Recent advances in ionic liquids-based hybrid processes for CO2 capture and utilization

CO₂ capture and utilization (CCU) is an effective strategy to mitigate global warming. Absorption, adsorption and membranes are methods used for CO₂ separation and capture, and various catalytic pathways have also been developed for CO₂ utilization. Although widely researched and used in industry, these processes are energy-intensive and this challenge needs to be overcome. To realize further optimization, novel materials and processes are continuously being developed. New generation materials such as ionic liquids (ILs) have shown promising potential for cost-effective CO₂ capture and utilization. This study reviews the current status of ILs-based solvents, adsorbents, membranes, catalysts and their hybrid processes for CO₂ capture and utilization. The special properties of ILs are integrated into new materials through hybridization, which significantly improves the performance in the process of CCU.     

Removal of antibiotics from aqueous solution by using porous adsorbent templated from eco-friendly Pickering aqueous foams

The aqueous foam template without any solvent and only using the particles stabilizer has attracted much attention for preparation of the porous adsorbents. Herein, a novel porous adsorbent was fabricated via thermal-initiated polymerization of Pickering aqueous foams, which was stabilized by the natural sepiolite (Sep) and pine pollen, and utilized for the removal of antibiotic from aqueous solution. The stabilizing mechanism of Pickering aqueous foam of that the Sep was modified with the leaching substance from pine pollen and arranged orderly around the bubble to form a dense “shell” structure was revealed. The adsorbents possessed the hierarchical porous structure and excellent adsorption performance for antibiotic of chlorotetracycline hydrochloride (CTC) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TC). The equilibrium adsorption capacities of CTC and TC were achieved with 465.59 and 330.59 mg/g within 60 min at 25°C, respectively. The adsorption process obeyed Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetic model. This work provided eco-friendly approach for fabricate porous adsorbents for wastewater treatment.     

Review on heterogeneous oxidation and adsorption for arsenic removal from drinking water

The long term exposure of arsenic via drinking water has resulted in wide occurrence of arsenisim globally, and the oxidation of the non-ionic arsenite (As(III)) to negatively-charged arsenate (As(V)) is of crucial importance for the promising removal of arsenic. The chemical oxidants of ozone, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, and potassium permanganate may achieve this goal; however, their application in developing countries is sometimes restricted by the complicate operation and high cost. This review paper focuses on the heterogeneous oxidation of As(III) by solid oxidants such as manganese oxide, and the adsorption of As(V) accordingly. Manganese oxide may be prepared by both chemical and biological methods to achieve good oxidation performance towards As(III). Additionally, manganese oxide may be combined with other metal oxides, e.g., iron oxide, to improve the adsorption capability towards As(V). Furthermore, manganese oxide may be coated onto porous materials of metal organic frameworks to develop novel adsorbents for arsenic removal. To achieve the application in engineering works, the adsorbents granulation may be achieved by drying and calcination, agglomeration, and the active components may also be in situ coated onto the porous materials to maintain the oxidation and adsorption activities as much as possible. The novel adsorbents with heterogeneous oxidation and adsorption capability may be carefully designed for the removal of arsenic in household purifiers, community-level decentralized small systems, and the large-scale drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). This review provides insight into the fundamental studies on novel adsorbents, the development of innovative technologies, and the demonstration engineering works involved in the heterogeneous oxidation and adsorption, and may be practically valuable for the arsenic pollution control globally.     

Capability and limitations of first-order and diffusion approaches to describe long-term sorption of chlortoluron in soil

This paper compares the capability of a first-order and a spherical diffusion model to describe and predict long-term sorption and desorption processes of chlortoluron in two soils. Chlortoluron sorption was investigated at different time scales utilizing one rate experiment (120 days) and two sorption/desorption experiments. Experimental periods for sorption and desorption were set to 1 day (five desorption steps) and 30 days (three desorption steps), respectively. Upon fitting, the two models satisfactorily described the whole set of data. The spherical diffusion model performed better than the first-order model. We then tested the predictive capability of the models by predicting 30-day sorption/desorption data using kinetic parameters fitted on 1-day sorption/desorption data only. While the spherical diffusion model was able to predict the 30-day data set, the first-order model failed completely. Fitting both models to subsets of the data corresponding to different experimental time scales revealed that the rate parameter as well as the Freundlich coefficient of the first-order model are strongly time-dependent--a property that is not shared by parameters of the spherical diffusion model. The apparent stability of the spherical diffusion model with regard to time dependency of its parameters indicates that sorptive uptake may be diffusion-controlled. This also explains the models greater predictive power across different time scales compared to the first-order model. Finally, we investigate the suitability of solute class specific log-linear relationships between the first-order rate parameter and the Freundlich coefficient presented by earlier researchers in the light of the time dependency observed for the parameters of the first-order model.     

两性磁化炭添加比例对河流沿岸土吸附Cu2+的影响

将两性(十二烷基二甲基甜菜碱)修饰磁化炭分别以质量分数0、1％和2％加入嘉陵江流域(川渝段)内苍溪(CX)、南部(NB)、嘉陵(JL)和合川(HC)沿岸土中,考察各混合土样对Cu2+的等温吸附和热力学特征.结果表明:混合土样对Cu2+的最大吸附量为58.36 mmol/kg～366.85 mmol/kg,添加等量两性磁...     

Adsorption and desorption of steroid hormones on saline soil

● Organic matter content significantly affected adsorption of E2/EE2 on saline soil. ● EE2 possessed higher competition intensity for adsorption sites than E2. ● The adsorption of E2/EE2 on saline soil was a spontaneous exothermic process. ● Desorption capacity of EE2/E2 accounted for 40%/78% of the total adsorption capacity. Soil organic matter content was the main driving factor affecting adsorption and desorption process of 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) on saline soil. The adsorption and desorption of E2 and EE2 on three saline soils showed the similar behavior that soil with the highest organic content possessed the highest adsorption capacity and the lowest desorption capacity for E2 and EE2. The adsorption capacity of untreated soil samples (with organic matter) was larger than that of soil samples without organic matter. For soil with the largest adsorption capacity, adsorption capacity of E2/EE2 on the untreated soil and soil colloid (with organic matter) respectively reached 0.15/0.30 μg/g and 0.16/0.33 μg/g while the soil and soil colloid without organic matter hardly adsorbed pollutants. The adsorption capacity of E2/EE2 at the initial concentration of 100 μg/L was 25/15 times higher than that at the initial concentration of 5 μg/L. E2 and EE2 had the same adsorption sites on saline soil while EE2 possessed higher competition intensity for adsorption sites than E2. Pseudo-first-order model (R² = 0.995–0.986) and Langmuir model (R² = 0.989–0.999) could better fit the adsorption process of E2 or EE2. The thermodynamic study further showed that the adsorption of E2/EE2 on saline soil was a spontaneous exothermic process. The desorption capacity of EE2/E2 accounted for 40%/78% of the total adsorption capacity to possibly exert potential risk to the groundwater. The variation of the salinity led to the variation of soil organic carbon which subsequently changed the adsorption and desorption behaviors of endocrine disrupting chemicals in coastal saline soil. This study provides a new insight on the interfacial behavior of endocrine disrupting chemicals on saline soil.