SIMULTANEOUS REMOVAL OF ACIDIC AND NEUTRAL POLLUTANTS FROM WATER USING MIXED-MODE RESINS

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and endocrine-disrupting phenols are both ubiquitous pollutants in the environment. Human activities through urbanisation and rapid industrialisation are at the forefront of global environmental pollution. Therefore, removing pollutants in miscellaneous characteristics is important to eliminate the stage-by-stage reduction of pollutants, especially from wastewater, for a cost-effective and time-effective treatment. A simple preliminary study was conducted for the concurrent removal of acidic 2, 4, 6-trichlorophenol (2, 4, 6-TCP) and neutral fluorene (FLU) from water by mixed-mode resins that consist of Anion Exchange Chromatography (AEC) and reversed-phase C18 sorbents. The one-variable-at-time approach was applied in the optimisation of the removal process, where sorbent dosage, exposing time, stirring speed, and sample pH were investigated to enhance the removal efficiency. Under the optimal conditions, 20 mg of each AEC and C18 successfully removed 74.8% of 2, 4, 6-TCP and 96.5% of FLU from the water sample spiked with 50 mg/L of 2, 4, 6-TCP and 0.5 mg/L of FLU that was pre-modified to pH 9 and agitated at 600 rpm for 10 min. The AEC and C18 achieved a removal capacity of 37.4 mg/g for 2, 4, 6-TCP and 0.48 mg/g for FLU, respectively, upon treating 20 mL of the water sample. The mixed-mode resins combine the capabilities of two different retention mechanisms and allow for the simultaneous removal of a broad range of compounds from environmental samples.