从废水到新能源:光催化燃料电池的优化与应用

随着经济的飞速发展,社会对能源的需求日益扩大,对工业废水的无害化处理也提出了更高的要求。光催化燃料电池 (photocatalytic fuel cell, PFC) 在燃料电池中引入半导体光催化材料作为电极,实现了有机污染物高效降解和同步对外产电的双重功能,在废水无害化与资源化利用方面具有潜在的应用价值。半导体光催化电极是PFC系统高效运行的核心组件,增强其可见光响应和光生载流子分离是提高PFC性能的关键策略。反应器结构设计和运行参数优化也有利于改善PFC性能。本文从PFC基本原理和应用入手,综述了PFC在环境污染物资源化处理中的研究进展,并详细阐述了提高PFC的污染控制性能和产电效率的优化手段,为进一步设计高效稳定的PFC系统并实现其在水污染控制和清洁能源生产中的应用提供理论指导。     

Rapid and easy quantification of elemental sulphur in aqueous samples from biological reactors: the turbidimetric method revisited

Recent developments in wastewater treatment have led to a renewed interest to obtain elemental sulphur (S°) as a by-product from bioreactors. However, practical studies are limited by the gap of adequate analytical techniques for its determination. This paper provides a statistical study and matrix effect evaluation of an adapted spectrophotometric method for routine S° analyses in aqueous samples, based on a methodology previously described by Hart (1961). Four complex matrices were tested: domestic sewage and effluent samples from three different bioreactors. Tested performance criteria included linearity, matrix effect, limit of detection and quantification and S° recovery. Results were linear (R² = 0.99994) in the studied range (5 to 100 mg S° L^?1) and no matrix effect was observed. The accuracy was based on recovery values that varied from 100% to 106%. The colloidal S° separation and extraction protocol was also considered suitable for aqueous samples, reaching more than 99.0% of S° recovery.     

Frequencies Rotation at High Sound Pressure Levels Toward Low Frequencies

Today, analyzing of sound pressure level and frequency is considered as an important index in human society. Sound experts believe that analyzing of these parameters can help us to better understanding of work environments. Sound measurements and frequency analysis did to fix the harmful frequency in all sections in Shiraz gas power plant with sound analyzer model BSWA 308. The sound pressure levels (L_P) and the one and one-third octave band were continuously measured in A and C weighting networks and slow mode for time response. Excel 2013 and Minitab 18.1 software used for statistical calculations. Results analyzed by Minitab 18.1 software. The highest harmful frequency in Shiraz Gas Power Plant (SGPP) was 50 Hz with 115 dB. The sound pressure level (SPL) ranged from 45 dB to 120 dB in one-third octave band and weighting network C. The maximum sound pressure level was in Craft electricity generator with 105.3 dB and 67 Hz. Sound pressure level in surrounded environment was 120 dB. According to the results, in this industry the sound pressure level exceeded the Occupational Exposure Level of Iran (OEL). The value of sound pressure level were higher than the Standard of occupational health. SGPP consumes 47000 cubic meters of natural gas per hour to produce 100 MW (Mega Watt) of electricity. It is very high and it is not economical and cost effective. These numbers indicate that the power plant’s efficiency is low. It could be concluded that the noise pollution is an important issue in these industries. Moreover, SGPP produce noise with loss energy. Frequencies rotation at high sound pressure levels toward low frequencies were happened.     

Light Hydrocarbon Separations Using Porous Organic Framework Materials

Light hydrocarbons (C₁–C₃) are used as basic energy feedstocks and as commodity organic compounds for the production of many industrially necessary chemicals. Due to the nature of the raw materials and production processes, light hydrocarbons are generated as mixtures, but the high-purity single-component products are of vital importance to the petrochemical industry. Consequently, the separation of these C₁–C₃ products is a crucial industrial procedure that comprises a significant share of the total global energy consumption per year. As a complement to traditional separation methods (distillation, partial hydrogenation, etc.), adsorptive separations using porous solids have received widespread attention due to their lower energy costs and higher efficiency. Extensive research has been devoted to the use of porous materials such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as solid adsorbents for these key separations, owing to the high porosity, tunable pore structures, and unsaturated metal sites present in these materials. Recently, porous organic framework (POF) materials composed of organic building blocks linked by covalent bonds have also shown excellent properties in light hydrocarbon adsorption and separation, sparking interest in the use of these materials as adsorbents in separation processes. This Minireview summarizes the recent advances in the use of POFs for light hydrocarbon separations, including the separation of mixtures of methane/ethane, methane/propane, ethylene/ethane, acetylene/ethylene, and propylene/propane, while highlighting the relationships between the structural features of these materials and their separation performances. Finally, the difficulties, challenges, and opportunities associated with leveraging POFs for light hydrocarbon separations are discussed to conclude the review.     

Optimization of Transducer Location for Novel Non-Intrusive Methodologies of Diagnosis in Diesel Engines

The health monitoring has been studied to ensure integrity of design of engine structure by detection, quantification, and prediction of damages. Early detection of faults may allow the downtime of maintenance to be rescheduled, thus preventing sudden shutdown of machines. In cylinder pressure developed, vibrations and noise emissions data provide a rich source of information about condition of engines. Monitoring of vibrations and noise emissions are novel non-intrusive methodologies for which positioning of various transducers are important issue. The presented work shows applicability of these diagnosis methodologies adopted in case of diesel engines. The effects of changing various fuel injection parameters was analyzed. Scope of using non-intrusive technique has been analyzed by changing locations of microphone. Novelty of this worklies in exploring signal processing methods for various locations around the engine test set up. Various frequency ranges of contributing noise and vibration sources were identified. Time-Frequency analysis showed the onset of various cyclic. Based on the identification of various frequency bands, it is possible to device suitable filters in order to extract more information.     

Trends in the detection of pharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting compounds by Field-Effect Transistors (FETs)

Field-effect transistors (FETs) are one of the most widely-used electronic sensors for continuous monitoring and detection of contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting compounds at low concentrations. FETs have been successfully utilized for the rapid analysis of these environmental pollutants due to their advantageous material properties like the disposability, rapid responses and simplicity. This paper presented an up-to-date overview of applied strategies with different bio-based materials in order to enhance the analytical performances of the designed sensors. Comparison and discussion were made between characteristics of recently engineered FET bio-sensors used for the detection of famous and selected pharmaceutical compounds in the literature. The recent progress in environmental research applications, comments on interesting trends, current challenge for future research in endocrine-disrupting chemicals’ (EDCs) detection using FETs biosensors were highlighted.     

Application of microcrystalline cellulose as an efficient and cheap sorbent for the extraction of metoprolol from plasma and wastewater before HPLC–MS/MS determination

A dispersive solid-phase extraction method based on a new sorbent has been performed on plasma and wastewater samples to determine metoprolol by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. In this study, the analyte was adsorbed from the samples onto microcrystalline cellulose as a green and efficient sorbent and then eluted for use in the determination step. In the mass spectrometer, the analyte was detected in the positive mode and selectivity of the analysis was increased by sequential mass analysis through multiple reaction monitoring. All of the effective parameters in the extraction of metoprolol from plasma and wastewater were optimized. Under optimal conditions the method was linear in the ranges of 1–1,000 and 0.1–1,000 ng/ml in plasma and wastewater samples, respectively. The detection limits of the method were 0.30 and 0.03 ng/ml in plasma and wastewater samples, respectively. The data showed that the method provides low detection limit, wide linear range, good precision and high extraction recovery. Finally several plasma and wastewater samples were successfully analyzed using the method. The use of a small amount of a green and inexpensive sorbent and a low volume of plasma without the need for further pretreatment steps are the main advantages of the method.     

Dilute-and-shoot approach for determination of several biomarkers and pharmaceuticals in wastewater using nanoflow liquid chromatography – Orbitrap mass spectrometry

A new method for quantitative analysis of several biomarkers and pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater has been developed employing nanoflow liquid chromatography with Orbitrap mass spectrometry. An easy dilute-and-shoot approach has been used for sample preparation with a dilution factor of 5. Improved retention of ionic and highly polar compounds has been achieved by the addition of tetrabutylammonium bromide as an ion pair reagent into the final diluted sample. The new nanoflow liquid chromatography method has demonstrated low matrix effects (70%–111%), high sensitivity in terms of limits of quantification (0.005 to 0.3 μg/L), low injection volume (70 nl) and solvent consumption, and the ability to analyze diverse polar and ionic analytes within one run using a single reversed-phase nanoflow liquid chromatography column. Wastewater samples (n = 116) from the wastewater treatment plants of different cities in Latvia were analyzed using the developed method. The observed concentrations of biomarkers were in line with the literature data.     

Production of polyhydroxyalkanoate from sesame seed wastewater by sequencing batch reactor cultivation process of Haloferax mediterranei

Due to the high cost of bioplastic production, sesame wastewater, generated from the sesame seed hulling process, was investigated to be used as inexpensive and renewable carbon source for the production of biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) by extreme Haloferax mediterranei. The sesame wastewater (SWW) was hydrolyzed using different concentrations of hydrochloric acid (0.4. 1.00 and 2.00 M) at different period of times (15, 60 and 90 min). The concentration of salt (NaCl) and nitrogen source (NH₄Cl and yeast) required for H. mediterranei cells growth and the accumulation of PHA biopolymer was optimized. A maximum 0.53 g/L concentration of PHA was achieved when the SWW extract media was supplemented with 100 g/L NaCl and 6.0 g/L yeast extract. The cultivation was scaled-up using sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fermentation under non-sterile conditions. The SBR results showed that SWW needs an auxiliary carbon source to obtain high PHA production. Consequently, the system fed with SWW and glucose produced higher PHA (20.9 g/L) than the system fed with SWW.     

Synthesis and performances for treating oily wastewater produced from polymer flooding of new demulsifiers based on polyoxyalkylated N,N‐dimethylethanolamine

Usually, oily wastewater produced from polymer flooding (OWPF) was treated by cationic polymer in oilfield. In this paper, six block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide were prepared by using N,N‐dimethylethanolamine (DMEA) as the acceptor (DMEA‐mnp and DMEA‐mnpq, n:m:p:q represented the weight ratio of different blocks). Most of DMEA products could perform well for treating OWPF, especially DMEA1231. Their performances were mainly affected by temperature. The reason of increasing oil removal performance of DMEA1231 with temperature was the decrease of interfacial dilational modulus (ε) with increasing temperature. When temperature raised up to 55°C, the ε of DMEA1231 had the minimum (1.5 l mN/m). Therefore, the OiW had the minimum (90 mg/l). Because DMEA1231 had the best performance, its flocculation kinetics was studied systemically. The results showed that the optimum condition for DMEA1231 was as follows: dosage was 300 mg/l, temperature was 55°C, stirring speed was 200 rpm and stirring time was 5 min. At last, the offshore oil field test was carried out to check the DMEA1231 performance. The result showed that at the optimum condition, DMEA1231 could perform as well as the cationic polymer. The most important thing was that flocs of DMEA1231 were not viscous and floated on the surface of the water. The results obtained by this paper provide a good choice for the treatment of OWPF in offshore oilfield to avoid the formation of viscous flocs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.