Title: Investigation of removal of N-nitrosamines and their precursors in water treatments using activated carbon nanoparticles

Authors: Chuan Wang; Honglan Shi; Craig D. Adams; Terry Timmons; Yinfa Ma

Addresses: Department of Chemistry, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 400 West 11th Street, Rolla, MO, USA; Environmental Research Center, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, USA. ' Department of Chemistry and Environmental Research Center, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, USA. ' Environmental Research Center, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, USA; Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA. ' Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Jefferson City, MO, USA. ' Department of Chemistry, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 400 West 11th Street, Rolla, MO, USA; Environmental Research Center, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, USA

Abstract: N-nitrosamines have been detected in various water types. A strategy for removal of this group of compounds should be taken to reduce the health risks for humans. In this study, a fast and sensitive LC-MS/MS method was developed for quantitative analysis of nine N-nitrosamines and four precursors in a single sample. The Method Detection Limits (MDLs) in natural water ranged from 0.05 μg/L to 5 μg/L without using SPE pre-concentration. Three different types of activated carbon nanoparticles (NPs) (bamboo, charcoal and coconut shell as raw materials) were used to carry out removal experiments in two different pHs (pH 6.6 and 8.6). The results indicated that coconut shell-based activated carbon NPs had higher removal efficiency than the other two with a typical dosage of activated carbon NPs, at a typical contact time of 4 hours. No significant differences in removal efficiency between the two selected pH values were observed.

Keywords: N-nitrosamines; nitrosamine precursors; activated carbon nanoparticles; liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; nitrosamine removal; water treatment; nanotechnology; health risks; bamboo; charcoal; coconut shells.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2013.050682

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2013 Vol.16 No.1/2, pp.34 - 48

Received: 28 May 2011
Accepted: 28 Sep 2011

Published online: 17 Sep 2014 *

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