Review of Adsorption Studies for Contaminant Removal from Wastewater Using Molecular Simulation

In recent years, simulation studies have emerged as valuable tools for understanding processes. In particular, molecular dynamic simulations hold great significance when it comes to the adsorption process. However, comprehensive studies on molecular simulations of adsorption processes using different adsorbents are scarcely available for wastewater treatment covering different contaminants and pollutants. Hence, in this review, we organized the available information on various aspects of the adsorption phenomenon that were realized using molecular simulations for a broad range of potentially effective adsorbents applied in the removal of contaminants from wastewater. This review was compiled for adsorbents under five major categories: (1) carbon-based, (2) oxides and hydroxides, (3) zeolites, (4) metal–organic frameworks and (5) clay. From the review, it was found that simulation studies help us understand various parameters such as binding energy, Gibbs free energy, electrostatic field, ultrasound waves and binding ability for adsorption. Moreover, from the review of recent simulation studies, the effect of ultrasound waves and the electrostatic field was elucidated, which promoted the adsorption capacity. This review can assist in the screening of classified adsorbents for wastewater treatment using a fast and cheap approach while helping us understand the adsorption process from an atomistic perspective

Renewable Microgrid : Design and modelling of a potential microgrid by analyzing the renewable resource at island Östergarnsholm to supply the inhabitants of Herrvik with electricity and fresh drinking water

This project is aimed at developing a model for an off-grid microgrid by studying the wind and solar resource at Östergarnsholm, an island to the east of Gotland, Sweden. For the required consumption, a study and analysis of Herrvik’s local demand has been made which is a village close to the island and the possibility for implementing the microgrid to supply electricity to the inhabitants of Herrvik has been examined. Renewable resource is paired with batteries for mitigating intermittency and using a generator running on biofuel is proposed during hours with no wind and sun.The data for wind and solar resource is obtained from Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University and household load is estimated for a typical detached Swedish house from a study funded by International Energy Agency. Microgrid is modelled and simulated in MATLAB and the simulation results show that the proposed microgrid can provide 100% availability for local load. Results also show that not only the inhabitants of the village can have their independent electricity supply for the whole year, but the excess electricity can also be used to desalinate the seawater at Herrvik’s desalination plant for around 90% of the time during the year

Renewable Microgrid : Design and modelling of a potential microgrid by analyzing the renewable resource at island Östergarnsholm to supply the inhabitants of Herrvik with electricity and fresh drinking water

This project is aimed at developing a model for an off-grid microgrid by studying the wind and solar resource at Östergarnsholm, an island to the east of Gotland, Sweden. For the required consumption, a study and analysis of Herrvik’s local demand has been made which is a village close to the island and the possibility for implementing the microgrid to supply electricity to the inhabitants of Herrvik has been examined. Renewable resource is paired with batteries for mitigating intermittency and using a generator running on biofuel is proposed during hours with no wind and sun.The data for wind and solar resource is obtained from Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University and household load is estimated for a typical detached Swedish house from a study funded by International Energy Agency. Microgrid is modelled and simulated in MATLAB and the simulation results show that the proposed microgrid can provide 100% availability for local load. Results also show that not only the inhabitants of the village can have their independent electricity supply for the whole year, but the excess electricity can also be used to desalinate the seawater at Herrvik’s desalination plant for around 90% of the time during the year

Review of Adsorption Studies for Contaminant Removal from Wastewater Using Molecular Simulation

In recent years, simulation studies have emerged as valuable tools for understanding processes. In particular, molecular dynamic simulations hold great significance when it comes to the adsorption process. However, comprehensive studies on molecular simulations of adsorption processes using different adsorbents are scarcely available for wastewater treatment covering different contaminants and pollutants. Hence, in this review, we organized the available information on various aspects of the adsorption phenomenon that were realized using molecular simulations for a broad range of potentially effective adsorbents applied in the removal of contaminants from wastewater. This review was compiled for adsorbents under five major categories: (1) carbon-based, (2) oxides and hydroxides, (3) zeolites, (4) metal–organic frameworks and (5) clay. From the review, it was found that simulation studies help us understand various parameters such as binding energy, Gibbs free energy, electrostatic field, ultrasound waves and binding ability for adsorption. Moreover, from the review of recent simulation studies, the effect of ultrasound waves and the electrostatic field was elucidated, which promoted the adsorption capacity. This review can assist in the screening of classified adsorbents for wastewater treatment using a fast and cheap approach while helping us understand the adsorption process from an atomistic perspective

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with paediatric cancer in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, observational cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Paediatric cancer is a leading cause of death for children. Children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) were four times more likely to die than children in high-income countries (HICs). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the delivery of healthcare services worldwide, and exacerbated the disparity in paediatric cancer outcomes between LMICs and HICs. DESIGN: A multicentre, international, collaborative cohort study. SETTING: 91 hospitals and cancer centres in 39 countries providing cancer treatment to paediatric patients between March and December 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were included if they were under the age of 18 years, and newly diagnosed with or undergoing active cancer treatment for Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms' tumour, sarcoma, retinoblastoma, gliomas, medulloblastomas or neuroblastomas, in keeping with the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All-cause mortality at 30 days and 90 days. RESULTS: 1660 patients were recruited. 219 children had changes to their treatment due to the pandemic. Patients in LMICs were primarily affected (n=182/219, 83.1%). Relative to patients with paediatric cancer in HICs, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 12.1 (95% CI 2.93 to 50.3) and 7.9 (95% CI 3.2 to 19.7) times the odds of death at 30 days and 90 days, respectively, after presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001). After adjusting for confounders, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 15.6 (95% CI 3.7 to 65.8) times the odds of death at 30 days (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected paediatric oncology service provision. It has disproportionately affected patients in LMICs, highlighting and compounding existing disparities in healthcare systems globally that need addressing urgently. However, many patients with paediatric cancer continued to receive their normal standard of care. This speaks to the adaptability and resilience of healthcare systems and healthcare workers globally

Direct observation of the dead-cone effect in quantum chromodynamics

The direct measurement of the QCD dead cone in charm quark fragmentation is reported, using iterative declustering of jets tagged with a fully reconstructed charmed hadron

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality

Direct observation of the dead-cone effect in quantum chromodynamics

At particle collider experiments, elementary particle interactions with large momentum transfer produce quarks and gluons (known as partons) whose evolution is governed by the strong force, as described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) [1]. The vacuum is not transparent to the partons and induces gluon radiation and quark pair production in a process that can be described as a parton shower [2]. Studying the pattern of the parton shower is one of the key experimental tools in understanding the properties of QCD. This pattern is expected to depend on the mass of the initiating parton, through a phenomenon known as the dead-cone effect, which predicts a suppression of the gluon spectrum emitted by a heavy quark of mass m and energy E, within a cone of angular size m/E around the emitter [3]. A direct observation of the dead-cone effect in QCD has not been possible until now, due to the challenge of reconstructing the cascading quarks and gluons from the experimentally accessible bound hadronic states. Here we show the first direct observation of the QCD dead-cone by using new iterative declustering techniques [4, 5] to reconstruct the parton shower of charm quarks. This result confirms a fundamental feature of QCD, which is derived more generally from its origin as a gauge quantum field theory. Furthermore, the measurement of a dead-cone angle constitutes the first direct experimental observation of the non-zero mass of the charm quark, which is a fundamental constant in the standard model of particle physics.The direct measurement of the QCD dead cone in charm quark fragmentation is reported, using iterative declustering of jets tagged with a fully reconstructed charmed hadron.In particle collider experiments, elementary particle interactions with large momentum transfer produce quarks and gluons (known as partons) whose evolution is governed by the strong force, as described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). These partons subsequently emit further partons in a process that can be described as a parton shower which culminates in the formation of detectable hadrons. Studying the pattern of the parton shower is one of the key experimental tools for testing QCD. This pattern is expected to depend on the mass of the initiating parton, through a phenomenon known as the dead-cone effect, which predicts a suppression of the gluon spectrum emitted by a heavy quark of mass $m_{\rm{Q}}$ and energy $E$, within a cone of angular size $m_{\rm{Q}}$/$E$ around the emitter. Previously, a direct observation of the dead-cone effect in QCD had not been possible, owing to the challenge of reconstructing the cascading quarks and gluons from the experimentally accessible hadrons. We report the direct observation of the QCD dead cone by using new iterative declustering techniques to reconstruct the parton shower of charm quarks. This result confirms a fundamental feature of QCD. Furthermore, the measurement of a dead-cone angle constitutes a direct experimental observation of the non-zero mass of the charm quark, which is a fundamental constant in the standard model of particle physics

Direct observation of the dead-cone effect in quantum chromodynamics

In particle collider experiments, elementary particle interactions with large momentum transfer produce quarks and gluons (known as partons) whose evolution is governed by the strong force, as described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). These partons subsequently emit further partons in a process that can be described as a parton shower which culminates in the formation of detectable hadrons. Studying the pattern of the parton shower is one of the key experimental tools for testing QCD. This pattern is expected to depend on the mass of the initiating parton, through a phenomenon known as the dead-cone effect, which predicts a suppression of the gluon spectrum emitted by a heavy quark of mass mQ and energy E, within a cone of angular size mQ/E around the emitter. Previously, a direct observation of the dead-cone effect in QCD had not been possible, owing to the challenge of reconstructing the cascading quarks and gluons from the experimentally accessible hadrons. We report the direct observation of the QCD dead cone by using new iterative declustering techniques to reconstruct the parton shower of charm quarks. This result confirms a fundamental feature of QCD. Furthermore, the measurement of a dead-cone angle constitutes a direct experimental observation of the non-zero mass of the charm quark, which is a fundamental constant in the standard model of particle physics