Abstract
M.Sc. (Chemistry)
The quality of fresh water is deteriorating due to pollution by a wide range of substances as a result of industrial, agricultural, domestic, mining and other anthropogenic activities. Even at trace levels in water, some pollutants are toxic to organisms through acute or chronic effects or through bioaccumulation. Conventional water treatment is often ineffective at removing pollutants to the ultra-low levels required by water quality standards and other technologies employed to remove toxic compounds from water have high capital and operating costs and other disadvantages. There is therefore an ongoing need to develop low-cost technologies that are effective for the removal of toxic pollutants from water. In our laboratories, iron and nickel (Fe/Ni) decorated carbon nanotube (CNT)/cyclodextrin polymers (β-CDs) showed promising results in previous studies carried out for the degradation and removal of toxic organic pollutants in water. However, the powder form of the polymer makes its direct application in water treatment difficult. The leaching of metal nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes from the polymer into the water being treated is also of concern due to their potential toxicity. In this study, alginate beads were investigated as supports for two kinds of nanocomposites, Fe/Ni decorated carbon nanotubes and Fe/Ni decorated carbon nanotube/cyclodextrin polymers. Alginate beads were selected as supports to render the nanocomposites more conducive towards water treatment applications since they are easy to handle and recover from water and are also stable supports that can prevent the leaching of nanomaterials into treated water.