The deterioration of coral reefs worldwide is imminent, being a threat to the marine ecosystem food chain particularly in coastal areas where they provide natural protection from coastal events. It has been established that corals bleaching is commonly caused by environmental stress events, such as climate change and androgenic activities. Recent studies prove that an organic compound found in sunblock’s lotion, known as oxybenzone, can contribute to this bleaching. To address the problem a biodegradable adsorbent beads material was created with eco-friendly compounds such as alginate and chitosan, for the removal of oxybenzone from aqueous solution. Synthesized beads were magnetized to facilitate the removal of the beads with the help of an external magnet at specific locations. A series of batch reactor experiments will be carried-out to determine the sorption efficiency percent of oxybenzone onto biocomposites beads coated magnetite nanoparticles. High performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection was used to determine oxybenzone amounts from laboratory scale samples, and seashore (Steps beach at Rincon, Puerto Rico) water samples. For the calibration of the equipment, the column that was used was an Agilent Eclipse C18 extreme dense bond with a reversible mobile phase of 80% acetonitrile/ 20% water. The parameters of the column include a length of five micrometers and an internal diameter of 4.6 millimeters x 150 millimeters. The calibration curve was prepared with five standards whose concentrations ranged from 50 to 5 milligrams per liter. The standards were prepared by diluting them in acetonitrile HPLC grade. Sorption tests and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are techniques were also employed to evaluate the chemical interaction between functional groups on the surface of the beads, and oxybenzone contaminated-water. Preliminary results, and sea water sample methodology are being evaluated and will be presented.<br/>

Biocomposite alginate-chitosan beads coated magnetic nanoparticles for removal of oxybenzone in seawater systems: Application to inhibit coral reef photo-bleaching

254th National Meeting (2017)

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