Given the presence of a wide variety of contaminants in the environment, it is important to understand what drives a contaminant from one medium to another, as well as the manner and extent to which a contaminant associates with the different media or phases within a local environmental system. Partition and Adsorption of Organic Contaminants in Environmental Systems forms a comprehensive resource on the behavioral characteristics of contaminants so that appropriate strategies can be adopted to either prevent or minimize their adverse impacts on human welfare and natural resources. Cary Chiou’s far-reaching text depicts the processes by which nonionic organic contaminants are sorbed to natural biotic and abiotic substances. This book focuses on physical principles and system parameters that affect the contaminant uptake by soil from water, air, and other media; by fish from water; and by plants from soil and water. As contaminant uptake by natural organic substances is often predominantly a partition interaction, the partition characteristics in several solvent-water model mixtures are treated in detail to elucidate the relevant physicochemical parameters. The account of contaminant sorption to soils, fish, and plants is strengthened by companion chapters on: Fundamentals of solution theory Interphase partition equations Fundamentals of adsorption theory Vapor adsorption on mineral and carbonaceous solids No other single source in the field delivers as compelling a combination of background understanding and "state-of-the-science" comprehension of current issues. Ideally suited for a graduate-level environmental course, Partition and Adsorption of Organic Contaminants in Environmental Systems also serves as a technical guide to current and future research in the field.

This is the first volume on adsorption using green adsorbents and is written by international contributors who are the leading experts in the adsorption field. The first volume provides an overview of fundamentals and design of adsorption processes. For people who are new to the field, the book starts by two overview chapters presenting the principles and properties of wastewater treatment and adsorption processes. The book also provides a comprehensive source of knowledge on acid-base properties of biosorbents. It discusses fractal-like kinetic models for fluid-solid adsorption, reports on the chemical characterization of oxidized activated carbons for metal removal, and the use of magnetic biosorbents in water treatment. Furthermore, the thermodynamic properties of metals adsorption by green adsorbents, and biosorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organic pollutants are reviewed, and finally the recent trends and impact of nanomaterials as green adsorbent and potential catalysts for environmental applications are summarized. The audience for this book includes students, environmentalists, engineers, water scientists, civil and industrial personnel who wish to specialize in adsorption technology. Academically, this book will be of use to students in chemical and environmental engineering who wish to learn about adsorption and its fundamentals. It has also been compiled for practicing engineers who wish to know about recent developments on adsorbent materials in order to promote further research toward improving and developing newer adsorbents and processes for the efficient removal of pollutants from industrial effluents. It is hoped that the book will serve as a readable and useful presentation not only for undergraduate and postgraduate students but also for the water scientists and engineers and as a convenient reference handbook in the form of numerous recent examples and appended information.

This volume describes the identification of emerging organic pollutants, mainly from industrial sources, their associated toxicological threats, and the latest green methods and biotechnological solutions to abate harmful impacts on people and the environment. The chapters present reviews on current applied toxicology research, occupational health hazards and green remedial solutions for pollution control in terrestrial and aquatic environments, with the aim of raising public awareness of these issues and providing chemists, toxicologists and environmental scientists with the knowledge to combat organic pollutants through sustainable means. Readers will learn about the multi-dimensional applications of materials and processes which harvest energy out of environmental remediation technologies, as well as the roles of biotechnology and nanotechnology in addressing high pollutant load. Specific attention is paid to technologies that draw energy through wastewater remediation, as this covers the primary means by which organic pollutants are introduced into the environment from industry and other sources. The book will be of use to pollution control boards, industry regulators, and students and researchers in the fields of biotechnology, biomedical science, hydrology and water chemistry.

Experts in soil and environmental sciences as well as in the theory of wave propagation and numerical modeling methods provide a comprehensive account of different aspects of pollutant migration in soils, aquifers, and other geological formations. Emphasis is laid on the analysis of contributing phenomena and their interactions, modeling, and the practical use of such knowledge and models for guidance in disposal operations, preventive measures to minimize ecological damage, prediction of consequences of seepage, and design of remedial actions. Topics covered include the chemical behavior of soils, sorption and retardation, biochemistry of pollutants, ion exchange and kinetics of reactions in soils, measurement of adsorption and desorption, multiphase hydrodynamics, multicomponent wave theory and the coherence concept, nonlinear wave propagation in geological formations, multiphase convective transport, diffusion and fast reaction, modeling pollutant transport, numerical methods, dispersion of contaminants from landfills, risk analysis, water reuse, and radioactive soil contamination at Chernobyl.

Surface and Interface Chemistry of Clay Minerals, Volume 9, delivers a fundamental understanding of the surface and interface chemistry of clay minerals, thus serving as a valuable resource for researchers active in the fields of materials chemistry and sustainable chemistry. Clay minerals, with surfaces ranging from hydrophilic, to hydrophobic, are widely studied and used as adsorbents. Adsorption can occur at the edges and surfaces of clay mineral layers and particles, and in the interlayer region. This diversity in properties and the possibility to tune the surface properties of clay minerals to match the properties of adsorbed molecules is the basis for study. This book requires a fundamental understanding of the surface and interface chemistry of clay minerals, and of the interaction between adsorbate and adsorbent. It is an essential resource for clay scientists, geologists, chemists, physicists, material scientists, researchers, and students. - Presents scientists and engineers with a resource they can rely on for their own research and work involving clay minerals - Includes an in-depth look at ion exchange, adsorption of inorganic and organic molecules, including polymers and proteins, and catalysis occurring at the surfaces of clay minerals - Includes materials chemistry of clay minerals with chiral clay minerals, optical materials and functional films