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In the current study, groundwater quality assessment for energy, potable, and irrigation purposes was done in the Jouf region in Saudi Arabia. The samples of groundwater were gathered from twenty wells distributed from the fourth direction. The physical features like total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, conductivity, and turbidity values in the study area have been examined and it found that 90% of the gathered water specimens exhibited TDS magnitude in the range of 393–1,000 mg/L and pH values were in the range 6.39–7.54, indicating safe water for drinking and the rest can be used in energy purpose. The abundance of main cations is calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) hardness, sodium (Na+), and potassium (K+), and anions are chloride (Cl–) followed by SO42–. The cation ions contents in all samples were within the permissible limit except sample S-HD. The results revealed that the increase in SO42–is convoyed by increases in the proportion of sodium and magnesium because the existing sulfates are in the form of sodium, magnesium, and calcium salts. All results confirmed that the samples from the south region presented the best water quality except S-HD. Moreover, boron (B) hasn’t been detected in all water samples indicating that no other hazardous substances are possibly present in groundwater in the Jouf region. A pre-treated prior to use is necessary for consumption or agricultural irrigation of groundwater based on the purpose.

In this work, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) will be implemented as a coating material on commercial membranes (nylon) using Trix as a surfactant. Four masses of MWCNTs (5, 15, 30, and 60 mg) were used in the coating process. Many parameters were measured for both nylon and the four coated membranes. These parameters include their electrical properties, wettability, mechanical properties, surface and textural properties, permeability and rejection of salt. The findings indicated that Elongation within the range of 2.7–18%, tensile strength within the range of 2.5–3.4 MPa, and Young's moduli in the range of 63–154 MPa were found in the fabricated membranes arising from MWCNTs and surfactants dispersions. The performance of membrane rejection was examined using NaCl or MgSO4single salts. The fabricated membrane containing 60 mg of MWCNTs, on the other hand, can reject electrolytes with a very low rejection ratio of less than 14% for NaCl and 10% for MgSO4. This made as ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, and therefore they can be used as pre-treatment membranes in desalination processes. Future study is required to improve the rejection of these coated membranes by adding more additives such as polymers or biopolymers.

Contaminant monitoring is critical for ensuring the safety of drinking water. This work aimed to study the physicochemical characteristics of five wells used as water resources in the Al-Jouf region (Guara, Tabarjal, Skaka, Dumah Al Jandal, and Alakait), Saudi Arabia. The study extended to investigate the treatment of the contaminated water wells. The physicochemical characteristics include pH, conductivity, turbidity, and some selected heavy metals (cadmium, chromium, lead, and arsenic). The quality of the treated wells’ water was correlated with the guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and Saudi Arabia’s standards. The results indicated that the concentrations of the measured heavy metals were higher than the National Standards of Saudi Arabia and that recommended by the EPA and WHO. The capacity of activated carbon (AC) combined with silica (silica/AC) and AC composite as adsorbents for the removal of the selected heavy adsorption. The silica/AC ratio was 2:3, respectively. The silica/AC was more efficient than active carbon in removing the selected heavy metals. Scanning electron microscope photos were taken for the adsorbents used for the removal of toxic metals. This work concluded that the use of silica/AC composite is a promising technique for the treatment of contaminated water wells.

Cerium has numerous applications in the high-tech industries. In addition to the rise in demand for rare earth elements (REEs) in various end-user industries, the market for cerium is growing. It is important to recover cerium from main sources such as REEs bearing ores or relevant sources such as wastewater, spent catalysts, etc., to acquire metal concentration and preserve the environment from hazard. Solvent extraction is a substantial method for the extraction of REEs and cerium over other techniques in hydrometallurgical technologies. In this review, the solvent extraction approaches for the extraction and recovery of cerium from sulfate, the factors which affect the process of extraction. The pH, extractant, metal ion concentration, temperature, organic to aqueous (O/A) ratio, extraction, and stripping kinetics have been considered to achieve optimal conditions for the recovery process. The research findings demonstrate the potential of extraction and isolation of cerium from various solutions using organophosphorus, cationic, solvating, or mixed extractants having other metallic ions.

High surface area microporous activated carbon beads were successfully prepared for removal from aqueous solutions. The polymeric beads were fabricated from sodium alginate (Alg), β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), gelatin (GP) and activated carbon (AC) being used as an efficient 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) removal sorbent. The chemical and morphological analysis of the fabricated beads were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while thermal stability was estimated via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The main goal of the recent work is to investigate the activated carbon effect on the sorption process. The impact of experimental parameters like original concentration, pH, and adsorption time was explored. The optimum removal of 86.05% was obtained at pH 7. One hour was sufficient for the full saturation of the active sorbent sites, reaching equilibrium. The pseudo second model was the best to describe the adsorption process. Furthermore, it can be seen from the Langmuir equation that the qm for unmodified and modified beads toward 2,4-DCP were 36.48mg/g and 39.36mg/g, respectively.

CO2is electrocatalytically reduced in aqueous solutions (NaHCO3and Na2SO4) at polycrystalline gold (Au) both bare and modified with copper nanoparticles (nano-Cu) (nano-Cu/Au). Copper nanoparticles were deposited by the cycling of potential in the range (–0.2–0.7 V) for various potential cycles. The effect of the electrolyte, as well as the nano-Cu loading on the electroreduction of CO2, has been investigated. Nano-Cu/Au electrode has been voltammetrically and morphologically characterized. It has been found that the type of electrolyte, that is, NaHCO3and Na2SO4, is critical in the electrochemical reduction of CO2; for instance, the CO2reduction is obscured by hydrogen evolution in NaHCO3solutions (pH 9.2) at both electrodes, that is, bare Au and nano-Cu/Au electrodes, the well-defined redox peak is obtained at both electrodes in Na2SO4solution (pH 7), even though the pH of Na2SO4is smaller. The extent of catalysis is based on the copper loading at the nano-Cu/Au electrode as well.