A review exploring the adsorptive removal of organic micropollutants on tailored hierarchical carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Compared to other existing carbon nanomaterials (CNMs), carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are recognized for their significant properties. Despite their strong adsorption affinity, the difficulty of their dispersion and separation leads to limit their application in practical water treatment. Moreover, wastewater contamination by noxious organics, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and methylene blue (MB) dye compounds has become a world-wide environmental concern because they may be harmful to humans’ health and the ecosystem. Therefore, this article aims to explore the potential of economically directly growing CNTs on porous supports, such as the powder activated carbon (AC) to develop a multiscale hybridized material and to investigate their expected potential as viable adsorbents for removing persistent organic contaminants.

Keywords:

• Water treatment
• carbon nanotubes synthesis
• powder activated carbon
• adsorption
• bisphenol A
• methylene blue

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their thanks to the University of Technology-Iraq and the University of Malaya for funding this research.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Technology-Iraq and the University of Malaya.