Cannabis (marijuana) is the most commonly used illicit drug. According to World Health Organization, 2.5% of global population and more than 10% of US population consume cannabis.tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary cannabinoid component of cannabis. Due to its heavy use; THC and its metabolites (i.e., THC-COOH and THC-OH) are detected in wastewater effluents and in surface waters. Detection of THC and its metabolites in the aquatic environments raises concerns because of the risks associated with their chronic hazards on human health and the environment. Understanding adsorption of THC by carbon-based adsorbents would enable development of selective and efficient removal technologies from source waters by centralized or point-of-use treatment methods. In addition, gaining an insight to the adsorption mechanism of THC and its metabolites could enable sensing and passive sampling technologies. In our study, three generations of carbonaceous adsorbents i.e., activated carbon (powdered and nano), carbon nanotubes, and graphene are side-by-side compared as adsorbents. We contemplate safe deployment of these adsorbents by immobilizing them in a fibrous polymeric matrix without losing their functionalities. Our preliminary findings indicated that novel adsorbents have similar adsorption capacities under equilibrium conditions. In addition to thermodynamic considerations, some nano-adsorbents displayed superior kinetic advantages over their bulk counterparts. The overarching goal of our study is to develop technologies for removal of illicit drugs from complex aquatic environments. Technology testbed is selected as Merrimack River in Lowell, MA, which houses an array of illicit drugs, receives wastewater from multiple communities and is being used as the primary drinking water source in Lowell, MA.

Adsorption of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by three generations of carbon-based adsorbents

256th National Meeting (2018)

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