Thesis (M. Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2023

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Bio-Nano Material Science and Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology

Water pollution is one of the major causes of death and destruction of both aquatic ecosystems and land animals. The removal of water pollutants, such as dyes and pesticides, is crucial to ensure the safety of the environment. Magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) is one of the techniques that can be used to capture organic pollutants and extract them out from the water. Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (IOMNPs), owing to their magnetic properties, good surface area, and tunable surface functionality, have high potential as sorbents for environmental applications. In this study, both commercial and synthesized IOMNPs functionalized with several functional groups, e.g., silica, amine, and carboxyl, were examined for their adsorption. MSPE is implemented in fluidic systems to increase the interaction between the polluted water and iron oxide nanoparticles, and efficiently separate clean water or solution from captured pollutants. The fluidic device made of elaborate channels can be fabricated using DLP (Digital Light Processing) 3D printing with resin as material. When implemented with magnetic nanoparticles, the system can be evaluated by measuring the extraction capability and comparing the polluted water with the extracted water. UV-Visible spectrometry is used to evaluate the extraction capability of the nanoparticles in the system.