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Cross-Media Environmental Fate and Impacts of Manufactured Carbonaeous Nanomaterials
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PI: Linsey Marr (Virginia Tech)
The overall objective of this research is to conduct a cross-media assessment of the transport, transformation, and fate of manufactured nanomaterials in atmospheric, aquatic, and terrestrial environments. This research differs from most previous and current studies on nanomaterials in that it considers cross-media effects. A key component of the project is to compare how nanomaterials that have undergone atmospheric processing behave in aquatic and terrestrial systems relative to their ‘pure' manufactured precursors. The experiments focus on carbonaceous nanomaterials (CNMs) that are presently being produced in large quantities at an industrial facility in Virginia . The term “CNMs” refers to endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs), empty-cage fullerenes, nanotubes, and other components of the soot generated as bulk material during production. Our preliminary results show that CNMs are easily dispersed in the atmosphere during the manufacturing process.
The research questions addressed by this project are
- How do manufactured CNMs transform in the atmosphere?
- How does aerosol aging affect the transport of CNMs in aquatic and terrestrial systems?
- How sticky are CNMs to different types of surfaces in the environment?