Wet Air Oxidation of Aqueous Wastes

Wet air oxidation (WAO) is a key technology in the disposal of industrial and agricultural process wastewaters. It is often used coupled with activated sludge treatment at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as preliminary conversion of toxic and/or non-biodegradable components. The process is based on a high temperature and pressure reaction of the oxidizable materials in water with air or oxygen, in most cases in a bubble column reactor. The oxidation is a chain type radical reaction. The intensification of this technology is possible with the application of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, recently non-thermal radical generating methods (UV/H2O2, ozonization, Fenton type processes) gathered ground also. The most frequent use of the process is in sludge treatment and oxidation of spent caustic of refineries or ethylene plants

Catalytic wet oxidation of real process wastewaters

CWO and WO were carried out for oxidizing different industrial wastewaters of pharmaceutical production, at 230 o C and 250 o C and total pressure of 50 bar, with oxygen, in stainless steel autoclaves. The catalysts were titania supported precious metal (Pt, Pd, Ru, Rh) oxides and copper sulfate. Samples were analyzed with respect to their TOC, COD (BOD) content. The tested wastewaters, some of them mother liquors, could be oxidized, but with rather different conversions. Even at the hard-to-oxidize wastewater the COD decrease hit the 50 % during 4 hours, this procedure decreased the COD/BOD ratio. The Ru oxide-titania catalyst proved to be the most active in this process, yet in the non-catalytic reactions significant conversion was detected also, due to the Fe or Cu ion content of the waste­waters

Dimethyl fumarate: Regulatory effects on the immune system in the treatment of multiple sclerosis

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an important oral treatment option for various autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and psoriasis. DMF and its dynamic metabolite, monomethyl fumarate (MMF) are the major compounds that exert therapeutic effects on several pathologic conditions in part, through downregulation of immune responses. The exact mechanism of DMF is yet to be fully understood even though its beneficial effects on the immune system are extensively studied. It has been shown that DMF/MMF can affect various immune cells, which can get involved in both the naive and adaptive immune systems, such as T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and natural killer cells. It is suggested that DMF/MMF may exert their effect on immune cells through inhibition of nuclear factor-κB translocation, upregulation of nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2(E2)-related factor antioxidant pathway, and activation of hydroxyl carboxylic acid receptor 2. In this review, the mechanisms underlying the modulatory functions of DMF or MMF on the main immune cell populations involved in the immunopathogenesis of MS are discusse