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[Display omitted] • Modified low-temperature sulfated roasting is used to recycle spent graphite. • The purity of recycled graphite reached 99.55% and the recovery rate exceeds 94%. • Economical products Na 2 SO 4 and NaF can be obtained by treating wastewater and gas. • The valuable metal recovery rates are all over 99%. • The generated graphite shows excellent columbic efficiency and capacity retention. Recycling spent graphite in spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is crucial for lacking high-quality graphite and environmental protection. Here, an environmentally friendly and economical modified method based on sulfate roasting was proposed to recycle spent graphite via low temperature roasting at 250 °C with sodium fluoride as an assistant additive. Recycling leads to graphite with a high purity of 99.55 % and chemical structures for energy storage. Batteries manufactured in regenerated graphite deliver a high initial charge capacity of 333.9 mAh/g with an initial columbic efficiency of 85.71% and excellent capacity retention of 91.2% after 400 cycles. In addition, the waste produced in the method could be well treated, and by-products 177 g of sodium sulfate would be collected per 1 kg spent graphite and NaF, equivalent to 78.95% of the added amount obtained through wastewater and exhaust gas, respectively. The regenerated sodium fluoride will be re-applied to the recovery spent graphite. The loop-closed method shows great promise for the industrial-scale recycling of spent graphite for energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the worldwide water scarcity issue, membrane distillation (MD) offers a promising solution for producing reclaimed water from secondary effluent generated by municipal wastewater treatment plants. However, prolonged operation of MD systems can result in membrane fouling, which impairs separation efficiency and shortens the membrane's lifespan. To overcome these challenges, novel surface-modified polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes have been developed through a combination of polydopamine deposition and quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) grafting (named as PDQ membranes). The objectives of this preparation are to reduce the membrane hydrophobicity, impart anti-adhesive and bactericidal properties, and improve water permeability and antifouling performance in the MD system. In particular, the membrane coated by a QAC solution with the concentration of 40 mM (named as M3 membrane), achieved a flux of 47.0 LMH, surpassing the original PTFE membrane by 11.4%. During the long-term direct contact membrane distillation operation with the secondary effluent, the M3 membrane exhibited significantly superior antifouling capability than the PTFE membrane. Undergoing three runs of the MD process, the flux reduction of M3 was only 38.1%, whereas the flux of original PTFE membrane experienced a 71.4% decline. The PDQ membranes were also capable of providing stable distillate quality (over 40 h). Notably, the M3 demonstrated a high rejection capability, with an impressive removal efficiency of 96.9% for low molecular weight organics and 92.5% for humus-like substances. Additionally, the PDQ membrane exhibited good anti-bioadhesion and bactericidal properties. This study highlights the promising application potential of the PDQ membrane for fouling mitigation in water and wastewater treatment. [Display omitted] • Polydopamine and quaternary ammonium compound surface-functionalized (PDQ) membranes were successfully fabricated. • Membrane distillation performance of PDQ membranes was investigated. • PDQ membranes exhibited significantly superior antifouling capability. • PDQ membranes were also capable of providing stable distillate quality. • PDQ membranes demonstrated good anti-bioadhesion and bactericidal properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional hydrothermal bottom-up synthesis for preparing carbon dots (CDs) usually requires stringent conditions and high energy consumption, whereas the quantum yield (QY) of CDs remains at a relatively low level. Herein, CDs exhibiting strong blue photoluminescence (PL) with an ultra-high QY (up to 94.4%) were prepared via a simple one-step microwave-assisted route using citric acid (CA) and o-phenylenediamine (o-PD) as precursors. The operating conditions, including reaction time, solvent species, amount of solvent, and precursor molar ratio, were optimized. The CDs synthesized within 3.5 min of microwave heating in ethylene glycol (EG) at a CA-to-PD molar ratio of 5:1 exhibited the highest QY (94.4%). A synergistic PL mechanism of the molecule state and carbon core state emissive centers was proposed according to the characterization results of CDs. Moreover, the proof-to-concept H 2 O 2 fluorescent detection performances of the prepared CDs confirmed their great application potential as probe materials. Through directly mixing the CD products and H 2 O 2 , a strong PL response could be rapidly detected after merely 1 min, and the detection limit was calculated to be as low as 8.6 nM. Besides, the CDs exhibited high biocompatibility, making them suitable for in-vivo detection of H 2 O 2. Therefore, this work provides a novel and efficient approach for synthesis of ultra-high QY CDs that can be directly applied in biological detection. [Display omitted] • A simple and rapid one-step CDs synthesis method within 3.5 min is proposed. • Various operation conditions are optimized. • The PL QY of fabricated CDs can reach as high as 94.4%. • The fabricated CDs can be directly applied for H 2 O 2 detection within 1 min • The detection limit for H 2 O 2 could descend to only 8.6 nM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a disease that transformed from psoriasis (PsO), and its underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. Overactivation of the immune system is a key factor driving inflammatory diseases. Our goal is to define the unbalanced subsets of peripheral blood CD4 +T cells between PsO and PsA patients. Blood samples from 43 patients (23 PsA and 20 PsO) and 36 healthy donors (HD) were studied. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were separated from blood and underwent fluorescent staining to assess CD4+T cell subsets by flow cytometry. We found that frequencies of various CD4+T cells including Th1, Th2, Th17, and Tfh were higher in the patients with PsO or PsA than those of healthy donors, indicating the general expansion of CD4+T cells in inflammatory conditions. More importantly, we observed the significant imbalance of Th1/Th2 between patients with PsO and PsA. Pearson correlation analysis showed that Th1/Th2 ratio was positively correlated with disease activity in psoriatic arthritis (DAPSA), Tfh/Tfr ratio was positively correlated with DAPSA score and visual analogue scale (VAS) score in PsA patients. Together, our results highlight the CD4+T cell changes in the transition from PsO to PsA, may contribute to early assessment and intervention. • Significant immune imbalance exist between PsO and PsA patients. • Th1/Th2 ratio and Tfh/Tfr ratio are positively correlated with DAPSA. • CD4+T cell subsets exchange may be a predictor of the progression from PsO to PsA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Consortial biofouling control of QSI-modified SWRO membrane is firstly reported. • The regulation of QSIs on seawater microbial community assemblages was evaluated. • MA suppressed the propagation of Proteobacteria strains on membrane surface. • MA decreased the abundance of genes coding QS and EPS biosynthesis. • Anti-QS mechanism of MA_m might be the binding of MA with to periplasmic receptor. Membrane biofouling is a challenge to be solved for the stable operation of the seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membrane. This study explored the regulation mechanism of quorum sensing (QS) inhibition on microbial community composition and population-level behaviors in seawater desalination membrane biofouling. A novel antibiofouling SWRO membrane (MA_m) by incorporating one of quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs), methyl anthranilate (MA) was prepared. It exhibited enhanced anti-biofouling performance than the exogenous addition of QSIs, showing long-term stability and alleviating 22 % decrease in membrane flux compared with the virgin membrane. The results observed that dominant bacteria Epsilon- and Gamma-proteobacteria (Shewanella, Olleya, Colwellia, and Arcobacter), which are significantly related to (P ≤ 0.01) the metabolic products (i.e., polysaccharides, proteins and eDNA), are reduced by over 80 % on the MA_m membrane. Additionally, the introduction of MA has a more significant impact on the QS signal-sensing pathway through binding to the active site of the transmembrane sensor receptor. It effectively reduces the abundance of genes encoding QS and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) (exopolysaccharides (i.e., galE and nagB) and amino acids (i.e., ilvE, metH, phhA , and serB)) by up to 50 % and 30 %, respectively, resulting in a reduction of EPS by more than 50 %, thereby limiting the biofilm formation on the QSI-modified membrane. This study provides novel insights into the potential of QSIs to control consortial biofilm formation in practical SWRO applications. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Membrane-confined catalysis for water purification is reviewed for the first time. • Fundamental understanding of nanoconfinement effect is provided. • Membrane-based nanoconfined catalysis (MNC) has unique properties. • The fabrication methods and effect of operating conditions are discussed. • A roadmap for the future research of MNC is proposed. Progress in heterogeneous advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) is hampered by several issues including mass transfer limitation, limited diffusion of short-lived reactive oxygen species (ROS), aggregation of nanocatalysts, and loss of nanocatalysts to treated water. These issues have been addressed in recent studies by executing the heterogeneous AOPs in confinement, especially in the nanopores of catalytic membranes. Under nanoconfinement (preferably at the length of less than 25 nm), the oxidant-nanocatalyst interaction, ROS-micropollutant interaction and diffusion of ROS have been observed to significantly improve, which results in enhanced ROS yield and mass transfer, improved reaction kinetics and reduced matrix effect as compared to conventional heterogenous AOP configuration. Given the significance of nanoconfinement effect, this study presents a critical review of the current status of membrane-based nanoconfined heterogeneous catalysis system for the first time. A succinct overview of the nanoconfinement concept in the context of membrane-based nanofluidic platforms is provided to elucidate the theoretical and experimental findings related to reaction kinetics, reaction mechanisms and molecule transport in membrane-based nanoconfined AOPs vs. conventional AOPs. In addition, strategies to construct membrane-based nanoconfined catalytic systems are explained along with conflicting arguments/opinions, which provides critical information on the viability of these strategies and future research directions. To show the desirability and applicability of membrane-based nanoconfined catalysis systems, performance governing factors including operating conditions and water matrix effect are particularly focused. Finally, this review presents a systematic account of the opportunities and technological constraints in the development of membrane-based nanoconfined catalytic platform to realize effective micropollutant elimination in water treatment. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) process combining the merits of photocatalysis and electrocatalysis is considered as a promising ammonia oxidation technology for water treatment. However, some key issues, such as the limited in situ generation of oxidants on photoanode, slow mass transfer problem and generation of nitrate/nitrite by–products hinder the further application of PEC process in the treatment of ammonia pollutant. In this study, the graphite felt (GF) cathodes modified by different transition metals (Ni, Fe, Mn, Co, Cu) were screened by physicochemical and photoelectrochemical characterizations. The results show that the Ni–GF cathode with more Ni0 uniformly distributed on the GF surface had the best electrocatalytic activity to generate H 2 O 2. The PEC system composed of 10.0 wt% Ni–GF cathode and optimized titania nanotubes (TNTs) photoanode selectively converted about 96.1% ammonia to N 2 within 90 min. Compared with the single TNTs photoanode system, the ammonia oxidation reaction rate constant of the synergistic PEC oxidation system was increased by about two times, which demonstrated the role of the oxidants simultaneously generated on both anode and cathode. The in situ generated reactive oxygen-based oxidants and chlorine-based oxidants interacted together, and ClO• acted a leading role in the ammonia oxidation which were confirmed by quenching and probe experiments. In addition, the contributions of •OH and ClO• were significantly improved in the synergistic PEC oxidation system, compared with the single TNTs photoanode system. Furthermore, the nitrate by–products generated by the ammonia oxidation were further reduced on the Ni–GF cathode. The large amount of active chlorine and active oxygen generated on the electrode diffused into the bulk, effectively overcoming the mass transfer limitation of direct oxidation. Therefore, the developed TNTs photoanode/Ni-GF cathode system can continuously and efficiently convert ammonia to N 2 without the formation of nitrate/nitrite by–products. [Display omitted] • Ni–GF cathode with uniformly distributed Ni0 had the best electrocatalytic activity. • The coupling system presented higher ammonia removal efficiency. • Ammonia was almost completely converted to N 2 without nitrate/nitrite by-products. • Efficient ammonia oxidation was mediated by chlorine-based radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• REM effectively removed fluorescence components in secondary effluent. • REM system showed consistent performance in repeated experiments. • FT-ICR MS confirmed extensive degradation/transformation of DOM on REM surface. • Highly unsaturated and phenolic compounds were transformed to the aliphatic. • Sulfur-containing molecular formulas were easily degraded. This research evaluated the performance of reactive electrochemical ceramic membrane (REM) in treating secondary effluent and investigated the fate of dissolved organic matter (DOM) at the molecular level. The role of adsorption, electrosorption, and oxidation in DOM removal was comprehensively elucidated based on fluorescence spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). Among the fluorescence components (C1-C3) in secondary effluent, microbial humic-like C2 showed fewer adsorption on the REM surface without applying an electrical potential. The electrosorption helped an enhanced uptake of all DOM components and transformed them onto the electrode surface. The fluorescence components and all three fractions (hydrophilic, transphilic, and hydrophobic) were rapidly degraded, and finished water with stable DOM was obtained. The leading degradation phenomena were the change of the unsaturated compounds to the aliphatic and transformation of large-sized molecules to medium and small-sized ones. Above 70% of the compounds in the secondary effluent acted as precursors, which were mineralized/degraded and transformed products were found on the REM surface and in the finished water. The compounds containing sulfur (CHOS) were easily and preferably degraded/mineralized, followed by the compounds containing nitrogen (CHON) and CHO. The oxidation of DOM led to the extensive formation of organo-chlorinated compounds, which contributed above 80% in products. Overall, the combination of fluorescence spectroscopy and FT-ICR MS provided unique behavior of DOM in the secondary effluent toward electro-oxidation in the REM system. These findings could help explore the potential of REM for different water matrices to project the possible composition of DOM in the finished water. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing accumulation of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystems could impair freshwater quality and threaten human health. Despite the adsorption of pharmaceuticals on biochars is one of the most cost-effective and eco-friendly removal methods, the wide variation of experimental designs and research aims among previous studies pose significant challenge in selecting biochar for optimal removal. In this work, literature data of 1033 sets with 21 variables collected from 267 papers over ten years (2010–2020) covering 19 pharmaceuticals onto 88 biochars were assessed by different machine learning (ML) algorithms i.e., Linear regression model (LM), Feed-forward neural networks (NNET), Deep neutral networks (DNN), Cubist, K-nearest neighbor (KNN), and Random forest (RF), to predict equilibrium adsorption capacity (Q e) and explore adsorption mechanisms. LM showed the best performance on ranking importance of input variables. Except for initial concentration of pharmaceuticals, Q e was strongly governed by biochars' properties including specific surface area (BET), pore volume (PV), and pore structure (PS) rather than pharmaceuticals' properties and experimental conditions. The most accurate model for estimating Q e was achieved by Cubist, followed by KNN, RF, KNN, NNET and LM. The generalization ability was observed by the tuned Cubist with 26 rules for the prediction of the unseen data. This study not only provides an insightful evidence for data-based adsorption mechanisms of pharmaceuticals on biochars, but also offers a potential method to accurately predict the biochar adsorption performance without conducting any experiments, which will be of high interests in practice in terms of water/wastewater treatment using biochars. [Display omitted] • Comprehensive data of 19 pharmaceuticals onto 88 biochars were examined. • ML models of classification, regression, ensemble and deep learning were compared. • LM outcompeted RF, Cubist, and xgbTree for ranking importance of input variables. • Q e was governed by biochars' structure rather than pharmaceuticals' properties. • Cubist featured the best prediction, followed by KNN, RF, DNN, NNET and LM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]