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BACKGROUND: High water consumption and the toxic pollutants found in industrial wastewater are key challenges in achieving a more sustainable development. In this sense, it is crucial to develop sustainable ways to reduce the organic pollutants found in wastewater and to promote its reuse. RESULTS: In this study, a simple, low‐cost, and environmentally friendly path for dairy wastewater decontamination through photocatalysis using rod‐shaped α‐Fe2O3/TiO2 type II heterojunctions is reported. The photoreaction of the model solution was evaluated under UVA‐visible irradiation with different amounts of α‐Fe2O3 over TiO2, lactose as pollutant concentrations, Cl− and SO42− anions effects, and oxidant ambient showing up to 42% lactose degradation without the addition of oxidant ambient. Optimized parameters (1.0%wt α‐Fe2O3/TiO2, [catalyst] = 0.5 g L−1, [lactose] = 0.7 g L−1, [H2O2] = 10 mM, [O2] = constant) were used on dairy wastewater, which showed a 63% total organic carbon reduction and a 56% chemical oxygen demand reduction. The composite was easily recovered by decantation with a turbidity reduction of ~ 99%. The photocatalyst reusability was assessed over three successive uses and it maintained its activity with a loss of only 10%. CONCLUSION: This study offers a promising approach for the development of innovative sustainable nanotechnology to efficiently degrade organic pollutants commonly found in dairy wastewater and improve its quality within a shorter timeframe. Our approach could contribute to the development of efficient and cost‐effective complementary technologies for the Sequencing Batch Reactor in the treatment of dairy wastewater, thus contributing to the sustainability of the dairy industry. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This study investigates the integration of a hydro-cyclone decanter into Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) systems to enhance particle segregation during the decanting phase, aiming to improve removal efficiencies of suspended particles in SBR. Methods A hydro-cyclone separator was designed for the SBR reactor, optimizing particles separation using centrifugal forces without extensive process modifications. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance with synthetic and actual wastewater at different concentrations and flow rates. Results and Discussion The hydro-cyclone decanter achieved removal efficiencies of up to 32.3% for synthetic wastewater and approximately 73.2% for actual wastewater, demonstrating significant particle segregation capabilities. However, its impact on dissolved pollutants like total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus (T-P) was limited. Conclusion Integrating a hydro-cyclone decanter in SBR systems significantly enhances particle segregation, particularly for larger particles, while moderately improving COD removal, suggesting its effective use in wastewater treatment processes.

Manganese (Mn) is an important micronutrient for many living organisms. As a cofactor of numerous enzymes, Mn² demonstrates enormous value to the human body, plants, and animals. Although, at high concentrations Mn² can become a threat for the health of living organisms and environment. Nowadays extensive employment of Mn² for various purpose leads to its excessive emission into the environment. Therefore, Mn element is usually found in wastewaters and drainages of various industries. Drinking water with high concentration of Mn² for a long time may causes problems with attention, memory, and motor skills. "Manganism" is a chronic neurological condition that can be caused by Mn² poisoning. The removal of Mn² is notoriously difficult due to the high stability of the Mn (II). This review first introduces the essentiality, natural and anthropogenic sources and the toxic effect of Mn² pollution, then sheds the light on its bioremediation. The bioremediation treatment of manganese-laden wastewater may include Mn (II) oxidation by various pathways. Bioremediation is a potential alternative for the remediation of Mn² metal pollutants from environments in an eco-friendly and cost-efficient manner through bacteria. This review study provides a scientific basis for the bioremediation of Mn pollutants through bacteria. This study may open an efficient new way to deal with the harmful condition of Mn² toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the present study, hydrophilic silica aerogel (HPSA) was synthesized by ambient pressure drying method and was successfully used as an adsorbent for the removal of Cationic dyes (Crystal violet- CV) from the aqueous solution. The synthesized sample was characterized and examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Bruner – Emmett – Teller (BET), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Zeta potential pH zp, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR), and Scanning Electron microscope (SEM). The effect of different parameters such as pH, initial concentration of dyes, contact time, temperature, and their effect on the removal of CV dyes was studied. Silica aerogel synthesized was excellent and 96 % removal of CV dyes on the optimum value of the parameters of 30 min contact time, 303 K temp, 7 pH, 50 mg/l Conc., 0.3 g/l dose of HPSA was obtained. Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin,and D-R models were applied in the equilibrium studies and obtained the maximum adsorption capacity 137.17 mg/g. pseudo-first, second-order, and intraparticle diffusion models were employed to indicate the chemisorption behavior in the kinetic study on the adsorption. Thermodynamic parameters showed the adsorption process as Exothermic and spontaneous. Sticking Probability (S*≪1) indicated HPSA as a good adsorbent for the removal of dyes. HPSA has demonstrated the potential for regeneration while affirming its remarkable removal efficiency, Cost effectiveness and Environmental compatibility.

Sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum L.) is a wild-growing halophyte used in cuisine, traditional medicine or cosmetic products for its beneficial nutritive value and pleasant sensory characteristics. This study aimed to investigate sea fennel essential oils (EOs) from different parts of the plant (flowers, leaves and stems) and the corresponding hydrodistillation by-products (residual water) to validate their potential use and application in different industries. EOs were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), while the phenolic profile of the residual water was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrophotometric methods. The EO analysis confirmed the presence of 14 compounds, dominated by sabinene (from 42.55 to 51.47%) and limonene (from 36.28 to 43.58%), while among the 12 detected phenolics, chlorogenic acid and its isomers (cryptochlorogenic and neochlorogenic acid) were found in the highest concentrations. Total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents were concentrated in the order flowers > leaves > stems. Although the sea fennel samples showed differences in chemical profiles, overall they were rich in bioactive compounds with relatively high amounts of key compounds with already proved good biological properties, especially in waste-water, indicating great potential for re-use in accordance with green processing technology trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Biological aerated filter (BAF) is an efficient and economical treatment process to cope with the rapid increasing drainage of aquaculture wastewater. Here, GAC and ceramic, which have the combination advantage, was used as filters of BAF system to treat the aquaculture wastewater. The effect of filters in different sequences was also compared. The BAF with GAC at the bottom is named as GAC‐down BAF, and the BAF at the top is named as GAC‐upper BAF. RESULTS: Results showed that the removal efficiency of total nitrogen (TN) in GAC‐down BAF was 54.2 ± 1.2% higher than that in GAC‐upper BAF, when the HRT was 3 h and the gas‐water ratio was 5:1. Additionally, it had better phosphorus and COD removal performance in the GAC‐down BAF than those in the GAC‐upper BAF. Microbial community analysis of biofilm attached to different filter layers indicated that the abundances of functional microorganisms like Zoogloea spp., Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Nitrospira spp. on GAC of the GAC‐down BAF were higher than those attached to ceramsite at the same site of GAC‐up BAF. CONCLUSION: It was demonstrated that GAC could provide a suitable niche for the growth of functional microbes at the up‐flow BAF system, and plays a key role in pollutant removals from aquaculture wastewater. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum L.) is a wild-growing halophyte used in cuisine, traditional medicine or cosmetic products for its beneficial nutritive value and pleasant sensory characteristics. This study aimed to investigate sea fennel essential oils (EOs) from different parts of the plant (flowers, leaves and stems) and the corresponding hydrodistillation by-products (residual water) to validate their potential use and application in different industries. EOs were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), while the phenolic profile of the residual water was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrophotometric methods. The EO analysis confirmed the presence of 14 compounds, dominated by sabinene (from 42.55 to 51.47%) and limonene (from 36.28 to 43.58%), while among the 12 detected phenolics, chlorogenic acid and its isomers (cryptochlorogenic and neochlorogenic acid) were found in the highest concentrations. Total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents were concentrated in the order flowers > leaves > stems. Although the sea fennel samples showed differences in chemical profiles, overall they were rich in bioactive compounds with relatively high amounts of key compounds with already proved good biological properties, especially in waste-water, indicating great potential for re-use in accordance with green processing technology trends.

The results of laboratory studies carried out to identify the possibility and effectiveness of technologies for the complex recycling of components of flue gases and wastewater from thermal power plants and industrial boilers are presented. The following factors were investigated: the degree of saturation of water solutions with CO2, the efficiency of using these solutions for the regeneration of cation exchangers, the properties of regeneration solutions intended for the regeneration of cation exchange filters prepared using components of flue gases obtained from the combustion of organic fuel in the laboratory by saturating water of various compositions, the degree of saturation of condensate and waste-water with components of flue gases, as well as the degree of regeneration of cation exchangers with such regeneration solutions. After research in the laboratory, a laboratory installation was created in an industrial environment to determine the properties of solutions obtained from wastewater and flue gases obtained after production processes at a power plant. The technologies were developed for the complex recycling of flue gases and waste-water from thermal power plants with the production of CO2 with a purity of 99.9%, technical nitrogen with a purity of 95%, special solutions for the regeneration of cation exchangers in water purification plants of industrial enterprises. The results obtained make it possible to minimize the volume of emissions into the atmosphere and the volume of waste-water from thermal power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays the requirement for clean water in human population is growing day by day. The different factories and industries like pharmaceutical, textile, food processing, and chemical industries are the major cause of water contamination by adding an organic dyes. The aim of present study is to synthesize the green nanoparticles for the purification waste water. The TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared using crude extract of local plant Acacia nilotica. The TiO2 nanoparticles initially were confirmed by color change and later by UV-spectroscopy. The size and shape of TiO2 nanoparticles were assessed by using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometric analysis (EDs) was performed to measure the elements concentrations. Dye removing potential of prepared TiO2 nanoparticles were performed using methylene blue induced dye mixture. The result showed that the synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles were round and spherical in shape ranging from 50-120nm with average of 60 nm. EDs confirmed the TiO2 presence in nanoparticles. The synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles showed 75% dye removing capacity after 2 hours of exposure. In conclusion, TiO2 nanoparticles were highly effective for removing dye from water; therefore these TiO2 nanoparticles can be used as best source for water treatment for removing dyes from waste water.

Waste-water is one of the production process that contains several dangerous mixtures or chemical compositions. One of them is waste-water from monazite processing which is containing radioactive element like uranium (U). Waste-water with radioactive content, mainly uranium, became a hazardeous content if it is released to the environment because of its active nuclide content that effect the environment and community health. Therefore, it is necessary to treat waste-water from monasite processing. The method used is ion exchange process with a cation resin, namely Tulsion T-40 Na, which can reduce uranium content and other cations in waste-water at low concentration. Ion exchanging is conducted through stirring process with resin weight and contact time variations. Measurements on uranium content are carried out using the UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, while measurements on pH and TDS values in waste-water are conducted to determine the characteristics of the waste. The results showed that optimum condition of the ion exchange process at 1.5 g resin weight with 300 minutes contact time is resulting a reduction on uranium content as much as 83.40 %.

The shortage of fuel in the near future and the change in climate due to greenhouse gases are serious challenges of a global concern, thus it is imperious to explore new sustainable ways to overwhelm these challenges. The need of a new sustainable energy sources has increased the importance of the third generation biofuel produced from non-food stocks such as algae, which possibly represent a great opportunity in the long term. The major challenge of the algae based bio-fuel production is their extraordinary cultivation costs, which make their commercialization economically infeasible. Algal spp. especially Chlorella spp. are capable of thriving in waste water and can accumulate high lipid contents. The aim of the current review was to highlight the possible integration of waste water treatment and algae based bio-fuel production, as a sustainable option for cost effective bio-fuel production along with lower environmental impact.

Introduction: Phage therapy has gained interest as a potential alternative for treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. This study aimed to isolate a lytic bacteriophage with the potential to lyse clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Methods: Water samples were collected from a hospital waste-water treatment plant in Tehran. The samples were filtered and mixed with an overnight grown culture of K. pneumoniae. (ATCC 10031) followed by incubation at 37°C overnight. Phage titration, latent period, and burst size measurements were carried out by the double-layer agar method using the K. pneumoniae ATCC strain. The isolated phage w:as char:acterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal, pH, and chloroform stability. Susceptibility of Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ESBL producing K. pneumoniae and 51 MDR K. pneumoniae isolates was measured by placing 20 µl of the phage suspension (108 PFU) onto bacterial lawns followed by incubation at 37°C overnight. Formation of clear zones indicated susceptibility. Results: The isolated lytic bacteriophage formed small clear plaques with a latent period of 40 min and a burst time of 52 min, corresponding to 35-40 phage particles per infected cell. TEM results showed that the phage resembled the tailed Siphoviridae family and was designated vB_KpnS-Teh.1. The phage vB_KpnS-Teh.1 was most stable at 37°C, pH 7 and was resistant to chloroform. Conclusion: The isolated lytic phage showed specificity towards K. pneumoniae. Further research will determine its potential in the treatment of K. pneumoniae infections.

BACKGROUND A good colloidal stability of magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) dispersion is of utmost importance for its environmentally related applications. In the present work, a water‐soluble anionic polyelectrolyte, poly(sodium 4‐styrene sulfonate) (PSS), was used to stabilize dispersions of MNPs in a pH‐dependent aqueous medium. RESULTS: An excellent methylene blue (MB) dye removal efficiency at equilibrium of up to 94% has been observed by the colloidally stabilized nano‐magnetites. Dynamic light scattering and electrophoretic analysis showed that the PSS‐coated MNPs exhibited better colloidal stability, with an almost constant hydrodynamic diameter of ~150 nm and insignificant clustering behavior throughout the measuring time scale of 5 h. Transmission electron microscopy evidenced the success coating of PSS onto MNPs. In terms of its chemical resistance, the PSS‐coated MNPs were able to tolerate a wide pH range from 2 to 10. This work depicts a simple physiochemical coating method to stabilize dispersions of nano‐magnetites, which promoted a better MB adsorption capacity of PSS‐coated MNPs at 14.9 mg g–1 than the naked MNPs at 10.38 mg g–1. The adsorption process follows Langmuir isotherm and pseudo‐second‐order reaction kinetics with both correlations R2 > 0.99. PSS‐coated MNPs demonstrated outstanding regeneration capacity for four batch adsorption cycles with an almost consistent MB removal efficiency higher than 85%. CONCLUSION: This in‐house developed nano‐sorbent has potential in economical applications with a less budgeted adsorbent replacement (at least 4 cycles of regeneration) for low‐cost separation of pollutants, such as MB from polluted water. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays the requirement for clean water in human population is growing day by day. The different factories and industries like pharmaceutical, textile, food processing, and chemical industries are the major cause of water contamination by adding an organic dyes. The aim of present study is to synthesize the green nanoparticles for the purification waste water. The TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared using crude extract of local plant Acacia nilotica. The TiO2 nanoparticles initially were confirmed by color change and later by UVspectroscopy. The size and shape of TiO2 nanoparticles were assessed by using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometric analysis (EDs) was performed to measure the elements concentrations. Dye removing potential of prepared TiO2 nanoparticles were performed using methylene blue induced dye mixture. The result showed that the synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles were round and spherical in shape ranging from 50-120nm with average of 60 nm. EDs confirmed the TiO2 presence in nanoparticles. The synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles showed 75% dye removing capacity after 2 hours of exposure. In conclusion, TiO2 nanoparticles were highly effective for removing dye from water; therefore these TiO2 nanoparticles can be used as best source for water treatment for removing dyes from waste water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: In this study, silica xerogel was synthesized using volcanic tuff instead of expensive silica precursors at ambient pressure drying. The mesoporous silica xerogel with unique structural and textural properties was evaluated as an adsorbent for methylene blue (MB) removal from aqueous solution. Taguchi method was applied to optimize controllable factors (contact time, initial MB concentration, silica xerogel dose, temperature and pH) for MB removal. RESULTS: The temperature was determined as the most significant factor with percentage contribution of 54.50%. MB removal efficiency was 96.18% at optimum conditions (contact time: 60 min, initial MB concentration: 20 ppm, silica xerogel dose: 0.0016 g mL−1, temperature: 40 °C, pH: 5). The experimental data fitted with the Langmuir isotherm, yielding a maximum adsorption capacity of 51.967 mg g−1. MB desorption process was performed depending on eluent concentration and contact time. Maximum desorption efficiency was specified as 88% using 1 M hydrochloric acid for 4 h. The silica xerogel was easily recycled with retaining approximately 70% of adsorption efficiency after five cycles. CONCLUSION: In the light of the promising results, the silica xerogel can be used as an effective adsorbent in many environmental applications. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Immobilization of enzyme on a solid support can improve its stability, however, this is often accompanied by a decrease of the initial catalytic activity. The design and preparation of immobilized enzyme with simultaneous high activity and stability is a challenge. RESULTS: A hierarchically porous metal organic framework H‐MOF(Zr) which was prepared by 'crystal defect' strategy was very stable in aqueous solution and possessed well‐defined, tunable and adjacent hierarchical pores. When using the H‐MOF(Zr) as support for enzyme immobilization, a single array of enzyme in a single mesoporous channel was achieved so as to avoid aggregation of the enzyme. Meanwhile the micropores can be utilized to concentrate substrates, resulting in a decrease in the mass transfer resistance of substrate compared with that in the bulk buffer due to the enzymes and substrates closely embedded on the same support. The prepared immobilized enzyme CPO/HRP@H‐MOF(Zr) was more stable at elevated temparatures, showing 58.2% enhanced activity compared with free enzymes at 70 °C for 1 h incubation. After 12 cycles, 70.7% of activity remained. When the CPO/HRP@H‐MOF(Zr) was applied in the treatment of wastewater containing isoproturon and 2,4‐dichlorophenol, complete degradation was achieved in only 15 min. CONCLUSION: Both high activity and stability under harsh reaction conditions give the CPO/HRP@H‐MOF(Zr) composites potential for practical application in wastewater treatment. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water Crisis is one of the most important environmental issues of Iran in the recent years which has been taken in to consideration by the state and different social groups. The farmers have realized the water crisis more than others, and therefore, for solving the problem of water, they have used alternatives waters such as wastewater. However, the use of wastewater has limitations in terms of product and the land.This article, by using grounded theory Method seeks to clarify the interpretation, meaning and behavior of farmers in the use of wastewater. The statistical society of the current research is all the farmers engaged in the agricultural lands of Varamin plain, which through theoretical sampling and available sample method, the theoretical saturation was obtained through interview with 38 people. The results of interpreting the farmer approach toward the state policy making about the waste water, shows the distrust toward the state policies and its impact on the incorrect function of the farmers in using waste water. In addition, the results of this study show that the personality universality and individuality manner in an atmosphere of insecurity, conflict between the agency in the selection of irrigation methods and lack of accountability are the results of this phenomenon. Core category that include general categories, is “community rupture from the national policies".

The need to organize waste-free use of recyclable milk raw is due to its adverse environmental effects when released as part of waste water and the presence in it of valuable food components, which can be used in main production. The most promising method for carrying out complex processing of whey is based on the use of high-molecular liquid poly-disperse system ultrafiltration. However, the permeability of polymeric membranes recommended for use in the food industry, leading to the related equipment performance is not high enough. This is the main factor that prevents the dairy industry from the widespread adoption of this method. The working hypothesis of the research is as follows: the effectiveness of baromembrane separation of recyclable milk raw material (quark whey) increases via pre-cleaning of systems undergoing separation from proteins with natural polysaccharides, the source of which is the extract of Jerusalem artichoke tubers. Analysis of the results obtained confirmed the validity of the hypothesis. Adding stevia components into quark whey may improve organoleptic characteristics of the latter, enrich the composition of food and change the physical - chemical properties of the whey as the object to ultrafiltration. Technology of quark whey processing based of its composition modification through the addition of the natural plant sweetener (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) components, and its subsequent ultrafiltration improves the efficiency of using this type of recyclable milk raw materials in food production.

The contamination of water represents a major problem in many parts of the world. Endocrine disrupting compounds belong to the water contaminants and affect, besides other things, hormonal equilibrium in the living organisms. Such compounds are of different chemical structures and there is a demand for their fast determination in water samples. In our work, we focused on the development of a simple and fast method for separation and determination of five model hormone antagonists, exemestane, toremifene, letrozole, anastrozole, and mifepristone, by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Within the best conditions, 50 mM sodium borate pH 9.5, 50 mM SDS, 15% 1-propanol, 20 kV, the separation of all the compounds lasted 8 min. The method was successfully validated with LODs of 1.2-7.7 µg mL−1, LOQs of 4.0-25.6 µg mL−1 and intraday repeatability of peak areas of 0.8-1.1%. Moreover, it was applied to the analysis of spiked water samples from a local waste-water treatment plant using SPE as a pretreatment step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Even though the nitrification process is inhibited in the presence of sulfide and organic matter, few efforts have been reported to overcome this weakness. The present work has the goal of determining the effect of zeolite (2.5, 5, 10 and 15 g L‐1) as an improver of the nitrification process in the presence of sulfide and organic matter in a batch system. RESULTS: The inhibitory effect of both sulfide and organic matter on the nitrification process was decreased by 53% when using zeolite, with the best results at a zeolite concentration of 15 g L‐1. No total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) adsorption on the zeolite was observed under these conditions, with TAN removal taking place mainly by biological oxidation. Specific nitrate production rate increased by 37.73% compared with the control. Sulfide was oxidized chemically in all the assays, with sulfate as the main product, while COD reduction and VSS production were not affected by zeolite. CONCLUSIONS: Zeolite can be used to improve nitrification in batch systems in the presence of sulfur and organic matter, obtaining a faster TAN removal rate and higher specific nitrate production compared with the controls. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper compared the performance of the ethanol yield after alcoholic fermentation with samples of rejected (RW) and permeate water (PW), RW and PW treated by oxidation with ozone (O3) (5 and 15 min) and evaporation, aiming the recirculation back to the bioethanol process. RW and PW were collected after an anaerobic bioreactor (AnBR) used for stillage treatment. Nine types of fermentations were made, where one used 100% tap water (control) and the remaining used 80% of recycled water and 20% of tap water. Comparing with the control (15.68%), evaporated permeate water and permeate water oxidized for 15 min achieved the highest and closest ethanol concentrations in v/v with 14.68 and 14.08% respectively. RW and PW had the lowest ethanol results with 8.43 and 8.68%. The studied methods for water treatment are effective to recycle water taking into consideration the ethanol yield, allowing a good possibility of recirculation. Chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen and phosphate content did not strongly affect the ethanol yield in all samples treated, with similar results. Oxidation was more environmental friendly and cheaper if performed in 5 min. Further research in the monitoring of the fermentation, ethanol quality and in the number of cycles of fermentation with recycled water is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The electrochemical recovery of copper from diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and C12–DTPA (a surface‐active derivative of DTPA) complex solutions was investigated in a membrane flow cell. Electrolysis time, solution flow rate, applied current density, and solution pH were evaluated. RESULTS: The chelating surfactant C12‐DTPA can promote the kinetics of copper electrodeposition more than DTPA depending on the experimental conditions. At a current density of 30 A m–2, a solution flow rate of 0.6 L min–1, and pH 10 after 180 min treatment, the copper recovery and current efficiency were 50% and 43.3%, respectively, in the Cu(II)‐DTPA system and about 65% and 53.6%, respectively, in the Cu(II)‐C12‐DTPA system. The differences in the amount of recovery could be explained in terms of differences in the diffusion of copper complexes with DTPA and C12‐DTPA to the cathode, as well as their solution behavior and pH‐dependent conditional stability constants (log10 K'CuDTPA3‐). CONCLUSION: Electrochemical methods could be effectively combined with foam flotation for the chelating surfactant C12‐DTPA, to recover copper and C12‐DTPA. This makes the overall treatment more sustainable, and can be helpful in complying with the increasingly stringent environmental regulations. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an effort to introduce application of Long period fiber grating (LPG) sensors in perpetual monitoring of industrial waste water effluent. A change in ambient refractive index (RI) of an LPG causes a shift in its resonant wavelength. This RI sensitivity of LPG has been used to design a simple and highly sensitive chemical sensor to determine the concentration of Chloride (Cl) and Iron (Fe) ions present in the treated waste water effluent of sugar factories. The concentrations of Cl and Fe ions in the effluent sample determined by our sensor are 97.85 ppm and 0.274 ppm respectively. The results are in good agreement with that of two standard techniques used for the purpose, thus proving the reliability of the LPG sensor. Limit of detection of Cl and Fe ions are found to be as low as 0.038 ppm and 0.007 ppm per pm shift in wavelength respectively, reflecting enormous potential of the sensor in detection of trace elements in waste water with accuracy. Sensitivity of the sensor for Fe ions being about 5 times greater than that for Cl ions, suggests a higher sensitivity of sensor in lower range of concentration in ppm. Miniaturization, cost-effectiveness and ability of online measurement are the most important features of LPG chemical sensors that give them an edge over existing techniques for the purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The integrated free-floating biofilm and activated sludge (IFFAS) process is an ideal candidate for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND). However, traditional carriers have their inherent drawbacks, such as the weak hydrophilicity and negative charges on the surface. In this study, novel carriers with favorable hydrophilicity and electrophilicity were prepared and implemented in an IFFAS-based SND reactor. RESULTS Compared with traditional carriers, the water contact angle of the novel carriers dropped to 60.2° and positive charges on the surface (+11.7 mV, pH 7.0) were acquired. Through accurate control of dissolved oxygen (DO), it took only 30 days to start SND, with a total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency of 80.2%. In contrast, the start-up period was 42 days with weaker TN removal capacity in a control reactor filled with traditional carriers. Novel carriers provided a favorable niche for more types of bacteria to survive, of which Nitrosomonadales and Nitrospirale were identified as nitrifiers while anoxic denitrifiers, aerobic denitrifiers and anammox bacteria also co-existed in the system, contributing to TN removal. CONCLUSION Novel carriers with favorable hydrophilicity and electrophilicity were successfully prepared through a relatively facile approach, and a novel carriers-based SND process enabled a shorter start-up period, higher biomass and better TN removal efficiency. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]