Aquatic toxicity evaluation of TiO2 nanoparticle produced from sludge of TiCl4 flocculation of wastewater and seawater

Abstract

Flocculation using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) as a coagulant is an efficient and economical application because the flocculated sludge can be recycled to produce a valuable byproduct, namely titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles. However, toxicity of TiCl4 has not yet been assessed while it is used in water treatment. The aquatic toxicity of TiCl4 flocculation process was investigated to assess the environmental safety of the coagulant. D. magna and V. fischeri bioassays were carried out to evaluate the supernatant toxicity after TiCl4 flocculation. Artificial wastewater, biologically treated sewage effluent, and seawater were used to study the toxicity of TiCl4 flocculation. Results showed that supernatant toxicity was very low when TiCl4 flocculation was conducted (no observed effect concentration = 100 mg/L and lowest observed effect concentration = 150 mg/L exposed to D. magna and V. fischeri, respectively). Similarly, TiO2 nanoparticles recovered from wastewater and seawater flocculated sludge were also found to have low toxicity. The regenerated TiO2 nanoparticles indicated low toxicity values when compared to the commercial-TiO2 nanoparticle, P-25.