Synthesis and application of natural sorbents with silver nanoparticles in reducing the emission of odours

Abstract

The paper concerns the applicability of silver nanoparticles for reducing the emission of odours. Silver nanoparticles were successfully adsorbed on three different dolomitic limestone samples. In the next stage, wastewater from the meat industry was mixed with sorbents modified with a variable content of silver nanoparticles. After 4 days and 7 days, the concentration of ammonia was examined spectrophotometrically. Also, the degree of reduction of total odour concentration by olfactometric method was carried out. Depending on the concentration of the silver nanoparticles on the sorbents, the concentration of ammonia was 15-42 μg/cm3 for nAg content equal to 0.08%, while for sorbents containing approximately 36% of nAg the concentration of ammonia was 0.09-16 μg/cm3. A leaching test of nanosilver from sorbents confirmed that the particles were bound with the sorbents by strong bonds. The percentage of eluted silver increased from 0.67% to 11%, with increased initial concentrations of nAg on the sorbents from 0.18% to 0.37%.