Sorption of phenanthrene by dissolved organic matter and its complex with aluminum oxide nanoparticles

Intent of this study was to explore the potential application of polymerin, the polymeric, dissolved organic matter fraction from olive oil wastewaters, in technologies aimed at remediating hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) point-source pollution. Phenanthrene binding with polymerin was investigated. Moreover, the effect of addition of micro and nanoscale aluminum oxides (Al2O3) was studied, as well as sorption of polymerin on the oxides. Phenanthrene binding capacity by polymerin was notably higher than the sorption capacities for both types of Al2O3 particles. Polymerin sorption on nanoparticles was nearly 100 times higher than microparticles. In a three-phase system, using microparticles, higher phenanthrene sorption was found by adding into water polymerin, oxides and phenanthrene simultaneously. In contrast, using nanoparticles, a considerable enhancement of phenanthrene sorption was shown by adding phenanthrene to a pre-formed and dried polymerin–oxide complex. These findings support the application of polymerin, especially associated with Al2O3 nanoparticles, in remediation of water contaminated with HOCs. This work highlights the significant role of nanoparticles.