Effects of adsorptive properties of biofilter packing materials on toluene removal

Various adsorptive materials, including granular activated carbon (GAC) and ground tire rubber (GTR), were mixed with compost in biofilters used for treating gaseous toluene, and the effects of the mixtures on the stability of biofilter performance were investigated. A transient loading test demonstrated that a sudden increase in inlet toluene loading was effectively attenuated in the compost/GAC biofilter, which was the most significant advantage of adding adsorptive materials to the biofilter packing media. Under steady conditions with inlet toluene loading rates of 18.8 and 37.5 g/m³/h, both the compost and the compost/GAC biofilters achieved overall toluene removal efficiencies greater than 99%. In the compost/GAC mixture, however, biodegradation activity declined as the GAC mass fraction increased. Because of the low water-holding capacity of GTR, the compost/ground tire mixture did not show a significant improvement in toluene removal efficiency throughout the entire operational period. Furthermore, nitrogen limitations affected system performance in all the biofilters, but an external nitrogen supply resulted in the recovery of the toluene removal efficiency only in the compost biofilter during the test periods. Consequently, the introduction of excessive adsorptive materials was unfavorable for long-term performance, suggesting that the mass ratio of the adsorptive materials in such mixtures should be carefully selected to achieve high and steady biofilter performance.     

Performance evaluation of biofilters packed with carbon foam and lava for nitric oxide removal

Long-term (>8 months) results of nitric oxide (NO) removal in biofilters, respectively, packed with lava and two different pore sizes of carbon foam (24 pores/cm (PPC) and 18 PPC) were measured. During the operation, NO removal efficiency, pressure drops, pH dependence and removal profile were evaluated. NO removal efficiencies were above 93.8%, 79.4% and 58.6% in the biofilters, respectively, packed with 24 PPC carbon foam, 18 PPC carbon foam and lava. The lava-packed biofilter demonstrated higher buffer capacity for change of pH. However, with sufficient nutrient and buffer solution feeding, the biofilter packed with carbon foam showed a higher NO removal efficiency. The pressure drops of the biofilter packed with carbon foam did not exceed 11 mm H(2)O/m. The low-pressure drops made it possible by using carbon foam as packing to conveniently prevent the clogging and channeling problems associated with conventional biofilter operations.     

Copper(II) and lead(II) removal from aqueous solution in fixed-bed columns by manganese oxide coated zeolite

The ability of manganese oxide coated zeolite (MOCZ) to adsorb copper and lead ions in single- (non-competitive) and binary- (competitive) component sorption systems was studied in fixed-bed column. The experiments were applied to quantify particle size, bed length, influent flow rate and influent metal concentration on breakthrough time during the removal of copper and lead ions from aqueous solutions using MOCZ column. Results of fixed-bed adsorption showed that the breakthrough time appeared to increase with increase of the bed length and decrease of influent metal concentration, but decreased with increase of the flow rate. The Thomas model was applied to adsorption of copper and lead ions at bed length, MOCZ particle size, different flow rate and different initial concentration to predict the breakthrough curves and to determine the characteristic parameters of the column useful for process design. The model was found suitable for describing the adsorption process of the dynamic behavior of the MOCZ column. The total adsorbed quantities, equilibrium uptakes and total removal percents of Cu(II) and Pb(II) related to the effluent volumes were determined by evaluating the breakthrough curves obtained at different conditions. The results suggested that MOCZ could be used as an adsorbent for an efficient removal of copper and lead ions from aqueous solution. The removal of metal ion was decreased when other additional heavy metal ion was added, but the total saturation capacity of MOCZ for copper and lead ions was not significantly decreased. This competitive adsorption also showed that adsorption of lead ions was decreased insignificantly when copper ions was added to the influent, whereas a dramatic decrease was observed on the adsorption of copper ions by the presence of lead ions. The removal of copper and lead ion by MOCZ columns followed the descending order: Pb(II) > Cu(II). The adsorbed copper and lead ions were easily desorbed from MOCZ with 0.5 mol l(-1) HNO3 solution.     

Simultaneous removal of perchlorate and arsenate by ion-exchange media modified with nanostructured iron (hydr)oxide

Hybrid ion-exchange (HIX) media for simultaneous removal of arsenate and perchlorate were prepared by impregnation of non-crystalline iron (hydr)oxide nanoparticles onto strong base ion-exchange (IX) resins using two different chemical treatment techniques. In situ precipitation of Fe(III) (M treatment) resulted in the formation of sphere-like clusters of nanomaterials with diameters of approximately 5nm, while KMnO4/Fe(II) treatments yielded rod-like nanomaterials with diameters of 10-50nm inside the pores of the media. The iron content of most HIX media was >10% of dry weight. The HIX media prepared via the M treatment method consistently exhibited greater arsenate adsorption capacity. The fitted Freundlich adsorption intensity parameters (q=K x C(E)(1/n)) for arsenate (1/n<0.6) indicated favorable adsorption trends. The K values ranged between 2.5 and 34.7mgAs/gdry resin and were generally higher for the M treated media in comparison to the permanganate treated media. The separation factors for perchlorate over chloride (alpha(Cl-)(ClO4-)) for the HIX media were lower than its untreated counterparts. The HIX prepared via the M treatment, had higher alpha(Cl-)(ClO4-) than the HIX obtained by the KMnO(4)/Fe(II) treatments suggesting that permanganate may adversely impact the ion-exchange base media. Short bed adsorber (SBA) tests demonstrated that the mass transport kinetics for both ions are adequately rapid to permit simultaneous removal using HIX media in a fixed bed reactor.     

Effects of pollutant concentration ratio on the simultaneous removal of NH3, H2S and toluene gases using rock wool-compost biofilter

The biological treatment of a tri-component mixed waste gas system in BRC1 and BRC2 biofilters packed with rock wool-compost media was studied. The model gases were NH(3), H(2)S and toluene. The gases were fed initially at about 50-55 ppm each. H(2)S was found to have the shortest start-up while toluene had the longest. Under two different NH(3):H(2)S:toluene concentration ratios of 250:120:55 and 120:220:55 (in ppm) for BRC1 and BRC2, the removal efficiencies of NH(3), H(2)S and toluene were found to be affected by their respective loading rate. On the other hand, toluene removal was observed to be inhibited at H(2)S concentration of 220 ppm as well. Almost complete removal of NH(3) and H(2)S was achieved when loading rate was applied up to 16.14 g-NH(3)/(m(3) bed h) and 36.09 g-H(2)S/(m(3) bed h), respectively. The maximum elimination capacity for NH(3) was determined to be 23.67 g-NH(3)/(m(3) bed h) at 78.6% removal efficiency and for H(2)S, 38.50 g-H(2)S/(m(3) bed h) at 68.1% removal efficiency. The maximum toluene elimination capacity was 30.75 g-toluene/(m(3) bed h) at 87.9% removal efficiency when the concentration of NH(3):H(2)S:toluene was 250:120:55 in BRC1, and was 16.60 g-toluene/(m(3) bed h) at 45.5% removal efficiency when the concentration of NH(3):H(2)S:toluene was 120:220:55 in BRC2. The pressure drops along both columns were low and the ratio of bed compactions over biofilter height was observed to be less than 0.02.     

Performance of a biofilter for the removal of high concentrations of styrene under steady and non-steady state conditions

The performance of a laboratory scale perlite biofilter inoculated with a mixed culture was evaluated for gas phase styrene removal under various operating conditions. Experiments were carried out by subjecting the biofilter to different flow rates (0.15–0.9 m³ h⁻¹) and concentrations (0.03–17.3 g m⁻³), corresponding to inlet loading rates varying from as low as 3 g m⁻³ h⁻¹ to as high as 1390 g m⁻³ h⁻¹. A maximum elimination capacity (EC) of 382 g m⁻³ h⁻¹ was achieved at an inlet loading rate of 464 g m⁻³ h⁻¹ with a removal efficiency of 82%. The high elimination capacity reached with this system could have been due to the dominant presence of filamentous fungi among others. The impact of relative humidity (RH) (30%, 60% and >92%) on the biofilter performance was evaluated at two constant loading rates, viz., 80 and 260 g m⁻³ h⁻¹, showing that inhibitory effects were only significant when combining the highest loads with the lowest relative humidities. Biomass distribution, moisture content and concentration profiles along the bed height were significantly dependent on the relative humidity of the inlet air and on the loading rate. The dynamic behaviour of the biofilter through vigorous short and long-term shock loads was tested at different process conditions. The biofilter was found to respond apace to rapid changes in loading conditions. The stability of the biomass within the reactor was apparent from the fast response of the biofilter to recuperate and handle intermittent shutdown and restart operations, either with or without nutrient addition.     

聚氧化乙烯气体分离膜的发展

聚氧化乙烯[poly(ethylene oxide),PEO]类膜材料含有大量与CO2有很强相互作用的醚氧基团,使得它具有很高的CO2/light gases(例如:H2、N2、CH4)溶解选择性,因此带来很高的CO2/light gases选择性.介绍了具有高溶解选择性CO2气体分离膜材料的筛选,重点叙述了PEO类膜材料的发展以及目前主要的PEO类膜材料的气体分离性能.当PEO含量达到足够高时,PEO类膜材料的CO2/light gases选择性大小基本相同,而它们的CO2透气性随着膜材料链段结构的不同而有较大不同.     

Effect of key parameters on the removal of formaldehyde and methanol in gas-phase biotrickling filters

The effect of some important operation parameters, as pH, pollutant load and composition of the nutrient media, on the biodegradation of a mixture of formaldehyde and methanol in a gas-phase biotrickling filter was studied. pH proved to affect the degradation of both compounds at moderately acidic values. Replacing ammonium with nitrate as nitrogen source in the liquid solution led to a slight decrease in performance, though this difference was not really significant. A slight decrease in the elimination rate was also observed when reducing the N-NO(3)(-) concentration to 60% of its original value. No interactions between the two pollutants were found under our working conditions.     

Polychlorinated biphenyls removal from weathered municipal solid waste incineration fly ash by collector-assisted column flotation

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are highly toxic micropollutants emitted from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI), in particular, concentrated in the unburned carbon (UC) of MSWI fly ash. Because of concerns over their adverse health effects, a number of countries have classified MSWI fly ash as hazardous material and required further treatment before its final disposal in landfills. The technologies for removing the toxic chlorinated micropollutants in the MSWI fly ash have been studied, however, until now no mature technique has been obtained in this purpose. In this research, we used a technique of collector-assisted column flotation to remove PCBs-enriched UC from MSWI fly ash. We found that 36.9% PCBs could be removed from fresh MSWI fly ash with 61.7% UC removal efficiency, whereas only 21.7% PCBs could be removed from weathered MSWI fly ash with a low UC removal efficiency of 33.7%. By adding a mixture of two kinds of surfactants: sorbitan mono-oleate and polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan mono-oleate to the weathered fly ash slurry as the collector assistant, 39.3% PCBs was removed at the hydrophile–lipophile balance (HLB) value of 13.5, while the UC removal efficiency increased to 49.0%. The results showed that the collector assistant could enhance PCBs and UC removal efficiencies during the column flotation process, and the mechanism has been discussed in detail. Higher PCBs and UC removal efficiencies could be expected by further optimizing the conditions of collector-assisted column flotation.     

Study on a new surfactant for removal of phenol from wastewater by emulsion liquid membrane

Removal of phenol from wastewater using emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) is studied in present study. A new polyamine-type surfactant was synthesized and used for stabilizing of the emulsion phase. The results for the emulsion made by the synthesized surfactant showed much better stability and performance in the separation process compared to that by conventionally used Span 80. To determine the optimum operation conditions, the effect of several parameters such as emulsifier concentration, concentration of NaOH in the internal phase, oil to internal phase volume ratio, mixing intensity, temperature, solvent type, and stabilizer concentration have been investigated. It was found that under the optimum conditions, more than 98% of phenol can be removed in a single-stage process. The removal efficiency can be increased to 99.8% in a two-stage process.     

The influence of the cadmium source on the shape of CdSe nanoparticles

Tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) and hexadecylamine (HDA) capped CdSe nanoparticles in the shape of spheres and rods have been synthesized employing a hybrid route involving solution chemistry and thermolysis at high temperatures. The influence of the cadmium source on the shape of the nanoparticles was studied. When cadmium chloride is used spherical particles are formed, however when cadmium carbonate is used rod shaped TOPO and HDA CdSe particles are observed. The absorption and photoluminescence of the CdSe nanorods are also reported.     

获取优良分散性炭黑的表面硝酸氧化

为得到具有良好分散性的炭黑,考察其表面的化学性质,利用硝酸长时间氧化,用沉降度检测炭黑的分散性,并利用红外光谱、X射线光电子能谱及激光粒度仪检测其表面的物化性质.研究表明:硝酸氧化增加了炭黑的表面含氧量及炭黑的酸性,使炭黑的分散性得到了极大的提高;硝酸氧化在炭黑表面引进了羧基基团和羟基基团.     

Improving the thermal and mechanical properties of polysulfone by incorporation of graphene oxide

Nanocomposites of polysulfone (PSF)-graphene oxide (GO) were prepared by classical phase inversion method. The structural and surface features and the mechanical and thermal performances of the prepared materials were investigated in detail. TEM and X-ray diffraction analysis indicated a good compatibility and excellent dispersability with PSF matrix for the low GO content (0.25, 0.5 and 1 wt.%) composites. It was observed that GO dispersion was reasonably homogeneous for the composite with 2 wt.% GO. The mechanical properties of the prepared materials were found to be greatly enhanced by the addition of GO for some compositions. The thermogravimetrical investigation demonstrated considerable improvements in thermal stability for the composite with low GO content. This novel material offers a feasible candidate for practical membrane application.     

Experimental determination of equilibrium constant for the complexing reaction of nitric oxide with hexamminecobalt(II) in aqueous solution

Ammonia solution can be used to scrub NO from the flue gases by adding soluble cobalt(II) salts into the aqueous ammonia solutions. The hexamminecobalt(II), Co(NH3)6(2+), formed by ammonia binding with Co2+ is the active constituent of eliminating NO from the flue gas streams. The hexamminecobalt(II) can combine with NO to form a complex. For the development of this process, the data of the equilibrium constants for the coordination between NO and Co(NH3)6(2+)over a range of temperature is very important. Therefore, a series of experiments were performed in a bubble column to investigate the chemical equilibrium. The equilibrium constant was determined in the temperature range of 30.0-80.0 degrees C under atmospheric pressure at pH 9.14. All experimental data fit the following equation well: [formula: see text] where the enthalpy and entropy are DeltaH degrees = - (44.559 +/- 2.329)kJ mol(-1) and DeltaS degrees = - (109.50 +/- 7.126) J K(-1)mol(-1), respectively.     

Deposition of low-resistivity gallium-doped zinc oxide films by low-temperature radio-frequency magnetron sputtering

The transparent and conductive gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) film was deposited on 1737F Corning glass using the radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering system with a GZO ceramic target. (The Ga₂O₃ contents are approximately 5 wt. %). In this study, the effect of the sputtering pressure on the structural, optical and electrical properties of GZO films upon the glass or polyester film (PET) substrate was investigated and discussed in detail. The GZO film was grown under a steady RF power of 400 W and a lower substrate temperature from room temperature up to 200 °C. The crystal structure and orientation of GZO thin films were examined by X-ray diffraction. All of the GZO films under various sputtering pressures had strong c-axis (002)-preferred orientation. Optical transparency was high (> 80%) over a wide spectral range from 380 nm to 900 nm. According to the experimental data, the resistivity of a single-layered GZO film was optimized at  8.3 × 10^− 4 Ω cm and significantly influenced by the sputtering pressure. In further research, the sandwich structure of the GZO film/Au metal/GZO film was demonstrated to improve the electrical properties of the single-layered GZO film. The resistivity of the sandwich-structured GZO film was around 2.8 × 10^− 4 Ω cm.     

碳纳米管对激光选区熔化成形Al基复合材料的影响

基于激光选区熔化（SLM）方式,通过改变扫描速度,制备不同碳纳米管（CNTs,质量分数分别为0、0.5wt%、1.0wt%、1.5wt%、2.0wt%）含量的CNTs/Al复合材料试件,探究不同CNTs含量与激光扫描速度对试件性能的影响。结果表明,CNTs含量小于1.0wt%时,分散效果较好,大部分CNTs以单根状态黏附于Al粉表面;含量大于1.0wt%时,CNTs团聚尺寸增大、数量增多。相同SLM成形工艺下,低CNTs含量的CNTs/Al复合材料试件内部孔隙较少,致密度较高;高CNTs含量的CNTs/Al复合材料试件内部孔隙逐渐增多,致密度降低。激光扫描速度为1 300 mm/s工艺下,随着CNTs质量分数的增加,CNTs/Al复合材料试件硬度呈先上升后下降趋势,在CNTs含量为1.0wt%显微硬度达到最高。CNTs/Al复合材料试件平均晶粒尺寸相对于铝合金试件更加细化,在CNTs含量大于1.0wt%时,尽管晶粒依然细化,但试件致密度降低造成显微硬度下降明显。     

Rapid thermal processing of nano-crystalline indium tin oxide transparent conductive oxide coatings on glass by flame impingement technology

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is still the best suited material for transparent conductive oxides, when high transmission in the visible range, high infrared reflection or high electrical conductivity is needed. Current approaches on powder-based printable ITO coatings aim at minimum consumption of active coating and low processing costs. The paper describes how fast firing by flame impingement is used for effective sintering of ITO-coatings applied on glass. The present study correlates process parameters of fast firing by flame impingement with optoelectronic properties and changes in the microstructure of suspension derived nano-particulate films. With optimum process parameters the heat treated coatings had a sheet resistance below 0.5 kΩ/_□ combined with a transparency higher than 80%. To characterize the influence of the burner type on the process parameters and the coating functionality, two types of methane/oxygen burner were compared: a diffusion burner and a premixed burner.     

沥青基活性炭纤维的制备及其对NO的催化氧化

以沥青基炭纤维为原料,用水蒸气活化的方法制备了三种不同比表面积的活性炭纤维,并采用氮吸附法和拉曼光谱对活性炭纤维进行了表征。本文研究了活性炭纤维在常温下对模拟空气中50 ppm NO的催化氧化性能,结果表明,活性炭纤维可将NO部分催化转化为NO2,较低比表面积的活性炭纤维因为其较窄的孔径分布和较大的类石墨微晶有利于对NO的催化氧化。     

等离子体源离子注入法制备类金刚石薄膜

用等离子体源注入(PSII)在Si(100)上制备类金刚石膜，放电气体采用CH4，用微波电子回旋共振(ECR)产生等离子体。将-20～-30kV的高压加在衬底上，来提高离子的能量。通过Raman光谱和FT-IR光谱检测了类金刚石膜的化学组成及状态，并对其机械性能和表面形貌进行了检测。结果显示，硅片硬度和摩擦因数得到了改善，用PSII能够制备出性能优良的膜，可以将其应用到微电子器件(MEMS)上去。