Adsorption of Heavy Metals on Coal-Based Activated Carbons

Zinc chloride-activated and steam-activated carbons were prepared from Maghara coal (Sinai, Egypt). The surface properties of these carbons were determined from nitrogen adsorption isotherm studies at 77 K and of carbon dioxide at 298 K. The adsorption of Methylene Blue from aqueous solution at 308 K was also investigated. The removal of heavy metals (Hg 2+ , Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ ) from aqueous solution was investigated at pH < 7.0 and at 308 K. The prepared activated carbons exhibited high adsorption capacities for Methylene Blue. The maximum capacity amounted to 83 mg dye per g of carbon, which is equivalent to a surface area of 500 m 2 /g. The capacity for the removal of heavy metals from their aqueous solutions depends on the pH and the extent of activation, i.e., on the amount of zinc chloride used for chemical activation or on the percentage burn-off during physical activation with steam

Recovery of dialysis patients with COVID-19: health outcomes 3 months after diagnosis in ERACODA

© The Author(s) 2022.Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related short-term mortality is high in dialysis patients, but longer-term outcomes are largely unknown. We therefore assessed patient recovery in a large cohort of dialysis patients 3 months after their COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods. We analyzed data on dialysis patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from 1 February 2020 to 31 March 2021 from the European Renal Association COVID-19 Database (ERACODA). The outcomes studied were patient survival, residence and functional and mental health status (estimated by their treating physician) 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Complete follow-up data were available for 854 surviving patients. Patient characteristics associated with recovery were analyzed using logistic regression. Results. In 2449 hemodialysis patients (mean ± SD age 67.5 ± 14.4 years, 62% male), survival probabilities at 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis were 90% for nonhospitalized patients (n = 1087), 73% for patients admitted to the hospital but not to an intensive care unit (ICU) (n = 1165) and 40% for those admitted to an ICU (n = 197). Patient survival hardly decreased between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. At 3 months, 87% functioned at their pre-existent functional and 94% at their pre-existent mental level. Only few of the surviving patients were still admitted to the hospital (0.8–6.3%) or a nursing home (∼5%). A higher age and frailty score at presentation and ICU admission were associated with worse functional outcome. Conclusions. Mortality between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis was low and the majority of patients who survived COVID-19 recovered to their pre-existent functional and mental health level at 3 months after diagnosis