In the past four years Topsfield, Massachusetts has experienced varying levels of manganese in their drinking water . ranging from 313 ppb at one site to 391 ppb in another. While these levels may present little risk for adults, they could pose potential serious negative health impacts to vulnerable infants.(EPA). This study examined the use of waste plant material to produce a sorbent for the removal of harmful levels of manganese from drinking water. A char was made from an invasive species, <i>phragmites austalis,</i> collected in Boston’s Emerald Necklace. The char’s high surface area was characterized using Brunaur-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption; indicating this material to be a good candidate as a remediation tool for waters polluted with manganese. Kinetic studies of manganese sorption will be monitored using UV-visible and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy to determine char characteristics and capacity.

Sustainable biomass-based treatments for local water pollution

254th National Meeting (2017)

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