Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Transport of Surface-modified Carbon Nanotubes through a Soil Column
Published on: April 2, 2015
Mobility of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in porous media
Xueying Liu1, Denis M O'Carroll, Elijah J Petersen
1Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6A 5B8.
Abstract:
Engineered multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are the subject of intense research and are expected to gain widespread usage in a broad variety of commercial products. However, concerns have been raised regarding potential environmental and human health risks. The mobility of MWCNTs in porous media is examined in this study using one-dimensional flow-through column experiments under conditions representative of subsurface and drinking water treatment systems. Results demonstrate that pore water velocity strongly influenced MWCNT transport, with high MWCNT mobility at pore water velocities greater than 4.0 m/d. A numerical simulator, which incorporated a newly developed theoretical collector efficiency relationship for MWCNTs in spherical porous media, was developed to model observed column results. The model, which incorporated traditional colloid filtration theory in conjunction with a site-blocking term, yielded good agreement with observed results in quartz sand-packed column experiments. Experiments were also conducted in glass bead-packed columns with the same mean grain size as the quartz sand-packed columns. MWCNTs were more mobile in the glass bead-packed columns.
Related Concept Videos
Permeability of Concrete
Porosity in Cement Paste
The balance of water to cement in the mix is critical—it...
Porosity and Absorption of Aggregate
When all pores in an aggregate are filled with water, the aggregate is considered saturated and surface-dry. If left in dry air, water will evaporate until the aggregate...
Passive Diffusion: Overview and Kinetics
When administered orally, drugs establish a substantial concentration gradient between the gastrointestinal (GI) lumen and the bloodstream, expediting their diffusion into...
Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct microscopic...

