To combat climate change and environmental pollution, biomass has been used to produce biofuels by pyrolysis, which results in about 30-40% biochar in the residues. Biochar contains a variety of carbon nanostructures that can act as a platform for the synthesis of various functionalized carbon materials. This work used cheap biomass, mulberry leaves (silkworm food material) and silkworm waste to synthesize efficient filtration nanomembranes for hormone purification in drinking water. The biomass mulberry leaves and silkworm waste were pyrolyzed at 500-700 °C to form carbon nanostructures, which were then treated with concentrated H2SO4 and H2O2 to make them water-soluble. After dilution and pH adjustment to near neutral with NaOH, the resulting suspensions were then used to form nanomembranes by vacuum filtration. The structures of the nanomembranes were examined by various analytical methods such as FTIR, XRS, and SEM. For water purification, the nanomembranes were evaluated for efficiency and permeability by conducting filtration of impure water containing hormone 17-α-Ethynylestradiol, which were analyzed with LC-MS. The membrane structure-filtration relationship has been systematically investigated. The discovery of highly efficient filtration nanomembranes may allow for the next-generation to have an effective, low-cost, earth-abundant, and environmentally friendly water filtration system, useful for combating the climate change and environmental pollution.

Biomass-derived nanofiltration membranes for drinking water purification

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.