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.     

Statistical optimization of operating parameters of microbial electrolysis cell treating dairy industry wastewater using quadratic model to enhance energy generation

The performance of Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) is affected by several operating conditions. Therefore, in the present study, an optimization study was done to determine the working efficiency of MEC in terms of COD (chemical oxygen demand) removal, hydrogen and current generation. Optimization was carried out using a quadratic mathematical model of response surface methodology (RSM). Thirteen sets of experimental runs were performed to optimize the applied voltage and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of single chambered batch fed MEC operated with dairy industry wastewater. The operating conditions (i.e) an applied voltage of 0.8 V and HRT of 2 days that showed a maximum COD removal response was chosen for further studies. The MEC operated at optimized condition (HRT- 2 days and applied voltage- 0.8 V) showed a COD removal efficiency of 95 ± 2%, hydrogen generation of 32 ± 5 mL/L/d, Power density of 152 mW/cm² and current generation of 19 mA. The results of the study implied that RSM, with its high degree of accuracy can be a reliable tool for optimizing the process of wastewater treatment. Also, dairy industry wastewater can be considered to be a potential source to generate hydrogen and energy through MEC at short HRT.     

Ion Exchange of Selected Group II Metals and Lead by Crystalline Silicotitanate and Competition for Cs Exchange Sites

ABSTRACT

A series of batch contact tests were conducted to evaluate the exchange behavior of Ba, Ca, Pb, and Sr onto crystalline silicotitanate (CST) in support of an expedited Cs removal and pretreatment system at the Hanford site. Binary Na/M²⁺ and ternary Na/Cs/M²⁺ isotherms were generated to understand selectivity, capacity, and competitive impact of each analyte on Cs uptake from a simple 1 M NaOH/4.6 M NaNO₃ simulant. Analyte loading from a 0.1 M NaOH/5.5 M NaNO₃ simulant was assessed to determine the effect of hydroxide concentration on binary Na/M²⁺ isotherms. Results from binary and ternary isotherms indicated that Group II metals Ca, Sr, and Ba (and Pb) do not impact CST performance toward Cs removal at concentrations expected in Hanford tank-waste supernate.     

Nitrogen Removal Performance of Denitrifying Ammonium Oxidation System in Treating Sulfamethoxazole-laden Secondary Wastewater Effluent

In this study,nitrogen removal performance of the denitrifying ammonium oxidation(DAO)process was investigated when treating sulfamethoxazole(SMX)-laden secondary wastewater effluent.The influent SMX concentration showed negligible effect on efficiencies for removal of nitrate and COD.However,the ammonium ions removal rate was moderately reduced,when the influent SMX concentration in wastewater reached 6 mg/L.Total nitrogen removal efficiency remained as high as 76.77%towards the day 158 at the end of experiment.Candidatus_Brocadia and Candidatus_Kuenenia were the functional anammox strains.The unclassified_f__Rhodobacteraceae sp.was predominant heterotrophic denitrifying strain in the studied reactor.The concentrations of soluble extracellular polymeric substances in sludge obviously increased from 16.76 mg/g VSS to 32.31 mg/g VSS,which might protect the nitrogen removal strains from high-concentration SMX.This result provides a theoretical and technical foundation for the application of denitrifying ammonium oxidation process in treating sulfamethoxazole-laden secondary wastewater effluent.     

Preparation of faceted TaN grains by heating Ta-containing oxides in BN crucible with Na

Single-crystal grains of TaN were synthesized by heating Ta₂O₅, FeTa₂O₆, or FeTaO₄ in a BN crucible together with Na metal in an Ar atmosphere at 1100 °C. The BN crucible acted a solid source of nitrogen. Aggregates of columnar ε-TaN single crystals 10–150 μm in size were formed on the inner wall of the BN crucible when either Ta₂O₅ or FeTa₂O₆ was used. On the other hand, platelet-like single crystals of θ-TaN 1–50 μm in size were obtained from FeTaO₄. The results of wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometry indicated that the compositions of the ε-TaN and θ-TaN crystals were close to the stoichiometric ideal.     

氮含量对HPD-1双相不锈钢组织及力学性能的影响

通过显微组织观察与力学性能测试研究了氮含量(0.08%~0.22％,质量分数)对HPD-1双相不锈钢硬度、拉伸性能、低温冲击性能及疲劳性能的影响。结果表明,氮含量变化可显著影响试验钢γ/α相比例,当氮含量由0.08％升高到0.22％,γ相含量由38.1％提高至56.5％。α相的硬度由273 HV10提高到343 HV10,γ相的硬度由238 HV10提高到299 HV10,试验钢强度明显提升。氮元素对两相比例和奥氏体相韧性的双重影响导致试验钢低温冲击性能呈先上升后下降的趋势;更高的氮含量抑制疲劳裂纹萌生与拓展,是影响HPD-1双相不锈钢室温疲劳性能的主要因素。撕裂棱是疲劳断口的显著特征。     

单晶SiC的电助光催化抛光及去除机理

为满足电子半导体等领域对SiC超光滑、无损伤和材料高效去除的要求，提出了电助光催化抛光SiC的新方法。研究了光催化剂种类及其pH值对抛光液氧化性和抛光效果的影响，讨论了材料的去除机理。结果表明：以p25型TiO2为光催化剂配制抛光液所获得的最大氧化还原电位为633.11 mV，材料去除率为1.18 μm/h，表面粗糙度Ra=0.218 nm；抛光后SiC表面氧化产物中，Si-C-O、Si-O和Si4C4O4的含量明显增加，SiC表面被氧化并被机械去除是主要的材料去除方式。     

Multiple Chemical Features Impact Biological Performance Diversity of a Highly Active Natural Product-Inspired Library

A systematic, diversity-oriented synthesis approach was employed to access a natural product-inspired flavonoid library with diverse chemical features, including chemical properties, scaffold, stereochemistry, and appendages. Using Cell Painting, the effects of these diversity elements were evaluated, and multiple chemical features that predict biological performance diversity were identified. Scaffold identity appears to be the dominant predictor of performance diversity, but stereochemistry and appendages also contribute to a lesser degree. In addition, the diversity of chemical properties contributed to performance diversity, and the driving chemical property was dependent on the scaffold. These results highlight the importance of key chemical features that may inform the creation of small-molecule, performance-diverse libraries to improve the efficiency and success of high-throughput screening campaigns.