Facilitated transport of titanium dioxide nanoparticles by humic substances in saturated porous media under acidic conditions

The transport behavior of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs, 30 nm in diameter) was studied in well-defined porous media composed of clean quartz sand over a range of solution chemistry under acidic conditions. Transport of TiO2 NPs was dramatically enhanced by humic substances (HS) at acidic pH (4.0, 5.0 and 6.0), even at a low HS concentration of 0.5 mg L−1. Facilitated transport of TiO2 NPs was likely attributable to the increased stability of TiO2 NPs and repulsive interaction between TiO2 NPs and quartz sands due to the adsorbed HS. The mobility of TiO2 NPs was also increased with increasing pH from 4.0 to 6.0. Although transport of TiO2 NPs was insensitive to low ionic strength, it was significantly inhibited by high concentrations of NaCl and CaCl2. In addition, calculated Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) interaction energy indicated that high energy barriers were responsible for the high mobility of TiO2 NPs, while the secondary energy minimum could play an important role in the retention of TiO2 NPs at 100 mmol L−1 NaCl. Straining and gravitational settlement of larger TiO2 NPs aggregates at 1 mg L−1 HS, pH 5.0, and 2 mmol L−1 CaCl2 could be responsible for the significant retention even in the presence of high energy barriers. Moreover, more favorable interaction between approaching TiO2 NPs and TiO2 NPs that had been already deposited on the collector resulted in a ripening-shape breakthrough curve at 2 mmol L−1 CaCl2. Overall, a combination of mechanisms including DLVO-type force, straining, and physical filtration was involved in the retention of TiO2 NPs over the range of solution chemistry examined in this study.