Hydrogen Peroxide Production of Individual Nanosecond Pulsed Discharges Submerged in Water of Elevated Conductivity

The production of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a key parameter for the performance of pulsed discharges submerged in water utilized as advanced oxidation process. So far, any related assessment of the underlying mechanism was conducted for the application of several hundred discharges, which did not allow for a correlation with physical processes. Moreover, the production was rarely investigated depending on water conductivity as one of the most important parameters for the development of submerged discharges. Accordingly, hydrogen peroxide generation was investigated here for individual single discharge events instigated with 100 ns high-voltage pulses in water with three different conductivities and was associated with the discharge development, i. e. spatial expansion and dissipated electrical energy. The approach necessitated the improvement of an electrochemical flow injection analysis based on the reaction of Prussian blue with H₂O₂. Hydrogen peroxide concentrations were quadratically increasing with propagation time and stable for different water conductivities. H₂O₂ production per unit volume of a discharge was constant over time with an estimated rate constant of 3.2 mol ⋅ m⁻¹ s⁻¹, averaged over the crosssectional area of all discharge filaments. However, the individually dissipated energy increased with conductivity, hence, the production efficiency decreased from 6.1 g ⋅ kWh⁻¹ to 1.4 g ⋅ kWh⁻¹, which was explained by increased resistive losses within the bulk liquid.     

Effects of Charged Surfactants on Interfacial Water Structure and Macroscopic Properties of the Air-Water Interface

Surfactants are used to control the macroscopic properties of the air-water interface. However, the link between the surfactant molecular structure and the macroscopic properties remains unclear. Using sum-frequency generation spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, two ionic surfactants (dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide, DTAB, and sodium dodecyl sulphate, SDS) with the same carbon chain lengths and charge magnitude (but different signs) of head groups interact and reorient interfacial water molecules differently. DTAB forms a thicker but sparser interfacial layer than SDS. It is due to the deep penetration into the adsorption zone of Br⁻ counterions compared to smaller Na⁺ ones, and also due to the flip-flop orientation of water molecules. SDS alters two distinctive interfacial water layers into a layer where H⁺ points to the air, forming strong hydrogen bonding with the sulphate headgroup. In contrast, only weaker dipole-dipole interactions with the DTAB headgroup are formed as they reorient water molecules with H⁺ point down to the aqueous phase. Hence, with more molecules adsorbed at the interface, SDS builds up a higher interfacial pressure than DTAB, producing lower surface tension and higher foam stability at a similar bulk concentration. Our findings offer improved knowledge for understanding various processes in the industry and nature.     

Surface modification of date palm activated carbonaceous materials for heavy metal removal and CO2 adsorption

In this study, high surface area activated carbon (AC) was prepared from a local palm tree (Phoenix Dactylifera) using a variety of metal carbonates activators and finally achieved an excellent S_BET of 2700 m²/g when Cs₂CO₃ was used as an activating agent at a temperature of 600 °C. Surface modification of AC was carried out using various nitrogen transporting agents, resulting in N-doped ACs with nitrogen content varying from 4.0 to 11.4 %, depending on the functionalizing agents and activators used. The bimodal (presence of micro- as well as meso-porosity) ACs with such excellent surface properties were studied for their CO₂ uptake capacity at two different temperatures (0 and 25 °C) by isotherms recorded at pressure 1 bar and showed a remarkable uptake ability of 3.52 mmol/g (at 25 °C) and 5.6 mmol/g (at 0 °C), respectively. Also, batch experiments with variable pH, contact time, adsorbate concentrations, adsorbent dose, and temperatures were evaluated to understand the mechanism of sorption phenomena of Cr(VI) and Pb(II) achieving > 99.9 % removal capacity by the prepared ACs. Depending on the heavy metal ions being investigated, it was revealed that the pH of the solution and the amount of adsorbent had a direct impact on the total adsorption ability. Nitrogen atoms doped into the carbon frameworks were found to enhance the adsorption in the case of Pb(II) while the removal of Cr(VI) appeared to be unaffected. Maximum adsorption for Cr(VI) was observed at pH 2 and was determined to follow Freundlich isotherm while that of Pb(II) was observed at pH 7 and follows Langmuir isotherm. Best adsorption was found at an adsorbate concentration of 10 ppm and an adsorbent dose of 10 g/L. Kinetic modeling parameters showed the applicability of pseudo-second-order model perfectly.     

Recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET Or PETE) plastics – An alternative to obtain value added products: A review

Waste management is become one of the world's most pressing issues. Plastic is one of the most widely utilised materials in the modern world. Plastic manufacturing and usage have risen globally in recent decades due to its low weight and outstanding mechanical properties. Plastic has a wide range of applications due to such good properties include lightweight, high strength, and extended durability. Because of plastics are non- or low-biodegradable, a vast quantity of plastic waste is generated every day, making waste disposal the most pressing matter globally. Furthermore, improper waste disposal pollutes the environment. An ecologically friendly approach is necessary to locket these issues. One of the solutions is to recycle this sort of garbage. There are many plastic recycling technologies available, however practically all of them have certain restrictions. Chemical recycling of plastic, on the other hand, has been shown to be more efficient than other recycling methods. This article provides a quick overview of chemical recycling of PET post-consumer waste and the synthesis of potentially value-added products such as dye or dyestuffs, bolaform surfactant, bio-degradable polyesters, drug carrier, Metal-organic framework (MOF), bio-degradable polymeric scaffolds, polyurethane foam and coating materials etc.     

Comparison of a single-use pH test strip and a glass electrode for potentiometric titration

The potentiometric titration of a carbonate mixture or an acetate solution is a common experiment in analytical laboratories. Typically, a glass electrode combined with a calomel or Ag/AgCl reference electrode is used to locate the equivalence points in neutralization titrations. The dissociation constants of weak acids and bases can be calculated from the pH at the half-neutralization point. Recently, a new commercial product for measuring pH has been developed. This novel acid–base detection strip is a single-use sensor that requires neither storage in a preservation liquid nor calibration prior to use. This study examined its suitability for the continuous monitoring of pH changes in potentiometric titrations of carbonate mixtures, acetate solutions, or ammonia solutions. There were no significant differences in the concentrations of solutions tested using a glass electrode and a pH test strip. The pK_a, pK_b, and pH values determined using the two systems differed by less than 5%. The results confirmed that the pH strips are suitable for continuously monitoring pH changes during neutralization titrations. However, the strips can only be used once.     

钢渣与污泥协同资源化研究进展

钢渣和污泥作为传统大宗固体废弃物,始终面临处理成本高、回收利用率低等问题,但其内部含有大量可利用物质,具有较高的资源化利用价值,现已成为国内外的研究热点。为了提高钢渣与污泥绿色、高效、协同资源化利用,综述了近年来国内外钢渣在建筑、道路、水处理、农业等领域资源化利用的研究进展,立足固废无害化、减量化,从钢渣和污泥的资源化进行分析与总结,指出不同研究方法的特点和优劣,为固废资源化利用提供参考。并基于我国发展现状对钢渣与污泥资源化利用的未来发展方向进行了展望,以期为固废处理行业的良性发展提供一定的理论支撑。     

Transition metal-based electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

Electrochemical overall water splitting is attracting a broad focus as a promising strategy for converting the electrical output of renewable resources into chemical fuels, specifically oxygen and hydrogen. However, the urgent challenge in water electrolysis is to search for low-cost, high-efficiency catalysts based on earth-abundant elements as an alternative to the high-cost but effective noble metal-based catalysts. The transition metal-based catalysts are more appealing than the noble metal catalysts because of its low cost, high performance and long stability. Some recent advances for the development in overall water splitting are reviewed in terms of transition metal-based oxides, carbides, phosphides, sulfides, and hybrids of their mixtures as hybrid bifunctional electrocatalysts. Concentrating on different catalytic mechanisms, recent advances in their structural design, controllable synthesis, mechanistic insight, and performance-enhancing strategies are proposed. The challenges and prospects for the future development of transition metal-based bifunctional electrocatalysts are also addressed.     

17O-核磁共振法研究不同处理方法对液态水缔合结构的影响

水作为人类重要的生产要素,参与了卷烟生产的多个环节。水在自然条件下以分子簇的形式存在,多种处理方式可以改变水分子团簇的大小。本文以¹⁷O-核磁共振法为水分子团簇的表征手段,以自来水为水源,考察了氢气、远红外辐射陶瓷球、反渗透、磁场四种处理方法对水分子簇的影响。结果表明:四种处理方式均能使一定量水分子由氢键结合态变为自由态,从而使水分子簇变小。不同处理方法对液态水缔合结构的影响大小排序为氢气处理>远红外陶瓷球处理>反渗透处理>磁场处理。同时,对氢气处理效果的时效性进行了考察,随着放置时间增加,部分自由态水分子再次转变为氢键结合态,水分子簇尺寸变大,但三天后仍保留了一定处理效果。本研究表明氢气处理为四种处理方式中最优的水处理方式,具有提升烟草行业生产用水品质的潜在应用价值。     

Photo-Induced Dihydroxylation of Alkenes with Diacetyl,Oxygen, and Water

Herein reported is a photo-induced production of vicinal diols from alkenes under mild reaction conditions. The present dihydroxylation method using diacetyl (= butane-2,3-dione), oxygen, and water dispenses with toxic reagents and intractable waste generation.     

Two Zn(II)‐based meta‐organic frameworks: Selective detection of antibiotics and treatment activity on age‐related macular degeneration by reducing inflammasome activation

Via utilizing the mixed‐ligand method, two novel Zn(II)‐containing meta‐organic frameworks with the chemical formula of {[Zn(L)(5‐HIP)]·H₂O}_n ( 1 ) and [Zn(L)(2,6‐NDC)]_n ( 2 ) were prepared under the solvothermal conditions by applying aromatic dicarboxylic acids ligands (5‐H₂HIP = 5‐hydroxyisophthalic acid; 2,6‐H₂NDC = 2,6‐naphthalenedicarboxylic acid) and 1,4‐bis(benzimidazol‐1‐yl)‐2‐butylene (L). Due to its good water stability as well as the strong luminescent emission around room temperature, complex 2 has the high selectivity and sensibility of fluorescence detection to the ceftriaxone sodium (a kind of antibiotic) with the detection limit up to ppm lever. The treatment activity of the compounds on age‐related macular degeneration was assessed and the specific mechanism was investigated. First of all, the inflammasome activation in the endothelial cells of retina was evaluated with western blot. In addition to this, the down‐stream production of the inflammasome activation was also measured with ELISA detection kit.