Removal of chromate from water by a new CTAB-silica gelatin composite

Effective chromium removal of metal anchored alginate-chitosan binary bio-composites

Water is the most essential resource for the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem. Any change in the quality of this water may cause adverse impact on the ecosystem. Hexavalent chromium is one such important pollutant that gets exposed in the water mainly through anthropogenic processes. Adsorption is considered to be an effective, economic and easiest method for remediation of such pollutants. Amongst the innumerable adsorbents available, biopolymers fetch the interest due to its cost effectiveness, efficiency and biocompatibility. But, the mechanical strength and workability of such biopolymers makes it unfit to use as an adsorbent. To improve these drawbacks, synthesis of biopolymeric composites become the need of the hour. So, an attempt was made here to synthesize metal cross-linked binary bio-composites using Alginate and Chitosan polymer matrix. Synthesized bio-composites were characterised with the aid of FTIR, XPS, Thermal analysis, SEM with EDAX and subjected for hexavalent chromium removal from water. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with 95 % confidence intervals was used to assess the significance of independent variables and their interactions. Adsorption studies were done using batch process and to achieve greater sorption, various influencing parameters were optimized one by one. While investigating one parameter, other parameters were kept unaltered. Optimization was done for the parameters like contact time, dosage of the adsorbent, pH of the medium and presence of co-ions. Contact time and dosage for all the composites was 30 mins and 0.1 g respectively. Amongst the composites, Zirconium loaded binary composite possess high sorption capacity of around 14.8 mg/g. While Calcium and Iron loaded composites exhibit sorption capacity of around 9.8 mg/g and 10.4 mg/g respectively. Presence of other co-ions in the medium doesn't affect the sorption process. Isothermal studies infer the adsorption follows Langmuir model and thermodynamic parameters concludes the endothermic and randomness of the adsorption. The bio-composites can be recycled and used upto three cycles. Field trial was conducted and the composites work well in such conditions.

Novel cationic surfactants: synthesis, surface, antimicrobial studies and applicability as an extracting agent for interested element from monazite mineral concentrate

Two novel cationic surfactants based on palmitic acid were prepared to extract uranium from its fluids. The chemical structures of the surfactants prepared were confirmed spectroscopically. The surface activity of these surfactants was evaluated by measuring their surface tension. The cationic surfactants prepared were also tested for their biological activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Subsequently, an attempt was made to use these surfactants to remove uranium from the hydrous oxide cake produced after the alkaline degradation of monazite mineral concentrate. To achieve this goal, several experiments were conducted to determine the optimal conditions for uranium extraction and stripping. Under these optimal conditions, the experimental capacity fitted the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Under the investigated optimal stripping factors of 1 M NaCl, acidified with 0.2 M conc. H2SO4, an A:O ratio of 1:1 and a contact time of 15 min, an uranium stripping efficiency of 83% was obtained for the case study. After the complete stripping process, the marketable uranium concentrate was percipitated using hydrogen peroxide as UO4 H2O with an uranium content of approximately 76%, which was chemically determined and confirmed by EDAX analysis.

Feasibility of magnetic nano adsorbent impregnated with activated carbon from animal bone waste: Application for the chromium (VI) removal

Chromium is the heavy metal which existing in the effluents cause extensive discomfort to the environmental components. Bone waste is widely generated in food processing industries and restaurants. It is now used by switching into activated carbon. By co-precipitation procedure, the activated carbon is coated with a nano adsorbent. The Fe₃O₄-BAC adsorbent potential was established in this study via several batch tests. The adsorbing adverts had super magnetic behavior, and the magnetization value was 22 emu/g. The SEM imaging of the Fe₃O₄-BAC shows an improved morphology of 100-446 nm, and the nanoparticles were monodispersed. The present investigation also delves into the study of system parameters on the removal of metal ions. Optimal adsorption has been found at the acidic pH at the contact time of 60min for the adsorbent amount of 5 g/L. Maximum capacity of adsorption by nano adsorbent was 27.86 mg/g. Thermodynamic and isotherm tests have established the process viability. In addition, the kinetic studies establish the inclination of the studied Fe₃O₄-BAC towards pseudo-first order models. Hence, Fe₃O₄-BAC could be potential adsorbent to remove chromium from an aqueous solution.

Preparation of Porous Hydroxyapatite Using Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide as Surfactant for the Removal of Lead Ions from Aquatic Solutions

In the present study, a new low-cost bioceramic nanocomposite based on porous hydroxyapatite (HAp) and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant was successfully obtained by a simple chemical co-precipitation. The composition and structure of the HAp-CTAB were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer, and N2 adsorption/desorption analysis. The capacity of HAp-CTAB nanocomposites to remove the lead ions from aqueous solutions was studied by adsorption batch experiments and proved by Langmuir and Freundlich models. The Pb2+ removal efficiency of HAp-CTAB biocomposite was also confirmed by non-destructive ultrasound studies. The cytotoxicity assays showed that the HAp-CTAB nanocomposites did not induce any significant morphological changes of HeLa cells after 24 h of incubation or other toxic effects. Taken together, our results suggests that the obtained porous HAp-CTAB powder could be used for the decontamination of water polluted with heavy metals, such as Pb2+.

Facile synthesis of Zr4+ incorporated chitosan/gelatin composite for the sequestration of Chromium(VI) and fluoride from water

The development of industrialization and agricultural activities have carried various negative impacts to living organisms in recent decades and also, the frequent problem of inorganic pollution have been environmental anxiety to the community. Among these, Cr⁶⁺ and F^- are priority poisonous pollutants from many industries. In this work, we present a low-cost synthesis procedure to obtain biocompatible zirconium incorporated chitosan-gelatin composite (CS-Zr-GEL) were fabricated and explored for the adsorptive removal of toxic Cr⁶⁺ and F^- from water. The adsorption mechanism of toxic Cr⁶⁺ and F^- was done by batch mode as a function of contact time, solution pH and co-existing ions. The obtained materials were extensively studied by several physico-chemical techniques to access their properties by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. Additionally, the fabricated adsorbent is highly dependent on solution pH. The kinetic and isotherm data were fitted using pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. The maximum adsorption capacity for CS-Zr-GEL is 138.89 and 12.13 mg/g at 323K for Cr⁶⁺ and F^- respectively. These findings demonstrate that the CS-Zr-GEL adsorbent represents a promising candidate that would have a practical influence on water/wastewater treatments.

Selection of Tanned-Leather Waste in Recovering Novel Raw Material for Manufacturing Rubber Artifacts: Towards a Zero-Waste Condition

Zero-waste is an ambitious goal to encourage sustainable production, consumption optimum recycling and resource recovery. The recycling and resource recovery of chrome-tanned leather waste is a difficult proposition because of the three-dimensional chemical network of collagen, which renders leather waste incompatible to polymer matrices. Many attempts have been undertaken to reuse leather waste, most of them require technological processes and challenging chemical pretreatments, which make the reuse an economically disadvantageous industrial operation. The paper aims to show how a very fine separation of leather solid waste leads to raw materials suitable for mixtures with natural rubber, without any chemical pretreatment. In other words, the paper intends to be a stimulus to manage leather solid waste carefully to start a cleaner and more profitable production. In particular, various industrial compounds containing different concentrations of post-tanning dyeing, or chrome shaving or oil-tanning and natural rubber were vulcanized through a standard preparation. Some compounds were also reinforced with carbon black and the vulcanization kinetics were monitored through rheometer. Experimental results indicate that there exists an optimal concentration of waste such that post-tanning dyeing post-tanning and chrome shaving are suitable for manufacture floor mats, soles and heels while oil-tanning waste can be used for making hose or conveyor belts. The mechanical performances of the articles prepared by direct mixing with leather waste are the same as those of commercially distributed rubber products.

Photocatalytic Dye and Cr(VI) Degradation Using a Metal-Free Polymeric g-C₃N₄ Synthesized from Solvent-Treated Urea

The development of visible-light-driven polymeric g-C₃N₄ is in response to an emerging demand for the photocatalytic dye degradation and reduction of hexavalent chromium ions. We report the synthesis of g-C₃N₄ from urea treated with various solvents such as methanol, ethanol, and ethylene glycol. The samples were characterized and the Williamson⁻Hall method was applied to investigate the lattice strain of the samples. The activity of the samples was evaluated by observing the degradation of methyl orange and K₂Cr₂O₇ solution under light irradiation. Photocatalytic reaction kinetics were determined as pseudo-first-order and zero-order for the degradation of methyl orange and reduction of hexavalent chromium, respectively. Due to the inhibited charge separation resulting from the small lattice strain, reduced crystal imperfection, and sheet-like structure, g-C₃N₄ obtained from ethanol-treated urea exhibited the highest activity among the evaluated samples.

Size-dependent adsorption and its application in determining the number of surfactant molecule adsorbed on multimodal SiO2 particles by 2D-DCS

One and two-layered adsorption of CTAB molecules onto silica NPs with multi-modal dispersion is quantitatively determined by 2D-DCS.

Different genotypes of Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke grown on chromium-contaminated soils influence root organic acid composition and rhizosphere bacterial communities

Plant-microbe interactions are considered to be important processes determining the efficiency of phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils. However, relatively little is known about how these interactions are influenced by chromium (Cr) contamination. The effect of Cr stress on metal uptake, root organic acid composition, and rhizosphere bacterial communities was studied using two genotypes of the metallophyte Silene vulgaris, which have shown different tolerance to Cr(VI). The results indicated that root biomass and shoot biomass were not significantly influenced by Cr treatment, but metal uptake in shoots and roots was significantly impacted by the genotype. Principal component analyses (PCA) showed that variation in organic acids oxalic, citric, malic, formic, lactic, acetic, and succinic differed between genotypes. Changes in root organic acid contents in response to Cr revealed a significant increase of oxalic acid in genotype SV-21. The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) cluster analysis showed that the community structure (determined by PCR-DGGE) was affected by plant genotype and, to a lesser extent, by Cr contamination, the first being the most influential factor shaping the rhizosphere microbiome. Under Cr pollution, a shift in the relative abundance of specific taxa was found and dominant phylotypes were identified as Variovorax in SV-21 and Chitinophaga niastensis, Pontibacter sp., and Ramlibacter sp. in SV-38. These results provided the basis for further studies aimed at the combined use of plants and soil microorganisms in the remediation of Cr-polluted soils.

Visible light caffeic acid degradation by carbon-doped titanium dioxide

The removal of the phenolic compound, caffeic acid, by photodegradation has been investigated using carbon-doped titanium dioxide particles as a photocatalyst under visible light. UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry analyses revealed a substrate concentration dependence of the removal of caffeic acid from a water solution. The k2 and t(0.5) parameters of each reaction were calculated by fitting kinetics data to a second-order kinetic adsorption model. To evaluate the photodegradation event, the effect of the adsorption process on the whole degradation was also monitored in the absence of light. Adsorption isotherm studies supported by ζ potential and scanning electron microscopy data demonstrated the pivotal role of the absorption mechanism. It was found that the whole photodegradation process is governed by a synergic mechanism in which adsorption and photodegradation are involved. This study, centered on the removal of caffeic acid from aqueous solutions, highlights the potential application of this technology for the elimination of phenolic compounds from olive mill wastewater, a fundamental goal in both the agronomical and environmental fields.

Preparation and characterization of functionalized silica spheres for removal of Cu(ii), Pb(ii), Cr(vi) and Cd(ii) from aqueous solutions

Functionalized silica spheres (SMS) with mesoporous structure were fabricated through a facile and environmentally benign route, and exhibited remarkable removal efficiency for metal ions from aqueous solutions.

Cleaning of olive mill wastewaters by visible light activated carbon doped titanium dioxide

Visible light activated carbon doped titanium dioxide fully works in the removal of total phenols from olive mill wastewater.

Combining material characterization with single and multi-oxyanion adsorption for mechanistic study of chromate removal by cationic hydrogel

Cationic hydrogel with magnetic property was synthesized via radical polymerization and its removal capacity of chromate from contaminated water was found to be 200 mg/g. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) study, the mechanism of chromate removal by hydrogel was found to be non-specific adsorption, mainly due to ion exchange, as evidenced by the positively charged functional group, trimethyl ammonium -N+(CH3)3, in the monomer. Verifications were accordingly determined by testing different oxyanion adsorption onto the hydrogel. The results of the chromate adsorption experiments illustrated that the amount of chromate adsorbed was nearly equal to that of the chloride released from the hydrogel, which is part of the evidence for ion exchange. Single and multi-oxyanion adsorption experiments were also performed, and it was demonstrated that ion removal was species independent, but charge dependent, another characteristic of the ion exchange process. It was found that the same Langmuir model can be applied to best fit the findings of single and multi-oxyanion adsorption, which further indicates the mechanism of chromate removal is attributed to ion exchange. In view of the above, the background anions compete for adsorption sites with chromate, evidenced by inhibitive chromate removal in the presence of background electrolytes in the batch studies, further echoing the ion exchange mechanism.

Selective removal for Pb2+ in aqueous environment by using novel macroreticular PVA beads

Batch sorption experiments were conducted using macroreticular poly(vinyl alcohol) (MR-PVA) beads as a adsorbent to adsorb Pb(II) from both single component system and multi-metal solution in which experimental parameters were studied including solution pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, initial concentration of metal ions and ionic strength. The equilibrium isotherms were determined at pH 6 under constant ionic strength and at different temperatures. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of Pb(II) (213.98 mg g(-1)) with 1 g L(-1) of adsorbent was observed at 300 mg L(-1) at an initial pH value of 6.0 under temperature of 288 K. Removals of about 60% occurred in 30 min, and equilibrium was attained at around 150 min. The equilibrium data for the adsorption of Pb(II) on MR-PVA beads was tested with various adsorption isotherm models among which three models were found to be suitable for the Pb(II) adsorption. In addition, the kinetic adsorption fitted well to the pseudo-second-order model and the corresponding rate constants were obtained. Thermodynamic aspects of the adsorption process were also investigated.

The use of microemulsions to remove chromium from industrial sludge

In this work microemulsion systems were used to remove chromium from leather tannery sediments. The sludge was treated by a solid-liquid extraction process (acid digestion). The effects of particle size, digestion temperature and digestion time with regards to the efficiency of chromium removal were considered. The raw sludge (3 Mesh) was dried, grounded and sieved. Particles with 3, 14, 65, 100, 200, and 325 Mesh were evaluated. Sludge digestion solutions were prepared using each studied granule size at 25 degrees C, 70 degrees C, and 95 degrees C. Microemulsion extraction experiments to remove chromium III from the acid digestion solution were made according to a Scheffé Net experimental design methodology, using microemulsion systems inside the Winsor II region (System I) and inside the microemulsion region (Winsor IV--System II). A statistical treatment was used to obtain the isoresponse plots. Chromium extraction percentages were up to 73.3% for System I and up to 93.4% for System II.