US 12351485 B1Patent grantUnited States

Carbon-Nitride Composite for Water Purification

Official patent title

Nanocomposite for water decontamination

Arabic title: مركب نانوي لإزالة تلوث المياه

Invention

Problem

Wastewater containing heavy-metal ions or organic dyes needs effective treatment, but existing methods can be costly, complex, generate secondary waste, or perform poorly when contaminant concentrations or matrices vary.

Why it matters

A multi-component sorbent could provide another route for water polishing, provided adsorption capacity, ion selectivity, regeneration, material leaching, treated-water safety, and real-stream performance are independently confirmed.

Approach

The method contacts contaminated water with a graphitic C3N4/MnO2/MgAl2O4 nanocomposite, adsorbs listed heavy-metal ions and an optional dye, and removes the contaminant-loaded material from the water.

Who may benefit

Potential beneficiaries include wastewater-treatment providers, mining and electroplating facilities, textile processors, environmental testing laboratories, sorbent manufacturers, and researchers developing manganese-oxide/carbon-nitride composites.

Potential value

The disclosure combines carbon nitride, manganese dioxide, and magnesium aluminate in a specified mass relationship and connects defined pore and crystal features to a method targeting both metal ions and dyes.

Background

Heavy-metal contamination can originate in chemical, textile, leather, plastics, mining, battery, pigment, and pulp industries. Persistent ions can enter biological systems and therefore require removal before discharge or reuse. Available technologies include precipitation, coagulation, ion exchange, membranes, reverse osmosis, and adsorption, yet the patent notes operational cost, complexity, secondary waste, and capacity limitations. Graphitic carbon nitride offers a modifiable adsorption framework, while incorporated metal oxides may change its aggregation, pore structure, and accessible surface.

Technology overview

The claimed method uses a nanocomposite of graphitic C3N4, MnO2, and MgAl2O4 in a mass relationship of 5–15:2–7:75–95. It contacts water containing Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni, Ag, Zn, or U ions and may also address an organic dye, then separates the loaded material. Characterization provisions include a 16.2–20.2 m2/g BET area, BJH pore-size ranges, SAED spacings for spinel, MnO2, and Al2O3 features, and phase-related XRD peaks.

Potential applications

Potential treatment of industrial wastewater containing listed metal ions.
Potential adsorption of dye-bearing process water.
Potential polishing medium after primary wastewater treatment.
Potential regenerable sorbent platform after reuse studies.

Evidence-supported advantages

Targets a listed group of heavy-metal ions.
Extends the method to an optional organic dye.
Defines carbon-nitride, MnO2, and spinel mass relationships.
Specifies pore and crystallographic characterization ranges.

Development stage

Patent publication with a described adsorption method and material characterization; independent validation and commercialization were not established.

Commercial opportunity

The composite may support development partnerships in industrial wastewater treatment and specialty sorbents. Required work includes independent capacity and kinetics measurements, interference testing, realistic influent trials, sorbent dosage and separation design, regeneration life, manganese and other constituent leaching, spent-media handling, treated-water verification, scale-up reproducibility, cost analysis, and compliance assessment.

Patent classifications

WIPO IPC

C02F1/28Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
B01J20/02Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus

CPC

B01J20/0222Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/04Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/20Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/22Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/28033Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/28059Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/28071Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/28083Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/3078Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
C02F1/281Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
C02F1/283Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
C02F1/288Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
B01J2235/15Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
C02F2101/103Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
C02F2101/20Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
C02F2101/22Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
C02F2101/308Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge
C02F2305/08Treatment of water, wastewater, sewage or sludge

Inventors

First inventorMohamed Khairy Abdel Fattah Omran
InventorBabiker Yagoub Elhadi Abdulkhair

Keywords

water decontamination
heavy-metal adsorption
graphitic carbon nitride
MnO2
MgAl2O4
organic dye
nanocomposite
wastewater

Patent document and drawings

The patent publication is mapped to this record. Patent drawings remain within that publication; no separately cleared public media package has been supplied.