Adsorption thermodynamic and kinetic studies of trihalomethanes on multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were purified by mixed HNO3/H2SO4 solution and were employed as adsorbents to study adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics of trihalomethanes (THMs) from chlorinated drinking water. The amount of THMs adsorbed onto CNTs decreased with a rise in temperature and high adsorption capacities were found at 5 and 15 °C. Under the same conditions, the purified CNTs possess two to three times more adsorption capacities of CHCl3, which accounts for a major portion of THMs in the chlorinated drinking water, than the commercially available PAC suggesting that CNTs are efficient adsorbents. The thermodynamic analysis revealed that the adsorption of THMs onto CNTs is exothermic and spontaneous.