Utilization of agricultural waste corn cob for the preparation of carbon adsorbent

In the present study, a series of activated carbons were prepared from agricultural waste corn cob by chemical and physical activations with potassium hydroxide (KOH)/potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The effect of process variables such as impregnation ratio, impregnation time, activation temperature and soaking time of CO2 was studied in order to relate these preparation parameters with the physical properties of final carbon products. The resulting activated carbons were characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms at 77 K. The surface areas and pore volumes of carbons were estimated by the BET equation, the Langmuir equation and the t-plot method. Under the experimental conditions investigated, the main parameters in the activation of corn cob were found to be the impregnation ratio and activation temperature. The soaking time of CO2 is another important variable, which had a strong effect on the pore volume development. The BET surface area and total pore volume were as large as about 2000 m2/g and about 1.0 cm3/g, respectively. This study showed that the activation of agricultural waste corn cob with KOH/K2CO3 and CO2 was suitable for the preparation of large-surface-area activated carbons.     

Characterization of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from Interior Alkyd Paint

ABSTRACT

Alkyd paint continues to be used indoors for application to wood trim, cabinet surfaces, and some kitchen and bathroom walls. Alkyd paint may represent a significant source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) indoors because of the frequency of use and amount of surface painted. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting research to characterize VOC emissions from paint and to develop source emission models that can be used for exposure assessment and risk management. The technical approach for this research involves both analysis of the liquid paint to identify and quantify the VOC contents and dynamic small chamber emissions tests to characterize the VOC emissions after application. The predominant constituents of the primer and two alkyd paints selected for testing were straight-chain alkanes (C9–C12); C8–C9 aromatics were minor constituents. Branched chain alkanes were the predominant VOCs in a third paint. A series of tests were performed to evaluate factors that may affect emissions following application of the coatings. The type of substrate (glass, wallboard, or pine board) did not have a substantial impact on the emissions with respect to peak concentrations, the emissions profile, or the amount of VOC mass emitted from the paint. Peak concentrations of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) as high as 10,000 mg/m³ were measured during small chamber emissions tests at 0.5 air exchanges per hour (ACH). Over 90% of the VOCs were emitted from the primer and paints during the first 10 hr following application. Emissions were similar from paint applied to bare pine board, a primed board, or a board previously painted with the same paint. The impact of other variables, including film thickness, air velocity at the surface, and air-exchange rate (AER) were consistent with theoretical predictions for gas-phase, mass transfer-controlled emissions. In addition to the alkanes and aromatics, aldehydes were detected in the emissions during paint drying. Hexanal, the predominant aldehyde in the emissions, was not detected in the liquid paint and was apparently an oxidation product formed during drying. This paper summarizes the results of the product analyses and a series of small chamber emissions tests. It also describes the use of a mass balance approach to evaluate the impact of test variables and to assess the quality of the emissions data.     

Treatment performance and microorganism community structure of integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland plots for domestic wastewater

In order to investigate the treatment performance and microorganism mechanism of IVCW for domestic wastewater in central of China, two parallel pilot-scale IVCW systems were built to evaluate purification efficiencies, microbial community structure and enzyme activities. The results showed that mean removal efficiencies were 81.03 % for COD, 51.66 % for total nitrogen (TN), 42.50 % for NH₄ ⁺-N, and 68.01 % for TP. Significant positive correlations between nitrate reductase activities and TN and NH₄ ⁺-N removal efficiencies, along with a significant correlation between substrate enzyme activity and operation time, were observed. Redundancy analysis demonstrated gram-negative bacteria were mainly responsible for urease and phosphatase activities, and also played a major role in dehydrogenase and nitrate reductase activities. Meanwhile, anaerobic bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and saturated FA groups, gram-positive bacteria exhibited good correlations with the removal of COD (p?=?0.388), N (p?=?0.236), and TP (p?=?0.074), respectively. The IVCW system can be used to treat domestic wastewater effectively.     

An Assessment

Extensive research has determined that adipic acid, when used as an additive to a limestone flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system, will improve the performance of the system. Both SO₂ removal and limestone utilization can be greatly increased by the buffering effect of adipic acid. Successful testing in laboratory, bench, pilot, prototype, and full scale systems has demonstrated the benefits of this technology for new and retrofit applications. Although adipic acid does degrade in the scrubber, no significant operating problems or environmental impacts have been identified. Economic estimates have shown the adipic acid enhanced limestone FGD system to be economically attractive when compared to conventional FGD systems. In addition, further research is underway to decrease the cost of using additives in FGD systems.     

氮掺杂TiO2对水中Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附

以四氯化钛、尿素为原料,采用简单的溶胶-凝胶法制得了氮掺杂TiO2,其比表面积(BET)为106.48 m2/g.系统研究了该吸附剂对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附性能.结果表明,对于初始浓度为100 mg/L的Cr(Ⅵ)溶液,吸附剂用量为5 g/L,在pH=5时,25℃下吸附180 min即能达到满意的吸附效果,其吸附效率可达97％以上.氮掺杂TiO2对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附平衡符合Langmuir方程,升高温度,平衡吸附量增大;在温度为55℃时,Cr(Ⅵ)的饱和吸附量高达29.906 mg/g.吸附动力学可用拟二级速率方程很好地描述.氮掺杂后TiO2的吸附能力比纯TiO2明显增强.即对于Cr(Ⅵ),氮掺杂TiO2是一种优良吸附剂.此外,从氮掺杂TiO2吸附Cr(Ⅵ)前后的FTIR图可知,氮掺杂TiO2吸附Cr(Ⅵ)的过程中,N-H键参与了吸附过程.由于氮掺杂TiO2制备简单、原料廉价易得、吸附Cr(Ⅵ)效果良好,故可用于工业化生产.     

Predicting flocculant dosage in the drinking water treatment process using Elman neural network

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Predicting the flocculant dosage in the drinking water treatment process is essential for public health. However, due to the complexity of water...     

蒙脱石絮凝剂对疏浚底泥的絮凝快速分离

为了快速对污染的河道湖泊进行清淤,使用酸改性的蒙脱石絮凝剂(MTSF)对底泥泥水进行了一级强化处理研究。结果表明:MTSF对底泥泥水具有很好的絮凝效果,当MTSF为0.3 g时,上清液的Zeta电位大约为0 mV,浑浊的泥水变为清澈透明,此时浊度、NH_4~+-N、 TP、 SS和COD的去除率分别为98.8%、 29.8%、99.6%、97.7%和56.9%;C-PAM助凝剂的少量投加,有助于絮凝过程,MTSF为0.3 g,C-PAM为8 mg·L~(-1)时,上清液的浊度和COD将会进一步降低,分别从9.0 NTU和51.6 mg·L~(-1)减少到4.7 NTU和15.0 mg·L~(-1);C-PAM助凝剂能够将絮体进一步结团,形成更大的絮体,促进絮体的快速沉降,同时还有助于对水相中污染物的进一步去除。两者的结合可以减少MTSF用量,达到更好的效果。     

多硫化钙与亚铁盐联用去除工业废水中的Cr(Ⅵ)

还原稳定化修复技术是当前重金属污染修复领域的主要技术,其中,重金属去除率和环境扰动是评价修复效果的重要指标.以不同pH重铬酸钾溶液模拟Cr(Ⅵ)污染水体,分别研究了多硫化钙、硫酸亚铁和二者联用对水体重金属Cr(Ⅵ)的还原稳定性,同时考察了环境因素对药剂联用的影响并探究各药剂对Cr(Ⅵ)的去除机理.结果表明:当多硫化钙与...     

臭氧-BAF组合工艺处理电镀RO浓水

电镀废水反渗透（RO）浓水具有盐度高、难降解有机物浓度高、含重金属等特点,是电镀废水处理工艺提标改造的难点。采用臭氧-曝气生物滤池（BAF）组合工艺,对电镀废水反渗透（RO）浓水中有机物进行处理,使出水COD浓度达到《电镀污染物排放标准》中标准。考察了废水初始pH、臭氧浓度和反应时间等因素对臭氧氧化效果的影响,以及水力停留时间（HRT）和气水比对BAF单元COD去除效果的影响。经优化后的系统运行工况为：臭氧氧化单元中废水初始pH值为10.0,臭氧浓度为31.96 mg·L-1,反应时间为40 min;BAF的HRT为3 h,气水比为5∶1。在最佳工况下,当进水COD为180~240 mg·L-1时,经组合工艺处理后COD去除率达78.6%,平均出水COD浓度为47 mg·L-1,达到了标准的要求。     

Phytoextraction of cadmium by Ipomoea aquatica (water spinach) in hydroponic solution: effects of cadmium speciation

Phytoextraction is a promising technique to remediate heavy metals from contaminated wastewater. However, the interactions of multi-contaminants are not fully clear. This study employed cadmium, Triton X-100 (TX-100), and EDTA to investigate their interactions on phytotoxicity and Cd phytoextraction of Ipomoea aquatica (water spinach) in simulated wastewater. The Cd speciation was estimated by a chemical equilibrium model and MINEQL+. Statistic regression was applied to evaluate Cd speciation on Cd uptake in shoots and stems of I. aquatica. Results indicated that the root length was a more sensitive parameter than root weight and shoot weight. Root elongation was affected by Cd in the Cd-EDTA solution and TX-100 in the Cd-TX-100 solution. Both the root length and the root biomass were negatively correlated with the total soluble Cd ions. In contrast, Cd phytoextraction of I. aquatic was correlated with the aqueous Cd ions in the free and complex forms rather than in the chelating form. Additionally, the high Cd bioconcentration factors of I. aquatica (375-2227 l kg(-1) for roots, 45-144 l kg(-1) for shoots) imply that I. aquatica is a potential aquatic plant to remediate Cd-contaminated wastewater.