An integrated approach using ozone nanobubble and cyclodextrin inclusion complexation to enhance the removal of micropollutants

Ozone (O3) has been widely used for the elimination of recalcitrant micropollutants in aqueous environments, due to its strong oxidation ability. However, the utilization efficiency of O3 is constrained by its low solubility and short half-life during the treatment process. Herein, an integrated approach, using nanobubble technology and micro-environmental chemistry within cyclodextrin inclusion cavities, was studied in order to enhance the reactivity of ozonisation. Compared with traditional macrobubble aeration with O3 in water, nanobubble aeration achieved 1.7 times higher solubility of O3, and increased the mass transfer coefficient 4.7 times. Moreover, the addition of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) further increased the stability of O3 through formation of an inclusion complex in its molecule-specific cavity. At a HPβCD:O3 molar ratio of 10:1, the lifespan of O3 reached 18 times longer than in a HPβCD-free O3 solution. Such approach accelerated the removal efficiency of the model micropollutant, 4-chlorophenol by 6.9 times, compared with conventional macrobubble ozonation. Examination of the HPβCD inclusion complex by UV-visible spectroscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance analyses revealed that both O3 and 4-chlorophenol entered the HPβCD cavity, and Benesi-Hildebrand plots indicated a 1:1 stoichiometry of the host and guest compounds. Additionally, molecular docking simulations were conducted in order to confirm the formation of a ternary complex of HPβCD:4-chlorophenol:O3 and to determine the optimal inclusion mode. With these results, our study highlights the viability of the proposed integrated approach to enhance the ozonation of organic micropollutant

Removing Phosphorus from Aqueous Solutions Using Lanthanum Modified Pine Needles.

The renewable pine needles was used as an adsorbent to remove phosphorus from aqueous solutions. Using batch experiments, pine needles pretreated with alkali-isopropanol (AI) failed to effectively remove phosphorus, while pine needles modified with lanthanum hydroxide (LH) showed relatively high removal efficiency. LH pine needles were effective at a wide pH ranges, with the highest removal efficiency reaching approximately 85% at a pH of 3. The removal efficiency was kept above 65% using 10 mg/L phosphorus solutions at desired pH values. There was no apparent significant competitive behavior between co-existing anions of sulfate, nitrate, and chloride (SO4(2-), NO3(-) and Cl(-)); however, CO3(2-) exhibited increased interfering behavior as concentrations increased. An intraparticle diffusion model showed that the adsorption process occurred in three phases, suggesting that a boundary layer adsorption phenomena slightly affected the adsorption process, and that intraparticle diffusion was dominant. The adsorption process was thermodynamically unfavorable and non-spontaneous; temperature increases improved phosphorus removal. Total organic carbon (TOC) assays indicated that chemical modification reduced the release of soluble organic compounds from 135.6 mg/L to 7.76 mg/L. This new information about adsorption performances provides valuable information, and can inform future technological applications designed to remove phosphorus from aqueous solutions

Removing of Disinfection By-Product Precursors from Surface Water by Using Magnetic Graphene Oxide.

The magnetic graphene oxide (MGO) was successfully synthesised by the in situ chemical co-precipitation method with Fe3+, Fe2+ and graphene oxide (GO) in laboratory and, was used as an adsorbent for disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors removing from four natural surface water samples. The results indicate that various DBPs formation significantly decreased by 7-19% to 78-98% for the four samples after MGO treatment and, the treatment process was rapidly reached equilibrium within 20 minutes. The DBP precursors removal efficiency decreased with the increasing pH value from 4 to 10. Hydrophobic compounds (humic acid and fulvic acid) are more sensitive to MGO, whereas hydrophilic and nitrogenous compounds (aromatic proteins) are more insensitive. MGO could be regenerated by using 20% (v/v) ethanol and, the DBP precursors removal efficiency can stay stable after five cycles. These results indicate that MGO can be utilized as a promising adsorbent for the removal of DBP precursors from natural surface water

The Influence of Residual Coagulant Al on the Biofilm EPS and Membrane Fouling Potential in Wastewater Reclamation

Biofouling is inevitable in wastewater reclamation when using membrane technology. In particular, the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from biofilm is a major contributor to biofouling. Coagulation is critical in the process of reusing wastewater before membrane treatment, and residual coagulants (e.g., Al salts) are able to alter the characteristics of the biofilm EPS. However, the distribution of residual Al across varying biofilm EPS fractions and its effect on the membrane fouling potential resulting from biofilm EPS remains unclear. We found that 34% of the residual Al was present in the soluble EPS (S-EPS), 26% in the loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS) and 40% in the tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS). Moreover, compared with the control groups, the residual Al in biofilm induced more biofilm formation and more EPS formation. Al reduced the zeta potential and increased the hydrophobicity of the EPS. These changes induced a significant rise in the membrane fouling potential of S-EPS and LB-EPS. This work provides coagulation support for wastewater reclamation using membrane technology

Hydrolysis, acidification and dewaterability of waste activated sludge under alkaline conditions: Combined effects of NaOH and Ca(OH)(2)

Hydrolysis, acidification and dewaterability of waste activated sludge (WAS) were investigated at pH 10 controlled by the addition of NaOH, Ca(OH)(2) or their mixtures at various ratios. Similar efficiency of WAS solublisation was observed in all cases, at 38-40%. High volatile fatty acid (VFA) production and good sludge dewaterability could not be achieved simultaneously by adding NaOH or Ca(OH)(2) alone, but could be achieved by adding mixtures of NaOH and Ca(OH)(2). VFA production in the case with the addition of Ca(OH)(2) only (1201 mg(COD)/L) was lower than in the cases with the addition of NaOH or its mixtures with Ca(OH)(2) (1813-1868 mg(COD)/L), and the lower VFA production with Ca(OH)(2) addition alone could be related to the fact that a higher concentration of Ca2+ was released into the fermentation liquid, which likely inhibited the hydrolysis process of protein. Furthermore, adding mixtures of NaOH and Ca(OH)(2) was more economical for VFA production. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Adsorption of Trace Estrogens in Ultrapure and Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent by Magnetic Graphene Oxide

In the current study, graphene oxide, Fe3+, and Fe2+ were used for the synthesis of magnetic graphene oxide (MGO) by an in situ chemical coprecipitation method. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the well-prepared MGO. The prepared MGO was used as an adsorbent to remove five typical estrogens (estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethinylestradiol (17α-E2), estriol (E3), and synthetic estrogen (EE2)) at the ppb level from spiked ultrapure water and wastewater treatment plant effluent. The results indicated that the MGO can efficiently remove estrogens from both spiked ultrapure water and wastewater treatment plant effluent in 30 min at wide pH ranges from 3 to 11. The temperature could significantly affect removal performance. A removal efficiency of more than 90% was obtained at 35 °C in just 5 min, but at least 60 min was needed to get the same removal efficiency at 5 °C. In addition, an average of almost 80% of the estrogens can still be removed after 5 cycles of MGO regeneration but less than 40% can be reached after 10 cycles. These results indicate that MGO has potential for practical applications to remove lower levels of estrogens from real water matrixes and merits further evaluation

Degradation of Micropollutants by UV–Chlorine Treatment in Reclaimed Water: pH Effects, Formation of Disinfectant Byproducts, and Toxicity Assay

The utilization of reclaimed water is a reliable and sustainable approach to enhance water supply in water-deficient cities. However, the presence of micro-organic pollutants (MPs) in reclaimed water has potential adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of 12 target MPs in the influent and reclaimed water collected from a local wastewater treatment plant, and the ultraviolet (UV)–chlorine process was applied to analyze its ability to remove MPs. The results showed that all 12 MPs were detected in both the influent and the reclaimed water, with the concentrations ranging from 25.5 to 238 ng/L and 8.6 to 42.5 ng/L, respectively. Over 52% of all the target MPs were readily degraded by the UV–chlorine process, and the removal efficiency was 7.7% to 64.2% higher than the corresponding removal efficiency by chlorination or UV irradiation only. The degradation efficiency increased with the increasing initial chlorine concentration. The pH value had a slight influence on the MP degradation and exhibited different trends for different MPs. The formation of known disinfectant byproducts (DBPs) during the UV–chlorine process was 33.8% to 68.4% of that in the chlorination process, but the DBPs’ formation potentials were 1.3 to 2.2 times higher. The toxicity assay indicated that UV–chlorine can effectively reduce the toxicity of reclaimed water

Progress in Research and Application of Metal–Organic Gels: A Review

In recent years, metal–organic gels (MOGs) have attracted much attention due to their hierarchical porous structure, large specific surface area, and good surface modifiability. Compared with MOFs, the synthesis conditions of MOGs are gentler and more stable. At present, MOGs are widely used in the fields of catalysis, adsorption, energy storage, electrochromic devices, sensing, analysis, and detection. In this paper, literature metrology and knowledge graph visualization analysis are adopted to analyze and summarize the literature data in the field of MOGs. The visualization maps of the temporal distribution, spatial distribution, authors and institutions’ distribution, influence of highly cited literature and journals, keyword clustering, and research trends are helpful to clearly grasp the content and development trend of MOG materials research, point out the future research direction for scholars, and promote the practical application of MOGs. At the same time, the paper reviews the research and application progress of MOGs in recent years by combining keyword clustering, time lines, and emergence maps, and looks forward to their challenges, future development trend, and application prospects

Seasonal Freezing Drives Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) and Microbial Communities in Reclaimed Water-Recharged River

Although reclaimed water (RW) has become a promising alternative source for alleviating water shortage in arid and semiarid regions, the ecological risks it poses to the receiving water bodies remain largely unknown. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is crucial for affecting the quality of RW and strongly influences bacterial communities (BCs) in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, we aimed to unravel the role of DOM signatures on the spatiotemporal composition of microbial communities (MCs) in a seasonally ice-sealed urban river that had been chronically replenished by RW. We found that discharging RW resulted in elevated DOM levels in the receiving river. Notably, an increase of 10% in protein-like substances was revealed. The differences between compositional characteristics of DOM and the abundance of riverine BCs between freezing and non-freezing periods were revealed. In the freezing season, humic-like components, aromaticity, and hydrophobicity of DOM were more significant, and bacterial taxa such as Bacteriodetes and Flavobacterium were increased, while Proteobacteria was decreased. Similarly, co-occurrence network analysis revealed an enhanced interplay between DOM and BCs at the same time. However, Klebsiella pneumoniae markedly decreased during the ice-sealed period. These results suggest that variations in DOM characteristics have remarkable impacts on the dynamics of aquatic BCs, which points to the need for a DOM−oriented RW quality monitoring strategy