Across the Midwest, nitrate impairs drinking water supplies, a byproduct of surface and groundwater contamination from excess fertilizer application, manure, and waste discharges. Nitrate in drinking water poses health threats to consumers, including methemoglobinemia in children and recent evidence suggests links to some types of cancer. Here, we synthesize functionalized polymer nanofibers via electrospinning for the selective and high capacity removal of nitrate from contaminated drinking water supplies. Functionalized polymer nanofibers were developed through integration of quaternary ammonium surfactants (QAS), which have frequently been used in ion exchange resins as strong base anion exchange sites. For various formulations of nanofibers (e.g., with different polymers, QAS and QAS loadings), we identify the optimal formulation for nitrate uptake. Experiments reveal comparable performance of functionalized polymer nanofibers to commercial nitrate selective resins in a versatile nanofiber membrane platform suitable for point-of-use and point-of-entry treatment devices. Beyond nitrate, functionalized polymer nanofibers also have the ability to sequester other types of nitrogen-containing species (nitrite and ammonium) through integration of other binding agents into the polymer nanofiber matrix, suggesting these functionalized materials may have applications beyond water treatment in resource recovery of nitrogen-containing species.

Development of functionalized polymer nanofibers for nitrate removal from drinking water

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.