Study of nanostructured materials of TiO2 and iron in the remediation process of contaminated water samples with persistent organic pollutants

• Grant number: 10/14064-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: August 01, 2011
• End date: July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Sandra Regina Rissato
• Grantee: Renata Ribeiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Water is the fundamental element of life. Its multiple uses are needed for a broad spectrum of human activities. The growing population and industrial expansion observed in recent decades has resulted in pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Currently the technologies aimed at the removal of organic pollutants in the environment, using processes of separation and stabilization that does not provide a permanent solution, just transfer the contaminant from one system to another. Recent research has demonstrated the potential of nanoparticles in the remediation of contaminated areas. However, many studies are still needed to elucidate the mechanisms of degradation of organic compounds in the presence of nanostructured materials and also their behavior in environmental matrices. The proposal of this work is to evaluate the efficiency of a remediation of water samples contaminated with Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) using two kinds of different materials nanostructured: Metallic Iron and Titanium Dioxide. The evaluation of the remediation process of POPs using nanoparticles will be hold in different conditions of concentration, pH and radiation UV with the goal to determine the kinetic and the possible degradation mechanism of the compounds of interest. The assessment of POPs in water samples will be performed from different extraction methods and "clean-up by preparative liquid chromatography columns using adsorbents or liquid-liquid partition. The identification and quantification of POPs will be held by chromatography and gas of high resolution coupled in a mass spectrometry detector (GC-MS). The obtained results from this study can be used for the technological development of materials such as membranes, films and filters with large-scale application, which may contribute to the production of national technology applied in the treatment and preservation of the environment. (AU)