Preparation and Optical Characterization of Magnetic Nanoparticles-Coated Active Carbon Composites and Its Application in Removal of Trihalomethane Compounds from Water

In this work, magnetic nanomaterials were used to remove trihalomethane (THMs) from water in a new fashion. Fe3O4, MnO2, Fe3O4/MnO2 nanoparticles were prepared by chemical co-precipitation method from their salts and then their composites were made with activated carbon (AC). Characterization of the prepared nanomaterials was investigated by FESEM, XRD, RAMAN, and VSM. The prepared nanomaterials were applied in removing THMs from water. The removal percentage and the adsorbed THMs amount per gram adsorbent were calculated. When the prepared nanomaterials combined with AC achieved very convenient results. The THMs removal percentage was 95.51%, 90.69% and 87.73 % by applying 20 mg of MnO2/AC, Fe3O4/MnO2/AC and Fe3O4/AC (as adsorbent) respectively. High adsorbent amount (Q e ) was achieved at (573.06, 544.16, 462.15,485.58, 320.94, 290.60 ug/g) using (MnO2/AC, Fe3O4/MnO2/AC, Fe3O4/AC, MnO2 and Fe3O4/MnO2) respectively. This method is simple and cost-effective as the separation of magnetic composites can be achieved easily by applying an external magnetic field. This study gives a new insight into the efficiency of magnetic nanocomposites in removing THMs from water.