Adsorption of chlorinated organic compounds from water with cerium oxide-activated carbon composite

Performance evaluation of phosphonium based deep eutectic solvents coated cerium oxide nanoparticles for CO2 capture

The critical challenge being faced by our current modern society on a global scale is to reduce the surging effects of climate change and global warming, being caused by anthropogenic emissions of CO₂ in the environment. Present study reports the surface driven adsorption potential of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) surface functionalized cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeNPs) for low pressure CO₂ separation. The phosphonium based DESs were prepared using tetra butyl phosphoniumbromide as hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) and 6 acids as hydrogen bond donors (HBDs). The as-developed DESs were characterized and employed for the surface functionalization of CeNPs with their subsequent utilization in adsorption-based CO₂ adsorption. The synthesis of as-prepared DESs was confirmed through FTIR measurements and absence of precipitates, revealed through visual observations. It was found that DES6 surface functionalized CeNPs demonstrated 27% higher adsorption performance for CO₂ capturing. On the contrary, DES3 coated CeNPs exhibited the least adsorption progress for CO₂ separation. The higher adsorption performance associated with DES6 coated CeNPs was due to enhanced surface affinity with CO₂ molecules that must have facilitated the mass transport characteristics and resulted an enhancement in CO₂ adsorption performance. Carboxylic groups could have generated an electric field inside the pores to attract more polarizable adsorbates including CO₂, are responsible for the relatively high values of CO2 adsorption. The quadruple movement of the CO₂ molecules with the electron-deficient and pluralizable nature led to the enhancement of the interactive forces between the CO₂ molecules and the CeNPs decorated with the carboxylic group hydrogen bond donor rich DES. The current findings may disclose the new research horizons and theoretical guidance for reduction in the environmental effects associated with uncontrolled CO₂ emission via employing DES surface coated potential CeNPs.

Adsorption of 1,2-Dichlorobenzene from the Aqueous Phase onto Activated Carbons and Modified Carbon Nanotubes

This study aimed to describe the adsorption process of ortho-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB) onto activated carbons (ACs) and modified carbon nanotubes (CNTs) from the aqueous phase. The starting material NC_7000 carbon nanotubes were modified by chlorination (NC_C) and then by the introduction of hydroxyl groups (NC_C_B). The concentration of o-DCB in solutions was performed by UV-VIS spectrophotometry. After adsorption, the activated carbons were regenerated by extraction with organic solvents such as acetone, methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol; the carbon nanotubes were regenerated by methanol. The degree of adsorbate recovery was determined by gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection, using ethylbenzene as an internal standard. The equilibrium isotherm data of adsorption were satisfactorily fitted by the Langmuir equations. The results indicate that carbon adsorbents are effective porous materials for removing o-DCB from the aqueous phase. Additionally, activated carbons are more regenerative adsorbents than carbon nanotubes. The recoveries of o-DCB from ACs were in the range of 76–85%, whereas the recoveries from CNTs were in the range of 23–46%. Modifications of CNTs affect the improvement of their adsorption properties towards o-DCB compared to unmodified CNTs. However, the introduction of new functional groups on carbon nanotube surfaces makes the regeneration process less effective.

Water Purification of Classical and Emerging Organic Pollutants: An Extensive Review

The main techniques used for organic pollutant removal from water are adsorption, reductive and oxidative processes, phytoremediation, bioremediation, separation by membranes and liquid–liquid extraction. In this review, strengths and weaknesses of the different purification techniques are discussed, with particular attention to the newest results published in the scientific literature. This study highlighted that adsorption is the most frequently used method for water purification, since it can balance high organic pollutants removal efficiency, it has the possibility to treat a large quantity of water in semi-continuous way and has acceptable costs.

Removal of metallic trace elements (Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, and Ni2+) from aqueous solution by adsorption onto cerium oxide modified activated carbon

The equilibrium and kinetic studies of removal of Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Cu²⁺ metal ions were carried out using activated carbon prepared from palm kernel shell and doped with CeO₂ (Ce/AC). The obtained material carbon was characterized by XRD which showed some crystalline traces of CeO₂, SEM displaying the porous texture with spherical pores and the determination of pH of point of zero charge (pH_PZC) which was found to be equal to 6. The contact time and adsorbate were thoroughly investigated. The maximum adsorption depends inversely on the hydrated metal radius. This observation was confirmed by calculating the formation energies (ΔH_(M(OH)2)) of M(OH)₂. The metal ionic radii were acting on calculated sorption capacity and that sorption efficiency related to ionic radii of metal was as follows: R_(Ni2+) ≤ R_(Cd2+) < R_(Cu2+) < R_(Pb2+). The texture and morphology of the material after sorption were affected by the metallic ion nature as observed by SEM. The kinetic studies showed that the rate constant (k₂) of pseudo-second-order model decreased with the increase of the hydrated cations radii, while the rate constant of intraparticle diffusion increased with the increase of the ionic radii. The Freundlich isotherm model best fit the experimental sorption data for all the metallic ions.

Morphological effect of dichloromethane on alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivated in soil amended with fertilizer manures

In this work, we investigated the morphological effect of dichloromethane (DCM) on alfalfa (Medicago sativa) plant. We studied in vitro the influence of its concentration on alfalfa germination. The plants were placed in pots for 15 weeks, and exposed to increasing concentrations of DCM (50 µg L^-1 and 84 mg L^-1). In addition, we examined the effect of two manures (cow and sheep), which were applied to a contaminated soil, on alfalfa plant growth. The effect of the presence of dichloromethane is obvious even in plant-soil manure system. In fact, in the event of contamination, the soil-cow manure mixture represents the best setting medium for the Alfalfa plant compared to other environments, regardless of the contamination level. Indeed, the presence of two types of manure does not allow the suppression of the inhibitory effect of dichloromethane on the mass of the dry matter of the aerial part which is 18.38% for the cow manure-amended soil and 13.96% for the sheep manure-amended soil.

Transformation of tetrachloroethylene in a flow-through electrochemical reactor

Electrochemical transformation of harmful tetrachloroethylene (PCE) is evaluated as a method for management of groundwater plumes to protect the drinking water resource, its consumers and the environment. In contrast to previous work that reported transformation of trichloroethylene, a byproduct of PCE, this work focuses on transformation of PCE in a saturated porous matrix and the influence of design parameters on the removal performance. Design parameters investigated were electrode configuration, catalyst load, electrode spacing, current intensity, orientation of reactor and flow through a porous matrix. A removal of 86% was reached in the fully liquid-filled, horizontally oriented reactor at a current of 120 mA across a cathode → bipolar electrode → anode arrangement with a Darcy velocity of 0.03 cm/min (150 m/yr). The palladium load on the cathode significantly influenced the removal. Enhanced removal was observed with increased electrode spacing. Presence of an inert porous matrix improved PCE removal by 9%-point compared to a completely liquid-filled reactor. Normalization of the data indicated, that a higher charge transfer per contaminant mass is required for removal of low PCE concentrations. No chlorinated intermediates were formed. The results suggest, that PCE can be electrochemically transformed in reactor designs replicating that of a potential field-implementation. Further work is required to better understand the reduction and oxidation processes established and the parameters influencing such. This knowledge is essential for optimization towards testing in complex conditions and variations of contaminated sites.

Kinetic and thermodynamic studies on partitioning of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) between aqueous solution and modeled individual soil particle grain sizes

The significance of soil mineral properties and secondary environmental conditions such as pH, temperature, ionic strength and time in the partitioning of eight selected polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners between aqueous solution and soil particles with different grain sizes was studied. The mineral properties of a model soil sample were determined, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption-desorption isotherms were employed to observe the surface characteristics of the individual modeled soil particles. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to determine the sorption of PCBs onto soil particles of different sizes. The results revealed that the sorption of PCB congeners onto the soil was dependent on the amount of soil organic matter, surface area, and pore size distribution of the various individual soil particles. Low pH favored the sorption of PCBs, with maximum sorption occurring between pH6.5 and 7.5 with an equilibration period of 8hr. Changes in the ionic strength were found to be less significant. Low temperature favored the sorption of PCBs onto the soil compared to high temperatures. Thermodynamic studies showed that the partition coefficient (K_d) decreased with increasing temperature, and negative and low values of ΔH° indicated an exothermic physisorption process. The data generated is critical and will help in further understanding remediation and cleanup strategies for polluted water.