV and MET. The activation of these materials will be carried out by 3 modes: (i) heat treatment in a tube furnace under N2 atmosphere, (ii) under CO2 atmosphere and (iii) KOH + heat treatment. Activated materials will be used in interaction experiments with fipronil in batch mode, extraction will be done by SPE and determination by GC-MS. It will also be evaluated the efficiency of CM and CMA in removing inorganic compounds highlighting chromium species. At the end of this project, it is expected to obtain material with greater adsorption capacity for organic and inorganic compounds than those that are already available. In addition, it is also expected to understand the interaction mechanism between fipronil and hydrothermal coal for agricultural purposes. (AU)