A Novel Approach to Water Softening Based on Graphene Oxide-Activated Open Cell Foams

Autor: Riccardo Balzarotti, Alessandro Migliavacca, Andrea Basso Peressut, Alessandro Mansutti, Saverio Latorrata
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: C, Vol 9, Iss 1, p 6 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2311-5629
DOI: 10.3390/c9010006
Popis: This work focuses on exploring a new configuration for the reduction of water hardness based on the surface modification of polyurethane (PU) open cell foams by the deposition of thin graphene oxide (GO) washcoat layers. GO was deposited by the dip–squeeze coating procedure and consolidated by thermal treatment. The final washcoat load was controlled by performing consecutive depositions, after three of which, a GO inventory up to 27 wt% was obtained onto PU foams of 60 pores per inch (PPI). The GO-coated PU foams were assembled into a filter, and the performance of the system was tested by continuously feeding water with hardness in the 190–270 mgCa2+,eq·L−1 range. Remarkable results were demonstrated in terms of total adsorbing capacity, which was evaluated by measuring the outlet total hardness by titration and exhibited values up to 63 mgCa2+,eq·gGO−1 at a specific filtered water volume of 650 mLH2O·gGO−1, outperforming the actual state-of-the-art adsorbing capacity of similar GO-based materials.
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