Sorption of 4-n-nonylphenol, 4-n-octylphenol,and 4-tert-octyphenol on cyclodextrin polymers

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Alkylphenols are industrial pollutants commonly present in wastewater. They are difficult to eliminate by conventional treatment processes, ending up...     

Cyclodextrins,from molecules to applications

Cyclodextrins are among the most remarkable macrocyclic molecules with significant theoretical and practical impacts in chemistry and biology. Cyclodextrins belong to the family of cage molecules due to their structure, which is composed of a hydrophobic cavity that can encapsulate other molecules. Indeed, the most characteristic feature of these compounds is their ability to form inclusion complexes with various molecules through host–guest interactions. This is at the origin of many applications. It is well known and widely reported in the literature that cyclodextrins and their derivatives have a wide variety of practical applications including pharmacy, medicine, foods, cosmetics, toiletries, catalysis, chromatography, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and textile industry. Cyclodextrins are also the object of numerous fundamental studies. In this review, we chose to highlight selected works on cyclodextrins published over the last 5 years by different research groups. The main objective is to summarize some of the recent developments related to the applications of cyclodextrins.     

An analytical model for the interpretation of pulse injection experiments performed for testing the spatial variability of clay formations

This paper presents an analytical model to describe pulse injection experiments. This model solves the advection-diffusion equation while taking into account back diffusion from the clay core to the inlet and from the outlet to the clay core. In most analytical models, back diffusion is neglected. For sufficiently high Péclet numbers, this is a good approximation. However, in experiments where the Péclet number is low, back diffusion is important and must be taken into account. An additional advantage of the present model is that both concentration and flux are conserved at the inlet and at the outlet of the clay core. This model is used to fit pulse injection experiments with iodide and tritiated water (HTO) in clay cores. The (new) model is required for fitting the experimental results since in clay layers advection is very slow leading to a low Péclet number. The experiments are performed on clay cores taken from different depths from the Boom Clay and the Ypres Clay layer under the site of the nuclear power plant of Doel (Belgium). The quality of all fits is excellent and the obtained parameter values are coherent. For HTO, the fitted value for the diffusion accessible porosity is consistent with measurements of the water content in Ypres Clay cores. In both types of clays, the apparent diffusion coefficient at zero flow is between 10(-10) and 2 x 10(-10) m(2)/s for iodide and between 2 x 10(-10) and 3 x 10(-10) m(2)/s for HTO. The dispersion length is in the order of 10(-3) m. The average value for the diffusion accessible porosity is between 0.35 and 0.4 for HTO and between 0.2 and 0.25 for iodide.     

Sorption and desorption of sulfadiazine in soil and soil-manure systems

Sulfadiazine is a widely used veterinary medicine that has high potential to enter the environment, especially the soil compartment by the application of manure on agricultural land and grass land or by the deposition of dung pats on pasture. Once it reaches the soil environments, it may enter into surface and ground water. Therefore, sorption-desorption behavior of sulfadiazine was studied under laboratory conditions in five different soils varying in their physicochemical properties. A batch equilibration technique was used with initial aqueous solution concentration of sulfadiazine at 5, 0.5, 0.05, and 0.005 microg mL(-1). Sorption-desorption data in soils with and without manure were well fitted with Freundlich model in log form (r(2), 0.99). A sorption-desorption hysteresis effect was apparent in all soils. A significant amount of sulfadiazine was found tightly bound to the soil particles and did not desorb after the desorption process. Moreover, presence of manure enhanced hysteresis effect. Hysteresis coefficient (H) value from soils in absence of manure (0.9-1.0) increased to the soils in presence of manure (0.9-1.8). Soils in the absence of manure showed low level of K(D Sorp.) values ranging from 0.1 to 24.3, suggesting low level sorption of sulfadiazine with appreciable risk of run-off and leaching, and in turn, surface and ground water contamination. However, presence of manure increased the sorption tendency of sulfadiazine significantly (K(D Sorp.), 6.9-40.2). K(D) values pertaining to desorption cycle increased from 1.2-90.4 to 10.4-167.3 in absence and presence of manure, respectively.     

Kinetic aspects and identification of by-products during the ozonation of bitertanol in agricultural wastewaters

The degradation of bitertanol by ozone treatment is investigated. Solutions of bitertanol (8.4 μg mL^?1) were prepared either by dissolution of the standard or by dilution of Gaucho Blé seed loading solution and then ozonated under different conditions. Evolution of the concentrations of bitertanol and its ozonation by-products in both solutions was monitored by HPLC–UV as a function of the treatment time for a concentration of 100 g m^?3 of ozone in the inlet gas. Bitertanol degradation was found to follow a pseudo-first order reaction in both cases. However, the rate of the reaction in diluted seed loading solution was much lower (0.19 vs. 0.27 min^?1 in standard solution) and was close to the reaction rate observed in the presence of a radical scavenger, tert-butanol (0.11 min^?1). Thus, it may be suggested that additives present in the seed loading solution may play the role of radical scavengers. Study of ozone concentration in the inlet gas (from 25 to 100 g m^?3) showed that ozone degradation is also a first-order reaction with respect to ozone. Four ozonation by-products were highlighted, collected and identified by HPLC coupled with an ion trap mass spectrometer using positive electrospray ionization mode. A degradation pathway of bitertanol was finally proposed.     

Innovative technologies to remove alkylphenols from wastewater: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Alkylphenols and alkylphenol polyethoxylates are emerging hazardous contaminants due in particular to their endocrine-disrupting properties. These compounds...     

Removal of emerging contaminants from wastewater using advanced treatments. A review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The rise of emerging contaminants in waters challenges the scientific community and water treatment stakeholders to design remediation techniques that are simple,...