Chemical cleaning of fouled PVC membrane during ultrafiltration of algal-rich water

Cleaning of hollow-fibre polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane with di erent chemical reagents after ultrafiltration of algal-rich water was investigated. Among the tested cleaning reagents (NaOH, HCl, EDTA, and NaClO), 100 mg/L NaClO exhibited the best performance (88.4% 1.1%) in removing the irreversible fouling resistance. This might be attributed to the fact that NaClO could eliminate almost all the major foulants such as carbohydrate-like and protein-like materials on the membrane surface, as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. However, negligible irreversible resistance (1.5% 1.0%) was obtained when the membrane was cleaning by 500 mg/L NaOH for 1.0 hr, although the NaOH solution could also desorb a portion of the major foulants from the fouled PVC membrane. Scanning electronic microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses demonstrated that 500 mg/L NaOH could change the structure of the residual foulants on the membrane, making them more tightly attached to the membrane surface. This phenomenon might be responsible for the negligible membrane permeability restoration after NaOH cleaning. On the other hand, the microscopic analyses reflected that NaClO could e ectively remove the foulants accumulated on the membrane surface.     

Modeling assessment for ammonium nitrogen recovery from wastewater by chemical precipitation

Chemical precipitation to form magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) is an effective technology for recovering ammonium nitrogen (NH4 +-N). In the present research, we investigated the thermodynamic modeling of the PHREEQC program for NH4 +-N recovery to evaluate the effect of reaction factors on MAP precipitation. The case study of NH4 +-N recovery from coking wastewater was conducted to provide a comparison. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to assist in understanding the relative significance of reaction factors and the interactive effects of solution conditions. Thermodynamic modeling indicated that the saturation index (SI) of MAP followed a polynomial function of pH. The SI of MAP increased logarithmically with the Mg2+/NH4 + molar ratio (Mg/N) and the initial NH4 +-N concentration (CN), respectively, while it decreased with an increase in Ca2+/NH4 + and CO3 2??/NH4 + molar ratios (Ca/N and CO3 2??/N), respectively. The trends for NH4 +-N removal at different pH and Mg/N levels were similar to the thermodynamic modeling predictions. The RSM analysis indicated that the factors including pH, Mg/N, CN, Ca/N, (Mg/N) (CO3 2??/N), (pH)2, (Mg/N)2, and (CN)2 were significant. Response surface plots were useful for understanding the interaction effects on NH4 +-N recovery.     

Methanotrophic community structure of aged refuse and its capability for methane bio-oxidation

Aged refuse from waste landfills closed for eight years was examined and found to contain rich methanotrophs capable of biooxidation for methane. Specially, community structure and methane oxidation capability of methanotrophs in the aged refuse were studied. The amount of methanotrophs ranged 61.97 103–632.91 103 cells/g (in dry basis) in aged refuse from Shanghai Laogang Landfill. Type I and II methanotrophs were found in the aged refuse in the presence of sterilized sewage sludge and only Type I methanotrophs were detected in the presence of nitrate minimal salt medium (NMS). The clone sequences of the pmoA gene obtained from the aged refuse were similar to the pmoA gene of Methylobacter, Methylocaldum, and Methylocystis, and two clones were distinct with known genera of Type I methanotrophs according to phylogenetic analysis. Aged refuse enriched with NMS was used for methane biological oxidation and over 93% conversions were obtained.     

Adsorptive property of Cu^2＋-loaded montmorillonite clays for Escherichia coli K_（88） in vitro

The Cu²⁺-loaded montmorillonite clays (MMT-Cu) may be a good material for the adsorbed and eliminated pathogenic bacteria from aqueous solution.     

Reversibly enhanced aqueous solubilization of volatile organic compounds using a redox-reversible surfactant

Surfactant-enhanced remediation (SER) is an effective method for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from contaminated soils and groundwater. To reuse the surfactant the VOCs must be separated from the surfactant solutions. The water solubility of VOCs can be enhanced using reversible surfactants with a redox-acive group, (ferrocenylmethyl)dodecyldimethylammonium bromide (Fcl2) and (ferrocenylmethyl)tetradecanedimethylammonium bromide (Fcl4), above and below their critical micelle concentrations (CMC) under reducing (I⁺) and oxidative (I²⁺) conditions. The CMC values of Fcl2 and Fcl4 in I⁺ are 0.94 and 0.56 mmol/L and the solubilization of toluene by Fcl2 and Fcl4 in I⁺ for toluene is higher than the solubilization achieved with sodium dodecyl sulfate, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and Trition X-114. The solubilization capacity of the ferrocenyl surfactants for each tested VOCs ranked as follows: ethylbenzene > toluene > benzene. The solubilities of VOCs by reversible surfactant in I⁺ were 30% higher than those in I²⁺ at comparable surfactant concentrations. The effects of Fcl4 concentrations on VOCs removal efficiency were as follows: benzene > toluene > ethylbenzene. However, an improved removal efficiency was achieved at low ferrocenyl surfactant concentrations. Furthermore, the reversible surfactant could be recycled through chemical approaches to remove organic pollutants, which could significantly reduce the operating costs of SER technology.     

Effect of C/N ratio, aeration rate and moisture content on ammonia and greenhouse gas emission during the composting

Gaseous emission (N₂O, CH₄ and NH₃) from composting can be an important source of anthropogenic greenhouse gas and air pollution. A laboratory scale orthogonal experiment was conducted to estimate the effects of C/N ratio, aeration rate and initial moisture content on gaseous emission during the composting of pig faeces from Chinese Ganqinfen system. The results showed that about 23.9% to 45.6% of total organic carbon (TOC) was lost in the form of CO₂ and 0.8% to 7.5% of TOC emitted as CH₄. Most of the nitrogen was lost in the form of NH₃, which account for 9.6% to 32.4% of initial nitrogen. N₂O was also an important way of nitrogen losses and 1.5% to 7.3% of initial total nitrogen was lost as it. Statistic analysis showed that the aeration rate is the most important factor which could affect the NH₃ (p = 0.0189), CH₄ (p = 0.0113) and N₂O (p = 0.0493) emissions significantly. Higher aeration rates reduce the CH₄ emission but increase the NH₃ and N₂O losses. C/N ratio could affect the NH₃ (p = 0.0442) and CH₄ (p = 0.0246) emissions significantly, but not the N₂O. Lower C/N ratio caused higher NH₃ and CH₄ emissions. The initial moisture content can not influence the gaseous emission significantly. Most treatments were matured after 37 days, except a trial with high moisture content and a low C/N ratio.     

Visible light responsive N-F-codoped TiO2 photocatalysts for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol

Visible light responsive N-F-codoped TiO₂ photocatalysts exhibit a higher catalytic activity than N-doped TiO₂ for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol due to the synergistic effect of nonmetal elements.     

Modification of Ce02-ZrO2 catalyst by potassium for NOx-assisted soot oxidation

Potassium-modified ceria-zirconia catalyst was synthesized by wetness impregnation method. The ageing treatment was performed in static air at 800℃ for 20 hr to evaluate the thermal stability of the catalyst. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction,BET surface area, oxygen storage capacity, NOx-temperature programmed desorption and soot-temperature programmed oxidation measurements. By introduction of potassium, the maximum soot oxidation rate temperature (Tm) of the ceria-zirconia based catalyst decreased from 525 to 428℃ in the presence of NO under a loose contact mode. The shift of Tm of the K-modified catalyst after ageing is only 15℃. The enhanced activity of the aged catalyst mainly lies in the promotional effect of potassium on the NOx/oxygen storage cacity as well as the soot-catalyst contact.     

Structural and electrochemical properties of annealed La1-xYxNi3.55Mno.4Alo.3Coo.75 hydrogen storage alloys

The effects of the annealing and partial substitution of Y for La on the structural and electrochemical properties of La_1-xY_xNi_3.55Mn_o.4Al_o.3Cr_o.75 (x = 0, 0.1 and 0.2) alloys were reported in the present work. The single-phased CaCu₅-type structure was retained after La was partially substituted by Y. However, the increase of Y content leads to decrease of the lattice parameters and the unit-cell volume. The annealed La_o.9Y_o.1Ni_3.55Mn_o.4Al_o.3Co_o.75 alloys shows typical isometric microstructure, indicating that the composition segregation is improved by annealing. Y substitution for La in the alloys is effective to improve the electrochemical properties at both room temperature and high temperature. A critical substitution content of Y is found at x = 0.1.