Cryo-mechanical treatment and hydrometallurgical process for recycling Li-MnO2primary batteries with the direct production of LiMnPO4nanoparticles

In this work, an innovative hydrometallurgical recycling route for the recovery of all the materials composing Li-MnO2 primary batteries was proposed. End-of-life batteries were mechanically treated in an innovative pilot plant where a cryogenic crushing was performed. The mechanical treatment allowed for the release of the electrodic powder contained in the batteries with the simultaneous recovery of 44 kg of steel and 18 kg of plastics from 100 kg of batteries. Electrodic powder was employed as the raw material for the synthesis of LiMnPO4 nanoparticles. To obtain the synthesis precursors, selective sequential leaching of Li and Mn was performed. Li was extracted via water washing the electrodic powder and Li2CO3 and a purity of 99% was recovered. The black mass containing Mn oxides was leached using phosphoric acid, which gave a Mn-bearing precursor solution that was directly used for the hydrothermal synthesis of LiMnPO4 nanoparticles. A preliminary materials balance of the process was presented, indicating that the proposed process should be an easy hydrometallurgical route for the recycling of primary lithium batteries. In addition, the simultaneous production of high-value-added products that could be reintroduced into the battery manufacturing chain could ensure the economic feasibility of the process

Secukinumab shows high efficacy irrespective of HLA-Cw6 status in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque-type psoriasis: SUPREME study

Background: Understanding genetic variations is important in predicting treatment response and forms the basis for identifying new pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic targets for psoriasis treatment. There are limited data on the efficacy of secukinumab in relation to genetic markers. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of secukinumab 300 mg in HLA-Cw6-positive (Cw6-POS) and HLA-Cw6-negative (Cw6-NEG) patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque-type psoriasis. Methods: SUPREME was a 24-week, phase IIIb study with an extension period up to 72 weeks. Primary end point was Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) 90 response rate after 16 weeks. Results: In total, 434 patients were recruited: 185 (42\ub76%) were Cw6-POS and 246 (56\ub77%) were Cw6-NEG (three not assessed). Mean \ub1 SD age was 45\ub72 \ub1 13\ub72 years (Cw6-POS 42\ub77 \ub1 13\ub71; Cw6-NEG 47\ub72 \ub1 12\ub79). The baseline PASI score was comparable between the cohorts [Cw6-POS 20\ub77 \ub1 8\ub799; Cw6-NEG 21\ub75 \ub1 9\ub799 (P = 0\ub7777)]. At week 16, PASI 90 was achieved in 80\ub74% of Cw6-POS and 79\ub77% of Cw6-NEG patients (difference 0\ub776; 95% confidence interval 127\ub704 to 8\ub723). No differences in absolute PASI at week 16 (Cw6-POS 1\ub736 \ub1 3\ub758; Cw6-NEG 1\ub718 \ub1 2\ub729) were observed. The overall safety profile of secukinumab was consistent with that previously reported. No statistically significant difference was detected in the rate of treatment-emergent adverse events [Cw6-POS 42\ub77%; Cw6-NEG 49\ub76% (P = 0\ub7295)]. A high PASI 90 response was achieved with secukinumab with a fast reduction in absolute PASI. Conclusions: Determination of HLA-Cw6 status for secukinumab therapy is unnecessary, as it is highly effective regardless of HLA-Cw6 status

Clostridia Initiate Heavy Metal Bioremoval in Mixed Sulfidogenic Cultures

Sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) are widely used for attenuating heavy metal pollution by means of sulfide generation. Due to their low metal tolerance, several SRB species depend on associated bacteria in mixed cultures to cope with metal-induced stress. Yet the identity of the SRB protecting bacteria is largely unknown. We aimed to identify these associated bacteria and their potential role in two highly metal-resistant mixed SRB cultures by comparing bacterial community composition and SRB activity between these cultures and two sensitive ones. The SRB composition in the resistant and sensitive consortia was similar. However, whereas the SRB in the sensitive cultures were strongly inhibited by a mixture of copper, zinc, and iron, no influence of these metals was detected on SRB growth and activity in the resistant cultures. In the latter, a Gram-positive population mostly assigned to Clostridium spp.initiated heavy metal bioremoval based on sulfide generation from components of the medium (mainly sulfite) but not from sulfate. After metal levels were lowered by the Clostridium spp. populations, SRB started sulfate reduction and raised the pH of the medium. The combination of sulfite reducing Clostridium spp. with SRB may improve green technologies for removal of heavy metals

Shape evolution and effect of organic additives in the electrosynthesis of Cu nanostructures

Copper nanostructures were electrodeposited onto FTO in potentiostatic conditions at acidic pH without and with organic additives with different charge and structure: two cationic surfactants (hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and substituted deoxycholic acid), two anionic ones (sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate and sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate) and two neutral ones (saponin and deoxycholic acid). Shape evolution (assessed by image analyses of SEM micrographs) was determined for different copper concentrations (0.001–0.1 M) and discharged charge (Q = 0.001–0.1 C) without additives. A common scheme was observed: sphere-like particles were observed firstly, then evolving towards branched structures, which undergo a gradual branch enlargement finally giving aggregate-like structures. As for the effect of organics, negatively charged additives promoted nucleation rather than growth of nanoparticles, while positively charged additives enhanced growth of copper structures rather than new nucleation. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Efficient recovery of copper from a copper converter dust via thin layer leaching and solvent extraction

The production of flue dusts is inherent in copper pyrometallurgy. These flue dusts are originated in the three types of furnaces used: flash, reverberatory and converters, and all have the same characteristics: a high content of copper accompanying with a miriade of other elements. This is because these dusts can be considered profitables (copper) and hazardous (arsenic, etc.), the above together with the non desirable option of their recycling to the corresponding furnace, make of a necessity their treatment prior to their eventual dumping. The present investigation deals with the treatment of one of these dusts, a converter dust, via hydrometallurgical treatment. The high copper content of the starting material (74 % copper in which 30% is metallic copper), makes any conventional leaching unusable, thus, an advanced option like thin layer leaching of the dust with nitric acid, followed by dissolution in water, leads to a pure copper solution. However, the purity and copper concentration in the solution can be increased via solvent extraction, and a counter-current circuit using Acorga PT5050 dissolved in a kerosene diluent as extractant phase has been proved during 80 hours. The results indicated that a net copper gain of near 12 g/L copper is achieved and the exiting aqueous solution can feed a copper electrowinning plant

Nucleation and growth of metal nanoparticles on a planar electrode: A new model based on iso-nucleation-time classes of particles

An assembly of hemispherical particles continuously nucleating on a planar electrode and growing under mixed kinetic-diffusion control is here considered. A model is derived, from the exact boundary integral formulation of the diffusion equation, to predict the overall current evolution, and the radii distribution of particles nucleating within any prescribed time interval. Iso-nucleation-time classes are introduced in the model, grouping particles (almost) simultaneously nucleating over the underlying substrate. The dynamics of particles belonging to a given iso-nucleation-time class are assumed to be identical. By this approximation, hereby referred to as Averaged Class Approximation (ACA), the computation of the average radius of any iso-nucleation-time class is reduced to the solution of an integro-differential equation, parameterized by the nucleation time. An effective computational method is also presented to solve the model equations, giving predictions that fairly well agree with the results of direct multi-particle numerical simulations