POLYMERIC MATERIALS FOR THE QUANTITATIVE AND REVERSIBLE ABSORPTION OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC WATER CONTAMINANTS

Water pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems the world faces today. Due to a progressive change in environmental perception in developed countries, great attention is currently given to specific pollutants, both of natural and human origin, often labeled as organic and inorganic micropollutants. Micropollutants can have severe implications both on ecology and human health even in very low concentration in water, being potentially toxic and carcinogenic, and are included in the EU PP (Priority Pollutants) list. The current water purification treatments are affected by many limitations and do not significantly lower the concentration of micropollutants, unless the treatment is carried out, if technically possible, to such an extent to become not economically sustainable. In this context, the aim of this PhD thesis is the development and characterization of polymeric absorbing materials for the quantitative and reversible removal of organic and inorganic micro-pollutants from water. These materials are based on poly(amidoamine)s (PAAs), cyclodextrins and renewable resources such as guar gum and hemicelluloses. The synthetic procedures adopted are simple, eco-friendly and employ water as solvent. The materials proved able to absorb either inorganic (Cu(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Mn(II), Zn(II), Fe(II), Ni(II), Cr(VI)) or organic micropollutants (chloroform, halothane, tetrachloroethylene, o-toluidine) and were competitive with other sorbents reported in literature. They could also be regenerated and recycled without loss of absorption performance.