A gas-absorbing material that contains amino group-having polymer compound particles and fine particles having a primary particle diameter of 1000 nm or less is a gas-absorbing material having a markedly higher gas absorption/desorption speed. Here, as the polymer compound of the amino group-having polymer compound particles, for example, a (meth)acrylamide polymer can be used, and as the fine particles, for example, water-repellent inorganic particles or fluororesin particles can be used.

Air filter media comprising at least one active bead layer comprises an antistatic agent and polyethylenimine coated polymeric beads that can provide better formaldehyde abatement properties than incumbent activated carbon filters and can be prepared by using existing processing facilities for manufacture of incumbent activated carbon filters.

A refractory filter suitable for filtering molten metal, such as steel, and a method and powdered composition for producing said filter. The filter comprises refractory material, said refractory material comprising: 60-90 wt % alumina; 8-30 wt % zirconia; and 3-20 wt % magnesia. The powdered composition comprises: 60-90 wt % alumina; 8-30 wt % zirconia; and 3-20 wt % magnesia, wherein the powdered composition comprises less than 12.5 wt % reactive alumina, calcined alumina or a mixture thereof, and wherein the remainder of the alumina is tabular alumina. The method comprises: providing a powdered composition in accordance with the invention; forming a filter precursor from the powdered composition and a liquid component; and firing the filter precursor to form a refractory filter.

Composite materials for removing hydrophobic components from a fluid include a porous matrix polymer, carbon nanotubes grafted to surfaces of the porous matrix polymer, and polystyrene chains grafted to the carbon nanotubes. Examples of porous matrix polymer include polyurethanes, polyethylenes, and polypropylenes. Membranes of the composite material may be enclosed within a fluid-permeable pouch to form a fluid treatment apparatus, such that by contacting the apparatus with a fluid mixture containing water and a hydrophobic component, the hydrophobic component absorbs selectively into the membrane. The apparatus may be removed from the fluid mixture and reused after the hydrophobic component is expelled from the membrane. The composite material may be prepared by grafting functionalized carbon nanotubes to a porous matrix polymer to form a polymer-nanotube composite, then polymerizing styrene onto the carbon nanotubes of the polymer-nanotube composite.

A blood treatment material adsorbs and removes blood components such as activated leukocytes and inflammatory cytokines with a high efficiency. The blood treatment material includes a water-insoluble material in the form of fibers or particles, wherein the difference between the maximum value (RaA) and the minimum value (RaB) of the arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of the surface of the water-insoluble material, as calculated using a laser microscope, is from 0.30 to 1.50 μm.

A smart sand includes raw sand particles, synthetic SiO.sub.2 particles attached to the raw sand particles, a first material attached to a first set of the synthetic SiO.sub.2 particles, a second material attached to a second set of the synthetic SiO.sub.2 particles, and a third material attached to the first material. Each of the first to third materials is different from each other.

A water filtration membrane is provided, capable of removing heavy metal ions, filtering out particulates, filtering out bacteria, as well as removing herbicides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water. The membrane is composed of a mat of randomly oriented nanoparticle-coated nanofibers. The nanofibers are covalently bonded to a plurality of substantially uniformly-distributed ceramic nanoparticles embedded in or adhered on the surface of the polymer nanofibers through reactive functional groups. The ceramic nanoparticles have a pattern of deep grooves formed on the nanoparticle surfaces. The bonding of the nanoparticles to the nanofibers is sufficient to retain the nanoparticles on the nanofiber surfaces when water flows through the water filtration membrane. The diameter of the nanofibers is 50-200 nm. The size of the nanoparticles is <40 nm, with a zeta potential of −40 to −45 mV in a dispersion medium. The nanoparticle deep grooves have an average size of approximately 1.2 nm or less.

Magnetic nanoparticle coated porous materials for recovering a contaminant from contaminated water are provided. In embodiments, such a material comprises a porous substrate having a solid matrix defining a plurality of pores distributed through the solid matrix and further comprising a coating comprising magnetic nanoparticles on surfaces of the solid matrix.

The process of reacting nanoscale ce-MoS.sub.2 nanosheets anchored on oxide support with lead in solution at room temperature whereby the reaction is rapid and spontaneous resulting in the formation of PbMoO.sub.4-xS.sub.x in the process of scavenging Pb.sup.2+ and Pb.sup.4+ present in the solution.

Fresh water contamination by heavy metals results from a variety of sources and can be damaging to wildlife, alter landscapes, and impact human health. metals removal form water sources is desirable for improving water quality and preventing adverse effects, but also for metals collection and recycling. Adsorption is a desirable metals extraction technique due to economic feasibility. Nanoscale materials exhibit high surface-area-to-volume ratio that lends to high adsorption and reactivity, making them ideal candidates for adsorptive metals extraction processes. Despite these properties, nanomaterials have elicited safety concerns. The extraordinarily small dimensions of these materials allow them to maneuver biological systems, tissues, and even cells, and combined with high reactivity, this translocation can result in toxic effects. It is therefore imperative that safety of nanomaterials for metals extraction be evaluated in addition to adsorptive properties. The current invention describes nanoparticles composed of magnetite, coated in hydroxyapatite, and functionalized for adsorption with titanium dioxide (TiHAMNPs). This material is safe, provides significant adsorption of metals, and allows efficient collection in magnetic systems.