A photocatalytic TiO2/Graphene bilayer membrane design for water desalination : A molecular Dynamic Simulation

Abstract: The research about finding the effective membrane material is in progress; however, there are pros and cons for each material. Graphene membrane is a single layer of atoms in a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice which achieved high performance in water purification field. Addition of TiO2 to the graphene membrane have been studied for the membrane modifications due to its high stability and photocatalytic performance. In this study, graphene/TiO2 bilayer nanocomposite membrane have been simulated to enhance the mechanical and electronic properties of graphene membrane. Anatase TiO2 (A-TiO2), rutile TiO2 (R-TiO2), and their composite with graphene (G) have been simulated to evaluate the stability of the nanocomposite bilayers in water desalination for higher salt rejection percentage and water permeation. The membrane structure has been created and optimized using the geometry optimization task. The simulation of electronic and mechanical properties has been done by using Material Studio 2019. TiO2 consisting rutile and anatase phases showed a bandgap of 2.248eV, which was reduced to 1.175 eV in combination with graphene. The bilayer composite of TiO2 and graphene achieved higher membrane stability and the salt rejection was 98% under applied pressure of 100 MPa. The graphene/TiO2 bilayer nanocomposite membranes have been evaluated by simulation for water desalination process using molecular dynamics by ReaxFF software. In comparison with a graphene membrane, the results showed an increment in salt rejection and water permeability under different applied pressure

Feasibility study of Mg scrap hydrolysis for hydrogen generation using HCl by energy cost analysis

Abstract : Due to the importance of energy and the tendency to find a renewable source of energy, the energy field has been linked to all studies areas to find the optimal methods for the energy production. The concern about environmental pollution and the needs of human for the clean energy supply have attracted researchers’ attention to search about new technology to utilize the solids waste from the electronic and automobiles industries in such a way to produce energy which can be advantageous in two ways; this can manage the solid waste and produce source of energy. In this study, Mg scraps have been used for the hydrogen generation via hydrolysis. The total energy cost has been calculated to predict the performance of the process depending on the cost of chemicals that have been used to generate H2 gas. Hydrolysis process was conducted with different concentrations of HCl to study the effect on the hydrogen gas generation using Mg scraps. This work optimizes the process of using Mg scraps to produce H2. The results showed a significant increase in the hydrogen gas generation with the same total cost after increasing the Mg scrap weight from 3.4g to 15g with 50ml amount of HCl

Titanate based photocatalysts for climate-efficient water treatment

Abstract: The sol-gel dip-coating method is a simple method to synthesize TiO2 thin film, using titanium butoxide and hydrogen peroxide as precursors. In this study in addition to TiO2 thin film, the photocatalytic activity of its intermediate products, titanium peroxide gel and ambient dried titanium peroxide film, was evaluated. The titanium peroxide gel was used directly after gelation, ambient dried titanium peroxide film coated on glass rings was used without thermal treatment and anatase TiO2 thin film was used after thermal treatment at 500oC. These photocatalysts were characterized by different characterization techniques and their adsorption and photocatalytic activity were evaluated by using methylene blue as a model pollutant. All three photocatalysts adsorbed the selected dye model and degraded it in the presence of sunlight but with different removal rate. It was found that the gel had the highest removal rate followed by ambient dried titanium peroxide film and TiO2 thin film. However, this sequence was found to be vice versa in the case of life span when the photocatalysts were reused. The photocatalytic study showed that all three photocatalysts are very effective for 100% degradation of methylene blue between 5-60 minutes of contacts times under sunlight irradiation. This can be a breakthrough of using titanate based photocatalyst for cost-effective adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of pollutants based on climate and availability of sunlight

Case study and energy analysis of power system management of confectionery factory in Jordan

Abstract : Energy is the essential component of all industries. However, its misuse by untrained staffs, owners of factories and companies increases the rate of consumption which consequently leads to waste of energy. This study aims to find the possible ways to rationalize energy consumption by introducing methods to provide and reduce consumption to maintain non-renewable energy for longer time as much as possible. This study was conducted on a confectionery factory that relies mainly on electrical energy and other sources of energy such as gas and diesel in the operation of furnaces to obtain high quality products while taking into account the reduction of energy consumption. Energy management is the first and most important strategic area to reduce the costs by controlling thermal and electrical energy consumption. First, the facility was analyzed to check the consumption of energy, and then the electrical and mechanical devices were inspected and suggestions were made to save the energy based on this study. The result showed a total energy saving up potential of 30,000 (kWh/year) by improving the electrical systems of the factory

Evaluation of aerated lagoons performance and suggestion to develop more sustainable energy consumption in a STP plant; a case study

Abstract : In this study, the process of a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Marvdasht City, Iran, was reviewed to determine the efficiency of the two aerated lagoons each with 9 aerators. Major emphasize in this paper is on trying to address the parameters and treatment process in combination and eventually suggesting a more sustainable energy consumption in the STP. The focus of this study was to calculate the required oxygen with respect to BOD5, loading rate and other parameters. This allowed the determination of the aerator pump power ratings required to supply the oxygen was high and were found that by almost half of the present power consumption, the required oxygen level could still be achieved. To eliminate the adverse impact high energy consumption, the current and future decision-making in wastewater treatment should consider sustainability

Photocatalysis and energy cost analysis of Vanadia Titania thin films synthesis

Abstract : -A lot of successful research work on synthesis and application of photocatalysts have been done and going on, however the commercialization remains as a challenge. The cost associated with the raw materials and synthesis methods are of important and limiting factors in industries. In this study a cost analysis was conducted for an actual experimental work for synthesis and application of pure TiO2 and vanadium doped-TiO2. The cost estimation for Pure TiO2 and Vanadium- TiO2 has been conducted based on the cost of the raw material and energy consumption in synthesis. Finally, to find the real cost the recyclability of the photocatalyst has been taken into consideration

Effect of synthesis method on NS-TiO2 photocatalytic performance

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Chitosan modified N, S−doped TiO2 and N, S−doped ZnO for visible light photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

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Effect of synthesis method on NS-TiO² photocatalytic performance

Abstract : In this study, highly visible-light photoactive nitrogen and sulfur co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles and nanosheets were synthesized via sol-gel and hydrothermal methods, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of N,S-TiO2 photocatalysts were evaluated and compared by degradation of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ibuprofen(IBP) and naproxen (NPX), under simulated solar light. The sol-gel method developed a mesoporous structure N,S-TiO2 nanoparticle which contains both anatase and rutile phases with large BET surface area (132 m2/g). N,S-TiO2 nanosheets with pure anatase phase, with larger mesoporous structure and a smaller BET surface area (64 m2/g) was formed via hydrothermal method. NS-TiO2 nanoparticles were coated on UVC-treated polycarbonate (PC) (NS-TiO2@PC) by simple deposition method. The results showed that under identical condition, N,S-TiO2 nanoparticles can degrade 85% and 99.3% of ibuprofen and naproxen while 71.6% of IBP and 99.1% of NPX were degraded by N,S-TiO2 nanosheets. Optimization results showed that maximum degradation efficiency was achieved at the optimum conditions: irradiation intensity 8.36 mW/cm2 (for ibuprofen) and 10 mW/cm2 (for naproxen), initial drugs concentration 10 mg/L and reaction time 121 min. Under this condition, the maximum degradation efficiency of 83% and 100% were achieved for ibuprofen and naproxen, respectively. The results of this study elucidate co-doped NS-TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by sol-gel methods are photocatalytically more effective and practically easier to reproduce for the practical application, both in terms of energy saving and cost reduction. The energy cost analysis indicated that sol-gel method for synthesis of N,S-TiO2 is more cost effective

Measurement of permethrin, deltamethrin and malathion pesticides in the wheat flour and breads and probabilistic health risk assessment: A case study from Kermanshah, Iran

Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the residues of pyrethroid and organophosphorus pesticide in flour and breads which were collected from local markets in Kermanshah province, Iran. Four different types of breads and two types of flour samples with high distribution were taken from market and their residues of pesticides were measured. A simple dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) method with solidification of floating organic drop was developed for the measurement. The health risk of these pesticide on adults and children was assessed by target hazard quotient (THQ) using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. About, 15% and 11.1% of total samples contained detectable levels of deltamethrin and malathion, respectively. None of the tested samples, showed any permethrin residue..