Treatment of phenol formaldehyde production wastewater by electrooxidation-electrofenton successive processes

ABSTRACT

Treatments of phenol formaldehyde producing wastewater (PFPW) by electrooxidation (EO) and electro-Fenton (EF) successive processes were carried out in a batch electrolytic reactor using graphite (Gr) and stainless steel (Ss) electrodes. After the completion of the EO process, the wastewater was further treated with EF process. The influence of operating variables such as current density, operating time, initial pH_i and H₂O₂ concentration was evaluated for removals of phenol, TOC and COD in PFPW. Gr/Gr, Gr/Ss or Ss/Ss and Ss/Gr electrode pair were used as anode and cathode. The best removal efficiency in the EO process was obtained with Gr/Gr (93%) as compared to Gr/Ss (82%), Ss/Ss (63%) and Ss/Gr (55%). The removal efficiencies for the EO process using Gr-Gr electrode pair were obtained as 93% for phenol, 61% for COD and 44% for TOC at initial pH_i 7,5 g/L of NaCl, 50 mA/cm² and 5 h. In the EF process, the removal efficiencies at pH_i 3,5 mA/cm² and 30 mM H₂O₂ and 45 min were 100% for phenol, 76% for COD and 59% for TOC. This study provided that the successive processes are an effective method for the removal of phenolic compounds from the wastewater.     

Effects of Mn and Gd Co-substituted into ZnO on Structural and Magnetic Properties

We have worked on the structural and magnetic properties of Zn_0.99?xMn_0.01Gd _x O _δ (for x = 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04) compounds prepared by using a sol–gel method. The x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy were used to understand the structural properties of the samples. We observed that co-substitution of Mn (1 %) and Gd (2–4 %) into the ZnO does not change the hexagonal structure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show us that the grain size decreases with the increasing amount of the Gd into the ZnO matrix. The magnetic properties of the samples have been investigated by using magnetic hysteresis and DC susceptibility measurements. The ZMG1 sample shows a weak ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature, whereas the ZMG2 and ZMG3 samples exhibit a paramagnetic nature. Furthermore, it is also found that the magnetizations of the samples decrease with increasing Gd content in the ZnMnO system due to the enhancing interaction between Gd ³⁺ ions. We summarize that the co-substitution of Mn and Gd into the ZnO generates a room-temperature ferromagnetism, but it still needs more work to obtain strong and high coercivity magnetic loops for applications.     

Efficiency of Gold Nano Particles on the Autoxidized Soybean Oil Polymer: Fractionation and Structural Analysis

Polyunsaturated plant oils have gained great interest as monomers to produce biodegradable polymers obtained from renewable resources due to the limited existing sources of petroleum oil and environmental issues. Soybean oil was autoxidized by exposure to atomospheric oxygen at room temperature with or without the presence of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) 5–41 days. When the autoxidation process was catalyzed with Au NPs, the molecular weight of the oxidized oil was increased in 5 days. In contrast to this, without Au NPs, the oxidized oil was still a fluidized liquid. Autoxidized soybean oil polymer in toluene solution with gold NP showed a surface plasmon resonance at λ_max = 540 nm in a UV–VIS spectrometer and a fluorescence emission spectrum at λ_max = 450 nm, when it was irradiated at λ_max = 390 nm. The higher molecular weight of the polymeric oils was successively fractionated by the extraction from the solvent‐non‐solvent mixture CHCl₃/petroleum ether with the volume ratio of 5:15. Three polymeric oils fractions with different molecular weight (ca 1000, 4000, and 40,000 g/mol) were obtained. GC–MS analysis, ¹H‐NMR and GPC techniques were used in the structural analysis of the fractionated polymeric oils.     

Multi-machine earliness and tardiness scheduling problem: an interconnected neural network approach

This paper addresses the problem of scheduling a set of independent jobs with sequence-dependent setups and distinct due dates on non-uniform multi-machines to minimize the total weighted earliness and tardiness, and explores the use of artificial neural networks as a valid alternative to the traditional scheduling approaches. The objective is to propose a dynamical gradient neural network, which employs a penalty function approach with time varying coefficients for the solution of the problem which is known to be NP-hard. After the appropriate energy function was constructed, the dynamics are defined by steepest gradient descent on the energy function. The proposed neural network system is composed of two maximum neural networks, three piecewise linear and one log-sigmoid network all of which interact with each other. The motivation for using maximum networks is to reduce the network complexity and to obtain a simplified energy function. To overcome the tradeoff problem encountered in using the penalty function approach, a time varying penalty coefficient methodology is proposed to be used during simulation experiments. Simulation results of the proposed approach on a scheduling problem indicate that the proposed coupled network yields an optimal solution which makes it attractive for applications of larger sized problems.     

An investigation on renewable energy education at the university level in Turkey

In the present study, to discover how teaching of renewable energy sources in Turkey is carried out at the university level, a questionnaire was developed and applied at different universities in Turkey. The analyses conducted on the data obtained from the questionnaire revealed that education about geothermal, solar and wind energy is given at master’s level, other renewable energy sources are taught at the undergraduate level within the curriculum of some engineering courses. The teaching performed about renewable energy sources is in Turkish and at encyclopedic level. As preparing and obtaining the required materials are costly, some problems are encountered in the teaching of renewable sources. In Turkish universities, no degree about renewable energy sources is granted. Hence, the country must make use of the people having engineering degree to capitalize on its renewable energy sources. As there is no program specializing on providing training about the renewable energy sources, it seems to be difficult to find experts about this issue. The current state of renewable energy sources education seems to be inadequate and it should be expanded and strengthened.     

A Survey of Handover Techniques for Wireless ATM Networks

This paper provides a review and comprehensivecomparison of existing handover schemes proposed forwireless ATM networks. Existing schemes include thoseproposed by NEC, Olivetti, Bell Labs, Cambridge, Stanford, CMU, Berkeley, Michigan, VTT, andColumbia. We highlight the methodologies employed by thevarious schemes and reveal their differences. We discussissues related to the effect of ATM switch architectures on mobility implementation and on futurehandover paradigms.     

Electrochemical conversion of phenolic wastewater on carbon electrodes in the presence of NaCl

The electrochemical conversion of highly concentrated synthetic phenolic wastewater was studied on carbon electrodes in a batch electrochemical reactor. The effects of reaction temperature, electrolyte concentration, current density and initial phenol concentration on phenol conversion were elucidated. The wastewater was synthetically prepared and used in reactions carried out generally at 25 °C with an initial phenol concentration of 3500 mg dm^?3. Although current density increased, phenol conversion% and initial phenol conversion rate did not increase correspondingly above 35 °C and an electrolyte concentration of 90 g dm^?3. As the voltage values applied were increased, the increasing current density resulted in fast phenol conversion. Kinetic investigations denoted that overall phenol destruction kinetics was of zero order with an activation energy of 10.9 kJ mol^?1. Under appropriate conditions, phenol was completely converted within 15 min for an initial phenol concentration of 98 mg dm^?3 while 8 h was required to gain 95% conversion using 4698 mg dm^?3. Solid polymeric materials were produced at initial phenol concentrations above 500 mg dm^?3 using the appropriate current density. In the reaction medium, only mono‐, di‐ and tri‐substituted chlorophenols were formed and 100% of all species were either oxidised or contributed to the formation of a polymeric structure. Almost all of the phenol loaded to the reactor was converted into non‐passivating polymeric products, denoting a safe and easy method for the separation of phenol. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Flashing point compressibility of geothermal fluids with low CO2 content and its use in estimating reservoir volume

In this study, the bubble point pressure effect or, as it is more commonly known, the flashing point effect of CO₂ on geothermal fluids is shown, and the compressibility of the geothermal fluids containing low concentrations of dissolved CO₂ at the flashing point is formulated for isoenthalpic phase change. The compressibility, termed the isoenthalpic flashing point compressibility, can be calculated with well-known parameters. New, easy-to-use graphs are presented to estimate the compressibility for such systems. Correction for ionic strength of the geothermal brine is also considered. The practical use of the compressibility is illustrated to estimate the fluid content of a geothermal reservoir. A material balance method incorporating the isoenthalpic flashing point compressibility in geothermal modeling is investigated. The material balance method presented in the paper is of primary importance in the evaluation of geothermal reservoirs since both the areal extent and the vertical thickness can not be accurately determined, particularly in the initial development stages of the reservoirs. Applications of the method to geothermal fields are discussed.