Studies on defatted seed removal efficiency for organochlorine compounds

Production and detailed characterization of bean husk-based carbon: efficient cadmium (II) removal from aqueous solutions

We report the production of a modified carbon by heat treating bean husk (Phaseolus vulgaris) at 270 degrees C in Ar, followed by chemical activation using HNO(3). The material was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared spectroscopy (IRS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), elemental mapping, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cd(2+) sorption studies with this material were carried out at different concentrations. It was found that cadmium (II) is effectively removed by the modified material obtained from bean husk (180 mg/g). The sorption mechanism is discussed in terms of the activated surface properties. A relationship between the oxygen content and sorption was found in this novel material. Commercial activated carbon (AC) (F400) was used for comparison.

Effect of spherosome on degradation of tetrachloroethylene in soil

The fate of spherosome on the degradation of tetrachloroethylene in soil was investigated for 38 days. The time needed to become the half value of the initial concentration is 8 days for the case with spherosome and 15 days for the case without spherosome. The time needed for complete degradation is 25 days for the case with spherosome and 38 days for the case without spherosome. The degradation of tetrachloroethylene appeared to be essentially due to the biological activity of the soil. Spherosome should enhance the rate of tetrachloroethylene destruction.

Removal of dichloromethane from waste gases by a biotrickling filter

Dichloromethane is harmful to human health and hazardous to atmospheric environment. In this study, two strains were isolated which were identified as Pseudomonas sp. and Mycobacterium sp., and utilized dichloromethane (DCM) as sole carbon and energy sources. The optimal culture conditions were temperature of 28 degrees C and pH of 6.5 for obtaining the two mixed bacterial strains. The investigation on the purification of DCM-contaminated gas was carried out in a bench-scale biotrickling filter which was inoculated with the two strains and operated under these optimal conditions. The DCM removal efficiencies varied between 72% and 99% in the biotrickling filter when empty-bed residence time was 9.6 s with the inlet concentrations ranged from 0.7 to 3.12 g/m(3) under the conditions of pH of 6.5 +/-0.5 and temperature of 28 degrees C. It was also found that NaCl accumulation in the broth would inhibit the DCM biodegradation dramatically when the accumulated NaCl concentration was over 35.1 g/L.

Determination of spherosomes from lees materials

To evaluate the effectiveness in adsorbing organochlorine compounds such as chloroform, dichloromethane, or benzene by lees materials, the determination of spherosomes from different lees materials was established by using a hemacytometer under an optical microscope. Rice bran, wheat bran, rapeseed, linseed, okara, and sakekasu were used for this investigation, and activated carbon was also used as a standard adsorbent material. The number of spherosomes varied from 1.82 x 10(10) particles/g for sakekasu to 4.95 x 10(10) particles/g for wheat bran. There was a high correlation between the removal efficiency in adsorbing organochlorine compounds such as chloroform, dichloromethane, or benzene by lees materials and the number of spherosomes from different lees materials.