New nanosorbent helps elimination of colorants from textile wastewater

A nanosorbent with high sorption capability was produced by the Iranian researchers from Amirkabir University of Technology which can be recovered in alkaline environment.
In addition, it can be used in continuous systems due to its high speed in process. Results of the research have applications in textile, foodstuff, petrochemical and iron materials industries.
The nanosorbent has been made of polypropylene imine dendrimer and its sorption ability is almost 1,000 times higher than usual sorbents. The sorbent can be used for the elimination of various pollutants because of its recoverability in alkaline environment. The use of this nanosorbent significantly reduces costs taking into account the abovementioned characteristics.
According to the present report, the molecular size of polypropylene imine dendrimer is about 5 nm, which is promising for very high specific area. In this research, 33 grams of the pollutant is adsorbed by one gram of nanostructured polymeric sorbent in less than 2 minutes.
The elimination of colorants from textile wastewater by using polypropylene imine (PPI) dendrimer has been studied in this research. To this end, direct red 80 (DR80) and acidic green 25 (AG25) colorants were chosen as model compounds. On the other hand, thermodynamic parameters indicated to automatic and endothermic process. Studying process activity energy proves that the process is completely physical.
Results of the research have been published in Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 52, issue 1, July 2014, pp. 1-10.