There are several sources for surface water contamination such as run-off from industrial plants, municipal and commercial waste water treatment plants, modern agricultural activities, and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). Modern agricultural activities, by nature, produce more natural organic compounds per acre and at a faster rate. Additionally, current practices utilize large amounts of synthetic organic pesticides such as metolachlor, lindane, atrazine, and glycophosate. Natural organic matters (NOM) including humic acid, tannins, fulvic acid and synthetic organic contaminants (SOC) are always present in agriculture surface water runoff. Therefore it is vital to focus on methods to reduce or eliminate surface water contamination of point and non-point agriculture activities. We have developed an innovative nanotechnology based technique to remove organic matter and contaminants at point sources that concomitantly will improve ground water quality. We have synthesized magnetic nanosponges (MNS) using two different magnetic nanoparticles along with commercially available coagulants and investigated their organic contaminants’ removal efficiency in wastewater collected from three different CAFO lagoons. Standard parameters such as total organic content (TOC), turbidity, total suspended solids, and biological oxygen demand were measured prior and after treatment with magnetic sponges and the time required for removal has also been calculated. The results indicate that MNS<b> </b>are effective in removal of TOC and turbidity from the waste water. The synthesis, characterization of magnetic nanoparticles, the process of removal of organic contaminants, and the degree of effectiveness of MNS<b> </b>to remove contaminants from three different waste water sources will be presented.

Improvement of water quality based on nanotechnology methods

2019 Fall National Meeting

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