Removal of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) from aqueous medium in the presence of nano-perfluorooctyl alumina (PFOAL): Experimental study of adsorption and catalytic ozonation processes

In this study, two types of nano-perfluorooctyl alumina (PFOAL(G) and PFOAL(B)) powders were synthesized using Wieserman and ultrasound assisted methods. XRD, SEM, BET, FT-IR and CHNOS analyses were used to characterize the nano-PFOALs. The performances of these samples were investigated for removal of MTBE from aqueous solutions using adsorption and catalytic ozonation processes. Four different adsorption isotherms, namely, Freundlich, Langmuir, BET multilayer adsorption and Temkin adsorption isotherms were used to modeling the adsorption equilibrium. The results showed that the equilibrium data of MTBE adsorption on nano-PFOAL(G) adsorbent were well described by the BET isotherm model. The kinetics of MTBE adsorption on nano-PFOAL(G) is best described by pseudo-second order model. Finally, the catalytic ability of nano-PFOALs was investigated for catalytic ozonation of MTBE. The removal percentage of MTBE by nano-PFOALs/O-3 systems was about two times higher than ozonation alone after 90 min. Results showed that nano-PFOALs have high efficiency in catalytic ozonation of MTBE and suggested as suitable catalyst for contaminants removal in water using catalytic ozonation process. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.