A novel method for selective removal of NO3− from drinking water by a surface NO3−-imprinted polymer grafted on functionalized silica

NO3−-imprinted polymer was fabricated via surface “grafting through” silica particles. The adsorbent characterization was thoroughly determined by FT-IR, FE-SEM, AFM, XRD, and BET analysis. The maximum adsorption capacity of NO3−-SIP was observed to be 24.6 mg g−1. The adsorption process was in good agreement with Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order models. The selectivity studies indicated that NO3−-SIP had a high selectivity towards NO3− ions in the presence of HCO3−, SO4−2, and PO4−3. The NO3−-SIP showed good reusability characterization even after 10 cycles of adsorption-desorption experiments. The performance of NO3−-SIP has been extensively studied in the packed fixed-bed. According to the breakthrough curves, it can be observed that the performance of the column was most favorable when operating at lower flow rates and initial concentrations of NO3− ions, and longer bed depths. Furthermore, the continuous adsorption data fit well with both the Thomas and Yoon-Nelson models.