Physical and ecological controls on freshwater floc trace metal dynamics

Significantly higher concentrations of Ag, As, Cu, Co, Ni, and Pb are found in suspended floc compared to surficial bed sediments for a freshwater beach in Lake Ontario. Contrasting observed element-specific bed sediment metal partitioning patterns, floc sequestration for all elements is dominated by one substrate: amorphous oxyhydroxides. More specifically, floc metal scavenging is controlled by floc biogeochemical architecture. Floc organics, largely living microbial cells and associated exopolymeric substances (EPS), act as scaffolds for the collection and/or templating of amorphous Fe oxyhydroxides. While interactions between floc organics and amorphous Fe oxyhydroxides affected floc sorption behavior, specific element affinities and competition for these limited substrates was important for overall floc partitioning. Further, assessment of metal dynamics during stormy conditions indicated energy-regime driven shifts in floc and bed sediment partitioning that were specifically linked to the exchange of floc and bed sedimentary materials. These novel results demonstrate that the microbial nature of floc formation exerts an important control on floc metal dynamics distinguishable from surficial bed sediments and that hydrologic energy-regime is an important factor to consider in overall floc metal behavior, especially in beach environments.     

Adsorption of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions using ion exchange resins with different functional groups

The extraction of heavy metals from industrial effluents using efficient adsorbents is crucial for wastewater treatment and beneficial for metal recycling. In this study, the removal of Cu(II) from an acidic solution by commercial resins Dowex G-26 and Puromet™ MTS9570 was investigated. The influences of contact time, solution concentration, pH, temperature, and a resin dosage on the adsorption process were studied with batch technique. The optimum adsorption conditions were obtained at a concentration of 1100 mg/L Cu, contact time of 30 min, pH 3.5, and resin dosage of 0.025 g/ml for the removal of 99.9% and 90% of copper ions by G-26 and MTS9570, respectively. The experimental data of copper adsorption were analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models. The highest metal uptakes of 41.67 and 37.70 mg/g were observed for Dowex G-26 and MTS9570, respectively. It was found that both resins had higher adsorption capacities than the substances reported in the literature. The adsorption kinetic studies showed that the copper adsorption process could be better described by the pseudo-second order model. Adsorption occurs spontaneously under endothermic conditions, which indicates the endothermic nature of the process.     

Interfacial Interactions in Particle-Induced Abnormal Grain Growth

The presence of secondary particles to polycrystalline alloys results in kinetic stabilization of the grain boundaries, which maintains desirable fine microstructures. In some instances, secondary particles trigger abnormal grain growth. The mechanisms influencing abnormal grain growth are still a subject of conjecture. As dispersed fine particles can contribute to abnormal grain growth, it is necessary to clarify the governing mechanism by which this occurs. The current work employs a multiphase field modeling approach to shed light onto abnormal grain growth. Particular attention is placed on understanding the role of grain boundary–particle interactions on abnormal grain growth. The results show that, in the presence of particles, normal grain growth occurs until a pinned state is achieved. In the pinned state, some grains overcome the pinning pressure exerted by some particles by piercing through the particles, which results in abnormal grain growth. The piercing events appear to be entirely random and not related to the size of the interacting particles. None-the-less, a bimodal particle size distribution is observed to lead to abnormal grain growth. A pinning parameter is introduced as a metric to identify the transition from normal to abnormal grain growth.