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Efficient progesterone removal from water using molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles
Sam Bessai1, Omar Falyouna2, Toshihiko Mandai2
1Water and Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Earth System Science and Technology, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga, Fukuoka, 816-0933, Japan.
Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoparticles effectively remove progesterone (PGS) from water, achieving 98% efficiency. This novel adsorbent shows promise for treating hormone-contaminated water due to its stability and reusability.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Water contamination by hormone-disrupting chemicals, such as progesterone (PGS), presents significant environmental and human health risks.
- Previous research has explored molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) for removing related compounds like 17β-estradiol, but its efficacy for PGS was uninvestigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically investigate the removal of progesterone (PGS) from water using pure molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoparticles.
- To evaluate the performance, influencing factors, adsorption mechanisms, reusability, and economic viability of MoS2 for PGS removal.
Main Methods:
- Systematic batch adsorption experiments were conducted using pure MoS2 nanoparticles to remove PGS from water.
- Optimized conditions included [MoS2] = 20 mg/L, temperature = 25°C, pH = 7, and initial PGS concentration = 20 mg/L.
- Adsorption mechanisms were analyzed using adsorption modeling, and reusability was tested over multiple cycles.
Main Results:
- A maximum PGS removal efficiency of 98% was achieved within 1 hour under optimized conditions.
- MoS2 nanoparticles demonstrated high affinity and effectiveness across various environmental factors (temperature, pH, dosage, concentration).
- Adsorption mechanisms involved van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interactions; MoS2 showed excellent reusability with minimal performance loss.
Conclusions:
- Pure MoS2 nanoparticles are highly effective and stable for removing progesterone from contaminated water.
- MoS2 presents a promising, economically competitive alternative to conventional adsorbents for hormone-contaminated water treatment.
- Further techno-economic evaluation at larger scales is recommended to confirm large-scale applicability.
