Zeolite-templated sub-nanometer carbon nanotube arrays and membranes for hydrogen storage and separation

Adsorbents and membranes consisting of carbon nanotube (CNT) pores with diameters of molecular dimensions are highly desirable for hydrogen storage and selective, high-flux membrane separation. However, fabrication of such materials with precise pore sizes and monodispersity as well as evaluation of the mechanisms associated to adsorption and molecular transport are challenging. Herein, we grew aluminophsphate zeolites (CoAPO-5, AFI crystal structure) consisting of one-dimensional, monodisperse parallel pores with diameter of ～7 Å, and utilized them as templates to grow singe-walled CNTs (SWNTs) inside the pores. The resulting materials were examined as adsorbents and membranes for hydrogen storage and separation, respectively, using single-gas and real mixture feeds. Detailed mechanistic analysis and fundamental investigation of permeance and adsorption behavior of the resulting CNT-in-zeolite systems via combined adsorption, equilibrium, and kinetic studies were carried out. A superior gravimetric hydrogen uptake of 1.2 wt% at 35 °C and 1 bar was achieved in the case of the SWNTs grown in the cobalt-richer AFI host. Permeability measurements were performed on the respective Co(x)APO@SWNT membranes with the Co-richAPO@SWNT membrane exhibiting the highest permeance for all studied gases as a consequence of larger and more densely packed AFI crystals along with higher number of SWNT-filled pores, assets attributed to the higher Co catalyst content. Notably, the produced composite membranes exhibited gas permeability values that were two orders of magnitude higher than what predicted by the Knudsen mechanism.     

Montmorillonite-perlite-iron ceramic membranes for the adsorption/removal of As(III) and other constituents from surface water

In this study, ceramic membranes made of montmorillonite, perlite and iron were used to remove As(III) from water. Membranes prepared with 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt% of iron content were used to filtrate As(III) synthetic water and surface water solutions. As(III) adsorption capacity and removal efficiency, and other parameters such as cations and anions content, turbidity, pH, electrical conductivity were used to evaluate the membranes' performance. Results show that the As(III) adsorption/removal capacity of membranes was improved by the addition of iron. Adsorption capacity of 7.5 μg As(III)/g and removal efficiency of 97% can be achieved in membranes with 1.0 wt% of iron filings content for surface water; however, a greater amount of iron in the membrane structure limits the adsorption capacity of As(III). Besides the capacity of ceramic membranes to adsorb/remove As(III), membranes were also effective to remove other ions, turbidity, and electrical conductivity from the surface water. The addition of iron to the ceramic membranes enhanced their capacity to remove such surface water constituents. These results are important from the practical viewpoint showing the potential of ceramic membranes for the removal of metalloids and other water constituents. Langmuir isotherm model best described the adsorption process in ceramic membranes, suggesting that adsorption of As(III) happened on a monolayered surface of the ceramic membrane.     

Synthesis,characterization and adsorption studies of h-BN crystal for efficient removal of Cd2+ from aqueous solution

In the present study, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) was synthesized from boric acid and melamine by thermal annealing method in a nitrogen atmosphere. The pure h-BN was used as an efficient sorbent for the uptake of Cd²⁺ ions from the solution phase. The kinetics and sorption studies of metal ions onto the h-BN were carried out in batch adsorption experiments at different temperature, time, pH, sorbent dosage, and concentration of metal ions. The optimum pH for the removal of the Cd²⁺ ions was found to be pH 7. The effect of temperature showed that the process of Cd²⁺ sorption remained endothermic in the range of 298 K–328 K. The Lagergren's first and Ho's second kinetic models were tested to interpret the adsorption kinetic data, however the present data was explained well by Ho's model for kinetics. The thermodynamic perameters ΔG, ΔS and ΔH were determined using the available adsorption data at different temperatures. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized product were also characterized before and after adsorption by different analytical techniques like FT-IR, TGA, XRD and Point of Zero Charge (PZC). The morphology of the surface was analyzed with the help of Scanning Electron Microscopy. The h-BN proved to be an efficient adsorbent for the uptake of the Cd²⁺ ions from aqueous media.     

Adsorption of anionic dye on eco-friendly synthesised reduced graphene oxide anchored with lanthanum aluminate: Isotherms,kinetics and statistical error analysis

In the present study we made an effort to deploy eco-friendly synthesized reduced graphene oxide/Lanthanum Alluminate nanocomposites (RGO-LaAlO₃) and Lanthanum Alluminate (LaAlO₃) as adsorbents to remove dye from the synthetic media. XRD, SEM, BET surface area and EDX have been used to characterize the above-mentioned adsorbents. The impacts of different factors like adsorbent dosage, the concentration of adsorbate and PH on adsorption were studied. The best fit linear and nonlinear equations for the adsorption isotherms and kinetic models had been examined. The sum of the normalized errors and the coefficient of determination were used to determine the best fit model. The experimental data were more aptly fitted for nonlinear forms of isotherms and kinetic equations. Pseudo-second-order and Freundlich isotherm model fits the equilibrium data satisfactorily. Methyl orange (MO) has been used as model dye pollutant and maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 469.7 and 702.2 mg g^?1 for LaAlO₃ and RGO-LaAlO₃, respectively.     

Hydrogen adsorption on natural and sulphuric acid treated sepiolite and bentonite

In this study, hydrogen (H₂) adsorption on sepiolite and bentonite and those of acid treated forms were studied at 77 K using volumetric apparatus up to 100 kPa. Both clay minerals were treated with 100 ml of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 M H₂SO₄ solutions at 80 °C for 5 h. Differences in the structures of the sepiolite and bentonite samples before and after the acid treatments were determined by XRD, XRF, TG, DTA and N₂ adsorption methods. The level of H₂ adsorption of original and acid treated sepiolite samples (1.332–2.252 mmol/g) was higher than those of the bentonite samples (0.341–1.003 mmol/g). The variation in the H₂ adsorption capacities during the acid treatment was also discussed.     

Hydrogen storage comparison of M doped vanadium oxide nanotubes (M = Mo,Zr and W): A molecular simulation study

Zr, Mo and W doped Vanadium oxide nanotube were considered as remarkable materials for hydrogen storage applications. Monte Carlo molecular simulation was performed to study the adsorption behavior of hydrogen molecules on Vanadium oxide nanotubes (VONTs). The effects of temperature, pressure and mole percent of hydrogen on adsorption capacity of VONTs were investigated to provide deep insight of adsorption behavior. The results represented that hydrogen adsorption is an increasing function of pressure and at about 50 MPa all three metal doped VONT has maximum hydrogen capacity. At 5 MPa and room temperature, the hydrogen capacities of Mo, W and Zr doped VONTs were 1.39, 0.88 and 1.43 w% respectively. With temperature increment up to room temperature, more reduction in initial hydrogen capacity were observed in Mo and Zr doped VONTs.Evaluating hydrogen adsorption of Zr doped VONT from pure and hydrogen /nitrogen mixtures at 300 K indicated that under 2 Mpa, modifications in adsorption capacities were insignificant after N2 addition to the environment. Therefore, Zr doped VONT in hydrogen /nitrogen mixture environment can act as a capable adsorbent for Hydrogen storage system in comparison with Mo and W doped VONTs.     

Regeneration of AgXO@SBA-15 for reactive adsorptive desulfurization of fuel

Adsorbent regeneration is critical for a continuous adsorption–regeneration process and often underestimated. In this work,the regeneration of bifunctional AgXO@SBA-15 for [O]-induced reactive adsorptive desulfurization of liquid fuel is reported and further investigated. The spent AgXO@SBA-15 was regenerated in various types of solvents followed by calcination and tested in multiple desulfurization–regeneration cycles. The effects of regenerate solvents were also compared systematically. The original and regenerated AgXO@SBA-15 was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, N_2 adsorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry. The recovery of desulfurization capacity using various solvents follows the order of acetonitrile [ acetone [ ethanol [ methanol [ water. Owing to the complete reduction of silver species to Ag~0 and severe agglomeration of Ag~0, the bifunctional AgXO@SBA-15 demonstrating [ 85%(2.60 mg-S/g) of sulfur removal dramatically reduced to \ 46%(1.56 mg-S/g) after only 1 st-cycle regeneration. It is suggested that polar organic species strongly adsorbed(or residual) on the spent AgXO@SBA-15, in that case, after solvent wash may contribute to the accelerated decomposition of Ag~+ to Ag~0 in the following calcination step. The desulfurization capacity decreased rather mildly in the later regeneration runs. Cautious choice of regeneration conditions and strategies to rational design stabilized adsorbents is required to avert the adsorbent deactivation.     

不同价态杂质离子对黄铜矿浮选的影响机理研究

随着淡水资源的匮乏，选矿回水逐渐用于浮选黄铜矿，回水中存在的杂质离子会影响黄铜矿浮选指标。因此，以Na⁺、Ca²⁺、Al³⁺为例，研究不同价态的杂质离子对黄铜矿浮选的影响及其作用机理。试验结果表明：NaCl对黄铜矿可浮性有较强的促进效果，高浓度CaCl₂对黄铜矿可浮性有明显抑制作用，而AlCl3对黄铜矿可浮性有一定抑制作用，但影响不显著。黄铜矿表面接触角、Zeta电位及物相图表明：高浓度NaCl阻碍气泡兼并，增加矿浆起泡性，压缩矿物表面双电层，减小气泡到达矿物表面的能量壁垒，促进气泡-颗粒的附着，提高黄铜矿可浮性；CaCl₂对黄铜矿浮选的抑制作用是在溶液中形成了亲水的Ca²⁺羟基络合物（Ca(OH)⁺），通过很强的亲和力吸附于黄铜矿表面，降低了黄铜矿表面的Zeta电位负值，进而降低其表面疏水性，抑制黄铜矿浮选；AlCl₃对黄铜矿浮选的抑制作用主要是因为形成的亲水氢氧化铝沉淀附着于黄铜矿表面，导致黄铜矿表面疏水性减弱，但由于形成沉淀浓度较低，对黄铜矿表面电位和浮选作用有限。     

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles prepared by microwave hydrothermal synthesis and adsorption efficiency for organic dyes: Isotherms,thermodynamics and kinetic studies

Magnetic nanoferrites (MFe₂O₄, M = Co, Ni) were successfully synthesised through microwave-hydrothermal route, characterised and used for adsorption of Eriochrome Black T (EBT) and Bromophenol Blue (BRB) dyes from their aqueous solution. The powder XRD patterns confirmed the formation of cubic spinel structure for both the ferrites. Under identical conditions, the adsorption efficiency of CoFe₂O₄ was found relatively higher than the corresponding NiFe₂O_4. Further characterisations revealed that CoFe₂O₄ sample was nearly spherical in size (8–9 nm) with narrow size distribution. The sample showed superparamagnetic behaviour with saturation magnetization (M_s) value (66.4 emu/g). BET surface area calculated for the synthesized cobalt ferrite as 70.9 m²/g. Batch adsorption experiments as a function of initial dye concentration, pH, contact time and adsorbent dose showed the adsorption of dyes depends on pH. Equilibrium adsorption data were well explained by both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacities (Q_o) were found to be 82.6 and 25.6 mg/g for EBT and BRB dyes, respectively. Kinetics of the adsorption was best described by pseudo-second-order model. Various thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG, ΔH and ΔS derived from adsorption data over the temperature range 20–50 °C, accounted for a favourable, spontaneous, endothermic physisorption process. The materials showed potential for repeated use without significant decrease in adsorption capacity after proper regeneration.     

Recycling of used engine oil by different solvent

The refining of lubricating oils from waste lubricating oil was examined utilizing a novel blend of solvent extraction and activated alumina adsorbent. The activity of these solvent extraction blends {toluene, butanol and methanol (A)}, {toluene, butanol and ethanol (B)} and {toluene, butanol and isopropanol (C)} was evaluated experimentally, oil to solvent proportions from 1:1 to 1:3 were analyzed for mixture blend (C). The results confirm solvent mixture (A) gave good efficiency with the highest percent sludge removal. The maximum percent of sludge removal improves with the increase of solvent to oil ratios. The physical properties of the recycle oil were measured. The results show the change in the properties of recycling oil and have good efficiency.