The contamination of water recourses by heavy metals is a serious worldwide environmental problem. Industrial activities, mining and coal combustion are typical contamination sources. Removal of these metals from wastewater effluents is crucial as this contamination is non-biodegradable and highly toxic. Extensive research has been carried out to introduce new materials which alleviate these metals from wastewater effluents before their discharge into water bodies such as rivers and lakes. Conventional methods to remove heavy metals from wastewater include chemical precipitation, ion-exchange and chelation-adsorption. Adsorption is an important and developing research area because of the new material types available according to the application. Furthermore, it is standard process to place the adsorbent in a column and pump the wastewater through in a continuous system. It is also a cost-effective process. Chelating adsorbents are typically characterised by functional groups containing 0, N, S, and P donor atoms which coordinate to different heavy metal ions. It is necessary that the adsorbent has a high capacity and that the kinetics of adsorption is sufficiently fast. Polyaminepolycarboxylic (PAPC) acids are strong chelating agents and form stable chelates with different types of metals: transition, lanthanides and actinides. In spite of its exceptional chelating power, many of the PAPC compounds - such as DTPA (8-coordinations), CDTA (6-coordinations) and NTA (4-coordinations) - have not been thoroughly studied for use as active sites in adsorbent materials for heavy metal remediation from contaminated water effluents. Furthermore, the effect of the number of coordination groups on the adsorption behaviour has not been investigated. Use of these strong chelating agents (PAPC) for heavy metal removal by a polymeric adsorbent is presented in this study, with discussion of the chelation mechanism and affinity. The PAPC chelating agents were anchored on melamineformaldehyde (MF) gel. Although MF gel has suitable chemical and physical properties allowing the production of an adsorbent for heavy metal removal, it has not been studied. MF gel is porous and its matrix has a suitable platform to functionalize with some chelating compounds. PAPC-modified melamine-formaldehyde matrix is easy to produce compared to conventional chelating resins based on styrene/divinylbenzene. In this work, melamine-formaldehyde-polyaminepolycarboxylic acid (MF-PAPC) chelating adsorbents were synthesised by anchoring polyaminepolycarboxylic acids (PAPC) to melamine by the reaction of the carboxylic group of PAPC with a primary amine group of melamine forming a covalent amide bond during MF matrix formation. A series of samples of these adsorbents were prepared by varying water content, acidity of water and temperature as parameters to control the properties of the product. Samples of MF-DTPA, MF-NTA and MF-CDTA were chemically characterized using IR, elemental analysis, TPD-MS, 13C-NMR and 15N-NMR. Physical characterisation was carried out using BET, FE-SEM, and XRD techniques. Elemental analysis and BET results were used to select optimum samples for adsorption experiments. Selected MF-PAPC adsorbent samples are hydrophilic, amorphous and rigid. The content of PAPC in the dry adsorbent samples ranges from 1.08 to 2.28 mmole g⁻¹. The MF-PAPC adsorbents have reasonable surface areas (ranges from 159 to 179 m² g⁻¹) and a mesoporous structure (average pore diameter: 19 - 130 Å). The adsorption performance of MF-PAPC adsorbents was investigated against environmentally problematic divalent metal ions, namely, Cu(II), Co(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II). The adsorption behaviour of these adsorbents was characterised using mixture solutions of these four ions. The effects of different controlling parameters (solution initial pH, temperature, metal ions initial concentration and contact time) on adsorption were considered. Experimental data was fitted to the selected kinetic and isotherm models to suggest the best models to represent the adsorption process on MF-PAPC adsorbents. The thermodynamic parameters (adsorption free energy, enthalpy and entropy) were also calculated and a mechanism of adsorption is suggested according to the evaluation of the results. It was found that MF-PAPC adsorbents follow reversible first order and pseudo second order models to represent the adsorption kinetics. The Langmuir isotherm model gives the best representation of the adsorption processes. These findings indicate the chemical and reversible nature of the adsorption process. Thermodynamically, the adsorption was found to be spontaneous and exothermic. The entropy change shows that adsorption is not favourable. The results indicate that chelation and ion exchange are the mechanisms of adsorption with chelation the dominant type especially at lower temperatures and higher initial pH values. The PAPC type controls the affinity order of the four heavy metals. MF-PAPC adsorbents are distinguished by chelation-adsorption. The adsorption can be universal, or selective according to the PAPC type. Moreover, the selectivity order is different and depends on the PAPC type. MF-PAPC adsorbents can be used for metal-separation applications due to the higher affinity towards transition elements, lanthanides and actinides with respect to alkali and alkaline earth metals. The elution of the adsorbed metal ions was successfully accomplished using a solution of EDTA due to its high chelation power. The MF-DTPA adsorbent was used in a packed column for removal of the Cu(II) ion in a continuous up-flow system. The parameters of the study were: Bed height, flow rate and initial concentration. The Thomas model was used to fit the kinetic data. The BDST model was used to examine the possibility of scaling-up the laboratory set-up to industrial scale. The capacity of dsorption was found to be sensitive to bed height (positive: due to mass transfer), initial concentration (positive: due to concentration driving force) and flow rate (negative: due to contact time). It was found that the adsorption zone moves up the column at a constant speed for different bed heights. Hence, the process can be scaled-up for practical use using a BDST model.

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Si la République Centrafricaine, ne manque pas d’eau, de nombreux forages sont abandonnés, en raison de teneurs en fer trop élevées. Parmi les techniques d’élimination des polluants métalliques utilisables en vue de rendre l’eau propre à la consommation humaine, l’adsorption par l’hydroxyde de fer déposé sur un support semble être une méthode bien adaptée, en raison de son faible coût d’utilisation et de la non génération d’autres polluants. En vue d’optimiser cette technique et de la rendre exploitable dans les pays en voie de développement, nous avons remplacé le support sable par un matériau naturel présent dans la plupart des pays, la brique, et nous avons choisi parmi les oxyhydroxydes de fer, la ferrihydrite qui possède l’aire spécifique la plus élevée. Deux méthodes d’activation du support constitué par des grains de brique ont été optimisées : HCl 1M durant 24h et HCl 6M 6h à 90°C. La composition de la brique et son état de surface ont été étudiés par les techniques FTIR, ESEM/EDS, RX, RMN du solide (27Al et 28Si), ATG /MS, ATG/ATD, mesure d’aire spécifique, ICP-AES. Des études cinétiques sur l’adsorption des ions ferreux ont été réalisées sur la ferrihydrite déposée sur la brique modifiée par les deux traitements chimiques. Le traitement des données cinétiques expérimentales nous a permis d’estimer l’énergie d’activation des systèmes étudiés et les paramètres thermodynamiques résultants. La gamme optimale du pH des eaux à traiter a été établie par la mesure du point de charge nulle (PZNPC). Une approche théorique des phénomènes mis en jeu a été abordée par des expériences sur colonne. La possibilité de régénérer l’adsorbant par l’utilisation d’eau de Javel, comme éluant, a été examinée, en vue de rendre le système opérationnel sur le terrain. / In developing countries, freshwaters contain frequently undesirable and naturally occurring inorganic, microbial contaminants. Thus, ground waters in Bangui regions (Central Africa Republic) _ that serve as sole source of drinking water in the rural communities of the country _ are known to contain elevated amounts of soluble iron (up to 10 mg/liter). This metal precipitates easily in the presence of air oxygen, this becoming undrinkable and even inappropriate to be used for washing / … the laundry. To eliminate this pollutant, there is evidence in the literature that ….with iron oxides / hydroxides can be used as an adsorbent for cations / anions removal from waters. In the present work, we are poured our attention on the use of a new low-cost material, brick _ that is commonly made by local craftsmen in Central African Republic_ which is mainly composed of sand and metakaolinite. To enhance the efficiency of water purification process with the brick, this adsorbent had however to be improved in its chemical nature, crystalline surface properties and preparation methods thermal and acid treatments by using several techniques: FTIR, ESEM/EDS, RX, Solid- RMN (27Al et 28Si), ATG /MS, ATG/ATD, Specific surface, ICP-AES. In this thesis, we have poured our attention on the determination of the chemical composition and crystalline / morphological characteristics of the raw brick and its various modified forms obtained by acid activation. Some kinetic aspects of Fe (II) adsorption onto FeOOH coated brick were further … in this work and activated energy and thermodynamic parameters were evaluated and discussed. Finally, the adsorption of iron (II) onto brick pellets from aqueous solutions was investigate by using a …glass column and performances when filling of the various composites prepared in this work were compared each other : Thomas model was applied to our experimental data to assess the characteristic parameters of the column. Furthermore the possibility to regenerate the adsorbent by the use of bleach as an elute and to use it directly in the field was raised.

L’objectif de la thèse a été la construction d’un pilote de filtration horizontale en République Centrafricaine, pays dont les besoins en eaux potables sont criants. Le pilote devait permettre un traitement simple de l’eau de rivière, nécessitant un minimum d’énergie et de produits de traitement. La filtration lente sur sable qui apparaît comme une réplique des processus naturels dans le sol répond à ces exigences. Après avoir effectué un bilan de la pluviométrie, nous avons pu montrer que si les eaux souterraines étaient de bonne qualité, les aquifères superficiels sont par contre contaminés par le manque d’assainissement. Après examen de la qualité des eaux et sédiments en différents sites du fleuve Oubangui, un pilote a été construit selon les recommandations des «Eaux de Paris» à Bangui et alimenté avec de l’eau de l’Oubangui. Le suivi des performances et de la qualité des eaux produites a montré que ce pilote avec une production de 400l/h respectait les normes exigées pour une eau brute avant javellisation Des essais de la modélisation du transit des eaux dans le pilote ont été entrepris par l’utilisation du modèle MODFLOW. L’emploi du traceur «fluorescéine» a permis de calibrer le modèle .Les propriétés adsorbantes des différents sables du pilote ont été étudiées grâce à l’utilisation conjointe des techniques : MEB/EDS; BET; ICP/AES; CHNS; UV/Visible. Par comparaison avec les sables originels ayant été utilisés dans la conception du pilote, la capacité d’adsorption des sables est améliorée en raison de modifications de surface et de dépôts d’argile et oxydes/hydroxydes de fer dans les interstices et fissures produits par effet d’érosion dû à l’écoulement des eaux. / The objective of this thesis concerned the elaboration of a horizontal flow filtration pilot in Central African Republic because of a lack of potable waters in this country. In the conception of this pilot, treatment processes which should be chosen for riverine water purification, have to be low energy cost and easy to be implemented. Taking into account these considerations, we decided to employ the low-filtration method with the sand as the adsorbent. Indeed, this latter is known to behave as a natural adsorbent through hydrogeological processes in sols. After itemizing pluviometric data. it was shown that ground-waters possessed good water quality, whereas aquifers in low depths were found to be instead contaminated. A pilot was built by respecting the recommendations established by Eaux de Paris located at Bangui Performances and quality of treated waters were followed up, and the data obtained during the running were found to be in good accordance first with potable-water criteria with a water production of 400L/h and second with water-quality norms which were usually recommended for a raw water before its chlorination. Modelisation tests on the transit of water in the pilot were carried out using MODFLOW. For model calibration, it was used the dye Fluorescein as a tracer. The adsorption properties of sand in this pilot were studied owing to the combined use of the techniques:SEM/EDS;BET;ICP-AES;CHNS;UV/visible. In comparison with the starting sand used in the construction of the pilot, all the data showed clearly that the adsorption capacity of this sand increases with time owing to surface modifications and clays and iron oxides / hydroxides depositions in cracks.

Malgré les ressources importantes en eau de la République Centrafricaine 70 % de la population ne dispose pas d’eau potable et la question se pose cruellement de potabiliser l’eau . Nous nous sommes intéressés à la technique d'adsorption sur une brique locale comme adsorbant aisément accessible pour purifier l'eau en milieu rural. Après traitement acide et dépôt de ferrihydrite à pH fixé, la brique s’est avérée être un bon adsorbant par échanges d'ions. Le composite obtenu, permet ainsi la rétention de cations métalliques tels : Fe2+, Pb2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Cd2+ et UO2+ et selon le traitement préalable d'anions tels les phosphates grâce aux charges opposées entre la surface du solide et les ions dans l'eau. L’influence de paramètres : temps de contact, température, masse d’adsorbant et pH, ont été pris en compte. La régénération sur colonne a été effectuée par une solution de NaCl ou de NaClO. L’étude analytique de cycles d’adsorption/désorption sur colonne a mis en évidence l’implication des espèces H+ et Na+ à l’interface « brique-eau ». Pour justifier nos hypothèses, diverses techniques ont été utilisées: Diffraction RX, MEB /EDS, IRTF, BET, RMN 23Na, 29Si, 27Al, 1H. Les mesures des adsorptions ont été suivies in situ par potentiométrie et conductimétrie.Les isothermes d'adsorption, la cinétique et thermodynamie des processus hétérogènes mis en jeu ont été abordés. Les mesures électrocinétiques ont confirmé l'implication de forces électrostatiques dans le mécanisme d'adsorption. / Despite the great ressources of water in Centrafrican Republic, drinking water is not accessible for about 70% of the population in this country. To resolve this problem, waters need to be treated. We have chosen the adsorption technique,by using a local brick as adsorbant in the purification of water in rural region. After acid treatment and deposition of ferrihydrite at a fixed pH, brick was found to be a good adsorbant in the elimination : Fe2+, Pb2+, Zn2+,Cu2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, UO2+. This adsorption process was also applied to phosphates elimination. The effects of the parameters: contact time, temperature, mass of material, and pH were taken into account. Column regeneration was performed either by using NaCl solution or NaClO as eluent. The analytical studies of adsorption/desorption cycles on the column showed the implication of H+ and Na+ ions at the "brick-water" interface. Depending upon the treatment used, cations or anions could be adsorbed owing to the existence of opposite charges between solid surface and ions in water. To ascertain our assumptions, several techniques were used : X-Ray diffraction, SEM /EDS, FTIR, BET, 23Na, 29Si, 27Al, and 1H NMR. Adsorption measurements were also followed by potentiometry and conductimetry. Adsorption isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamie of heterogeneous processes involved were addressed. Electrokinetic measurements conformed the involvement of electrostatic forces in the adsorption mechanism.

M. Tech. (Chemistry, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are supposedly effective means for removal of low concentration of organic pollutants from waste water as compared to conventional treatment methods. However, TiO2 metal semiconductor is the most promising photocatalyst for degradation of organic pollutant under heterogeneous photocatalysis as compared to other metal semiconductors. Challenges such as aggregation in solution, low adsorptive ability for non-polar organic contaminants and recycling are limitations in application of TiO2 for commercial purposes. The other limitations of TiO2, is it only utilizes 4-6% of the solar energy reaching the earth's surface which is in the UV region and also rapid electron-hole recombination due its wide band gap. In this work, the limitations are overcome by synthesis of a new photocatalyst material and further applied on degradation of model organic contaminants. The first part of this work focused on preparation and characterization of photocatalyst material. The photocatalyst synthesized were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and UV-VIS diffuse reflectance spectrophotometer (DRUV-VIS). Supporting characterization techniques revealed partly dispersion of TiO2 within the cavities of dealuminated Clinoptilolite (HCP). TiO2 exist as nanoparticles or clusters on the HCP surface ascribed to lower loading of TiO2. XRD analysis showed that the support material employed was mainly Clinoptilolite and absorption band of prepared photocatalyst was red-shifted into the visible region, with slight reduction in band gap of photocatalyst. The second part focused on adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange solution (MO) conducted under UV-irradiation in the presence of TiO2/HCP. The influence of operational parameters on degradation efficiency of photocatalyst material on MO was carried out in this study. Parameters such as initial dye concentration, pH, calcination temperature, inorganic anions and peroxide concentration were varied during degradation activities of MO. Comparative degradation efficiency of TiO2/HCP, TiO2 and HCP were conducted on dye mixture (Methyl orange and Methylene Blue) under UV irradiation. Kinetic analysis employing Langmuir-Hinshelwood model on dependencies of organic contaminants degradation was also conducted at different operational parameters. The adsorption capacity of MO was highest in the presence of TiO2/HCP at lower loading, which is ascribed to good dispersion of TiO2 on HCP and increased surface area of dealuminated Clinoptilolite. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange in the presence of TiO2/HCP was optimized at low dye concentration (30 ppm), acidic condition (pH 4), and calcination temperature of 873 K. Nitrate ion of Sodium salt accelerates degradation activities on methyl orange as compared to other inorganic anions. Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange was greatly enhanced upon addition of oxidant (H2O2) and the photocatalyst possessed good repeatability after 3 cycles. TiO2/HCP exhibit highest degradation activities, followed by HCP as compared to TiO2 during the degradation of dye mixture. The degradation of MO by the photocatalyst fits into pseudo-first order kinetic model, while for comparative analysis of photocatalyst on dye mixtures follows second order kinetic model.

A significant issue affecting the aquaculture and water industries is the presence of off-flavour compounds in water, which cause problems by imparting an undesirable earthy/musty flavour and smell to water and fish. Two predominant off-flavour compounds are geosmin (GSM) and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB). These compounds are produced by several varieties of cyanobacteria and actinomycetes as metabolic products and can be detected by humans at concentrations as low as 0.015 mg L-1. Removal of GSM and MIB from potable waters has proven to be inefficient using standard water treatment such as filtration, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation and chlorination. Activated carbon and membrane processes can physically remove GSM and MIB, but do not destroy them, and ozone treatment can be expensive. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysis has recently been demonstrated to rapidly degrade GSM and MIB. When the semiconductor catalyst is illuminated with ultraviolet light simultaneous oxidation and reduction reactions occur. Pollutants are broken down into mineral acids, carbon dioxide and water. This study was conducted to determine if TiO2 photocatalysis, using a pelleted form of TiO2 called Hombikat K01/C, was a suitable method for the treatment of potable water. Additionally an analytical method was developed to rapidily analyse the large number of samples generated. Two reactors, a bench scale batch reactor and pilot scale flow reactor, were developed and used to evaluate the efficacy of Hombikat K01/C TiO2 photocatalysis in degrading GSM. The batch reactor, containing Hombikat K01/C, was used to investigate the effect of numerous experimental variables on the photocatalysis of GSM, including initial substrate concentration, pH, light intensity, aeration rate, the presence of additional reactants, and catalysis conducted in deuterated water. GSM was rapidly degraded using the TiO2 batch reactor, with the rate of GSM degradation most affected by light intensity and additional reactants, though pH also had a notable effect. A kinetic isotope effect of 1.61 was observed for the destruction of GSM using Hombikat K01/C TiO2. The flow reactor was also found to efficiently degrade GSM in raw waters. The rate of GSM destruction was found to be significantly lowered by UV shielding of the catalyst, caused by constituents of raw the water used, and the presence of additional reactants. The pilot scale flow reactor was also successfully evaluated in Denmark using gesomin contaminated water from an eel farm

The normal operation of the endocrine (hormonal) system can be disrupted by a number of man-made and naturally-occurring chemicals, thereby affecting those physiological processes that are under hormonal control. Such substances are called endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). The endocrine disruption issue has alarmed the environmental authorities since the substances involved can hinder hormonal processes causing far-reaching effects on reproduction and development in current and future human and wildlife generations. Effects on some species of fish triggered worldwide concern and initiated a research scheme which is being undertaken by various organisations e.g. United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), United Kingdom Environment Agency (UKEA), Oslo and Paris Commission (OSPAR), Japan Environment Agency (JEA) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in order to assess the effects (present and potential), point of generation, levels of contamination and exposure limits. The findings showed that most of the oestrogens are produced by humans and animals and get discharged into river streams mainly through sewage effluents. Fish in particular have been found to be affected the most even when the oestrogenic levels in water are very low. The probability of future European legislation to eliminate hormonally active compounds from wastewaters suggests that new and alternative methods should be developed for their removal. In this work, the adsorption of 17ß-oestradiol (E2) and 17a-ethinyl oestradiol (EE2) onto several granular activated carbons and Hypersol-Macronet hypercrosslinked polymers was investigated by batch experiments after a low level detection system had been developed using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). Equilibrium experiments were carried out for all adsorbents to quantify the sorption capacity for E2 and EE2. For better assessment of the sorbents performance, their physical properties such as surface area, average pore diameter and micropore volume and chemical structure were characterised by N2 adsorption experiments, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FTIR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, sodium capacity determination, pH titration, proton binding curves and zeta potential measurements. Adsorption isotherm data were fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich equations. Activated carbons were found to be preferable to Hypersol-Macronet hypercrosslinked polymers for adsorption purposes. The adsorption of oestrogens appears to be controlled by hydrophobic interactions. Kinetic experiments were performed with different size ranges of adsorbents at different concentrations and the results were analysed by a particle diffusion model. It was found that concentration did not seem to influence the kinetics of the oestrogen sorption whereas the particle size of the adsorbents influenced the adsorption rate of both molecules. The particle diffusion model seemed to fit the data collected for the adsorption rate of 17B-oestradiool onto the adsorbents but gave a poor fit for most of the data collected for 17a-ethinyl oestradiol.

M. Tech. (Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology), Vaal University of Technology / Water pollution caused by organic and inorganic contaminants represents an important ecological and health hazard. Simultaneous treatment of organic and inorganic contaminants had gradually gained great scientific interest. Advanced oxidation processes such as photocatalysis, using TiO2 as a photocatalyst, have been shown to be very robust in the removal of biorecalcitrant pollutants. These methods offer the advantage of removing the pollutants, in contrast to conventional techniques. At present, the main technical challenge that hinder its commercialization remained on the post-recovery of the photocatalyst particles after water treatment. Supporting of the photocatalyst on the adsorbent surface is important as it assists during the filtration step, reducing losses of the materials and yielding better results in degrading pollutants. To overcome this challenge, in this study composite photocatalysts of TiO2/zeolite and TiO2/silica were prepared and investigated to explore the possible application in the simultaneous removal of organic and inorganic compounds from contaminated water. The main objective of this study was to investigate the heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds in the presence of metal ions using composite photocatalysts. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), Raman spectroscopy (RS) and zeta potential (ZP) analyses were used to characterize the prepared composite photocatalysts. The successive composite photocatalysts were used in a semi-batch reactor under an irradiation intensity of 5.5 mW/m2 (protected by a quartz sleeve) at 25 ± 3°C for the photocatalytic degradation of synthetic textile (methyl orange) and agricultural (atrazine) wastewater in the presence of ions. The effect of operating parameters such as TiO2 composition on supporting material, particle size, composite photocatalyst loading, initial pollutant concentration and pH were optimized. The effects of inorganic salts and humic acid on dye and pesticides degradation were also studied, respectively. The performance of the photocatalyst reactor was evaluated on the basis of color removal, metal ion reduction, total organic carbon (TOC) reduction, intermediates product analysis and modeling of kinetics and isotherms. Different kinetic and isotherm models were introduced and applied in this work. Important aspects such as error functions with the optimal magnitude were used for the selection of the best suitable model. / European Union. City of Mikkeli, Finland. Water Research Commission (RSA)

Η απορρύπανση των υδάτων αποτελεί αναγκαία και καθιερωμένη από δεκαετίες πρακτική. Η απορρύπανση με τη μέθοδο της ρόφησης είναι μία από την πληθώρα των τεχνικών που εφαρμόζονται. Το περισσότερο διαδεδομένο ροφητικό υλικό είναι ο ενεργός άνθρακας, του οποίου όμως το υψηλό κόστος παραγωγής, οδήγησε την επιστημονική έρευνα στην αναζήτηση εναλλακτικών, υλικών χαμηλότερου κόστους. Για το σκοπό αυτό, το επιστημονικό ενδιαφέρον έχει στραφεί σε πολλά υλικά κυρίως οργανικής προέλευσης, αλλά και σε ανόργανα υλικά, όπως τα οξείδια των μετάλλων, τα οποία αφθονούν στη φύση. Στην παρουσα εργασία έγινε μελέτη της ροφητικής ικανότητας φυσικών οξειδίων, για τη ρόφηση αρωματικών οργανικών ενώσεων και βαρέων μετάλλων. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, μελετήθηκε ο μηχανισμός της ρόφησης του φαινανθρενίου, της 2-ναφθόλης και του υδραργύρου από οξείδια αργιλίου, τιτανίου, αργιλίου/πυριτίου και σιδήρου, με σκοπό την αξιολόγηση των υλικών αυτών ως ροφητικών υλικών και τη σύγκριση των αποτελεσμάτων με αυτά της ρόφησης των αντίστοιχων ρύπων από υλικά που παρασκευάζονται από την πυρόλυση πρώτης ύλης βιολογικής προέλευσης. Για τη μελέτη της κινητικής της ρόφησης του φαινανθρενίου και της 2-ναφθόλης πραγματοποιήθηκαν πειράματα σε θερμοκρασία περιβάλλοντος, σε θαλασσινό και γλυκό συνθετικό νερό, με διαφορετικές ποσότητες ροφητικού υλικού (χωρίς χημική επεξεργασία) και για διαφορετικό χρόνο επαφής. Από τα πειράματα αυτά μετρήθηκε η κινητική της ρόφησης καθώς και το ποσοστό απομάκρυνσης των ρύπων από το διάλυμα. Από τις μετρήσεις που έγιναν, προέκυψε ότι το ποσοστό απομάκρυνσης του φαινανθρενίου από το διάλυμα αυξάνεται αυξανομένης της ποσότητας του ροφητικού υλικού. Η σταθερά της ρόφησης Kd, κυμάνθηκε σε ένα εύρος τιμών από 1 έως 10 L/Kg, τιμές 2 έως 4 τάξεις μεγέθους μικρότερες από αυτές άλλων ροφητικών υλικών βιολογικής προέλευσης, ή προϊόντων πυρόλυσης. Τη μεγαλύτερη ικανότητα ρόφησης φαινανθρενίου επέδειξε η γ-αλούμινα με ειδική επιφάνεια 270 m2/g, με μέγιστη απομάκρυνση φαινανθρενίου το 55 % της αρχικής συγκέντρωσης έπειτα από 8 ημέρες, ενώ τη μικρότερη ικανότητα ρόφησης η γ-αλούμινα με ειδική επιφάνεια 120 m2/g, με μέγιστη απομάκρυνση το 14 % της αρχικής συγκέντρωσης, έπειτα από 10 ημέρες. Η τιτάνια, με ειδική επιφάνεια 120 m2/g, είχε ως αποτέλεσμα την απομάκρυνση του 52 % της αρχικής συγκέντρωσης φαινανθρενίου, σε 8 ημέρες. Από τα πειράματα ρόφησης της 2-ναφθόλης από την γ-αλούμινα, δεν προέκυψε μετρήσιμη ρόφηση. Η ρόφηση του υδραργύρου από την γ-αλούμινα (ειδική επιφάνεια 131 m2/g), και τα οξείδια σιδήρου μελετήθηκε με πειράματα στους 25 °C, σε pH 5 και με χρόνο εξισορρόπησης τις 24 h. Από τα πειράματα προέκυψε ισόθερμη καμπύλη και έγινε προσπάθεια προσαρμογής της σε μοντέλα ρόφησης. Παρατηρήθηκε αύξηση του ποσοστού απομάκρυνσης του υδραργύρου, με αύξηση της μάζας της γ-αλούμινας. Το μέγιστο ποσοστό απομάκρυνσης, ήταν το 93 % της αρχικής συγκέντρωσης και επιτεύχθηκε με μάζα γ-αλούμινας ίση και μεγαλύτερη από 1 g. Για τιμή Ce=15 mg/L, μετρήθηκε qe=0,91 mg/g, τιμή 1 έως 2 τάξεις μεγέθους μικρότερη από αυτές άλλων ροφητικών υλικών βιολογικής προέλευσης ή προϊόντων πυρόλυσης. Τα οξείδια σιδήρου, παρότι είχαν ειδική επιφάνεια 55 m²/g, δεν παρουσίασαν μετρήσιμη ροφητική ικανότητα για κανέναν από τους ρύπους, που μελετήθηκαν στην παρούσα εργασία. Συνοψίζοντας μπορούμε να πούμε ότι τα ανόργανα υλικά που μελετήθηκαν στην παρούσα εργασία, παρόλο που παρουσιάζουν μεγάλες τιμές ειδικής επιφάνειας, δεν μπορούν να χαρακτηρισθούν ως αξιόλογα ροφητικά υλικά, τόσο για τη ρόφηση των οργανικών ρύπων φαινανθρένιο και 2-ναφθόλη, όσο και για τη ρόφηση του υδραργύρου. / Water treatment is a necessary and standard practice since decades. Adsorption technology in water treatment is one of many techniques being used. Activated carbon is the most widely applied adsorbent in water treatment, however its high production cost has led scientific research to investigate alternative low cost sorbent materials. This need has developed scientific interest towards novel materials most of them derived from biomass, but also inorganic oxides that are abundant in nature. The present study focuses on the investigation of the capacity of natural oxides to adsorb aromatic organic compounds and heavy metals. Specifically, sorption of phenanthrene, 2-naphthol and mercury onto aluminum, titanium, silicon and ferric oxides was examined, for the evaluation of these materials as sorbents, compared to pyrolized biomaterials. For the study of sorption of phenanthrene and 2-naphthol, batch experiments were conducted at room temperature, using artificial seawater and fresh water, different mass of sorbent material at different contact time. Sorption kinetics and the pollutant removal percentages were determined. The proportion of phenanthrene removal increased with the increase of the mass of the sorbent material. Sorption distribution coefficient Kd ranged between 1 and 10 L/Kg. These values are 2 to 4 orders of magnitude lower than the respective values shown for biomaterials and for pyrolysis products, respectively. Maximum sorption capacity of phenanthrene (55 % proportion removal) was shown by γ-alumina, with a specific surface area equal to 270 m2/g, after 8 days. Minimum sorption capacity (14 % proportion removal) was shown by γ-alumina, with a specific surface area equal to 120 m2/g, after 10 days. Titania, with a specific surface area equal to 120 m2/g, adsorbed a proportion of 52 % of the initial concentration of phenanthrene, after 8 days. Sorption experiments of 2-naphthol from γ-alumina, did not show a measurable sorption. Sorption of mercury from γ-alumina and ferric oxides was studied, conducting batch experiments at 25 °C, pH 5, 24 h contact time. The experiments resulted to an isotherm curve that was evaluated using different sorption isotherm models. An increase of the proportion of mercury removal, with the increase of the mass of γ-alumina was observed. Maximum proportion of mercury removal (93% of the initial concentration) was observed with the addition of γ-alumina of 1 g or more. At Ce=15 mg/L, qe=0,91 mg/g was measured. This value is 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower, than the respective values shown for biomaterials and for pyrolysis products, respectively. Even though ferric oxides’ specific surface area was estimated at 55 m²/g, they did not show a measurable sorption capacity for any of the pollutants tested in the present study. Even though the materials examined in the present study, were of large specific surface area, their sorptive properties shown, are not competitive with the respective properties of biomaterials. Thus, they cannot be considered as promising sorbents for the removal of phenanthrene, 2-naphthol, or mercury from water.