Thermal defluorination behaviors of PFOS,PFOA and PFBS during regeneration of activated carbon by molten salt

• New method of mineralizing PFCs was proposed. • Activated carbon was regenerated while mineralizing PFCs. • Molten NaOH has good mineralization effect on PFOS and PFBS. Current study proposes a green regeneration method of activated carbon (AC) laden with Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) from the perspective of environmental safety and resource regeneration. The defluorination efficiencies of AC adsorbed perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS) using three molten sodium salts and one molten alkali were compared. Results showed that defluorination efficiencies of molten NaOH for the three PFCs were higher than the other three molten sodium salts at lower temperature. At 700°C, the defluorination efficiencies of PFOS and PFBS using molten NaOH reached to 84.2% and 79.2%, respectively, while the defluorination efficiency of PFOA was 35.3%. In addition, the temperature of molten salt, the holding time and the ratio of salt to carbon were directly proportional to the defluorination efficiency. The low defluorination efficiency of PFOA was due to the low thermal stability of PFOA, which made it difficult to be captured by molten salt.The weight loss range of PFOA was 75°C–125°C, which was much lower than PFOS and PFBS (400°C–500°C). From the perspective of gas production, fluorine-containing gases produced from molten NaOH-treated AC were significantly reduced, which means that environmental risks were significantly reduced. After molten NaOH treatment, the regenerated AC had higher adsorption capacity than that of pre-treated AC.     

Nonisothermal pyrolysis kinetics of waste printed circuit boards and product characterization using TG–MS

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - With characteristics of high resources, complex composition, and high toxicity, the treatment and disposal of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs)...     

Calcined Oil Shale Semi-coke for Significantly Improved Performance Alginate-Based Film by Crosslinking with Ca2+

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Oil shale semi-coke (OSSC) is the residual solid waste after refining of oil shale, which principally contains organic matter and minerals. The common...     

Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid (DPTA)-modified Magnetic Cellulose Nanocrystals can Efficiently Remove Pb(II) from Aqueous Solution

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Surface modification of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) is essential for improving their reactivity and adsorption capacity. Oxidation, as a conventional...     

Evidence for the involvement of Fe(IV) in water treatment by Fe(III)-activated sulfite

Water contamination by emerging organic pollutants is calling for advanced methods of remediation such as iron-activated sulfite-based advanced oxidation. Sulfate radical, SO₄^??, and hydroxyl radical, ^?OH, are the primary reactive intermediates formed in the Fe(III)/sulfite system, yet the possible involvement of Fe(IV) produced from Fe(II) and persulfates is unclear. Here we explored the role of Fe(IV) in the Fe(III)/sulfite system by methyl phenyl sulfoxide (PMSO) probe assay, electron paramagnetic resonance spectra analysis, alcohol scavenging experiment, and kinetic simulation. Results show that PMSO is partially transformed into methyl phenyl sulfone (PMSO₂), thus evidencing Fe(IV) formation. The remaining degradation of PMSO is due to SO₄^?? and ^?OH. The contribution of Fe(IV) versus free radicals is progressively promoted when the Fe(III)-sulfite reaction proceeds, with an upper limit of 80–90%. The contribution of Fe(IV) versus free radicals increases with Fe(III) and sulfite dosages, and decreases with increasing pH. Overall, our findings demonstrate the involvement of Fe(IV) in the Fe-catalyzed sulfite auto-oxidation process.

     

Influence of extracellular polymeric substances from activated sludge on the aggregation kinetics of silver and silver sulfide nanoparticles

• The NPs aggregation in the electrolyte solution is consistent with the DLVO theory. • In NaNO₃ and low Ca(NO₃)₂, EPS alleviates the NPs aggregation by steric repulsion. • In high Ca(NO₃)₂, EPS accelerates the NPs aggregation by exopolysaccharide bridging. • Ag₂S NPs have stronger stability compared with Cit-Ag NPs in aqueous systems. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could affect interactions between nanoparticles and alter their migration behavior. The influence mechanisms of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and silver sulfide nanoparticles (Ag₂S NPs) aggregated by active EPS sludge were studied in monovalent or divalent cation solutions. The aggregation behaviors of the NPs without EPS followed the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory. The counterions aggravated the aggregation of both NPs, and the divalent cation had a strong neutralizing effect due to the decrease in electrostatic repulsive force. Through extended DLVO (EDLVO) model analysis, in NaNO₃ and low-concentration Ca(NO₃)₂ (<10 mmol/L) solutions, EPS could alleviate the aggregation behaviors of Cit-Ag NPs and Ag₂S NPs due to the enhancement of steric repulsive forces. At high concentrations of Ca(NO₃)₂ (10‒100 mmol/L), exopolysaccharide macromolecules could promote the aggregation of Cit-Ag NPs and Ag₂S NPs by interparticle bridging. As the final transformation form of Ag NPs in water environments, Ag₂S NPs had better stability, possibly due to their small van der Waals forces and their strong steric repulsive forces. It is essential to elucidate the surface mechanisms between EPS and NPs to understand the different fates of metal-based and metal-sulfide NPs in WWTP systems.     

An antibiotic composite electrode for improving the sensitivity of electrochemically active biofilm biosensor

• Antibiotic azithromycin employed in graphite electrode for EAB biosensor. • Azithromycin at 0.5% dosage increased the sensitivity for toxic formaldehyde. • Azithromycin increased the relative abundance of Geobacter. • Azithromycin regulated thickness of electroactive biofilm. Extensive research has been carried out for improved sensitivity of electroactive biofilm-based sensor (EAB-sensor), which is recognized as a useful tool in water quality early-warning. Antibiotic that is employed widely to treat infection has been proved feasible in this study to regulate the EAB and to increase the EAB-biosensor’s sensitivity. A novel composite electrode was prepared using azithromycin (AZM) and graphite powder (GP), namely AZM@GP electrode, and was employed as the anode in EAB-biosensor. Different dosages of AZM, i.e., 2 mg, 4 mg, and 8 mg, referred to as 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% AZM@GP were under examination. Results showed that EAB-biosensor was greatly benefited from appropriate dosage of AZM (0.5% AZM@GP) with reduced start-up time period, comparatively higher voltage output, more readable electrical signal and increased inhibition rate (30%-65% higher than control sensor with GP electrode) when exposing to toxic formaldehyde. This may be attributed to the fact that AZM inhibited the growth of non-EAM without much influence on the physiologic or metabolism activities of EAM under proper dosage. Further investigation of the biofilm morphology and microbial community analysis suggested that the biofilm formation was optimized with reduced thickness and enriched Geobacter with 0.5% AZM@GP dosage. This novel electrode is easily fabricated and equipped, and therefore would be a promising way to facilitate the practical application of EAB-sensors.     

High performance of multi-layered alternating Ni–Fe–P and Co–P films for hydrogen evolution

Judiciously engineering the electrocatalysts is attractive and challenging to exploit materials with high electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction. Herein, we successfully perform the interface engineering by alternately depositing Co–P and Ni–Fe–P films on nickel foam, via facile electroless plating and de-alloying process. This work shows that there is a significant effect of de-alloying process on alloy growth. The electronic structure of layered alloys is improved by interface engineering. The multilayer strategy significantly promotes the charge transfer. Importantly, the Co–P/Ni–Fe–P/NF electrode fabricated by interface engineering exhibits excellent electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity with an overpotential of 43.4 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and long-term durability for 72 h in alkaline medium (1 mol L-1 KOH). The innovative strategy of this work may aid further development of commercial electrocatalysts.     

Agricultural non-point sources and their effects on chlorophyll-a in a eutrophic lake over three decades (1985–2020)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Erhai Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in Yunnan Province but suffers from the deterioration of water quality and agricultural non-point...     

Alkyl polyglycosides enhanced the dark fermentation of excess sludge and plant waste to produce hydrogen: performance and mechanism

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Alkyl polyglycosides (APG), a biodegradable biosurfactant, have been widely used in environmental pollution control. However, the application of APG...