Feliciano, Sofia

Water pollution can be detrimental to humans and the surrounding ecosystem. I tested whether iron oxide mineralization could be used to yield new biocomposite materials for the remediation of environmental pollutants, such as arsenic and crude oil. Both ferrihydrite and magnetite minerals were embedded within the cell wall and cell wall-lumen interface of balsa wood. Ferrihydrite was tested for degradation of crude oil, while magnetite was investigated for the absorption of arsenic from contaminated water. Research suggests that these hybrid biomaterials will prove successful in absorbing harmful pollutants by providing a porous scaffold holding the iron oxides. Methodology included a variety of spectroscopic and microscopic methods, such as Raman imaging and Scanning Electron Microscopy. A microscopic analysis of wood analysis suggested ferrihydrite was maintained and traces of oil were present in the wood cells. Preliminary data suggested a retention of the iron oxide with the wood cell structure and an uptake of arsenic from the water.