Synthetically Modified Cellulose Derivatives for the Remediate of Phosphate from Agricultural Wastewater
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Science
Proposal
Phosphorous is extensively used in fertilizers in the agricultural industry and with increased demand for food, use will continue to increase. It is also a major environmental pollutant, entering the aquatic environment, such as rivers and lakes, in the form of waste water runoff. This leads to the eutrophication of lakes and the excessive growth of algal blooms which are toxic to marine life. Attempts to sequester phosphorous prior to its entry into the environment have been made through the use of filtration systems incorporating a chitosan-iron matrix as a reusable filter which can be regenerated allowing for the collection and reuse of the phosphorous. However chitosan suffers from two major disadvantages: the high price of chitosan is prohibitive for large scale application and it has a relatively short lifespan. We sought to replace it with a cheap, readily available, biologically friendly cellulose based alternative. Cellulose is readily available and was obtained in the form of sawdust. By functionalizing the sawdust with various iron chelators, iron can be attached which can then be used to bind and collect phosphorous. Functionalization uses simple, environmentally friendly chemistry starting with inexpensive materials. Sawdust is first reacted with epichlorohydrin to insert an epoxide to which various chelators can be attached through simple nucleophilic attack and epoxide opening. A variety of chelators were investigated including deferasirox (a well-known iron binder), amino acids, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and various CMC derivates. The most effective ligand was found to be simply ethylenediamine which can bind a large amount of phosphorous (40g) per kilogram of sawdust and is even effective in the presence of competing ions. This has potential widespread applications in phosphorous sequestering and wastewater cleanup.
Location
University of Windsor
Grand Challenges
Healthy Great Lakes
Synthetically Modified Cellulose Derivatives for the Remediate of Phosphate from Agricultural Wastewater
University of Windsor
Phosphorous is extensively used in fertilizers in the agricultural industry and with increased demand for food, use will continue to increase. It is also a major environmental pollutant, entering the aquatic environment, such as rivers and lakes, in the form of waste water runoff. This leads to the eutrophication of lakes and the excessive growth of algal blooms which are toxic to marine life. Attempts to sequester phosphorous prior to its entry into the environment have been made through the use of filtration systems incorporating a chitosan-iron matrix as a reusable filter which can be regenerated allowing for the collection and reuse of the phosphorous. However chitosan suffers from two major disadvantages: the high price of chitosan is prohibitive for large scale application and it has a relatively short lifespan. We sought to replace it with a cheap, readily available, biologically friendly cellulose based alternative. Cellulose is readily available and was obtained in the form of sawdust. By functionalizing the sawdust with various iron chelators, iron can be attached which can then be used to bind and collect phosphorous. Functionalization uses simple, environmentally friendly chemistry starting with inexpensive materials. Sawdust is first reacted with epichlorohydrin to insert an epoxide to which various chelators can be attached through simple nucleophilic attack and epoxide opening. A variety of chelators were investigated including deferasirox (a well-known iron binder), amino acids, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and various CMC derivates. The most effective ligand was found to be simply ethylenediamine which can bind a large amount of phosphorous (40g) per kilogram of sawdust and is even effective in the presence of competing ions. This has potential widespread applications in phosphorous sequestering and wastewater cleanup.