Analysis of the structure of an amorphous sediment obtained upon decomposition of potassium oxofluroniobate in water

An amorphous sediment was prepared by the decomposition of potassium oxofluoroniobate K_{2 ? x} Nb₄O₃(O, F)₃F in water. For this sediment, the atomic radial distribution function was analyzed with the use of a fragment model, which allows one to interpret expanded coordination spheres as being formed by first several strongest diffusion maxima. These spheres carry the most reliable information on the structure. It is shown that the amorphous sediment consists of the randomly packed Nb(O,F)₆-octahedra with interatomic distances close to those observed in the ordered region in the N-Nb₂O₅ structure. During decomposition in water, the initial K_{2 ? x} Nb₄O₃(O, F)₃F phase loses KF-layers, whereas Nb₆ clusters with metal bonds are destroyed.     

Phenol Degradation Features in Aqueous Solutions upon Dielectric-Barrier Discharge Treatment

The formation kinetics and mechanism were studied for the intermediate and final products of degradation of aqueous phenol solutions in air and oxygen low-temperature dielectric-barrier discharge plasmas in a reactor with different geometric arrangements of electrodes. It was shown that the plasma-enhanced oxidation of phenol could be described in the general form by the well-known mechanism of enzymatic oxidation of toxic pollutants (-mechanism). The estimated effective rate constant of phenol degradation in an aqueous solution in an ₂ plasma in reactors with the parallel-plate and coaxial arrangement of electrodes was 2.2 × 10^–3 s^–1 and 5.8 × 10^–2 s^–1, respectively. It was found that the potential toxicity of solutions after treatment was 7.5 times lower than that of the untreated solutions.     

Barrier-discharge plasma treatment of surface water to remove organic compounds

Barrier-discharge plasma treatment of real surface water to remove organic pollutants was studied. Plasma treatment decreases the potential toxicity of snowmelt and rainfall runoff containing ammonium and chloride ions, oil products, phenols, and carboxylic acids (as recalculated for CH₃COOH).     

Destruction Kinetics of 2,4 Dichlorophenol Aqueous Solutions in an Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge in Oxygen

The processes of degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) aqueous solutions under the action of atmospheric pressure of DBD in oxygen were studied. The degradation of 2,4-DCP proceeds efficiently, the degree of decomposition reaching 100%. The degradation kinetics of 2,4-DCP obeys a formal first-order kinetic law on concentration of 2,4-DCP. The effective rate constants depend weakly on the experimental conditions and are equal to ~ 2 s^?1. Based on experimental data, the energy efficiency of 2,4-DCP decomposition was determined to be in the range of 0.039–0.173 molecules per 100 eV depending on the experimental conditions. The composition of the products was studied by gas chromatography, chromatography-mass spectrometry, UV/visible spectroscopy, fluorescent methods and some chemical methods. The main decomposition products present in the solution were found to be carboxylic acids, aldehydes and chloride ions, whereas carbon dioxide and molecular chlorine appear in the gas. The results obtained are compared with similar data from other advanced oxidation processes (AOP’s) methods.     

Influence of a strong polyelectrolyte block on the formation and properties of polymer micelles with a mixed corona

Joint micellization of two amphiphilic diblock copolymers is studied by velocity sedimentation, transmission electron microscopy, electrophoretic mobility measurements, and static light scattering. One of the diblock copolymers is a strong polyelectrolyte (polystyrene-block-poly(N-ethyl-4-vinylpyridinium bromide)), while the second one is a weakly charged or uncharged copolymer (polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) or polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine)). It is shown that the mixing of the diblock copolymers in a selective aqueous-organic solvent (DMF-methanol-water) leads to the formation of joint (hybrid) micelles and that the composition of these micelles is close to the composition of the polymer mixture. Micelles consist of an insoluble polystyrene core and a mixed corona composed of blocks of a strong polyelectrolyte and a weakly charged or uncharged copolymer. Aqueous dispersions of mixed micelles are obtained with the use of the dialysis technique, the spherical morphology of the micelles is ascertained, and their three-layered structure is proposed. The nonlinear dependence of the molecular mass of micelles on their composition is found. The decisive effect of electrostatic repulsion between strong polyelectrolyte units on the thermodynamics of micellization and the dispersion stability and molecular-mass characteristics of the mixed micelles is demonstrated.     

Mechanism and kinetics of the reaction of ozone with sodium chloride in aqueous solutions

It is shown experimentally that Cl⁻ appreciably accelerates ozone decomposition in water (τ_1/2 = 1.5 h versus 6 h in pure water). The decomposition of ozone in NaCl solutions includes the reversible reaction of ozone with the chloride ion (O₃ + Cl⁻ → O₃⁻ + Cl) as the key step, which is followed by the development of a chain reaction in which chain propagation is performed alternately by the chlorine atom Cl and its monoxide ClO. The current concentrations of the chlorine atom are rather low ([Cl] ∼ 10⁻¹⁴ mol/l). The overall process is satisfactorily described by a first-order rate law with respect to ozone. The decomposition of ozone in aqueous solutions of NaCl is not accompanied by the formation of products other than oxygen. In particular, no noticeable amounts of hypochlorites and chlorates are observed. This is particularly significant for medicinal applications of ozonized isotonic solutions.     

Plasma-Enhanced Catalytic Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide

Data on the kinetics of plasma-enhanced and plasma-enhanced catalytic oxidation of carbon(II) oxide with IK-1-6 catalyst are presented. The influence exerted by IK-1-6 catalyst on the conversion of carbon-containing components of the CO-CO₂-CH₄-SO₂-air gas mixture in barrier-discharge plasma is analyzed.     

Plasma-Catalytic Decomposition of Phenols in Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge

This study investigated the processes for the destruction of phenol and its derivatives (resorcin and pyrocatechol) in aqueous solutions under the action of an oxygen dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure in the presence or absence of catalysts in the plasma zone. It was shown that the DBD had a high decomposition efficiency for phenol and its derivatives (up to 99%). Phenol was the most stable and pyrocatechol was the least. In a plasma-catalytic hybrid process, the effective rate constants for phenol, resorcin and pyrocatechol decomposition were 11, 4 and 2.5 times higher, respectively, than those for the DBD treatment without catalysts. The process also resulted in a 1.4, 1.6 and 1.2 times higher rate of carboxylic acid formation for phenol, resorcin and pyrocatechol, respectively. The fractional conversion into the respective carboxylic acids reached 56% for phenol and 68% for resorcin and pyrocatechol.     

The Destruction of Carbon Tetrachloride Dissolved in Water in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge in Oxygen

The kinetics of decomposition of tetrachloromethane (TCM) in its aqueous solutions and the kinetics of decomposition products formation was investigated under the action of DBD at atmospheric pressure in oxygen in a falling-flow reactor. The range of initial concentrations of TCM was 25–325 μmol/l, the discharge power—2–11 W and O₂ flow rates—1–3 cm³/s. It is shown that the kinetics of the TCM decomposition can be described by the equation of pseudo-first kinetic order. The rate constant depended weakly on the discharge parameters and was?~?5 s^?1. The energy efficiency of the decomposition, depending on the parameters, was 0.1–1.3 molecules per 100 eV. When the residence time of the solution with the discharge zone is more than 1 s, it is possible to achieve almost 100% degree of TCM decomposition. It is shown that the main products of the TCM decomposition in the liquid phase are aldehydes and Cl^? ions, and in the gas phase—the molecules CO and CO₂. The results for energy efficiency are compared with the results obtained in other AOP’s processes (Fenton process, photocatalytic process, the radiation process by the action of high-energy electron flux). It is shown that the action of the DBD is more effective than the action of the above processes.