The fate and transport of chemical contaminants in the environment is driven by complex molecular processes occurring at geochemical interfaces. One class of these contaminants are volatile chemical products (VCPs) which include cleaning agents, personal care products and pesticides, and represent half of all volatile organic compound emissions. Compounds in this class of products can partition into the water phase and adsorb onto geochemical surfaces in contact with groundwater, where their surface chemistry and fate are currently unknown. This work was conducted to determine how these compounds adsorb onto oxide surfaces. TiO2 nanoparticles have found widespread use in consumer products but possess high toxicity potential to humans and the aquatic environment. TiO2 is found naturally and can also get into the environment as it is in a number of consumer products, making it a suitable geochemical interface for further study. Monoethanolamine (MEA) is widely used in consumer cleaning products and in industrial CO2 capture and storage from the combustion of flue gasses and can be readily found in the environment as a contaminant. Most importantly, MEA can form a wide range of degradation products including ammonia, aldehydes and ketones that can further react with surfaces, other contaminants and MEA itself. Some of these degradation products are associated with mutagenicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity and reproduction effects. In this study, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was used to determine the adsorption behavior and chemical transformations of MEA on TiO2 as a function of concentration and pH. This study helps to better understand how MEA reacts in the environment and provides new insight into possible degradation products.

Investigation of monoethanolamine adsorption on oxide surfaces

2019 Fall National Meeting

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