Performance of activated carbon and bentonite for adsorption of amoxicillin from wastewater: Mechanisms, isotherms and kinetics

Amoxicillin's traces within pharmaceutical effluents have toxic impact toward the algae and other lower organisms within food web. Adsorption, as an efficient process to remove contaminants from water was chosen; in particular with bentonite and activated carbon as adsorbents. The study was carried out at several pH values. Langmuir and Freundlich models were then employed to correlate the equilibria data on which both models equally well-fit the data. For kinetic data, pseudo-first and second order models are selected. While chemisorption is the dominant adsorption mechanism on the bentonite case, both physisorption and chemisorption play important roles for adsorption onto activated carbon. Also, several possible mechanisms for these adsorption systems were elaborated further.     

Geometrical optimization of packed-bed and parallel-plate active magnetic regenerators

The paper presents the numerical optimization of a packed-bed and a parallel-plate AMR with gadolinium as the magnetocaloric material. The diameter of the spheres and the length of the packed-bed AMR, and the plate thickness, the spacing between the plates (porosity) and the length of the parallel-plate AMR, were varied and optimized. The results reveal that for the considered conditions the optimum length of the packed-bed AMR should be 20 mm or less at higher operating frequency (3 Hz) and 40 mm at lower operating frequency (0.5 Hz) and the corresponding optimum sphere diameter should be between 0.07 mm (with regard to the cooling load) and 0.17 mm (with regard to the COP). The parallel-plate AMR should consist of plates that are as thin as possible, with a spacing between the plates of 0.035 mm (with regard to the cooling load) and 0.075 mm (with regard to the COP).     

Carbon and non-carbon support materials for platinum-based catalysts in fuel cells

Carbon and other platinum-supporting materials have been studied as electrode catalyst component of low-temperature fuel cells. Platinum (Pt) is commonly used as the catalyst due to its high electro-catalytic activity. Current research is now focusing on using either modified carbon-based or non-carbon-based materials as catalyst supports to enhance the catalytic performance of Pt. In recent years, Pt and Pt-alloy catalysts supported on modified carbon-based and non-carbon-based materials have received remarkable interests due to their significant properties that can contribute to the excellent fuel cell performance. Thus, it is timely to review this topic, focusing on various modified carbon-based supports and their advantages, limitations and future prospects. Non-carbon-based support for Pt and Pt-alloy catalysts will also be discussed. Firstly, this review summarises the progress to date in the development of these catalyst support materials; from carbon black to the widely explored catalyst support, graphene. Secondly, a comparison and discussion of each catalyst support in terms of morphology, electro-catalytic activity, structural characteristics, and its fuel cell performance are emphasized. All the catalyst support materials reviewed are considered to be promising, high-potential candidates that may find commercial value as catalyst support materials for fuel cells. Finally, a brief discussion on cost relating Pt based catalyst for mass production is included.     

Preparation and characterization of phosphorylated Zr-doped hybrid silica/PSF composite membrane

Polysulfone (PSF) membranes are broadly applied in many fields owing to good physicochemical stability, resistance to oxidation and chlorine. But when treated with wastewater containing oil, PSF membranes are easy to be contaminated for its hydrophobicity, which can result in the declining of flux and lifespan of the membrane and limit their application in large scale. To enhance the capability of PSF membrane in the above circumstances, phosphorylated Zr-doped hybrid silica particles (SZP particles) were firstly prepared. SZP particles have various point defects inside their structure and lots of hydroxide radicals on their surface. SZP particles were added to the porous matrix of PSF to prepare a novel composite membrane (SZP/PSF) through a phase inversion process. Finally, the optimum preparation conditions of SZP/PSF composite membranes were determined. The optimum conditions are: the mass ratio of PSF, PEG400 and SZP is 12:10:10; ultrasound 10 min inside each 30 min; the pre-evaporating time is 10s. Optimized SZP/PSF composite membrane was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and ultrafiltration experiment. The results indicate that SZP particles can be uniformly dispersed in SZP/PSF composite membranes with excellent hydrophilic property, antifouling capability and tensile strength. Therefore, it can be concluded that the optimized SZP/PSF composite membrane is desirable in the treatment of wastewater containing oil and wastewater.     

Oxygen transport through dense BaBi0.05Sc0.1Co0.85O3−δ ceramic membrane

Novel dense perovskite BaBi_0.05Sc_0.1Co_0.85O_3−δ (BBSC) membranes showed promising flux performance to separate oxygen from air. The oxygen transport through BBSC in discs and hollow fibres geometry were modelled as a function of oxygen partial pressure in the permeate side and temperature using simple correlations. The oxygen diffusion (D_O) and surface exchange (k_S) coefficients and also the characteristic thickness (L_C) were extracted from the series of flux data based on disc membranes. Employing the obtained oxygen diffusion coefficient, the surface exchange coefficients (k_f and k_r) for the hollow fibre geometry can then be obtained from another tubular correlation by fitting with flux data based on hollow fibre membranes. The physical importance of the parameters (i.e. D_O, k_S, L_C, k_f and k_r) was discussed. The effects of controllable variables, i.e. temperature and oxygen partial pressure, in the permeate side onto oxygen flux performance were also elaborated.     

Equilibrium and kinetic studies in adsorption of heavy metals using biosorbent: a summary of recent studies

Distinctive adsorption equilibria and kinetic models are of extensive use in explaining the biosorption of heavy metals, denoting the need to highlight and summarize their essential issues, which is the main purpose of this paper. As a general trend, up until now, most studies on the biosorption of heavy metal ions by miscellaneous biosorbent types have been directed toward the uptake of single metal in preference to multicomponent systems. In particular, Langmuir and Freundlich models are the most common isotherms for correlating biosorption experimental data though other isotherms, which were initially established for gas phase applications, can also be extended onto biosorption system. In kinetic modeling, the pseudo-first and -second order equations are considered as the most celebrated models.     

Decontamination of hazardous substances from solid matrices and liquids using supercritical fluids extraction: a review

Supercritical fluid has been adopted as an extraction media to remove various kinds of substances from distinct types of solid matrices since three decades ago. Compared to conventional extraction mode, supercritical fluid extraction technology is preferred because of the flexibility in adjusting its dissolving power and inherent elimination of organic solvent which means reducing time and money needed for subsequent purification. Utilization of this method as an environmental remedial technology, however, has become a trend only after its accomplishment in analytical chemistry was acknowledged. This review tries to summarize in a comprehensive manner the multitude aspects involved in hazardous compounds removal from miscellaneous class of environmental matrices. The industrial adsorbent regeneration using supercritical fluid technology is also discussed. Although, this technology has been successfully realized for environmental remediation in laboratory and on pilot-plant scale, its commercialization attempts still lack significant technology improvement in order to reach the economic feasibility.     

Spectral characterization and calibration of AOTF spectrometers and hyper-spectral imaging systems

The goal of this article is to present a novel method for spectral characterization and calibration of spectrometers and hyper-spectral imaging systems based on non-collinear acousto-optical tunable filters. The method characterizes the spectral tuning curve (frequency-wavelength characteristic) of the AOTF (Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter) filter by matching the acquired and modeled spectra of the HgAr calibration lamp, which emits line spectrum that can be well modeled via AOTF transfer function. In this way, not only tuning curve characterization and corresponding spectral calibration but also spectral resolution assessment is performed simultaneously over the whole imaging plane. The obtained results indicated that the proposed method is efficient, accurate and feasible for routine calibration of AOTF spectrometers and hyper-spectral imaging systems and thereby a highly competitive alternative to the existing calibration methods.     

Deconvolution in acousto-optical tunable filter spectrometry

Spectrometers and spectral imaging systems based on the acousto-optical tunable filter (AOTF) are becoming commonly used in many different fields in which high spectral resolution is crucial, e.g., laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and absorption spectroscopy of gases. As AOTFs have many advantages over other spectroscopic instruments but lack spectral resolution, a procedure for resolution enhancement, composed of point spread function characterization and spectrum preprocessing and deconvolution, is proposed. Wiener, Fourier-wavelet regularized (ForWaRD), Richardson-Lucy, and Wavelet-Lucy deconvolution methods were tested and their performances assessed with two deconvolution quality measures: resolution enhancement and noise amplification. It was shown that the proposed spectral resolution enhancement is feasible and gives good results for line spectra and highly dynamic spectra.