Carboxymethyl cellulose-based polyelectrolyte as cationic exchange membrane for zinc-iodine batteries

The aim of this research is an evaluation of polyelectrolytes. In the application of zinc-iodine batteries (ZIBs), polyelectrolytes have high stability, good cationic exchange properties and high ionic conductivity. Polyelectrolytes are also cost-effective. Important component of ZIBs are cation exchange membranes (CEMs). CEMs prevent the crossover of iodine and polyiodide from zinc (Zn) electrodes. However, available CEMs are costly and have limited ionic conductivity at room temperature. CEMs are low-cost, have high stability and good cationic exchange properties. Herein, polyelectrolyte membranes prepared from carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are examined. It is seen that an increase in the ratio of PVA leads to enhanced ionic conductivity as well as increased iodine and polyiodide crossover. ZIBs using polyelectrolytes having 75:25 wt.% CMC/PVA and 50:50 wt.% CMC/PVA show decent performance and cycling stability. Due to their low-cost and other salient features, CMC/PVA polyelectrolytes prove they have the capacity for use as cation exchange separators in ZIBs.

Valorization of manganese-containing groundwater treatment sludge by preparing magnetic adsorbent for Cu(II) adsorption

Mn-containing sludge from groundwater treatment was converted to magnetic particles (MPs) via a one-step hydrothermal method using sodium ascorbate (SA) as the reductant. The MPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, magnetometry and Gran titration and the results showed that magnetic jacobsite was obtained as an intermediate product in transformation of Fe/Mn oxides to siderite and rhodochrosite. When the molar ratio of SA to Mn in the sludge was two, the produced MPs-2 contained a mixture of ferrihdyrite, hematite, jacobsite and Si/Al oxides, and could magnetize at 2.4 emu/g. Ferrihydrite content in MPs decreased with increase of the SA/Mn molar ratio, leading to decrease of the surface sites concentration (H_s). Thus, MPs-2 contained optimized H_s of 6.7 mmoL/g and a desirable adsorption capacity of Cu(II) (73.1 mg/g). The adsorption isotherms of MPs-2 on Cu(II) complied with the Langmuir model and the adsorption kinetics fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model. The major mechanism of adsorption was cationic exchange of the coordinated H and Na ions on MPs-2 surface sites with the Cu(II) ions. This study was the first time to report preparation of MPs by recycling Mn-containing sludge, which could be used as a high-capacity and low-cost adsorbent in treatment of heavy metal-containing wastewater.

Investigation of ammonium adsorption on Algerian natural bentonite

Adsorption of several chemical contaminants onto clay minerals is the most recommended technique applied in the wastewater treatment field, owing to its low economic cost, efficiency, and low power consumption. In this context, natural bentonite particles with 80-μm diameter were investigated for the ammonium adsorption in aqueous solution using an incubator that kept the constant temperature and stirring speed at 200 RPM. The study of different experimental parameters effect on the adsorption process revealed that the raw bentonite have adsorbed approximately 53.36 % of the initial ammonium concentration at pH 7 and temperature of 30 °C. This percentage has been improved by increasing the adsorbent dosage in solution, which could reach up to 81.2 % at 40 g/L of bentonite with an initial ammonium concentration of 10 mg-NH₄⁺/L. Moreover, experimental data modeling allowed us to conclude that the adsorption isotherm obeys to both models of Langmuir and Freundlich.

Application of montmorillonite in bentonite as a pharmaceutical excipient in drug delivery systems

Montmorillonite is a multifunctional clay mineral and a major component of bentonite. Montmorillonite has been used in various industrial and pharmaceutical fields due to its unique characteristics, which include swelling and adsorption. The high adsorption capacity of montmorillonite contributes to increase drug entrapment and sustained-release of drugs. Montmorillonite generally sustains drug release in many formulations by strongly adsorbing to the drug. In addition, montmorillonite enhances the dissolution rate and bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs. Moreover, montmorillonite was applied to form composites with other polymer-based delivery systems. Thus, montmorillonite could be applied to formulate diverse drug delivery systems to control and/or improve the pharmaceutical properties of drugs, including solubility, dissolution rate, and absorption. In this review, perspectives of applying montmorillonite as a pharmaceutical excipient in drug delivery systems are discussed.

Adsorption mechanisms and the effect of oxytetracycline on activated sludge

The adsorption mechanisms and the effect of Oxytetracycline (OTC) onto activated sludge were studied. The results show that the adsorption of Oxytetracycline (OTC) onto activated sludge was coincident with the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. The Freundlich model had the best fit which suggested that chemical adsorption mechanism was dominant. The influences including pH and metal ions on the OTC were examined. It was demonstrated that the adsorption process was highly pH-dependant, which indicate that cationic exchange mechanisms may play an important role in the adsorption process. Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+) and Cd(2+) ions more or less inhibited the adsorption of OTC on activated sludge while Cu(2+) enhanced the adsorption ability. The phenomenon may reflect the result that a surface complexation mechanism could involved in the adsorption.