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Biofilms and extracellular polymeric substances mediate the transport of graphene oxide nanoparticles in saturated porous media
- Source :
- Journal of Hazardous Materials. 300:467-474
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2015.
-
Abstract
- Understanding the fate and transport of graphene oxide nanoparticles (GONPs) in the subsurface environments is of crucial importance since they may pose potential risks to the environment and human health. However, little is known about the significance of biofilm on mobility of GONPs in the subsurface. Here we investigated the transport of GONPs in saturated sand coated with Bacillus subtilis (Gram-positive) and Pseudomonas putida (Gram-negative) biofilms, and their secreted extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) under environmentally relevant ionic strengths (1–50 mM NaCl) at pH 7.2. Our results showed that irrespective of bacteria type, greater retention of GONPs occurred in biofilm-coated sand compared to clean sand, likely attributed to the increased surface roughness and physical straining. However, EPS showed negligible influence on GONPs transport, which was inconsistent with the findings in the presence of biofilms, while they exhibited comparable ζ-potentials. The different retention phenotype of GONPs in the presence of EPS was induced by hydration effect and steric repulsion. A two-site kinetic retention model well-described the transport of GONPs in porous media covered with different surface coatings, which proves the applicability of mathematical model in predicting nanoparticles’ mobility in the subsurface environments, when considering the potential effects of biofilm and EPS.
- Subjects :
- Environmental Engineering
Polymers
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Oxide
Ionic bonding
Nanoparticle
Nanotechnology
law.invention
chemistry.chemical_compound
Extracellular polymeric substance
law
Environmental Chemistry
Waste Management and Disposal
biology
Pseudomonas putida
Chemistry
Graphene
Biofilm
Models, Theoretical
biology.organism_classification
Pollution
Kinetics
Models, Chemical
Chemical engineering
Biofilms
Nanoparticles
Graphite
Porous medium
Porosity
Bacillus subtilis
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 03043894
- Volume :
- 300
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Hazardous Materials
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....7b78158d1c77f510a6804da9bfd80ee9