Removal of iron from drinking water by electrocoagulation: Adsorption and kinetics studies

Harnessing plasma-generated reactive species for the synthesis of different phases of molybdenum oxide to study adsorption and photocatalytic activity

This study employs plasma-liquid interaction technique to synthesize different phases of molybdenum oxide using air and argon as plasma-forming gases. In situ plasma-generated nitrogen species primarily NO3-/NO2- and hydrogen species (H+) facilitate the reduction of the molybdenum precursor anion (Mo7O24-). The reduced Mo species subsequently reacts with reactive oxygen species, forming MoO6 octahedra, which is the building block of a molybdenum oxide crystal. Varied concentrations of NO3-/NO2- and H+ species in air and argon plasma treatment significantly influence the growth process. Air plasma synthesis yields hexagonal molybdenum oxide microrods, which upon calcination changes its phase to orthorhombic 2D layered structure. Moreover, the argon plasma synthesized sample exhibits a mixed phase of hexagonal and orthorhombic molybdenum oxide due to the heavy argon ion bombardment, inducing material porosity and surface oxygen vacancies. The mixed-phase material exhibits superior adsorption and photo-degradation towards cationic dye compared to the other two phases. The higher photocatalytic performance may be responsible for the extended lifetime of the photo-generated charge carriers possessed by the mixed-phase material. Radical scavenging tests have identified holes and hydroxyl radicals as the key reactive species that take part in the photo-degradation process.

Superior adsorption and removal of doxorubicin from aqueous solution using activated carbon via thermally treated green adsorbent: isothermal, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies

Activated carbon from apricot seeds (ASAC) was successfully made using a low-cost, straightforward synthesis process. With the use of various instruments, including XRD, XPS, FT-IR, SEM, and TEM, the adsorbent was demonstrated. The surface area of the ASAC that was given was also shown to be 436.8 m2/g. It was discovered that the synthesized ASAC has a fantastic capacity to absorb the anti-cancer medication doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX). Based on changes in temperature, pH, and DOX concentration, The DOX adsorption behaviour's mechanism was evaluated. The adsorption capacity of ASAC for DOX was greater at pH 6.0, according to experimental data as the adsorption capacity was discovered to be 951.13 mg/g. Adsorption equilibrium analysis revealed that, when compared to the other models, the Langmuir adsorption provided the best fit to the data that were collected. Additionally, The ASAC has validated the DOX activation energy of adsorption as a chemisorption technique. The kinetics of adsorption were shown to be fitted to pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The reaction was endothermic and spontaneous, according to thermodynamic data. Innvestigation the removal efficiency of ASAC to remove DOX from real watrer sample (tap water, effluent wastewater, and impact wastewater). It was suggested by the results that ASAC was a viable option for treating wastewater and adsorbing DOX. The synthesized ASAC has noteworthy cyclability and reusability characteristics due to its high efficiency (up to five cycles) and low cost (around 86 percent).

Amoxicillin removal from water by adsorption on activated carbon of mineral sources: discussion of experimental data, mechanisms and modeling

The use of antibiotics has increased considerably in the last decades in human medicine, as well as agriculture and animal production. Consequently, high loads of these emerging contaminants in the environment can increase antibiotic-resistant genes and the development of multi-resistant pathogenic microorganisms. This work aims to evaluate the removal of amoxicillin trihydrate in aqueous medium using mineral-activated carbon of bituminous origin as an adsorbent. The adsorbent was classified as microporous with associated mesopores, showing phenolic groups on its surface, which indicates the versatility of the adsorbent. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were predominantly chemical. Pseudo-second-order model, as well as LDF model adjusted to the kinetic data. Sips and Langmuir isotherms adjusted to the adsorption equilibrium data. The maximum adsorptive capacity obtained experimentally was 313.30 mg g-1 at 50°C. The thermodynamic properties suggested spontaneous, monolayer, and endothermic adsorption. Overall, compared to previous works, the adsorbent proved to be a viable and promising alternative for the removal of antibiotics from water, with high adsorption capacity of amoxicillin, without being necessary to perform any prior changes to the material.

Modification of natural zeolite clinoptilolite and ITS application in the adsorption of herbicides

The clinoptilolite natural zeolites (NZs) posses low herbicide adsorption capacity demanding acid-, alkali-, or salt chemical modifications that enhance its adsorption. However, this may affect the material structure and charge distribution. Alternatively, zeolites may be synthesized at a high cost and time-consuming process. Consequently, new methods, such as the hydrothermal method, for NZ modification needs to be studied. In this sense, a novel surface-modified zeolite (SMZ), using hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), in acid media was produced by the hydrothermal method and applied for the adsorption of Atrazine (ATZ), Diuron (DIU) and 2,4-D. Commercial NZ and SMZ were characterized by SEM, XRD, TGA, FT-IR, AA spectroscopy, pHPZC, Zeta potential and N2-physisorption. The SMZ chosen for the adsorption experiments was the one with the highest modification yield and adsorption capacity obtained from a complete design of experiments (CTAB=0.74 ; D=12 Mesh; HCl=0.1 M; t=6 h and T=205 ºC). The adsorption experiments revealed that the SMZ adsorption capacity for the herbicide 2,4-D (qmax=9.02 mg/g) was greater than that obtained for ATZ (qmax=2.11 mg/g) and DIU (qmax=1.85 mg/g), which was explained by the presence of the hydroxyl group and by geometric characteristics of the 2,4-D. Adsorption models' fitting showed that the adsorption of 2,4-D onto SMZ were best described by pseudo-second order kinetic (k2=0.005-0.006 g/mg.min; qe,exp=7.122-8.614 mg/g) and Langmuir isothermal model (KL=0.283-0.499 L/mg; qm=7.167-7.995 mg/g). These results indicate that the hydrothermal method is a viable alternative to enable the use of NZs for the adsorption of emerging contaminants from wastewater.

Intensification of thorium biosorption onto protonated orange peel using the response surface methodology

In this research work, intensifying the possibility of protonated orange peel to uptake thorium (IV) ions from aqueous solutions in a batch system was investigated and optimized using the response surface methodology. The effect of three independent process variables including thorium initial concentration, pH, and biosorbent dosage was assessed based on the central composite design. The validity of the quadratic model was verified by the coefficient of determination. The optimization results showed that the rate of thorium (IV) uptake under optimal conditions is 183.95 mg/g. The modeling results showed that the experimental data of thorium biosorption kinetics are fitted well by the pseudo-second-order model. According to the results, the biosorption process reached equilibrium after around 4 h of contact. The Langmuir isotherm describes the experimental biosorption equilibrium data well. The maximum absorption capacity of protonated orange peel for thorium adsorption was estimated by the Langmuir isotherm at 236.97 mg/g. Thermodynamic studies show that thorium adsorption on protonated orange peel is thermodynamically feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic.

Removal of phosphorus in wastewater by sinusoidal alternating current coagulation: performance and mechanism

The effects of initial total phosphorus (TP) concentration, current density, conductivity and initial pH value on the removal rate of TP and energy consumption, as well as the behaviour and mechanism of phosphorus removal, were investigated by sinusoidal alternating current coagulation (SACC). The flocs produced by SACC were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FTIR and X-ray photo electron spectroscopy. The thermodynamic and kinetic behaviours of phosphorus removal by iron sol adsorption were also studied in detail. In a self-made SACC reactor equipped with five sets of parallel iron electrodes spacing 10 mm, the removal rate of TP reached 90.9% for a pH 7.0 wastewater with 5 mg dm^-3 TP (κ = 800 μS cm^-1) after being treated for 60 min by applying 2.12 mA cm^-2 sinusoidal alternating current. Compared with direct current coagulation (DCC), SACC exhibits a higher removal efficiency of phosphorus due to the stronger adsorption of the produced flocs. It was found that the adsorption in the SACC process follows pseudo-second-order kinetic with the involvement of the intra-particle model. The adsorption of iron sol to phosphorus was an endothermic and spontaneous process, and its adsorption behaviour can be characterized with Langmuir and Redlich-Peterson isothermal adsorption models. SACC may be employed for the treatment of more complex wastewater combined with biological and/or electrochemical techniques.

Sustainable removal of cadmium from contaminated water using green alga - Optimization, characterization and modeling studies

This research study reported the feasibility of cadmium removal using green algae, Caulerpa scalpelliformis, under controlled environmental conditions. The algal biosorbent could effectively remove cadmium under broad range of test conditions, namely, initial pH (3-6), adsorbent mass (0.5-2.5 gL^-1) and shaking speed (60-100 rpm). The best operating conditions were identified using Central Composite Design under Response Surface methodology and found to be pH - 4.9, adsorbent mass - 2.1 gL^-1 and shaking speed - 90 rpm. Equilibrium studies were conducted and monolayer sorption was identified as the mechanism, confirmed by Langmuir isotherm (R² = 0.9920). The maximum Cd uptake achieved at optimal conditions was 111.11 mg g^-1. The kinetic constants of the best fit model (pseudo second order) were determined. The thermodynamic feasibility was verified (ΔG ^ͦ < 0) and the biosorption process was found to be endothermic (ΔH ^ͦ > 0). The mass transfer studies shows that the mass transfer coefficient was inversely related to the temperature. Presence of favorable surface functional groups and enhanced surface area confirmed the suitability of the synthesized biosorbent for effective removal of cadmium.

Scalable synthesis of monodisperse and recyclable sulphonated polystyrene microspheres for sustainable elimination of heavy metals in wastewater

Herein, we demonstrate a scalable method for fabricating monodisperse sulphonated polystyrene (SPS) microspheres with abundant sulphonic acid groups and excellent heavy metal removal ability. A comprehensive characterization through SEM, EDS, FT-IR, TG, XRD and XPS confirmed the formation of the SPS microspheres. Take advantage of the abundant sulphonic acid groups on the surface of microspheres, as well as the superior monodisperse properties, adsorption ability of SPS microspheres both in quantity and speed have been enhanced. The adsorption equilibrium obeyed the Langmuir isotherm model with the theoretical maximum capacities of 49.16, 15.38 and 13.89 mg·g-1 for Pb2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+, respectively (30°C, pH = 3.5). Besides, the adsorption equilibriums of Pb2+ onto SPS microspheres can be achieved within only 1 min and the adsorption kinetics can be fitted by a pseudo-second-order kinetics model. More importantly, because of the micron structure of the SPS microspheres, it could overcome the excessive hydrophilia brought by rich sulphonic acid groups and thereby easily separated, which maintain a good recyclable capacity after five regeneration cycles. With the excellent adsorption ability and reusability, SPS microspheres can efficiently handle the polluted water in a convenience and rapid process, which satisfies the sustainable pollution treatment in heavy metals elimination.

Role of carbon fiber electrodes and carbonate electrolytes in electrochemical phenol oxidation

In-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) requires an injection of oxidants into a contaminated site. However, the oxidants decompose and react with contaminants during transport to the contaminated region, which causes oxidant over-consumption. In-situ oxidant generation can solve this problem, and electrochemical methods can be applied to achieve this. Electrochemical oxidation is highly dependent on electrode material type. In this study, we evaluated graphite and carbon fiber as candidates for electrochemical oxidant generation and phenol as the model compound. The carbon fiber anode oxidized the phenol more effectively than graphite, with removal proportional to the applied current. Carbonate electrolytes were more effective at oxidizing phenols than sulfate electrolytes. The faster carbon fiber anode phenol oxidation is due to its large surface area. Carbonate radicals in the carbonate electrolyte contribute to phenol oxidation as well as further intermediate oxidation. The carbon fiber cathode was not an effective phenol oxidizer even though it generated more hydrogen peroxide. This is because there was no catalyst to transform the hydrogen peroxide into hydroxyl radicals. Results indicate that electrochemical oxidation using carbon fiber is an effective method for treating phenol found in groundwater with high concentrations of (bi)carbonate.

Decomposition of Bis(N-benzyl-salicydenaminato)zinc (II) Complex for the Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles to Fabricate ZnO-Chitosan Nanocomposite for the Removal of Iron (II) Ions from Wastewater

The whole world is faced with a huge challenge of the shortage of clean water due to industrialization and the intimidation of climate change. Poor water quality distresses many areas of human’s well-being. Although there are existing technologies for water treatments, many of these methods utilize toxic substances which create more problems into the environment. The preparation of bis(N-benzyl-salicydenaminato)zinc (II) complex and the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles via the thermal decomposition of zinc complex together with the fabrication of ZnO-chitosan nanocomposites for the removal of iron (II) ions from wastewater is reported. The optical properties of the synthesized nanoparticles showed band edges that are red-shifted in wavelengths when the decomposition temperature was increased. The XRD patterns displayed the hexagonal ZnO phase for the synthesized nanoparticles. TEM images revealed spherical-shaped particles which became agglomerated when the temperature was increased. The parameters such as pH, contact time, and initial concentration were investigated during the water treatment. The pH = 6 was found to be optimum, and the highest percentage removal was recovered after three hours for both adsorbents.

House hold unit for the treatment of fluoride, iron, arsenic and microorganism contaminated drinking water

A first of its kind hybrid electrocoagulation-filtration prototype unit was fabricated for the removal of fluoride, iron, arsenic and microorganisms contaminated drinking water. The unit comprised of 3 chambers, chamber A consisting of an inlet for the water to be treated and an outlet for the treated water along with one block of aluminum electrodes. Chamber B consisted of ceramic membrane filtration assembly at the bottom over a metallic support which filters the flocs so produced in chamber A and chamber C consisting of space to collect the treated water. Operating parameters were maintained as current density of 625 A m^-2 and an electrode distance of 0.005 m. Contaminated drinking water containing mixture of fluoride (10 mg L^-1), iron (25 mg L^-1), arsenic (200 μg L^-1) and microorganisms (35 CFU ml^-1) was used for the experiment. A removal of 98.74%, 95.65%, 93.2% and 100% were obtained for iron, arsenic, fluoride and microorganisms, respectively. The apparatus and method made it possible to efficiently treat contaminated drinking water to produce drinkable water as per WHO specification. By-products obtained from the electrocoagulation bath were analyzed using SEM, EDX and XRD and explained.

Electrocoagulation for the treatment of textile industry effluent--a review

Various techniques such as physical, chemical, biological, advanced oxidation and electrochemical are used for the treatment of industrial effluent. The commonly used conventional biological treatment processes are time consuming, need large operational area and are not effective for effluent containing toxic elements. Advanced oxidation techniques result in high treatment cost and are generally used to obtain high purity grade water. The chemical coagulation technique is slow and generates large amount of sludge. Electrocoagulation has recently attracted attention as a potential technique for treating industrial effluent due to its versatility and environmental compatibility. This technique uses direct current source between metal electrodes immersed in the effluent, which causes the dissolution of electrode plates into the effluent. The metal ions, at an appropriate pH, can form wide range of coagulated species and metal hydroxides that destabilize and aggregate particles or precipitate and adsorb the dissolved contaminants. Therefore, the objective of the present manuscript is to review the potential of electrocoagulation for the treatment of industrial effluents, mainly removal of dyes from textile effluent.

Recovery of hydrogen and removal of nitrate from water by electrocoagulation process

The present study provides an optimization of electrocoagulation process for the recovery of hydrogen and removal of nitrate from water. In doing so, the thermodynamic, adsorption isotherm, and kinetic studies were also carried out. Aluminum alloy of size 2 dm(2) was used as anode and as cathode. To optimize the maximum removal efficiency, different parameters like effect of initial concentration, effect of temperature, pH, and effect of current density were studied. The results show that a significant amount of hydrogen can be generated by this process during the removal of nitrate from water. The energy yield calculated from the hydrogen generated is 3.3778 kWh/m(3). The results also showed that the maximum removal efficiency of 95.9% was achieved at a current density of 0.25 A/dm(2), at a pH of 7.0. The adsorption process followed second-order kinetics model. The adsorption of NO3(-) preferably fitting the Langmuir adsorption isotherm suggests monolayer coverage of adsorbed molecules. Thermodynamic studies showed that adsorption was exothermic and spontaneous in nature. The energy yield of generated hydrogen was ~54% of the electrical energy demand of the electrocoagulation process. With the reduction of the net energy demand, electrocoagulation may become a useful technology to treat water associated with power production. The aluminum hydroxide generated in the cell removes the nitrate present in the water and reduced it to a permissible level making the water drinkable.