Coagulation/flocculation process for dye removal using sludge from water treatment plant: optimization through response surface methodology

Positively charged microporous ceramic membrane for the removal of Titan Yellow through electrostatic adsorption

To develop a depth filter based on the electrostatic adsorption principle, positively charged microporous ceramic membrane was prepared from a diatomaceous earth ceramic membrane. The internal surface of the highly porous ceramic membrane was coated with uniformly distributed electropositive nano-Y2O3 coating. The dye removal performance was evaluated through pressurized filtration tests using Titan Yellow aqueous solution. It showed that positively charged microporous ceramic membrane exhibited a flow rate of 421L/(m(2)·hr) under the trans-membrane pressure of 0.03bar. Moreover it could effectively remove Titan Yellow with feed concentration of 10mg/L between pH3 to 8. The removal rate increased with the enhancement of the surface charge properties with a maximum rejection of 99.6%. This study provides a new and feasible method of removing organic dyes in wastewater. It is convinced that there will be a broad market for the application of charged ceramic membrane in the field of dye removal or recovery from industry wastewater.

Catalytic thermolysis in treating Cibacron Blue in aqueous solution: Kinetics and degradation pathway

A thermal degradation pathway of the decolourisation of Reactive Cibacron Blue F3GA (RCB) in aqueous solution through catalytic thermolysis is established. Catalytic thermolysis is suitable for the removal of dyes from wastewater as it breaks down the complex dye molecules instead of only transferring them into another phase. RCB is a reactive dye that consists of three main groups, namely anthraquinone, benzene and triazine groups. Through catalytic thermolysis, the bonds that hold the three groups together were effectively broken and at the same time, the complex molecules degraded to form simple molecules of lower molecular weight. The degradation pathway and products were characterized and determined through UV-Vis, FT-IR and GCMS analysis. RCB dye molecule was successfully broken down into simpler molecules, namely, benzene derivatives, amines and triazine. The addition of copper sulphate, CuSO4, as a catalyst, hastens the thermal degradation of RCB by aiding in the breakdown of large, complex molecules. At pH 2 and catalyst mass loading of 5 g/L, an optimum colour removal of 66.14% was observed. The degradation rate of RCB is well explained by first order kinetics model.

A new functionalized magnetic nanocomposite of poly(methylacrylate) for the efficient removal of anionic dyes from aqueous media

A magnetic nano-adsorbent was synthesized via the radical polymerization of methyl acrylate on modified Fe₃O₄ MNPs, followed by amidation of the methyl ester groups using pentaethylenehexamine, to create active sites for adsorption of anionic dyes.

Removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution by Artist's Bracket fungi: kinetic and equilibrium studies

In this study, adsorption of methylene blue (MB) dye onto Artist's Bracket (AB) fungi was investigated in aqueous solution. Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate surface characteristic of AB fungi. Influence of operational parameters such as pH, contact time, biosorbent dosage, dye concentration, inorganic salts and temperature was studied on dye removal efficiency. With the increase of pH from 3 to 9, removal efficiency increased from 74.0% to 90.4%. Also, it reduced from 99.8% to 81.8% with increasing initial MB concentration from 25 mg L(-1) to 100 mg L(-1), whereas it increased from 54.7% to 98.7% and from 98.5% to 99.9% with increasing biosorbent dosage from 0.5 g L(-1) to 2 g L(-1) and with increasing temperature from 25 °C to 50 °C, respectively. Isotherm studies have shown adsorption of MB dye over the AB fungi had a better coefficient of determination (R(2)) of 0.98 for Langmuir isotherm. In addition, the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity (qm) was 100 mg g(-1). Also, the MB dye adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetic. In general, AB fungi particles can be favorable for removal of MB dye from dye aqueous solution with natural pH and high temperature.

Using mixture design of experiments to assess the environmental impact of clay-based structural ceramics containing foundry wastes

This work describes the leaching behavior of potentially hazardous metals from three different clay-based industrial ceramic products (wall bricks, roof tiles, and face bricks) containing foundry sand dust and Waelz slag as alternative raw materials. For each product, ten mixtures were defined by mixture design of experiments and the leaching of As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, and Zn was evaluated in pressed specimens fired simulating the three industrial ceramic processes. The results showed that, despite the chemical, mineralogical and processing differences, only chrome and molybdenum were not fully immobilized during ceramic processing. Their leaching was modeled as polynomial equations, functions of the raw materials contents, and plotted as response surfaces. This brought to evidence that Cr and Mo leaching from the fired products is not only dependent on the corresponding contents and the basicity of the initial mixtures, but is also clearly related with the mineralogical composition of the fired products, namely the amount of the glassy phase, which depends on both the major oxides contents and the firing temperature.

Impact of pulsed ultrasound on bacteria reduction of natural waters

There is a limited work on the use of pulsed ultrasound for water disinfection particularly the case of natural water. Hence, pulsed ultrasound disinfection of natural water was thoroughly investigated in this study along with continuous ultrasound as a standard for comparison. Total coliform measurements were applied to evaluate treatment efficiency. Factorial design of 2(3) for the tested experimental factors such as power, treatment time and operational mode was applied. Two levels of power with 40% and 70% amplitudes, treatment time of 5 and 15 min and operational modes of continuous and pulsed with On to Off ratio (R) of 0.1:0.6 s were investigated. Results showed that increasing power and treatment time or both increases total coliform reduction, whereas switching from continuous to pulsed mode in combination with power and treatment time has negative effect on total coliform reduction. A regression model for predicting total coliform reduction under different operating conditions was developed and validated. Energy and cost analyses applying electrical and calorimetric powers were conducted to serve as selection guidelines for the choosing optimum parameters of ultrasound disinfection. The outcome of these analyses indicated that low power level, short treatment time, and high R ratios are the most effective operating parameters.

Modeling and optimization of the flocculation processes for removal of cationic and anionic dyes from water by an amphoteric grafting chitosan-based flocculant using response surface methodology

In this study, an amphoteric grafting chitosan-based flocculant (carboxymethyl chitosan-graft-poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride, denoted as CMC-g-PDMC) was applied to removal of the anionic and cationic dyes, acid Green 25 (AG25) and Basic Bright Yellow (7GL), from water. Flocculation conditions have been optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) on the basis of central composite design (CCD) using flocculant dosage, initial solution pH and temperature as input variables. The second-order and cubic regression models, which have been both tested by the analysis of variance (ANOVA), were constructed to link the output response (the dye removal factor) with the aforementioned input variables, respectively. The second-order regression model well described the process of AG25 removal, whereas the cubic one is more suitable for that of 7GL. The effects of those variables on the flocculation performance of CMC-g-PDMC for removal of the two dyes containing opposite charges from aqueous solutions have been studied, and the flocculation mechanisms including the interactive effects between various influencing factors have been discussed in detail also.

Optimization of nanoparticles for cardiovascular tissue engineering

Nano-particulate delivery systems have increasingly been playing important roles in cardiovascular tissue engineering. Properties of nanoparticles (e.g. size, polydispersity, loading capacity, zeta potential, morphology) are essential to system functions. Notably, these characteristics are regulated by fabrication variables, but in a complicated manner. This raises a great need to optimize fabrication process variables to ensure the desired nanoparticle characteristics. This paper presents a comprehensive experimental study on this matter, along with a novel method, the so-called Geno-Neural approach, to analyze, predict and optimize fabrication variables for desired nanoparticle characteristics. Specifically, ovalbumin was used as a protein model of growth factors used in cardiovascular tissue regeneration, and six fabrication variables were examined with regard to their influence on the characteristics of nanoparticles made from high molecular weight poly(lactide-co-glycolide). The six-factor five-level central composite rotatable design was applied to the conduction of experiments, and based on the experimental results, a geno-neural model was developed to determine the optimum fabrication conditions. For desired particle sizes of 150, 200, 250 and 300 nm, respectively, the optimum conditions to achieve the low polydispersity index, higher negative zeta potential and higher loading capacity were identified based on the developed geno-neural model and then evaluated experimentally. The experimental results revealed that the polymer and the external aqueous phase concentrations and their interactions with other fabrication variables were the most significant variables to affect the size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, loading capacity and initial burst release of the nanoparticles, while the electron microscopy images of the nanoparticles showed their spherical geometries with no sign of large pores or cracks on their surfaces. The release study revealed that the onset of the third phase of release can be affected by the polymer concentration. Circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that ovalbumin structural integrity is preserved during the encapsulation process. Findings from this study would greatly contribute to the design of high molecular weight poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles for prolonged release patterns in cardiovascular engineering.

Removal of dyes and heavy metal ions from water by magnetic hydrogel beads based on poly(vinyl alcohol)/carboxymethyl starch-g-poly(vinyl imidazole)

Highly porous magnetic nanocomposite hydrogel (m-CVP) beads were prepared and used for the removal of dyes and heavy metal ions.

Novel tunable composites based on bentonite and modified tragacanth gum for removal of acid dyes from aqueous solutions

A series of new adsorbents derived from tragacanth gum-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) and bentonite (TG-g-PMMA/B) were synthesized.

Enhancement of azo dye Acid Orange 7 removal in newly developed horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetland

Horizontal subsurface-flow (HSF) constructed wetland incorporating baffles was developed to facilitate upflow and downflow conditions so that the treatment of pollutants could be achieved under multiple aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic conditions sequentially in the same wetland bed. The performances of the baffled and conventional HSF constructed wetlands, planted and unplanted, in the removal of azo dye Acid Orange 7 (AO7) were compared at the hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 5, 3 and 2 days when treating domestic wastewater spiked with AO7 concentration of 300 mg/L. The planted baffled unit was found to achieve 100%, 83% and 69% AO7 removal against 73%, 46% and 30% for the conventional unit at HRT of 5, 3 and 2 days, respectively. Longer flow path provided by baffled wetland units allowed more contact of the wastewater with the rhizomes, microbes and micro-aerobic zones resulting in relatively higher oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and enhanced performance as kinetic studies revealed faster AO7 biodegradation rate under aerobic condition. In addition, complete mineralization of AO7 was achieved in planted baffled wetland unit due to the availability of a combination of aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic conditions.

Coagulant recovery from water treatment plant sludge and reuse in post-treatment of UASB reactor effluent treating municipal wastewater

In the present study, feasibility of recovering the coagulant from water treatment plant sludge with sulphuric acid and reusing it in post-treatment of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor effluent treating municipal wastewater were studied. The optimum conditions for coagulant recovery from water treatment plant sludge were investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Sludge obtained from plants that use polyaluminium chloride (PACl) and alum coagulant was utilised for the study. Effect of three variables, pH, solid content and mixing time was studied using a Box-Behnken statistical experimental design. RSM model was developed based on the experimental aluminium recovery, and the response plots were developed. Results of the study showed significant effects of all the three variables and their interactions in the recovery process. The optimum aluminium recovery of 73.26 and 62.73 % from PACl sludge and alum sludge, respectively, was obtained at pH of 2.0, solid content of 0.5 % and mixing time of 30 min. The recovered coagulant solution had elevated concentrations of certain metals and chemical oxygen demand (COD) which raised concern about its reuse potential in water treatment. Hence, the coagulant recovered from PACl sludge was reused as coagulant for post-treatment of UASB reactor effluent treating municipal wastewater. The recovered coagulant gave 71 % COD, 80 % turbidity, 89 % phosphate, 77 % suspended solids and 99.5 % total coliform removal at 25 mg Al/L. Fresh PACl also gave similar performance but at higher dose of 40 mg Al/L. The results suggest that coagulant can be recovered from water treatment plant sludge and can be used to treat UASB reactor effluent treating municipal wastewater which can reduce the consumption of fresh coagulant in wastewater treatment.

Evaluation of a novel chitosan-based flocculant with high flocculation performance, low toxicity and good floc properties

In this work, a novel chitosan-based flocculant, carboxymethyl chitosan-graft-poly[(2-methacryloyloxyethyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride] (CMC-g-PDMC), was designed and prepared successfully. Flocculation performance of CMC-g-PDMC was systematically evaluated using kaolin suspension, humic acid (HA) solution and kaolin-HA mixed suspension as synthetic wastewater under acidic, neutral and alkaline conditions, respectively. The experimental results demonstrated that CMC-g-PDMC exhibited lower optimal dosage, higher contaminant removal efficiency, wider applicable pH range, lower effluent toxicity and better floc properties for handling and disposal, in comparison with polyaluminum chloride. The high flocculation performance of CMC-g-PDMC was ascribed to two structural advantages of improved both positive charges and molecular weight. In addition, flocs characteristics including flocs formation, breakage, regrowth and fractal structure, were studied by an in-situ light scattering system during the flocculation process. Detailed analysis clearly illuminated the differences and relationship among floc size, fractal dimension and floc strength. Based on analysis of floc properties in combination with zeta potential measurements, flocculation mechanisms in different synthetic wastewater at various pHs were deeply discussed: charge neutralization or patching played the key role under different conditions, and the relationship between flocculation mechanisms and floc properties has been built. The effective and environment-friendly flocculant bear significant application potentials in water treatment fields.

Flocculation of Escherichia coli using a quaternary ammonium salt grafted carboxymethyl chitosan flocculant

Only few studies are available on bacteria removal efficiencies and antibacterial properties of flocculants, which is one of the important requirements in water treatment work. Escherichia coli (E. coli) was selected as an example of a Gram-negative bacteria for testing the flocculating properties of a quaternary ammonium salt grafted chitosan (carboxymethyl chitosan-graft-poly[(2-methacryloyloxyethyl) trimethylammonium chloride] copolymer; i.e., CMC-g-PDMC). The effect of various flocculation parameters, including flocculant dosage, initial bacterial density, nutrient medium content, and pH were successively investigated. The experimental results indicated that, besides flocculation effects, CMC-g-PDMC also exhibited a bactericidal effect (not requiring additional treatment facilities). Moreover, the flocculation mechanisms were investigated via zeta potential measurements, floc observation, and three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix spectra analysis. Apart from its flocculating and settling effect, this chitosan-based material has bactericidal action through the breaking of bacterial cell walls by grafted quaternary ammonium salt.

Removal of reactive blue 19 from aqueous solution by pomegranate residual-based activated carbon: optimization by response surface methodology

BACKGROUND

In this research, response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize Reactive Blue 19 removal by activated carbon from pomegranate residual. A 24 full factorial central composite design (CCD) was applied to evaluate the effects of initial pH, adsorbent dose, initial dye concentration, and contact time on the dye removal efficiency.

METHODOLOGY

The activated carbon prepared by 50 wt.% phosphoric acid activation under air condition at 500°C. The range of pH and initial dye concentration were selected in a way that considered a wide range of those variables. Furthermore, the range of contact time and adsorbent dose were determined based on initial tests. Levels of selected variables and 31 experiments were determined. MiniTab (version 16.1) was used for the regression and graphical analyses of the data obtained.

RESULTS

It was found that the decrease of initial dye concentration and the increase of initial pH, adsorbent dose, and contact time are beneficial for improving the dye removal efficiency. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) results presented high R2 value of 99.17% for Reactive Blue 19 dye removal, which indicates the accuracy of the polynomial model is acceptable.

CONCLUSIONS

Initial pH of 11, adsorbent dose of 1.025 g/L, initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L, and contact time of 6.8 minutes found to be the optimum conditions. Dye removal efficiency of 98.7% was observed experimentally at optimum point which confirmed close to model predicted (98.1%) result.

UV-Initiated polymerization of cationic polyacrylamide: synthesis, characterization, and sludge dewatering performance

P(AM-DAC-BA) was synthesized through copolymerization of acrylamide (AM), acryloyloxyethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DAC), and butylacrylate (BA) under ultraviolet (UV) initiation using response surface methodology (RSM). The influences of light intensity, illumination time, and photoinitiator concentration on the intrinsic viscosity [η] of P(AM-DAC-BA) were investigated. RSM model based on the influencing data was established for optimizing synthetic conditions. It was found that, at light intensity 1491.67 μw·cm⁻², illumination time 117.89 min, and photoinitiator concentration 0.60‰, there was a better material performance achieved. Thus P(AM-DAC-BA) prepared under the above conditions showed excellent dewatering performance that, with 40 mg·L⁻¹ P(AM-DAC-BA) at pH 7, the residual turbidity of supernatant and the dry solid content were up to 38 NTU, 28.5%, respectively.

Dye adsorbed on copolymer, possible specific sorbent for metal ions removal

The efficiency of styrene-divinylbenzene functionalized with trimethylamonium groups as sorbent for the direct dye removal from aqueous solutions was investigated.

Removal of anionic azo dyes from aqueous solution by functional ionic liquid cross-linked polymer

A novel functional ionic liquid based cross-linked polymer (PDVB-IL) was synthesized from 1-aminoethyl-3-vinylimidazolium chloride and divinylbenzene for use as an adsorbent. The physicochemical properties of PDVB-IL were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The adsorptive capacity was investigated using anionic azo dyes of orange II, sunset yellow FCF, and amaranth as adsorbates. The maximum adsorption capacity could reach 925.09, 734.62, and 547.17 mg/g for orange II, sunset yellow FCF and amaranth at 25°C, respectively, which are much better than most of the other adsorbents reported earlier. The effect of pH value was investigated in the range of 1-8. The result shows that a low pH value is found to favor the adsorption of those anionic azo dyes. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms are well fitted by a pseudo second-order model and Langmuir model, respectively. The adsorption process is found to be dominated by physisorption. The introduction of functional ionic liquid moieties into cross-linked poly(divinylbenzene) polymer constitutes a new and efficient kind of adsorbent.

Flocculation of both anionic and cationic dyes in aqueous solutions by the amphoteric grafting flocculant carboxymethyl chitosan-graft-polyacrylamide

In the current work, a series of amphoteric grafting chitosan-based flocculants (carboxymethyl chitosan-graft-polyacrylamide, denoted as CMC-g-PAM) was designed and prepared successfully. The flocculants were applied to eliminate various dyes from aqueous solutions. Among different graft copolymers, CMC-g-PAM11 with a PAM grafting ratio of 74% demonstrated the most efficient performance for removal of both the anionic dye (Methyl Orange, MO) and the cationic dye (Basic Bright Yellow, 7GL) under the corresponding favored conditions (80 mg/L of the flocculant at pH 4.0, and 160 mg/L at pH 11.0). In comparison with its precursors, chitosan and carboxymethyl chitosan, CMC-g-PAM11 showed higher removal efficiencies and wider flocculation windows. More importantly, the graft copolymer produced notably more compacted flocs based on image analysis in combination with fractal theory, which was of great significance in practical water treatment. Furthermore, the flocculation mechanism was discussed in detail. The grafted polyacrylamide chains were found to contribute much to the improved bridging and sweeping flocculation effects, but reduced charge neutralization flocculation for the effect of charge screening.

Flocculation performance and mechanism of graphene oxide for removal of various contaminants from water

The application of nanomaterials in water treatment plants has attracted significant attention recently. This study investigates the possibility of using graphene oxide (GO) as a novel flocculant to remove contaminants with different surface charges from water, including two particulate ones (kaolin and hematite) and two soluble ones (humic acid (HA) and cationic light yellow 7GL dye (7GL)). The flocculation performances of traditional polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and original graphite were also tested for comparison. Fractal theory was applied to evaluate the floc properties and explore the flocculation mechanism in combination with zeta potential measurements. For negatively charged contaminants, kaolin and HA, GO was observed to remove these contaminants successfully via the sweeping flocculation effect under acidic and neutral conditions. However, GO was less efficient than PAC. For positively charged contaminants, hematite and 7GL, the flocculation performances of GO were significantly improved than those of PAC via patching effect for hematite suspension and charge neutralization effect for 7GL solution. The results highlighted the extensive potential applicability of GO as a suitable flocculant in water treatment.