Sulfur recycling into value-added materials: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - About 70 million tons of sulfur are produced yearly as a by-product of petroleum refining, and 10 millions are overproduced and accumulated, thus requiring...     

Conversion of waste plastics into value-added carbon materials

Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue worldwide, calling for advanced methods to recycle waste plastics in the context of the circular economy. Here we review methods and strategies to convert waste plastics into value-added carbon materials, with focus on sources, properties, pretreatment of waste plastics, and on preparation of carbon materials. Pretreatment techniques include mechanical crushing, plastic stabilization and electrospinning. Carbon materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon nanosheets, carbon spheres and porous carbon are prepared by oxygen-limited carbonization, catalytic carbonization, the template-based method, and pressure carbonization. We emphasize the conversion of polyethene terephthalate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, halogenated plastics, polyurethane and mixed plastics.

     

Integration of biogas systems into a carbon zero and hydrogen economy: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The Ukraine conflict has put critical pressure on gas supplies and increased the price of fertilisers. As a consequence, biogas has gained remarkable attention as...     

Rice straw for energy and value-added products in China: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The rise of global waste and the decline of fossil fuels are calling for recycling waste into energy and materials. For example, rice straw, a by-product of rice...     

五氯酚的臭氧催化氧化特性

通过五氯酚(PCP)的Fe2+/O3催化氧化实验研究了其臭氧催化氧化特性,结果表明,PCP在反应5 min后几乎可以完全分解,但是TOC在反应30 min后的去除率只有50%左右,说明PCP不能被彻底氧化分解.通过对Cl-浓度的分析可知,伴随着PCP的氧化分解,苯环上的Cl会逐渐从苯环上释放到溶液中,而紫外吸光度值随反应时间的变化说明了臭氧催化氧化可以使得PCP中的苯环打开,将含有不饱和键的有机物转变成饱和的有机物.GC-MS分析结果表明,PCP的臭氧催化氧化首先是苯环的脱氯过程,随着反应的进行,苯环被打开,形成酯、醛、酸、氯代烷等小分子物质,最后被分解成CO2和H2O.     

Hydrogen production by catalytic aqueous-phase reforming of waste biomass: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The rising adverse effects of climate change call for a rapid shift to low-carbon energy and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. For that, biorefineries...     

Pollutant decontamination by polyethyleneimine-engineered agricultural waste materials: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The direct discharge of untreated contaminants into global water systems has jeopardized our water security worldwide. This environmental concern has prompted...     

Sustainable catalytic oxidation of glycerol: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Valorization of biomass-derived feedstocks for the supply of high-value chemicals, clean fuel and electricity is gaining importance in the context of the circular...     

Removal of hydrogen sulfide from biogas by adsorption and photocatalysis: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Biogas is a renewable fuel produced from modern biomass, yet biogas contains traces of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic compound, that must be removed before biogas...     

Biofuel production by co-pyrolysis of sewage sludge and other materials: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The unsustainable management of sewage sludge induces environmental and economic issues, yet sewage sludge is a promising feedstock for the production of biofuels...     

Conversion of biomass into hydrogen by supercritical water gasification: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The rising issues of global warming due to the rapid use of fossil fuels are calling for sustainable energies such as dihydrogen, thereafter named...     

CO2 capture and conversion to value-added products promoted by MXene-based materials

Carbon dioxide(CO₂ ) capture and conversion is the key route for the mitigation of the greenhouse effect and utilization of carbon sources to obtain value-added products or fuels. Much attention is paid to the development of novel materials with high CO₂ adsorption capacity and conversion rate. MXene is the graphene-like two-dimensional metal carbide/nitride/carbonitride owning favorable structure, morphology, high surface-bulk ratio, and physicochemical properties. Here, w...     

Cobalt-based catalysts for hydrogen production by thermochemical valorization of glycerol: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Rising energy needs and the exhaustion of fossil fuels are calling for renewable fuels such as dihydrogen (H2), commonly named 'hydrogen.' Biomass...     

Production of polyols and polyurethane from biomass: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Depletion of fossil fuels and climate issues are calling for renewable sources of chemicals such as modern biomass, yet converting biomass into chemicals is...     

Improving the redox performance of photocatalytic materials by cascade-type charge transfer: a review

Environmental and energy crises are a major threat to the sustainable growth of the human society, calling for greener technologies such as photocatalysis. Photocatalysis is a solar-driven approach that converts photon energy into chemical energy, yet the conversion efficacy of classical photocatalysis is usually restricted and controlled by the charge carrier’s separation and migration. Enhanced conversion requires suppressed recombination rate and superior redox abilities. From this aspect, the manipulation of heterojunction allows to overcome the drawback of classical photocatalysis. The cascade mechanism follows a dual direct charge migration route, resulting in enhanced redox abilities and efficient mineralization of pollutants. Here, we review photocatalytic material aspects in improving redox ability by cascade charge transfer. We describe the mechanisms and applications of three cascade systems: two type-II cascade systems, mediator-based cascade systems, and dual direct Z-scheme. We highlight the superiority of the direct dual cascade route with a prolonged lifetime of carriers, higher quantum yield, and enhanced redox abilities. Applications to carbon dioxide reduction, hydrogen production by water splitting and pollutant degradation are discussed.

     

Indoor carbon dioxide capture technologies: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Global warming could be slowed down by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, yet classical methods for carbon dioxide capture are fewly adapted to indoor...     

Carbon-based and carbon-supported nanomaterials for the catalytic conversion of biomass: a review

Catalytic conversion of biomass and waste into chemicals and fuels is gaining interest to reach a circular economy. Here, we review carbon-based and carbon-supported nanocatalysts for biomass conversion with focus on catalyst types and synthesis, optimization, mechanisms and three-dimension catalytic structures. Catalystic materials include amorphous carbon, graphene, graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers.

     

Methods to convert lignocellulosic waste into biohydrogen,biogas, bioethanol,biodiesel and value-added chemicals: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - In the context of climate change and the circular economy, there is an urgent need to develop biofuels and value-added chemicals from lignocellulosic waste such as...     

Strategies to achieve a carbon neutral society: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The increasing global industrialization and over-exploitation of fossil fuels has induced the release of greenhouse gases, leading to an increase in global...