Removal of GSM and MIB from drinking water using nanotubar oxides grown on TiNb alloy modified with copper metal organic framework

• Grant number: 23/12880-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: November 01, 2023
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Sanitary Engineering - Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment
• Agreement: SABESP
• Principal Investigator: Christiane de Arruda Rodrigues
• Grantee: Guilherme Akira Hossotani Akiho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil
• Company: Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF)
• Associated research grant: 20/12263-0 - Combined use of physical-photoeletrochemical processes to remove substances which are responsible for taste and odor in drinking water, AP.PITE

Abstract

The lack of water quality is currently considered one of the most serious problems faced by water supply and treatment companies in municipalities. The limited extensions of collection networks and sanitary sewage treatment systems result in their natural dumping into rivers, soils and seas, compromising water quality and promoting eutrophication processes. As a main consequence, eutrophication affects the proliferation of microorganisms (cyanobacteria and actinomycetes) that produce compounds such as geosmin (GSM) and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), confering odor and flavor to water. These compounds are noticed by consumers at very low levels and are not removed by conventional treatment processes. In this context, alternative techniques to increase the efficiency in the removal of organic compounds are investigated. Therefore, this project proposes the use of nanotubular electrodes grown in Ti-Nb alloys and modified with copper metal-organic structures (Cu-MOF) for the degradation of GSM and MIB. In this way, Ti-Nb alloys will be anodized to obtain nanotubular structures followed by their modification by electrodeposition with Cu-MOF. The MOF will have the functionality of concentrating the pollutant through adsorption in order to facilitate the photoelectrocatalytic process due to the proximity of the pollutant (2-MIB and/or geosmin) with the oxidizing structure. Furthermore, photocatalytic characteristics will be imparted to the Cu-MOF aiming at the formation of a heterojunction.