Influence of Collector Surface Composition and Water Chemistry on the Deposition of Cerium Dioxide Nanoparticles: QCM-D and Column Experiment Approaches

The deposition behavior of cerium dioxide (CeO2) nanoparticles (NPs) in dilute NaCl solutions was investigated as a function of collector surface composition, pH, ionic strength, and organic matter (OM). Sensors coated separately with silica, iron oxide, and alumina were applied in quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) to examine the effect of these mineral phases on CeO2 deposition in NaCl solution (1–200 mM). Frequency and dissipation shift followed the order: silica > iron oxide > alumina in 10 mM NaCl at pH 4.0. No significant deposition was observed at pH 6.0 and 8.5 on any of the tested sensors. However, ≥ 94.3% of CeO2 NPs deposited onto Ottawa sand in columns in 10 mM NaCl at pH 6.0 and 8.5. The inconsistency in the different experimental approaches can be mainly attributed to NP aggregation, surface heterogeneity of Ottawa sand, and flow geometry. In QCM-D experiments, the deposition kinetics was found to be qualitatively consistent with the predictions based on the classical colloidal stability theory. The presence of low levels (1–6 mg/L) of Suwannee River humic acid, fulvic acid, alginate, citric acid, and carboxymethyl cellulose greatly enhanced the stability and mobility of CeO2 NPs in 1 mM NaCl at pH 6.5. The poor correlation between the transport behavior and electrophoretic mobility of CeO2 NPs implies that the electrosteric effect of OM was involved