Construction of a Carbon Nanomaterial-Based Nanocomposite Aerogel for the Removal of Organic Compounds from Water

Overutilization of organic-based compounds (e.g., fertilizers) in agricultural settings continues to cause concern due to potential adverse impacts on the health of humans and the environment. Adsorbents, such as activated carbon, are widely used due to their ability to adsorb various contaminants. Limitations in the effectiveness of activated carbon, where high uptake capacities are desired, require the need for alternatives to current state-of-the-art adsorbents. In this work, the adsorption capability of a lightweight, carbon-based aerogel is presented. The aerogel is composed of 0 to 2 wt % mixture of both graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT). Two organic compounds, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 1-pyrenebutyric acid (PBA), served as the contaminants of interest. Results show that the aerogel containing 0.2 wt % SWCNT-GnP achieved an uptake capacity of 0.22 mg of 2,4-D/mg of aerogel and 0.083 mg of PBA/mg of aerogel. Compared to activated carbon, from a kinetic standpoint, the aerogels produced in this work demonstrated 39-fold higher adsorption of 2,4-D and 5-fold higher adsorption of PBA, making them a viable candidate as a next generation adsorbent.