Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been standing out and extensively used over the last century. The high chemical bonding energy of C-F in fluorocarbon makes the PFOA thermally stable and hard to be ecologically degraded. However, due to the lack of treatment technologies, the trace of PFOA has been ubiquitously detected in various aquatic environments.  Also, there is a statistically significant connection between PFOA contaminated water and human cancers, including developmental effects, and immune effects. Therefore, the widespread existence, long-term environmental persistence, and potential human health threats of PFOA in water systems have greatly attracted the attention in removing PFOA from water bodies. Adsorption has exhibited several unique advantages in pollutant removals, such as high stability, low energy consumption, and easy operation. Up to now, many adsorbents like granular activated carbon (GAC) and powdered activated carbon (PAC) have been developed and applied in PFOA adsorption. The disadvantage of these adsorbents, like low adsorption capacity and poor regeneration ability, may impede the large-scale application in engineering. Thus, an adsorbent with a high PFOA adsorption capacity and a fast adsorption rate should be developed and used in PFOA removal. In this study, the polyethyleneimine modified graphene oxide (GO-PEI) is prepared and applied in PFOA adsorption. Results showed that protonated amine and amide I functional groups in GO-PEI participate in the electrostatic interactions with the negatively charged PFOA. It was also confirmed that the adsorption of PFOA onto GO-PEI is through electrostatic attraction but not chemical adsorption. Most importantly, the adsorption capacity reaches equilibrium in 5 h, with 302.4 mg/g of PFOA removal. The spent GO-PEI can be fully regenerated by commonly used isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Compared with other adsorbents, the fast adsorption, high adsorption capacity, and good regeneration ability make GO-PEI a potential adsorbent for PFOA treatment in future engineering applications.

Adsorption of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) onto polyethyleneimine modified graphene oxide (GO-PEI)

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