Ultrasonic degradation of Rhodamine B in aqueous solution: influence of operational parameters

The aim of the study was to investigate decolorization of Rhodamine B (RB) in aqueous solution using ultrasonic degradation. The results showed that decolorization follows pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics. The apparent reaction rate constant (kap) was found to increase with decreasing pH and decreases with increasing initial RB concentration. Power density was very important parameter and increasing it causes a considerable increase of removal efficiency. UV-vis spectral changes of RB indicate that in the sonolysis of RB, the cleavage of aromatic chromophore ring structure and the N-deethylation take place, but decomposition of aromatic structure is predominant.     

Surfactant assisted exfoliation of high purity graphene in aqueous solution as a nanofluid using kitchen blender: Influence on dispersion,thermal conductivity and rheological properties

In this work, graphene is exfoliated from graphite flakes in distilled water solution containing Tween 80 as surfactant and by using the mechanical exfoliation method through a kitchen blender. The blending time is an important parameter for the size reduction and concentration of graphene exfoliation in a nanofluid. Graphene obtained using a kitchen blender is of high purity having no basal plane defects, as depicted from Raman spectroscopic investigation. The viscosity of graphene nanofluid increases with blending time up to 7 h and thereafter the viscosity decreases. All graphene nanofluid samples prepared using different blending time shows shear thinning behavior by fitting the power law of non-linear viscoelastic measurement data. The linear viscoelastic region measured was in the strain range of 0.01–0.8%. Further, the frequency sweep measurement using a rheometer has indicated the gel-like behavior of graphene nanofluid in a certain frequency range and depends on the concentration of graphene. The use of two-dimensional nanosheets-based nanofluid has attracted the attention of researchers for improving pool boiling properties. Herein, the pool boiling of graphene nanofluid at 7 h of blending shows the 77.4% enhancement in critical heat flux (CHF). This work has established mechanical exfoliation as a process to synthesize the graphene nanofluid and can be used for heat transfer applications.     

Adsorption of Direct Red 80 dye from aqueous solution onto almond shells: effect of pH, initial concentration and shell type

The adsorption of Direct Red 80 (DR 80) dye from aqueous solution on almond shells as an eco-friendly and low-cost adsorbent was studied. The effect of shell type (internal, external and mixture shells), pH and initial dye concentration were considered to evaluate the sorption capacity of almond shell adsorbent. The mixture type of almond shell showed to be more effective. The adsorption studies revealed that the mixture type of almond shells remove about 97% of the DR 80 dye from aqueous phase after 1h of the adsorption process in a batch system. Although, pH changes did not appreciably affect the adsorption process but the maximum adsorption capacity of different types of almond shells (20.5, 16.96 and 16.4 mg/g for mixture, external and internal shells) were obtained at pH 2. However, in order to have a better control on the experimental conditions, pH 6 was selected for conducting all adsorption experiments. Initial dye concentration was varied from 50 to 150 mg/L. Higher concentrations of dye in aqueous solution reduced DR 80 dye adsorption efficiency of almond shells. Equilibrium data were attempted by various adsorption isotherms including Langmuir, Freundlich and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) models. It was found that the adsorption process by mixture type of almond shells follows the Langmuir non-linear isotherm. Furthermore, the experimental data by internal and external almond shells could be well described by the BET and Freundlich isotherm models, respectively. The pseudo-second-order kinetics provides the best correlation of the experimental data.     

Decolorization of an azo dye Orange G in aqueous solution by Fenton oxidation process: effect of system parameters and kinetic study

To establish cost-efficient operating conditions for potential application of Fenton oxidation process to treat wastewater containing an azo dye Orange G (OG), some important operating parameters such as pH value of solutions, dosages of H(2)O(2) and Fe(2+), temperature, presence/absence of chloride ion and concentration of the dye, which effect on the decolorization of OG in aqueous solution by Fenton oxidation have been investigated systematically. In addition, the decolorization kinetics of OG was also elucidated based on the experimental data. The results showed that a suitable decolorization condition was selected as initial pH 4.0, H(2)O(2) dosage 1.0 x 10(-2)M and molar ratio of [H(2)O(2)]/[Fe(2+)] 286:1. The decolorization of OG enhanced with the increasing of reaction temperature but decreased as a presence of chloride ion. On the given conditions, for 2.21 x 10(-5) to 1.11 x 10(-4)M of OG, the decolorization efficiencies within 60 min were more than 94.6%. The decolorization kinetics of OG by Fenton oxidation process followed the second-order reaction kinetics, and the apparent activation energy E, was detected to be 34.84 kJ mol(-1). The results can provide fundamental knowledge for the treatment of wastewater containing OG and/or other azo dyes by Fenton oxidation process.     

Biosorption of copper ions from aqueous solution by Codium vermilara: Optimization,kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies

In this investigation, the efficiency of Codium vermilara for copper ions removal from aqueous solution was studied. Central Composite Design has been used for the Response Surface Methodology and has been found to be an effective method for investigating the influences of various variables and their interactions on the efficiency of Cu²⁺ ions removal. The interactive impacts of four variables: algal dose, pH, initial concentrations of copper and contact time on the copper removal efficiency were assessed. Algal dose 0.75 g/L, pH 5.28, contact time 70.51 min, and copper concentration 48.75 mg/L were found to be the conditions of optimum biosorption. The efficiency of copper removal was found to be 85.5% under these optimum conditions. Copper removal on the biomass of C. vermilara followed well the kinetics of pseudo-first-order, Elvoish and Intraparticle diffusion. Compared to the other models, Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm best suited the experimental data revealing that the adsorption mechanism was physical adsorption. Thermodynamic parameters exhibited non-spontaneous, randomness and endothermic biosorption of Cu²⁺ ions. Additionally, the biosorbent characterization was estimated by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared analysis. Thus, C. vermilara could be used as possible biosorbent for removing heavy metals and other pollutants from the environment.     

Adsorption of reactive dye from an aqueous solution by chitosan: isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic analysis

The adsorption of Remazol black 13 (Reactive) dye onto chitosan in aqueous solutions was investigated. Experiments were carried out as function of contact time, initial dye concentration (100-300mg/L), particle size (0.177, 0.384, 1.651mm), pH (6.7-9.0), and temperature (30-60 degrees C). The equilibrium adsorption data of reactive dye on chitosan were analyzed by Langmuir and Freundlich models. The maximum adsorption capacity (qm) has been found to be 91.47-130.0mg/g. The amino group nature of the chitosan provided reasonable dye removal capability. The kinetics of reactive dye adsorption nicely followed the pseudo-first and second-order rate expression which demonstrates that intraparticle diffusion plays a significant role in the adsorption mechanism. Isotherms have also been used to obtain the thermodynamic parameters such as free energy, enthalpy and entropy of adsorption. The positive value of the enthalpy change (0.212kJ/mol) indicated that the adsorption is endothermic process. The results indicate that chitosan is suitable as adsorbent material for adsorption of reactive dye form aqueous solutions.     

Biosorption of 2,4-dichlorophenol from aqueous solution by Phanerochaete chrysosporium biomass: isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics

The biosorption of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) from aqueous solution on non-living mycelial pellets of Phanerochaete chrysosporium was studied with respect to pH, initial concentration of 2,4-DCP, temperature and pellet size. The fungal biomass exhibited the highest sorption capacity of 4.09 mg/g at an initial pH of 5.0, initial 2,4-DCP concentration of 50.48 mg/l, 25 degrees C and a pellet size of 1.0-1.5 mm in the investigated pH 2.0-11.0, initial concentrations of 5-50 mg/l, temperature 25-50 degrees C, and pellet size of 1.0-2.5 mm. The Freundlich model exhibited a slightly better fit to the biosorption data of 2,4-DCP than the Langmuir model. The biosorption of 2,4-DCP to biomass followed pseudo second-order adsorption kinetics. The second-order kinetic constants decreased with increasing temperature, and the apparent activation energy of biosorption was estimated to be -16.95 kJ/mol. The thermodynamic analysis indicates that the biosorption process was exothermic and that the adsorption of 2,4-DCP on P. chrysosporium might be physical in nature. Both intraparticle diffusion and kinetic resistances might affect the adsorption rate and that their relative effects varied with operation temperature in the biosorption of 2,4-DCP by mycelial pellets.     

Optimization of Fenton process for treatment of amoxicillin, ampicillin and cloxacillin antibiotics in aqueous solution

The study examined the effect of operating conditions of the Fenton process on biodegradability improvement and mineralization of amoxicillin, ampicillin and cloxacillin antibiotics in aqueous solution. In addition, degradation of amoxicillin, ampicillin and cloxacillin under optimum operating conditions were evaluated. The optimum operating conditions for an aqueous solution containing 104, 105 and 103 mg/L amoxicillin, ampicillin, and cloxacillin, respectively were observed to be COD/H₂O₂/Fe²⁺ molar ratio 1:3:0.30 and pH 3. Under optimum operating conditions, complete degradation of amoxicillin, ampicillin and cloxacillin occurred in 2 min. In addition, biodegradability improved from 0 to 0.37 in 10 min, and COD and DOC degradation were 81.4% and 54.3%, respectively in 60 min. Maximum biodegradability (BOD₅/COD ratio) improvement was achieved in 10, 20 and 40 min at antibiotics concentration 100, 250 and 500 mg/L, respectively for each antibiotic in aqueous solution. Increase in nitrate and ammonia concentration were observed due to mineralization of organic nitrogen, concentration of nitrate increased from 0.3 to 10 mg/L and concentration of ammonia increased from 8 to 13 mg/L in 60 min. The study indicated that Fenton process can be used for pretreatment of amoxicillin, ampicillin and cloxacillin wastewater for biological treatment.     

Synthesis, characterization and magnetoresistance properties study of magnetite thin films by electroless plating in aqueous solution

Polycrystalline half-metallic Fe₃O₄ films with 1 μm in thickness were synthesized on glass substrates directly by electroless plating in aqueous solution at 90 °C without heat treatment. The films have single pure spinal phase structure and the well-crystallized columnar grains grow perpendicularly to the substrates, as revealed by XRD, XPS and SEM. At room temperature, the films exhibit negative magnetoresistance (MR) ratio of about −5.1%, which is ascribed to intergranular tunneling of spin polarized electrons of Fe₃O₄. The resistivity R of the films with 1 μm in thickness at room temperature is about 5.2 × 10⁻¹ Ω cm. The cation distribution and the arrangement of the magnetic moments of the plated Fe₃O₄ ferrite thin films are different from that of the bulk materials, which is likely to be one of the reasons for the modification of R and MR properties.     

Reduction and adsorption of Pb in aqueous solution by nano-zero-valent iron—A SEM, TEM and XPS study

This study reports the synthesis, characterisation and application of nano-zero-valent iron (nZVI). The nZVI was produced by a reduction method and compared with commercial available ZVI powder for Pb²⁺ removal from aqueous phase. Comparing with commercial ZVI, the laboratory made nZVI powder has a much higher specific surface area. XRD patterns have revealed zero-valent iron phases in two ZVI materials. Different morphologies have been observed using SEM and TEM techniques. EDX spectrums revealed even distribution of Pb on surface after reaction. The XPS analysis has confirmed that immobilized lead was present in its zero-valent and bivalent forms. ‘Core-shell’ structure of prepared ZVI was revealed based on combination of XRD and XPS characterisations. In addition, comparing with Fluka ZVI, this lab made nZVI has much higher reactivity towards Pb²⁺ and within just 15 min 99.9% removal can be reached. This synthesized nano-ZVI material has shown great potential for heavy metal immobilization from wastewater.     

Polymorph selection and nanocrystallite rearrangement of calcium carbonate in carboxymethyl chitosan aqueous solution: Thermodynamic and kinetic analysis

In this article, the polymorph selection of calcium carbonate has been successfully achieved in water-soluble carboxymethyl chitosan aqueous solution at different temperatures (25-95 °C). Vaterite is formed in carboxymethyl chitosan solution 25 °C accompanied with trace of calcite, whereas pure aragonite is obtained at 95 °C. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses show that the products are formed from the recrystallization of nanometer crystallites. Thermodynamic and kinetic analyses reveal that the polymorph of calcium carbonate is controlled and selected by kinetics in various temperatures. As a heterogeneous nucleator and stabilizing agent, carboxymethyl chitosan changes the nucleation and growth of calcium carbonate from thermodynamic into kinetic control. Under kinetic limitation, the reaction rate of aragonite increases along with the elevating of temperature and surpasses the rate of vaterite above 327 K.     

Biosorption of total chromium from aqueous solution by red algae (Ceramium virgatum): equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies

This study focused on the biosorption of total chromium onto red algae (Ceramium virgatum) biomass from aqueous solution. Experimental parameters affecting biosorption process such as pH, contact time, biomass dosage and temperature were studied. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) models were applied to describe the biosorption isotherms. Langmuir model fitted the equilibrium data better than the Freundlich isotherm. The biosorption capacity of C. virgatum biomass for total chromium was found to be 26.5 mg/g at pH 1.5 and 10 g/L biomass dosage, 90 min equilibrium time and 20 °C. From the D–R isotherm model, the mean free energy was calculated as 9.7 kJ/mol, indicating that the biosorption of total chromium was taken place by chemisorption. The calculated thermodynamic parameters (ΔG°, ΔH°and ΔS°) showed that the biosorption of total chromium onto C. virgatum biomass was feasible, spontaneous and exothermic at 20–50 °C. Kinetic evaluation of experimental data showed that the biosorption processes of total chromium followed well pseudo-second-order kinetics.     

Inviscid instability of an unbounded shear layer: effect of surface tension, density and velocity profile

The inviscid temporal stability analysis of an unbounded shear layer of two fluids of different density is investigated. Two background velocity profiles are considered: the piecewise-linear profile and the more realistic error-function profile. The disturbance kinetic energy is analyzed to physically understand the mechanism that causes instability. The surface-tension effect is investigated extensively. Surface tension is found to destabilize the neutrally stable waves that exist when surface tension is absent. This surface-tension-induced unstable mode is generally weaker than the dominant mode and extremely less evident when the density and/or viscosity difference increases. Short-wavelength instability is observed with a background viscosity jump at the interface. A comparison between the two velocity profiles is presented. The piecewise-linear profile does not match the more realistic results obtained with the error-function profile in the short wavelength range, especially in nonhomogeneous shear-layer flows; however, the phase-speed results are in a good agreement with those of the error-function profile.     

Efficient removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution by natural pyrite/rhodochrosite derived materials: Performance,kinetic and mechanism

In this work, pyrite/rhodochrosite (Py_xRh_y) composite synthesized from natural pyrite and rhodochrosite to remediate Cr(VI) containing wastewater was systematically investigated and evaluated. Results show that pyrite/rhodochrosite (1:1) showed the best Cr(VI) removal performance. XRD showed that emergence of MnS and pyrrhotite contributed to a significant increasing Cr(VI) reduction rate. The estimated maximum adsorption capacity was 95.58 mg/g at pH value of 6, temperature of 303.15 k, which was larger than other iron and manganese-based materials. Additionally, thermodynamic study illuminated that Cr(VI) removal by Py₁Rh₁ was a spontaneous and endothermic process. Taffel curve and EIS result presented higher corrosion current and lower electrical resistance for Py₁Rh₁, respectively, which was more favorable for the electron transfer. The surface cyclic regeneration of Fe(II) and Mn(II) provided long-term electron transfer to the Cr(VI) reduction. Our results demonstrated the great potentials of natural pyrite and rhodochrosite synthetic materials in the remediation of Cr(VI) polluted water.     

Intramolecular synergistic effect of glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine against copper corrosion in hydrochloric acid solution

The corrosion protection of copper by glutamic acid, cysteine, glycine and their derivative (glutathione) in 0.5 M hydrochloric acid solution has been studied by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The inhibition efficiency of the organic inhibitors on copper corrosion increases in the order: glutathione > cysteine > cysteine + glutamic acid + glycine > glutamic acid > glycine. Maximum inhibition efficiency for cysteine reaches about 92.9% at 15 mM concentration level. The glutathione can give 96.4% inhibition efficiency at a concentration of 10 mM. The molecular structure parameters were obtained by PM3 (Parametric Method 3) semi-empirical calculation. The intramolecular synergistic effect of glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine moieties in glutathione is attributed to the lower energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (E_LUMO) level and to the excess hetero-atom adsorption centers and the bigger coverage on the copper surface.     

Simultaneous preconcentration and removal of iron, chromium, nickel with N,N'-etylenebis-(ethane sulfonamide) ligand on activated carbon in aqueous solution and determination by ICP-OES

In this study, Fe, Cr and Ni have been preconcentrated and removed by using N,N'-ethylenebis (ethane sulfonamide), (ESEN) ligand on activated carbon (AC) in aqueous solution. For this purpose, complexes between these metals and ligands have been investigated and used in preconcentration and removal studies. Factors which have affected adsorption of metals on activated carbon have been optimized. Adsorbed metals have been preconcentrated 10-fold and determined by ICP-OES. Interferences of Ca, Mg and K to this process have been investigated. The proposed method has been applied to the tap water and Ankara Creek water in order to Fe, Cr, and Ni remediation and preconcentration. Determination of metals by ICP-OES has been checked with standard reference material (NIST 1643e). The proposed method provides the recoveries of 87%, 108% and 106% for Fe, Cr and Ni, respectively, in preconcentration. It also provides the removal of Fe, Cr and Ni by 93%, 100% and 100% removal from waters, respectively.     

Na0.5Li0.5CoO2 nanopowders: Facile synthesis,characterization and their application for the removal of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution

In this paper, delafossite-type Na_0.5Li_0.5CoO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) with an average particle size of 50 nm were successfully synthesized by sol–gel method. Prepared NPs were characterized by differential thermal analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy. The nanoparticles showed the excellent adsorption properties towards methylene blue dye (MBD) as a reactive dye. The kinetics of removal of MBD in aqueous solutions was studied in a series of experiments which were varied in the amount of NPs, contact time, pH, and temperature. The experimental data were fitted very well in the pseudo-second order kinetic model and the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model. 92% of dye was successfully removed in 10 min using 0.02 g Na_0.5Li_0.5CoO₂ NPs in a pH = 11. Thermodynamic study indicates that the adsorption of MBD is feasible, and spontaneous in nature.     

Synthesis of interstratified graphene/montmorillonite composite material through organics-pillared,delamination and co-stacking and its application in hexavalent chromium removal from aqueous solution

Layers from two different delaminated dispersions of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES)-intercalated montmorillonite (Mts) and octylamine (OA)-intercalated graphene oxide (GO) could be co-stacked to obtain APTES-intercalated Mts (Mts-APTES)/OA-intercalated GO (GO-OA) interstratified composites (MAGO). The synthesized composites were characterized by XRD, FTIR, BET, TGA, TEM and XPS, which showed that MAGO had been prepared successfully. The optimal concentration of APTES was 8% in anhydrous toluene which avoided self-polymerization of APTES while facilitating the nucleophilic attack of APTES amine groups and the protic character of ethanol to compete with silane for the intimal hydroxyl groups by H-bonding. The MAGO demonstrated an extremely fast Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solution with a high removal efficiency at low pH. Data from batch studies of the adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The results fit a Langmuir model of adsorption, with maximum adsorption capacities of MAGO composites at pH 3.0 being 44.25 mg g^?1, 47.46 mg g^?1, 49.58 mg g^?1 under 30 °C, 40 °C, 50 °C, respectively, which were much higher than capacities of some conventional adsorbents. The reusability of the MAGO composite was also determined through adsorption-desorption studies, providing evidence for the potential use of MAGO composite in the removal of Cr(VI) from acidic wastewater.     

Removal of chromium(III) from aqueous solutions using Lewatit S 100: the effect of pH, time, metal concentration and temperature

The removal of the Cr(III) ion from aqueous solutions with the Lewatit S 100 ion-exchange resin is described; and the performance of this resin was compared with Chelex-100 resin. The effect of adsorbent dose, initial metal concentration, contact time, pH and temperature on the removal of Cr(III) was investigated. Lewatit S 100 shows a remarkable increase in sorption capacity for Cr(III). The Batch ion-exchange process was relatively fast; and it reached equilibrium after about 150 min of contact. The ion-exchange process, which is pH dependent show maximum removal of Cr(III) in the pH range 2.8-4.0 for an initial Cr(III) concentration of 1.0 x 10(-3)M. The equilibrium constants were 36.67 at pH value 3.5 for Lewatit S 100 and 6.64 at pH value 4.5 for Chelex-100 resin. Both of the resins had high-bonding constants. The equilibrium related to their ion-exchange capacity and the amount of the ion exchange was obtained by using the plots of the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. It was observed that the maximum ion-exchange capacity of 0.39 mmol of Cr(III)/g for Lewatit S 100 and 0.29 mmol of Cr(III)/g for Chelex-100 was achieved at optimum pH values of 3.5 and 4.5, respectively. The thermodynamic equilibrium constant and the Gibbs free energy flow were calculated for each system. The ion exchange of Cr(III) on these cation-exchange resins followed first-order reversible kinetics. The intra-particle diffusion of Cr(III) on ion-exchange resin represented the rate-limiting step. The rise in temperature caused a slight increase in the value of the equilibrium constant (K(c)) for the sorption of Cr(III) ion for both resins.     

Efficient removal of Cr (VI) from aqueous solution by halloysite/poly(amidoamine) dendritic nano-hybrid materials: kinetic,isotherm and thermodynamic studies

This paper demonstrates functionalization of a new hybrid nanoclay for effective adsorption of chromium(VI) ions from wastewater. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were functionalized by poly(amidoamine) dendritic polymers (HNTs-(DEN-NH₂)) via a convergent synthetic route by carboxylic acid as a linkage. Various characterization methods confirm that poly(amidoamine) dendritic groups were effectively grafted onto the surface of HNTs that found a high specific surface area of 75 m²/g, as measured by micrometric BET analyzer. Moreover, the adsorption activity of HNTs-(DEN-NH₂) for Cr(VI) was systematically investigated using a batch solution that reveals the removal efficiency of 98% for HNTs-(DEN-NH₂) comparing to 23% for pristine HNTs, at optimum conditions. The enhancement of Cr(VI) removal for HNTs-(DEN-NH₂) comparing to HNTs was mainly ascribed to be due to the electrostatic interaction, that was confirmed by the results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, regeneration studies display that HNTs-(DEN-NH₂) can maintain removal Cr(VI) with high efficiency after four consecutive cycles.