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Study of C60 transport in porous media and the effect of sorbed C60 on naphthalene transport

  • Articles—Energy and The Environment Special Section
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Abstract

In this study, the transport of water-stable “nano-C60 particles” (a term used to refer to underivatized C60 crystalline nanoparticles, stable in water for months) through a soil column (packed with Lula soil, 0.27% organic carbon) was investigated for the first time. Nano-C60 particle breakthrough experiments were conducted at different flow rates, while other column operating parameters remained fixed through all the experiments. Nano-C60 particles were observed to be more mobile at higher flow velocity: at the flow velocity of 0.38 m/d, the maximum percent of nano-C60 breakthrough (C/C0) was 47%; at the flow velocity of 3.8 m/d, the plateau value of nano-C60 breakthrough was 60%; and at the flow velocity of 11.4 m/d, the plateau value of nano-C60 breakthrough was almost 80%. At the low flow velocity (0.38 m/d), which is typical of groundwater flow, nano-C60 particles showed very limited mobility: after about 57 pore volumes, they deposited to the soil column so rapidly that virtually no nano-C60 was detected in the effluent. This observed “favorable deposition” (attachment efficiency α = 1) was probably due to “filter ripening.” Also the release of nano-C60 particles after flow interruption was observed. The transport of naphthalene through the same soil column containing 0.18% nano-C60 particles deposited was measured. A retardation factor of about 13 was observed, possibly suggesting that sorbed nano-C60 particles in the soil column sorbed naphthalene similar to soil organic carbon. An asymmetric naphthalene breakthrough curve was observed, which is possibly due to “sorption nonequilibrium.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77005, USA

    Xuekun Cheng, Amy T. Kan & Mason B. Tomson

Authors
  1. Xuekun Cheng
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  2. Amy T. Kan
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  3. Mason B. Tomson
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Correspondence to Xuekun Cheng.

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Cheng, X., Kan, A.T. & Tomson, M.B. Study of C60 transport in porous media and the effect of sorbed C60 on naphthalene transport. Journal of Materials Research 20, 3244–3254 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2005.0402

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2005.0402

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