Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Abstract title Presenter
Photocatalytic Degradation of Diphenamid Herbicide via
Activation of an Air Waste Product under Visible LED using a
Photocatalyst
Amal Sayed Moustafa
Abdelhaleem
Ecotoxicological effect of nickel oxide nanoparticles on
earthworms (Eisenia fetida): A life cycle study
Muhammad Adeel
Advancing our Understanding on the Fate and Effects of
Contaminants of Emerging Concern through Non-target
Analysis and Metabolomics
Diana Aga
Spectral Induced Polarization for Environmental Remediation
Process Monitoring
Bate Bate
Dissolved Pb, Phytoavailable Pb, and Pb Speciation in A
Contaminated Soil Amended with Pine Sawdust Biochar Under
Dynamic Redox Conditions
Jingzi Beiyuan
Exploring the potential of microalgae for versatile
environmental applications
Amit Bhatnagar
Development and Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance in the
Environment
Scott Bradford
Green approaches on the utilisation of polysaccharide wastes Vitaliy L. Budarin
Effective Recovery of Gold from E-waste Using
Glutaraldehyde Cross-linked Chitosan Beads
Huu Trung Bui
The global arsenic problem and its mitigation to tackle with the
2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Jochen Bundschuh
Prediction of adsorption capacity for PPCPs and EDCs onto
various adsorbent materials
Warisa Bunmahotama
Transformation and Bioaccessibility of Lead in Soils Induced
by Food Intake in the Gastrointestinal Tract
Xinde Cao
Bioaccumulation and conversion of selenium in green alga
Chlorella pyrenoidosa for producing Se-enriched biomass
Xin Cao
Identification of heavy metal concentrations in soil using
remote sensing and machine learning
Yining Cao
(i) Generation of Hydrogen through Pig Hair Biowastes
Gasification over NiO/Al2O3 Catalyst in an Integrated
Fuel Cell Processor
(ii) Synthesis and Enhancement of Hydrogen Storage
Capacity of Modified MIL-47 using Pd-Doped
Activated Carbon
Maria Janina Carrera
Espinoza
(i) High-temperature desulfurization of a hot syngas by Fang-Chih Chang
Raney iron
(ii) Ash effects for biomass on torrefaction
Microbial intervention for utilization of STP's solid waste as
beneficial microbes enriched manure for improving the crop
productivity
Puneet Singh Chauhan
Influence of Sulfide, Chloride and Dissolved Organic Matter
on Mercury Adsorption by Activated Carbon in Aqueous
System
Chi Chen
Green Cement-Based Composites with Biochar Incorporation
and CO2 Curing
Liang Chen
N-doped graphitic biochars from C-phycocyanin extracted
Spirulina residue for catalytic persulfate activation toward
nonradical organic oxidation
Yidi Chen
Self-mitigation of Methane Emissions from the Hyporheic
Island Under Reservoir Operation
Yuchen Chen
Perceived risk of fish consumption among mother association
with mercury levels in maternal blood, cord blood and placental
tissue
Ling Chu Chien
(i) Assessment of indoor air quality in welfare facilities
remodelled by wood and effect of wood on indoor air
pollutant reduction
(ii) Evaluation of moisture stability in CLT wooden house
considering hygrothermal environment
Hyun Mi Cho
Novel bacterial strains isolated from digested sludge show
unique characteristics of PHA accumulation under biogas
supply
Yongju Choi
Photofunctional Semiconductor Nanomaterials for Energy and
Environmental Applications
Wonyong Choi
Selective nitrate reduction by In-Pd bimetallic catalysts
supported by kaolinite induced zeolites
Minhee Choi
Evaluation on Oxidation Mechanism of Persistent Chemicals
using Dual Radical System(DRS)
Jeong Hwan Choi
Ecological risks of heavy metals metalloid released from two
secondary sewage treatment works to Mai Po Ramsar site,
Hong Kong
Ka Lai Chow
(i) Application of Metal nanoparticle-Biochar with the
Ionic Liquid for Thermal Fluid
(ii) Adsorption of Heavy Metals with the Ionic
Liquid/Biochar
Yi -Cheng Chu
Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance of Bi2WO6
Photoanode with Increase in Tungsten Concentration
Chung Hoi Ying
Optimizing the spatial allocation of green infrastructures to
restore surface-subsurface hydrologic environment
May Chui
Towards a Circular Economy using Green Chemistry James Clark
The oxidation and removal of As(III) from soil using a novel
magnetic nanocomposite derived-biomass wastes
Jianghu Cui
Investigation of Mine Closure Planning at Adag Fluorspar
Mine
Dash Darinchuluun
Biofunctionalized Metal-Organic Frameworks for Sensing of
Environmental Pollutants
Akash Deep
Small-scale process and mechanism behind sediment pollution Shiming Ding
Engineered Biochar for Sustainable Carbon Dioxide Capture:
A Critical Review
Pavani Dulanja
Dissanayake
Engineered Biochar as an Effective Carbon Dioxide Adsorbent Pavani Dulanja
Dissanayake
The Publishing Landscape Deirdre Pauline
Barten-Dunne
Microwave Activation of Biomass Jiajun (Alice) Fan
Assembling corn stalk derived biochar with various ferrites for
arsenic (As) removal in aqueous environment
Xing Gao
Design of Advanced Porous Materials for Effective
Separation/adsorption
Qinfen Gu
Valorization of Plant Biomass from Plant Microbial Fuel Cells
into Levulinic Acid Catalyzed by Liquid and Solid Acids under
Green Solvent
Chung-Yu Guan
Roof Mounted Cross Axis Wind Turbine: Overcoming the
Challenges of Wind Energy Systems in the Urban Environment
Mohammed Gwani
Evaluation on Stabilization of Metal-contaminated Site Based
on Bioaccessibility and Phytoavailability
Eun-Yeong Han
Study on the behavior of reactive oxygen species during
photocatalytic degradation of recalcitrant organic micro-
pollutants
Gibeom Han
Perspectives of Energy Performance of Bioelectrochemical
Systems for Resource Recovery
Zhen He (Jason)
Transformation of waste shrimp shell into a superb adsorbent
using hydrothermal carbonization for removal of anionic dye
methyl orange
Chao HE
Removal of phosphate and ammonia nitrogen by aluminium-
modified clay in a heavil1y polluted Lake, southwest China:
Effectiveness and Ecological risks
Kangkang He
Wastewater Treatment and Biomaterials Conversion Through
Microalgae
Shih-Hsin Ho
Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Impacts in Environmental
Remediation
Deyi Hou
Complet removal of Fe/Mn from a heavily contaminated acid
mine drainage via an indigenous Fe-Mn-Oxidization bacterium
Dongmei Hou
A Critical Review of Phytoremediation for Heavy Metals-
contaminated Soils
Zeng-Yei Hseu
Elemental Mercury Adsorption and Recovery by
Electrothermal Swing System with Acid-Treated Activated
Carbon Fiber Cloth
Hsing-Cheng Hsi
(i) Synthesis of Cu and S Co-impregnated Activated
Carbon to Simultaneously Capture Aqueous Hg(II) and
Prevent Gaseous Hg0 Re-emission from SFGD
Wastewater
(ii) Mercury Immobilization in Estuary Sediment by
Activated Carbon/Clay-based Thin-Layer Capping
under Horizontal Flow and Turbation Events
Che-Jung Hsu
The formation, characterization and conversion of oligomesr in
biomass conversion
Changwei Hu
Porous extruded-spheronized Li4SiO4 pellets via
microcrystalline cellulose templating for CO2 capture
Yingchao Hu
(i) Numerical analysis of latent heat storage composite
using biochar and phase change material as application
in buildings
(ii) Comparative analysis of the latent heat storage
materials application to glass curtain wall and
conventional wall-based buildings as retrofit system
Jisoo Jeon
Synthesis of Renewable meta-xylylenediamine and alkyl
levulinate from Biomass-Derived Furfural
Francois Jerome
Shifts of microbial biomass and enzyme activities indicators for
heavy metal fractions along reclaimed wetlands in a coastal
estuary, China
Jia Jia
Exogenous Phosphorus Influences the Absorption of Cadmium
in Perennial Ryegrass Root Cell Wall
Hui Jia
Complete Depolymerization of Pubescens Using a Catalyst-
Free Biphasic System: Structural Characterization of the
Oligomeric Products
Zhicheng Jiang
Reactive magnesia-activated slag: from formulation to
application
Fei Jin
Applicability evaluation of granulated alum sludge to remove
arsenic from groundwater
Jung-Yeol Jo
Assessment of degradation behavior for acetylsalicylic acid
using liquid phase plasma process
Sang-Chul Jung
Remediation of chromate-contaminated groundwater using
enhanced bioreduction: microcosm and microbial diversity
studies
Jimmy Chih-Ming
Kao
Valorization of digestate from biowaste through submerged
fermentation to obtain high-value added products: Trichoderma
biocontrol agent and cellulase production
Guneet Kaur
(i) Iron Turning Waste Filter: Fast and Cost Effective
Degradation of DDT and Lindane in Water
Eakalak Khan
(ii) Abundance and Activity of Ammonia Oxidizing
Archaea and Bacteria in Bulk Water and Biofilm in
Water Supply Systems Practicing Chlorination and
Chloramination: Full and Laboratory Scale
Investigations
Can Micro-Aeration Improve Anaerobic Digestion Process? Samir Khanal
Impact of Photooxidation Processes on Dissolved Organic
Matter Characteristics and Haloacetonitriles Formation
Pradabduang
Kiattisaksiri
What is the best novel materials for the removal of key
pollutants in indoor air?
Ki-Hyun Kim
Carbonation/granulation treatment of mine tailings using
MgO/GGBS binder: Testing of the granule produced in a pilot-
scale granulator
Tae Yoo Kim
Visible light induced photocatalysis by red mud with peroxides Joohyun Kim
Improvement of activated sludge hydrolysis with different
lysozyme treatment in anaerobic digestion
Sangmin Kim
Diversity and dynamics of bacterial communities for A2O
process stability adopting food waste recycling wastewater as
alternative carbon source
Eunji Kim
Control of Organic Matter Dissolution From Biochar Hye-Bin Kim
Reduction of Arsenic Mobility by Manganese Oxides in Paddy
Rice Field during Flooding Period
Taesun Kim
Simultaneous oxidation and adsorption of arsenic of using bi-
functional Fe-modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)
Jong-Gook Kim
Emulsification Characteristics of Ether extracted bio-oil in
diesel using Span 80 and Atlox 4914
Jihee Kim
Prediction of three biomass components and improved
modeling of pyrolysis kinetics using thermogravimetric
analysis
Heeyoon Kim
Soil Moisture Enhancement and Turbid Water Control using
Polymer-based Soil Additive against Climate Change
Young Hyun Kim
Revisiting Models of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn Adsorption onto Fe
Oxides
Michael Komárek
Application of an interspecies interaction model: An
experiment verification on Clostridium cadaveris and
Clostridium sporogenes in batch and chemostat mode under
anaerobic condition
Taewoan Koo
Biochar stability in soil: 15-year incubation, meta-analysis to
decomposition and priming effects, and consequences for
carbon sequestration
Yakov Kuzyakov
Effects of feedstock type, pyrolysis temperature, and steam
activation on biochar properties and lead(II) adsorption
Jin-Hyeob Kwak
Fabrication of metal-loaded biochar for waste water treatment
and energy recovery from the biochar fabrication process
Gihoon Kwon
Microwave pyrolysis – A promising technique for
transforming bioresources into energy, green chemicals, and
valued-added products
Lam Su Shiung
(i) Environmentally Friendly Linkage System is Showcase
among Engineering Projects in Kai Tak Development
(ii) Application of Landscape Architecture for
Rehabilitation of Quarry in Hong Kong and an
Overseas Case Study
Mark Lok Hin LAM
Bio-Products from Microalgae Biomass Keat Teong Lee
(i) Modeling of simultaneous inhibition of Methanosaeta
concilii by NH3 and Na+
(ii) Microbial community dynamics of methanogenesis
from acetate during ammonia overloading shocks
Joonyeob Lee
(i) Application of Synthesized Bovine Serum Albumin-
Magnetic Iron Oxide (BSA-MIO) for Phosphate
Recovery
(ii) Performance of Coagulation and Flocculation by Slow
Mixing Presence in Test-Bed Scale Ballasted
Flocculation process
Won-Hee Lee
Soil moisture enhancement and turbid water control using
polymer-based soil additive against climate change
Sangsoo Lee
Developing reduction technology of ammonium-salt based
inorganic second aerosol from livestock manure composting
process
Sang-Ryong Lee
Developing methodology to determine the efficacy of odor
reduction technology of liquid fertilizer circular operation
technique system
Sang-Ryong Lee
Iron-cross linked alginate derived Fe/C composites for atrazine
removal from water
Cheng Lei
Antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) in the atmosphere at pristine,
regional background, and human impacted sites
Xiang-dong Li
Direct filtration of municipal wastewater using flat-sheet
ceramic membrane for pollutant removal and resource recovery
Xiao-yan Li
Economic and Carbon footprint of Negative Emission Hybrid
Renewable Energy Systems: A Multi-region Analysis
Lanyu Li
Ammonia-oxidizing communities and shaping factors in heavy
metal contaminated soil remediated by biochar and compost
Mingyue Li
Immobilization of multi-enzyme catalysts for facilitating the
degradation of chlorophenol using zeolite from coal fly ash
Yejee Lim
Combined Toxicity of Nanoparticles and Co-existing
Contaminants
Daohui Lin
Liquid-Phase Environmental Catalytic Applications Using
MOF Derivatives And Composites
Kun-Yi (Andrew) Lin
Recent advancement in succinic acid production by engineered Carol Lin
yeasts: with special focus on organic wastes valorization
Coadsorption of Fe(III) and tetracycline onto poly (acrylamide-
co-sodium acrylate) in aqueous solutions
Yiqing Lin
Enhancement of Pb (II) adsorption by Boron doped ordered
mesoporous carbon
Yuanyuan Liu
(i) Core-shell Structured Fe-N-C Biochars Derived from
Biowastes as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Oxygen
Reduction Reaction
(ii) Valorization of Inorganic Sludges to Fabricate Effective
Visible-light-responsive Titanium-containing
Photocatalysts
Shou-Heng Liu
Effects of a mineral amendment on thallium mobility and
fractionation in highly contaminated soils
Juan Liu
Simultaneous removal of Cd(Ⅱ) and As(Ⅲ) from agricultural
irrigation water with graphene-like porous biochar supported
nanoscale zero-valent iron
Kai Liu
Application of biochar and mineral combined with nano-zero-
valent iron in heavy metals contaminated sediment remediation
Qunqun Liu
Production of furanic chemical from agricultural waste by
biochar catalyst with ionic liquid
Chun-Hung Liu
Co-occurrence of Heavy Metals, Antibiotics and Resistance
Genes in Sediments of Changshou Lake in the Three Gorges
Reservoir Area, China
Jie Liu
Selective Phosphate Removal from Water and Wastewater
using Sorption: Process Fundamentals, Removal Mechanisms,
and Enhancing Strategies
Irene Lo
High Capacity and Long Cycle Performance of Fluorinated
Si/C Composites with Micro/nanoarchitectures for Advanced
Lithium-ion Batteries
Xiao-Ying Lu
Effects of coastal reclamation on the ecological risks of heavy
metal pollution in wetland soils in a Chinese estuary
Qiongqiong Lu
Formulations of Biosurfactant-based Dispersants for Oil Spill
Remediation
Ekawan Luepromchai
Volatile fatty acids production from syngas by integrating with
anaerobic fermentation of organic wastes
Gang Luo
Benign-by-design processes for a more sustainable future Rafael Luque
Bioavailability of As, Cd, & Pb in Foods: Implications for
Human Health
Lena Ma
Selecting cost-effective areas for systematic restoration
planning of coastal wetlands
Tiantian Ma
Health risk assessments of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
in freshwater fish cultured by food waste-based feed
Brian YB Man
(i) Waste Tire Rubber Chips Liquefaction and Utilization
for Absorptive Recycling of Spilled Oils
Ncobile Bagezile
Mdlovu
(ii) Degradation of Simulated Chromium-Contaminated
Wastewater Using Polyethylenimine-Modified Zero-
Valent Iron Nanoparticles
(i) Formulation and Characterization of PDVB-based
Solid Acid Catalysts for Biodiesel Production via
Transesterification of Palmitic Oil
(ii) Preparation and Decontamination of TNT, RDX, and
HMX Explosives onto Zero-Valent Iron Nanoparticles
Ndumiso Vukile
Mdlovu
Mechanism on electrochemical generation of oxidant Sujin Min
Biochar: an effective amendment to reduce soil pollution and
for the implementation of phytomanagement strategies
Domenico Morabito
Arsenic adsorption onto modified clays in contaminated soil
and water: Impact of pH and competitive anions
Raj Mukhopadhyay
Appropriate pollution control technologies for antibiotics and
hormones in swine wastewater
Huu Hao Ngo
Sunlight-driven Water Splitting using Bismuth-based Ternary
Oxide Photocatalysts
Yun Hau Ng
Arsenic Accumulation by Rice Under the Influence of
Inorganic and Organic Amendments
Nabeel K Niazi
Concentration and bioreactivity of on-road particle emission: a
Tunnel Study in Hong Kong
Xinyi Niu
Waste-driven Factory to Integrate Waste-to-Energy
Technologies
Abdul-Sattar Nizami
Overcoming Two Challenges in Utilization of Two-
dimensional Materials - Irreversible Restacking and Site-
specific Functionalization
Isao Ogino
Progress, barriers, and prospects for achieving a Hydrogen
Society: Opportunities for SMART biochar technology
Yong Sik Ok
Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment for Children in Taiwan
by Estimating Soil and Dust Ingestion Rate in SHEDS Model
Kuan-Hsuan Pan
Mitigating Arsenic exposure through its bacterial
transformation and bio-availability reduction
Ashok Pandey
Activation of Persulfate by Magnetic MWCNTs/MIL-101(Fe)
for degradation of Ciprofloxacin
Ya Pang
Extraction and separation of rare-earth elements (REEs) from
coal ash in Korea
Sungyoon Park
The kinetics and treatment performance of microcystin and
biomass of concentrated algal by a non-thermal plasma
Rumi Park
Selective production of BTX aromatics by mild
hydrodeoxygenation of phenolic lignin model compounds
Young-Kwon Park
Nano Catalysis for Biofuels and Biochemicals of
Biofeedstocks: Vernicia fordii Wood
wanxi peng
Degradation of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by
laccase in reverse micelle system
Xin Peng
Bacterial diversity and bacterial-based products for
biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons
Onruthai Pinyakong
Significance of pump-and-treat method in remediation of
highly contaminated soil and groundwater environment; based
on example of former ‘Zachem’ Chemical Plant (Bydgoszcz
City, northern Poland)
Adam Postawa
Global Perspective of Pharmaceutical Residues Occurrence In
Drinking Water and Its Associated Potential Health Impacts
Sarva Mangala
Praveena
Simultaneous manganese adsorption and biotransformation by
bacterial cell-immobilized biochar: removal kinetics and
mechanism
Sumana Ratpukdi
Microalgae Scenedesmus Obliquus Cultivation by Cell
Encapsulation Technique for Biodiesel Production
Thunyalux Ratpukdi
Biochar as Bioresource for Immobilizing Pollutants in Soils Jörg Rinklebe
The synergistic effect of combination system of non-thermal
plasma and catalyst bed for decomposition of VOCs
Sumin Ryu
Bio-reactive Clay Minerals for Contaminant Remediation Binoy Sarkar
Molybdenum disulfide functionalized Ti3C2Tx MXene
nanosheets for mercury removal
Asif Shahzad
Revisit the Molecular Sieving Behaviour in Zeolite LTA for
High-performance Gas Separation
Jin Shang
Design of bespoke bio-based solvents James Sherwood
Effect of Source-Classified Collection and Mixing Collection
on the Emission Characteristics of Odor from the Dustbin of
Household Waste in the Residential Areas
Xiaoxiao Shi
Impoundment and flow regulation enhance riparian
denitrification in reservoirs
Wenqing Shi
Extraction of Cesium fixed on Clay minerals by Freezing and
Thawing
Donghun Shin
Various Utilization of Functionalised Biochar Derived from
Red Mud and Other Industrial Wastes
Hocheol Song
Mitigating Arsenic exposure through its bacterial
transformation and bio-availability reduction
Vikas Srivastava
Mechanistic investigations on asymmetric N-H and O-H
insertions catalyzed by metal/chiral guanidine catalyst
Zhishan Su
Facile Fabrication of Meso-hydroxyapatite for Highly Efficient
Sequestration of Uranium(VI) from Aqueous Solution
Minhua Su
Life cycle assessment of textile waste recycling by biological
method: A circular economy perspective
Karpagam
Subramanian
Volatile organic compound emission profiles of rural cooking
and heating in Guanzhong Plain, China, and its potential effect
on regional O3 and secondary organic aerosol formation
Jian SUN
Catalytic Ozonation of Antibiotics Using Nano-Magnesium
Hydroxide
Qi Sun
Reduction of degradation and toxicity of sulfonamides and
penicillins during treatment of microalgal in livestock
wastewater
SOOYOUNG SUNG
Polyhydroxyalkanoate production in two-stage continuous
stirred tank reactor activated sludge systems using glycerol as
a carbon source
Benjaporn
Suwannasilp
Effects of different biochars on mobility and extractability of
metals and As in soils
Filip Tack
A Simple and Green Method to Construct Cyclodextrin
Polymer for The Effective and Simultaneous Estrogen
Pollutant and Metal Removal
Peixiao Tang
Quantitative assessment on soil enzyme activities of heavy
metal contaminated soil remediated by biochar and compost
Jiayi Tang
Effect of chlorides on sewage sludge-derived biochar: carbon
fractions and chemical stability
Yuanyuan TANG
Photo-degradation of 14C-polystyrene nanoplastics Lili Tian
Biochar presence in soil significantly decreased saturated
hydraulic conductivity due to swelling
Lukas Trakal
Adding value to biorefinery and pulp industry side-streams:
Lignin valorization to fuels, chemicals and polymers
Konstantinos S.
Triantafyllidis
Catalytic conversion of carbohydrates to value added
chemicals via the furanic platform
Karine Vigier
Enhanced removal of Oxytetracycline Hydrochloride antibiotic
from aqueous media using wood based nanobiochar
Meththika Vithanage
Effect of Contrasting Biochars on Immobilization of Cadmium
and Di-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate in Soils
Hailong Wang
Iron-based Technologies for Immobilization of Heavy Metals Linling Wang
The relationship between soil properties and bioaccessibility of
Cr and Ni in geologic and anthropogenic contaminated soils
Ying Lin Wang
Co-adsorption of zinc and chlortetracycline onto
montmorillonite at different pH
Lingqing Wang
(i) Recycling of Reverse Osmosis Wastewater by MCDI
(ii) Capacitive Deionization of Arsenic from Contaminated
Underground Water
Hong Paul Wang
Metabolomics Integrated with Transcriptomics Reveals
Synthesis of Lipids in Suaeda salsa
Xin Wang
Co-reduction of phosphorus and nitrogen release from
sediments using oxygen nano-bubble-modified minerals
Jingfu Wang
Effects of phragmites communis straw addition on nitrogen
mineralization in degraded saltmarsh soils
Wei Wang
Machine learning and data‐ driven optimization in urban
energy and environmental systems
Xiaonan Wang
Comprehensive analysis of the influence of environmental
factors and genotypes on the energy quality of sweet sorghum
YUQING WEI
Ammonia Inhibition on Methane Production and Glutamate
Removal from Wastewater in a UASB Reactor during Long-
term Operational Period
Yanxiao Wei
Carbon Capture of Rice Straw via Slow Pyrolysis with an
After-pyrolysis Vapor Catalytic Converter
Yu-Ling Wei
Using Biochars Produced from Thai Agricultural Waste
Materials for Water Treatment in Aquaculture
David Werner
Enhanced Photo-fermentative Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate
Production from Crude Glycerol Medium by
Rhodopseudomonas palustris
Po Kong Wong
Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) Derived Effective Solid
Catalysts for Lignocellulosic Biomass Valorization
Kevin C. W. Wu
Scaffolding Co3O4 Nanocrystals on ZnO Nanorods using
Pulsed Electrodeposition for Improved Electrochemical
Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Hao Wu
Rapid and effective removal of uranium (VI) from aqueous
solution by facile synthesized hierarchical hollow
hydroxyapatite microspheres
Yanhong Wu
Biohydrogen production from anaerobic co-fermentation of
rice straw and pig manure: Effects of inoculum pretreatment
and substrate mixture ratio
Jun Wu
A novel nanoporous BiVO4 photocatalyst for the removal of
Cr(VI) under visible-light illumination
Guangyu Xie
Carbon-based Materials as Green Catalysts for Biorefineries Xinni Xiong
Developing a DPSIR-based Sustainability Assessment
Framework to Evaluate the Spatial Distribution of
Groundwater Sustainability in China
Jia Xiyue
Mechanism Study of the Utilization of Photochemical
Circulation between NO3− and NO2− in Water to Degrade
Photoinert Dimethyl Phthalate
Lijie XU
Removal of Aquatic Ammonium by Hydrothermal
Decomposition Product of Struvite Pellet
Kangning Xu
Biotechnological potential of microbial heavy metal resistance
functional genes and applications in bioremediation
Piao Xu
Flexibility of Energy Systems with Renewable Penetration Jinyue Yan
Eco-friendly catalytic conversion of biomass-derived
monomers into biofuels using metal catalysts
Kai Yan
Comparison of catalytic efficiency in the production of
microalgae biofuel
Sol Yang
Assessment on the effects of aluminum-modified clay in
inactivating internal phosphorus in deep eutrophic reservoirs
Xiaohong Yang
Synthesis of NaP Zeolite from Industrial Waste Lithium Silicon
Power for Removal of Cu2+
Lu Yao
Fine Particles when Sediment Resuspension Hinders the Qitao Yi
Ecological Restoration of Shallow Eutrophic Lakes
(i) Selectivity on zeolite types in ionic liquid-templated
synthesis
(ii) Ionic liquid-templated synthesis of 1-D zeolite as a
potential catalyst for selective biomass conversion
Alex Yip
Effect of application of composted horse manure on
components of leaching water in the volcanic ash soil of Jeju,
Korea
Jihyun Yoo
Removal of Cr (VI) by ascorbic acid coated magnetite Sunho Yoon
Energy Recovery of Chitin via a Pyrolytic Platform Using CO2 Kwangsuk Yoon
Long-Term Operation of Plant Microbial Fuel Cells for Urban
Green Roof
Chang-Ping Yu
Effect of Distiller's Grains and Sewage Sludge Compost
Application on the Vegetation Restoration in the Shale Gas
Production of Arid and Semi-Arid Areas
Bao Yu
Sandwiched SiO2@Ni@ZrO2 as a Coke Resistant
Nanocatalyst for Carbon Dioxide Reforming with Addition of
Methane
Fei Yu
Improvement of energy density and grindability for wood
pellets by torrefaction
Seunghan Yu
Phosphorus fractions and influencing factors in surface soils of
estuarine wetlands with different flooding conditions before
and after flow-sediment regulation in the Yellow River Delta,
China
Lu Yu
Decomplexation of Cr(III)-citrate complexes from aqueous
solution by mFe/Cu process
Yue Yuan
Carbon Materials of Different Origins for Pollution Abatement Guodong Yuan
Delignification Kinetics of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB)
in Sucrose-Based Low Transition Temperature Mixtures
(LTTMs)
Suzana Yusup
Removal of Phosphate from Water by Biochar Derived from
Paper Mill Sludge
Ming Zhang
Water-assisted Selective Hydrodeoxygenation of Phenol to
Benzene over Ru Composite Catalyst in Biphasic Process
Shicheng Zhang
Biomass Stabilization: Phosphorus Fixation and Utilization Tao Zhang
Coastal wetland restoration enhances the soil bacterial diversity
and strengthens their interactions: an evidence from a wetland
desalination project
Guangliang Zhang
Clean Composting – Opportunities, Approaches and
Challenges
Zhang Zengqiang
Zhang_Phycoremediation of Coastal Waters Contaminated
with endocrine-disrupting chemicals by Green Tidal Algae
Cui Zhang
Health Assessment of Waste Gas Exposure During Food Waste
Anaerobic Digestion
Guodi Zheng
Abstracts
(Listed in Alphabetical Order of Presenter’s Last Name)
Highly efficient removal of pefloxacin from aqueous solution
by acid-alkali modified sludge-based biochar: adsorption
kinetics, isotherm, thermodynamics and mechanism
Yongxin Zheng
Human activities facilitate mercury methylation in the
environment
Huan Zhong
Magnetic biochar based composites for the removal of
antibiotics from water
Yaoyu Zhou
Enhanced separation performance and Cr(VI) ions removal
efficiency of kenaf biochar via facile coupling to magnetic
BiFeO3 on cross-linked chitosan
Daixi Zhou
The application of machine learning methods for prediction of
heavy metals sorption onto biochars
Xinzhe Zhu
Effects of turbulence on carbon emission in shallow lakes Lin Zhu
Triplex DNA helix sensor based on rGO and EAu for sensitive
lead (II) detection
Yuan Zhu
Photocatalytic Degradation of Diphenamid Herbicide via
Activation of an Air Waste Product under Visible LED using a
Photocatalyst
Amal Abdelhaleem 1,*, Wei Chu 1,*
1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
* Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected] (Wei Chu)
* Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected] (Amal Abdelhaleem)
Abstract: Sulfite is a waste product that can be produced from flue-gas desulfurization process.
Most recently, a few investigations have been conducted to activate sulfite for generating
valuable reactive radicals through a photocatalytic process. Accordingly, a novel approach was
proposed in this study by using Fe impregnated N-doped TiO2 photocatalyst (FeN-TiO2) for
activating sulfite under visible LED irradiation (Vis LED). The FeN-TiO2/sulfite/Vis LED
process was proven to be effective for the degradation of diphenamid herbicide through the
generated SO4−• and •OH species. Sulfite activation mechanism was elucidated, and sulfite
residuals were monitored during the photocatalytic reaction. Thirty intermediates were
detected using the proposed process and twenty-four of them were newly identified in this
study. Four major routes including N-dealkylation, hydroxylation of the aromatic cycle,
isomerization, and rupture of benzene ring linkage were involved in the degradation
mechanism of diphenamid. Furthermore, the rupture of the benzene ring linkage route was
reported for the first time in this study. Overall, the FeN-TiO2/sulfite/Vis LED process could
be a practical and green technology for the degradation of organic pollutants.
Keywords: Diphenamid, impregnation, LED, Fe-N doped TiO2, sulfite activation
Ecotoxicological effect of nickel oxide nanoparticles on earthworms
(Eisenia fetida): A life cycle study
Muhammad Adeel, Mingshu Li, Lihong Wang, and Yukui Rui, *
Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and
Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Merely USA produces 20 tons of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO-NPs) annually. Although,
health and environmental hazards of Ni are ironclad; however, that of NiO-NPs are still
obscure. Current study appraised the impact of NiO-NPs exposure (0, 5, 50, 200, 500 and 1000
mg kg–1 soil) on the earthworm (Eisenia fetida) survival (28 d), reproduction (56 d),
histopathology ultrastructures, antioxidant enzymes and oxidative DNA damage. Lower
concentrations of NiO-NPs (5, 50 and 200) did not influence the survival, reproduction and
growth rate of adult worms significantly. However, reproduction reduced by 50-70% with 500
and 1000 mg kg–1 exposure, which also induced oxidative stress leading to DNA damage in
earthworms. Ultrastructural observation and histology of earthworms exposed to higher NiO-
NPs concentrations revealed abnormalities in epithelium layer, microvilli and mitochondria
with underlying pathologies of epidermis and muscles, as well as adverse effects on the gut
barrier. Apparently, this is the first study unveiling the adverse effects of NiO-NPs on a soil
invertebrate. These preliminary findings clue towards looking extensively into the risks of NiO-
NPs on soil organisms bearing agricultural and environmental significance.
Keywords: Earthworms; Gastrointestinal tract; Histology; Enzyme activity; DNA damage
Advancing our Understanding on the Fate and Effects of Contaminants of
Emerging Concern through Non-target Analysis and Metabolomics
Diana S. Aga1 1 Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, USA,
14226
E-mail: [email protected]
The pollution of surface waters with pharmaceuticals, engineered nanomaterials,
halogenated industrial chemicals, and other contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) has
become a major issue around the world because of their adverse human health and ecological
effects. The advancement in our knowledge on CECs has been driven by the introduction of
highly sensitive and powerful analytical instrumentation that allows trace quantification by
target analysis, and identification of other contaminants by non-target analysis using high-
resolution mass spectrometers. Metabolomics, the global profiling of metabolite composition,
is a powerful technique that can be applied to answer a diverse set of research questions
concerning effects of toxicants on organisms. It has recently emerged as a tool to understand
complex environmental perturbations in biological systems, especially at sub-lethal
concentrations. Organisms can be affected by different stressors such as xenobiotics or increase
in concentration of natural compounds such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur.
Metabolomics has facilitated a better understanding of the effects of these perturbations on
organisms such as plants, animals, and humans providing phenotypic and biological
information in a high throughput manner.
In this presentation, examples of new applications of non-target analysis in elucidating
fate and transport of CECs and in investigating their ecotoxicity based on metabolomics
approach will be discussed. Results from a global reconnaissance of antimicrobials and other
pharmaceuticals in wastewater and surface waters from 7 countries (Bangladesh, Hongkong,
India, Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, U.S.A) will be presented using both target and non-
target analysis. Results from the non-targeted analysis revealed the presence of several
additional contaminants in the water samples that were otherwise not included in the list of
targeted compounds. Antimicrobials are of particular interest since their presence in wastewater
and surface waters plays a role in the development of antimicrobial resistance in the
environment. Other CECs such as antidepressants, personal care products, and polar pesticides,
are also significant because they may contribute to the selection pressure that affects the
evolution of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. In addition, examples of recent applications of
metabolomics to study the ecological effects of engineered nanoparticles in plants and human
cell lines will be discussed. For instance, the effects of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs)
on a biological model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, was investigated using a complementary set
of mass spectrometry-based approaches. Metabolite profiling was performed using two
platforms of high-resolution MS: liquid chromatography (LC) quadrupole time-of-flight mass
spectrometry (LC-QToF-MS) and LC Q ExactiveTM Hybrid Quadrupole-OrbitrapTM-MS (LC-
Orbitrap-MS). Mass accuracy, sensitivity, and selectivity of high-resolution mass
spectrometers are key to successful targeted and non-targeted analysis of organic contaminants
in the environment. The work presented here addresses the challenges and opportunities in the
analysis of trace levels of CECs in water samples, and the advantages and limitations of
metabolomics approaches in assessing toxic effects of CECs.
Keywords: high-resolution mass spectrometry, metabolomics, ecotoxicity, suspect screening,
antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, engineered nanomaterials
Spectral Induced Polarization for Environmental Remediation Process
Monitoring
Junnan Cao1, Na Hao2, Chi Zhang3, Jianshe Ye2, Bate Bate2,* 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, United States
80401
2 Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, 866
Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, China 310058
2 Assistant Professor, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Geology, University of Kansas, [email protected]
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86-18757582046, Fax: 86-0571 88208793, E-mail: [email protected]
Heterogeneity in either chemistry or microbial activity-based contaminant stabilization and
environment remediation methods is a major obstacle. An innovative nondestructive method,
spectral induced polarization (SIP), which demonstrated promises in monitoring the
remediation activities involving chemical or microbial activities, was used in this study to
monitor enzyme induced calcite precipitation (EICP). Complex conductivities, together with
the shear wave velocities (Vs), of an EICP modified sand were monitored with a self-developed
SIP-BE column. Mean precipitate size was calculated by relaxation time (τ) and Schwarz
equation. Precipitate content was calculated from global polarization magnitude (mn) by
cumulative gamma distribution function with R2 = 0.989. Stiffness property of the enhanced
geomaterial, in terms of Vs, correlates to mn with cumulative lognormal distribution function
well with R2 = 0.967. The results suggest that spectral induced polarization can be used as an
effective non-destructive monitoring tool to assess the chemical or microbial processes related
to environment remediation.
Keywords: spectral induced polarization, environment remediation, calcite
Dissolved Pb, Phytoavailable Pb, and Pb Speciation in A Contaminated Soil
Amended with Pine Sawdust Biochar Under Dynamic Redox Conditions
Jingzi Beiyuan1,2,3, Yasser M. Awad4, Felix Beckers5, Daniel C.W. Tsang2, **, Yong Sik
Ok6,***, Shan-Li Wang7, Hailong Wang1, Jörg Rinklebe3,8,*
a School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China
b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
c University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering,
Water- and Waste-Management, Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal,
Germany
d Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
e Korea Biochar Research Center & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea
University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
f Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan ROC
g Department of Environment and Energy at Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Guangjin-Gu, Seoul, Republic
of Korea * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
** Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
*** Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Biochar, may immobilize the potentially toxic elements (PTEs), enhance soil properties, and
act as a sink of carbon, has attracted increasing attention in the area of soil remediation.
However, change of environmental conditions might alter the immobilization effects by the
biochar, for example, redox potential (EH), pH, and temperature. Under flooding conditions,
the EH and pH of the soil can be significantly changed. Therefore, we evaluated pine sawdust
biochar produced at 300 (BC300) and 550 oC (BC550) and its feedstock, pine sawdust biomass
(BM) under dynamic redox conditions (~–300 to +200 mV). The results show that BC550
greatly reduced the amount of dissolved Pb and phytoavailable Pb. This might be due to the
higher alkalinity and aromaticity of BC550 compared with BM and BC300. The highest
amount of dissolved Pb were obtained at –100 to 0 mV in the soil of control (without any
amendment), soil amended with BM and BC300, which could be connected with the Fe/Mn
oxide chemistry under varying EH. The results of Pb X-ray absorption fine structure analyses
also support that Pb speciation in the soil amended by BC550 is more stable than those amended
by BM and BC300 under changed EH conditions. Our results suggested a higher pyrolysis
temperature is beneficial for Pb immobilization under dynamic EH conditions.
Keywords: Paddy soils; soil remediation; lead; waste management
Exploring the potential of microalgae for versatile environmental
applications
Amit Bhatnagar* and Ehsan Daneshvar
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland,
P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
* Corresponding author. Phone: +358 50 3696419, Email: [email protected]
Microalgae-based “biorefinery” systems are considered sustainable for addressing global
environmental challenges including effective wastewater treatment and clean energy supply. In
this study, the potential of two different microalgae namely, Scenedesmus and Tetraselmis
microalgae was explored for real wastewater treatment and lipid production. Scenedesmus
exhibited the higher (64-86%) removal of total nitrogen, total phosphate, and total organic
carbon as compared to Tetraselmis (40-45%). C16 and C18 were found to be the major fatty
acids, as revealed by fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) analysis, in the cultivated microalgae,
the fundamental prerequisite for biodiesel production. Furthermore, microalgae growth in
recycled cultivation water was also investigated, and after the first cycle of microalgae
cultivation, a second sequential cultivation cycle was initiated. Overall treatment efficacy was
improved after the second cultivation cycle and microalgae exhibited better growth and
increased removal efficiency of target contaminants in wastewater. Substantial differences in
the percentage of saturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids in lipid profile of
harvested microalgae were observed after the first and second cycle of cultivation.
Keywords: Microalgae; wastewater treatment; lipids production; recycled water.
Development and Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance in the
Environment
Scott A. Bradford1, and Brendan Headd1
1US Salinity Laboratory, USDA, ARS, Riverside, CA
As the global health crisis caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria has continued to worsen,
there have been innumerable studies detailing the scope of the problem, but relatively few
studies have effectively examined the specific causes for the spread of antibiotic resistance in
the environment from a truly mechanistic standpoint. How, when, and where antibiotic
resistance develops and spreads in the environment is still only understood in a very
generalized nature. Mathematical models can be an important tool to overcome these gaps in
knowledge if dominant physical, chemical, and biological processes can be accurately
simulated. This presentation highlights ongoing research that is designed to quantify variables
that regulate the spread of antibiotic resistance via horizontal gene transfer, the fate and
transport of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in the environment,
and what management practices can be utilized to control changes in antibiotic resistance in
the environment. The potential use and limitations of mathematical models and the need for
multi-disciplinary research to overcome challenges will be discussed.
Green approaches on the utilisation of polysaccharide wastes
Vitaliy L. Budarin1,*, Alisa Doroshenko1, Alice Fan1 1 Department of Chemistry, The University of York, York, UK, YO10 5DD
* Corresponding author. Tel: +44(0)1904 322546, E-mail: [email protected]
It has been shown that two novel green technologies (Starbon® materials preparation and low-
temperature microwave activation) could be efficiently applied to polysaccharide waste
utilisation. Both of these technologies could help to reduce waste simultaneously with the
production of materials and essential industrial products. Starbon® technology can produce
mesoporous materials from such polysaccharides as starch, pectin and alginic acid. Due to its
flexibility this technology can manufacture materials with different textural properties and
controllable functionality, and as such, has been applied for the catalytic and chromatography
applications as well as recovery and purification of critical metals such as lithium, cobalt,
beryllium, silver and gold from aqueous systems. A high degree of mesoporosity (higher than
70%) and relatively large pore diameter (> 5nm), enables the Starbon® materials to adsorb
bulky industrial dyes reversibly. Low-temperature microwave treatment is complementary to
the Starbon® technology, as it focuses on the depolymerisation of cellulose and hemicellulose
to high-value products. The most promising use from wet biomass (e.g. seaweed, microalgae)
utilisation perspective is a capability of microwave irradiation to activate lignocellulosic
materials at very low temperature, producing in the presence of water solution different types
of mono and oligosaccharides. These sugar-rich solutions could be used for further
biological/enzymatic treatment and production of bio-gas and bio-ethanol. The alternative
method of microwave activation of the polysaccharides is pyrolysis. MW technology makes it
possible to achieve low-temperature pyrolysis of the main biomass constituents: hemicellulose
(160-170°C), cellulose (180°C) and lignin (200-220°C). The large difference between the
temperature of the constituents’ activation guarantees a selective MW-activation of the
targeting part of biomass. The thorough study of the mechanism of MW-activation of
polysaccharides has been proposed and green clay catalysts were applied to drive the MW-
pyrolysis towards levoglucosenone. Finally, both Starbon® and microwave technologies are
scalable and could be applied for multi-tonne processes.
Keywords: waste, mesoporosity, microwave, polysaccharides, hydrolysis.
Effective Recovery of Gold from E-waste Using Glutaraldehyde Cross-
linked Chitosan Beads
Trung Huu Bui, Woorim Lee, Yunho Lee*.
School of Earth Science and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 123
Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, 61005, Korea.
* Corresponding author: Yunho Lee , Tel: 82(0)62-715-2468, Fax: 82(0)62-715-2434, E-mail:
To date, recovery of gold from e-waste products has received significant attention due to its
high economic value. The present study reports glutaraldehyde-crosslinked-chitosan (GCC)
beads as a novel and low cost bio-adsorbent for effective recovery of gold from e-waste leached
solution. The fabricated GCC beads was successfully characterized using various analytical
instruments (SEM, FTIR, XRD and XPS) at different degree of crosslinking and aldol
condensation. It was found that the GCC beads showed excellent selectivity toward Au(III) as
well as other precious metal species while have almost no affinity toward other metal ions at
the experimental conditions (pH 2). Increasing crosslinking degree produces a significant
enhancement of both adsorptive selectivity and capacity toward Au(III) ion. Indeed, the
equilibrium adsorption of Au(III) by the beads agreed to the Freundlich isotherm model with
the maximum capacity found up to 880 mg/g. Synergistic effect among electrostatic interaction,
chelating coordination and reduction was successful proposed for the Au(III) adsorptive
mechanism. The GGC51 beads were applied for recovery of gold from acidic leaching solution
of PCB sample with highly selective and efficient performance (> 95 % of gold purity in a gold
desorbed solution), promising a high potential for the application of this bioadsorbent in
recovery of gold from acidic leachates (e-waste).
Keywords: Gold recovery; Gold adsorption, Chitosan beads, Glutaraldehyde crosslinked
chitosan, e-waste.
The global arsenic problem and its mitigation to tackle with the 2030
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Jochen Bundschuh1,*, Indika Herath1, Prasanna Kumarathilaka1, Yong Sik Ok 2,1 1 UNESCO Chair on Groundwater Arsenic within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development & Faculty of
Health, Engineering and Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, West Street, Toowoomba, 4359, QLD,
Australia
2 Korea Biochar Research Center & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea
University, Seoul 02841, Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +61 7 4631 2694, Fax: +61 7 4631 2694 2526
E-mail: [email protected]
Worldwide, over 100 countries are impacted by arsenic (As) of mostly geogenic origin that
especially contaminates groundwater sources used for drinking and irrigation. The existence of
As in drinking water at toxic levels has been a risk for more than 200 million people all over
the world. However, not only these As-affected areas, but also the import of food from As-
affected to non-affected areas is particular of concern in terms of human health risks. For
example, import of rice with elevated As contents from As affected regions has become a global
health concern.
“Arsenic in the environment” is a transdisciplinary array of themes comprising geogenic As
and its speciation in water, food, house dust, atmosphere as well as its implications for human
health. Mitigation of health, ecological and economic issues associated with As contributes to
different extents directly or indirectly for achieving most of the 2030 SDGs. These include
water, food, health, poverty/hunger, gender, economics, education/information, justice/equality,
quality of life (in aquatic systems and on land), energy/climate change and economics.
Therefore, global scale actions are an urgent necessity in research, training and knowledge
dissemination related to the global As problem including, scientific aspects and mitigation
strategies. Approaches further connect with socio-economic and environmental issues,
contributing to human development at national, regional and global levels.
We showcase a holistic approach for mitigating the global As problem in different systems.
Naturally occurring processes by which the formation of a variety of As species occurs in these
systems is discussed in relation to particular geological, geochemical, geographical, and
climate conditions Human exposure to different As species that are highly variable in
bioavailability and toxicity are discussed. Remediation strategies based on simple, low-cost,
environmentally sustainable and socially accepted technologies and methods are highlighted.
Keywords: Arsenic; groundwater; environment; rice; social aspects; mitigation
Prediction of adsorption capacity for PPCPs and EDCs onto various
adsorbent materials
Warisa_Bunmahotama1, Tsair-Fuh Lin2, Xin Yang1,* 1 School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental
Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
2 Department of Environmental Engineering and Global Water Quality Research Center, National Cheng Kung
University, Tainan City, 70101, Taiwan
* Corresponding author, Tel: +86-2039332690, email: [email protected]
A model was developed to predict adsorption isotherms of pharmaceuticals, personal care
products and endocrine disrupting chemicals (PPCPs/EDCs) onto various types of adsorbents
using a combination of Polanyi potential theory, molecular connectivity indices (MCIs) and
molecular characteristics. Polanyi theory provided the basic mathematical form for the
correlation. MCIs, hydrophobicity and H-bond donor/acceptor were used to normalize the
Polanyi equation based on the molecular structure and adsorption mechanism. The correlation
was first developed using 46 PPCPs/EDCs adsorbed onto 162 carbonaceous materials. The
correlation can simulate those experimental data well with 44.84 % standard deviation (SDEV).
The extrapolation of the 46 PPCPs/EDCs to other 118 carbonaceous materials gave 42.01 %
SDEV. The model can predict adsorptive characteristics of 9 new PPCPs/EDCs, onto 23
carbonaceous materials in ultrapure water, with 47.97 % SDEV. When applying non-
carbonaceous adsorbents, the models can still predict the adsorption of PPCPs/EDCs gave
90.09 % SDEV. The developed PD – MCI – hydrophobic – H bond model approach may
provide a simple means for predicting adsorption capacities of PPCPs/EDCs onto various
adsorbents.
Keywords: Adsorption isotherm, Polanyi-Dubinin model, MCIs, Organic compounds
Transformation and Bioaccessibility of Lead in Soils Induced by Food
Intake in the Gastrointestinal Tract
Xinde Cao1,* Jin Fan1, Junhong Kan1, Lena Ma2, Daniel C.W. Tsang3,* 1 School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
2 School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86-21-54743926, Fax: +86-21-54740825, E-mail: [email protected]
Accidental ingestion of contaminated soil has been recognized as an important pathway of
human exposure to lead (Pb), especially for children through hand-to-mouth activities. Intake
of food following the soil ingestion may affect the bioaccessibility of Pb in the gastrointestinal
tract. In this study, the effect of bread, spinach, and soft drink on the transformation and
subsequent bioaccessibility of Pb in two soils was determined by the physiologically based
extraction test.
The bread increased the Pb bioaccessibility (Pb-BA) in PbCO3-contaminated soil in the
intestinal phase, but the decreased Pb-BA was observed in the gastric phase after the steamed
bread was added. The decrease was attributed to the formation of Pb phosphate precipitates
However, in the soil contaminated with free Pb2+ or sorbed Pb forms, the steamed bread
increased the Pb-BA in both gastric and intestinal phases. This was probably due to the higher
dissolved organic carbon induced transformation of Fe/Mn oxides-sorbed Pb into soluble Pb-
organic complex. Addition of spinach and soft drink into the two soils reduced the Pb-BA in
both gastic and intestinal phases. This was probably due to the fiber-induced transformation of
soluble Pb-organic complex and free Pb2+ into less soluble Pb phosphate minerals. The
transformation of Pb in the gastrointestinal tract was evidenced and confirmed by XRD,
MINTEQ modelling, and SEM image and elemental mapping.
Fig. 1 XRD patterns of Pb forms in two soils in the gastrointestinal induced by Spinach
Keywords: Lead, bioaccessibility, transformation, soil, food
Bioaccumulation and conversion of selenium in green alga Chlorella
pyrenoidosa for producing Se-enriched biomass
Xin Cao*, Yufeng Zhao, Xinshan Song, Yuhui Wang, Zhihao Si, Xiaoyan Ge, Wenting Wang
State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry,
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86 021-67792550,+86 13166026185, E-mail: [email protected]
Se is required for the growth and metabolism of many species of microalgae. However, high
concentrations of Se show toxicity to microalgal cells. In the study, the biomass, growth rate,
total Se content, organic Se content, SOD, CAT, and LPO of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in an
environment containing Se were determined to explore the effects of selenite on the growth of
C. pyrenoidosa in different growth phases (exponential phase, late exponential phase, and early
stationary phase). Bioaccumulation and conversion of selenium in C. pyrenoidosa and toxic
effect of selenium were further explored. A low dosage of selenite could promote the growth
of C. pyrenoidosa, but the higher Se concentration strongly inhibited growth and led to the low
biomass. Algae cells in exponential phase could be exposed to high doses of selenium (≤5 mg
L−1), which was higher than that for the cells in late exponential phase (≤2 mg L−1) and the
cells in early stationary phase (≤2 mg L−1). The optimal growth conditions for enriching
selenium in C. pyrenoidosa in exponential phase were determined as 2 mg L−1 selenite and 5-
day cultivation. The highest transformation mass was 78±0.5% and corresponding intracellular
accumulation of organic Se was 72±0.1 μg g−1 dry weight. The lower Se concentration induced
the activities of oxidases, which was conducive to the growth of microalgal cells. The higher
concentration of Se significantly induced the activities of oxidases, indicating that Se
accumulation had a significant toxic effect on C. pyrenoidosa. In this way, a great quantity of
Se-enriched biomass can be produced for nutritional purposes.
Keywords: Selenium, Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Bioaccumulation, Antioxidants
Fig. 1. Accumulation of Se in cells of C. pyrenoidosa. (a) Total Se content in the dried C. pyrenoidosa biomass
after testing with different concentrations of selenite during 7-day cultivation. (b) Organic Se concentration and
total Se concentration on Day 5.
Identification of heavy metal concentrations in soil using remote sensing
and machine learning
Yining Cao 1, Deyi Hou 1,*
1 School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 010-62781159, E-mail: [email protected]
Heavy metals represent one of the most important types of soil pollutants. Quick and reliable
access to heavy metal concentration data is crucial for soil monitoring and remediation. With a
reduction in sampling and laboratory analyses, the combined use of remote sensing imagery
and geostatistical methods is well-suited for precision soil mapping in large spatial-time scale.
When applying this technology, the selection of both indicators and statistical models are
crucial for the measurement accuracy.
With a dataset of 251 soil samples and remote sensing image of 0.4m × 0.4m resolution, this
study proposed a new mapping approach integrating Computer Vision(CV) technology and
supervised learning. In this study, we identified crafting features from variations associated
with pixel values of remote sensing image. Innovative indicators including spectral derivative
and distance between pixels are incorporated in the model. Four multivariate techniques (Fuzzy
Neural Network, Partial Least Squares Regression, Support-vector Machine and Random
Forest) were compared with the aim of rapidly and accurately predicting soil metal
concentration. Results indicated that a CV aided Random Forest outperformed
(with a prediction accuracy of 0.963) all other models tested. This study suggests the
potential of assimilating CV technology into feature identification with remote sensing data
and paves the way for soil contamination prediction using advanced computer technology.
Keywords：heavy metal, mapping, remote sensing, machine learning, Computer Vision
Generation of Hydrogen through Pig Hair Biowastes Gasification over
NiO/Al2O3 Catalyst in an Integrated Fuel Cell Processor
Maria Janina Carrera Espinoza, Kuen-Song Lin*, Chao-Lung Chiang, Ncobile Bagezile
Mdlovu, Ndumiso Vukile Mdlovu, Sikhumbuzo Charles Kunene 1Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science/Environmental Technology Research Center,
Yuan Ze University, Chung–Li District, Taoyuan City 32003, Taiwan
Corresponding author. Tel: +886 34638800 ext. 2574, E-mail: [email protected]
one thousand tons of pig hair biowastes (PHB) are produced yearly in Taiwan and improper
disposal can have a negative environmental impact, contributing to the spread of diseases. Thus,
the treatment of PHB has become a major environmental and economic challenge. Hydrogen
can be effectively produced through the catalytic gasification of PHB using a lab-scale fixed-
bed downdraft gasifier by employing 10–15 wt% NiO/Al2O3 as a catalyst at 753–913 K.
Experimentally, Elemental analyses of the PHB show that combustible content such as volatile
or fixed carbon constituted the main component of a typical PHB mixture. Carbon was the
primary component with only a little chlorine and sulfur present in both PHB-mixture types.
In this study, derived kinetic parameters obtained from thermogravimetric experiments were
refined through simulation calculations. A one-stage process for the thermal degradation of
PHB was observed and thus a pseudo-first-order PHB catalytic gasification reaction was
deduced. The catalytic gasification of PHB can be satisfactorily described by the corresponding
rate equation: dX/dt = (1.16×1010 ± 0.40×1010) exp ((–15.5 ± 4.5)/(1.987×10−3 T)) ×
(1−X)1.4 ± 0.2 [O2]0.7 ± 0.2. At a temperature of approximately 780 K, high concentrations
of gaseous CO2 and CO were produced and also observed using on-line FTIR. This likely
occurred because of thermal degradation of the PHB in the catalytic gasification process. X-
ray absorption near-edge structural spectra (XANES) confirmed the reduction of Ni(II) catalyst
into Ni(0). Extended X-ray absorption fine structural (EXAFS) data revealed that the central
Ni atoms had Ni–O and Ni–Ni bonds with bond distances of 2.04 ± 0.05 and 2.45 ± 0.05 Å,
respectively. The PHB was ultimately converted into a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas (syngas,
CO + H2) (>90% dry basis). When PHB (250 kg/h) was catalytically gasified at 760–900 K,
syngas was produced at approximately 1.45 × 105 kcal/h with 79%–82% cold gas efficiency.
The gasification reaction rate of the highly exothermic and rapid water-shift reaction decreased
as the temperature was increased from 753 to 913 K, which indicates that an increase in the
reaction temperature favors the formation of H2 and decomposition of CO. Higher
concentrations of CO2 and H2O were also observed at higher reaction temperatures. Little NOx
or SOx can exist due to the chemically reducing atmosphere in the PHB catalytic gasifier.
Moreover, simulation of pilot-scale PHB catalytic gasification demonstrates that the system
can provide hydrogen of purity > 99.9% and generate 100 kWe for an internal combustion
engine and 175 kWe for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell.
Keywords: Pig hair biowaste, Catalytic gasification, Hydrogen generation, Fuel cell, Resource
recovery.
Synthesis and Enhancement of Hydrogen Storage Capacity of Modified
MIL-47 using Pd-Doped Activated Carbon
Maria Janina Carrera Espinoza, Kuen-Song Lin*, You-Sheng Lin, Abhijit Krishna Adhikari,
Ndumiso Vukile Mdlovu, Sikhumbuzo Charles Kunene
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science/Environmental Technology Research Center, Yuan
Ze University, Chung–Li District, Taoyuan City 32003, Taiwan
*Corresponding author. Tel: +886 34638800 ext. 2574, E-mail: [email protected]
Hydrogen adsorption capacity of vanadium based metal organic framework, MIL-47 was
enhanced significantly through hydrogen spillover effect. The MOFs group holds record of the
highest specific surface area and higher physisorption of hydrogen molecules. However, it is
still not sufficient for onboard vehicle use for fuel cell technology. The MOFs alone are not
able to adsorb considerable amount of hydrogen, but if metal catalyst is incorporated with the
support into MOFs, the overall hydrogen adsorption capacity is greatly enhanced. In this work,
MIL-47 was modified with 5 wt% Pd-doped activated carbon and the enhancement of hydrogen
adsorption was about 65% higher than as-synthesized MIL-47. The hydrogen adsorption on
modified MIL-47 was recorded as 0.38 wt% at 31 bar and ambient temperature (298 K). The
highest obtained specific surface area was 1086 m2g-1 and it was confirmed as porous material
from the N2 adsorption isotherm. The existence of V3+ central atom was ensured from the
obtained results of XPS and XANES measurement. The fine structural data was obtained from
EXAFS of the MIL-47 framework and it has shown the bond distance between V and O is
1.982 Å and the coordination number of central atom is 4.5.
Keywords: Hydrogen storage capacity, Metal organic framework, MIL-47, Pd-doped,
activated carbon.
High-temperature desulfurization of a hot syngas by Raney iron
T.-C. Wang1, L.-W. Wei1, F.-C. Chang2, H. Paul Wang1,* 1 Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
2 The Experimental Forest, National Taiwan University, Nan-Tou 55750, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886-6-2763608 , Fax: +886-6-2752790 , E-mail: [email protected]
Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is gaining momentum as a commercially viable
source of clean energy. The driving force behind this trend is IGCC based power generation is
cleaner and more efficient than conventional coal-fired boilers. Sulfur therein must be reduced
from the hydrocarbon derived synthesis gas (syngas) before it is fed to the combustion turbine.
Raney catalysts generally have high activities in dehydrogenation processes simply due to
relatively enrichments of surface active species. However, speciation of raney metal oxides is
still lacking in the literature. The main scientific issues concerning speciation or chemical forms
of select elements ultimately depend on their molecular-scale structure. Basic understanding at
the molecular scale is of great importance and interest in developments of effective
desulfurization methods. Speciation data such as bond distance, coordination numbers (CN)
and chemical identity of elements in complex matrixes can be determined by extended X-ray
absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. X-ray absorption near edge structural
(XANES) spectra can also provide data of oxidation states of an excited atom, coordination
geometry and bonding of its local environment. Thus, the main objective of this work was to
study speciation of zinc and copper in Raney iron oxides by XANES and EXAFS. In addition,
sulfurization kinetics of ZnO and CuO on Raney Fe2O3 were also investigated. Experimentally
at a high temperature range of 873-1073 K, desulfurization can be enhanced by 34-43% with
zinc and copper oxides on Raney iron. Speciation of zinc and copper oxides on the Raney iron
oxides (ZnO/R-Fe2O3 and CuO/R-Fe2O3) during high temperature desulfurization has been
studied by X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. Mainly Zn(II) and
Cu(II) are found in the ZnO/R-Fe2O3 and CuO/R-Fe2O3. Interactions of ZnO or CuO with R-
Fe2O3 were also observed by XRD. By EXAFS, in the 2nd shells, a decrease of Cu-Cu bond in
CuO/R-Fe2O3 is found during desulfurization. In the 2nd shells, bond distances of Zn-Zn in the
ZnO/R-Fe2O3 increase after desulfurization. The rate constant (k) and activation energy (Ea)
for desulfurization with ZnO/R-Fe2O3 and CuO/R-Fe2O3 at 873 K are 7.57x103 and 3.46x104
cm3/ming, and 155.8 and 89.4 KJ/mol, respectively.
Keywords: Desulfurization, Raney iron, gasification kinetic parameters, EXAFS
Ash effects for Biomass on Torrefaction
Chun-Han Ko1, Meng-Jie Tsai1, H. Paul Wang2, Fang-Chih Chang3,* 1 School of Forest and Resources Conservation, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
2 Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
3 The Experimental Forest, National Taiwan University, Nan-Tou 55750, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886-4-92642181 , Fax: +886-4-92631943 , E-mail: [email protected]
Torrefaction is a kind of thermochemical technology for conversion of biomass into solid
biofuel (solid, liquid, and gas). In this study, the ash effect of biomass torrefaction is analyzed
and compared with the microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel). Three different biomasses were
selected, which were bamboo, Cryptomeria japonica and Acacia confusa. Results show that the
heating value of the bamboo, Cryptomeria japonica and Acacia confusa residues increases to
5129, 5993, and 5351 kcal/kg after 20 min torrefaction at 310°C and was higher than the Avicel
(4,340 kcal/g). The temperature of the overall exothermal reaction was at about 318.5 and
453.30oC for raw Acacia confusa, 419.93 and 322.10oC for raw Cryptomeria japonica, and
323.73oC for raw Avicel; and 316.76 and 452.66oC for torrefied Acacia confuse, 405.32 and
319.01oC for torrefied Cryptomeria japonica, and 308.40oC for torrefied Avicel. The energy
densification of torrefied biomass could rise to 1.15-1.17 time than the raw biomass. Due to
the internal structure of the cellulose crystal structure, it can be found that the cellulose cracking
temperature higher than hemicellulose. So increasing the torrefaction reaction temperature will
cause more cellulose to be consumed, the torrefaction peak will be higher. The condensable
gaseous product was the organic acid liquid. The liquid product consisted of some alkanes,
alcohols, esters, and amides. The higher the ash contents of the sample composition, the lower
the weight loss. Because of the structural features of lignin, it can resist any pretreatment of the
torrefaction reaction temperature; therefore, the lignin is hardly affected by the torrefaction
reaction, so the torrefaction peak of lignin is much smaller than that of hemicellulose and
cellulose. It is speculated that the reason is that it contains higher lignin and therefore less
weight loss. The cellulose crystallinity index of raw Acacia confusa, Cryptomeria japonica, and
Avicel was 53.57, 48.70, and 82.75%, and 47.12, 37.20, and 41.13% for torrefied ones,
respectively. The thermal treatment of biomass would destruction the cellulose crystals and
result in the reduce of cellulose crystallinity index. Additionally, the thermal treatment of
biomass would destruction the cellulose crystals and result in the reduce of cellulose
crystallinity index. In order to reduce the usage of fossil fuels, the torrefied solid biomass could
be mixed with coal in power plant directly.
Keywords: BEEM2019, abstract template
Microbial intervention for utilization of STP's solid waste as beneficial
microbes enriched manure for improving the crop productivity
Puneet Singh Chauhan*
Microbial technologies Division
CSIR-National Botanical research Institute
Lucknow – INDIA
* Corresponding author. Tel:+91-9695699333, E-mail: [email protected]
Disposal of solid waste in scientific and hygienic manner is becoming a serious concern in
developing countries, especially in highly populated cities. Asia's largest sewage treatment
plant (STP) with 345 MLD capacity was installed in Bharwara, approximately 20 km away
from the heart of city Lucknow, U.P. India. This STP collects sewage from whole city and after
their biological, physical and chemical treatment released in to Gomti river. As a residual
filtrate of sewage is being generated everyday with an estimate of 100 MT per month. The
current infrastructure available at STP is insufficient for the efficient handling and disposal of
this huge quantity of solid waste on daily basis. In general, collected waste is often dumped in
open land or used for landfilling, which may lead to severe environmental hazards. Although
incineration is increasingly being used for waste disposal, but it cannot be advocated widely
due to the associated toxic gas emissions. Moreover this organic waste cannot be utilized as
fuel because of low calorific value. Available nutrients and carbon content makes the STP's
solid waste ideal for recycling as manure for crop production. Pollutants and microbial load is
the only concern left for utilization of STP's solid waste for its utilization as biofertilizer for
improving the cop productivity. Keeping the above mentioned points in mind this work
package is designed for utilization of STP's solid waste as beneficial microbes enriched manure
for improving the crop productivity.
Influence of Sulfide, Chloride and Dissolved Organic Matter on Mercury
Adsorption by Activated Carbon in Aqueous System
Chi Chen1, Yu Ting1, Boon-Lek Ch‘ng1, Hsing-Cheng Hsi1,* 1 Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
* Corresponding author. Tel:(886)-2-33664374, Fax: (886)-2-23928830, E-mail: [email protected]
Mercury (Hg) is considered as one of the most toxic heavy metals to human beings and living
organisms. The formation and bioaccumulation of methylmercury formed from inorganic
mercury under reducing conditions in sediments have posed a serious threat to aquatic
ecosystems. Using active capping to reduce mercury released from contaminated sediment is a
low-cost, less environmental damage, and more durable remediation. Activated carbon (AC)
has been reported as an effective adsorbent to capture mercury. However, Hg species formed
by reacting with various ions in natural aquatic systems affect Hg adsorptive capacity on AC.
The objective of the research is to explore the influence of chloride, sulfide, and dissolved
organic matter (DOM) on the Hg adsorption by AC. Batch experiments can be divided into two
parts: single factor adsorption and factors integration adsorption. Single factor adsorption is a
series of aqueous batch experiments of Hg mixed with the three factors individually. To
determine the main factors and the interaction effects by statistical analysis, factors integration
adsorption was carried out by mixing Hg with two concentration levels of chloride, sulfide,
and DOM. After 24-hour reaction under dark condition, the sample was analyzed for dissolved
Hg (< 0.2 μm), Hg particles (> 0.2 μm) and AC adsorption capacity. The results showed that
sulfide and DOM decreased the AC adsorption capacity and formed Hg particles. The
experiment results also indicated that DOM increased dissolved Hg in the aquatic system.
These factors can influence mercury distribution significantly.
Keywords: mercury, activated carbon, chloride, sulfide, dissolved organic matter
Green Cement-Based Composites with Biochar Incorporation and CO2
Curing
Liang Chen1, Lei Wang1, Daniel C.W. Tsang1,#
1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
# Corresponding author: [email protected]
Abstract:
This study demonstrated an innovative approach that incorporates engineered biochar in a
cement composite. Biochar was produced from sawdust pyrolysis at 500℃ and 700 ℃ with
acid and alkaline modification. CO2 curing was further employed to accelerate the carbonation
of biochar-incorporated cement composites. Results indicated that the addition of 2% biochar
in cement mortar benefited the cement hydration as indicated by an isothermal calorimeter. The
2% K2CO3-modified biochar further facilitated cement hydration and enhanced early strength
of the composites. CO2 curing was favourable for boosting carbonation of porous biochar-
incorporated products, which promote the formation of cement hydrates and carbonates. The
carbonation process densified the microstructure of composites, which enabled mechanical
strength enhancement as well as carbon sequestration. The adoption of this innovative
technology can recycle waste sawdust and produce eco-friendly construction materials.
Keywords: sawdust biochar; CO2 curing; acid/alkaline modification; green chemistry; waste
recycling.
N-doped graphitic biochars from C-phycocyanin extracted Spirulina
residue for catalytic persulfate activation toward nonradical organic
oxidation
Yi-di Chena, Shih-Hsin Hoa,*, Xiaoguang Duanb,*, Shaobin Wangb, c, Nan-qi Rena
aState Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of
Technology, Harbin, 150090, P. R. China
bSchool of Chemical Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
cDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
* Corresponding author. Tel:+8615104593511, E-mail: [email protected]
Biochars are low-cost and environmental-friendly materials, which are promising in
wastewater treatment. In this study, biochars were manufactured from C-phycocyanin
extracted (C-CP) Spirulina residue (SDBC) via thermal pyrolysis. Simultaneously, N-doping
was also achieved from the protein in the algae for obtaining a high-performance
carbocatalyst for peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation. The SDBC yielded large specific surface
areas, nitrogen loading, and good conductivity, which demonstrated excellent oxidation
efficiencies toward a wide array of aqueous microcontaminants. An in-depth mechanistic
study was performed by integrating selective radical scavenging, solvent exchange (H2O to
D2O), diverse organic probes, and electrochemical measurement, unveiling that SDBC/PDS
did not rely on free radicals or singlet oxygen but a nonradical pathway. PDS intimately was
bonded with a biochar (SDBC 900-acid, pyrolysis at 900 C) to form a surface reactive
complex that subsequently attacked an organic SMX (Sulfamethoxazole) adsorbed on the
biochar via an electron-transfer regime. During this process, the SDBC 900-acid played
versatile roles in PDS activation, organic accumulation and mediating the electron shuttle
from SMX to PDS. This nonradical system can maintain a superior oxidation efficiency in
complicated water matrix and long-term stable operation. Therefore, the biochar based
nonradical system can provide a mild and high-efficiency strategy for organic oxidation in
waste and drinking water by green carbocatalysis. This study provides a value-added biochar
catalyst for wastewater purification.
Keywords: biochar, peroxydisulfate, nonradical, carbocatalysis
Self-mitigation of Methane Emissions from the Hyporheic Island Under Reservoir
Operation
Yuchen Chen2, Wenqing Shi1,2, Qiuwen Chen1,2,*, Jianyun Zhang1,3, Ji Lu4, Bohui Pang4, Juhua Yu2, Bryce
R. Van Dam5
1State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources & Hydraulic Engineering, Nanjing Hydraulic Research
Institute, China.
2Center for Eco-Environment Research, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, China.
3Research Center for Climate Change, Ministry of Water Resources, China.
4Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower Co., Ltd., China.
5Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, USA
*Corresponding author: Qiuwen Chen ([email protected]).
Abstract
In dammed rivers, sediment accumulation creates potential methane emission hotspots, which
have been extensively studied in forebays. However, methane emissions from sidebays remain
poorly understood. We investigated methane emissions from a sediment-deposited island
situated in the sidebay of the Manwan Reservoir, Lancang-Mekong River. High methane
emissions (maximum 10.4 mg h-1m-2) were observed at the island center, while a ring-like zone
of low-to-negative methane emission was discovered around the island edge, whose flux varied
between -0.2–1.6 mg h-1m-2. The ring-like zone accounted for 89.1% of the island area, of
which 9.1% was a methane sink zone. Microbial processes in the hyporheic zone, regulated by
hydrological variations, were responsible for the low methane flux in this area. Under reservoir
operation, frequent water level fluctuations enhanced hyporheic exchange and created redox
gradients along the hyporheic flow path. Dissolved oxygen in hyporheic water decreased from
4.80 mg L-1 at the island bank edge to 0.43 mg L-1 at the center, which in turn decreased
methanogen abundance for methane production and increased methanotroph abundance for
methane oxidation at the ring-like zone. This study adds to our understanding of methane
emissions from dammed rivers and helps to evaluate the global warming effects of hydropower
systems.
Perceived risk of fish consumption among mother association with mercury
levels in maternal blood, cord blood and placental tissue
Chi Sian Gao 1, Ying Lin Wang 2, Hsing Cheng Hsi 2,*, Ling Chu Chien1,* 1 School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
2 Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
* Corresponding author. Tel: 886-2-33664374, Fax: 886-2-23928830, E-mail: [email protected]
* Corresponding author. Tel: 886-2-27361661 ext. 6516, Fax: 886-2-27384831, E-mail: [email protected];
The purposes of this study were to assess the total mercury concentrations in maternal blood,
cord blood, and placental tissue of mothers in Taiwan, in relation to their perception of risk
associated with fish consumption. We focused on the perceptions of risk associated with fish
consumption and which media are preferred for conveying useful information about health
risks. A total of 288 healthy mothers were recruited from a medical centre and regional teaching
hospital between July 2005 and December 2008. Following delivery, blood samples were
collected from the mother and the umbilical cord in 10-ml ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid
(EDTA) tubes. Mercury concentrations were determined with a mercury analyser. The average
mercury concentration in maternal blood, cord blood, and placental tissue was 9.0±3.2 g/l;
12.2±5.9 g/l; 19.9±11.0 ng/g for the mothers. Cord blood mercury concentrations exceeded
the USNRC recommended limit of 5.8 g/l in 94.8%. Maternal mercury concentration in who
ate fresh fish more than six meals per week was two times and four times higher, respectively,
than in mothers who never consumed fish (p<0.05). We found more than 67% of mothers did
not know that “some fish contain high levels of mercury such as shark, swordfish, king
mackerel, and tilefish that may be harmful for unborn babies.” There were 85.7and 57.4%
choice “newsletters” and “TV News” as their gathered media for receiving messages about risk.
If pregnant again, 91.7% of mothers said they would not eat less fish after being alerted to the
fact that fish may be contaminated with PCBs, dioxins, and heavy metals, all of which can have
adverse effects on unborn babies. This finding provides some evidence that could contribute to
improving the effectiveness of government communication to the public about health risks
associated with eating fish.
Keywords: Mercury, Perceived risk, fish consumption, Media
Assessment of indoor air quality in welfare facilities remodelled by wood
and effect of wood on indoor air pollutant reduction
Hyun Mi Cho, Jongki Lee, Seunghwan Wi, Sungwoong Yang, Seong Jin Chang, Sumin Kim*
Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-2-2123-7298, E-mail: [email protected]
Exposure to indoor air pollutants is very harmful to human health and can cause serious illness.
It is particularly dangerous for vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly who spend a
lot of time indoors. Wood is widely known to have the ability to purify indoor air quality, and
many studies have been carried out that it is physically and psychologically beneficial when
wood is used indoors. This paper measured the indoor air quality of twelve welfare facilities in
Korea which remodeled the interior using wood in order to improve the indoor air quality. In
this study, twelve indoor air quality factors were measured such as comfort factors
(Temperature and Relative humidity), particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), biological
pollutants (Total airborne bacteria), Air borne asbestos fibers, and chemical pollutants (carbon
dioxide, formaldehyde, Volatile Organic Compounds, radon, ozone, nitrogen oxide and carbon
monoxide). The average value of the indoor air quality factors for 12 welfare facilities is as
follows. The average particulate matter was less than 12μg/m3, the average of carbon dioxide
was 754.2ppm, the formaldehyde was 46.6μg/m3, the volatile organic compounds was
335.0μg/m3, the total airborne bacteria was 37.8 CFU/m3and the radon was 59.5Bq/m3. As a
result, almost all of the measurement locations were found to satisfy the international indoor
air quality guidelines. It is thus judged that interior remodelling using wood can improve the
indoor air quality of welfare facilities, and that it is necessary to constantly measure indoor air
quality for accurate indoor air quality analysis.
Keywords: Indoor environment, Indoor air quality, Indoor air pollution, Health effects of wood
materials, Welfare facility, Eco-design
Evaluation of moisture stability in CLT wooden house considering
hygrothermal environment
Seong Jin Chang, Hyun Mi Cho, Sumin Kim,*
Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel:+82-2-2123-2782, E-mail: [email protected]
For efficient management of buildings, the U.S. classifies the climate zones by considering
hygrothermal weather elements and puts forward walls that have secured building energy
performance and moisture stability in each climate zone. In addition, the Cross-laminated
Timber (CLT) handbook presents the types of insulation applicable to CLT walls that can ensure
moisture stability in accordance with the hygrothermal environment. In Korea, however, the
energy-saving design standards for buildings are only classified based on heating days, and no
standards are provided for regional classifications considering the hygric environment.
Therefore, to accurate evaluation of building energy performance and moisture stability, this
study analyzed the domestic hygrothermal environment based on Korea weather data and
presented regional classification considering both thermal environment and hygric
environment.
The assessment of the thermal environment utilized EnergyPlus, an ISO13790 based
simulation program and The assessment of the hygric environment utilized WUFI Pro, an
hygrothermal behavior analysis simulation program. Considering the climatic conditions of
each region, the thermal environment index and the hygric environment index were derived,
and the hygrothermal regional classification was derived by combining each index. This
classification has the advantage of responding to climate change through digitized thermal and
hygric environment indexes in each region.
Keywords: Cross-laminated Timber, Hygrothermal, Moisture stability, Regional classification
Novel bacterial strains isolated from digested sludge show unique
characteristics of PHA accumulation under biogas supply
Yongju Choi*, Moonkyung Kim, Kyoungphile Nam
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-2-880-7376, Fax: +82-2-873-2684, E-mail: [email protected]
Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) are intracellular polymers synthesized by bacteria for carbon
and energy storage. Several bacterial strains have been found to store large quantities of PHAs
under growth-limiting conditions. After extracting these materials from cells and further
processing, biodegradable and biocompatible bioplastics may be produced. Some groups of
these bacterial strains have been found to utilize methane and carbon dioxide as a carbon source,
offering an opportunity to convert low-grade biogas produced from organic wastes or biomass
into bioplastics. If an economically feasible process of biogas conversion to bioplastics is
developed, it may be applied as a unit of a biorefinery that contributes to sustainable waste
management and reduced carbon footprint.
We isolated two PHA-accumulating bacterial strains, Methylocystis parvus MK and Massilia
putida MK1 from digested sludge and found that each species shows a unique characteristic
that differentiates itself from previously reported strains, which may be favorable for bioplastic
production using biogas. M. parvus MK was identified as a type II methanotroph which
accumulates poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB). This strain showed an exceptionally high P3HB
accumulation efficiency (up to 3.05 ± 0.21 mg/mg cell dry weight at a specific CH4 utilization
rate of 0.018 ± 0.002 g CH4/g TSS∙h). This characteristic differentiates the strain from other
PHA-accumulating methanotrophs reported in the literature that requires nitrogen-deficient
conditions for PHA accumulation. Phosphate-deficient wastewater is easily found in the
industry (e.g., those using ammonium hydroxide) and can also be easily prepared by chemical
phosphorus removal from sewage. The uniqueness of M. putida MK1, a chemoautotroph,
comes from its capability to accumulate a high-quality polymer. Using series of analyses (GC-
MS, FT-IR, TGA, MALDI-TOF, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, GPC, and Raman spectroscopy), the
PHA accumulated was identified as (R)-4-methoxy-4-oxobutan-2-yl 3-methylbutanoate, a
medium-chain-length-PHA (mcl-PHA) that has never been reported in the literature. A
biocompatibility test employing MTT assay with mouse fibroblast cell line L929 showed that
the 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of the mcl-PHA was 36.7-fold higher than that of
P3HB. This proved the high biocompatibility of the newly identified biopolymer, which is
expected to be highly advantageous for its use in medical treatments, etc.
Keywords: polyhydroxyalkanoates; biogas; biorefinery; bioplastics
Photofunctional Semiconductor Nanomaterials for Energy and
Environmental Applications
Wonyong Choi
Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology
(POSTECH), Pohang 37673, KOREA
Email: [email protected]
The photoinduced electron transfers occurring at the semiconductor surface are the key process
of solar photosynthetic and photocatalytic processes. This phenomenon has been extensively
investigated for the environmental purification of water and air and the solar energy storage
through solar fuel synthesis: the former is photocatalytic and the latter is photosynthetic. Metal
oxides semiconductors such as TiO2, WO3, and Fe2O3 and polymeric carbon nitride (g-C3N4)
that consist of earth-abundant elements are the most practical base materials for such
applications. The semiconductor materials have been employed in the form of nanoparticles
for photocatalysis and electrodes for photoelectrochemistry. Although both environmental and
energy conversion processes are based on the same photoinduced charge transfer phenomenon,
the specific characteristics required for one are very different from the other. While intensive
research activities are focused mainly on the development of new photocatalytic materials, the
limitations and challenges in photocatalytic research need to be more seriously considered and
studied. A variety of approaches have been investigated to modify the base semiconductors and
to control the photocatalytic activity and mechanisms using diverse inorganic and organic
materials. In this talk, various semiconductor systems with interfacial heterojunctions will be
introduced and discussed for photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic/photosynthetic
applications. Each research example will be discussed in view of how the modified
semiconductor interface affects the photocatalytic activities and mechanisms.
Keywords: Photocatalysis, water splitting, photosynthesis, advanced oxidation process, solar
light
Selective nitrate reduction by In-Pd bimetallic catalysts supported by
kaolinite induced zeolites
Minhee Choi , Sungjun Bae*
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu,
Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82024503904, E-mail: [email protected]
In this study, we developed a novel bimetallic catalyst supported by kaolinite induced zeolites
for selective nitrate (NO3-) reduction to nitrogen gas (N2). A proper amount of indium (In, 0.5
wt%) and palladium (Pd, 1.5 wt%) was used as a promoter (for NO3- reduction to nitrite (NO2
-))
and noble metals (for NO2- reduction to N2), respectively. Novel zeolites were synthesized from
kaolinite (ZK) at different crystallization temperature. Among the temperature examined in this
study, 60℃ showed the best efficiency for NO3- removal and N2 selectivity. Control
experiments showed that a simultaneous supply of hydrogen gas (H2) as a reducing agent and
carbon dioxide gas (CO2) as a buffering agent was essential for enhanced NO3- removal. A
complete NO3- removal (100 mg/L) by In-Pd/ZK was observed in 30 min, while In-Pd catalyst
supported with alumina (71%), silica (68%), kaolin (77%) and commercial zeolite 4A (94%)
showed less efficient NO3- removal. We also observed the best N2 selectivity (94%) by In-
Pd/ZK. Finally, we optimized the experimental condition by changing of important factors such
as H2 flow rate, CO2 flow rate. The results from this study can show that zeolites synthesized
from kaolinite could be an excellent support material for highly reactive and selective nitrate
reduction in wastewater and groundwater.
Keywords: Nitrate; In-Pd catalyst; Zeolite; Kaolinite; N2 selectivity
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning
(KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, 20174010201490) and the
National Research Foundation of Korea (project no. 2016R1D1A1B03930142 and
2019R1C1C1003316)
Evaluation on Oxidation Mechanism of Persistent Chemicals
using Dual Radical System(DRS)
Jeonghwan Choi · Kitae Baek*
Department of Environmental Engineering and Soil Environment Research Center, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-63-270-2437, Fax: +82-63-270-2449, E-mail: [email protected]
Dissolved organic matter in the water system lowers the water quality and damages the
aquatic eco-system due to reducing the dissolved oxygen. Additionally, a huge variety of
organic chemicals are synthesized and used in the industry. Some of them are persistent and
non-degradable, and they are not detected in chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen
demand, common indicators for water quality. Thus, total organic carbon (TOC) has been
introduced and used as an indicator of organic matters in the aqueous phase. Accordingly, TOC
is attracting great attention due to fast accurate monitoring1. TOC requires conversion of
organic matters to carbon dioxide, that is, the oxidation process. The carbon dioxide can be
translated into the TOC. Therefore, the oxidation efficiency is a key on the TOC analysis. High
Temperature Combustion (HTC) and wet chemical oxidation (WCO) are common choices to
achieve the oxidation purpose. Even though HTC shows greater oxidation performance for
most organic matters, the application of HTC to the on-line monitoring system is limited due
to the maintenance problem. WCO is preferred to be used in the on-line monitoring system,
and the oxidation performance should be improved2. Therefore, in this study, dual radical
systems including sulfate and hydroxyl radicals instead of sulfate radical only in the
conventional WCO, were proposed to enhance the oxidation of organic matters. Especially, the
system does not have any interference of chloride ion in the samples. The overall oxidation of
the system was improved a lot, but the system has still lower oxidation for some chemicals. We
suggested the reason and mechanism of oxidation for the chemicals.
Keywords: TOC, Radical Oxidation, Non-biodegradable, Organic Pollutant, Wastewater
Acknowledgment
1. This Research was supported by R&D Center for Green Patrol Technologies through the R&D for Global
Top Environmental Technologies funded by Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea(MOE).
2. This work is partially supported by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE) as Knowledge-based
environmental service(Waste to energy) Human resource development Project.
Reference
1. Bourgeois, W., Burgess, J. E., & Stuetz, R. M, On‐line monitoring of wastewater quality: a review,
76(4), 337-348, Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology: International Research in Process,
Environmental & Clean Technology (2001).
2. Yoon, G., Park, S. M., Yang, H., Tsang, D. C., Alessi, D. S., & Baek, K, Selection criteria for oxidation
method in total organic carbon measurement, 199, 453-458, Chemosphere (2018).
Ecological risks of heavy metals/ metalloid released from two secondary
sewage treatment works to Mai Po Ramsar site, Hong Kong
Ka Lai Chow1, Yu Bon Man2, Kim Man Lei2, Anna Oi Wah Leung3, Ming Hung Wong2,4,*
1Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China
2Consortium on Health, Environment, Health, Education and Research (CHEER), and Department of Science
and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong
3Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences, and Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University.
4Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, and State Environmental
Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, Southern University of Science
and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, PR China
*Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected]
The concentration of six heavy metals/ metalloid (Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, Zn and As) were determined
in the influent, effluent (sewage water and suspended particulate matter) and cake (dewatered
sludge) of sewage treatment works (Yuen Long Sewage Treatment Work (YLSTW) and Shek
Wu Hui Sewage Treatment Work (SWHSTW)) in Mai Po Ramsar site, Hong Kong, China. In
these two secondary sewage treatment works, Zn had the highest concentration in effluent
(ranging from 17.8 ± 8.15 to 2149 ± 316 µg/L) while Cd the lowest (ranging from 0.00 ± 0.00
to 0.21 ± 0.29 µg/L). Among all HMs, >80% removal rates of Cu, Cd, and Pb were recorded
in both STWs, represented the highest removal efficiencies of all metals/metalloid. However,
low Hg and Zn removal rates were noted (YLSTW, Hg: -581 ± 1447% to 42.3 ± 38.7 %; Zn: -
525 ± 229% to -152.9 ± 440 %; SWHSTW, Hg: -17.1 ± 82.2% to 19.7 ± 75.0%; Zn: 41.8 ±
36.5 to 94.4 ± 4.67%). STWs successfully lowered the sewage toxicity to fish and shrimps
based on the whole effluent toxicity test (WET test), the LC50 values of zebrafish (Danio rerio)
in 96-hours duration ranged from 84.4% to no acute toxicity, much higher than those in influent
at the same testing duration (31.2% to 64.7%). Similar results were also observed in cherry
shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) WET test, and higher toxicity was observed in the effluent from
YLSTW than SWHSTW. The environmental risk assessments of six HMs on different marine
organisms (fish, algae, and crustacean) were calculated based on measured concentrations to
the predicted no-effect concentrations. Results showed that Zn posed risks to all studied marine
organisms nearly in all sampling locations, whereas Pb and Hg posed risks on fish and algae
only. Surface water and sediment samples were also collected from Shan Pui River and Ng
Tung River for environmental risk assessments. Cu contained in the river posed risks on fish,
but Cu in the effluent did not. Based on the results, it can be concluded high concentrations of
Hg and Zn found in both rivers originated from both STWs and other tributaries posed risks to
the organisms in the Ramsar site. The relatively low removal efficiencies of HMs in STWs
could lead to the potential release of HMs to the water bodies and urged a regular monitoring
system in the effluent discharge as well as the receiving waters.
Keywords: Environmental risk assessment, Shan Pui River, Ng Tung River, whole effluent
toxicity test, sewage toxicity
Application of Metal nanoparticle-Biochar with the Ionic Liquid for
Thermal Fluid
Yi -Cheng Chu, Yun-Jung Chang, Zi-Hao Huang, Shi-Min Su, Hsin-Liang Huang*
Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, National United University, Miao-Li 36063,
Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886-37382277, Fax: +886-37382281, E-mail: [email protected]
The biochar was derived from the biomass waste by pyrolysis. Approximately 5-10% of Cu
and Al2O3 was formed in the pores of biochar. By X-ray diffraction, it is found that the particles
sizes of Cu and Al2O3 were <2 nm in the biochar. Because ionic liquids (ILs) are nonvolatile,
nonflammable, and high thermal stability, they can be applied in the heat transfer fluid. The
thermal conductivity of IL (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) was 0.185 W/m-
K. The Cu/biochar or Al2O3/biochar in IL could increase the capacities of heat transfer. The
enhanced thermal conductivity was also obtained by Cu and Al2O3 nanoparticle-biochar
suspended in the IL. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance shows that interaction of metal
nanoparticle-biochar and imidazole ring of the [C4mim]+ was occurred.
Keywords: biochar, ionic liquid, thermal fluid
Adsorption of Heavy Metals with the Ionic Liquid/Biochar
Shi-Min Su, Bo-Yi Wang, Geng Chen, Yi -Cheng Chu, Hsin-Liang Huang*
Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, National United University, Miao-Li 36063,
Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886-37382277, Fax: +886-37382281, E-mail: [email protected]
The biochar was synthesized from the agricultural waste by pyrolysis. Because of high surface
area and functional groups of biochar, it was used as an adsorbent for heavy metals such as
Cu(II), Pb(II) and Cr(VI). Ionic liquids (ILs), green solutions, can extract metals selectively.
The IL/biochar can be applied for adsorption of various metals. The adsorption of heavy metals
by IL/biochar has been studied in the present work. The adsorbed concentrations of Cu(II),
Pb(II) and Cr(VI) in biochar were 35, 20, and 15 mg/g, respectively. The Freundlich
adsorption equation used to fit the adsorption data for metals. During competitive adsorption,
the concentrations of Cu(II) and Pb(II) were 17 and 25 mg/g in IL/biochar, respectively. The
adsorbed concentrations of Cr(VI) was increased by two times in IL/biochar. IL can enhance
the metal anion adsorption. By Raman spectra, the shifts of D and G band indicated that metals
adsorbed on biochars and occupied cages of biochars.
Keywords: biochar, ionic liquid, Raman spectrum, Freundlich isotherm model
Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance of Bi2WO6 Photoanode with
Increase in Tungsten Concentration
Hoi Ying Chung1,*, Cui Ying Toe2, Roong Jien Wong2, Rose Amal2 and Yun Hau Ng1 1 School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong,
China
2 Particles and Catalysis Research Group, School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia
* Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected]
Bismuth tungstate (Bi2WO6) is a visible-light active photocatalyst that could achieve high
photoactivities in water oxidation. There is research demonstrated the excess amount of
tungsten (W) added during fabrication on Bi2WO6 could bring to a higher level of
photocatalytic activity. However, there is a lack of knowledge in the relation of the role of W
on photocatalyst for such activities enhancement.
Herein, the correlation between the excess W in the Bi2WO6 electrode and the intrinsic
properties (i.e. charge mobility, charge carrier density and charge transfer resistance) is
demonstrated, as well as the effect on the photoelectrochemical activity. The direct growth of
plate-liked Bi2WO6 was synthesised by hydrothermal method with various W/Bi ratios (0.5, 1
and 1.5) in the precursors. Apart from a ‘self-doped’ of W is formed in the 1.5 W/Bi thin film
during the hydrothermal treatment, the size of a single Bi2WO6 plate decreased while a higher
exposure extent of the electron-dominated crystal facet is observed from the SEM-EDX and
SEM images, respectively. Significant enhancement of the photocurrent density is observed in
1.5 W/Bi thin film about 2 fold higher when compared to the 0.5 W/Bi and 1 W/Bi samples.
The conducting Atomic Force Microscopy (cAFM) also revealed a higher conductivity in the
1.5 W/Bi film that reflecting low charge transfer resistance, high donor density and superior
charge mobility. The lower charge transfer resistance observed in the 1.5 W/Bi thin film is due
to a well-defined crystal facet plate-like Bi2WO6 that shorten the travel pathway required for
the charge moved from inner to the bulk surface. The Mott-Schottky plot profile and XPS
determined an increase in the donor density when more W introduced, since W atom has more
valence electrons, thus more electrons were being donated to the host lattice. We conclude the
advantage of the increase in the concentration of W in Bi2WO6 could contribute to improving
the charge transport and increase in the charge carrier density which results in higher
photoactivity.
Keywords: Energy and Environmental Application, Water Splitting, Bismuth Tungstate,
Charge Transport
Optimizing the Spatial Allocation of Green Infrastructures to Restore
Surface-subsurface Hydrologic Environment
Kun Zhang, Ting Fong May Chui*
Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
*Corresponding author: Tel: +(852) 2219-4687; Fax: +(852) 2559-5337; Email: [email protected]
Green infrastructures (GI) can reduce surface runoff, enhance infiltration and groundwater
recharge, as a result of which the surface-subsurface hydrology is recovered and the ecosystem
health is preserved. The benefits could vary in different climatic conditions and of different GI
spatial allocations. However, the impacts of these variables, particularly the spatial allocation
of GI, on surface-subsurface hydrological regimes have not been well examined. A better
understanding in this aspect is beneficial to the planning of GI, particularly in shallow
groundwater areas (e.g., coastal areas of Hong Kong). In this study, a surface-subsurface
coupled hydrological model, SWMM-MODFLOW, was utilized to simulate surface runoff and
groundwater flow in response to GI implementations in one urban catchment in Silverdale,
Washington, U.S.. The model was first calibrated and validated based on the surface runoff, the
underdrain flow of porous pavement, the flow at catchment outlet, and the groundwater
elevation monitoring data at the site. Based on the calibrated model, an evolutionary
optimization algorithm (i.e., NSGA-II) was applied to identify the near-optimal spatial
allocation of GI, more specifically soakaway bioretention cells, for different planning
objectives and environmental conditions (i.e., rainfall characteristics and regional groundwater
hydraulic gradients). Using landscape metrics to quantify the spatial allocation of GI, the
regional surface runoff and groundwater table dynamics for different optimal spatial allocation
patterns of GI were calculated and compared. The findings obtained can support the regional
planning of GI, particularly in areas with both surface runoff control and groundwater
management considerations.
Keywords: green infrastructure, stormwater management, runoff, groundwater, planning
Towards a Circular Economy using Green Chemistry
James H. Clark
Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, University of York, UK
Tel: +441904322559 E-mail: [email protected]
Increasing demand for consumer goods from an increasing world population is placing
enormous strain on the resources needed by the worlds manufacturing industries. Traditional
mineral-derived resources have often been from non-renewable sources located in relatively
accessible regions but these are finite, their exploitation non-sustainable and in some cases they
are becoming scarce. At the same time, the wastes generated in manufacturing and in use of
the articles of today’s society have been allowed to accumulate in rapidly filling landfill sites
or disposed of in other environmentally harmful ways leading to serious pollution problems in
the atmosphere, land and seas. Waste valorization is becoming more popular but it is mostly
small scale and with low efficiency. The most chemically interesting of the large volume wastes
includes forestry and agricultural by-products, and industrial wastes from industries including
food, electronics and mining. Current waste valorization is largely limited to simple recycling
and anaerobic digestion for bio-wastes. However, these renewable resources can form the
basis of future waste valorisation plants including bio-refineries that can make a wide range of
chemical, material and energy products. To fully exploit the concept and make it widely useful
while maintaining environmental advantage, we need to use Green Chemistry to ensure that
future processes using, and products from waste are genuinely green and sustainable (1).
Energy efficient green chemical technologies that can convert waste streams into valuable
chemicals include low-temperature microwave processing (2) and benign solvent extraction.
These can lead to bio-based platform molecules which in turn can be used to make new green
bio-based products including solvents (3) and polymers (4) The integration of thermo-chemical
and bio-chemical technologies will also become increasingly important as we seek to increase
the efficiency of biomass conversion and develop efficient chemistry on fermentation broths.
(1) J.H. Clark, T.J. Farmer, L. Herrero-Davila & J. Sherwood, Circular economy design considerations for research and process
development in the chemical sciences, Green Chemistry, 2016, 18, 3914 .
(2) M. De bruyn, J. Fan, V. Budarin, D. Macquarrie, L. Gomez, R. Hallam, T Farmer, W. Raverty, S. McQueen-Mason & J. H.
Clark, A new perspective in bio-refining: levoglucosenone and cleaner lignin from waste biorefinery hydrolysis lignin by
selective conversion of residual saccharides., Energy Environ. Sci., 2016, 9, 2571.
(3) J. Sherwood, T. Farmer, & J.H. Clark, Possible consequences of the N-methyl pyrrolidone REACH restriction, Chem, 2018, 4,
2010; F. Byrne, S.Jin, J.Sherwood, C.McElroy, T.Farmer, J.H. Clark & A. Hunt, Solvents from Waste. In F. Jerome, & R. Luque
(Eds.), Bio-Based Solvents, 2017, (pp. 49-82).John Wiley & Sons.
(4) A. Pellis, J. Comerford, S. Weinberger, G. Guebitz, J.H. Clark and T. Farmer, Enzymatic synthesis of lignin derivable pyridine
based polyesters for the substitution of petroleum-derived plastics, Nature Comm, 2019
(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09817-3)
Key words: green chemistry, sustainable chemistry, waste valorization, bio-based chemicals
The oxidation and removal of As(III) from soil using a novel magnetic
nanocomposite derived-biomass wastes
Jianghu Cui1, Qian Jin1 , Fangbai Li1,2,* 1 Guangdong Institute of Eco-environmental Science & Technology, Guangzhou 510650, China, Guangzhou
510650, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86 20 37021396, E-mail: [email protected]
A novel biomass-derived magnetic nanocomposite, named as BMN, was fabricated by one-
step pyrolysis process. BMN showed excellent As(III) removal performance such as high
adsorption capacity (16.23 mg/g), collectability of magnetism, reusability and low cost.
Importantly, when BMN was loaded in sponges with a microporous structure, the collectability
of BMN in soil was improved. The system of BMN and sponges could efficiently remove As(III)
from soil and the resulting BMN/sponge/As(III) could easily separate from soil using a magnet.
In addition, when BMN was loaded on filter paper, the system of BMN and filter papers could
be conveniently used as an excellent filter layer to control the migration of As(III) in soil. Pot
incubations indicated that BMN could increase the pH value of soil and decreased the
concentration of available arsenic in soil. Wherein, the As(III) ions removal by BMN contained
three pathways: (1) adsorption of As(III) anions through electrostatic attraction; (2) oxidation
of As(III) to As(V) by reactive oxygen; and (3) immobilization of As(III) and As(V) by iron
nanoparticles. Therefore, this work provides an executable approach to remove As(III) from
soil with low cost, which also promoted the recovery and utilization of palm wastes.
Keywords: As(Ⅲ); biomass wastes; removal; magnetic nanocomposite; soil;
Investigation of Mine Closure Planning at Adag Fluorspar Mine
Dash Darinchuluun1, Dagva Myagmarsuren2,*, Ulaanbaatar Batgerel2, Gombosuren
Yadamsuren2, Sang Soo Lee1,**
1Department of Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Korea
2School of Geology and Mining Engineering, The Mongolian University of Science and Technology, Baga
Toiruu 34, Sukhbaatar District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
**Corresponding author. Tel: +82-33-760-2457, E-mail: [email protected]
Bor-Undur and Adag deposits use the system called shrinkage stopping and sub-level
demolition mining methods depending on the thickness of the vertical dip of its body. Adag
deposits used the open-pit mining method during the years of 1987 to 2005. Since then, the
underground resource of the open pit at the northern part of the first ore body has been reserved
combining slope with horizontal-vertical mining methods by using high productive self-
propelled machines. In the years of active mining from 1987 to the present, with content of
33.95% CaF2, 659.45 thousand tons of minerals and 1942.48 thousand tons of ore have been
excavated. There is not much time left to the end of mineral resources since mining feasibility
study at Adag has been approved and operations have taken place. The mining feasibility study
and the investigation of mine closure planning is not reasonable at all. Therefore, finishing the
feasibility study before the end of reserving and completing the mine closure planning are the
most significant matters. The combination of the open-pit and underground mining methods
used for closure and reclamation researches are not sufficient. Therefore, it is important to
develop the infrastructure according to the geographical structure that fits conveniently for each
pit. Secondly, there is a high risk of disruption on the mining side while reserving the
underground 200 thousand tons of ore resources, as it is diagnosed by the Rocsience Phase 2.0
software. There is even a part that disrupted already at the current level of the mining process.
Based on the research from the perspective of environment and economy, it is effective to use
“To create pasture-land”. This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Energy
Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy
(MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No. 20184030202240).
Keywords: Combined method, Reclamation, Closure management and plans
Biofunctionalized Metal-Organic Frameworks for Sensing of
Environmental Pollutants
Akash Deep*
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Lab, Division: H-1, CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-
CSIO), Sector - 30 C, Chandigarh 160030 India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +91-1722672236, E-mail: [email protected]
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have assumed great significance in a variety of
technological applications. Some of their prominent material characteristics include feature
like large surface to volume ratio, capability to form thin films, stable fluorescence, and
possibilities of post-synthetic modifications. We have explored different MOF materials for the
biosensing of various environmental pollutants, such as pesticides, bacteria, and heavy metals.
For this purposes, MOFs have been functionalized with specific biomolecules like antibodies,
enzymes, bacteriophages, and DNAzymes. Based on electrochemical or luminescence signal
collection, systems have been developed for highly sensitive and specific sensing of
environmentally important parameters such as atrazine, methyl parathion, S. aureus, dipicilonic
acid, E.coli, lead, etc. The different sensing systems developed using MOFs have offered
excellent signal stability along with long-term storage stability. In case of MOF/enzyme
bioplatforms, the immobilization of enzymes on to the MOFs has also resulted in a significant
increase in enzymatic activities. Overall, through several studies, MOFs have been
demonstrated as excellent materials for robust attachment of biomolecules and their subsequent
applications in the sensitive biosensing of various environmental pollutants.
Keywords: Metal-organic frameworks, biosensing, pollutants, antibodies, enzyme
Small-scale Process and Mechanism behind Sediment Pollution
Shiming Ding*, Musong Chen
State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: 8625 86882207, Fax: 8625 86882207, E-mail: [email protected]
Sediment is an important environmental medium on the surface of the earth and the material
basis of aquatic ecosystem. In recent years, with the increase of external pollution control,
sediment has become the main pollution source of many lakes and reservoirs, and this internal
pollution not only causes the deterioration of water quality, but also lead to the production of
the black-odorous waterbodies. It is also an important cause of lake cyanobacteria and other
extreme ecological disasters. Therefore, it is urgent to carry out in-depth research on the
sediment pollution and involved mechanisms. Different from other environmental media, such
as soil and water body, sediment has very high spatio-temporal heterogeneity and oxidation
sensitivity, so it is difficult to obtain the pollutant information accurately, which is recognized
as a difficult point in the study of sediment. Taking the key technology as the breakthrough
point, our research group established the sediment small-scale research system. The main
academic achievements are as follows: 1) the small-scale research methods of sediment has
been systematically developed, which can be used to obtain the concentration information at
high spatial-temporal resolution for over 30 elements; 2) the fine distribution of different
elements in sediment have been well characterized, based on which the circulation models of
phosphorus and heavy metals at the sediment-water interface were established; 3) the pollution
level of sediment was assessed taking the heterogeneous nature of sediment into consideration,
and the principles of several sediment remediation method were revealed.
Keywords: Sediment, passive sampling, nutrient, heavy metal, remediation
Engineered Biochar for Sustainable Carbon Dioxide Capture: A Critical
Review
Pavani Dulanja Dissanayake1, Siming You2, Avanthi D. Igalavithana1, Amit Bhatnagar3,
Sumin Kim4, Daniel C.W. Tsang5,**, Yong Sik Ok1,*
1Korea Biochar Research Center, O-Jeong Eco-Resilience Institute (OJERI) & Division of Environmental
Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
2School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
3Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, FI-
70211, Kuopio, Finland
4Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
5Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong
Kong
*Corresponding author: Tel: +822 3290 3044, E-mail: [email protected]
**Co-corresponding author: Tel: +852 2766 6072, E-mail: [email protected]
Being the main anthropogenic greenhouse gas contributing for global warming, carbon dioxide
(CO2) has gained more attention during recent years. Out of the various source of CO2 emission,
fossil fuel combustion has become the main contributor for anthropogenic CO2 emission.
Therefore, development of technologies to capture carbon dioxide has obtained more interest.
Even though different technologies have been developed for capturing CO2, their drawbacks
such as use of high energy, release of hazardous byproducts and high cost limit the use of those
technologies in the field. Biochar, a porous carbonaceous material produced through
thermochemical conversion of organic materials, might be a cost effective, less energy
consuming and sustainable tool for capturing CO2. However, CO2 adsorption capacity of
biochar is governed by feedstock type, production conditions and biochar properties. At present,
engineered/designer biochar is produced with different surface properties and novel structures,
which can also be used to enhance CO2 capturing capacity. This review summarizes and
evaluates the potential of using pristine and engineered biochar as a CO2 capturing technology,
factors influencing CO2 adsorption capacity of biochar and issues related to practical
applications of biochar based CO2 adsorbents. Nevertheless, further studies should be
conducted to develop cost effective and sustainable biochar-based composites for capturing
CO2 in large scale.
Keywords: Black Carbon, Designer Biochar, Greenhouse gases, Sustainable waste
management, Waste valorization
Engineered Biochar as an Effective Carbon Dioxide Adsorbent
Pavani Dulanja Dissanayake1,a, Seung Wan Choi2,a, Avanthi Deshani Igalavithana1, Xiao
Yang3, Daniel C.W. Tsang3, Chi-Hwa Wang4, Harn Wei Kua5, Ki Bong Lee2,**, Yong Sik
Ok1,*
1Korea Biochar Research Center, O-Jeong Eco-Resilience Institute (OJERI) & Division of Environmental
Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
2Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
3Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
4Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576,
Singapore
5Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, 4
Architecture Drive, S117566, Singapore
aThese authors contributed equally as first authors
*Corresponding author: Tel: +82-2-3290-3044, E-mail: [email protected]
**Co-corresponding author: Tel: +82-2-3290-4851, E-mail: [email protected]
Modification of biochar with novel structures and surface properties has gained more attention
during past few years for enhancement of sorption capacity of biochar. However, there are
limited number of studies pertaining to use of modified biochar for CO2 adsorption. Biochar
properties, which influence its CO2 adsorption capacity may vary with modification method.
Hence, this study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of KOH modification and
combination of KOH and CO2 modification on CO2 adsorption capacity of biochar. Biochar
was produced using 100% wood waste (W) and 70% wood waste + 30% chicken manure
(WCM) through gasification and activated using either 1 M KOH (WK, WCMK) or 1 M KOH
and 500 mL CO2 min-1 at 850 ˚C (WKC, WCMKC). Modified and pristine biochar were
assessed for physicochemical properties, CO2 adsorption capacity and cyclic stability. WCMK
exhibited the highest CO2 adsorption capacity (2.92 mol kg-1), highest surface area (1408 m2g-
1), micropore area (690.18 m2g-1) and micropore volume (0.36 cm3g-1). WCK and WK showed
comparable CO2 adsorption, but lower than that of WCMK. Both WCMK and WKC showed
rapid adsorption capacity and excellent regeneration ability for 10 consecutive adsorption-
desorption cycles. Modification of biochar with either KOH or KOH and CO2, enhanced CO2
adsorption capacity of pristine biochar due to high surface area and microporosity. However,
hydrophobicity and aromaticity of biochar also showed a significant influence on CO2
adsorption. As both KOH and KOH+CO2 modification results in comparable CO2 adsorption
capacity, biochar modification with KOH will be a promising and cost-effective option for
capturing CO2.
Keywords: Black carbon, Designer biochar, Gas adsorption, Greenhouse gasses, Waste
valorization
The Publishing Landscape
Deirdre Dunne
Executive Publisher, Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Background: Knowing the best way to identify the most appropriate journal to send your paper to can
be difficult but really helps to get your paper accepted. This talk aims to give participants a clear idea
of the publishing landscape and provides detailed insights into identifying the right journal before
starting to write a paper. Authors are also made aware of what aspects of their papers Editors and
Publishers look at critically, and to ensure that in taking care of these areas, their papers are much more
likely to be accepted.
Microwave Activation of Biomass
Jiajun Fan*
Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, YO10 5DD,
United Kingdom
* Corresponding author. Tel: +44 1904324456, E-mail: [email protected]
Biomass's recalcitrant nature makes it of significant difficulty to use directly in a biorefinery.
As such, novel techniques must be explored in order to ascertain energy efficient and
chemically selective reaction pathways for the production of useful chemicals with sufficient
quantity and purity that they may be utilised in an industrially viable process. One such avenue
of research that presented a significant step towards achieving this is the utilisation of
microwaves in thermochemical treatment technologies. As such, we present the most recent
advances in this field with particular reference to waste lignocellulosic biomass.
Keywords: microwave, biomass
Assembling corn stalk derived biochar with various ferrites for arsenic (As)
removal in aqueous environment
Xing Gao*, Yutao Peng, Runze Sun, Qing Chen
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Haidian, Beijing 100193,
China
Corresponding author. Tel: +86 16601126311, E-mail: [email protected]
Biochar has been wildly used for wastewater treatment but the adsorption capacity towards
oxyanions (e.g. arsenic) is relatively low. To overcome the intrinsic shortcoming, three kinds
of novel magnetic corn stalk biochar (BC) composite modified by CoFe2O4, NiFe2O4 and
MnFe2O4, respectively, were synthesized via facile co-precipitation method. SEM, BET, XRD,
XPS and FTIR were used for the characterization of the various BC and composites. Isotherm
and kinetics of arsenic adsorption by different BC and composites were achieved by batch
experiment as well as the effects of pH and competitive ions on adsorption capacity of various
BC and composites. The results showed that the adsorption capacity of arsenic by biochar was
significantly improved by the modification of various ferrite (CoFe2O4, NiFe2O4 and MnFe2O4).
What’s more, arsenic adsorption mechanism on the composites including electrostatic and
complexation through ligand exchange, hydrogen bond and cation bridge have been revealed.
This work will bring valuable insights to develop high-performance biochar-based magnetic
adsorbents for environmental remediation.
Keywords: biochar; arsenic; recycling; adsorption; wastewater treatment
Illustration:
Design of Advanced Porous Materials for Effective Separation/adsorption
Qinfen Gu1,* 1 Australian Synchrotron (ANSTO), 800 Blackburn Rd, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +61-385404219, E-mail: [email protected]
Porous materials including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), zeolites, and composite
carbons have attracted increasing attention due to their versatile applications in gas/ion
separation/adsorption and energy storage over the past few decades thanks to their ultra-high
surface area and tuneable pore chemistry. Most of these advanced porous materials feature
large pore volume and surface area and thus can provide relatively high adsorption capacity.
Synchrotron X-rays are available as an extremely intense beam that allow in-situ studies of
advanced porous materials. At synchrotron sources various techniques at different beamlines
offer structural and chemical information on different time and length scales. For example, in-
situ X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) uses the high intensity and resolution of synchrotron
radiation for fast studies of the mechanism of several tailor-made advanced absorbent materials,
while X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) uses the energy tunability properties of
synchrotron radiation to provide inter atomic distances, bonding valence, and oxidation states
of the absorbents. This presentation will describe some case studies of the advanced porous
materials for effective separation/adsorption and Li/Na ion storage undertaken at the XRPD
and XAS beamlines and demonstrate the power of these methods.
Keywords: Synchrotron techniques, metal-organic frameworks, separation and adsorption
Valorization of Plant Biomass from Plant Microbial Fuel Cells into
Levulinic Acid Catalyzed by Liquid and Solid Acids under Green Solvent
Chung-Yu Guan1,2, Season S. Chen2, Chang-Ping Yu1,*, Daniel C.W. Tsang2,* 1 Graduated Institute Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
1,* Corresponding author. Tel: 886-2-3366-3729 , Fax: 886-2-2392-8830 , E-mail: [email protected]
2,* Corresponding author. Tel: 852-2766-6067 , E-mail: [email protected]
Our previous study has demonstrated Chinese pennisetum plant microbial fuel cells
(PMFCs) could effectively treat hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) contaminated soils. Chinese
pennisetum could absorb heavy metals during soil remediation similar to phytoremediation.
After plants are harvested, the system will generate biomass waste. After drying and crushing
of plant waste, the biomass waste can be collected and valorized for biorefinery.
This research presents the catalytic valorization of PMFC waste into levulinic acid (LA)
under liquid and solid acid in aqueous solution with or without green solvent, gamma-
Valerolactone (GVL). Under microwave heating, increasing temperature to 180oC increased
the yield of LA to 15.2 mol % in 60 min in water with sulfonic acid, higher than using solid
acid. Furthermore, using 1 M sulfonic acid as catalytic in GVL solvent increased the yield of
LA to 13.39 mol % in 60 min, higher than using GVL solvent without sulfonic acid. GVL/H2O
ratios of solvent could affect LA yields. 70/30 and 50/50 ratio could result in higher LA yields
because H2O in GVL solvent could improve conversion of five carbon sugars to LA.
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images proved the cellulose structure was
recalcitrant in solid acid, Amberlyst acid with H2O. The cellulose structure changed under
GVL/H2O with liquid and solid acid catalyst. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns provided
spectroscopic evidence for the enhanced dissolution or hydrolysis of cellulose in short time.
According to peaks on the diffraction thermo gravimetry (DTG) spectra, thermal stability of
the solid residues after microwave heating is higher than using lower temperature conditions.
These findings in this research help to better understand the effect of liquid and solid acid
with green solvent under microwave heating for future application of valorisation of plant
waste.
Keywords: plant microbial fuel cells, biomass waste, valorization, levulinic acid,
gamma-Valerolactone,
Roof Mounted Cross Axis Wind Turbine: Overcoming the Challenges of
Wind Energy Systems in the Urban Environment
Gwani Mohammed1*, Chong Wen Tong2, Chin Joo Tan2, Wan Khairul Muzammil3
1Department of Physics, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, 1144 Kebbi State, Nigeria
2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3Faculty of Engineering, University Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
*Corresponding author. Tel: +2348032791889, E-mail: [email protected],
Abstract
The development of wind energy systems for electric power generation in the urban
environment has unique challenges due to the complex wind conditions and the inability of the
current wind energy systems i.e. the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) and the horizontal axis
wind turbines (HAWT) to operate efficiently in the urban environment. To overcome these
challenges, this paper presents a novel roof mounted cross axis wind turbine (RMCAWT). The
RMCAWT consists of three main vertical blades, & six horizontal blades arranged in a cross
axis orientation. The performance of the RMCAWT was compared with conventional roof
mounted VAWT under similar experimental conditions. The results obtained from the study
showed that the coefficient of power (Cp), & the rotational speed (RPM) of the RMCAWT
increases by 355%, and 199% respectively compared to the conventional roof mounted VAWT
under similar experimental conditions.
Keywords: Cross axis wind turbine, Wind energy, Rooftop, Renewable energy, urban building
Evaluation on Stabilization of Metal-contaminated Site Based on
Bioaccessibility and Phytoavailability
Eun-Yeong Han, Hye-Bin Kim, Kitae Baek*
Department of Environmental Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: 063)270-2437, Fax: 063)270-2449, E-mail: [email protected]
Solidification/Stabilization has been applied most commonly in the world to remediate metal-
contaminated site [1]. However, the solidified soil loses the function as a soil, and the stabilized
soil still maintian the function of soil. However, it is unclear how we could determine the
stabilization of soil even though Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure(TCLP) is one of
the most commonly used methods to evaluate stabilization [2], [3]. However, evaluation system
of TCLP has been used for the domestic standard of waste treatment. Stabilization should be
evaluated from a different point of view considering the usage of site in terms of soil
remediation. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the stabilization technique in terms of risk
management using the concept of bioaccessibility and phytoavailablity. Stabilization was
applied to arsenic-contaminated soil using iron oxide. Then we evaluated efficiency of
stabilization based on the changes in physical and chemical properties, bioaccessibility and
phytoavailability.
Keywords: Stabilization, Soil contamination, Arsenic, Bioaccessibility, Phytoavailability
Acknowledgment
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National
Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (grant number:
2018R1A2B6004284), and partially supported by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE) as
Knowledge-based environmental service(Waste to energy) Human resource development
Project.
References
1. Khan F.I., Husain T., Hejazi R., An overview and analysis of site remediation technologies,
Journal of Environmental Management, 71, 95-122 (2004).
2. Kim J.Y., Davis A.P., Kim K.W., Stabilization of available arsenic in highly contaminated
mine tailings using iron, Environmental Science & Technology, 37, 189-195 (2003).
3. Lee K.Y., Moon D.H., Lee S.H., Kim K.W., Cheong K.H., Park J.H., Ok Y.S., Chang Y.Y.,
Simultaneous stabilization of arsenic, lead, and copper in contaminated soil using mixed waste
resources, Environmental Earth Sciences, 69, 1813-1820 (2013).
Study on the behavior of reactive oxygen species during
photocatalytic degradation of recalcitrant organic micro-pollutants
GiBeom Han, Seongjun Park*, Jong-Oh Kim#
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong gu
Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea.
*Joint first-authorship
# Corresponding author. Tel: +82 2 2220 4703, Fax: +82 2 2220 1945 , E-mail: [email protected]
In the advanced oxidation process (AOP), reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important
roles in oxidative degradation of organic pollutants. It is known that ROS is mainly generated
in the surface of the photocatalyst. Compare to the chemical reaction of organic pollutants,
the physical migration through the water environment was not revealed well. It is difficult to
directly measure ROS during the chemical reaction due to the rapid extinction. We used
chemiluminescence method reacting with ROS and luminol and explore the generation,
extinction and reaction behavior of ROS, when recalcitrant organic micro-pollutants were
degraded through photocatalytic reactions. Titanium dioxide nanoparticle and nanotube were
used for the photocatalyst. Recalcitrant organic micro-pollutants were prepared with
bisphenol A and 2,4,6- trichlorophenol, respectively. UVA light source (365 nm) was obtained
from 5.6 W/m2 black light lamp. After dark condition to eliminate the adsorption influence,
the photocatalytic degradation reaction was initiated and the luminol solution was injected to
confirm the reactivity of ROS. The florescence color generated by the reaction of ROS and
luminol were directly measured at 479 nm using spectrometer in real time. The florescence
intensity was tremendously changed with the amount of photocatalyst and the light strength.
Depending on the type of titanium dioxide, the florescence reaction was observed at the close
area of the photocatalyst.
Keywords: Photocatalyst, ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species), Luminol, Recalcitrant organic
micro-pollutants
Acknowledgement: This study was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea
(NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2018R1A2B2008172).
Perspectives of Energy Performance of Bioelectrochemical Systems for
Resource Recovery #
Shiqiang Zou, Zhen (Jason) He *
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
* Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected]
Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) have been extensively studied in the past two decades with
thousands of publications. Despite much progress, a key issue – energy performance of BES
has not been well investigated or understood. In particular, journal publications often miss the
data about energy production and consumption of a proposed BES, making it impossible to
evaluate whether this system is energy efficient or not. We have proposed the first energy
parameter for describing BES energy performance - normalized energy recovery (NER), and
also employed other parameters such as specific energy consumption (SEC) and energy balance
to evaluate energy efficiency. To better understand energy performance of BES, in this talk we
will analyse several BES representatives based on their functions including direct electricity
generation in microbial fuel cells, hydrogen production in microbial electrolysis cells, nitrogen
recovery in BES, chemical production in microbial electrosynthesis cells, and desalination in
microbial desalination cells. Energy performance was normalized to the system performance
such as the volume of treated wastewater volume, organic removal rate, nitrogen recovery rate,
production of organic chemicals, or desalination efficiency. We have discussed the effects of
the key operating factors such as pumping system (recirculation/feeding pumps) and external
power supply. We expect to encourage more thinking, analysis, and presentation of energy data
towards appropriate research and development of BES technology for resource recovery from
wastewater.
Keywords: Bioelectrochemical systems; energy production; energy consumption; normalized
energy recovery; resource recovery
# Based on: Zou, S. and He, Z.* (2018) Efficiently "pumping Out" value-added resources from wastewater by
bioelectrochemical systems: a review from energy perspectives. Water Research. Vol 131, pp 62-73.
Transformation of Waste Shrimp Shell into a Superb Adsorbent Using
Hydrothermal Carbonization for Removal of Anionic Dye Methyl Orange
Chao He*, Hengliang Lin, Yetao Tang, Rongliang Qiu
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology,
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86 15013045052, E-mail: [email protected]
Despite wastes from shrimp processing or food wastes, waste shrimp shells (WSS) is regarded
as a valuable biomass resource because of rich chitin and protein therein. In this study, WSS
has been transformed into a superb adsorbent through deacetylation followed by hydrothermal
carbonization (HTC) and acid washing. During deacetylation using NaOH pretreatment, chitin
could be converted to chitosan which is widely applied to remove anionic pollutants as a result
of its sufficient amine functional groups, while HTC was used to improve the chemical stability
of chitosan under acidic conditions. Results suggested that hydrochar derived from WSS (SHC)
exhibited excellent adsorption capacity of 755.08 mg/g for methyl orange (MO) and the
adsorption process followed Langmuir model. Kinetics analysis indicated that the adsorption
process could reach equilibrium rapidly within 150 min through a pseudo-second-order model.
Moreover, SHC demonstrated robust recycle and regeneration ability with a adsorption
efficiency higher than 90% even after mutiple adsorption/desorption cycles. Under identical
conditions, regardless of the relatively less adsorption sites via amine functional groups, the
adsorption capacity of SHC for MO was even better than that of carbonaceous adsorbent
derived from HTC of commercial chitosan. This is relevant to increased specific surface area
and surface positive charge promoted by inorganics in WSS which reinforced the electrostatic
interactions between adsorbent and MO molecules. Therefore, the proposed procedure could
convert WSS into a superb adsorbent for removal of anionic dye MO towards simultaneous
value-added materials recovery from food wastes and industrial wastewater treatment.
Keywords: Deacetylation; Amine functional groups; Chitosan; Adsorption equilibrium
Removal of phosphate and ammonia nitrogen by aluminium-modified clay
in a heavil1y polluted Lake, southwest China: Effectiveness and Ecological
risks
Kangkang He1,2, Jingfu Wang1,*, Haiquan Yang1, Zuxue Jin1,2, Jingan Chen1 1Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550081, PR China
2College of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, PR China
*Corresponding author: Jingfu Wang. Tel: +86 851 85895095, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Currently, lake eutrophication is a main water environmental problem. When the
import of extraneous nutrients is effectively controlled, nutrients in water mainly source from
endogenous release from the sediments. In situ passivation is an important pollution control
technique for endogenous pollution in lakes and reservoirs. This study focused on Qianling
Lake, a cascade-channel lake in Southwest China polluted by phosphorous, and selected a
novel aluminum-based (Al-based) passivator for in situ passivation project on the polluted
water area. Accordingly, the release of endogenous nutrients from the sediments can be
controlled to remediate the polluted water, and the remediation effect and ecological risk of the
present passivation project were evaluated. The results showed that after the implantation of
the passivation project for 12 months, the release of Phosphorous (P) from the sediments can
be effectively inhibited, the contents of TP and Chl-a in water of the passivation area reduced
by approximately 80% and 70%, and water transparency and the content of dissolved oxygen
remarkably enhanced. Therefore, the addition of the passivator remarkably improved the water
quality and gradually restored the aquatic ecosystem in the passivation area. P in water and at
the interface between sediments and water was fixed on the surface of the sediments in the
form of Al-combined state to achieve the P passivation. This novel passivator exhibits favorable
P-controlling performance and low ecological risk in the restoration of lakes and reservoirs
polluted by endogenous P. Conclusively, in situ passivation of the sediments is a safe and
effective technique for P pollution control in bottom sediments and deserves to be vigorously
promoted in the regulation of endogenous P pollution in the sediments of lakes and reservoirs.
Keywords: In situ passivation, Sediment, Phosphorous, Ammonia nitrogen, Ecological risks,
Heavil1y polluted Lake
Wastewater Treatment and Biomaterials Conversion Through Microalgae
Shih-Hsin Ho*
State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Municipal and Environmental
Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, P. R. China
* Corresponding author. Tel:+8618145626350, E-mail: [email protected]
It has been reported some microalgae can produce large amounts of carbon-containing
compounds, but the metabolic mechanism controlling carbon partitioning between starch and
lipids in microalgae remains unclear. Moreover, developing the integrated system of producing
bioenergy and treating wastewater is also relatively lacking. In addition, the systematic studies
of using microalgal residue for value-added applications is still limited, which significantly
hinders the commercial feasibility of microalgae. Taken together, we here demonstrate that the
microalgal energy can be largely produced through feeding various types of wastewater, along
with the usage of biomass residue for fabricating various functional biomaterials for heavy
metal removal, PPCPs degradation, oil-water separation and so on. The obtained results show
that the biomass residue can be converted into various value-added biomaterials via thermal
carbonization, which would provide a breakthrough in decreasing the algal cultivation cost and
making a feasible material for removing pollutants from polluted water.
Keywords: microalgae, carbon partitioning, lipid-starch switching mechanism, biomass
residue, pollutant removal
Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Impacts in Environmental Remediation
Deyi Hou
Tsinghua University, China ([email protected])
Abstract:
The life cycles environmental impacts that are associated with contaminated site remediation
can be categorized as: (1) primary impacts, which are associated with the state of contaminated
sites and site contaminants, (2) secondary impacts, which are associated with remedial
activities, and (3) tertiary impacts, involving post-remediation site use. Traditional remediation
decision making will mainly address only primary impacts, which is achieved via health risk
assessment (HRA). Green and sustainable remediation (GSR) is a new movement in the
remediation industry that has drawn much attention globally from academia, industrial
practitioners, and regulators in recent years. Growing numbers of countries have adopted GSR
procedures published in regulatory and/or technical guidance. The global sustainability
movement has encouraged many governments and practitioners to engage in GSR. GSR is not
idealism, but rather a technical choice which requires support from policy makers and scientific
researchers. The adoption of GSR replies upon the assessment and addressing of secondary and
tertiary impacts. This presentation will give an overview of pertaining research findings about
primary, secondary, and tertiary impacts in environmental remediation.
Complet removal of Fe/Mn from a heavily contaminated acid mine
drainage via an indigenous Fe-Mn-Oxidization bacterium
Dongmei Hou1,2, Pan Zhang1,2, Dongning Wei1,2, Yaoyu Zhou1,2,3 *, Luo Lina,b*
1 College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
2 Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Agricultural Typical Pollution
Remediation and Wetland Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410028
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
*Corresponding author: [email protected] (L. Luo)
*Corresponding author: [email protected] (Y.Y. Zhou)
Abstract: Iron- and manganese oxidizing bacteria were widely used in the bio-remediation
technologies, especially in the treatment of groundwater. However, few studies explored theses
bacteria to deal with Acid mine drainages (AMD). Here, we show that a high-Fe/Mn AMD
effluent can be decontaminated by an indigenous Fe-Mn-Oxidization bacterium. The change
of bacterial diversity during the treatment were analyzed by high-through-put Illumina
sequencing, and the biogenic Fe-Mn oxides (BFMO) were analyzed using electron microscopy,
X ray diffraction, Specific surface test, X ray photoelectron spectrometric and infrared
spectroscopic analysis. The results showed that Fe2+ was removed effectively with the removal
efficiency at 99%, while only 85% of Mn2+ was removed during the AMD treatment. The most
abundance genera of the bacterial community were changed and with the removal rates the
abundance of some bacteria (such as Pandoraea and Stenotrophomonas) were increased sharply.
BFMO analysis showed that the specific surface area of the BFMO was 107.543 m2/g, and
there were massive amide group, hydroxylgroup, hydroxyl groups on the BFMO surface
which play an important role in the removal of Fe2+ and Mn2+. Our study provides an alternative
method for the treatment of AMD containing high Fe2+ and Mn2+.
Keywords: AMD, Iron- and manganese-oxidizing bacteria, Bacterial community, Biogenic Fe-
Mn oxides.
A Critical Review of Phytoremediation for Heavy Metals-contaminated
Soils
Zeng-Yei Hseu
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
Tel: +886-2-33664807, Fax: +886-2-33669576, E-mail: [email protected]
The strategies for treating heavy metals-contaminated soils involve extraction or stabilization
of the metals. Traditional remediation practices for soil contamination, such as excavation,
washing, and landfilling, are less feasible on a large scale because they are environmentally
disruptive and cost-prohibitive. These concerns have prompted the emergence of cost-effective
and less disruptive alternatives for soil remediation by phytotechnology that has received
increasing attention and is a promising solution for soil contamination. Phytoremediation
shows strong potential for the treatment of the contaminated sites because it is an emergent in
situ treatment that is economical and with a high probability of public acceptance. The main
strategies of phytoremediation are phytoextraction and phytostabilization. However, only 450
plant species have been identified as hyperaccumulators of heavy metals worldwide for the
purpose of phytoextraction, accounting for less than 0.2% of all known species in the plant
kingdom. Most known hyperaccumulators are not only herbaceous species with small biomass,
but are also confined to terrestrial environments and freshwater bodies. Chemical amendment
and plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are commonly applied to enhance the
phytoextraction by the increase of metal bioavailability. Alternatively, well-known crops are
new potential accumulators of the metals. Phytostabilization primarily focuses on the
sequestration of metals within the roots and rhizosphere. This remediation strategy creates a
vegetative cap for the long-term stabilization and containment of contaminated sites.
Phytostabilizer canopies reduce aeolian dispersion, whereas plant roots prevent water erosion,
immobilize heavy metals by adsorption or accumulation, and provide a rhizosphere wherein
metals precipitate and stabilize in the growth substrates. Serpentine soils are ideal sites for
continuing to screen accumulating and stabilizing plants for the purpose of soil remediation.
There is a greater need to exploit metals-rich soils for generating revenue by extracting saleable
metals from hyperaccumulating plants. This approach is co-called phytoextraction that has
been explored above. Moreover, phytomining is defined for recovering the metals as a bio-ore
by taking up the metals in harvestable plant biomass through harvesting, drying, and
incineration of the biomass to generate a high-grade bio-ore. Moreover, agromining by
maximizing annual yield of metal in biomass, could provide an alternative type of agriculture
on metals-rich substrates to recover target metals for circular economy.
Keywords: agromining, heavy metal, phytomining, phytoremediation, serpentine soil.
Elemental Mercury Adsorption and Recovery by Electrothermal Swing
System with Acid-Treated Activated Carbon Fiber Cloth
Hsing-Cheng Hsi 1,* Bing-Ci Chen 1, Chen-Yen Tsai 2, Hua-Yung Liao 1 1 Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd.,
Da'an Dist., Taipei 10617, Taiwan
2 Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt
Rd., Da'an Dist., Taipei 10617, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886-2-33664374, Fax: +886-2-23928830, E-mail: [email protected]
The work aims to develop a novel and sustainable approach to adsorb and recover the low-
concentration Hg0 in the tail gas of recycling processes for fluorescent lamps. Activated carbon
fiber cloth (ACFC) is a material used for high-efficiency adsorption due to its high surface area
and fiber structure. In this study, a series of experiments were carried out to determine ACFC
and nitric acid treated ACFC (HNO3-ACFC) Hg0 adsorption efficiency and regeneration
efficiency. The purpose of nitric acid treatment is to examine the effect of different amount of
oxygen functional groups on Hg0 adsorption efficiency. The regeneration was done by an
electrothermal process. The electrothermal regeneration was conducted with 20, 40, and 60 W
of regenerating electricity. Through excessive heat, adsorbed Hg0 would be released rapidly
from ACFC surface, resulting in high Hg0 concentration in the effluent, nearly three times of
the amount of initial concentration that could make condensation easier for the recycling plant
to recover Hg0. The effectiveness of regenerated ACFC and HNO3-ACFC for Hg0 adsorption
was also examined in this study. The experimental results showed that, with an initial Hg0
concentration in a range of 260~300 µg/m3, ACFC had approximately 80% of Hg0 adsorption
efficiency. Additionally, ACFC Hg0 adsorption efficiency could rise up to nearly 90% after 60
W electrothermal regeneration. After acid treatment, the content of oxygen functional groups
on HNO3-ACFC increased and enhanced the adsorption kinetics, resulting in over 90% of
adsorption efficiency before and after electrothermal regeneration. Both ACFC and HNO3-
ACFC still had great adsorption efficiency after nine cycles of adsorption and regeneration.
These results indicate that ACFC and HNO3-ACFC can be an effective and renewable
adsorbent for low concentration Hg0 adsorption and recovery. A mechanism was further
proposed to explain the increasing adsorption efficiency after electrthermal regeneration and
the greater adsorption efficiency for HNO3-ACFC than raw ACFC.
Keywords: Electrothermal swing system, mercury adsorption, recovery, activated carbon fiber
cloth, fluorescent lamps recycling
Synthesis of Cu and S Co-impregnated Activated Carbon to Simultaneously
Capture Aqueous Hg(II) and Prevent Gaseous Hg0 Re-emission from SFGD
Wastewater
Che-Jung Hsu1, Yan-Ze Xiao1, Hsing-Cheng Hsi1,* 1 Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd.,
Da'an Dist., Taipei 10617, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886-2-33664374, Fax: +886-2-23928830, E-mail: [email protected]
The environmental impacts of the seawater flue gas desulfurization (SFGD) of coal-fired power
plants (CFPPs) including the discharge of Hg(II)-containing seawater to the ocean and the re-
emission of Hg0 from aeration tank to ambient air have been of global concerns. In this study,
a series of bench experiments were conducted to obtain the optimal adsorption conditions for
removing aqueous Hg(II) from a SFGD system by using Cu and S co-impregnated activated
carbon (Cu-S-AC). The total surface area, copper content, and sulfur content of Cu-S-AC were
500 m2/g, 2.11 wt%, and 2.67 wt%, respectively. At low initial Hg concentration, the significant
difference between the removal efficiency of SAC and AC was not observed. When the initial
concentration reached 4104 ng/L, the Hg removal of Cu-S-AC increased with increasing initial
Hg concentration whereas that of AC decreased. Hg removal efficiency was also shown to be
slightly larger at pH 7 and 8 than that in an acid seawater condition. Thermodynamic parameter
calculation concluded that ΔH°= 34.63 kJ/mole, ΔS°= 0.146 kJ/mole, and ΔG was negative,
indicating that Hg adsorption by Cu-S-AC is endothermic and spontaneous. Re-emission of
gaseous Hg markedly increased as temperature increased from 303 to 343K. Notably, by the
addition of Cu-S-AC, zero re-emission of gaseous Hg0 was achieved, confirming that the
capture of aqueous Hg(II) and the inhibition of gaseous Hg0 re-emission can be successfully
and simultaneously achieved via the addition of Cu-S-AC into the actual SFGD wastewater.
Keywords: mercury, coal-fired power plant, seawater flue gas desulfurization, activated carbon
Mercury Immobilization in Estuary Sediment by Activated Carbon/Clay-
based Thin-Layer Capping under Horizontal Flow and Turbation Events
Yu Ting1, Boon-Lekn Ch’ng1, Chi Chen1, Che-Jung Hsu1, Hsing-Cheng Hsi1,* 1 Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
* Corresponding author. Tel:(886)-2-33664374, Fax: (886)-2-23928830, E-mail: [email protected]
In-situ thin layer capping is an economically-feasible method for sediment remediation
reducing contaminants released from sediment to overlying water, subsequently reducing
human health and ecological risks. This research evaluated the Hg leaching inhibition
performance by using different thin layer caps under horizontal flows and sediment turbation
operated in microcosms with artificial vibration system. Three thin layer caps with different
activated carbon (AC)/clay combinations were tested. The experimental results showed that
caps with AC (3%) + bentonite (3%) and AC (3%) + kaolin (3%) were efficient in reducing
both total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in overlying water by
75−95% and 64−98% in the later stage of 75-d operation. In contrast, AC (3%) +
montmorillonite (3%) did not show a significant reduction on THg and MeHg in overlying
water, probably due to the unstable property of montmorillonite. It is therefore essential to note
that with unstable caps, a high concentration of MeHg breakthrough was observed in the
occurrence of turbation in a given depth.
Keywords: thin layer capping, mercury, methylmercury, sediment remediation
The formation, characterization and conversion of oligomesr in biomass
conversion
Xin Fu and Changwei Hu
Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan
University, Chengdu 610064, China. Email:[email protected]
Key words: Biomass; Carbohydrates; Pyrolysis; Oligomers; Characterization, Structural Feature
Abstract
Along with the shortage of fossil resources and growing environmental concerns, the
application of renewable biomass resources as feedstocks for the production of chemicals and
transportation fuels is becoming urgent. Oligomers are usually generated in the typical
processes of biomass conversion, and in some processes, oligomers occupy the majority of
liquid products. Thus their characterization and conversion have become important for the
effective utilization of biomass resource.
The hexose-derived oligomers, pentose-derived oligomers, hexose-pentose-complex, lignin-
carbohydrate-complex, and oligomeric phenols are the characteristic oligomers from biomass
pyrolysis. In the solvent-thermal conversion of biomass, oligomeric phenols and
carbohydrates-derived-oligomers were extensively observed. In the dehydration of
carbohydrates, the oligomers usually formed by the self- and cross- polymerization of monoses
(glucose, fructose, xylose), intermediates (anhydroglucose, deoxypentose), products (5-
hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, levulinic acid). GPC, FTIR, LC-MS, COSY NMR were often
used in the identification of oligomers.
In this presentation, the following will be addressed.
1. Oligomers in pyrolytic liquefaction of biomass, promoting upgrading of bio-oil.
2. Oligomers in the solvo-thermal conversion of biomass, enhancing selectivity to target
products.
3. Oligomers in the conversion of carbohydrates and related studies, avoiding the waste of
carbon resources or probing new conversion ways.
4. Inhibition the formation and/or utilization of oligomers, controlling the reaction network in
different processes, controlling the formation and conversion of oligomers.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFB1501404), the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (No.21536007), the 111 program (B17030) and Fundamental Research
Funds for the Central Universities (SCU2018D003, SCU2017D007). The characterization from the
Analytical and Testing Center of Sichuan University was greatly appreciated.
References
1. Wang S, Lin H, Zhao Y, et al. Journal of analytical and applied pyrolysis, 2016, 118: 259-266.
2. Lv X, Li Q, Jiang Z, et al. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 2018, 136: 115-124.
3. Li Q, Fu X, Li J, et al. Energy Technology, 2018, 6(2): 366-378.
4. Rasmussen H, Tanner D, Sørensen H R, et al. Green Chemistry, 2017, 19(2): 464-473.
5. Zhang H, Liu X, Li J, et al. ChemSusChem, 2018, 11(9): 1494-1504.
6. Sheng H, Tang W, Gao J, et al. Analytical chemistry, 2017, 89(24): 13089-13096.
7. Fu X, Dai J, Guo X, et al. Green Chemistry, 2017, 19(14): 3334-3343.
8. Cheng Z, Everhart J L, Tsilomelekis G, et al. Green Chemistry, 2018, 20(5): 997-1006.
Porous extruded-spheronized Li4SiO4 pellets via microcrystalline cellulose
templating for CO2 capture
Yingchao Hu,*, Hailong Li
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86 731 8879863, Fax: 73188879863, E-mail: [email protected]
Spherical Li4SiO4 pellets were produced via an extrusion-spheronization technique. This
pelletization process caused the destruction of the original porous structure, a reduction of the
specific surface area and, thus, a decrease in the CO2 sorption performance. Therefore, a typical
pore-forming material of microcrystalline cellulose was employed to modify the inner
microstructures of the pellets and thus enhanced the cyclic CO2 sorption capacity. The pellets
modified with 20 wt.% microcrystalline cellulose exhibited a high capacity of 0.282 g CO2/g
sorbent at the 70th cycle, which is even comparable with that of the Li4SiO4 powder. It has been
proved that the performance enhancement is attributed to the increased surface area and
enriched porosity. In addition, the sorbent pellets are required to possess excellent mechanical
performance for the practical application in the circulating fluidized-bed reactors; therefore,
the mechanical properties, i.e., compression strength and anti-attrition performance, were also
tested. The results indicated that the Li4SiO4 pellets maintained quite outstanding mechanical
performance. The good physicochemical properties of the pellets show that the developed
Li4SiO4-based sorbents have promising prospects for high temperature CO2 capture in
fluidized-bed systems.
Keywords: CO2 capture, Li4SiO4 sorbent, microcrystalline cellulose, extrusion-spheronization
Numerical analysis of latent heat storage composite using biochar and
phase change material as application in buildings
Jisoo Jeon, Ji Hun park, Seunghwan Wi, Sungwoong Yang, Sumin Kim*
Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-2-2123-2782, E-mail: [email protected]
One methodology to enhance the energy efficiency of buildings is the application of
construction materials of latent heat storage composites. In this research, the phase change
material was vacuum impregnated into biochar to prepare latent heat storage composite.
Selected phase change materials are fatty acid and fatty acid ester which are bio-based material
and have a low risk of depletion. Biochar is used because it is highly utilized and carbon neutral
material. Experimental results showed that latent heat storage composite has good chemical
compatibility and excellent exudation and thermal stability. Furthermore, it showed good latent
heat storage performance although its amount of latent heat decreased as compared with that
of pure phase change material. Results of the numerical analysis using DesignBuilder software
showed that latent heat storage composite reduced the energy consumption of reference
building models efficiently by maximum 531.31 kWh per year. Thus, both results appear that
latent heat storage composite is a promising building material.
Keywords: Biochar, Thermal energy heat storage, phase change material, Biocomposites
Comparative analysis of the latent heat storage materials application to
glass curtain wall and conventional wall-based buildings as retrofit system
Ji Hun Park, Jisoo Jeon, Jongki Lee, Seunghwan Wi, Beom Yeol Yun, Sumin Kim*
Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-2-2123-2782, E-mail: [email protected]
Recently, various research related to the application of phase change material (PCM) to the
buildings have been conducted. However, there is a few research on the PCM installation on
the glass curtain wall building (GCB) systems compared to the conventional wall-based
buildings (CB). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the optimization of PCM
application to the GCB and CB and to analyze the building energy performance by simulation
tool. A building model and climate data were selected from ASHRAE standards. Shape-
stabilized PCM (SSPCM) within thermal comfort range was selected. As a result, a PCM
melting temperature of 22-24 ℃ and 25-26 ℃ were suitable for CB and GCB, respectively;
the different approaches considering PCM application to GCB and CB were necessary.
Table 1. Total energy savings of different locations according to PCM melting temperature
PCM melting temperature
(℃)
Baltimore Duluth Miami
Total energy savings
(kWh)
Total energy savings
(kWh)
Total energy savings
(kWh)
GCB CB GCB CB GCB CB
20 77.15 19.91 85.05 18.75 19.68 2.57
21 83.17 22.75 89.24 20.07 22.11 3.26
22 88.29 25.01 92.18 20.80 25.41 4.14
23 92.19 26.51 93.78 20.38 29.47 4.58
24 93.92 26.66 94.33 18.97 33.83 3.50
25 94.39 25.97 94.44 17.82 37.31 2.34
26 90.78 22.33 92.97 14.89 44.21 1.80
Keywords: Glass curtain wall, Latent heat storage material, Building envelope optimization,
Thermal energy storage, retrofit system
Synthesis of Renewable meta-xylylenediamine and alkyl levulinate from
Biomass-Derived Furfural
Ivan Scodeller,1 Alban Chappaz,1 Karine De Oliveira Vigier,1 Raphael Wischert,2 and
François Jérôme*1 1 Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers, CNRS/Université de Poitiers, 1 rue Marcel Doré,
ENSIP Bat B1, 86073 Poitiers, France
2 O Eco-Efficient Products and Processes Laboratory, UMI 3464 CNRS/Solvay, 3966 Jin Du Road, Shanghai
201108, CHINA.
* Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
The catalytic conversion of renewable feedstocks to fuels, fine or specialty chemicals is now
the subject of intense research efforts. Although a myriad of reports published daily on this
topic, the emergence of bio-based chemicals in our society is unfortunately facing important
hurdles such as catalyst deactivation and high dilution, thus leading to unacceptable space time
yields for industrial implementation, although high yields are often achieved. As a case in point,
we will discuss on the catalytic conversion of furfural to specialty chemicals, a cheap bio-based
building block (1.0-1.2 €/kg) available in large scale from biomass (>300 kT/year). Two
important reactions will be discussed:
(1) The catalytic conversion of furfuryl alcohol (FA) to alkyl levulinate (AL),[1] that are
industrially relevant solvents or intermediates for the manufacture of chemicals. In this
part, we will show that bismuth triflate was capable of catalyzing the conversion of FA to
AL with up to 91% yield from a concentration of FA in alcohol as high as 30 wt. %, which
corresponds to an unprecedented space time yield of 182 kg/m3/h. A comparison with the
commercialized SFOS process, operated by a subsidiary of the former Rhône-Poulenc
group and running until the beginning of the 90’s, shows that this novel catalytic route is
compatible with industrial requirements in terms of yield, productivity and capacity,
(2) The catalytic conversion of furfural to meta-xylylene diamine,[2] an important target
widely used in the polymer industry. The investigated pathway involves a Diels-
Alder/aromatization sequence as a key step. Guided by DFT calculations, we discovered
that (1) the aromatization step could be catalyzed at low temperature by superbases instead
of acids, thus avoiding the usually observed retro-Diels-Alder reaction, and (2) by playing
with the rate of the reactions, it was possible to selectively drive the reaction to the meta
aromatics
[1] Chappaz, A. ; Lai, J.; De Oliveira Vigier, K. ; Morvan, D. ; Wischert, R. ; Corbet, M. ; Doumert, B. ; Trivelli,
X. ; Liebens, A. ; Jérôme, F. ACS Sust. Chem. Eng. 2018, 6 (3), 4405-4411.
[2] Scodeller, I.; Mansouri, S. ; Morvan, D. ; Muller, E. ; De Oliveira Vigier, K. ; Wischert, R. ; Jérôme, F. Angew.
Chem. Int. Ed., 2018, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201803828
Shifts of microbial biomass and enzyme activities indicators for heavy
metal fractions along reclaimed wetlands in a coastal estuary, China
Jia Jia, Junhong Bai*, Wei Wang, Shuo Yin, Guangliang Zhang, Baoshan Cui, Xinhui Liu 1 State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University,
100875 Beijing
* Corresponding author. Tel: 010-58802029, E-mail: [email protected]
Soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities are sensitive indicators for soil heavy metal
contamination. Whereas, in reclaimed coastal wetlands, the indicator effect of microbial
biomass, enzyme activities on heavy metal fractions in reclaimed wetlands were seldom studied.
A field study was operated in a typical agricultural reclaimed region (reclaimed cropland
wetlands (ReW), ditch wetlands (DW) and riparian wetlands (RW)) in Pearl River delta, China.
Contents and fractions of six heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu and Zn), and microbial biomass
and enzymes activities were determined to investigate their distributions and qualify their
relationships. Results showed that among six heavy metals, Zn exhibited the highest average
contents, followed by Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Cd, and they were all in pollution level in studied
area. In three wetlands, Cr, Cu and Ni mainly existed in residual fraction, and Pb, Zn and Cd
mainly existed in Fe–Mn hydroxide and residual fractions in 0-10 cm soil and in residual
fraction in 10-20 cm, 20-30 cm soils. Certain heavy metal fractions contents had obvious
positive correlations with protease and phosphatase activities in three wetlands, and positive
correlations with microbial biomass/quotient in ReW and RW but negative in DW. In DW,
residual fractions of Cd, Cr, Cu and Zn were highly related to microbial biomass parameters.
In RW, Fe-Mn hydroxide fractions of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were highly related to PRO. In
ReW, total concentration of Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn were highly related to PRO and carbonate
fractions of Cr and Pb were highly related to microbial MBC. These results indicate the as the
shift from reduction to oxidation conditions, soil heavy metals fractions most related to
microbial indicators would convert from residual (most stable and nontoxic) to Fe-Mn
hydroxide (moderate flexible and toxic), to carbonate (more flexible and toxic), ascribing to
the transformations of fractions from stable to flexible under reduction conditions.
Keywords: Microbial biomass; enzyme activities; heavy metal; fractions; coastal wetlands
Exogenous Phosphorus Influences the Absorption of Cadmium in
Perennial Ryegrass Root Cell Wall
Hui Jia, Deyi Hou*
* Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (D. Hou)
School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Phosphorus (P) is generally considered as a macronutrient for plant growth, and
application of P has been identified as beneficial for heavy-metal stress environments, such as
cadmium (Cd) contamination. However, few studies have reported the mechanisms underlying
the roles of P in mitigating Cd toxicity in perennial ryegrass root. Here, the absorption kinetics
data were fitted with the typical Michaelis-Menten equation (R2 of 0.778–0.914) and the results
indicated that exogenous P improved saturation concentration and maximal absorption rate of
Cd. It is identified that P alleviated the inhibited length of root (9-51%) through reducing the
concentration of Cd in plants via the dilution effect. We found that cell wall polysaccharides
(pectin and hemicellulose 1) content increased and cellulose content decreased significantly
due to the increasing P contents in Cd - treatment. Furthermore, the increased cell walls pectin
methylesterbase (PME) activity is responsible for the P-induced increase of Cd stress in
ryegrass root. Exogenous P enhances Cd stress of ryegrass by increasing in matrix
polysaccharides contents and PME activity, which could increase the protective effect of
exogenous P on Cd tolerance in root cell wall and decrease Cd accumulation in the protoplast.
These results implied that P has played an important role in decreasing the inhibiting effects of
Cd.
Key words：
Cadmium; absorption; Root cell wall; Phosphorous; polysaccharides.
Complete Depolymerization of Pubescens Using a Catalyst-Free Biphasic
System: Structural Characterization of the Oligomeric Products
Zhicheng Jiang1, Qianying Fang2, Xudong Liu2, Zheng Li2, Changwei Hu2,*, Bi Shi1 1 National Engineering Laboratory for Clean Technology of Leather Manufacture, Sichuan University, Chengdu
610064, China
2 Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan
University, Chengdu 610064, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86-02885401105, Fax: +86-02885401105, E-mail: [email protected]
Disassembly and depolymerization of the three main components in lignocellulosic biomass
into carbohydrate-based and lignin-based oligomer fluids using solvothermal processes is
considered to be the first step and the entry point into lignocellulose biorefinery. Easily
controllable oligomer fluids are in favor of excellent heat and mass transfer in consequent
catalytic processes.
Simultaneous degradation of the three main components in pubescens into oligomers was
achieved using a catalyst-free NaCl-H2O-THF biphasic cosolvent system. Almost all
hemicellulose and more than 80% of cellulose and lignin were converted at 200 °C, to primarily
oligomeric products. The generated oligosaccharides and lignin-derived oligomers were
separated in situ into aqueous and organic phases at the same time, which reduced the
complicated separation procedures. A miscible cosolvent system with a lower NaCl dosage is
beneficial for lignin conversion, while higher NaCl dosage improves the depolymerization of
carbohydrates. Cl- ions can prevent the aggregation of the oligomers through the intramolecular
hydrogen bonding network by generating new hydrogen bonds with them. In addition, NaCl
helps to prevent repolymerization by blocking the end Cγ-OH and reserves the active Cα-OH
in the side-chain which can be further functionalized, providing high-quality oligomers for
future use.
Keywords: Lignocellulose, complete degradation; oligomers; in situ separation; biphasic
cosolvent
Reactive magnesia-activated slag – from formulation to application
Fei Jin1,* 1 School of Engineering, University of Glasgow Singapore, Singapore 138683
* Corresponding author. Tel: +65 8189 7877, E-mail: [email protected]
The production of Portland cement (PC) is associated with large negative environmental impact
and consequently there are strong incentives for the development of greener cements. Alkali-
activated slag (AAS) is produced by the reaction between an alkali and ground granulated
blastfurnace (GGBS). Compared to PC, AAS contains a large amount of industrial by-products,
and hence much lower CO2 footprint and meanwhile its has good chemical resistance.
Nevertheless, the commonly used alkalis (sodium hydroxide and/or silicate) are highly
corrosive, costly and difficult to transport and handle. In addition, the setting of AAS is usually
fast and difficult to control, which poses challenges for some construction works. Reactive
magnesia (MgO) recently emerged as an effective activator for ground granulated blastfurnace
slag (GGBS), exhibiting distinctive features such as low pore water pH, adjustable setting time,
adequate strength with hydration products showing superior adsorptive and pH buffering
capacity. These have rendered the reactive magnesia-activated GGBS cement an excellent
alternative binder in various applications, particularly for land remediation. In this talk, the
reaction mechanism and properties of reactive MgO-activated slag cement are delineated
together with the influencing factors such as MgO reactivity, purity and content. This novel
cement has recently been studied as a binder in two technologies for treatment/management of
contaminated soils: stabilisation/solidification (S/S) and low-permeability cut-off wall.
Laboratory results have demonstrated its excellent long-term mechanical and hydraulic
properties, heavy metal immobilisation capacity and compatibility with bentonite in these two
applications. Finally, two full scale field trials were conducted in the UK and China, showing
its great potential as an alternative sustainable binder in the soil remediation market.
Keywords: reactive magnesia, GGBS, stabilisation/solidification, cut-off wall, field trial
Applicability evaluation of granulated alum sludge to remove arsenic from
groundwater
Jung-Yeol Jo, Jeong-Hwan Choi, Kitae Baek*
Department of Environmental Engineering and Soil Environment Research Center, Chonbuk National
University, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel:+82-63-270-2437, Fax:+82-63-270-2449, E-mail: [email protected]
Alum sludge is a by-product from the coagulation process in water treatment facilities,
containing aluminium (hydro) oxides as a major component [1]. So far, the alum sludge has
been used as a raw material for cement production, or has been disposed of finally to the landfill.
By the way, the material can adsorb various heavy metals and anions such as fluoride and
arsenic[2]. However, the alum sludge is a form of powder, and it makes a lot of troubles in the
application of the material to adsorption bed. First of all, the powder induced channeling of
water flow in the bed, which requires periodic backwashing. More and over, the powder was
released from the bed, and the effluent contains the tiny particles of alum sludge, which requires
post treatment process after adsorption. We hypothesized that the granulation of alum sludge
can solve the problems.
In this study, molasses was used as a binder to produce a pellet adsorbent and was thermally
treated to improve adsorption kinetics and strength. The adsorption parameters were measured
to evaluate the applicability of the granulated adsorbent.
Keywords: Arsenic adsorbents, Alum sludge, ABA (alum-based adsorbent), Competitive
anions, Desorption, Groundwater
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by the Research Grant from Dasan Consultants through the Korea
Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement funded by the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport of the Korean government (Project No.: 19TBIP-C125171-03) and
partially supported by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE) as Knowledge-based
environmental service(Waste to energy) Human resource development Project.
References
[1] Y.-S. Kim, D.-H. Kim, J.-S. Yang, Kitae Baek, Adsorption characteristics of As (III) and
As (V) on alum sludge from water purification facilities, Separation Science and Technology
47, 2211-2217 (2012).
[2] E.-K. Jeon, S.-R. Ryu, S.-W. Park, Lei Wang, Daniel C.W. Tsang, Kitae Baek, Enhanced
adsorption of arsenic onto alum sludge modified by calcination, Journal of Cleaner
Production 176, 54-62 (2018).
Assessment of degradation behavior for acetylsalicylic acid using liquid
phase plasma process
Sang-Chul Jung1,*, Hye Jin Bang1, Heon Lee1, Young-Kwon Park2, Hangun Kim3 1 Department of Environmental Engineering, Sunchon National University, Sunchon 57922, Republic of Korea.
2 School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
3 College of Pharmacy, Sunchon National University, Sunchon 57922, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel:+82-61-750-3814, Fax:+82-61-750-3810, E-mail: [email protected]
The water and ground pollutions from pharmaceutical waste have been considerably increased
and the toxicity of raw ingredients and degradation intermediates are threatening the human
health. In this work, we have introduced the new degradation method such as liquid phase
plasma (LPP) process, which could generate the strong oxidants, for effective degradation of
acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) that one of the pharmaceutical waste ingredients. The effects as
operating condition of power supply, concentration of ASA, and the amount of hydrogen
peroxide were assessed, and the degradation rate and the intermediates were identified using
HPLC and GC/MS analysis. The degradation rate of ASA was greatly enhanced with increasing
the operating condition parameter of power supply as applied voltage, frequency, and pulse
width. As the parameter value increased, the chemical activated species having strong oxidant
power were more generated and then the degradation rate of ASA was improved. When the
hydrogen peroxide was added into the reactant solution, the degradation efficiency of ASA
were greatly promoted while as the excess of hydrogen peroxide decreased the degradation
rate. The representative intermediates during degradation of ASA were salicylic acid,
hydroquinone, and muconic acid.
Keywords: Pharmaceutical waste, Acetylsalicylic acid, Liquid phase plasma, Operating
condition parameter, Hydrogen peroxide
Remediation of chromate-contaminated groundwater using enhanced
bioreduction: microcosm and microbial diversity studies
W.H. Lin1, D.C.W. Tsang2, Y.T. Sheu1, C.D. Dong3, C.W. Chen3, C.M. Kao1,* 1 Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
3 Department of Marine Environmental Engineering, National University of Kaohsiung Science and Technology,
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: 886-935989780, Fax: 886-7-5254449, E-mail: [email protected]
Groundwater at many industrial sites are contaminated by hexavalent chromium (Cr6+).
Because Cr6+ is a toxic compound, it needs to be removed or reduced to less toxic trivalent
chromium (Cr3+). In this study, the effectiveness of Cr6+ reduction by the chromate-reducing
bacteria was evaluated to remediate Cr6+-contaminated groundwater under different treatment
conditions. Microcosms were constructed using indigenous microbial consortia from a
chromate-contaminated aquifer as the inocula and cane molasses, slow polycolloid-releasing
substrate (ES), and nutrient broth (NB) as the primary substrates. The variations in microbial
diversity and genes responsible for the bioreduction of chromate was also evaluated using
metagenomics assay. Complete Cr6+ reduction via the biological mechanism was observed
within 80 days under anaerobic conditions with the increased Cr3+ concentrations during the
operational processes. Cr6+ removal efficiencies were 83% and 59% in microcosms using ES
and NB as the substrates, respectively. Increased bacterial communities associated with Cr6+
bioreduction was observed in microcosms treated with cane molasses and ES addition.
However, decreased bacterial communities was observed in NB microcosms. Results indicate
that cane molasses was more applicable by indigenous Cr6+ reduction bacteria, which resulted
in effective Cr6+ bioreduction possibly due to the growth of Cr6+-reduction related bacteria
including Sporolactobacillus, Clostridiu, and Ensifer. NB was appropriate for specific bacterial
selection, and thus, it might not be appropriate for electron donor application. The
metagenomics-based approach provides detailed insights into microbial community dynamics
of Cr6+ bioreduction processes. Results would be helpful in designing an in situ Cr6+
bioreduction system to enhance the bioremediation efficiency of Cr6+-contaminated
groundwater.
Keywords: bioreduction, chromate, groundwater contamination, hexavalent chromium,
metagenomics
Valorization of digestate from biowaste through submerged fermentation
to obtain high-value added products: Trichoderma biocontrol agent and
cellulase production
Guneet Kaur1,*, Jonathan Wong1,2, Anuja Bhardwaj2, Kristiadi Uisan1
1 Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
2 Sino-Forest Applied Research Centre for Pearl River Delta Environment, Hong Kong Baptist University,
Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
* Corresponding author. Tel: +852-34117747, Fax: +852-34115133, E-mail: [email protected]
Increasing volumes of food waste are being generated globally. On the other hand, the recent
sustainable development goals emphasize food security, environmental protection and energy
efficiency. This situation demands a new waste management hierarchy which promotes the use
of wastes for high-value products such as chemicals, fuels, materials and energy. In this context,
anaerobic digestion (AD) is being globally promoted including in Hong Kong, as an efficient
and attractive solution to produce methane rich biogas. However, while producing methane as
a clean and renewable energy from waste, huge quantities of nutrient-rich digestate are left
behind by AD. Thus, the sustainability of AD processes will depend on proper management of
digestate remaining after AD process, otherwise digestate will become a ‘new waste’ in the
nearest future. The current major outlet for digestate is agricultural applications with strict
regulatory standards. Expanding the market for digestate beyond agriculture is vital to achieve
government targets for biodegradable waste reduction and promote AD for increased
generation of renewable energy. In the present work, we investigated the use of digestate from
biowaste without any addition of expensive nutrient components as a potential source of bio-
products of commercial and industrial value through submerged fermentation. First, we used
different types of digestates including food waste digestate and AD sludge digestate for growth
and spore production by Trichoderma reesei, which is an important biocontrol agent. The
results demonstrated a higher biomass growth of up to 5 g/mL media and spore production of
3.8 X 108 spores on digestate as compared to a lower dry biomass of about 1 g/mL media and
1.47 X 106 spores obtained from culture grown on conventional synthetic medium. We further
analysed the ability of digestate-grown cultures for cellulase production. Among the digestates,
the highest cellulase production was obtained on AD sludge digestate culture (4.8 FPU/g)
followed by food waste digestate (3.7 FPU/g) on day 4 of cultivation. These values were higher
and/or comparable to those obtained on synthetic medium which produced 3.8 FPU/g cellulase.
The above results hold great promise for utilization of digestate as a source of nutrients for
production of high-value added products while allowing simultaneous sustainable digestate
management in a circular economy scheme.
Keywords: Digestate, advanced biorefinery, bio-products, anaerobic digestion, waste-to-value
Iron Turning Waste Filter: Fast and Cost Effective Degradation of DDT
and Lindane in Water
Tauqeer Abbas1, Tanush Wadhawan2, John McEvoy3 and Eakalak Khan4* 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108, USA
2 Dynamita, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
3 Department of Microbiological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108, USA
4 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las
Vegas, Nevada 89154, USA
* Corresponding author. Tel: 1-702-7741449, Fax: 1-702-8953936, E-mail: [email protected]
Pesticide contamination in water supply is a common environmental problem in rural
agricultural communities. In this study, iron turning waste was experimented as sustainable
filtration media for the removal/degradation of DDT and lindane individually (batch system)
and combined (continuous column) in water. After 10 min of reaction in a batch system, 54%
and 98% of lindane and DDT were removed using 2.5 g of iron turning in 200 mL of pesticide
solution (20 µg/L for each pesticide). DDT and lindane removal followed second-order kinetics
and their removal rates were 0.66 g/µg.min and 0.01 g/µg.min, respectively. Common minerals
in groundwater had minimal effect on DDT removal, whereas the presence of potassium
significantly lowered lindane removal (23%). The effect of water pH (4-10) on the removal of
both pesticides was minimal (≤5%). Increasing the iron turning dose from 0.25 g to 5 g, the
removal efficiencies of lindane and DDT increased from 10% and 78% to 57% and 99%,
respectively. The initial pesticide concentration (1-20 µg/L) had limited effect on lindane
removal, whereas DDT removal substantially decreased by 30% at an initial pesticide
concentration of 1 µg/L. For the continuous flow system, sand as traditional media for water
filtration was also tested along with iron turning waste. The initial pesticide concentration and
water flow rate were 2 μg/L and 10 mL/min. No lindane removal was observed during sand
filtration, whereas DDT removal was 90-95%. Iron turning waste worked better in combination
with sand media. Complete removal of DDT was achieved regardless of the iron turning dose
(100-150 g) and water flow rate (5-15 mL/min). Lowering the water flow rate from 15 mL/min
to 5 mL/min and using 150 g of iron turning, resulted in complete removal of lindane. Based
on a breakthrough experiment, iron turning waste based filter removed both pesticides
completely during 500 hours of continuous filtration. Lindane and DDT were first
dechlorinated to different organic compounds such as chlorobenzene and 1-chloro-2,2-bis(p-
chlorophenyl)ethane, afterward ring cleavage of benzene/phenol was observed. Hexanal (for
lindane), nonanal, octanol, 1-decanol (for DDT) were identified as final degradation by-
products. The research findings show that iron turning waste based filter can be used as an
affordable filter media to treat both pesticides effectively.
Keywords: Lindane, DDT, iron turning waste, degradation mechanism, water filtration
Abundance and Activity of Ammonia Oxidizing Archaea and Bacteria in
Bulk Water and Biofilm in Water Supply Systems Practicing Chlorination
and Chloramination: Full and Laboratory Scale Investigations
Dhritikshama Roy1, John McEvoy2, Eakalak Khan3,* 1 Environmental Conservation and Sciences Program, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108-6050,
USA
2 Department of Microbiological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
89154-4015, USA
* Corresponding author. Tel: 1-702-774-1449 , Fax: 1-702-895-3936, E-mail: [email protected]
The abundance and nitrification activity of ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia
oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in bulk water and biofilm in chloraminated and chlorinated water
supply systems were investigated. The abundance of AOB varied between cold and warm
periods while that was the case for AOA only in biofilm. Lower ammonia concentrations
favored the abundance of AOA over AOB. AOA and AOB were found more in distal zones of
the distribution system (DS). Higher numbers of AOA and AOB were observed in DS
associated with chloramination compared to those associated with chlorination. Significant
positive correlations between ammonia-N in bulk water and AOA indicate a possibility of
involvement of AOA in nitrification in DS. A separate laboratory-based experiment simulating
DS condition was conducted to understand the effects of chlorine and chloramine dosages and
temperature on AOA and AOB. AOA was inhibited less than AOB in the presence of low to
medium concentrations of both chlorine and chloramine (1.5 and 2.0 mg/L chlorine; 0.05-0.1
and 0.3-0.4 mg/L chloramine) but both of them were not detected at high dosages (2.5 mg/L
chlorine and 1.5-1.6 mg/L chloramine). At a low temperature (10-12°C), chloramine and
chlorine provided similar inhibition trends in which AOB was inhibited more than AOA. At a
high temperature (~25°C), chloramine was less inhibitory to AOA and AOB than chlorine.
Keywords: Ammonia oxidizing archaea, ammonia oxidizing bacteria, chloramine, chlorine,
distribution system, nitrification
Can Micro-Aeration Improve Anaerobic Digestion Process?
Samir Kumar Khanal1,* and Duc Nyugen1 1Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii,
96822, USA
* Corresponding author. Tel: (808) 956-3812, Fax: (808) 956-3542, E-mail: [email protected]
Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been widely adopted for stabilization/treatment of diverse
organic wastes/residues with concomitant generation of bioenergy and digestate. AD process,
however, is often susceptible to failure, especially at high organic loading rates (OLRs) due to
accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs). We developed and tested an oxidation-reduction
potential (ORP)-based micro-aeration system to precisely dose oxygen in the AD system to
enhance methane yield and to improve process stability under high OLRs. At an OLR of 5 g
volatile solids (VS)/L.day, rapid accumulation of total VFAs up to 11 g/L as acetic acid (HAc)
caused a drastic drop in pH (<6.0) and methane yield, and the reactors were on the verge of
failure. Once the ORP-based micro-aeration was introduced every other day, the total VFA
concentration declined rapidly to less than 2 g HAc/L, and methane yield increased by 252%
without adding alkalinity or reducing feeding rate. 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses revealed
that micro-aeration promoted facultative bacteria while preserved crucial methanogens to
effectively produce methane under a high OLR condition. This is the first attempt to implement
the ORP-controlled micro-aeration as an effective strategy for recovering unstable AD system
as well as maintaining long-term system stability with enhanced methane yield.
Impact of Photooxidation Processes on Dissolved Organic Matter
Characteristics and Haloacetonitriles Formation
Pradabduang Kiattisaksiri1,2, Eakalak Khan3, Patiparn Punyapalakul4, Charongpun
Musikavong5, Thunyalux Ratpukdi6,*
1 Faculty of Public Health, Thammasat University (Lampang Center), Lampang 52190, Thailand
2 International Program in Hazardous Substance and Environmental Management, Graduate School,
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction, University of Nevada, Las Vegas,
Nevada 89154-4015, USA 4 Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
10330, Thailand
5 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Songkla 90112,
Thailand
6 Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, and Research Center for Environmental
and Hazardous Substance Management, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
* Corresponding author. Tel: +6643202571 Ext.103, Fax: +6643202571, E-mail: [email protected]
Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) is one of the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). An advantage
of VUV over other AOPs is that VUV can generate hydroxyl radicals ) OH•( in situ in water
without additional chemicals. The objective of this work was to study the impact of VUV (185
+ 254 nm) and ultraviolet (UV, 254 nm) on dissolved organic matter (DOM) characteristics
and haloacetonitriles ) HANs( formation in treated water and treated municipal wastewater
samples. The results showed that VUV provided higher efficiency than conventional UV for
reducing ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UV254), hydrophobic (HPO) fraction, and
fluorescence peak intensity. After 60 min of VUV irradiation, the formation of HANs tended
to decrease with decreases in UV254 and HPO fraction. This infers that aromatic compounds
and hydrophobic organic molecules in the samples can be easily degraded by light at 185 nm
and OH• generated from VUV photolysis. Moreover, fluorescence spectra showed that
tryptophan peak intensity was correlated with the reduction of HAN formation. This implies
that tryptophan was a dominant precursor of HANs. It is concluded that VUV light at 185 nm
and OH could breakdown of HANs precursors, resulting in the reduction of HANs formation
in treated water and treated municipal wastewater.
Keywords: Fluorescence peak intensity, Haloacetonitriles, Vacuum ultraviolet
What is the best novel materials for the removal of key pollutants in indoor air?
Ki-Hyun Kim
Dept of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763 Korea
Correspondence: [email protected]
Abstract
To date, numerous materials have been developed and introduced as air quality treatment media
for various gaseous pollutants including key volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like benzene
and formaldehyde (FA). Although the use of activated carbon (AC) based on sorptive treatment
has been one of the most preferable options for the treatment of benzene, such application is
not feasible for the treatment of FA. In an effort to develop novel materials to treat various
target species in indoor environment, we have investigated the potential of new or advanced
materials like metal organic frameworks (MOFs) for diverse applications in indoor air quality
remediation. Nonetheless, the basic information is yet limited with respect to the practical
option for the advanced functional materials. This research was organized to update all the
sorptive technology for hard targets based on Figure of Merits (FOM) such as the selection of
the best performingsorbent in terms of adsorption capacity and economic feasibility.
Keywords: benzene, activated carbon, adsorption, treatment, conventional adsorbents
Carbonation/granulation treatment of mine tailings using MgO/GGBS
binder: Testing of the granule produced in a pilot-scale granulator
Tae Yoo Kim1, Jun-Young Ahn1, Su-Jin Choi1, Thanh Ho Thi1, Inseong Hwang1,* 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pusan National University, 30 Jangjeon-Dong,
Geumjeong-Gu, Busan 609-735, Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-01-2722-0255, E-mail: [email protected]
Carbonation/granulation treatment of mine tailings has been previously studied using a lab-
scale granulator with MgO (magnesium oxide) and GGBS (ground granule blast furnace slag)
as a binder. The granule produced showed great potential for use as a backfilling material. In
this study, the granule that was produced using a pilot-scale granulator was tested. A dosage of
30% of MgO/GGBS binder and a weight ratio of 1:1 of MgO to GGBS were tested under an
optimal rotational speed and a retention time of the granulator. Mine tailings-binder mixtures
with total weights of 12.5 kg or 25 kg were tested. The physical/chemical characteristics of the
granules were investigated after subjecting the granules at 20% CO2 condition during
granulation and at the same CO2 concentration during 28-d curing. The granule strength
increased upon CO2 exposure and the strength dramatically increased as the curing progressed
until the 28th day. A granule strength of 0.34 MPa was obtained on the 28th day which was 72%
of the value (0.47 MPa) of granules produced by a lab-scale granulator. The amount of CO2
uptake was 0.13 kg CO2/kg binder for the granules that was slightly lower than that observed
for the lab-scale granule, which was 0.16 kg CO2/kg binder after 28 days. The granule strength
was maintained up to 4 cycles of wet and dry cycling test then decreased thereafter. The granule
met most of the requirements for use as subbase materials. Except for the abrasion rate of 78 %,
which was higher than the requirements value. Toxicity characteristics leaching procedure
(TCLP) test for the granules showed that 99.9% the total heavy metals in the mine tailings were
stabilized by carbonation/granulation.
Keywords: MgO, Mine Tailings, Carbonation, Granulation, Solidification
Visible light induced photocatalysis by red mud with peroxides
Joohyun Kim, Sungjun Bae*
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu,
Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-2-450-3904, E-mail: [email protected]
Red mud (RM), an industrial by-product from alumina production process (i.e., Bayer process), has
been considered as a solid waste causing severe environmental problem to date. In this study, a novel
photocatalysis system was developed by using RM and peroxides (i.e. hydrogen peroxide (H2O2),
peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and persulfate (PS)) under visible light irradiation (λ > 410 nm) for
wastewater treatment (i.e., decolourization of acid orange 7 (AO7)). A complete decolourization of AO7
was achieved using RM with all the peroxides at pH 3.0, while there were only 2-5 % of adsorptive
removal of AO7 on the RM surface in absence of visible light. The amount of peroxide consumed after
the complete decolourization was ordered as follows: PS < PMS < H2O2, indicating the highest
efficiency of PS for the AO7 decolourization. In order to investigate the photocatalysis mechanism, we
prepared different metal oxide (MxOy) composites by thermal treatment in Teflon-lined autoclave
according to the main chemical composition of RM. Among the MxOy, Fe2O3 was found as key player
for the degradation of AO7 by forming AO7-Fe3+ complex, which can undergo electron transfer from
AO7 to Fe3+ and yield active oxidative radicals (i.e. O2• −, •OH or SO4
• −) for AO7 decolourization.
Compared to pure Fe2O3, Fe2O3-Na2O composite showed enhancement in decolourization rate due
probably to the peroxide activation by continuous extraction of OH− anion, whereas Fe2O3-Al2O3 and
Fe2O3-SiO2 composites showed a remarkable inhibition effect on decolourization. To find out the
reactive radical species in each system, we used various scavengers (i.e. 2-propanol, phenol, p-
benzoquinone, sodium azide and N2 purging) and found out that superoxide radical (O2• −) or
hydroperoxy radical (HO2•) were the main radical species as an initiator, resulting in the activation of
peroxides for AO7 decolourization. In addition, sulfate radical (SO4• −) was more dominant species for
AO7 decolourization than hydroxyl radical (•OH) at pH 3.0. The results of this study revealed that red
mud can be successfully utilized for AO7 decolourization as a catalyst without any pre-treatment or
modification due to high composition of Fe2O3 and its alkalinity.
Keywords: Red mud, Acid Orange 7, Visible light, Decolourization, Persulfate
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, 20174010201490) and the National Research Foundation of
Korea (project no. 2016R1D1A1B03930142 and 2019R1C1C1003316).
Improvement of activated sludge hydrolysis with different lysozyme
treatment in anaerobic digestion
Sangmin Kim1, Eunji Kim, Taewoan Koo, Joonyeob Lee, and Seokhwan Hwang1* 1 Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology
(POSTECH), 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-54-279-2282, Fax: +82-54-279-8299, E-mail: [email protected]
The current concern in the activated sludge (AS) processes is its hydrolysis in an anaerobic
digester. Because the AS mainly consists of the aerobic biomass cells, it induces the hydrolysis
rate-limiting step in the anaerobic digestion (AD). Each microorganism in the digesters can
secrete the hydrolytic enzymes degrading the organic wastes. However, the AD processes can
reduce only 30 ~ 50 percent of volatile solids in AS. Of the hydrolytic enzymes, the lysozyme
can break up the β-1,4 glycosidic bonds in the cell wall, so it is the proper enzyme for enzymatic
pre-treatment. In this study, our group aimed to improve a solubilization rate and methane
conversion efficiency of the AS treating the recombinant lysozyme.
The AS sample was taken from the secondary sedimentation tank of Pohang wastewater
treatment plant in South Korea. The activities of recombinant lysozyme from bacteriophage
T4, T7, and λ (made by Korea research institute of bioscience & biotechnology, KRIBB, South
Korea) were about 662, 95, and 294 U/mg. Energy conversion rate (mL CH4/g VSin) and sludge
reduction rate (Δg VS/g VSin x 100) was calculated.
T4 lysozyme (T4L), T7 lysozyme (T7L) and λ lysozyme (λL) responded optimally with AS
under the conditions: T4L (pH 7.2, 47oC), T7L (pH 7.1, 37.1oC), λL (pH 7.0, 38.4oC). After
lysozyme treated with AS under the optimal condition, a biochemical methane potential (BMP)
test was performed to investigate the change of methane conversion efficiency by treating the
different lysozyme. Their energy conversion rate and sludge reduction rate is following: 28.8
(T4L), 20.6 (T7L), 16.4 (λL), 12.9 (Ctrl).
This research demonstrated the effect of lysozyme on activated sludge. These results can be
referred to increase the efficiency of methane gas generation through the enzymatic pre-
treatment of sludge by recombining the enzyme.
Keywords: Lysozyme, Secondary sludge, Hydrolysis, Energy conversion rate, Sludge
reduction
Diversity and dynamics of bacterial communities for A2O process stability
adopting food waste recycling wastewater as alternative carbon source
Eunji Kim1 and Seokhwan Hwang1,* 1 Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology
(POSTECH), 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, South Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-54-279-8328 , Fax: +82-54-279-8299 , E-mail: [email protected]
To investigate biological nitrogen removal (BNR) process performance by comparing bacterial
communities in anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2O) process, a seven-months-long experiment was
conducted in a full-scale sewage wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) using food waste-
recycling wastewater (FRW) as an alternative carbon source. In this study, the COD and TSS
removal efficiencies were stable with average values of 94.0% and 95.5%, respectively. The
average TN and TP removal efficiencies were 69.9% and 95.8%. High removal efficiencies of
nitrification and denitrification were achieved with about 91.9% and 97.2% respectively (Fig.1).
Chitinophagaceae, Saprospiraceae, Rhodocyclaceae, Comamonadaceae were the major
bacterial families in both oxic and anoxic tanks. Although the Nitrosomonadaceae and
Nitrospiraceae were detected with low relative abundance in this study, these bacterial groups
were regarded as responsible for stable and high nitrification efficiency. These results
demonstrate that process performance was linked to the acclimation and function of bacterial
communities to the change of carbon source.
Figure 1.
Removal performance of (a) NH4-N, and (b) NO3-N in the oxic and anoxic tanks.
Keywords: Full-scale, External carbon source, Food waste-recycling wastewater, Next
generation sequencing
Control of Organic Matter Dissolution From Biochar
Hye-Bin Kim1, Kitae Baek1,* 1Department of Environmental Engineering and Soil Environment Research Center, Chonbuk National
University, Jeonju, Jeollabukdo 57896, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel:+82-63-270-2437 , Fax:+82-63-270-2449, E-mail:[email protected]
Recently, biochar has been in the spotlight because of its great potentials on sequestering
atmospheric carbon and soil amendment[1]. Biochar is a complicate material, and the
confluence of physico-chemical properties on the behavior of metals is not fully elucidated.
Among the properties, especially, dissolved organic matter (DOM) released from biochar, has
been received little attention. DOM changes the redox chemistry of iron oxides in the soil, thus
the dissolution of iron materials is a key factor on the fate and transport of arsenic (As) and
other metals bound to the iron oxides[2]. Minimizing DOM can be achieved by increasing the
pyrolysis temperature. However, the strategy should be applied with considering the
characteristics of biomass by itself because the amounts of DOM released from biochar are
highly dependent on the type of biomass even though the higher temperature reduces the DOM
due to more condensation of organic matter. Given that the objectives of this study were to
investigate the properties of DOM derived from biochar according to major components of
biomass. Therefore, in this study, we hypothesized that the amount of lignin among major
constituents (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin) of biomass would affect the DOM. To verify
this, a mixture of cellulose/lignin reagents and sawdust with controlled the lignin content was
pyrolyzed at 300 ℃, and the biochar was incubate to investigate the DOM.
Keywords: Biochar; Dissolved Organic Matters(DOMs); Lignin; Cellulose
Acknowledgment
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (grant number:
2018R1A2B6004284), and partially supported by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE) as
Knowledge-based environmental service(Waste to energy) Human resource development Project.
[1] M. Vithanage, I. Herath, S. Joseph, J. Bundschuh, N. Bolan, Y.S. Ok, M.B. Kirkham, J. Rinklebe,
Interaction of arsenic with biochar in soil and water: A critical review, Carbon, 113 (2017) 219-230.
[2] H.B. Kim, S.H. Kim, E.K. Jeon, D.H. Kim, D.C.W. Tsang, D.S. Alessi, E.E. Kwon, K. Baek, Effect of
dissolved organic carbon from sludge, Rice straw and spent coffee ground biochar on the mobility of
arsenic in soil, Science of the Total Environment, 636 (2018) 1241-1248.
Reduction of Arsenic Mobility by Manganese Oxides in Paddy Rice Field
during Flooding Period
Taesun Kim1, Hye-Bin Kim1, Kitae Baek1* 1Department of Environmental Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do 54896,
Republic of Korea.
* Corresponding author. Tel:+82-63-270-2437, Fax:+82-63-270-2449, E-mail: [email protected]
Rice is a major staple food, thus the accumulation of arsenic (As) in the rice can be a critical
issue on the food security in Korea as well as in the word consuming rice. Arsenic is a toxic
trace element, it is absorbed into the body through the food chain, and causes various diseases
such as skin cancer and neuropathy. In nature, As exists as two major species: As(V) and
As(III)1, and the species of As are highly dependent on pH and redox potential. As(III) is a
neutral form in agricultural land and easily uptaken by crops. Especially, rice field is in flooding
period for 3 months (June-September) in Korea, and the oxygen supply to the soil is limited by
the water layer during the period. As a result, the soil changes to reducing condition, iron oxides
are dissolved via the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II), As(V) bound to the iron oxides are released
to the soil pore solution, and As(V) is reduced to As(III) partially1. Therefore, the absorption
of As(V) and As(III) increases significantly during the period, which is the major reason for
the As accumulation to the rice field. The reduction of Fe(III) and As(V) should be prevented
or decreased to solve the problem. In this study, we focused on the birnessite, one of manganese
oxides, found commonly in soil because the oxide can oxidize Fe(II) to Fe(III) as well as As(III)
to As(V) due to the higher redox potential compared to Fe(III) and As(V)2,3. We hypothesized
that the birnessite will decrease the reduction reaction of Fe(III) and As(V) during the flooding
period in the paddy rice field. The effectiveness of birnessite was evaluated in the laboratory.
Keywords: Arsenic; Rice; Paddy rice field; Redox potential; Manganese oxide
Acknowledgment
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National
Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (grant number:
2018R1A2B6004284), and partially supported by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE) as
Knowledge-based environmental service(Waste to energy) Human resource development
Project.
Reference
1. Yamaguchi, N., et al., Arsenic release from flooded paddy soils is influenced by speciation,
Eh, pH, and iron dissolution. Chemosphere, 2011. 83(7): p. 925-932.
2. Manning, B.A., et al., Arsenic(III) oxidation and arsenic(V) adsorption reactions on synthetic
birnessite. Environmental Science & Technology, 2002. 36(5): p. 976-981.
3. Post, J.E., Manganese oxide minerals: Crystal structures and economic and environmental
significance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
1999. 96(7): p. 3447-3454.
Simultaneous oxidation and adsorption of arsenic of using bi-functional Fe-
modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)
Jong-Gook Kim1,*, Kitae Baek2
Department of Environmental Engineering and Soil Environment Research Center, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju,
Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-63-270-2437, Fax: +82-63-270-2449, E-mail: [email protected]
Arsenic(As) is a toxic and carcinogenic element even at a low concentration. Arsenic has
different species depending on pH, redox potential(Eh), and oxidation state. They are usually
in the forms of inorganic species, arsenite((As(III)) and arsenate((As(V)). As(III) is known to
be more toxic, mobile and difficult to remove than As(V) due to neutral charge in nature. Most
As(III) removal process contains the pre-oxidation step of As(III) to As(V), and Fenton reaction
and photocatalysis is the most common choice to achieve the purpose[1]. The oxidized As(V)
is removed through adsorption and co-precipitation. Therefore, the removal system of As(III)
requires two-step process: oxidation and separation, and takes a relatively long time and two
reactors. The simultaneous oxidation and separation is a way to the treatment time and to
simplify the treatment process[2]. In this study, we synthesized a composite material to achieve
simultaneously the oxidation and adsorption of As in a reactor. We hypothesized that a
photocatalyst, melamine-derived graphitic carbon nitride, oxidized As(III) to As(V) and the
oxidized As(V) is adsorbed onto the iron oxides phase on the composite material. The
speciation of As on the composite was analyzed, and the characterization of the composite was
carried out to evaluate the mechanism exactly.
Keywords: Arsenic; Oxidation; Adsorption; Graphitic carbon nitride; iron oxide
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of
Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (grant number: 2018R1A2B6004284), and partially supported
by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE) as Knowledge-based environmental service(Waste to energy) Human
resource development Project.
[1] S.W. Sun, C.N. Ji, L.L. Wu, et al., Facile one-pot construction of alpha-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 heterojunction for arsenic removal
by synchronous visible light catalysis oxidation and adsorption, Mater. Chem. Phys. 194 (2017) 1-8.
[2] S. Tonda, S. Kumar, S. Kandula, et al., Fe-doped and -mediated graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets for enhanced
photocatalytic performance under natural sunlight, Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2 (2014) 6772-6780.
Emulsification Characteristics of Ether extracted bio-oil in diesel using
Span 80 and Atlox 4914
Jihee Kim, Abid Farooq, Young Kwon Park*
School of Environmental Engineering, The University of Seoul, Seoul, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-2-6490-2870, Fax: +82-2-6490-2859, E-mail: [email protected]
Bio-oil due to its high viscosity, high amount of water and high acidity cannot be used directly
as a fuel in engine. Emulsification is an inexpensive, effective and simple method to use bio-
oil along with diesel as a fuel to counter the problem. In the first step of this study, the bio-oil
(pyrolysis of oak sawdust at 450oC) was obtained from Dyekeng company. The bio-oil was
separated into heavy fraction, light fraction and ether soluble fraction. The ether soluble
fraction was selected for emulsification due to its low viscosity and low water content. Ether
extraction was performed to reduce the amount of ether in bio-oil from 43% to 7%.
Emulsification of ether extracted bio-oil in diesel have been analysed using two commercial
emulsifiers (Span 80 and Atlox 4914) in a 2nd step. Span 80 with an HLB value of 4.3 and Atlox
4914 with 12.0 gives a wide range to be tested in order to achieve stability. The ultrasonicator
power was investigated in a range of 10% to 40%. Under the same conditions the bio-oil
content of 5%-20% stability in diesel was investigated. The emulsion with (7%-10%) bio-oil,
3% emulsifier and (87%-90%) was observed to be stable under the ultrasonic power of 40%
with 10 min. of sonication time. The emulsion with HLB value of 5.8 was found to be stable
for more than 40 days with the bio-oil content of 10%, emulsifier (3%) and 87% of diesel.
Although the emulsion looked stable with the naked eye, it was analysed by FTIR curves in
order to be sure about the stability of the emulsion. The functional groups obtained through
FTIR gives the clear insight about the stability of bio-oil in diesel, hence can be considered as
a powerful tool to test the sample.
Keywords: Bio-oil, Emulsifer, Sonicator, Ether extraction, Diesel
This work was supported by the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST)
grant by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. CAP-16-05-KIMM).
Prediction of three biomass components and improved modeling
of pyrolysis kinetics using thermogravimetric analysis
Heeyoon Kim1, Minsu Kim1, Changkook Ryu1,*
School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon16419, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-31-299-4841, Fax: +82-31-290-5889, E-mail: [email protected]
Hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin are the three main constituents of land biomass in which
their composition varies depending on the species. Because the pyrolysis behavior is governed
by these constituents, it is essential to analyze their composition for the target biomass and
apply it to understanding and predicting the thermochemical characteristics involving pyrolysis.
However, the analytical procedure for the determination of the three constituents is complicated
and time-consuming. On the other hand, the rate constants of pyrolysis kinetics for the
constituents reported in the literature have a wide variation mainly due to the differences in the
detailed chemical structures of hemicellulose and lignin.
In this study, a new method was proposed to estimate the lignocellulosic composition of target
biomass using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and improve the modeling accuracy of
pyrolysis kinetics. For this purpose, two biomass samples (hinoki cypress and wood pellet)
were selected and their lignocellulosic compositions were determined by the standard
analytical procedure as the reference values. In analyzing the TGA results for the samples to
estimate the compositions, the rate constants (pre-exponential factor and activation energy)
were taken from the literature for the first-order reactions of the three constituents. However, a
temperature shift was introduced to match with the measured peak temperatures in mass loss
rates considering the considerable variations in the rate constants depending on the biomass
species. The lignocellulosic composition was then calculated using an algorithm incorporating
the error minimization method. The results had a satisfactory agreement with the measured
composition with deviations less than 1.0% for wood pellet and 4.2% for hinoki cypress. The
modeling of pyrolysis kinetics based on the predicted composition and temperature shift in the
first-order kinetics also reproduced the TGA curves with good accuracy.
Considering that the TGA is a simple test to measure the mass loss by pyrolysis in about an
hour, the method proposed in this study is very useful for a quick estimation of the
lignocellulosic composition and improving the accuracy of pyrolysis modeling.
Keywords: Biomass, pyrolysis, thermogravimetric analysis, lignocellulosic composition
Revisiting Models of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn Adsorption onto Fe Oxides
Michael Komárek1,*, Juan Antelo2, Jeremy Fein3, Carla M. Koretsky4
1 Department of Environmental Geosciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
2 Technological Research Institute, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, USA
4 Department of Geosciences, Western Michigan University, USA
* Corresponding author. Tel: +420224383857, E-mail: [email protected]
A generic hydrous Fe oxide surface is often used in surface complexation modeling (SCM) for
predicting metal behavior in aqueous and soil environments. However, this approach may lead
to incorrect results because there are many different naturally-occurring Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxide
mineral phases in the environment, each exhibiting distinct adsorption characteristics. We
provide a simple and unified workflow for obtaining the adsorption parameters (DLM and CD-
MUSIC), which are readily implementable into widely used geochemical codes, such as Visual
MINTEQ, MINEQL+, and ORCHESTRA. The parameters were obtained enabling
quantification of metal adsorption onto a range of Fe(III) oxides (goethite, hematite,
lepidocrocite, maghemite) in various aqueous environments. The dataset of SCM parameters
characterize the adsorption of selected divalent metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) at varying metal
concentrations and ionic strengths. In general, the CD-MUSIC model provides better fits to the
observed metal adsorption data onto the studied Fe oxides than the simpler DLM. However,
the CD-MUSIC fits were based on more fitting parameters (multiple surface complexes,
electrostatic parameters, etc.) and the DLM approach aimed to be as simple and consistent as
possible for all the studied Fe(III) oxides and metals. Nevertheless, both modeling approaches
provide a useful and viable option that should result in better predictions of metal speciation in
the environment than the ‘generic’ Fe oxide model and future research should focus on coupling
these models strictly with advanced spectroscopic techniques, i.e., EXAFS.
Keywords: adsorption, metals, SCM, Fe oxides
Soil Moisture Enhancement and Turbid Water Control using Polymer-
based Soil Additive against Climate Change
Young Hyun Kim, Min Woo Kang, Sang Soo Lee*
Department of Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Korea
*Corresponding author. Tel: +82-33-760-2457, E-mail: [email protected]
Water security is being highlighted nowadays due to climate change causing extremely high
variability of precipitation. The unpredictable draught or excessive evaporation is bringing
water shortage in agriculture sector whereas the extremely heavy rainfall is leading to soil
erosion resulting in turbid water or eutrophication in water system. The objective of this
preliminary study is to develop polymer-based multifunctional soil additive with biochar and
other organic matters for enhancing soil water retention and mitigating risk of soil erosion or
turbid water. This study also hypothesizes that the developed soil additive would be positive
effects on soil quality and agricultural productivity. The top soil was collected from 300-mm
depth after removing cover vegetation in Korea (38°15’54” N lat., 128°07’02” E long.) and
air-dried for 48 h. The sieved soil of 1,200 g, less than 10-mm particle size, was repacked into
a steel cylinder (13.2-cm dia., 14-cm high) with a bulk density of 1.4 Mg/m3 for test. An anionic
polyacrylamide (PAM), moringa powder (MR; Moringa oleifera), and the oak tree biochar
(BC) were purchased and used for synthesizing soil additive in a form of pellet. Previous
studies have shown that PAM retained soil moisture and delayed to evaporate and the BC can
also maintained soil moisture in intergranular pores. The MR is used as a natural coagulant as
a water treatment along with excellent biodegradability, thereby reducing turbid water
effectively. These synthesized soil additives at different rates of 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 g were mixed
with the same amount of initial soil after saturation using tap water. The moisture contents
were determined during 15-d incubation. For the control soil, the moisture content was reduced
by 18.3% after 15-d incubation. On the other hand, the moisture contents were decreased by
16.2, 17.1, and 14.8% in the soils treated with 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 g of soil additive, respectively.
Our preliminary result showed that the highest rate of soil additive was most effective in
maintaining soil moisture. The polymer-based soil additive can be customized depending on
local characteristics and would be an effective way to mitigate water shortage or increasing
soil water retention/availability. Moreover, its application can be a tool to control soil erosion
and turbid water. The quantification of turbid water or soil erosion reduction would be needed
to evaluate the effectiveness of developed soil additive containing PAM and MR. This work
was carried out with the supports of the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded
by the Korean Government [grant number NRF-2016R1C1B2006336] and 'Cooperative
Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (Project No.
PJ0125702019)' Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.
Keywords: Climate change, Moringa, Polymer, Turbid water, Soil water retention
Application of an interspecies interaction model: An experiment
verification on Clostridium cadaveris and Clostridium sporogenes in batch
and chemostat mode under anaerobic condition
Taewoan Koo1,*, Seokhwan Hwang1 1 Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology
(POSTECH), Pohang, Gyeongbuk, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel:054-279-2282, Fax:054-279-8299, E-mail: [email protected]
The specific primer and probe sets for quantifying Clostridium cadaveris and Clostridium
sporogenes using a quantitative real-time PCR were designed. Each primer and probe set
detected only target species very specifically. The two species were cultivated in pure and
mixed culture in batch mode and continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) mode with glucose as
only carbon source. The designed QPCR sets were successfully applied to estimate the
biokinetic parameters of each species in the pure culture, which was calculated based on the
Monod equation. The maximum specific growth rate (μmax), half saturation concentration (Ks),
growth yield (Y), and decay coefficient (Kd) of C. cadaveris and C.sporogenes were 0.311 ±
0.020 and 0.360 ± 0.019 hour-1, 4.241 ± 1.653 and 5.171 ± 1.097 g/L, 0.301 ± 0.065 and 0.199
± 0.037 1011 copies/g, 0.005 ± 0.043 and 0.009 ± 0.025 hour-1, respectively. The effect on
substrate consumption rate and microbial growth by the presence of other species sharing
resource was evaluated experimentally and statistically using mixed culture. By curve fitting
and comparing coefficient, it was examined that substrate consumption rate increases and the
microbial growth rate decreases, which implied interspecific interaction effect. The new model
development was performed to mathematize the interspecific interaction, the novel interaction
model was selected under considerations such as accuracy, realism, simplicity and biological
significance. The novel interaction model models developed in batch mode accurately
predicted substrate and microbial changes in CSTR mode. In the mixed culture, C. sporogenes
lost the competition and was washed out, and C. cadaveris won the competition. The result
was predicted using the novel interaction model simulation. This idea opened new prospect in
the field of interspecific interaction model was expected to be applied to more complex
bioprocess system such as biological wastewater treatment system and anaerobic digestion.
Keywords: Quantitative real-time PCR; Biokinetic analysis; Interspecific interaction model;
CSTR simulation
Biochar stability in soil: 15-year incubation, meta-analysis to
decomposition and priming effects, and consequences for carbon
sequestration
Yakov Kuzyakov
Göttingen, Germany
Tel: +49 551 40133235, Fax: +49 551 39 3310, E-mail: [email protected]
The stability and decomposition of biochar are fundamental to understand its persistence in
soil, its contribution to carbon (C) sequestration, and thus its role in the global C cycle. Our
current knowledge about the degradability of biochar, however, is limited. Based on own 15-
year-long incubation (the world-wide longest incubation) and using 128 observations of
biochar-derived CO2 from 24 studies with stable (13C) and radioactive (14C) carbon isotopes,
we meta-analyzed the biochar decomposition in soil and estimated its mean residence time
(MRT). The decomposed amount of biochar increased logarithmically with experimental
duration, and the decomposition rate decreased with time. The biochar decomposition rate was
dependent on experimental duration, feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, and soil clay content.
The MRTs of labile and recalcitrant biochar C pools were estimated to be about 108 days and
556 years with pool sizes of 3% and 97%, respectively. These results show that only a small
part of biochar is bioavailable and that the remaining 97% contribute directly to long-term
(centuries and millennia) C sequestration in soil.
The second database (116 observations from 21 studies) was used to evaluate the priming
effects after biochar addition. Biochar slightly retarded the mineralization of soil organic matter
(SOM; overall mean: -3.8%, 95% CI = -8.1…-0.8%) compared to the soil without biochar
addition. Negative priming was common for studies with a duration shorter than half a year (-
8.6%), crop-derived biochar (-20.3%), fast pyrolysis (-18.9%), the lowest pyrolysis
temperature (-18.5%), and small application amounts (-11.9%). In contrast, biochar addition to
sandy soils strongly stimulated SOM mineralization by 20.8%. This indicates that biochar
stimulates microbial activities especially in soils with low fertility. Furthermore, abiotic and
biotic processes, as well as the characteristics of biochar and soils, affecting biochar
decomposition are discussed. We conclude that biochar can persist in soils on a centennial and
millennial scales and that it has a positive effect on SOM dynamics and thus on C sequestration.
Keywords: Biochar stability, 13C and 14C labelling, Carbon sequestration, Soil fertility
Effects of feedstock type, pyrolysis temperature, and steam activation on
biochar properties and lead(II) adsorption
Jin-Hyeob Kwak1, Md Shahinoor Islam2,4, Siyuan Wang1,3, Selamawit Ashagre Messele4, M.
Anne Naeth1, Mohamed Gamal El-Din4, Scott X. Chang1, *
1 Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada
2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, 10000,
Bangladesh
3 Agricultural Resources and Environment, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640,
China
4 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9,
Canada
* Corresponding author. Tel: +1 780 492 6375, Fax: +1 780 492 1767, E-mail: [email protected]
Biochar is a promising material to facilitate the reclamation of oil sands process water (OSPW);
however, how biochar properties can be optimized for metal removal from OSPW is not well
studied. This study was conducted to determine relationships among feedstock type, pyrolysis
condition, biochar property, and lead(II) adsorption capacity to demonstrate the potential use
of biochar for metal removal from OSPW. Softwood sawdust, canola, and wheat straw, and
cattle manure pellet were pyrolyzed at 300, 500, and 700 °C, with or without steam activation.
Increasing the pyrolysis temperature increased, with a few exceptions, biochar pH, surface area,
and carbon content, but decreased hydrogen and oxygen contents and surface functional groups.
Steam activation increased surface area but did not affect other properties. For non-steam-
activated biochars, canola and wheat straw biochars produced at 700 °C had the highest lead(II)
adsorption capacity, at 108 and 109 mg g-1, respectively. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature
increased lead(II) adsorption capacity due to increased biochar pH, ash content, and surface
area by increasing precipitation, ion exchange, and inner-sphere complexation of lead(II).
Steam activation increased lead(II) adsorption capacity for most biochars mainly due to the
increased surface area. The adsorption with time followed the pseudo-second order kinetic
model. The results of this study will help select the most effective biochars that can be produced
from locally available agricultural or forestry byproducts that are optimized for metal removal
from OSPW.
Keywords: Adsorption kinetics, Adsorption isotherm, Biochar, Oil sands process water,
Optimization
Fabrication of metal-loaded biochar for waste water treatment and energy
recovery from the biochar fabrication process
Gihoon Kwon1, Hocheol Song1,* 1 Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05005, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: 82 2 3408 3232, Fax: 82 2 3408 4320, E-mail: [email protected]
Utilization of waste materials as a carbon feedstock for an energy application can be desirable
because the term of “sustainability” is profoundly determined by how/where we procure the
carbon. Hence, conversion of organic wastes into a value-added product provides a great venue
for enhancing an economic viability in waste management since anthropogenic activities
facilitate the steady generation of waste materials. Therefore, the pyrolysis of metal (e.g., Fe
and Co) impregnated organic wastes from anthropogenic activities (e.g., lignin and spent coffee
ground) were conducted in N2 and CO2 condition for fabricating metal-loaded biochar.
Moreover, the gas and liquid products from pyrolysis of metal impregnated organic wastes
were investigated for evaluating mechanical roles of metal and CO2 to pyrolysis of organic
wastes. In addition, the potential of metal-loaded biochar to reduce aquatic contaminants (e.g.,
As(V), BrO3-, and p-nitrophenol) by adsorption and catalytic reduction were evaluated.
Keywords: Pyrolysis, syngas, adsorption, catalytic reduction, biochar
Microwave pyrolysis – A promising technique for transforming
bioresources into energy, green chemicals, and valued-added products
Su Shiung Lam 1,2,3 1 Pyrolysis Technology Research Group, Eastern Corridor Renewable Energy Group (ECRE), School of Ocean
Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
2 School of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
3 Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Philippa Fawcett Drive,
Cambridge CB3 0AS, United Kingdom
Abstract
Microwave pyrolysis is a thermal process performed using microwave heating in an inert
environment that can break down and convert biomass to produce useful liquid oil, gases, and
char products. Different techniques of microwave pyrolysis can be developed, comprising
batch and continuous pyrolysis, co-pyrolysis, catalytic pyrolysis, vacuum pyrolysis, and
pyrolysis coupled with activation. These techniques have been tested for recycling various
types of biomass and waste resources, comprising household waste, fruit waste, plastic waste,
waste cooking, waste shipping oil, waste lubricating oil, biodiesel waste, marine algae,
agricultural waste, palm oil waste.
Microwave pyrolysis showed advantages in providing a fast heating (up to 100 °C/min),
relatively shorter process time and lower energy consumption, representing a method that is
potentially faster and more energy efficient compared to that shown by the method commonly
performed using conventional heating source. The pyrolysis produces liquid oil products for
potential use as biofuels or boiler fuel, gaseous products for use as biogas, and solid products
such as biochar and activated carbon that can be refined for use as filter material, shipbuilding
material, catalyst, bio-fertilizer and energy storage material.
Our findings show that microwave pyrolysis shows potential as a promising pyrolysis approach
with improved heating performance and generation of useful products with desirable properties.
These have led to outputs such as joint research with international partners, patent filing,
company licensing, journal publications, awards and industrial partnership for prototype
development, distribution and application.
Environmentally Friendly Linkage System is showcase among engineering
projects in Kai Tak Development
Lee Wing Hang1,*, Ir Dr. Yiu-Hung YAU 2, Dr. Fung Man Kam, Leo 3 , Lam Lok Hin, Mark4
1,2 Ka Shing Management Consultant Ltd, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
3,4 Sustainable Development Consultant Ltd, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 852-2618 2166, Fax: 852-2120 7752, E-mail: [email protected]
Background: kai Tak Development (KTD) is a huge and highly complex development project
spanning a total planning area of over 320 hectares covering the ex-airport site together with
the adjoining hinterland districts of Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong. Independent
Environmental Checker is employed to undertake the overall Environmental Management &
Audit and environmental issues for engineering projects in KTD. The purpose: the study
critically reviews and explores the engineering projects in KTD to select a truly excellent
project as showcase in order to promote awareness and enhance presence of the engineering
industry. Methodology: desktop research is preliminarily adopted. Language for relevant
documents and related information are English from source of documents review. Content
analysis identifies the essential issues. Findings: Environmentally Friendly Linkage System
(EFLS) is selected as a showcase among engineering projects in KTD. Not EFLS only fulfills
all selection criteria, but it also achieves environmental protection. Contributions: the
significances of the study inspire readers’ more comprehensive thought regarding relationship
between engineering projects and environmental protection in KTD.
Keywords: independent environment checker, environmentally friendly linkage system,
environmental protection
Application of landscape architecture for rehabilitation of quarry in Hong
Kong and an overseas case study
Lee Wing Hang1,*, Ir Dr. Yiu-Hung YAU 2, Dr. Fung Man Kam, Leo 3 , Lam Lok Hin, Mark4
1,2 Ka Shing Management Consultant Ltd, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
3,4 Sustainable Development Consultant Ltd, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 852-2618 2166, Fax: 852-2120 7752, E-mail: [email protected]
Background: The objective of this study explores the application of landscape architecture in
quarry via case study. This study could have significant positive implications to inspire readers’
more comprehensive thought and inspirations get from findings for our imitations.
Methodology: Desktop research is preliminarily adopted. 2 case studies (Shek O Quarry and
Serra da Arrabida Natural Park) are selected. Findings: There are perceptible benefits from
Shek O Quarry in Hong Kong and Serra da Arrabida Natural Park in Portugal for the use of
landscape in quarry. Benefits are the creation of diversity in ecology, vegetation, landscape
visual impact and nesting areas created. Its disbenefits are in immeasurable results of negative
environmental impacts and high initial costs. Conclusion: Based on the research undertaken, it
can be ascertained that the benefits for using landscape in quarry are greater as compared to
the disbenefits. This can be perceived through the 2 case study analysis.
Keywords: landscape architecture, rehabilitation of quarry, quarry
Bio-Products from Microalgae Biomass
Choon Gek Khoo1, Man Kee Lam2, Keat Teong Lee1,*, Abdul Rahman Mohamed1 1 School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus,
Seri Ampangan, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
2 bChemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +604-5996467, Fax: +604-5941013, E-mail: [email protected]
Microalgae biomass owning to its high growth rate and non-requirement of terrestrial land area
for its cultivation is a potential source for solid biofuel production, especially through
hydrothermal treatment. Therefore, this study aims to produce hydrochar from microalgae
Chlorella vulgaris biomass with high ash content via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC)
reaction. The microalgae biomass was harvested from a pilot-scale semi-continuous cultivation
in a bubble column photobioreactor. Experiments were conducted to assess the effects of HTC
temperature (180 – 250 oC) and reaction time (0.5 – 4 h) under fixed biomass to water ratio on
the hydrochars yield and also on its fuel characteristic. Results revealed that hydrothermal
temperature significantly affect the hydrochar yield, while reaction time have a greater
influence on the calorific value of the hydrochar produced. As compared to raw microalgae
biomass, the hydrochar properties as a source of fuel was significantly improved by having
higher carbon and lower oxygen content, and subsequently contributed to an increased in fixed
carbon and reduction in moisture content. The overall carbon recovery rate and energy yield
were found to range from 53.2 – 86.4 % and 46.9 – 76.6 %, respectively. In addition, thermal
stability analysis using TGA/DTG and van Krevelen diagram further supports the characteristic
of the resulting hydrochar as a source of solid fuel. Besides that, analysis on the aqueous phase
from the HTC reaction shows that it contain high nutrients content such as total organic carbon,
total nitrogen, total phophosrus and COD. Hence, this study demonstrated that microalgae
biomass could be potentially utilized as a biomass feedstock for solid biofuel production, while
the aqueous phase can be utilized as nutrient source for microalgae cultivation, which could
contribute towards a feasible microalgal biorefinery concept.
Keywords: Microalgal biomass, hydrothermal carbonization, hydrochar, aqueous phase
products
Modeling of simultaneous inhibition of Methanosaeta concilii by NH3 and
Na+
Joonyeob Lee1, Taewoan Koo1 and Seokhwan Hwang1,*
1Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology
(POSTECH), Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37637, Republic of Korea
*Corresponding author. Tel: +82-10-6415-3441, E-mail: [email protected]
The concentrations of NH3 and Na+ can vary widely over time in field-scale anaerobic digestion
(AD) reactors treating protein-rich and saline organic wastewater due to unpredictable and
large variations in influent characteristics; this simultaneous changes of the concentrations of
the inhibitors can give stress to the methanogens in the reactors and can result in severe
inhibition in overall AD performance and stability. Aceticlastic methanogenesis is a primary
pathway in CH4 production of AD process. Methanosaeta concilii is the dominant aceticlastic
methanogen in AD systems under non- or less-stressed conditions, but vulnerable to such
chemical inhibitions. Thus, to predict AD processes treating such unpredictable organic
wastewater, it would be prerequisite to know what types of simultaneous inhibition (among
synergistic, additive or antagonistic) on M. concilii take place in different combinations of such
inhibitors, and how much it affects. Thus, in this study, individual and simultaneous inhibitions
of NH3 and Na+ on specific methanogenic activity of M. concilii were quantitatively determined.
First, anaerobic batch inhibition tests with a single inhibitor (NH3: 1–10 g/L, Na+: 0.5–10 g/L)
for M. concilii were conducted. Each single inhibition was well described by a non-competitive
inhibition model with Hill slope: 𝐾𝑖, 𝑁𝐻3 : 6.35 g TAN/L (247 mg FAN/L); ℎ𝑁𝐻3
: 5.0832;
𝐾𝑖, 𝑁𝑎+: 5.25 g Na+/L; ℎ𝑁𝑎+: 8.8763. Second, a batch growth test was performed to determine
the four Monod kinetic parameters of M. concilii: μm, ks, Y and kd for M. concilii were found to
be 0.182 d-1, 0.028 g acetate/L, 0.034 g VSS/g acetate and 0.0014 d-1, respectively. Third, a 52
full-factorial experiment of NH3 (1.50–6.35 g TAN/L) and Na+ (1.00–5.25 g/L) concentrations
was conducted to investigate the simultaneous effects of these inhibitors and to find the best
inhibition models that can explain such effects well. NH3×Na+ showed a synergistic inhibition
trend as their concentrations increased. The modified non-competitive inhibition models with
a synergistic inhibition term (xy) or with two synergistic inhibition terms (xy and xy2) exhibited
good statistical fit (0.924 and 0.940 of adjusted R2 and lower AIC values). The results of this
study provide important information on the effects of single and simultaneous inhibition of
NH3 and Na+ for methanogenesis of acetate and possibility of predicting such inhibition using
biokinetic modeling.
Keywords: synergistic inhibition, ammonium, sodium, Aceticlastic methanogenesis
Microbial community dynamics of methanogenesis from acetate during
ammonia overloading shocks
Joonyeob Lee1 and Seokhwan Hwang1,*
1Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology
(POSTECH), Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37637, Republic of Korea
*Corresponding author. Tel: +82-10-6415-3441, E-mail: [email protected]
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a sustainable wastewater treatment technology that can reduce the
quantity of organic waste, and simultaneously produce energy in the form of gaseous CH4. AD
consists of four sequential biochemical steps: hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and
methanogenesis. Methanogenesis from acetate is essential in AD because acetate is a dominant
precursor of CH4 (70% of total CH4 production). Due to unpredictable and large variations in
influent characteristics, the concentration of ammonia can vary widely over time in field-scale
anaerobic digesters treating protein-rich wastewaters such as food wastewater, sewage sludge
and animal wastewater. The changes of the concentration of ammonia can give significant
stress to the methanogenic consortia in the digesters and can result in severe inhibition in
process performance and stability of the digester. However, profiling of methanogenic
consortia responsible for methanogenesis from acetate and their dynamics with regards to
ammonia loading shocks have been limitedly studied. Therefore, in this study, dynamics of
methanogenic consortia with regards to increasing ammonia loading (from 1.5 g total ammonia
nitrogen (TAN)/L to 6.5 g TAN/L) was investigated in lab-scale continuous acetate-fed
mesophilic anaerobic digesters that have been operated for 600 days with the following
conditions: 12.5 g COD of acetate as substrate, 15 days of HRT, 37 °C and pH 7.5. The initial
methanogenic community structure was relatively diverse because the digesters were
inoculated with the mixture of the digester samples from the various field-scale anaerobic
digesters treating food wastewater and sewage sludge. During the first 222 days of operation
(from 1.5 g TAN/L to 3 g TAN/L), Methanosarcina spp. became dominant in the digester at
the high acetate concentration, but Methanosaeta concilii became and remained predominant
in the digester at low acetate concentration (< 1 g/L). At 264 day, 5.8 g TAN/L in the digester
was achieved by step-wise increasing of ammonia loading, and this resulted in significant
inhibition (i.e., wash-out) to M. concilii in the digesters and resulted in severe inhibition in
methane production rate of the digester. After 80 days of inhibition, the digester was recovered
as along with the succession of distinctive methanogenic consortia, but different methanogenic
consortia became and remained dominant at stable period until 6.5 g TAN/L. This study
demonstrated that 1) one species was dominating at the time with different ammonia condition,
2) different methanogenic consortia were responsible for resilience from ammonia shocks and
steady-state operation under different ammonia concentration. The findings from this study
could be useful as a reference for microbial management of anaerobic digesters that treat
protein-rich organic wastewater and exhibit ammonia overloading in the digester.
Keywords: ammonia, inhibition, aceticlastic methanogenesis, methanogens, resilience
Application of Synthesized Bovine Serum Albumin-Magnetic Iron Oxide
(BSA-MIO) for Phosphate Recovery
Won-Hee Lee1, Muhammad Naveed Afridi1, and Jong-Oh Kim1,* 1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82 (2) 2220-0325, Fax: +82 (2) 2220-1945, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plants and animals. Deficiency of phosphorus in the
agricultural land can result in limited crop production. Therefore, it is widely used as a fertilizer
in agriculture. Other applications include ingredients for human food, detergents, polishes, and
some especial chemicals. However, its increased discharge to surface waters in agricultural
runoff and wastewaters contributes to eutrophication, leading to environmental problems in
reservoirs and coastal areas. Therefore, its removal from wastewater is important to control
eutrophication. An adsorption process is one of several treatment processes for this purpose. In
this study, bovine serum albumin-magnetic iron oxide (BSA-MIO) was successfully
synthesized using the coprecipitation method. Morphology of the BSA-MIO was characterized
by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM); its crystallinity was studied by X-
ray diffraction (XRD) and the elemental composition was measured using energy dispersive
X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The different parameters that affect the adsorption, such as the
initial phosphate concentration, reaction time, adsorbent dosage, pH, coexisting anions, and
temperature were investigated. The results showed that phosphate adsorption increased with
reaction time and temperature while it decreased with an increase in solution pH. The
phosphate adsorption equilibrium time using BSA-MIO was 1 h. The estimated maximum
adsorption capacity of the BSA-MIO was 20.7 mg-P g–1. The Pseudo-first order model (R2
> 0.99) and the Langmuir model (R2 >0.95) respectively provided the best description of the
adsorption kinetics and isotherm, suggesting the chemisorption nature of adsorption. The
coexisting anions (NO3−, Cl−, SO4
2−, and CO32−) had no significant effect on phosphate
adsorption. Moreover, the adsorbed phosphate was successfully desorbed using different
concentrations and combination of NaOH and NaCl. To the best of our knowledge, there is no
report yet available on phosphate adsorption using BSA-MIO from wastewater.
Keywords: MIO, Phosphate, adsorption, wastewater, reusability
Performance of Coagulation and Flocculation by Slow Mixing Presence in
Test-Bed Scale Ballasted Flocculation process
Won-Hee Lee, Ki-Yeon Kim, Seongjun Park, Jong-Oh Kim*
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu,
Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-2-2220-0325, Fax: +82-2-2220-1945, E-mail: [email protected]
The ballasted flocculation (BF) process is 40 times more efficient than a conventional process
because this process increases the settling velocity of flocs combined with high specific gravity
microparticles called "ballasts". In the existing ballasted flocculation process using microsand
or magnetite, both rapid and slow mixing are used. However, if the slow mixing step is skipped,
the he hydraulic retention time (HRT) are reduced that lead to save a construction cost. In this
study, the turbidity and floc formation were evaluated by mixing condition (rapid mixing and
slow mixing combined rapid mixing) using a test bed of 100-300m3/d at Siheung drinking
water treatment plant in Korea.
The synthetic magnetite was used as ballast material with the average particle size of 60 μm
and the specific gravity of 5.57. Turbidity and suspended solid (SS) of raw water were 6-8 NTU
and 5-9 mg/L, respectively. Polyaluminium chloride (PACl) dose of 50mg/L was injected in
the rapid mixer having a vortex flash with ballast of 1,000 mg/L to form the ballasted flocs.
HRT of rapid mixing was only 1 to 1.5 sec. By the mixing condition, we used the circular tank
of 1 m3 for the slow mixer, and the flow rate (Q) and HRT were 4.1 - 12.5 m3/hr and 10 min,
respectively. After the mixing steps, the formed floc was settled in clarifier of 6 ton with
lamellar plate. The turbidity and SS were measured in supernatant of clarifier.
As a result, it was found that the removal ratio of turbidity and SS in this process was reached
above 90%. In the floc size comparison between two mixing condition, the rapid mixing
condition showed immature flocs, but treatment performance of overall process was not
affected.
Keywords: Ballasted flocculation; Ballast material; Lamellar clarification; Turbidity
Acknowledgments: This subject is supported by Korea Ministry of Environment as “Global
Top Project (2016002110006)”.
Soil Moisture Enhancement and Turbid Water Control using Polymer-
based Soil Additive against Climate Change
Young Hyun Kim, Min Woo Kang, Sang Soo Lee*
Department of Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Korea
*Corresponding author. Tel: +82-33-760-2457, E-mail: [email protected]
Water security is being highlighted nowadays due to climate change causing extremely high
variability of precipitation. The unpredictable draught or excessive evaporation is bringing
water shortage in agriculture sector whereas the extremely heavy rainfall is leading to soil
erosion resulting in turbid water or eutrophication in water system. The objective of this
preliminary study is to develop polymer-based multifunctional soil additive with biochar and
other organic matters for enhancing soil water retention and mitigating risk of soil erosion or
turbid water. This study also hypothesizes that the developed soil additive would be positive
effects on soil quality and agricultural productivity. The top soil was collected from 300-mm
depth after removing cover vegetation in Korea (38°15’54” N lat., 128°07’02” E long.) and
air-dried for 48 h. The sieved soil of 1,200 g, less than 10-mm particle size, was repacked into
a steel cylinder (13.2-cm dia., 14-cm high) with a bulk density of 1.4 Mg/m3 for test. An anionic
polyacrylamide (PAM), moringa powder (MR; Moringa oleifera), and the oak tree biochar
(BC) were purchased and used for synthesizing soil additive in a form of pellet. Previous
studies have shown that PAM retained soil moisture and delayed to evaporate and the BC can
also maintained soil moisture in intergranular pores. The MR is used as a natural coagulant as
a water treatment along with excellent biodegradability, thereby reducing turbid water
effectively. These synthesized soil additives at different rates of 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 g were mixed
with the same amount of initial soil after saturation using tap water. The moisture contents
were determined during 15-d incubation. For the control soil, the moisture content was reduced
by 18.3% after 15-d incubation. On the other hand, the moisture contents were decreased by
16.2, 17.1, and 14.8% in the soils treated with 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 g of soil additive, respectively.
Our preliminary result showed that the highest rate of soil additive was most effective in
maintaining soil moisture. The polymer-based soil additive can be customized depending on
local characteristics and would be an effective way to mitigate water shortage or increasing
soil water retention/availability. Moreover, its application can be a tool to control soil erosion
and turbid water. The quantification of turbid water or soil erosion reduction would be needed
to evaluate the effectiveness of developed soil additive containing PAM and MR. This work
was carried out with the supports of the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded
by the Korean Government [grant number NRF-2016R1C1B2006336] and 'Cooperative
Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (Project No.
PJ0125702019)' Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.
Keywords: Climate change, Moringa, Polymer, Turbid water, Soil water retention
Developing methodology to determine the efficacy of odor reduction
technology of liquid fertilizer circular operation technique system
Min-Seok Kim1, June H. Hwang1, Sang-Ryong Lee1,* 1 Department of Agricultural Convergence, Jeonju University, Jeonju, North Jeolla, 55069 Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-63-220-2012, E-mail: [email protected]
NH3 emissions from liquid waste were commonly estimated based on thin-layer models. However,
such models differ in their ability to accurately reproduce observed emissions, which may be partly due to
an incomplete mechanistic understanding of NH3 volatilization. In this study, NH3 release from pure
solutions of (NH4)2SO4 (AS), swine pit liquid (PL), and liquid fertilizer sample (LFS) from the liquid
fertilizer operation technique system were evaluated under controlled conditions (pH 7.6 and temperature
20 °C). Relationships between the NH3 release and pH, temperature, and total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN)
were established. Under the controlled TAN conditions, the estimation of NH3 emission were used to
determine the efficacy of odour reduction when LFS solution is flushed into the pit in swine animal feeding
operations with liquid fertilizer circular operation technique system.
Keywords: Swine, Ammonia, Odour, liquid fertilizer circular operations techniq
Acknowledgement:
This research was supported by Technology Development Program for Agriculture and Forestry [318014],
Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of Korea.
Iron-cross linked alginate derived Fe/C composites for
atrazine removal from water
Cheng Lei1, Yan Song1, Daohui Lin1, *
1 Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86 571 88982582, E-mail: [email protected]
Fe/C composites were successfully synthesized via high temperature pyrolysis with sodium
alginate as carbon source and Fe(NO3)3 as iron source. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that
ferric ion was only transformed into Fe3O4/γ-Fe2O3 with low pyrolysis temperature, while
Fe0/Fe3C and graphitic carbon were the primary formations with elevated pyrolysis temperature
(≥700 oC). Fe/C composites were further introduced for atrazine removal from water, and Fe/C
composites with elevated pyrolysis temperature presented higher atrazine removal efficiency.
The performance of Fe/C composites were not significantly influenced under the condition of
pH 3-9, and the 24 h removal efficiency of 10 mg/L atrazine by 0.2 g/L Fe/C-600, Fe/C-700
and Fe/C-800 was 19.4±1.6%, 76.8±2.2% and 93.5±0.9%, respectively. Superior atrazine
removal efficiency under neutral (pH 6) and alkalic condition (pH 9) was attributed to the
excellent adsorption capacity from carbon phase. Under acidic condition (pH 3), the
contribution from degradation for ATZ removal by Fe/C-700 (26.1±4.0%) and Fe/C-800
(28.7±0.9%) was observed in addition to adsorption. Atrazine degradation intermediates were
determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and possible atrazine degradation
pathway was also proposed. These findings indicated that iron-crosslinked derived Fe/C
composites is a promising material for atrazine removal from water.
Keywords: Fe/C composite, sodium alginate, atrazine
Direct filtration of municipal wastewater using flat-sheet ceramic
membrane for pollutant removal and resource recovery
Xiao-yan Li*, Yan-xia Zhao, Pu Li
Environmental Engineering Research Centre, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong,
Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
*Corresponding author: Tel: (852) 28592659 Email: [email protected]
Abstract
A novel application of flat-sheet ceramic membranes tailored for wastewater treatment was
developed. The wastewater was first subjected to coagulation treatment followed by direct flat-
sheet ceramic membrane filtration (FSCMF) to realize solid/liquid separation. This
coagulation-FSCMF (C-FSCMF) hybrid procedure can produce clean filtrate to reduce the
pollutant loading on the subsequent treatment process and to concentrate sludge with a rich
content of organics and nutrients for potential resource recovery. The C-FSCMF hybrid system
could be stably operated for about 1 month at a high membrane flux up to 1.0 m/d (41.7 LMH).
In conventional municipal wastewater treatment, the primary sedimentation process requires a
long time (around 2 h), with rather a low efficiency in organic and phosphorus removals. In the
present study, flat-sheet ceramic membrane (FCM) ultrafiltration was used, instead of
conventional sedimentation, to directly filter municipal wastewater. This can effectively
shorten the treatment time, while the ceramic membrane plates can be readily placed inside
tanks for low-pressure filtration. Coagulation is applied prior to filtration to enhance pollutant
removals and decrease the membrane fouling rate. Membrane fouling can be controlled by
aeration and intermittent chemically backwash.
The C-FSCMF experiments were conducted using flat-sheet FCM plates, for which PAC or
FeCl3 were dosed as the chemical coagulants, followed by continuous membrane filtration.
The direct membrane filtration of municipal wastewater was operated at a flux of 1.0 m/d with
aeration at 0.1 LPM (liter per minute). The ceramic membrane filtration process resulted in
high organic and nutrient removals attributable to the near-complete suspended solid (SS)
removal (with resultant turbidity < 1.0 NTU in all cases). To reduce the membrane fouling, the
FSCMF process was operated with intermittent aeration and frequent backwash. The polluted
membrane was subjected to chemical backwashing for membrane cleaning.
The C-FSCMF hybrid system was able to produce the filtrate with much lower pollutant
concentrations, while the organics and other pollutants were concentrated into sludge. The
system could achieve stable operation at a high filtration flux of 1.0 m/d or so. In summary, the
coagulation-FSCMF hybrid process can separate raw wastewater into two flows: (i) clean
filtrate with a largely reduced pollutant load on the downstream biological treatment process,
and (ii) sludge of the concentrated organic and nutrients that provides the opportunity for
waste-to-resource recovery.
Keywords: Ceramic membrane, direct filtration, resource recovery, wastewater treatment
Economic and Carbon footprint of Negative Emission Hybrid Renewable
Energy Systems: A Multi-region Analysis
Lanyu Li, Xiaonan Wang*
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
* Corresponding author. Tel: +65 6601 6221, E-mail: [email protected]
With human beings’ growing awareness to reduce the risk and impacts of climate change,
sustainable, low-carbon, and affordable electricity derived from renewable energies are more
favorable than conventional energy supplied by fossil fuels. In the research field, hybrid
renewable energy systems and negative emission technologies are widely investigated recently.
Combining these two concepts, negative emission hybrid renewable energy systems (NEHRES)
consisting of solar, wind, combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, and energy storage components
can be a promising solution to deal with the energy supply and climate change problems
simultaneously. Utilizing biomass wastes such as crop residues as biomass feedstock to the
system also adds additional benefit to waste management. However, the uneven distribution of
renewable resources worldwide requires proof of feasibility of NEHRES for different locations.
This study presents an economic and environmental analysis on the feasibility of applying
negative emission hybrid renewable energy systems to different locations around the world.
Case studies of the application of NEHRES in California, Shanghai, Singapore, and Carabao
Island with various climate conditions are carried out, covering both urban and rural scenarios.
A stochastic multi-objective decision-making framework integrating system modeling, cost-
benefit analysis, carbon footprint assessment, and optimization is used to identify the optimal
NEHRES for different regions under study. The design, operation, and economic and
environmental performance of systems at different locations are assessed. A preliminary case
study in Southeast Asia shows a 162 kW solar PV subsystem, a 184 kW wind subsystem, a 257
kW combustion component, a 49 kW gasification component, a 4 kW pyrolysis component,
and a 77 kW energy storage component constituted the optimal configuration of the NEHRES
for a rural island with around 10,000 population. The optimum system has significant negative
emission capability and promising profitability with a carbon sequestration potential of 2,795
kg CO2-eq/day and a predicted daily profit of 455 US$/day. Similarly, case studies at other
locations also demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of the NEHRES.
In conclusion, it is economically and environmentally feasible to apply NEHRES to tackle the
energy supply, climate change, and waste management problems in multiple regions around
the world.
Keywords: Carbon footprint; Cost-benefit analysis; Hybrid renewable energy system;
Optimization; Waste-to-Energy
Ammonia-oxidizing communities and shaping factors in heavy metal
contaminated soil remediated by biochar and compost
Mingyue Li, Jiachao Zhang*, Yaoyu Zhou*, Jiayi Tang
College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
* Corresponding authors: [email protected] (J. Zhang) and [email protected] (Y. Zhou)
Agriculture soil heavy metal pollution in mainly comes from natural behaviors and human
activities, biochar and compost have a significant remediation effect on heavy metal
contaminated soil. In this research, four treatments of soil contaminated by Cr, As,Cu, Pb, and
Zn by the addition with biochar, compost and biochar combined composting were incubated
for 30 days. Samples were collected on day 0, day 15, and day 30, resepectively. The basic
physico-chemical parameters of sample soil and the abundance and structure of the amoA genes
of ammonia-oxidizing archaea/bacteria (AOA/AOB) were determined. Quantitative PCR
approaches and sequencing techniques were used to determine the microbial gene abundance
and structure, respectively. The relationships between heavy metals, physico-chemical
parameters, soil ammonium monooxygenase (AMO) activity and functional genes were
analyzed. Using Pearson correlation revealed the AOA and AOB amoA gene abundance and
structure correlated positively to NH4+ (P=0.665, r=0.01) and AMO activity P=0.731 r=0.01).
These results indicated that AOA and AOA communities sense the fluctuations of surrounding
environment and influence the nitrogen cycle and transformation during biochar and compost
repair the heavy metal contaminated soil.
Keywords: Biochar, Compost, Heavy metals, Ammonia-oxidizing microbial commuity, soil
Immobilization of multi-enzyme catalysts for facilitating the degradation of
chlorophenol using zeolite from coal fly ash (BEEM2019)
Yejee Lim1, Sungyoon Park1, Nway Oo Khin1, Minsoo Kim1, Jimin Yu1, Jaehyeoung Park1,
Sangwoon Woo1, Muhamad Najmi Bin Zol1, Jun Won Yang1, Han S. Kim1,* 1 Civil and Environmental Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82 02 450 4092, Fax: +82 02 447 4092, E-mail: [email protected]
In this study, a new type of biocatalyst was developed to facilitate the early stage chlorophenol
biodegradation. Oxydoreductases that catalyze initial 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) biodegradation
steps were prepared by recombinant technique and by immobilization onto zeolite. It was
extracted from coal fly ash and coated with Ni2+, which promoted a favorable metal-histidine
binding between enzyme support and enzymes. Monooxygenase (CphC-I), dioxygenase
(CphA-I), and flavin reductase (Fre) were cloned and overexpressed from a 4-CP degrading
bacterium, Arthrobacter chlorophenolicus A6, and Escherichia coli K-12, respectively.
Histidine was expressed in all enzymes. Zeolite XF-12 with high surface area (486.75m2/g)
was synthesized from non-magnetic coal fly ash using acetic acid treatment. Then, Ni2+ was
plated on the surface of zeolite by thermal treatment with a muffle furnace using nickel chloride
solution. The surface of this support material was analyzed by high-resolution scanning
microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometer, and X-ray diffraction. The enzymes were
effectively immobilized onto the nickel-activated zeolite (~70% of immobilization rate) and
the catalytic activity of the immobilized enzymes for 4-CP oxidation was as high as 60%
compared to the value of free enzymes. It was also confirmed that the immobilized multi-
enzyme biocatalyst system can catalyze the sequential oxidation of 4-
CP→hydroquinone→hydroxyquinol→maleylacetate. The immobilized enzymes were highly
stable against the abrupt changes in environmental factors. These results are expected to
provide useful information on the development of a new enzymatic biotreatment of
hydrocarbon contaminants.
Keywords: Enzyme immobilization, Oxydoreductase, Coal ash, Zeolite, Nickel-histidine
binding.
Combined Toxicity of Nanoparticles and Co-existing Contaminants
Rui Deng, Shuai Zhang, Daohui Lin*
Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86 571 88982582, Fax: 86 571 88982590, E-mail: [email protected]
Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly discharged into the environment with their
increasing production and application. The discharged NPs would potentially interact with
ubiquitous contaminants, causing joint biological effects that need to be understood. Previous
studies on NPs were mostly based on the NPs alone, and the research regarding their joint
biological effects with co-existing contaminants has just started. The advances in this field will
be briefly reviewed in the presentation. The main results of our research on the joint toxicity
and bioaccumulation of TiO2 NPs with four organochlorine contaminants to a green alga
(Chlorella pyrenoidosa) and of carbon nanotubes with pentachlorophenol (PCP) to bacteria
(E.coli) will be presented. It was observed that the TiO2 NPs exhibited a synergistic effect with
atrazine, an antagonistic effect with hexachlorobenzene or 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl
(PCB77), and an additive effect with pentachlorobenzene on the algal growth; the TiO2 NPs
increased the bioaccumulation of organochlorine contaminants to algae, whereas the
organochlorine contaminants except atrazine decreased the algal accumulation of TiO2 NPs.
Co-exposure of oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes and PCP led to antagonistic toxicity to
the bacteria. The mechanisms underlying the combined biological effects will also be discussed.
Keywords: Nanomaterial, organic pollutant, toxicity, bioaccumulation
Liquid-Phase Environmental Catalytic Applications Using MOF
Derivatives And Composites
Kun-Yi Andrew Lin*
Department of Environmental Engineering & Innovation and Development Center of Sustainable Agriculture &
Research Center of Sustainable Energy and Nanotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, 250 Kuo-Kuang
Road, Taichung, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886-4-22854709 , Fax:+886-4-22862587, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Aqueous environmental catalysis typically involves oxidative reactions for decomposing or
oxidizing pollutants, and reductive reactions for degrading and reducing pollutants. While
various metal elements have been proven as promising catalysts, non-noble metals are much
more attractive owing to their low-cost and abundance. In particular, cobalt is one of the most
employed non-noble catalysts for mitigating water pollution [1]. Although aqueous
environmental catalysis can be also implemented not only through heterogeneous reactions but
also homogeneous reactions, heterogeneous cobalt catalysts are much more favorable for
aqueous environmental catalysis because they can be designed to be magnetic for rapid and
convenient separation from reaction media. Therefore, various magnetic heterogeneous cobalt
catalysts have been developed, including cobalt-bearing oxides, cobalt nanocomposites, etc.
Magnetic nanocomposites of cobaltic nanoparticles (Co NPs) in the form of substrate-
supported/encapsulated Co NPs are particularly advantageous because Co NPs can be
immobilized and distributed in/on supports to prevent aggregation and falling-off. While many
substrates have been employed to prepare these types of nanocomposites, carbonaceous
materials are particularly attractive because carbon is abundant, stable, electro-conductive and
can be fabricated into various structures. Direct carbonization of cobalt-based metal organic
frameworks (MOFs) as a convenient approach to prepare magnetic carbon/cobalt
nanocomposites (MCCNs) as heterogeneous environmental catalysts [2]. However, most of
MCCNs derived from MOFs consist of sheet-like carbon matrices with very sparse cobaltic
nanoparticles (NPs), making them exhibit relatively low catalytic activities, porosity and
magnetism. In this study, dipicolinic acid (DPA) is selected to prepare a 3-dimensional cobalt
MOFs (denoted as CoDPA). MCCN derived from CoDPA can consist of a porous carbon
matrix embedded with highly-dense Co0 and Co3O4 NPs. This magnetic Co0/Co3O4 NP-
anchored carbon composite (MCNC) appears as a promising heterogeneous catalyst for
oxidative and reductive environmental catalytic reactions. As peroxymonosulfate (PMS)
activation is selected as a model catalytic oxidative reaction, MCNC exhibits a much higher
catalytic activity than Co3O4, a benchmark catalyst for PMS activation. The reductive catalytic
activity of MCNC is demonstrated through 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction in the presence of
NaBH4. MCNC could rapidly react with NaBH4 to generate H2 for hydrogenation of 4-NP to
4-aminophenol (4-AP). In comparison with other precious metallic catalysts, MCNC also
shows a relatively high catalytic activity. These results indicate that MCNC is a conveniently
prepared and highly effective and stable carbon-supported cobaltic heterogeneous catalyst for
versatile environmental catalytic applications.
Keywords: Wastewater treatment, MOFs, coordination polymers, peroxymonosulfate, 4-NP
Recent advancement in succinic acid production by engineered yeasts: with
special focus on organic wastes valorization
Chong Li 1, Raffel Dharma Patria 2, Khai Lun Ong 2, Xiaotong Li 2, Zhiyan Bai 1,Carol Sze
Ki Lin 2, * 1 Agricultural Genomic Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen,
Guangdong 518120, People’s Republic of China
2 School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +852 3442 7497, Fax: +852 3442 0688, E-mail: [email protected]
As a platform chemical with various applications, succinic acid (SA) is currently produced by
petro-chemical processing from oil-derived substrate such as maleic acid. In order to replace
the environmental unsustainable hydrocarbon economy with a renewable environmentally
sound carbohydrate economy, bio-based SA production process has been developed during the
past two decades with bacteria as the major producer. However, the application of bacteria in
industry suffers from several bottlenecks including sensitivity to low pH condition and with
low cell density. Moreover, since some bacteria are potential pathogenic, their applications in
food and pharmaceutical industries are limited. Yeasts are generally recognized as safe to
human, and have emerged as the alternative SA producer owing to its special advantages in
fermentation. This paper reviews processes for fermentative succinic acid production,
especially focusing on the biorefinery of waste streams including food waste, fruit and
vegetable waste, agricultural and wood wastes by several promising yeast producers including
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris and Yarrowia lipolytica. The development of
genetic engineering and fermentation strategies for improved succinic acid production will also
be reviewed briefly. This study summarizes the major development of SA fermentation by yeast
from organic wastes. In the meanwhile, the drawbacks of bio-SA production process will be
discussed, which may provide valuable insight for identifying useful directions for further
production improvement.
Keywords: Biorefinery, Organic wastes, Succinic acid, Yeasts
Coadsorption of Fe(III) and tetracycline onto poly (acrylamide-co-sodium
acrylate) in aqueous solutions
Yiqing Lin1, Yaoyu Zhou1,2, Jihai Shao1,3, Anwei Chen1, Si Luo1, Qingru Zeng1, Liang
Peng1*
1. College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, P. R. China
2. International Joint Laboratory of Hunan Agricultural Typical Pollution Restoration and Water Resources
Safety Utilization, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, PR China
3. Collaborative innovation center of grain and oil crops in south China, Hunan Agricultural University,
Changsha, 410128, P. R. China
* Corresponding author: Liang Peng. Tel: +86-731-84618166
Fax: +86-731-84618703, Email: [email protected]
The use of adsorption to treat multiple pollution such as antibiotics and heavy metals in
water is one of the effective and environmental friendly methods. In this study, poly
(acrylamide-co-sodium acrylate) was synthesized as adsorbent (named PAA) for coadsorption
of tetracycline (TC) and Fe(Ⅲ) ions in aqueous solutions. The adsorption mechanisms in
binary solutions had been carry out by isotherms and kinetic studies, Fe(Ⅲ) pre-addition
experiments and practical application tests. Our results showed that Fe(Ⅲ) could combine with
TC to form Fe-TC complexes in aqueous solutions and mainly existed in TC to Fe ratio of 1:
3. After adsorbed by PAA, the complexes dissociated and free TC was adsorption on the sites
of PAA via the newly created Fe bridge, transitioning Fe-TC complexes in the ratio of 1:2 -
1:1. The TC adsorption capacity of PAA was increased with Fe(Ⅲ) addition levels. The
analysis of XPS confirmed that Fe could bind with amine groups of PAA and form N-Fe-TC
ternary complexes. Although ionic strength revealed negative effect on the adsorption
processes, the maximum adsorption efficiency of PAA for TC and Fe in well water was 85.3%
and 82.5%, respectively. The current work was to advance the application of adsorption
methods to treatment antibiotics and heavy metals co-contaminated wastewater.
Keywords: Iron; Tetracycline; Adsorption; Acrylamide/sodium acrylate
Enhancement of Pb (II) adsorption by Boron doped ordered mesoporous
carbon
Yuanyuan Liu1,* , Ying Xiong1, Ya Pang2, Yaoyu Zhou3, Chunyan du1
1 Research Center of Resource Environment and Urban Planning, Changsha University of Science and
Technology, Changsha 410114, Hunan, China
2 Department of Biology and Environmental Engineering, Changsha College, Changsha 410002, China;
3 College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China;
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 731 85053926; Fax: +86 731 85053926, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Boron doped ordered mesoporous carbon (B-OMC) was prepared to improve the
adsorption of Pb(II). The effects of several parameters such as contact time, pH, and ionic
strength on the adsorption by both pristine ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) and B-OMC
were investigated. Thermodynamic, sorption isotherm and adsorption kinetics models were
used to study the adsorption mechanisms by each of the adsorbents. The liquid-film diffusion
step might be the rate-imiting step for Pb(II) adsorption by both B-OMC and OMC, PNP and
Pb(II) using the intraparticle diffusion model, and fitting experimental data with Temkin
model indicates that the adsorption process by both of the adsorbents involve physisorption
and chemisorption. Based on Langmuir model, the estimated maximum adsorption capacity
for B-OMC was about 1.3 times higher than the pristine OMC. Moreover, B-OMC could be
regenerated effectively and recycled using EDTA. The results suggested that B-OMC, with
enhanced adsorption performance compared with OMC, could be considered as very
effective and promising materials for Pb (II) removal from wastewater.
Key words: Boron-doping; Ordered mesoporous carbon; Adsorption; Lead; Modelling
Core-shell Structured Fe-N-C Biochars Derived from Biowastes as Efficient
Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction
Shou-Heng Liu1,*, Hung-Chih Kuo1, Daniel C.W. Tsang2 1Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
*Corresponding author. Tel: +886-6-2757575 ext. 65843, Fax: +886-6-2752790, E-mail:
Synthesis of core-shell structured Fe-N-C biochars via a microwave-assisted route which
invoke the carbonization and activation of biowastes under the flow of NH3 is reported.
Characterizations of these biochar samples are conducted by a series of different spectroscopic
and analytical techniques. The electrochemical performance of oxygen reduction reaction
(ORR) and methanol tolerance are also studied by rotating disk electrode tests in base media.
Combined the results from X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, transmission
electron microscopy and elemental analysis show that a comparable content of nitrogen is
successfully doped on biochars with high surface areas ( 1000 m2 g-1). Further investigations
by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal that biochars samples with different ratios of
pyridinic-N, Fe-N and pyrrolic-N are observed. The results show that the biochars possess
moderate specific surface area with high nitrogen-doping and more pyridinic-N species for the
formation of the FeN4 active sites (verified by X-ray absorption spectroscopy), is found to have
superior electrocatalytic activity for methanol-tolerant ORR in base media as compared to the
typical commercial electrocatalyst (20 wt% Pt/C).
Keywords: Fe-N-C biochars, Core-shell, Oxygen reduction, Fuel cell, Bioresources
Valorization of Inorganic Sludges to Fabricate Effective Visible-light-
responsive Titanium-containing Photocatalysts
Shou-Heng Liu*, Tzu-Huan Su, Wen-Ting Tang, Wei-Xing Lin
Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel:+886-6-2757575#65843, Fax:+886-6-2752790, E-mail: [email protected]
In recent years, the natural resources on the earth are overused and consumed rapidly. Taiwan
is lacking in nature resource and most of the resource was imported from oversea. Therefore,
how to efficiency recycle the resource is one of the most important issues. In this research, we
recycle an inorganic sludge (ESF) to prepare TiO2 supported ESF photocatalysts.
Experimentally, the incorporation of ESF onto TiO2 aims to disperse the active sites and
increase specific surface area which can enhance TiO2 photocatalysis efficiency in the
degradation of organic pollutants. The composites were characterized by TEM, UV-vis, BET,
XPS analysis, and the result shows that it is successful to preparation the TiO2/ESF doping
nitrogen composite photocatalysts. The effects of different synthesis methods and the amounts
of ESF addition were also discussed. XRD result shows, whether adding the ESF or not, TiO2
crystal still remain anatase phase after heating at 450℃. Among all the prepared photocatalysts,
TBE-1.5 has the best photocatalysis efficiency under simulate sunlight and visible light. As a
result, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of methylene blue will reach 39.6% under
visible light illumination, which is much better than commercialization photocalysts P25
(3.6%).
Keywords: Inorganic sludge, Titanium dioxide, Visible light, Photocatalyst, Methylene blue
Effects of a mineral amendment on thallium mobility and fractionation in
highly contaminated soils
Juan Liu1, 2*, Jiamin Ren1, 2, Shixing Ren1, 2, Jingfen Lin1, 2, Xudong Wei1, Yuting Zhou1, Nuo
Li1, Meiling Yin1, Xuwen Luo1, Jin Wang2, Tangfu Xiao1, Yongheng Chen1, 2
1 Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Innovation Center and Key Lab of Waters Quality &
Reservation in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
2 Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel:+86-020 39366355, E-mail:[email protected]
Abstract: Thallium (Tl) is an extremely toxic element, whose toxicity is even higher than
mercury, arsenic and cadmium. It is of great significance to hinder the migration and transfer
of Tl from soils to the plants. As a part of an ongoing project, the effects of a mineral
amendment on the transformation and retention of Tl is investigated in five typical highly Tl-
contaminated soils from the Southwest China. The acquired data indicate that the addition of
the mineral amendment to the highly Tl-contaminated soils can effectively promote the transfer
of Tl from the labile fractions (bound to acid-exchangeable, reducible and oxidizable fraction)
to the residual fraction. The efficiency of the Tl immobilization is dependent on the soil
property. The pH of all the studied soils have very little variation, indicating that the pH has
little impact on transformation of Tl fractionations. The mineral amendment is thus suggested
as one of the potential amendments for Tl immobilization/stabilization in the acidic
contaminated soils. However, the amendment can not significantly decrease the mobility of Cu,
Co, Cr, Ni in the studied soils. Therefore, the amendment should be combined with other
biochar and/or different amendments for the treatment of the co-contamination of Tl and other
metals in the soils. This will be further investigated in the near future.
Keywords: mineral amendment, thallium, geochemical fractionation, sequential extraction
This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41573008;
41873015; U1612442) and the Guangzhou University's 2017 training program for young top-
notch personnel (BJ201709).
Simultaneous removal of Cd(Ⅱ) and As(Ⅲ) from agricultural irrigation
water with graphene-like porous biochar supported nanoscale zero-valent
iron
Kai Liu1,2,3, Jianghu Cui1, Liping Fang1 , Fangbai Li1,2,* 1 Guangdong Institute of Eco-environmental Science & Technology, Guangzhou 510650, China, Guangzhou
510650, China
2 Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86 20 37021396, E-mail: [email protected]
Irrigation of paddy soils with the Cd(II) and As(III) contaminated runoff water is evitable for
the water-deficient region, which significantly contributes the accumulation of these heavy
metals in rice grains. To date, challenges still remain for effectively treating water co-existing
cationic Cd(II) and anionic As(III) due to the lack of suitable materials. Herein, a novel
graphene-like porous biochar (GB) supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) material has
been fabricated through simple chemical exfoliation and pyrolysis of palm waste, and followed
by directly forming nZVI on the surface of GB. The graphene-like structure of biochar was
observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy
analysis (SEM), and the presence of crystalline nZVI is further confirmed by X-ray diffraction
(XRD). Our results show that nZVI/GB can efficiently and simultaneously remove Cd(Ⅱ) and
As(Ⅲ) under aerobic conditions, with a removal capacity of 170.56 mg/g for As and 21.13
mg/g for Cd, respectively. They are significantly higher than that by GB or nZVI alone,
suggesting strong synergistic effects of GB/nZVI on the removal of As(III) and Cd(Ⅱ). X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicates the occurrence of enhanced oxidation and
surface complexation of As(III) on the surface of GB/nZVI, which is likely the major
mechanism for the enhanced As(III) removal. Meanwhile, the high Cd removal efficiency is
mainly due to its enhanced adsorption and surface precipitation on GB/nZVI. This work
provides a simple and efficient solution for simultaneously removing both Cd(Ⅱ) and As(Ⅲ)
from irrigation waters, and therefore has a great potential of reducing inputs of heavy metals
into paddy soils.
Keywords: Cd(Ⅱ); As(Ⅲ); graphene-like porous biochar; nanoscale zero-valent iron
Application of biochar and mineral combined with nano-zero-valent iron in
heavy metals contaminated sediment remediation
Qunqun Liu1,2, Yanqing Sheng1,*, Changyu Li1,2, Guoqiang Zhao1,2
1 Research Center for Coastal Environment Engineering Technology of Shandong Province, Yantai Institute of
Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, China;
2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86 0535-2109265, Fax: 86 0535-2109000 , E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Nano-remediation strategies employed to contaminated river sediments have been
getting more and more attention, whereas some uncertain changes in the mobility and
bioavailability of heavy metals with potential consequences on ecosystem health were induced.
In the present study, the performance of rice biochar, red mud, zeolite and sepiolite supported
nano-zero-valent iron (NZVI) in immobilizing Cd and Pb from contaminated river anoxic
sediments was investigated. The obtained results demonstrated that biochar supported NZVI
was the most effective on transforming mobile Cd and Pb to residual fraction. Moreover, the
four materials without supported NZVI exhibited poor immobilizing effect compared to those
supported NZVI. Urease and catalase activities were enhanced in most treated groups
compared to control group, suggesting certain degrees of recovery in sediment metabolic
function. All immobilizing materials-driven reduction of bioavailable metals resulted in a
positive impact on the sediments microbial community. The dissolved organic matter in the
sediments was significantly related to the sediments microbial activity. In a word, this study
gave a new insight into the potential effects of materials supported NZVI applications on the
Cd and Pb immobilization in contaminated river anoxic sediments.
Keywords: Sediments; Nano-zero-valent iron; Biochar; Microbial community; Dissolved
organic matter
Production of furanic chemical from agricultural waste by biochar catalyst
with ionic liquid
Chun-Hung Liu1,*, Tsai-Chieh Teng1, Zheng-Gui Fu1, Yu-Ren Lin1, Ken-Lin Chang1,* 1 Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel:+886 7-5252000-4408, E-mail: [email protected]
In recent years, biomass has received increasing attention as a potential material for the
production of biofuels and bio-based chemicals. In this study, a carbon-based solid acid catalyst
was prepared and used for the conversion of agricultural waste into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural
(HMF) and furfural in ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([EMIM]Cl). The
different boronated carbonaceous catalysts (coconut shell and trapa shell) were evaluated based
on their compositional, morphological and structural characteristics. The study also aims to
assess the HMF and furfural yield, recyclability of the boronated biochar catalyst and ionic
liquid. The results demonstrated that boronated carbonaceous catalyst possessed the high
catalytic activity, which resulted over 19% HMF yield at 140 °C for 120 min. More gratifyingly,
the combination of biochar catalyst and [EMIM]Cl were confirmed to be suitable for
converting other carbohydrates such as fructose, sucrose, glucose, cellobiose and agricultural
waste into HMF. The catalytic system may be valuable to facilitate energy-efficient and cost-
effective conversion of agricultural waste into furanic chemicals.
Keywords: Ionic liquid, Solid acid catalyst, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, Furfural, Biomass
Co-occurrence of Heavy Metals, Antibiotics and Resistance Genes in
Sediments of Changshou Lake in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China
Jie Liu1,2, Lunhui Lu1,2*, Zhe Li1,2*, Jinsong Guo2, Zhiping Liu2, Jixiang Yang1, Yaoyu Zhou3 1 1 CAS Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent
Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing, China
2 Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region’s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing
University, Chongqing, China
3 College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86 2365935902, Fax: +86 2365935900, E-mail: [email protected] and
Sediment is an ideal medium for the aggregation and dissemination of antibiotics and antibiotic
resistance genes. In this study, Changshou Lake was selected to understand the levels of
antibiotics and resistance genes. The abundance of total antibiotics and resistance genes were
generally greater in ecological aquaculture area than eco-tourism area. A risk assessment for
the sediment contamination revealed that sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline posed relatively
high ecological risks to the most sensitive aquatic organisms. The cumulative results of risk
quotient showed that the target antibiotics at sites C1 and C3 seriously threaten the ecological
environment of Changshou Lake. Regarding the characteristics of antibiotic resistance
mechanisms, there was a relatively higher proportion of the efflux pumps mechanism to
tetracycline observed in all sampling sites. Interestingly, the results of correlation analysis
showed that there was a clear positive correlation between efflux pump genes at P < 0.05 level,
and there was also a strong correlation between the ribosomal protection protein genes except
tetQ. As the common feed additives, the combined pollution of antibiotics and heavy metals in
Changshou Lake may be related to the fertilizer-water cage culture in the early stage of
Changshou Lake. Meanwhile, antibiotic resistance genes abundance in Changshou Lake were
affected greatly by the presence of Mn, Ni and Zn, possibly because heavy metals are
considered to be co-selection factors for antibiotic resistance.
Keywords: Changshou Lake, sediments, antibiotic resistance genes, co-occurence
Selective Phosphate Removal from Water and Wastewater using Sorption:
Process Fundamentals, Removal Mechanisms, and Practical Applications
Irene M.C. Lo1,2* and Baile Wu1 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
Hong Kong, China
2 Institute for Advanced Study, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: (852) 23587157, Fax: (852) 23581534, E-mail: [email protected]
Phosphorus (P) over-enrichment in water causes eutrophication, posing a serious
environmental risk to waterbodies around the world. While conventional technologies such as
chemical precipitation and biological uptake have been adopted to remove P from wastewater,
the resulting P concentrations can still contribute to eutrophication. The challenge remains to
achieve low total P levels (e.g., TP ≤ 0.01 mg P/L). Sorption appears to have the greatest
potential to achieve ultra-low P concentration if P-selective sorbents used. Developing a P-
selective sorbent requires an intimate knowledge of the physicochemical properties of
phosphate (major species of P in water) and the interaction mechanisms between the phosphate
and the sorbent. This talk will address the following questions: what are the physicochemical
properties of phosphate that can be used to achieve selective sorption; what are the mechanisms
of selective phosphate sorption; what are the strategies to enhance the performance of
phosphate sorption; and what are the potential phosphate-selective materials that can be used
in the future? A summary of the important characteristics of inorganic ions pinpoints some
unique physicochemical properties of phosphate. Based on these properties, mechanisms of the
phosphate sorption with selectivity from low to high can be identified. Key principles and
important works of these mechanisms will be introduced. Considering the interaction
mechanisms between phosphate and sorbent, strategies to enhance the performance of
phosphate sorption will be proposed. Examples using these enhancing strategies will be
introduced. Potential phosphate-selective materials will be proposed based on their affinities to
phosphate and abundances in the earth’s crust.
Keywords: eutrophication, phosphate, selectivity, sorption
High Capacity and Long Cycle Performance of Fluorinated Si/C
Composites with Micro/nanoarchitectures for Advanced Lithium-ion
Batteries
Bin Wang2, Walter K. W. Wong1, Wei Liu1, Ivan K. Y. Lau1, Xiao-Ying Lu1* 1 Faculty of Science and Technology, Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, New
Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
2 Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, New Territories, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +852-21761453, Fax: +852-21761554, E-mail: [email protected]
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely adopted in portable electronic devices, such as
laptops, smart phones and digital cameras etc. However, with the pursuit of high energy density
and fast charging technology, traditional graphite anode materials with a low specific capacity
(e.g. 372 mAh g-1) and poor rate capability cannot meet the future technological demands. Thus,
developing high-performance anode materials is of paramount importance for next generation
LIBs. In this study, fluorinated Si/C composites with micro/nanoarchitectures were synthesized
with polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) polymers by electrospinning strategy, followed by
chemical stabilization and carbonization process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
suggested that Si nanoparticles of ~100 nm was uniformly encapsulated in fibrous carbon with
micro/nanoarchitectures. In addition, SEM morphological study implied that chemical
stabilization treatment of the as-electrospun PVDF/Si played a crucial role in the formation of
fibrous micro/nanoarchitectures. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the Si content in
composite materials was determined to be about 10 wt.%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
confirmed that fluorine elements derived from PVDF polymers were doped in Si/C composites.
N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm showed that Si/C composite exhibited a high specific
surface of around 708.6 m2 g-1 and a uniform mesopore size distribution of about 3.8 nm.
Importantly, electrochemical results revealed that when evaluated at a current density of 1000
mA g-1, fluorinated Si/C composites could deliver a reversible specific capacity of ~2313
mAh/g after 200 cycles. When C-rate capability tests were conducted at high charge-discharge
densities of 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 A g-1, Si/C composite manifested average specific capacities
of about 2788, 2108, 1740, 1512, 1371 and 1179 mAh g-1, respectively. The excellent
electrochemical performance of Si/C composites was probably attributed to the combined
benefits from fluorine dopants, micro/nanoarchitectures and mesoporous structure etc. These
unique features of Si/C were advantageous for fast electron transport and ion diffusion in the
repeated charge-discharge cycles, thereby resulting in high capacity and excellent C-rate
performance. Overall, this study demonstrated the excellent electrochemical performance of
fluorinated Si/C composites as high-performance anode materials for advanced LIBs.
Keywords: Si/C composites, Anode Materials, C-rate, Cycle Life, Lithium-ion Batteries
Effects of coastal reclamation on the ecological risks of heavy metal
pollution in wetland soils in a Chinese estuary
Lu Qiongqiong1, Bai Junhong1,* 1 State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Stimulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University,
Beijing 100875, PR China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 010-58802029, E-mail: [email protected]
Surface soil (0-10 cm) samples were collected from reclaimed wetlands (RWs) and ditch
wetlands (DWs) across a 100-year chronosequence in the Pearl River Estuary in China in April
2015. The concentrations of Al, Fe, As, Cd, Zn, Cu and Pb were analysed using inductively
coupled plasma atomic absorption spectrometry (ICP-AAS) to investigate the levels, sources
and ecological risks of the heavy metals in these different wetland soils. Our results showed
that the ditch wetlands showed significantly higher As, Cd, Zn, Cu and Pb concentrations in
the surface soils under almost all the reclamation histories (p < 0.05). The lower contents of
heavy metals in the reclaimed and ditch wetland soils were all detected in the soils with longer
reclamation times. The pollution levels of the determined metals followed the order: Cd > Cu
≈ Zn > Pb ≈ As according to their geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and enrichment factor (EF)
values. The toxic unit (TU) values of these heavy metals did not exceed the probable effect
levels (PEL). The contributing ratio of Cd (15.44±3.18%) was elevated based on the TRI
approach compared with the ratio of Cd (11.39±2.35%) in the ΣTUs, reflecting a higher Cd
pollution risk. The results of a principal component analysis showed that As, Cd, Zn, Cu and
Pb might derive from a common source, while Fe and Al shared another similar source.
Moreover, all the EF values of Cd, Zn and Cu exceeded 1.5, implying a largely anthropogenic
origin. However, most of the EF values of As and Pb were between 0.5 and 1.5, indicating that
they might entirely originate from crustal materials or natural weathering processes. Both the
contents of soil organic matter (SOM) and total carbon (TC) and soil moisture were
significantly positively correlated with the heavy metals (p < 0.05), whereas significant
negative correlations were observed between the heavy metals and the soil pH and electrical
conductivity (EC) (p < 0.05).
Keywords: Coastal reclamation, Heavy metals, Pollution level and sources, Geoaccumulation
index (Igeo) and enrichment factor (EF), Toxic units (TUs) and toxic risk index (TRI)
Formulations of Biosurfactant-based Dispersants for Oil Spill Remediation
Ekawan Luepromchai 1,2*, Parisarin Nawavimarn3 and Witchaya Rongsayamanont4 1Microbial Technology for Marine Pollution Treatment Research Unit, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of
Science, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
2Research Program on Remediation Technologies for Petroleum Contamination, Center of Excellence on
Hazardous Substance Management, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
3International Programs in Hazardous Substance and Environmental Management, Graduate School,
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
4Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Thailand
* Corresponding author. Tel: +66 2218 5070, Fax: +66 2252 7576, E-mail: [email protected]
Oil spills in seawater can cause harmful impacts to the marine ecosystem. Biosurfactants can
be employed to enhance the dispersal and solubilization of petroleum and subsequently
promote petroleum biodegradation. To increase the efficiency of biosurfactants, this study
formulated biosurfactant-based dispersants by mixing relatively hydrophobic lipopeptides
from Bacillus subtilis GY19 with fatty alcohol ethoxylate (Dehydol LS7TH), a low toxicity
nonionic surfactant. Hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation (HLD) concept was applied to determine
the fractions of lipopeptides and dehydol LS7TH. The molar fractions of lipopeptides required
in the system were corresponded with the hydrophobicity of hydrocarbons. The lipopeptide-
dehydol LS7TH formulations expressed microemulsion type III and had the highest dispersion
effectiveness with Bongkot light crude oil and two fuel oils i.e. fuel A and fuel C. The efficiency
of biosurfactant-based dispersant was better than the commercial dispersants i.e. slickgone and
superdispersant-25. The optimum dispersant to oil ratio (DOR) was later determined by a
response surface plot from Box-Behnken design analysis. This approach could also be applied
to other petroleum types under wide range of salinity conditions. The lipopeptide-dehydol
LS7TH formulation had low toxicity to petroleum-degrading bacteria. Consequently, the
application of biosurfactant-based dispersant followed by petroleum-degrading bacteria could
be conducted for oil spill remediation.
Keywords: Biosurfactant, Oil spill, Dispersant, Remediation, Bio-based products
Volatile fatty acids production from syngas by integrating with anaerobic
fermentation of organic wastes
Gang Luo1,*, Shicheng Zhang2 1 Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
* Corresponding author. Tel:021-31248912, Fax: 021-31248912, E-mail: [email protected]
Syngas is produced by thermal gasification of both nonrenewable and renewable sources
including biomass and coal, and it consists mainly of CO, CO2, and H2. We proposed a novel
concept for the bioconversion of syngas (mainly CO and H2) to valuable volatile fatty acids
(VFA) by integrating with anaerobic fermentation of organic wastes. We demonstrated the
feasibility for VFA production from syngas and waste activated sludge (WAS) together by
mesophilic alkaline fermentation. The results showed that although pH 9 was suitable for VFA
production from WAS, 62.5% of the consumed CO was converted to methane due to the
presence of hydrogenogenic pathway for CO conversion. The increase of pH from 9 to 9.5
inhibited the methane production from CO because of the possible presence of only acetogenic
pathway for CO conversion. However, methane was still produced from H2 contained in
syngas through hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, and around 32-34% of the consumed
syngas was converted to methane. At both pH 9 and 9.5, methane was produced by
hydrogenotrophic methanogens Methanobacteriales. Further increase of pH to 10 effectively
inhibited methane production from syngas, and efficient VFA (mainly acetate with the
concentration of around 135 mM) production by simultaneous conversion of syngas and WAS
was achieved. High acetate concentrations (>150 mM) were shown to have serious negative
effects on the conversion of syngas. The addition of syngas to the mesophilic alkaline
fermentation of WAS at pH 10 not only resulted in the enrichment of some known bacteria
related with syngas conversion, but also changed the microbial community compositions for
the fermentation of WAS. We further investigated the anaerobic fermentation of syngas to VFA
with different types of organic wastes (carbohydrate-rich and protein-rich wastes). It was found
that the anaerobic fermentation of syngas with carbohydrate-rich wastes instead of protein-rich
wastes could enhance the conversion efficiency of syngas, and the presence of high
concentration of NH4+-N (>900mg/L) due to protein degradation had inhibition on syngas
conversion. qPCR analysis found higher concentration of acetogens, which could use CO and
H2, was present in syngas and glucose co-fermentation system, compared to glucose solo-
fermentation or syngas solo-fermentation.
Keywords: syngas, fermentation, organic wastes, VFA
Benign-by-design processes for a more sustainable future
Rafael Luque1,2
1Departamento de Quimica Organica, Universidad de Cordoba, Edificio Marie Curie (C-3), Ctra Nnal IV-A, Km 396,
E14014, Cordoba, Spain
2Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), 6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., 117198, Moscow, Russia
The design of benign and environmentally sound methodologies has been the driving force of
scientists in recent years towards more sustainable methodologies. Attractive and innovative
protocols that nowadays are even part of industrial ventures including biomass-derived porous
carbonaceous materials, designer nanomaterials for catalytic applications and catalytic
strategies for biomass/waste conversion into useful materials, chemicals and fuels have been
recently developed in our group in recent years. These topics have extensively covered the
preparation and design of (nano)materials, biocatalysts and photocatalysts and their utilisation
in heterogeneously (bio)(photo)(electro)catalysed processes, flow chemistry as well as in
biomass/waste valorisation practices [1-5]. An important research avenue from the group deals
with the search for waste valorization strategies towards biomass, lignicellulosics and various
waste conversion into valuable chemicals, materials and fuels.
In this lecture, we aim to provide an overview of recent efforts from our group in leading the
future of global scientists in benign-by-design methodologies for various types systems and
key applications in Greener Chemical Proceses for biomass/waste valorisation including the
new “waste-to-pharma” concept.
References
1. K. Shen, L. Zhang, X. Chen, L. Liu, D. Zhang, Y. Han, J. Chen, J. Long, R. Luque, Y. Li, B. Chen, Science,
359 206 (2018).
2. D. Rodriguez-Padron, A. Jodlowski, G. de Miguel, A. Puente-Santiago, A.M. Balu, R. Luque, Green Chem.
20 225 (2018).
3. L. Filiciotto, A.M. Balu, A.A. Romero, E. Rodriguez-Castellon, J.C. Van der Waal, R. Luque, Green Chem.
19 4423 (2017).
4. J. Lai, S. Li, F. Wu, M. Saqib, R. Luque, G. Xu, Energy Environ. Sci. 9 1210 (2016).
5. A.D. Jodlowski, A. Yepez, R. Luque, L. Camacho, G. de Miguel, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 55 14972 (2016).
Bioavailability of As, Cd, & Pb in Foods: Implications for Human Health
Lena Q. Maa,b*, H.B. Lia, D. Zhaoa, J. Lia and A. L. Juhaszc a School of the Environment, Nanjing University, China; b Soil and Water Science Department, University of
Florida, United States; c Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Australia
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Studies have shown the association between metal exposure and various diseases in humans.
Among exposure pathways, dietary intake is important. In China, studies have shown
elevated As, Cd, and Pb concentrations in dietary staples, including rice, wheat, and vegetable,
threatening human health. Assessment of metal intake from food consumption is important
to assess the associated health risk. However, dietary metal intake is often calculated using
total concentration in foods without considering metal bioavailability. There are limited
reports of metal bioavailability in foods, with the importance of incorporating metal
bioavailability into human exposure assessment not being considered.
We collected rice, wheat, and vegetable samples from markets across China, and from two
contaminated sites of Yixing, Jiangsu and Chenzhou, Hunan. In vivo mouse bioassays were
developed to measure As, Cd, and Pb relative bioavailability (RBA) in food samples, which
was incorporated into daily metal intake estimation and compared to internal metal exposure
such as urinary and hair metals. For rice samples from markets across China and contaminated
sites, a mouse urinary As bioassat was used to measure As-RBA. Overall, As-RBA in rice from
both markets (44.5–87.5%, n=14) and contaminated sites (11–65%, n=11) varied considerably,
with As speciation being the dominant contributor to the variability. As-RBA was positively
correlated with inorganic As, but negatively correlated with organic As. To measure Cd- and
Pb-RBA in food samples, a mouse liver and kidney bioassay was developed. Similarly, Cd-
RBA varied considerably in rice (16.9–57.4%, n=10), wheat (37.4–67.6%, n=8), and
vegetables (17.7–78.0%, n=6) from the Yixing site. Also, Cd- and Pb-RBA in rice (n=11) from
the Chenzhou contaminated site were 41–84% and 11–59%. For residents living in the Yixing
site, the predicted urinary Cd based on total Cd in rice was 3.5 times the measured values, while
incorporating Cd-RBA to assessing rice-Cd intake made the predicted and measured urinary
Cd closer, suggesting the importance of Cd-RBA in controlling Cd exposure. For residents
living in the Chenzhou site, As, Cd, and Pb exposure via rice consumption was compared to
that via housedust ingestion based on metal-RBA. Interestingly, we observed that for adults,
rice was the main As contributor, while housedust ingestion was the major As contributor to
children. However, for both adults and children, rice was the main source for Cd exposure,
while housedust was the predominant Pb contributor. This was confirmed by overlap of stable
Pb isotopic composition between Pb in housedust and hair from residents, while Pb signals in
rice was different from housedust Pb.
Selecting cost-effective areas for systematic restoration planning of coastal
wetlands
Tiantian Ma, Xiaowen Li*, Junhong Bai*, Baoshan Cui
State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University,
Beijing 100875, P.R. China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86-10-58802797, Fax: 86-10-58802797, E-mail: [email protected];
Selection of areas for restoration should be based on regional sustainable development to attain
the effective ecosystem function with socio-economic need. The ecological knowledge and
socio-economic constraints should be comprehensive considered in the planning of restoration
projects. We demonstrated a better approach for selecting cost-effective areas for wetland
restoration in coastal region on the basis of the trade-off priority of restoration cost (opportunity
cost, engineering cost and hydrology connectivity cost) and ecosystem services provision
(habitat quality, water purification and blue carbon storage), by running the spatial
prioritization model Marxan. It was tested in a Chinese river delta where the planning of
wetland restoration would be at a large-scale in the new policy to offset the ecological loss for
historic reclamation. Results exhibited this method efficiently selected the cost-effective
regions under the different percentages of restoration targets, presenting the maximization of
ecological function but with low economic costs. The hydrology connectivity was the crucial
elements for the cost of restoration projection thus became the conclusive engineering of
systematic restoration planning. Selecting cost-effective areas for systematic restoration
planning would largely offset the ecological loss for historic reclamation and promote the
regional sustainable development.
Keywords: cost-effective, systematic restoration planning, sustainable development, Marxan,
coastal wetlands,
Health risk assessments of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in freshwater
fish cultured by food waste-based feed
Yu Bon Man1, Wing Yin Mo1, Ming Hung Wong1,2*
1 Consortium on Health, Environment, Education and Research (CHEER), and Department of Science and
Environmental Studies, the Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong, PR China
2 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, and State Environmental
Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, Department of
Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 2948 8706, Fax: 2948 7676, E-mail: [email protected]
Food waste (FW) disposal problem is one of the most severe environmental problems in Hong
Kong. About 3,600 tonnes of FW is being generated in Hong Kong on a daily basis. Diverting
FW from landfilling could be a possible alternative for partially easing disposal pressure. In
this experiment, it is proposed to use fermented food waste for making fish feed pellets for
culturing 2 freshwater fish species: Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and jade perch
(Scortum barcoo). Food waste-based diets (Diet A for Nile tilapia and F for jade perch) were
compared with commercial formulated control diet culturing the two fish species for a period
of six months using fish cages in a fish pond in triplicates. Concentrations of 16 polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the diets and cultured fish were quantified by gas
chromatography–mass spectrometry. No significant differences of ∑PAHs were observed
between Nile tilapia and jade perch fed with food waste-based diet and control diet (p>0.05).
However, there were significantly higher concentrations of ∑PAHs in purchased market fish
compared with the same species of fish fed by food waste-based diet (p<0.05). Thus, the food
waste-based diets have a potential to lower the PAHs concentrations in fish. Results of the
human health risk assessments indicated there were no non-cancer and cancer risks of
consuming fish cultured with food waste-based diets (Nile tilapia: hazard index (HI) = 0.25×10-
4 and cancer risk value = 4.18×10-7; jade perch: HI = 0.4×10-4 and cancer risk value = 2.63×10-
7), revealing that the fish were safe for human consumption. In general, the fish fed with food
waste-based diets were unlikely to cause adverse health effects based on the concentrations of
PAHs. There is great potential for using food waste-based feeds as an alternative to commercial
feeds for cultivating freshwater fish.
Keywords: Hazard Index; Cancer risk; Food safety; Aquaculture; Freshwater fish
Waste Tire Rubber Chips Liquefaction and Utilization for Absorptive
Recycling of Spilled Oils
Ncobile Bagezile Mdlovu1, Kuen-Song Lin*1, Maria Janina Carrera Espinoza1, Hong-Paul
Wang2, Chao-Lung Chiang1, Ndumiso Vukile Mdlovu1, Fikile Agath Mavuso1
1Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science/Environmental Technology Research Center,
Yuan Ze University, Chung–Li District, Taoyuan City 32003, Taiwan
2Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 70101, Taiwan
Corresponding author (Email: [email protected], +886 34638800 ext. 2574)
Recently, over 180,000 TPY (tons per year) of waste tire rubbers are to be disposed of in
Taiwan. The waste tire rubber chips (WTRCs) also have especial hydrophobic and oil-philic
properties for absorptive recovery of spilled oils on the contaminated ground or seashore.
Experimentally, waste tires were cut as 10–20 meshes chips to absorb spilled oil (motor oil),
and then liquefied into product oils at 643 K, 1 atm. Valuable oil gases and carbon black powder
were also produced in the period of WTRCs liquefaction. Fourier-transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra indicated that the product oils could be directly used without
further purification due to its similar methyl content with that of fresh motor oils. The nitrogen
isotherms of carbon black powder belong to Type III with a hysteresis loop suggesting the
mesoporous structures of carbon black.Components of light and heavy oils in product oils were
composed of naphtha (0 and 38.9%), light gas oil (35.9 and 4.8%), heavy gas oil (24.7 and
91.8%), and vacuum residue (0.5 and 3.4%). Flammable oil gases mainly containing C3
(11.32%) and C4 (31.40%) hydrocarbons had potential to be fuel gases, which have been
demonstrated. Ultrafine carbon black powders (c.a. 100 nm) with mesopores produced from
WTRCs liquefaction were observed and analyzed. Elements (Si: 90.56%, Zn: 3.65%, S: 4.89%,
Ca: 0.58%, and Cu: 0.10%) on carbon black powder surface from bead ring of tire were
detected by Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Extended X-ray absorption fine
structure (EXAFS) spectra revealed the bond lengths of S and Fe atoms were respectively Fe–
S (2.17 Å) and Fe–(S)–Fe (3.05 Å) with coordination numbers of 5.6 and 3.9. An efficient and
practical WTRCs liquefaction and spilled oil recycling process generating valuable product
oils, fuel gases, and carbon blacks was designed. Maximum values of cash inflow for 10- and
20-TPD liquefaction pilot-scale plants were respectively US$ 560,100 and US$ 742,400 in
third year. Paybacks of 20- and 10-TPD of these processes were 2.5 and 3.2 years respectively
that have been economically evaluated. Carbon black powder generated from WTRCs
liquefaction requires further thermal activation to remove residual oily impurities for the
propose of being valuable products.
Keywords
Waste tire rubber chip; Spilled oil absorbent; Liquefaction; Product oils; Carbon black;
Resource recycling.
Degradation of Simulated Chromium-Contaminated Wastewater Using
Polyethylenimine-Modified Zero-Valent Iron Nanoparticles
Ncobile Bagezile Mdlovu, Kuen-Song Lin*, Ndumiso Vukile Mdlovu, Maria Janina Carrera
Espinoza, Yeu-Jye Liu, Fikile Agath Mavuso1
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science/Environmental Technology Research Center, Yuan
Ze University, Chung–Li District, Taoyuan City 32003, Taiwan
*Corresponding author (Email: [email protected], +886 34638800 ext. 2574)
In recent years, zero-valent iron nanoparticles (ZVIN) have been regarded the best candidate
for the treatment of heavy metals such as chromium (Cr) in contaminated groundwater. Surface
modification of ZVIN has proven to enhance its stability and mobility in groundwater. In this
work, the decontamination of a Cr-contaminant (Cr(VI)) through reductive reaction with
polyethylenimine (PEI) coated ZVIN (PEI–ZVIN) was studied. Characterization was
conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray
absorption near edge structure (XANES). The XRD patterns indicated that the ZVIN product
after Cr-contaminated water treatment corresponds to Fe3O4. Interestingly, the XANES and
XPS analyses revealed the decontamination of toxic Cr(VI) to less toxic Cr(III) with concurrent
oxidization of ZVIN to form Fe2O3, Fe3O4, or FeO. A Cr(VI) removal efficiency of over 99.9%
was observed within 10 min for the Cr concentration range 150-300 ppm. Cr(VI) was
significantly adsorbed onto the surface of the ZVIN nanoparticles; this could represent a cost-
effective method for the in-situ remediation of Cr-contaminated water. Owing to its excellent
performance for the removal of Cr(VI), the environmentally friendly PEI–ZVIN core-shell
nanoparticle represents an effective method for Cr(VI) decontamination.
Keywords: Zero-valent iron nanoparticle; Polyethyleneimine; Chromium-contaminated water;
Decontamination; XANES/EXAFS
Formulation and Characterization of PDVB-based Solid Acid Catalysts for
Biodiesel Production via Transesterification of Palmitic Oil
Ndumiso Vukile Mdlovu1, Kuen-Song Lin1,*, Chia-Wei Shu1, Chao-Lung Chiang1, Jeffrey
Chi-Sheng Wu2, Kevin Chia-Wen Wu2, Yu-Tzu Huang3
1 Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science/Environmental Technology Research Center, Yuan
Ze University, Chung–Li District, Taoyuan City 32003, Taiwan
2Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Da–An District, Taipei City 10617, Taiwan
3Department of Environmental Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung–Li District, Taoyuan City
32023, Taiwan
*Corresponding address (Email: [email protected], +886 34638800 ext. 2574)
The global warming has gained increased concerns and the technologies of international energy
trends have been changed. World policies have settled the targets on biofuel demand and
blending quotas. In this present work, the solid acidic catalysts (PDVB-SO3H and
PDVB−SO3H−SO2CF3) were synthesized with different solvents to enhance the biodiesel
production via esterification/transesterification. It can be seen that the spherical shapes of
catalyst particle sizes gaining with the content of acetonitrile (MeCN) attributed to the high
polarity of MeCN and –SO3H in PDVB causing the molecules with aggregation. The water
tolerances of as-synthesized catalysts with –SO3H groups were proportional to contact angles
due to they are hydrophobic of contact angle decreasing from 142.6 to 124.7o. It reveals the
catalyst can tolerate the water and react in the water-contained waste oil. The PDVB-SO3H-
SO2CF3 catalyst has the highest biodiesel yield (28.0%) compared with that of Amberlyst 15
and PDVB-MeCN. It reveals that the –SO2CF3 can improve the acidic activity and reactive
selectivity of PDVB sulfonic catalyst. In addition, the water and recycle time effects on the
FFA removal efficiency of solid acidic catalysts respectively. It shows that the FFA removal
efficiency of PDVB-SO3H-SO2CF3 is still excess 60% after fifth cycle showing an excellent
stability of －SO2CF3. Finally, catalytic performances of PDVB-MeCN and PDVB-SO3H-
SO2CF3 have excellent catalytic activities for biomass esterification into biodiesel. The
excellent catalytic activity and good recyclability are assigned to their large surface area, strong
acid strength, and tunable hydrophobic–oleophilic/stable frameworks that are important for
their industrial biodiesel production.
Keywords: biodiesel; solid acidic catalyst; transesterification; esterification; palmitic oil
Preparation and decontamination of TNT, RDX, and HMX explosives onto
zero-valent iron nanoparticles
Ndumiso Vukile Mdlovu, Kuen-Song Lin*, Maria Janina Carrera Espinoza, Ncobile Bagezile
Mdlovu, Ming-June Hsien
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science/Environmental Technology Research Center, Yuan
Ze University, Chung–Li District, Taoyuan City 32003, Taiwan
*Corresponding address (Email: [email protected], +886 34638800 ext. 2574)
In-situ decontamination of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine
(RDX), and 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane (HMX) contaminated wastewater using zero-
valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) is a promising cost-effective and environment-friendly
remediation method. This study has evaluated the efficiency of nZVI for the decontamination
of wastewater containing TNT, RDX, and HMX via different treatment methods (batch
experiments, column tests, and a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) system. The combinative
studies could be used to develop a more effective remediation technique. The chemical
reactions that occurred upon mixing nZVI and the contaminants provided the batch
experiments additional motive power, resulting in rapid degradation of the explosives. There
was a decrease in the removal efficiency from 95% to less than 30% for the batch experiments
owing to the lack of stirring facilities in the column test and PRB system and the interaction of
the soil and explosives with nZVI. Kinetics studies indicated a more significant and rapid
degradation of TNT than that of RDX and HMX, which was in agreement with the lower
activation energy of TNT. The reductive degradation and sorption onto the porous nZVI layer
contributed to the disappearance of the contaminants. The X-ray spectroscopy results
demonstrated that in the process of the reduction the nZVI was transformed into core-shell
structures with an Fe(0) core and Fe3O4 shell. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass
spectrometry (HPLC/MS) experiments revealed that the explosives were decomposed into
simple substances, such as CO2, N2O, and CH4, through cleavage of the ring structure.
Keywords: Explosives; TNT/RDX/HMX; Zero-valent iron nanoparticles; Chemical reduction;
Decontamination
Mechanism on Electrochemical Generation of Oxidant
Su-Jin Min1, Jong-Gook Kim1, Kitae Baek1* 1 Department of Environmental Engineering and Soil Environment Research Center, Chonbuk National
University, Jeonju, Jeollabukdo, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-(0)63-270-2437, Fax: +82-(0)63-270-2449, E-mail: [email protected]
Chemical oxidation has been widely applied to remediate contaminated site because of rapid
reaction rate. The technique can be mineralize or detoxify petroleum compounds, chlorinated
compounds, and redox sensitive metal(loid)s[1]. Oxidant should be introduced to the
contaminated region, however, the chemicals are not selective to the target pollutants, and are
over-consumed due to self-decomposition and high non-selectivity reactivity[2]. The delivery
of oxidant to the target region is another issue in the chemical oxidation. Thus, in this study,
oxidant, especially hydroxyl radical, was generated in-situ by electrochemical reaction using
inert electrodes. The hydroxyl radical can generate other secondary oxidants including
carbonate and chloride radicals in the presence of carbonate and chloride[3]. The secondary
oxidants can detoxify the target contaminants. The mechanisms on the generation of oxidants
were evaluated experimentally.
Keywords: In-situ generation; Electrochemical reaction; Hydroxyl radical; Secondary oxidants
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by KEITI through Subsurface Environment Management projects
(SEM projects) and partially supported by Korea Ministry of Environment(MOE) as
Knowledge-based environmental service(Waste to energy) Human resource development
Project.
References
[1] O. Karpenko, V. Luvenets, E. Karpenko, V. Novikov, Chemical oxidants for remediation of
contaminated soil and water: a review, Chemistry & Chemical Technology 3(1), 41-45, (2009)
[2] S. G. Huling, B. E. Privetz, In-situ chemical oxidation, USEPA, No. EPA/600/R-06/072,
(2006)
[3] C. H. Liao, S. F. Kang, F. A. Wu, Hydroxyl radical scavenging role of chloride and
bicarbonate ions in the H2O2/UV process, Chemosphere 44(5), 1193-1200, (2001)
Biochar: an effective amendment to reduce soil pollution and for the
implementation of phytomanagement strategies
Manhattan Lebrun1,2, Romain Nandillon1,Nour Hattab Hambli1, Simon Chevolleau1, Justine
Garraud1, Solenn Tuffigo1, Florie Miard1, Melissa Simiele1,2, Sylvain Bourgerie1, Domenico
Morabito1*
1 Université d’Orléans, LBLGC INRA USC1328, 45067, Orléans Cedex 2, France.
2 Università degli Studi del Molise, Dipartimento di Bioscienze e Territorio, 86090, Pesche, Italy.
* Corresponding author. Tel:+33 (0)2 38 41 72 35, Fax: +33 (0)2 38 49 40 89
E-mail: [email protected]
Mine tailings and highly anthropized soils are an important source of pollutants (metals,
metalloids, organic compounds…) that can impact ecosystems. Appropriate techniques should
be applied to remediate such contaminated soils. Phytomanagement is a technique for
rehabilitating these soils and reducing the spread of pollutants. To this end, it is advisable to
stabilize the mobility of pollutants in the soil before planting plants. Biochar, produced by the
pyrolysis of biomass under low oxygen conditions, has gathered attention in the last few years
due to its capability to reduce metal(loid)s bioavailability and mobility in soils, as well as its
beneficial effects on soil fertility. Indeed, biochar amendment to polluted soil induced usually
an increase of pH, water holding capacity, and nutrient contents, associated with a decrease of
metal(loid)s concentrations in soil pore water, through sorption on biochar. We tested different
biochar concentrations from different wood feedstock in mesocosm and then on a field
experimental plot presenting a significant arsenic (500 to 1000 mg/kg) and lead (15000 to
20000 mg/kg) pollution. Biochar from hardwood feedstock and more particularly the one
obtained from bark and presenting the finest grain size has shown good efficiency by reducing
the availability of lead in soil pore water by more than 90% and keeping arsenic levels in the
soil pore water below critical environmental concentrations. For the all plant species tested
(Phaseolus, Populus, Salix, Ailanthus altissima, Alnus, Agrostis, and Trifolium) in biochar
amended soils we show that biochar has allowed the establishment of a dense vegetation
whereas until then the soils were bare and unsuitable for any plant development.
In conclusion, we can affirm from mesocosm and field tests that biochar obtained from bark
and having a fine particle size is an efficient material for the stabilization of metal(loid)s
pollutants in the soil allowing the decrease of As and Pb phytoavailability. The beneficial effect
of biochar on the vegetalisation of soils contaminated with heavy metals has been improved by
the addition of other amendments such as compost or red mud.
Keywords: biochar, phytomanagement, mining technosol, experimental plot, metal(loid)s
Arsenic adsorption onto modified clays in contaminated soil and water:
Impact of pH and competitive anions
Raj Mukhopadhyay1, 2*, K.M. Manjaiah2, S. C. Datta2, Binoy Sarkar3, 4, Arijit Barman1, 2
1ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal 132001, India
2ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India
3Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
4 Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia
*Corresponding author: Tel:+91 7503832259, Fax: 91-184-2290480, Email: [email protected]
Abstract
Arsenic (As) poses a tremendous threat to humans when exposed through contaminated
drinking water and food. Here, we prepared two modified clay products, namely Fe-exchanged
smectite and phosphate-loaded kaolinite, characterized them using XRD, FT-IR, SEM and
TEM analyses, and screened for their As sorption efficiencies in aqueous (73.64 and 79.05%,
respectively) and soil (72.08 and 66.90%, respectively) systems. At 0.25% (w/w) application
rate in soils, the maximum amounts of As adsorbed were 620.6 and 607.6 µg g-1 by Fe-
exchanged smectite and phosphate-loaded kaolinite, respectively, at pH 5.0. The As adsorption
amounts in soils by the respective adsorbents dropped to 495.4 and 497 µg g-1 at pH 9.0. The
formation of binuclear complexes was the probable mechanism of As adsorption in soils. The
pH-modified Freundlich equation fitted reasonably well (R2 > 0.96) to the adsorption data,
which clearly distinguished the effect of pH on adsorption. The K values varied from 101.69 to
101.58 for the adsorbents confirming a higher As adsorption capacity of Fe-exchanged smectite
than phosphate-loaded kaolinite. The ‘a’ values varied from 0.004 to 0.005 suggesting that low
pH was suitable for the adsorption. Among competing anions, namely silicate (SiO44-), sulphate
(SO42-) and phosphate (PO4
3-), phosphate was the most interfering one for As adsorption in
aqueous systems. The competition coefficients of arsenate-phosphate binary adsorption
derived from the Sheindorf equation were 3.93 and 0.56 for Fe-exchanged smectite and
phosphate-loaded kaolinite, respectively, at pH 5.0. Therefore, this study suggested that both
the adsorbents can be used for As remediation in the systems having low pH (pH ≈ 5.0) and
phosphate ion concentration.
Keywords: Arsenic, pH, competitive adsorption coefficient, remediation, modified clays
Appropriate pollution control technologies for antibiotics and hormones in
swine wastewater
Prof. Dr Huu Hao Ngo
Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of
Technology Sydney, Sydney, NWS 2007, Australia
Abstract
Swine wastewater is a main source of antibiotics and hormones in the environment due to their
large-scale application in the swine industry. Antibiotics and hormones in swine wastewater can be
released into the water environment through the direct discharge of swine wastewater, effluent from
swine wastewater treatment plants, and runoff and leaching from farmland polluted by swine
wastes. Concerns are increasing globally about the presence of antibiotics and hormones in aquatic
environments, mainly because they are harmful to aquatic organisms and humans. The study aims
to address: (i) the occurrence of antibiotics and hormones in the global water environment and their
potential risks to water organisms and humans; (ii) managerial and technical approaches for
reducing the emission of antibiotics and hormones in swine wastewater to the water environment.
It was observed that: (i) the development of antibiotic alternatives and the enhanced
implementation of vaccination and biosecurity are promising management approaches to cut down
the consumption of antibiotics during swine production; and (ii) membrane-based bioprocess can
be an appropriate technology for removing antibiotics and hormones which has relatively high and
stable removal efficiency.
Keywords: Swine wastewater, antibiotics, hormones, water pollution, management approach,
appropriate technology
Sunlight-driven Water Splitting using Bismuth-based Ternary Oxide
Photocatalysts
Yun Hau NG1,* 1 School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong,
Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
.
* Corresponding author. Tel: (852) 3442 2460, Fax: (852) 3442 0688, E-mail: [email protected]
Bismuth based ternary oxide powders (such as BiVO4, Bi2WO6 and Bi2MoO6) have been
reported to be active for oxidation of organic substances and water under visible light. In
general, these materials have sufficient absorption within the solar spectrum and stability
against photocorrosion. The preparation of bismuth based ternary oxide is inexpensive,
environmentally benign and can be made using a number of different facile methods. In this
presentation, we investigate the performance of these bismuth based ternary oxides in
photoelectrochemical water splitting. A few aspects will be highlighted to substantiate the
differences when they were employed in photocatalytic water splitting or through
photoelectrochemical means. It is generally acknowledged that surface area and crystallinity
of photocatalysts are critical factors regulating performances in powder-type suspension
reactions. When they were made into thin film, quality of the contact between bismuth based
ternary oxides and the charge collecting substrate becomes another crucial factor. In this work,
we also discuss a few strategies formulated to directly synthesise these ternary oxide thin films
without having the powder oxide as the intermediate.
Keywords: solar fuels; water splitting; clean energy; photocatalyst
Arsenic Accumulation by Rice Under the Influence of Inorganic and
Organic Amendments
M. M. Hussain1, N. K. Niazi1, 2,*, I. Bibi1, M. Shahid3, M. F. Nawaz4 1Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
2School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland,
Australia
3Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus, Vehari, Pakistan
4Department of Forestry & Range Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture Faisalabad,
Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
*Corresponding author: [email protected]; [email protected]; Tel: +923336597759
ABSTRACT
Uptake of arsenic (As) by rice in the presence of, albeit partially explored, organic and
inorganic amendments is important for unveiling complex As interactions at soil-rice root
interface. We explored the pore water As concentration in rhizhosphere of two contrasting rice
genotypes (Kainat and KSK-385), and evolution in major nutrient concentrations, at two
important growth stages of rice plants at four different timings in a day; and accumulation of
As to rice genotypes, under the influence organic (farm yard manure (FYM), cow dung (CD),
biogas slurry (BGS), mixed biomaterials waste (MBW)) and inorganic (gypsum, lignite)
amendments. Arsenic-contaminated irrigation water was applied to rice plants after 15 days of
transplantation, and each irrigation was applied at three equal intervals – each irrigation
contained 15 mg As/L. Arsenic concentration in roots of both rice genotypes and soil pore water
was found to be the lowest in MBW treatment. The data showed the percentage increase in
number of tillers (28–51%) and tiller length (28–50%) with the maximum values obtained for
FYM over their respective control for KSK-385 genotype. In the case of Kainat genotype,
number of tillers and tiller length were slightly higher than KSK-385, with the maximum values
attained for CD treatment. Soil pore water samples were also monitored for EC, pH and redox
potential. This study shows that organic materials, particularly MBW, could bind As from soil
and pore water and decrease As in rice grain and roots, and FYM and CD could possibly
enhance the growth and yield of the two rice genotypes under irrigation with As-contaminated
water.
Key words: Arsenic, Rice, Genotypes, Organic and inorganic sorbents.
Concentration and bioreactivity of on-road particle emission: a Tunnel
Study in Hong Kong
Xinyi Niu1, Kin Fai Ho1*, 1 The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong
Kong, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +852 22528763, Fax: +852 26063500, E-mail: [email protected]
Exposure to vehicle emissions has been linked to cardiopulmonary diseases by epidemiological
and toxicological studies. However, the cytotoxicity of vehicle emission as a single source was
less well investigated. In this study, the emission characteristics of Hong Kong vehicles were
obtained by a tunnel study in Shing Mun Tunnel, and the oxidative and inflammatory responses
of vehicle emitted PM2.5 to human A549 lung alveolar epithelial cells were also investigated.
The emission factor (EF) of PM2.5 and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was
27.2±12.0 mg vehicle-1 km-1 and 2.24±1.67 μg vehicle-1 km-1. Diesel-fueled vehicles (DV)
showed higher EFs than non-diesel-fueled vehicles (NDV) though with a lower traffic count.
Vehicle emitted PM2.5 caused significant alterations in cytotoxicity, oxidative stress and
inflammations to A549 cells. OC, EC and individual PAHs (ACY, FLO, PHE, BaA, CHR, BaF,
PER, DaeP) showed high correlations with Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) and interleukin-6 (IL-
6). DV contributed 84.1% to LDH and 75.2% to IL-6 releasing when exposure to A549 cells,
indicated the major contributions of DV to the cytotoxic effects. This study provide a broader
understanding of the toxicity of single emission sources and their relationships to PM2.5
chemical species, the contributions of DV and NDV were also estimated.
Keywords: PM2.5, PAHs, A549, cytotoxicity
Waste-driven Factory to Integrate Waste-to-Energy Technologies
Abdul-Sattar Nizami1,*, Mohammad Rehan1
1Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies (CEES), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
* Corresponding author. Tel: +966-598293542, Fax: +966-12-6951674, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
A waste-driven factory is intended to valorize waste sources as renewable feedstock to recover
value-added chemicals, materials, alternative fuels, and energy. The ambition of this concept
is to integrate waste treatment, resource recovery, alternative fuels, and energy generation to
shift from fossil-based linear economies to circular economies. Although the traditional linear
economies have resulted in rapid economic growth, but at the cost of increasing energy
demands, environmental pollution, and climate change. Recently, Paris COP21 summit has set
out a roadmap to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions to keep global warming to ‘well
below 2oC’. Like global warming, the tremendous waste generation, and its unsustainable
disposal has emerged as a potential threat to our civilization. It is estimated that the current
waste generation rate would escalate by three times by 2025. Traditional waste remediation
methods are concerned with wastes removal from collection points and their disposal in
designated dumping sites where waste valorization to generate energy and other value-added
products is rarely performed. These sites have become a major source of GHGs emissions
contributing to climate change. As a result, nations are now focusing on treating or refining
wastes instead of disposing, striving to recover energy and value-added products from waste
to achieve a circular economy. In better words, using closed-loop waste bioprocessing units,
the inherent net positive energy contained in solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes is harnessed and
utilized as energy carriers. Despite their promising features, these individual processing
technologies are incapable of handling the gigantic volume of waste at a single platform to
achieve zero waste concept. They suffer from limited efficiencies and high capital and
maintenance costs. Therefore, if these waste processing or waste-to-energy technologies could
be integrated through the under-one-roof concept of a waste-driven factory, a significant part
of wastes can be treated by various specialized technologies, while their outputs (heat, power,
and fuel) could suffice the operating requirements of each other. An array of products including
heat, power, fuel, and value-added chemicals, enzymes, and materials would be available, not
only to run the waste-driven factory by itself but to support the national electric grids, vehicular
gas stations, combined heat and power (CHP) units, and domestic heating and industrial
furnaces. However, the overall sustainability of such waste-driven factories should be assessed
through various tools, including life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle impact assessment
(LCIA), and exergy.
Keywords: Waste-driven factories; Waste to energy; Alternative fuels; Sustainability
Overcoming Two Challenges in Utilization of Two-dimensional Materials:
Irreversible Restacking and Site-specific Functionalization
Isao Ogino
Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
Tel: +81-11-706-6491, Fax: +81-11-706-6593, E-mail: [email protected]
Lamellar materials serve as precursors to synthesize high-surface-area catalysts and adsorbents
via delamination (exfoliation) and functionalized materials via intercalation of molecules.
However, delamination often faces a general challenge of irreversible restacking of nanosheets
upon thermal treatments. Functionalization of interlayer spaces involves a challenge to achieve
site-specificity. This talk will present our efforts to address these challenges. The first part will
illustrate how irreversible restacking of Mg-Al double hydroxides nanosheets can be
minimized. Delamination of Mg-Al layered double hydroxides (MgAl-LDHs) and subsequent
thermal activation offers prospective opportunities to synthesize high-surface-area oxides that
serves as basic supports for methane conversion and high-temperature CO2 sorbents. Although
facile delamination of MgAl-LDHs in water can be achieved by intercalation of organic
sulfonates, thermal activation of the resultant materials in air oxidizes sulfonates into inorganic
sulfates, which is known to graft on the surface of metal hydroxide nanosheets, bridge them,
and causes irreversible restacking. Our approach to overcome this challenge and synthesize
mixed metal oxides with a record-high surface area will be presented and discussed. The second
part will illustrate our approach to achieve site-specificity in the synthesis of amine-
functionalized silicates. Amine-functionalized silicates serve as CO2 adsorbents and precursors
to synthesize supported metal catalysts. Although amorphous silica and crystalline silicates
have been often used to synthesize such materials, it is generally challenging to anchor amine-
containing functional groups at specific surface sites. Our approach to take advantage of
connectivity defect sites in lamellar precursors of a zeolitic material and an application to the
synthesis of metal-encapsulated catalysts will be presented and discussed.
Keywords: layered double hydroxide, nanosheet, zeolite, catalyst, delamination
Progress, barriers, and prospects for achieving a Hydrogen Society:
Opportunities for SMART biochar technology
Avanthi Deshani Igalavithana1,#, Siming You2,#, Lin Zhang3, Jin Shang3, Johannes Lehmann4
Aoife Foley5, Xiaonan Wang6, Yong-Guan Zhu7, Daniel C.W. Tsang8, Deyi Hou9, Young-
Kwon Park10, Yong Sik Ok1,* 1Korea Biochar Research Center & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea
University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 2Division of Systems, Power & Energy, School of Engineering,
University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK; 3School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong,
Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China; 4Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agriculture and
Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA; 5School of Mechanical & Aerospace
Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast, Ashby Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AH, United
Kingdom; 6Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore,
Singapore 117585; 7Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China; 8Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; 9School of Environment,
Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; 10School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul,
Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
#The authors contributed equally to the paper
*Corresponding author. Tel: 82-2-3290-3044, E-mail: [email protected]
The concept of ‘hydrogen economy’ serves to tackle the global challenge of greenhouse gas
emissions from fossil fuels and the resulting climate change if the economic and environmental
challenges linked to hydrogen production are resolved. Biochar is a key to resolving these
challenges. Biochar is a renewable and low-cost material that has been increasingly used in
hydrogen production processes. Biochar either serves as a direct feedstock for steam
gasification, a catalyst or catalyst support for thermochemical or photochemical processes, or
an additive in biochemical processes. It can help reduce hydrogen production costs as an
effectual catalyst due to its high surface area, porosity, conductivity, and stability. In addition,
biochar can be a hydrogen storage material for both stationary storages and transportations.
Transportation supported by hydrogen production from renewable energy sources will ensure
a sustainable and clean mobility future. Excess renewable energy (i.e. solar, wind, water, and
biomass) can be converted into hydrogen using thermochemical, biochemical, electrochemical,
and photonic methods. Nevertheless, fossil fuel-based routes (e.g. steam methane reforming
and coal gasification) will remain economically advantageous in the hydrogen market in the
coming decade. Gasification is the most economical method for clean hydrogen production and
has potential to be a negative emission technology. The economic feasibility and carbon
footprint of water electrolysis are contingent upon the price and availability of renewable
electricity, whereas wind power-supported water electrolysis has the lowest global warming
potential (GWP). The role of Biochar in the hydrogen economy is clear, but further studies on
the development of effective biochar-based catalysts for hydrogen production are essential for
future energy production systems. This study examines the plausibility of a hydrogen society
and the role of biochar in making this a reality.
Keywords: SMART Biochar, Black carbon, Sustainable energy
Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment for Children in Taiwan by Estimating
Soil and Dust Ingestion Rate in SHEDS Model
Kuan-Hsuan Pan1, Ying-Lin Wang1, Ling-Chu Chien2,*, Hsing-Cheng Hsi1,* 1 Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
2 School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886 2 3366 4374, E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Soil contamination by heavy metals has been a severe problem in Taiwan. Unintentional
soil/dust ingestion and dermal absorption are potentially crucial pathway of exposure to heavy
metals, especially for children due to both physiologic and behavioral characteristics. This
study focuses on probabilistic health risk assessment to children under three years of age
through ingestion and dermal absorption in three scenarios: pre-activity, indirect contact with
soil, and direct contact with soil. The soil, street dust, and household dust were collected from
children’s homes near the contaminated sites and analyzed for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn.
Soil/dust ingestion rate was estimated by stochastic human exposure and dose simulation
(SHEDS) model developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The hazard index (HI)
was used to assess the non-carcinogenic risks posed by the presence of heavy metals. Monte
Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis were conducted to evaluate the variability and
uncertainty. The results showed that HI and carcinogenic risk were greater in the scenario of
contact with soil than the rest of scenarios. In terms of the contribution of heavy metals, Cr is
the main metal that may pose potential threat to children’s health. The risk assessment also
showed that ingestion was the main pathway for children who had greater exposure risk to
heavy elements present in soil/dust. According to sensitivity analysis, soil/dust ingestion rate
was the most important parameter to estimate the oral risk of children, followed by adherence
factor.
Keyword: SHEDS model, risk assessment, Monte Carlo simulation, heavy metal exposure
Activation of Persulfate by Magnetic MWCNTs/MIL-101(Fe) for
degradation of Ciprofloxacin
Ya Pang1, Zhu Zhang, Ran Yue, Kun Luo1*, Lin tang2* Jiangfang Yu2 1 Department of Biology and Environmental Engineering, Chang Sha University, Chang Sha, 410002 China
2 Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hu Nan University, Chang Sha 410008, China
* Corresponding author. Kun Luo, Tel: 0731-84261421, Fax: 0731-84261421, E-mail: [email protected] ;
Lin Tang, Tel: 0731-88822654, Fax: 0731-88823701, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Recently, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) has been widely used in catalysis and
adsorption due to its high specific surface area, abundant porous structure and unique molecular
constitution. In this study, MOFs MIL-101 (Fe) was firstly prepared by hydrothermal method,
then the MIL-101 (Fe) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was combined through
electrostatic self-assembly, followed by calcination under N2 atmosphere to form magnetic
MWCNTs/MIL-101 (Fe). The as-prepared catalyst was characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM,
BET, XPS and used to activate persulfate for ciprofloxacin degradation. The results indicated
that catalyst with the mass ration of MWCNTs to MIL-101 (Fe) as 1:5, showed the best
catalytic ability. 10 mg/L ciprofloxacin could be removed in 60 min with TOC removal
efficiency of 62%. The catalyst was easy for separation and could be used effectively for four
times. Quenching experiments and EPR analysis showed that radical (SO4•−and •OH) pathway
was responsible for the degradation. This study provided a new way for further exploration of
other MOFs materials and an alternative for wastewater treatment.
Keywords: MOFs, MWCNTs, Persulfate, Ciprofloxacin
Extraction and separation of rare-earth elements (REEs) from coal ash in
Korea
Sungyoon Park1, Yejee Lim1, Nway Oo Khin1, Minsoo Kim1, Sangwoon Woo1, Muhamad
Najmi Bin Zol1, Jun Won Yang1, Han S. Kim1,* 1Civil and Environmental Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea
*Corresponding author: Han S. Kim, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwanggin-gu, Seoul, KOREA
Tel: +82-2-450-4092, Fax: +82-2-447-4092, E-mail: [email protected]
Demand and use of coal for electric power generation are steadily increasing in South Korea.
As a result, substantial amount of coal ash (about 9 million tons) is generated annually. The
coal ash is disposed under and/or above the ground without proper treatments, which is subject
to serious contamination to the surrounding environment. Recently, the recycle of coal ash as
means of industrial raw materials has been suggested to reduce the amount of coal ash dumping.
One of such attempts is to recover valuable elements from coal ash, for example, rare earth
elements (REEs). In this study, three different types of coal ash were collected from an electric
power plant and they were examined in terms of total amount of REEs present in the coal ash.
REEs were extracted by aqueous regia along with hydrofluoric acid treatment and then they
were quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. 0.1 g of the coal ash sample
was acid treated with 6 ml of mixed acid (nitric acid:hydrofluoric acid:perchloric acid = 4:4:1,
v/v) and the mixture was heat treated at 180°C for 4 hrs. Acids were volatilized to measure the
REE content. 15 elements including Tb, Tm, Yb, Gd, Er, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Dy, Ho, Lu,
and Y were present in the fly ash as well as bottom ash. The highest level of REEs was 254.6
mg/kg-coal ash (dry mass) and the average level was approximately 200 mg/kg-coal ash. In
particular, Ce and La were present at the notable level, 104.0 and 60.8 mg/kg-coal ash,
respectively. Overall, it was found that more REEs were extracted from fly ash than bottom
ash. And we attemped to separate REEs from coal ashes. Nitrate ion were used to separate
REEs as ligtht rare-earth elements and heavy rare-earth elements from 1.0 g of coal ash. Bottom
ash showed 83% separation rate, and fly ash showed 87% separation rate. Based upon these
results, we are planning to develop an advanced REEs recovery technology from coal ash and
provide a new material recycle strategy for clean environment in the future.
Keywords: coal ash, rare-earth elements, resources recovery, acid extraction
The kinetics and treatment performance of microcystin and biomass of
concentrated algal by a non-thermal plasma
Rumi Park, Jong-Guk Kim, Hyun-Woo Kim*
Department of Environmental Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-63-270-2444, Fax: +82-63-270-2449, E-mail: [email protected]
Microcystin (MC), one of the typical cyanobacterial toxins, associated with microalgal blooms may cause
risk to the ecosystem including livestock and human. In this study, the removal efficiency of MC and biomass
was evaluated using non-thermal plasma technology, one of the advanced oxidation processes. MC-LR, -RR
and -YR which are frequently detected in reservoirs were determined as indicators of the major algal toxins.
Results demonstrate that organics as chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biomass as volatile
suspended solids (VSS) of the highly concentrated algal biomass (6,618 mg COD/L and 4,391 mg VSS/L)
were removed by 26.7% and 32.1% for 24 hours, respectively. During the reaction, the non-thermal plasma
can destroy microalgal cell walls and make the MC inside the cell released to the outside of the cell. The
determination results demonstrate the increase of MC-LR and -YR though MC-RR was decreased by 34.2%.
The total MCs were removed by 30.9% during the operation. We newly suggested a model equation
considering the MC release during the cell destruction. The MC degradation rate and release rate were
estimated to be 8.604 d-1 and 0.369 d-1, respectively, as a result of regression analysis.
This study demonstrates that the suggested MC estimation model can predict the variability of MC
during mass algal degradation. It further helps developing a useful control over the simultaneous treatment
of algal biomass and toxins.
Keywords: non-thermal plasma, algal blooms, microcystin, toxicity removal
Selective production of BTX aromatics by mild hydrodeoxygenation of
phenolic lignin model compounds
Young-Kwon Park*
School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-2-6490-2870, Fax: +82-2-6490-2859, E-mail: [email protected]
Lignin with its polyaromatic structure is considered as a potential renewable aromatic resource,
and can be utilized for the production of monoaromatic hydrocarbons of benzene, toluene and
xylenes (BTX) which are currently obtained from fossil sources. In this study, the catalysts of
Ni/HBeta, NiReOx/ZrO2, NiReOx/CeO2 and NiReOx/ZrCeO2 were prepared by incipient
wetness impregnation, and used for atmospheric hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of m-cresol and
guaiacol as phenolic model compounds of lignin. The catalytic reactions were conducted using
a micro-scale analytical pyrolyzer equipped with a GC-MS/FID. In each experiment, 1 µl m-
cresol or 0.9 µl guaiacol was injected and vaporized in the reactor. Then, the vapors were passed
through a fixed bed of catalyst (40 mg) kept at a temperature in the range of 250-350 °C.
NiReOx/ZrO2 revealed a considerably higher HDO activity compared to NiReOx/CeO2 and
NiReOx/ZrCeO2 due to the better dispersion of nickel particles on the surface of zirconia
support which facilitates the Ni catalyzed hydrogenation; at 350 °C, NiReOx/ZrO2,
NiReOx/CeO2 and NiReOx/ZrCeO2 gave BTX yields of 66, 38 and 34 wt% from HDO of m-
cresol, and 33, 18 and 4 wt% from HDO of guaiacol, respectively. Furthermore, in contrast to
NiReOx/ZrO2, Ni/HBeta as a zeolite-supported catalyst lost its entire catalytic activity at 250
°C. One reason for this is the strong acidity of zeolites which causes strong adsorption of
phenolics on zeolite surface, especially at lower temperatures due to the exothermic nature of
adsorption. The other reason is the microporosity of zeolite structure which limits the
diffusivity of phenolic molecules, and this diffusion limitation is intensified by a temperature
reduction because of the increased energetic barrier for phenolics to diffuse into the narrow
pores of zeolite at lower temperatures. In contrast, NiReOx/ZrO2 with mild acidity (induced by
rhenium oxide and zirconia) and mesoporous channels causes much lower phenolic trapping.
Besides, the strong interaction between the oxygen atoms of phenolics and the zirconia
oxophilic sites facilitates the activation of phenolic compounds on the catalyst surface.
Therefore, NiReOx/ZrO2 is an efficient catalyst for mild HDO of phenolics due to its mild
acidity, mesoporosity, oxophilicity and enhanced dispersion of Ni.
Keywords: Hydrodeoxygenation; Lignin-derived phenolics; BTX aromatics; Mild acidity
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST)
grant by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. CAP-16-05-KIMM).
Nano Catalysis for Biofuels and Biochemicals of Biofeedstocks: Vernicia
fordii Wood
Cheng Li1, Ya-Feng Yang1, ShengBo Ge2, Xiao-Chen Yue1, Jun Yang1, Yi-Yang Li1, Wan-Xi Peng1*
1School of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
2Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, 76203, USA
*Corresponding author: Tel: +86 13467500168, Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Fast pyrolysis is one of the most promising technologies for the utilization of
lignocellulosic biomass. Extracts of Vernicia fordii wood have broad application prospects as
a raw material in many industrial and agricultural fields, and can also be used as drug and
biomedical active ingredients for anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agents. In this study, FTIR
and GC-MS revealed that solvent extracts of Vernicia fordii wood contained a large number
and diversity of chemical compounds, such as acids, alcohols, aldehydes, amines, aromatics,
esters, ketones, and phenolics. TG results showed that nano-Fe2O3 catalyst had a significant
effect on the thermal degradation of the Vernicia fordii wood. Py-GC-MS analysis suggested
that the fast pyrolysis products of the Vernicia fordii wood contain many high value
components that can be used as raw materials for chemicals and fuels. In addition, the catalyst
type significantly influenced the compositions of the pyrolysis of the Vernicia fordii wood. The
nano-NiO and nano-Fe2O3 catalysts could promote the formation of acid, aromatics, phenols,
and alkanes compounds, and inhibit the formation of olefins and amines.
Keywords: biomass, extractive, fuel, nano catalyst, pyrolysis
Degradation of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by laccase in
reverse micelle system
Peng Fei Xu 1, Xin Peng 1,，Hao Du 1, Yu Tang 1, Yao Yu Zhou 2
1 National and Local United Engineering Laboratory for New Petrochemical Materials and Fine Utilization of
Resources, Key Laboratory of Resource Fine-Processing and Advanced Materials of Hunan Province and Key
Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Research (Ministry of Education of China),
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Normal University,Changsha, 410081, China
2 College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410028, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel:18932426310, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract：Remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in oily sludge has become
the focus of attention. UV spectrophotometer analysis showed that four types of PAHs were
found in sample, which including phenanthrene, anthracene, benzo(a)anthracene and
benzo(b)fluoranthene. In order to degrade PAHs effectively, the laccase reverse micelles
system was proposed. The system protects laccase from being affected by organic phase.
Reverse micelles were prepared by using isooctane analog oil. The optimum water content W0
was 10 by measuring the electrical conductivity of the system. Under this condition, the effects
of pH, temperature and ionic strength on the degradation rate of PAHs were investigated. Also,
compared with that of non-immobilized laccase, the ratio between the secondary structures of
laccase under different conditions was studied. The results showed that the highest laccase
activity was obtained at pH 4.2 and 30oC with 60mmol/L KCl. Meanwhile, the structure of α-
helix accounts for the largest proportion, and the ratio of α-helix in the laccase secondary
structure in the laccase-reverse micelle system was higher than that of the non-immobilized
one under this condition. Finally, the process of laccase degradation of polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons was simulated by Gaussian 09 and the calculation of energy. The application in
oily sludge was further conducted. This study provides an effective method and basis for the
degradation of PAHs in oily sludge.
Keywords：oily sludge, PAHs, laccase, reverse micelles, degradation mechanism
Bacterial diversity and bacterial-based products for biodegradation of
petroleum hydrocarbons
Onruthai Pinyakong1,2,*
1Microbial Technology for Marine Pollution Treatment Research Unit, Department of Microbiology,
Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, 10330
2Research Program on Remediation Technologies for Petroleum Contamination, Center of Excellence on
Hazardous Substance Management (HSM), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
* Corresponding author. Tel:+668-0215-8905, Fax: +662-252-7576, E-mail: [email protected]
Contamination of petroleum hydrocarbons in the environment is of major concern due to their
toxic properties. This research aims at assessment of petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation
potential, bacterial community structures and functions in the environmental samples and
providing the collection of bacteria capable of degrading petroleum hydrocarbons for
developing bacterial-based products for environmental remediation. Microbiome compositions
and functions in hydrocarbon-contaminated environmental sample and in hydrocarbon-
degrading consortium was examined. Several hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria were then
isolated based on the microbiome data and enrichment technique. Exiguobacterium sp. AO-11,
Sphingobium sp. MO2-4, Bacillus megaterium TL01-2, Mycolicibacterium spp. PO1, PO2,
J101 and Y502, Rhodococcus ruber S103 and Bacillus sp. FW1 were selected as good
candidates for bioremediation due to their abilities to degrade a broad spectrum of substrates
and some of them have potential for biosurfactant and biofilm production. Furthermore, the
genes involved in hydrocarbon degradation and biosurfactant producing gene were detected in
the selected strains. The defined consortia were constructed to enhance biodegradation
efficacy. The genomic and biodegradation analyses demonstrated the synergistic degradation
of petroleum hydrocarbons by bacterial members in the constructed consortium. The bacterial-
based products in form of immobilized cells for bioremediation treatment were then
successfully developed. The immobilized cells of the individual strain and the defined consortia
in different supporting materials such as plastic ball, agricultural waste, aquaporous gel and
bio-cord showed high efficacy to remove petroleum hydrocarbons in various systems such as
river water, seawater, soil and sediment.
Keywords: petroleum hydrocarbon, biodegradation, biodiversity, microbiome, bacterial-based
products
Significance of pump-and-treat method in remediation of highly
contaminated soil and groundwater environment; based on example of
former ‘Zachem’ Chemical Plant (Bydgoszcz City, northern Poland)
Dorota Pierri1,*, Adam Postawa1, Mariusz Czop1 1 AGH University of Science and Technology. Department of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, Faculty
of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, 30 MickiewiczaAv., 30-059 Krakow, Poland
* Corresponding author. Tel: 0048 600195070, Fax: 0048 6172427, E-mail: [email protected]
Former ‘Zachem’ Chemical Plant was founded during WWII and its profile has evolved from
explosives for dyes to polyurethane foams. The most hazardous industrial waste site within
plants is ‘Zielona’ (11.3 ha) which is characterized by coexistence of both organic and inorganic
contaminants. The waste site, although partially closed, is still active from hydrogeological
point of view. Laboratory tests showed the accumulation of pollutant load in the body of the
waste site: 328 kg of phenol and 188 kg of diphenyl sulfone. This is reflected in the
groundwater contamination, respectively 613 mg/L for phenol and 0.63 mg/L for diphenyl
sulphone (maximum concentration in piezometer No. P21). This generates a huge
contamination of Quaternary aquifer (Fig. 1). Treatment of the soil and water environment is
in this case particularly important due to the significant threat to the health of the local
inhabitants of Bydgoszcz City and nearby villages: Legnowo, Platnowo, Otorowo.
Fig. 1. Concept of first stage of remediation process in ‘Zachem’ Chemical Plant
In the case of high contamination (chlorides max. 11 g/L, TOC 1.6 g/L in groundwater), only
pump-and-treat (P&T) technique is possible to use. Remediation process assumes
4 autonomous panels composed of injection wells, pre-treatment station and pumping wells
operating with a total capacity of about 50÷100 m3/h, with a minimum depression of about
0.5÷1 m. The lifetime of the single panel will depend on the progress of treatment process and
is initially estimated for 5 years. During this period, it will be pumped out and re-injected into
the aquifer within 3.285 million m3 of groundwater. To summarize the remediation system of
contamination plume of ground and groundwater is planned for up to about 20 years in total,
which will result in pumping out and re-injecting 13.14 million m3 of water into the rock mass
and the reduction of pollution of about 80%. This amount is nearly 7.5-times higher than the
volume of contaminated groundwater associated with the ‘Zielona’ industrial waste site.
Keywords: groundwater contamination, pump-and-treat method, remediation, Zachem
Global Perspective of Pharmaceutical Residues Occurrence In
Drinking Water and Its Associated Potential Health Impacts
Sarva Mangala Praveena1*, Fauzan Adzima Mohd Nasir1, Siti Norashikin Mohamad
Shaifuddin2, Ahmad Zaharin Aris3
1 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty Of Medicine And Health Sciences, Universiti
Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, Serdang, 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
2 Department of Environmental Health and Safety, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA
(UiTM) Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor.
3 Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM
Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia, Serdang, 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
* Corresponding author. Tel:+60389472692 , Fax:+60389472395, E-mail: [email protected]
With extensive pharmaceutical use and production, human and veterinary pharmaceutical
residues are being released into the environment matrixes. Pharmaceutical residues detection
in environment matrixes especially in water bodies have gained increasing concerns by
environmental and health agencies. Various studies and reviews have reported the
pharmaceutical occurrences in the environment, however, limited information is available on
drinking water and its associated health impacts. Hence, this review provides a global focus on
pharmaceutical occurrences in drinking water from seven continents (Europe, Asia, Africa,
Australia, North America, South America and the Antarctic). This review paper also presents
the potential health impacts (health risks and effects) present due to the exposure of
pharmaceutical residues in drinking water. The key findings from this review discuss on a total
of eight pharmaceutical classes (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), anti-
infective, lipid regulator, histamine H1 & H2 antagonist, β-blocker, psychiatric drugs,
antihypertensive and stimulant) that were identified as the most commonly detected in drinking
water globally. With Europe, Asian, African, North and South American continents reporting
various types of pharmaceutical classes in drinking water, Antarctic and Australia were the only
continents that have reported no presence of pharmaceutical occurrence detected in their
drinking water. Potential health impacts (health risks and effects) were identified from the five
continents within specific pharmaceutical classes with certain limitations to performing the risk
assessment. This review provided an understanding regarding drinking water risk management
and global drinking water monitoring strategies for future plans.
Keywords: pharmaceutical; global; drinking water; health
Simultaneous manganese adsorption and biotransformation by bacterial
cell-immobilized biochar: removal kinetics and mechanism
Atcharaporn Yangwilai1, Pinit Kidkhunthod2, Nichada Jearanaikoon2, Jitrin Chaiprapa2,
Nontipa Supanchaiyamat3, Andrew J. Hunt3, Sumana Siripattanakul-Ratpukdi1,4*
1 Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Research Center for Environmental
and Hazardous Substance Management, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand. 2 Synchrotron Light Research Institute (Public Organization), Nakhon Ratchasima 30000, Thailand.
3 Materials Chemistry Research Center, Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence for Innovation in
Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand. 4Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
*Corresponding author. Tel: 66834193993, Fax: 6643202571, E-mail: [email protected]
Manganese contamination has been known as a typical problematic issue in water treatment
system. This study aims to investigate the combination of adsorption and biotransformation
processes for removing manganese in contaminated water. Raw biochar as a wasted material
from wood vinegar production and Streptomyces violarus strain SBP1, an effective manganese-
oxidizing bacterium, were selected. Raw biochar was prepared by industrial pyrolysis. The raw
biochar gave maximum adsorption capacity for 0.43 mg/g (initial concentration of 3 mg/L at
temperature of 303K). Biochar modified by hydrogen peroxide treatment had higher specific
surface area and higher oxygen-containing functional groups resulting in better manganese
removal capacity. The manganese adsorption on raw and modified biochar followed the pseudo
second-order and well fitted Langmuir isotherm model. Micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometry
(Micro-XRF) confirmed that manganese was adsorbed from the surface through outer layer of
biochar. The cell-immobilized biochar increased overall manganese removal compared to only
modified biochar (no microbial cell). The X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) result
demonstrated the manganese adsorption and bio-oxidation by the biochar with immobilized
microbial cells. The result from this study showed potential of the cell-immobilized biochar for
contaminated water treatment applications in the future.
Keywords: hydrogen peroxide, immobilized cell, Mn, XANES
Microalgae Scenedesmus Obliquus cultivation by cell encapsulation
technique for biodiesel production
Thunyalux Ratpukdia,b,c*, Narunat Sewiwata,c, Sumana Siripattanakul-Ratpukdia,b,
a Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Research Center for Environmental
and Hazardous Substance Management, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
b Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management (HSM), Bangkok 10330, Thailand
c Farm Engineering and Automation Technology Research Group, Khon Kaen Univeristy, Khon Kaen 40002,
Thailand
*Corresponding author. Tel:66-804692440 , Fax:66-4320571 , E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
This work investigated cultivation microalgae Scenedesmus obliquus TISTR#8522 by calcium
alginate cell encapsulation technique to obtain lipid as raw material for biodiesel production.
The effect of initial cell density of 0.5, 1, and 2 g/L of encapsulation matrix on cell growth,
nitrogen consumption, and lipid production were studied. Free cell cultivation was conducted
in parallel to cell encapsulation system for comparison purpose. The results show that cell
encapsulation system at cell density of 1 g/L provided optimum specific growth rate of 0.1753
d-1 and lipid content of 27% (at 15 day). In addition, decreasing of total nitrogen concentration
in the medium was found to have an effect on decreasing of lipid content in algae cell at the
last stage of cultivation. This work showed the potential of new method to harvest the algae for
biodiesel production.
Keywords: algae, cell encapsulation, alginate, lipid, harvesting
Biochar as Bioresource for Immobilizing Pollutants in Soils
Jörg Rinklebe1*
1 University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation
Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Laboratory of Soil- and Groundwater-Management,
Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, Germany; email: [email protected]
* Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Abstract
Healthy food production is imperative for human health. However, many wetland soils are polluted
with toxic elements such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, antimony and others. In particular, paddy soil
are very vulnerable since they serve as producer of food, including rice. Paddy soils are regularly
flooded and thus, they underlie large fluctuations of redox conditions. Those changes of redox
conditions have considerable impacts on the biogeochemical behavior of toxic elements as well as on
pH, carbonate, and carbon solubility, chemistry of iron, manganese, and sulfur as well as on microbial
community, which control the mobilization of toxic elements.
Doubtless, the redox potential and pH are master variables in governing those mobilization processes.
We are able to conduct experiment in the laboratory to study mechanistically the release dynamics of
toxic elements. Also, we are seek for suitable amendments to stabilize those toxic metals in the soil
which should be stabile even under dynamic redox conditions. Biochar is considered as one option to
fulfill this purpose. Results gained at various scales (laboratory and field scale) will be presented.
The synergistic effect of combination system of non-thermal plasma and
catalyst bed for decomposition of VOCs
Sumin Ryu, Jihee Kim, Jaehun Jeong, Yujin Hwang, Young-kwon Park *
School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-2-6490-2870, Fax: +82-2-6490-2859, E-mail: [email protected]
Food wastes generally have high water content, and odors are generated due to the
characteristics of waste. Most people are uncomfortable with odors and can have a negative
impact on food waste disposal. Acetaldehyde, one of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
is a typical air pollutant of the process of storing food waste. These VOCs can be decomposed
using Non-thermal Plasma (NTP), which generates active oxygen and ozone species and reacts
to acetaldehyde with ozone. A concentration of remained ozone after reaction could be occur
secondary pollution, so additional treatment of ozone is required.
In this study, catalytic plasma discharge was used for the treatment of acetaldehyde. Ozone, a
byproduct generated by the plasma operation, is decomposed in the Mn-based catalyst and used
to efficiently remove acetaldehyde. And a reactor of similar volume with actual food waste
collection box was designed for practical application. In addition, acetaldehyde and ozone
removal experiments were conducted according to various humidity ranges (20 ~ 80%)
considering the water content of food wastes.
Keywords: Non-thermal Plasma, Catalyst, Acetaldehyde, Humidity
This study was supported by Nano Material Technology Development Program through the
National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and
Future Planning (No. NRF-2015M3A7B4049714).
Bio-reactive Clay Minerals for Contaminant Remediation
Binoy Sarkar1,* 1 Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
* Corresponding author. Tel: +44 114 22 20093, E-mail: [email protected]
Clay minerals are well-known adsorbents of a range of organic and inorganic contaminants in
the environment. Natural clay minerals, owing to their intrinsic cation exchange capacity and
negative surface charge, show considerable affinity to cationic contaminants of both organic
and inorganic nature. However, to improve the adsorption of anionic or non-polar contaminants,
clay minerals require modification either to increase the positive surface charge and/or
hydrophobicity. For example, clay modification with quaternary ammonium compounds
(QACs) remarkably improves the non-polar organic contaminant removal by the modified
products commonly known as organoclays. Selective organoclays can also harbour
microorganisms (e.g., bacteria) that are capable of degrading the organic contaminants sitting
on the organoclay surfaces. To this end, this paper aims to show examples of bentonite and
palygorskite products modified with a number of physico-chemical methods (e.g., modified
with QACs, heat treatment, acid/base treatment, cationic enrichment) that are able to harbour
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading bacteria in normal and toxic trace element-
contaminated water and soil. A combined application of the modified clay minerals along with
the selected microorganisms can potentially offer an inexpensive and green remediation
approach for numerous environmental contaminants.
Keywords: Clay modification, Environmental contaminants, Adsorption, Microbial
degradation, Green remediation
References:
1. Sarkar et al. (2012). Bioreactive organoclay: A new technology for environmental
remediation. Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42, 435-488.
2. Sarkar et al. (2013). Toxicity of organoclays to microbial processes and earthworm
survival in soils. J. Hazard. Mater. 261, 793-800.
3. Mandal et al. (2016). Surface tailored organobentonite enhances bacterial proliferation
and phenanthrene biodegradation under cadmium co-contamination. Sci. Total
Environ. 550, 611-618.
4. Biswas et al. (2017). Mild acid and alkali treated clay minerals enhance
bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in long-term contaminated soil:
A 14C-tracer study. Environ. Pollut. 223, 255-265.
5. Biswas et al. (2017). Bacterial mineralization of phenanthrene on thermally activated
palygorskite: A 14C radiotracer study. Sci. Total Environ. 579, 709-717.
Molybdenum disulfide functionalized Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets for
mercury removal
Asif Shahzad, Mohsin Nawaz, Mokrema Moztahida, Khurram Tahir, Bolam Kim, Dae Sung
Lee,*
Department of Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University, 80 Daehak-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu
41566, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-53-953-7286, Fax: +82-53-950-6579, E-mail: [email protected]
A novel two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXene (MX) nanosheet with nano-layered molybdenum
disulfide (MoS2-MX) was successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal treatment method
and used to adsorb toxic mercuric ions from water. MX provided structure direction and used
as supporting material for MoS2. To increase surface area and interlayer spacing, Multi-layered
MXene was delaminated (DLMX) using ultrasonication. The synthesized MoS2-DLMX
nanohybride was used to investigate the efficiency of Hg(II) removal and surface interaction
mechanism. The MoS2-DLMX composite adsorbed Hg(II) ion synergistically by sulfur
(disulfide) and oxygenated terminal groups of Ti3C2Tx (Tx: O, OH, F). PXRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM,
FE-TEM, Raman spectroscopy, BET surface area, zeta-potential analyses, and XPS were
utilized to investigate the material’s characteristics and its structural changes after mercuric ion
adsorption. The detailed quantitative investigation confirmed the interaction of bimetal and
hydroxyl groups with Hg(II) by electrostatic interactions, adsorption-coupled oxidation, and
complexation formation. The synthesized composite showed fast kinetics and higher removal
rate as 10 ppm of initial Hg(II) concentration mercury was reduced to >2 ppb in just 120 second.
Batch adsorption results showed that MoS2-DLMX exhibited an adsorption density of 1435.2
mg/g, which was highest than the previously developed 2D material, nanohybride, and other
materials. Furthermore, Langmuir isotherm fitted well the adsorption data with highest
correlation coefficient (R2= 0.987). Moreover, MoS2-DLMX was tested for mercury-
contaminated groundwater and wastewater, showing MoS2-DLMX was capable for removing
mercuric ions at ppb level. The results obtained from this study suggest that this type of
heterogeneous material will be very useful in practical water purification.
Keywords: MXene, nanohybride mercury, adsorption, wastewater,
Revisit the Molecular Sieving Behaviour in Zeolite LTA for High-
performance Gas Separation
Mingzhe Sun1,2, Aamir Hanif1,2, Qinfen Gu3, Jin Shang*1,2 1City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, 8 Yuexing 1st Road, Shenzhen Hi-Tech Industrial
Park, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, P.R. China
2School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
SAR, P.R. China
3The Australian Synchrotron (ANSTO), 800 Blackburn Road, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
*Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected], fax: +852-3442-0688
* Corresponding author. Tel: 34427714, Fax: 34420688, E-mail: [email protected]
Chemical separation plays a vital role in the societal development, accounting for 15% annual
total energy consumption globally. An efficient alternative technology to conventional
distillation would bring huge benefits though reducing energy use, emissions, and pollution.
Molecular sieving represents the most desirable approach for separation, where it discriminates
molecules by size/shape and exclusively allows for certain component to enter, ideally
achieving absolute separation. Zeolite LTA is the most prominent example of molecular sieves.
For example, people have been long believing that zeolite 3A (K form) excludes molecules
(e.g., CO2 being 3.3 Å in kinetic diameter) larger than its pore aperture size of 3 Å, while zeolite
4A (Na form) with pore aperture size of 4 Å admits both CO2 and N2 (3.64 Å). Prominent
researchers in this field have fine-tuned the aperture size by adjusting the relative composition
of Na and K to be seemingly between CO2 and N2, realizing sieving between these two gases.
Despite the exciting separation results, such a size-based sieving may not be the true underlying
mechanism. Our recent discovery of molecular trapdoor mechanism in another small-pore
zeolite molecular sieves, chabazite, should account for this scenario in LTA. In molecular
trapdoor mechanism, different molecules are discriminated based on the ability of guest
molecules to temporarily and reversibly move the “door-keeping” cations and thus to enter,
rather than size-match. With this in mind, we revisited zeolite LTA and strikingly observed
significant CO2 admission in 3A although the kinetics is relatively slow, which is
counterintuitive from the conventional perspective of molecular sieving. We further proved that
K-form LTA with reduced cation density (Si/Al = 2 vs. conventional Si/Al = 1) showed
consistent results. Establishing the new understanding of non-size based sieving will allow for
the developing next-generation molecular sieving adsorbents for highly efficient separation
currently not possible.
Keywords: gas separation, adsorption, zeolites, molecular sieving
Design of bespoke bio-based solvents
James Sherwood1,* 1 Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, Department of Chemistry, University of York, Heslington, UK.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +441904322705, E-mail: [email protected]
Solvents are required for many chemical processes, but most have safety, health, or
environmental hazards. The diversity of biomass allows new benign solvents to be designed
for specific processes. The European ReSolve project is a consortium of biomass producers,
solvent manufacturers, process design and life cycle analysts, chemists and toxicologists,
working together to develop alternatives to conventional toxic solvents (resolve-bbi.eu).
A series of levoglucosenone derivatives were identified in silico as potential solvents. Those
with scalable production routes were determined by technoeconomic analysis and synthesised
for preliminary tests. As the strongest driver for solvent substitution is toxicity, reliable
screening methods were needed to rule out potentially hazardous solvents. Michael addition
products of levoglucosenone were found to be cytotoxic and so not pursued further. In one
example, alcohol derivatives of levoglucosenone were found to enhance the yield of a multi-
component one-pot synthesis of highly substituted piperidines. Cyrene™ was reactive in this
instance, but has been shown to be a high performance solvent in other applications.
Keywords: Bio-based, solvents, levoglucosenone, Cyrene, solvent selection.
Effect of Source-Classified Collection and Mixing Collection on the
Emission Characteristics of Odor from the Dustbin of Household Waste in
the Residential Areas
Xiaoxiao Shi1,2, Guodi Zheng1,2,*, Zhuze Shao1,2, Tongbin Chen1,2 1 Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
2 College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
* Corresponding author. Tel:+86-10-64888050, Fax: +86-10-64888087, E-mail: [email protected]
With the urbanization and industrialization of cities in China, the production of municipal solid
waste (MSW) has been growing rapidly. Recycling is one of the critical actions currently
available to reduce these impacts. It is an effective way to improve urban and rural environment
and promote resource recycling to implement domestic waste classification following the
principles of reduction, recycling, and harmlessness. However, the community residents in
China are less motivated in source-classified collection and the pratical situation is
disappointing.
In the present study, the seasonal changes of odor from the dustbins of household waste in the
residential areas and the effect of source-classified collection and mixing collection on the
emission characteristics of odor were investigated. The results showed that the major pollutants
from the dustbins of household waste in the residential areas were benzene and alkane. The
highest peak of odor species in mixing collection dustbins and other dustbins were detected in
autumn, while the highest peak of odor species in the kitchen waste bins were detected in winter.
In the detected pollutants, terpene and sulfide had contributed significantly to odor, especially
in summer and autumn. Furthermore, more attention needs to be paid to the control of odor
pollution from dusbin of house hold. Except autumn, the ozone formation potential of VOCs
in bins of the mixing collection is higher than kitchen waste bins and classified bins during the
year; the ozone formation potential of VOCs reached the highest peak in summer. Compared
to the garbage with mixing collection, the garbage with source-classified collection had
advantages in the field of control odor emitted and ozone production potential.
Keywords: Municipal solid waste, odor, VOCs, classified collection, mixing collection
Impoundment and flow regulation enhance riparian denitrification in
reservoirs
Wenqing Shi1, Qiuwen Chen1,*, Yuchen Chen1, Qitao Yi2 1 Center for Eco-Environment Research, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210098, China
2 School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel:02585829760, Fax: 02585829760, E-mail: [email protected]
Denitrification of riparian zones at the land-water interface is important for nitrogen
biochemical cycles in aquatic systems and hence water quality of reservoirs. Riparian
denitrification has been extensively explored subject to natural hydrological conditions in
rivers, lakes and tidal flats. Although the mechanisms, that nitrification is enhanced (oxic) when
water level falls and then denitrification is enhanced (anoxic) when water level rises, is well
known, how the change in frequency of water level fluctuation affects the processes has not
been formally investigated so far. Therefore, there is a lack of knowledge on the behavior of
riparian denitrification under strong flow regulations by reservoirs. To address this gap, we
explored riparian denitrification in a hydropower reservoir of the heavily dammed upper
Mekong River. Our study showed that the frequent alternate wetting-drying induced by
reservoir operations significantly intensified the riparian denitrification process, and a strong
relationship was observed between the denitrification rate and the period of water level rising-
falling cycle (r2 = 0.98, P < 0.05). In addition, reservoir impoundment appreciably enlarged
the hot spots for riparian denitrification. By demonstrating the effects of flow regulations on
riparian denitrification, our results facilitate quantifications of impacts of reservoir
impoundment and operation on nitrogen biogeochemical cycles and water quality globally
using widely accessible hydrological and reservoir datasets.
Keywords: denitrification; riparian zone; reservoir operation; alternate wetting-drying; water
quality
Extraction of Cesium fixed on Clay minerals by Freezing and Thawing
Donghun Shin,1, Kitae Baek1* 1 Department of Environmental Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonllabuk-do, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-63-270-2437, Fax: +82-63-270-2449, E-mail: [email protected]
The leakage of radionuclide from nuclear facilities and accident of nuclear power plants release
cesium(Cs+) to the surrounding environments, and the soil is exposure to the radioactive Cs.[1]
It is well observed that Cs is fixed on the soil, especially, on the clay minerals and the fixation
is irreversible. In addition, Cs fixed in the soil radiates continuously the gammas rays, which
causes cancer in the human body. Recently, Park et al. reported that the wetting and drying
weathering accelerates fixation of Cs and Cs in the interlayer of expandable clay minerals
changes the structure of clay minerals to that of illite (non-expandable clay minerals).[2]
In this study, we hypothesized that the freezing and thawing process accelerates the weathering
of illite and transforms the illite-like structure to expanding clay minerals. First of all, we
contaminated the soil artificially, and aged the soil by wetting and drying process. The fixation
of Cs was evaluated by XRD, and the freezing-thawing was executed several times to enhance
the weathering artificially. The concentration of Cs in the aqueous phase and the degree of
fixation was evaluated.
Keywords: Cesium, Irreversible/Reversible Clay mineral, Interlayer, Freezing and Thawing
Reference
[1] G.N. Kim, Y.H. Jung, J.J. Lee, J.K. Moon, C.H. Jung, An analysis of a flushing effect on
the electrokinetic-flushing removal of cobalt and cesium from a soil around
decommissioning site, Separation and Purification Technology, 63 (2008) 116-121.
[2] S.-M. Park, J.-S. Yang, D.C.W. Tsang, D.S. Alessi, K. Baek, Enhanced irreversible
fixation of cesium by wetting and drying cycles in soil, Environmental Geochemistry
Health, (2018).
Various Utilization of Functionalised Biochar Derived from Red Mud and
Other Industrial Wastes
Hocheol Song1,*, Kwangsuk Yoon1 1 Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05005, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: 82 2 3408 3232, Fax: 82 2 3408 4320, E-mail: [email protected]
The massive generation of red mud, a by-product of the Bayer process of aluminium production,
has been considered as a serious environmental burden because of its toxicity, alkaline nature
(> 10), and complex compositional matrix. Accordingly, diverse technical approaches for red
mud utilization have been extensively developed, but their practical implementation has not
been fully established because of technical incompleteness. In these respects, establishing
reliable strategies for disposing red mud is of great importance. Therefore, co-pyrolysis of red
mud and other industrial wastes (i.e., lignin and lipid waste) was conducted at 700 oC under N2
or CO2 environments to fabricate functionalized biochar. In addition, the trend of syngas (i.e.,
H2, CH4, and CO) generation and the improvement of syngas generation by red mud (i.e., Fe
species) were evaluated during co-pyrolysis. Furthermore, the fabricated biochar samples were
assessed for their potential utility in the environmental (i.e., removal of various contaminants)
and energy (i.e., synthesis of biodiesel) fields.
Keywords: Red mud, industrial waste, co-pyrolysis, functionalised biochar, application
Mitigating Arsenic exposure through its bacterial transformation and bio-
availability reduction
*Siddhartha Gangopadhyay, Shagun Shukla, Sheetal Agarwal and *Vikas Srivastava
Developmental Toxicology laboratory, Systems Toxicology & Health Risk Assessment Group, CSIR-Indian
Institute of Toxicology Research, 31 Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Lucknow-226001, Uttar Pradesh, India.
*Academy of scientific and industrial research (AcSIR), CSIR-IITR, Lucknow Campus.
E-mail: [email protected]
Groundwater Arsenic contamination is a major problem worldwide affecting millions of people.
As against the prescribed safe limits of 10 ppb, the concentrations in affected areas may be as
high as 20 ppm. Prolonged arsenic exposure is associated with cancers of the skin, bladder and
kidney as well as chronic kidney diseases and type 2 diabetes.
Work in our laboratory has led to development of models which mimic arsenic exposure
scenario and disease phenotype including skin cancer and diabetes associated nephropathy.
Using these models, we have assessed epigenetic changes occurring during early life arsenic
exposure which are associated with adult onset diseases in arsenic endemic areas. Studies have
also been undertaken to isolate stress tolerant bacteria from polluted areas to assess their
efficacy in microbial removal of arsenic and develop methods for reducing the bioavailability
in the biological system.
Our studies have shown that maternal arsenic exposure leads to its accumulation in placenta
and adipose tissue. We have also identified certain adipogenic cytokines adipokines such as
TNF-α and Il-1 group which are persistently upregulated and contribute to adult onset disease
phenotype. To explore biological methods for mitigating arsenic toxicity we have isolated
specific bacterial population from wastewater rich in arsenic and other pollutants. Under
laboratory condition we have profiled them for the expression of genes associated with
metabolism and removal of heavy metals including arsenic. We have also cultured them in
chemically defined media (CDM) in presence of various concentrations of arsenic to identify
strains which can transform arsenic to less toxic form and reduce its bio availability. These are
being tested for their effect on arsenic bioavailability in colonic cell culture systems.
Our studies have lead to identification of mechanisms by which arsenic promotes chronic
diseases and also identified bacterial strains which can help in mitigating arsenic toxicity. Once
validated in more exposure scenarios, they can be useful for reducing the adverse effects of
arsenic exposure.
Mechanistic investigations on asymmetric N-H and O-H insertions
catalyzed by metal/chiral guanidine catalyst
Jing Li, Changwei Hu, Zhishan Su*
Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan
University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, PR China
* Corresponding author. Tel:+86-2885415608, E-mail: [email protected]
The catalytic insertion of α-diazocarbonyl compounds into X-H bonds (X=heteroatom) is
an attractive route for the construction of carbon-heteroatom bonds. Experiments indicated that
the chiral guanidine in combination with metal reagent (such as Pd2(dba)3 or Rh2(OAc)4) could
catalyze efficiently N-H or O-H insertion reaction of α-diazocarbonyl compound, affording the
corresponding products in high yield and excellent stereoselectivity[1]. Herein, we reported
theoretical calculations on the reaction mechanisms of asymmetric N-H insertion of amine and
O-H insertions of carboxylic acid, catalyzed by Pd(0)-chiral guanidine complex or
Rh2(OAc)4/guanidine catalyst. The structures of key active species and the origin of
stereoselecltivity in asymmetric catalysis were revealed by DFT method.
The calculations indicated that the guanidine played different role in the two X-H insertion
reactions. For N-H insertion reaction, guanidine coordinated to Pd(0) atom, forming Pd(0)-
guanidine active species. Moreover, the insertion reaction consisted of three continuous steps,
including generation of Pd-carbene intermediate, formation of C-N bond and 1,2-H transfer via
Pd(0)-associated ylide. However, the guanidine just acted as a co-catalyst in O-H insertion
reaction. That is, Rh2(OAc)4 helped to form the enol intermediate via high reactivity Rh(II)-
carbene species in the first step while guanidine (or guanidium salt) serviced as a chiral proton
shuttle to construct a hydrogen bonding net for the stereo-determinant protonation for final
insertion product. In these asymmetric transformations, the steric repulsions from the
substituent of amide and chiral backbone of the guanidine played important roles in controlling
the stereochemical outcomes. These results were expected to provide useful information for
the rational design of new metal/chiral guanidine catalysts.
Keywords: asymmetric catalysis, chiral guanidine, insertion reaction, DFT calculation
[1] S. X. Dong, X. M. Feng, X. H. Liu, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2018, 47, 8525
N-H insertion O-H insertion
Facile Fabrication of Meso-hydroxyapatite for Highly Efficient
Sequestration of Uranium(VI) from Aqueous Solution
Minhua Su1,2,*, Daniel C.W. Tsang 2, Diyun Chen1 1 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, School of
Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86-20- 39366937. E-mail: [email protected]
The effluents from nuclear weapon production and mining processes contain
radionuclides (such as uranium), seriously threatening the environment and human health. This
article addresses the removal of uranyl ions (U(VI)) by meso-hydroxyapatite (m-HAP), which
can be facilely fabricated by a sol–gel method. In our experiments, m-HAP as a sorbent was
proven highly efficient U(VI) given its high U(VI) uptake capacity of 111.4 mg/g, fast
adsorption kinetics, as well as the potential stabilization of adsorbed U(VI). We fitted three
adsorption isotherms (i.e., the Langmuir model, the Freundlich model, and the Temkin model)
and proved that U (VI) adsorption by m-HAP followed the Langmuir model. The data fit quite
well with this pseudo–second-order kinetic model, suggesting that U(VI) adsorption is
preferred to chemisorption with meso-HAP. Intraparticle diffusion analysis showed that the
efficacy of intraparticle diffusion depends on the restriction step for U(VI) adsorption by m-
HAP. Our findings demonstrate that meso-HAP can effectively remediate uranium
contamination and holds great promise for future applications.
Keywords: Hydroxyapatite; Uranium; Adsorption; Mechanism.
Volatile organic compound emission profiles of rural cooking and heating
in Guanzhong Plain, China, and its potential effect on regional O3 and
secondary organic aerosol formation
Jian Sun1,*, Zhenxing Shen2 1 School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China
2 Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China
* Corresponding author., E-mail: [email protected]
Solid fuels (i.e., biomass fuel and coal) burned for cooking and heating emit large amounts of
pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), into the
atmosphere. In this study, VOCs were directly collected in chimneys of residential cooking and
heating stoves in the Guanzhong Plain using an adsorbent tube approach followed by thermal
desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. Emission factors (EFs) of
targeted VOCs varied from 0.047 ± 0.019 to 3.12 ± 1.59 g kg−1 with a descending order of
biomass straw > woody fuels >> coal fuels, although the differences between straw and woody
fuels were not significant (p> 0.05). A remarkable finding is that semi-gasifier stoves could not
suppress VOC emissions even though a high efficiency in reduction of PM was demonstrated.
In addition, high values of coefficients of divergence (CDs) (most > 0.5) indicated that large
variations existed in the VOC profiles for different fuels and stoves. Ozone formation potential
(OFP) of VOCs from solid fuel burning ranged from 0.050 to 5.91 g kg−1, contributing
approximately 20% of the Guanzhong’s ozone formation in winter. The values were much
larger than the contribution from solid fuel burning to primary PM (6.7%). However, much
lower secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation potentials (0.5–45.6 mg kg−1) of VOCs
emitted from solid fuel burning were estimated. The values were two orders of magnitude lower
than OFP values and only accounted for 0.23% of the SOA in the Guanzhong Plain. The results
of this study demonstrated that the VOC emission from solid fuel burning had a strong impact
on ozone pollution in the Guanzhong Plain during the heating season.
Keywords: solid fuels, residential use, VOCs, OFP. SOA foramtion
Catalytic Ozonation of Antibiotics Using Nano-Magnesium Hydroxide
Qi Sun1, Guangcan Zhu1,*, Jian Lu2 1 School of Energy and Environment, Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering of the Ministry
of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210096, P. R. China
2 Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yaitai, Shandong 264003, P. R.
China.
* Guangcan Zhu. Tel: 025-83795515, Fax: 025-83795515, E-mail: [email protected]
The presence of antibiotics in the water environment has aroused the attention of an increasing
number of people. The catalytic ozonation process as a novel advanced oxidation process is
widely used to effectively remove refractory organic compounds with short reaction time and
high removal efficiency. As the low-cost, non-toxic, heavy metal free and environment-friendly
materials, Mg(OH)2 has attracted wide attention. A large amount of natural bischofite produced
in the process of salt lake mining can’t be fully utilized and are discarded, which leads to the
waste of precious magnesium resources. The techniques for reutilization of the discarded
bischofite as magnesium resources are limited. Base on it, the nano-Mg(OH)2 was prepared by
the chemical precipitation with modifications using MgCl2·6H2O and natural bischofite
obtained from the Qarhan Salt Lake as the raw material, respectively. The synthesized nano-
Mg(OH)2 material prepared from MgCl2·6H2O had a better morphology of regular nanoplates,
while the obtained nano-Mg(OH)2 materials prepared from natural bischofite consisted of
nano-flowers and the nano-flowers was formed by the assembly of nanoplates. The two
morphologies nano-Mg(OH)2 materials were firstly used as catalyst for ozonation of the widely
used antibiotics including nitroimidazole, sulfonamide, fluoroquinolone and tetracycline
antibiotics. Most of nitroimidazole antibiotics were rapidly removed within 10 min by the flaky
nano-Mg(OH)2 and the removal rate constant of nitroimidazole antibiotics in the catalytic
ozonation treatment was almost 4 times higher than that without catalyst. Rapid ozonation of
sulfonamide, fluoroquinolone and tetracycline antibiotics were achieved using the flower-like
nano-Mg(OH)2 and the removal rate constant of sulfonamide, fluoroquinolone and tetracycline
antibiotics was nearly 2 times higher than the single ozonation. Persistent high catalytic activity
of two morphologies nano-Mg(OH)2 materials maintained after 3 runs. In addition, the effects
of various parameters including radical scavenger, catalyst dosage, reaction temperature,
antibiotic concentrations, anions and cations on the removal of antibiotics were evaluated. In
conclusion, the high removal efficiency and heavy free suggested that the prepared nano-
Mg(OH)2 is a promising green ozonation catalyst in the terms of antibiotics removal.
Keywords: nano-magnesium hydroxide, catalytic ozonation, natural bischofite, antibiotics
Reduction of degradation and toxicity of sulfonamides and penicillins
during treatment of microalgal in livestock wastewater
Soo Young Sung, and Hyun-Woo Kim*
Department of Environmental Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: : +82-63-270-2444, E-mail: [email protected]
Demand for cattle, pigs, and chickens increased due to human dietary habits, which led to an
increase in livestock wastewater production to 173,304 m3 / day (as of the Ministry of
Environment, 2016). Livestock wastewater contains nitrogen, ammonia, phosphorus, and a
large number of organic matters. High nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic contents have harmful
effects not only on water ecosystems but also on human health. Remaining antibiotics in
livestock wastewater cannot be treated in conventional wastewater treatment and may activate
bacterial resistance to the antibiotics. Recent studies have investigated that some microalgal
species could conduct antibiotics degradation as well as pollutants removal. However, detailed
mechanisms have yet to be clarified whether biodegradation or biosorption is predominant.
Therefore, in this study, we investigate the degradation mechanisms of sulfonamide group and
penicillin antibiotics in the microalgal treatment of livestock wastewater under
photoautotrophic and mixotrophic growth condition.
The microalgal strain, Scenedesmus quadricauda and Chlorella sorokiniana exposed to three
kinds of sulfonamide antibiotics (sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, sulfathiazole) and
penicillin antibiotic (Amoxicillin) which were using livestock wastewater (224 mg N/L, 2.09
mg P/L, 9.52 mg NH3-N/L, and 16 mg S/L). Mixotrophic growth strategy for each batch
reactor (1 L) was the iteration of 16 h (light)-8 h (dark) cycle. Microalgal concentration,
inhibition effect on growth rate, antibiotics removal rate were monitored according to
experimental design. In this process, we evaluate how the toxicity of antibiotics based on
Daphnia magna affects the growth inhibition of microalgae.
Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) revealed that Sulfamethazine
(42~67%), sulfathiazole (42~99%), and sulfamethoxazole (44~55%) could be removed. With
the decrease of antibiotics, the percentage of lethal concentration to Daphnia magna was also
decreased, which evidences that the antibiotics degradation is strongly associated with the
toxicity reduction. The results of this study showed that microalgae could contribute to the
development of methods for removing antibiotics by biological adsorption and biodegradation
at the same time as livestock wastewater treatment. Furthermore, harvesting of microalgae after
livestock wastewater treatment means contributing to reducing risks such as toxicity of
antibiotics from ecosystems.
Keywords: Antibiotic, penicillin, sulphonamides, microalgal, Acute toxicity
Polyhydroxyalkanoate production in two-stage continuous stirred tank
reactor activated sludge systems using glycerol as a carbon source
Pimsiri Heebkaew1, Benjaporn B. Suwannasilp1,* 1 Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
* Corresponding author. Tel: +662-2186667, Fax: +662-2186666, E-mail: [email protected]
Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a biopolymer that can be used as biodegradable
plastics. The use of mixed microbial cultures for PHA production has recently gained high
attention since it can enable the process to be combined with wastewater treatment processes.
PHA production from organic wastewater has also been considered to be a promising strategy
for resource recovery. Glycerol is the major component of the wastewater from biodiesel
production, which has great potential as a substrate for PHA production. This study investigated
the effects of feast and famine ratio on PHA production in two-stage continuous stirred tank
reactor activated sludge systems using glycerol as a carbon substrate. The results show that at
the glycerol concentration of 3,000 mgCOD/L, maximum PHA of 38.17%, 17.68%, and
14.90% gPHA/gMLSS were obtained in the systems operated at the feast/famine feeding ratio
of 0.04, 0.15, and 0.33, respectively. Then, the sludge from these systems was tested for PHA
accumulation in fed-batch reactors, in which glycerol was continuously added. Maximum PHA
of 21.35%, 12.58% and 8.01% gPHA/gMLSS were obtained for the sludge from the systems
operated at the feast/famine feeding ratio of 0.04, 0.15, and 0.33, respectively. The highest PHA
accumulation was achieved at the lowest feast/famine ratio, which was at 0.04. From the
microbial community analysis using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (Miseq, Illumina),
microorganisms known for PHA accumulating ability that were found in the systems included
1) Rhodobacter spp., 2) bacteria in family Comamonadaceae, 3) bacteria in order Rhizobiales,
and 4) bacteria in family Xanthobacteraceae. All of these microbial groups belong to the class
of Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria.
Keywords: polyhydroxyalkanoate, feast/famine, continuous stirred tank reactor, glycerol
Effects of different biochars on mobility and extractability of metals and As
in soils
Filip M. G. Tack1,*, Anna Tsibart2, Yong Sik Ok3 1 Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
2 Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering , Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
3 O-Jeong Eco-Resilience Institute (OJERI) & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering,
Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea. * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Soil contamination with metals and metalloids requires effective and feasible remediation
approaches. Biochar has the potential to be used as a soil amendment capable of immobilizing
metals in soils. The aim of this study is to assess the efficiency of biochar application for the
remediation of soils contaminated with the mixture of metals. A 21-day incubation experiment
was conducted with two soils with different contamination levels. The tested soils were
collected from two sites. The soil from Lommel (Belgium) had high concentrations of Cd, Pb,
Zn because of historical Zn smelter activities. Another soil was taken from an agricultural site
nearby mining activities (Gongju, South Korea). Seven biochars were screened to evaluate their
efficacy of metal immobilization. Metal behavior was assessed by the extraction of 0.01 M
CaCl2 and 0.05 M EDTA. The amendments increased pH, EC and organic matter contents. The
CaCl2-extractable Cd and Zn forms were reduced after biochar application. Lead and As,
however, were not significantly decreased. The most effective biochar reducing Cd and Zn
mobility was that produced from food waste and wood. This amendment also reduced the
amount of released metals under the conditions of pH change. Electrostatic attraction and
complexation with O-containing functional groups were suggested as the most important
mechanisms affecting Cd and Zn sorption. The important properties of biochars affecting their
immobilization properties were high pH, high O-content, high surface area and the presence of
C-O-C functional groups. The concentration of EDTA-extractable metals did not change
significantly after biochar application, indicating significant effects of immobilisation were
limited to the most soluble fractions. Although the attenuation effect on these fractions will
cause a decrease in intensity of metal leaching and plant uptake, long term monitoring of these
sites still will be warranted.
Key words: Soil remediation; amendment; immobilization; bioavailability
A Simple and Green Method to Construct Cyclodextrin Polymer for The
Effective and Simultaneous Estrogen Pollutant and Metal Removal
Peixiao Tang, Qiaomei Sun, Ludan Zhao, Hongyu Pu, Hui Li*
School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +8602885405220, Fax: +8602885405220, E-mail: [email protected]
The contamination of the surface and groundwaters by estrogens and metals poses considerable
threat to environment and public health. Herein, we reported a Zr(IV)-cross-linked
carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (Zr/CM-β-CD) bifunctional adsorbent, which was constructed
by a simple, versatile, and green method through the chelation reaction between CD carboxyl
and Zr(IV), to simultaneously remove estrogens and metals from aqueous solution. In this
system, the CD cavities encapsulated estrogen micropollutants through the host/guest
interactions, and the residual carboxyl groups were expected to act as chelating sites for metal
ions. In the monocomponent system, the maximum adsorption capacities of Zr/CM-β-CD
adsorbent toward the estrogens estradiol and bisphenol A and metals Cd(II) and Cu(II) were
210.53, 182.15, 118.34, and 78.80 mg/g, respectively. Langmuir isothermal model was suitable
to describe the adsorption process, and the adsorption mechanism was further verified through
solid-state 13C-NMR, FT-IR, and EDS. The adsorption capacities of the adsorbent were
maintained at high levels after five cycles. Most importantly, the Zr/CM-β-CD adsorbent was
highly efficient in the simultaneous uptake of estrogen and metal pollutants. Thus, the
advantages of simple and green fabrication, excellent adsorption capacity, and perfect
regenerate ability demonstrated that the Zr/CM-β-CD adsorbent possessed potential for
application in the treatment of environmental pollution. This study also provides a new insight
into the preparation of the advanced trifunctional CD polymer absorbent under simple and
green conditions for water purification.
Keywords: Cyclodextrin polymer, Adsorption, Estrogen, Estrogen-like metals
Quantitative assessment on soil enzyme activities of heavy metal
contaminated soil remediated by biochar and compost
Jiayi Tang, Jiachao Zhang*, Yaoyu Zhou*, Mingyue Li
College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
* Corresponding authors: [email protected] (J. Zhang) and [email protected] (Y. Zhou)
Heavy metal contamination of soil has become a serious global issue because of their
persistence in the environment and the non-biodegradable nature. Biochar and compost have
been shown to have significant repair effects on heavy metal contaminated soils. However, few
studies have been conducted to assess the effects of biochar and compost on soil remediation
using microbial indicators, especially soil enzymes. In this study, four treatments of soil
contaminated by Cr, As, Cu, Pb, and Zn by the addition with biochar, compost and biochar
combined composting were incubated for 30 days, and sampled at 0 days, 15 days, 30 days,
separately. The heavy metal, soil enzyme activities and the physico-chemical parameters of soil
were examined. The results show that different treatments lead to the reduction of heavy metals
in the soil. Most soil enzymes (dehydrogenase, urease, arylsulfatase, phosphatase, protease,
catalase, β-glucosidase, etc) activities are significantly correlated with heavy metals.
Arylsulfatase was found the most sensitive soil enzyme (P<0.05) and dehydrogenase was the
second most sensitive enzyme (P<0.05). On the contrary, some enzymes such as amylase,
sucrase do not change significantly. Soil physicochemical factors also have an effect on soil
enzyme activity, such as organic matter significantly affecting arylsulfatase activity. Our results
showed that arylsulfatase activity and dehydrogenase activity are good indicators that can be
used to assess soil heavy metal contamination levels or repair effects.
Keywords: Biochar, Compost, Soil, Heavy metal, Enzyme activity
Effect of chlorides on sewage sludge-derived biochar: carbon fractions and
chemical stability
Yuanyuan Tang*, Yunxue Xia 1 School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology,
Shenzhen, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86-755-88015460, Fax: 86-755-88015460, E-mail: [email protected]
Sewage sludge is being recognized as a promising feedstock of biochar for soil remediation
and long-time carbon sequestration due to its properties of containing organic matters, nutrients
and minerals. Two groups of chlorides including organic polyvinylchloride (PVC) and
inorganic chlorides (NaCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2) were added to sewage sludge, aiming to study
their effect on carbon retention and carbon stability in the sludge biochar. Results from Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated the presence of
minerals such as quartz (SiO2) and anorthite (CaAl2SiO8) in the resultant sludge biochar
regardless of the addition of any chlorides. The chemical carbon stability of sludge biochar was
significantly improved due to the addition of chlorides as evaluated by peroxide (H2O2)
oxidation. Inorganic chlorides (NaCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2) were proven to exhibit better
performance in the prevention of carbon loss than PVC. Moreover, MgCl2-500 was superior
for the improvement of carbon stability with only 1.29% of carbon loss. However, the thermal
stability of the fabricated sludge biochar with addition of chlorides was slightly decreased
except for PVC. This indicates an important environmental significance of sludge biochar for
long-term carbon sequestration and a promising way to explore the resources use of sewage
sludge.
Keywords: Sludge biochar; Chlorides; Carbon structure; Carbon stability
Photo-degradation of 14C-polystyrene nanoplastics
Lili Tian, Qianqian Chen, Lianhong Wang, Wei Jiang, Yini Ma*, Rong Ji
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University,
Xianlin Avenue 163, 210023 Nanjing, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 025-89680581, E-mail: [email protected]
Nanoplastics (<1 m plastics debris) pollution, derived from degradation of larger plastic
debris or direct releasing from cosmetic or cleaning products, become an emerging concern in
the environment. Many studies have confirmed the ecological and environmental risks of
nanoplastics, however, due to limiting of detection methods, the generation, degradation, and
transportation of nanoplastics in the environment are largely unknown. In this study, we
investigated the photo-degradation of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics under UV-254 nm using 14C radioisotope tracer technology. 14C-polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics were synthesized from 14C-styrene in the laboratory and their chemical composition and surface properties were
characterized. Moreover, to study the role of water during the photo-degradation of PS
nanoplastics, 14C-PS nanoplastics was exposed to UV irradiation directly or immersed under
water during the experiment. The XPS results showed that after 48 h of UV irradiation,
carbonyl group (-C-O) occurred on the surface while no significant change was observed from
FTIR analysis, indicating in such a short time, photo-degradation may only happen on the thin
surface layer of PS nanoplastics. In addition to changes of plastic particles, significant
mineralization and leaching were also observed after 48-h UV irradiation. With the presence
of water, the molecular weight (Mn) of 14C-PS nanoplastics decreased slightly possibly due to
chain scission, while in treatment without water, Mn increased after UV irradiation indicating
cross-linking of PS chains. The mineralization of 14C-PS nanoplastics was significantly higher
with water (19.6 0.02%) than without water (6.25 0.01%), with significant small molecular
oxidative products detected in the leachates (11.0 0.1%). These hydrophilic products leached
out into surrounding water may promote further degradation even full mineralization of 14C-
PS. In addition, since irradiation of 14C-PS nanoplastics by UV resulted in reaction between
radicals and oxygen. The different state of oxygen molecules in water and air may be another
reason for the faster mineralization and generation of small molecules with water presence.
The results from the present study provide the fundamental data for the first time to fully assess
the risks of nanoplastics in the environment.
Keywords: nanoplastics, ultraviolet, 14C isotope, degradation, quantification
Biochar presence in soil significantly decreased saturated hydraulic
conductivity due to swelling
Lukáš Jačka1, Lukáš Trakal2⁎, Petr Ouředníček2, Michael Pohořelý3, Václav Šípek4 1 Department of Water Resources and Environmental Modeling, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech
University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha 6 - Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
2 Department of Environmental Geosciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life
Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha 6 - Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic.
3 Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 135, 165
02 Praha 6-Suchdol, Czech Republic
4 Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Pod Patankou 30/5, Prague, 166 12, Czech
Republic
* Corresponding author. Tel: +420 224 383 864, E-mail: [email protected]
The application of biochar on two contrasting soils was tested in order to assess its effects on
soil hydraulic properties (SHP) and study the interaction between water and the biochar surface
(e.g., the swelling effect).
Two contrasting soil types were enriched with 0, 2 and 5% (wt.) doses of grape stalks biochar
in order to prepare soil samples for a 14-days continually saturated laboratory experiment. H2O
bonds to the biochar surface were detected using FTIR spectroscopy.
Results show that water molecules were bound through polar hydrogen bonds to O-H and C-
O-H, and these interactions caused (i) intensive swelling, which decreased the bulk density and
enhanced the water holding capacity (up to 5% in the case of sandy loam and 5% biochar dose),
and (ii) significantly decreased Ks in both soils (with a maximum difference of 82.6%).
The results of this laboratory experiment provide useful information about the significant effect
of presented biochar in two contrasting soils, and its application appears to be an potential
option for addressing drought (especially in coarser soils). Nevertheless, these findings must
be verified under field conditions where the presence of biota and long-term effects can be
taken into account.
Keywords: Biochar, Saturated hydraulic conductivity, Swelling, Hydrogen bonds
Adding value to biorefinery and pulp industry side-streams: Lignin
valorization to fuels, chemicals and polymers
Konstantinos S. Triantafyllidis1,2
1Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
2 Chemical Process and Energy Resources Institute, CERTH, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
*e-mail: [email protected]
Lignin is the most abundant natural aromatic/phenolic polymer and is one of the main structural
components of lignocellulosic biomass, the other two being hemicellulose and cellulose. It is
widely available in > 1 Mton annually in the form of lignosulphonate (mainly), kraft and soda
sulphur-free lignins, as by-product of the pulp and paper industry. In the last twenty years, the
intensive efforts of converting biomass to high added value fuels, chemicals and materials via
the so-called “biorefinery” processes, such as the production of 2nd generation (cellulosic)
bioethanol, has also led to the recovery of lignin streams, either as the remaining of
acid/enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass carbohydrates or as initially isolated fraction via the
organosolv and related “lignin-first” approaches. Despite the high potential of lignin as a low
cost (waste / side-product) raw material for the liquid fuel and chemical industry, it is still
under-utilized compared to the carbohydrate fractions of biomass, being mainly burnt to cover
the heat and power needs of the main process, i.e. pulping, hydrolysis.
In this presentation, we will discuss the state of the art, as well as recent results of our group,
on lignin valorization processes that are currently being developed and exhibit high
exploitation potential, with emphasis on fast pyrolysis and hydrogenolysis which are capable
to provide bio-oils that contain valuable phenolic and/or aromatic (BTX) compounds [1-3].
Such bio-oils can be hydrodeoxygenated (HDO) towards hydrocarbon fuels or can serve as
source of monomers for the production of phenolic or epoxy resins or BTX based polymers.
Due to the intrinsic functionality of lignin (surface hydroxyls) and its high aromaticity, it can
also be utilized as additive in epoxy or phenolic resins, without previous depolymerization to
its phenolic building units, that reducing the need for petroleum-based monomers.
References
[1] R. Rinaldi et. al., Angew. Chem., 55 (2016) 2–54.
[2] A. Margellou, K.S. Triantafyllidis, Catalysts 9 (2019) 43.
[3] P.A. Lazaridis, A.P. Fotopoulos, S.A. Karakoulia, K.S. Triantafyllidis, Front. Chem. 6:295, 2018.
Catalytic conversion of carbohydrates to value added chemicals via the
furanic platform
Karine De Oliveira Vigier*
Université de Poitiers UMR CNRS 7285-IC2MP, 1 rue Marcel Dore, TSA 41105 , 86073 POITIERS cedex 9
* Corresponding author. Tel: 0033 5 49 45 39 51, E-mail: [email protected]
Due to the depletion of fossil reserves, lignocellulosic biomass, mostly composed of
carbohydrates (75%), has gained great interest as a huge reservoir of renewable carbon with an
annual production estimated at 180 billion metric tons per year. Hence, current research
programs target the conversion of carbohydrates into value added chemicals. Among the
different intermediates that can be produced from carbohydrates, furanic compounds hold a
strategic place. In particular, furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) can be synthesized
by the acid-catalyzed dehydration of hexoses and pentoses, respectively. These two bio-based
furanic derivatives can be further oxidized, hydrolyzed or reduced to generate valuable
downstream chemicals, such as methyl- and dimethylfuran or tetrahydrofuran, levulinic acid,
and diketones, as well as maleic, and fumaric acids. Here we will present how we can
synthesize furfural and HMF using deep eutectic solvents and how we can convert these
compounds to valued added chemicals such as diketones, diacids and functionalized
tetrahydrofurans (scheme 1).
Scheme 1 : conversion of carbohydrates to value added chemicals
Keywords: Carbohydrates, furan derivatives, catalysis, deep eutectic solvents
+
THF derivatives
Lignin
Cellulose
Hemicellulose
Enhanced removal of Oxytetracycline Hydrochloride antibiotic from
aqueous media using wood based nanobiochar
Meththika Vithanage1*, Sammani Ramanayaka1, Yohan Jayawardhana2, Heshan Galagedara2,
Athula Wijayasinghe2, Yong Sik Ok3
1Ecosphere Resilience Research Center, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri
Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda 10250, Sri Lanka
2National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Hantana Road, Kandy 20000, Sri Lanka
3Korea Biochar Research Center, O-Jeong Eco-Resilience Institute (OJERI) & Division of
Environmental Science & Ecological Engineering, Korea University, South Korea
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Emerging contaminants (ECs) in aquatic environments has received recent attention due to
their ecological toxicity. Therefore, various research work has been conducted to prepare
materials with a potential of removing ECs such as antibiotics from aqueous media. Biochar is
considered to be an excellent adsorbent among the various sorbents which has demonstrated
high removal capacity for antibiotics, however, not many research has been focused on
nanobiochar where inherent properties of the nanoparticles may increase the adsorption
capacity. Hence, the objective of this study was to prepare nanocarbon from bioenergy waste
derived biochar through mechanized grinding and apply for the removal of Oxytetracycline
Hydrochloride (OTC) which is a commonly used veterinary antibiotic. Biochar was mixed with
ethanol and mechanically ground using a ball mill for 6 hrs around 5000 rpm with 30 minutes
intervals for every 1.5 hrs. Resulted nanobiochar was characterized by using Scanning Electron
Microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Nanoscale Particle
Size Analyzer. The effect of pH (3-9) and the adsorbate dosage from 10-500 mg//L. The
resultant OTC was analyzed by using UV/Vis spectrophotometer at the wavelength of 354 nm
after 12 hrs of reaction time. The average particle size of nanobiochar was given as 15 nm
whereas the SEM images indicated round shaped structure. Intense peaks at the fingerprint area
is accountable due to the presence of aromatics (1650 cm-1) and the presence of C-H bending
at 1000 cm-1 which confirmed further the aromaticity in the biochar. Adsorption of 17 mg/L of
OTC in 24 hrs was observed at pH 3-4. Isotherm data modeling indicated the best fit for Hill
equation depicting cooperative sorption of OTC to nanobiochar with a maximum adsorption
capacity of 520 mg/kg. The results indicate that the nanobiochar produced by mechanized
technique has been promising for the removal of OTC from aqueous media.
Keywords: Biochar, Pharmaceuticals, Emerging contaminants, Nanomaterials, Wastewater
Effect of Contrasting Biochars on Immobilization of Cadmium and Di-(2-
ethylhexyl) Phthalate in Soils
Hailong Wang 1,*, Hanbo Chen 2, Xing Yang 1 1 Biochar Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong Province, School of Environmental and
Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, China
2 Key Laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A&F University,
Hangzhou, China
* Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Co-contamination of soils with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and organic compounds has
become prominent due to its potential adverse effect on human food supply. There is limited
information on using wood- and animal-derived biochars for the remediation of co-
contaminated soils. Therefore, a pot experiment was conducted using Brassica chinensis L. as
a bio-indicator plant to investigate the effect of P. orientalis biochar and pig biochar application
on the bioavailability of cadmium (Cd) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and on plant
physiological parameters (malondialdehyde, proline and soluble sugars). Biochar materials
were applied to two soils containing low (LOC) and high (HOC) organic carbon content at
rates of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4%. To better understand the influence of biochar, physicochemical
properties and X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), Fourier
transform-infrared spectrometry (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were
characterized. Biochar application increased soil pH, organic carbon content, and available
phosphorus content. Increasing biochar application rates decreased DTPA-extractable Cd and
extractable DEHP concentrations in both soils. Biochar application reduced the plant uptake of
both Cd and DEHP from co-contaminated soils; the maximum reduction of Cd (92.7%) and
DEHP (52.0%) was observed in 2% pig biochar-treated LOC soil. The responses of plant
physiological parameters to increased biochar applications indicated that less Cd and DEHP
were taken up by plants. Pig biochar was more effective (P<0.05) at reducing the bioavailability
of Cd and DEHP in both soils than P. orientalis biochar; therefore, pig biochar had greater
potential for improving the quality of the crop. However, the highest application rate (4%) of
pig biochar restricted plant seed germination. Key factors influencing the bioavailability of Cd
and DEHP in soils were soil organic carbon content, biochar properties (such as surface
alkalinity, available phosphorus content and ash content) and biochar application rates.
Keywords: Potentially toxic elements; plasticizer; phthalate esters; charcoal; bioavailability.
Acknowledgments: This study was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province
(2017A030311019) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (21577131, 21876027).
Iron-based Technologies for Immobilization of Heavy Metals
Linling Wang*, Jing Chen
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan
430074, China
* Corresponding author. Tel:+086-87792159, Fax: +086-87792101, E-mail: [email protected]
The heavy metals including Cd, Cr, As, etc are considered most toxic to human health and
environment. The ecological effects of heavy metals in environment are closely related to the
speciation of the elements in the solid and liquid phases of environmental matrixes. Deceasing
the mobility, toxicity and activity of heavy metals are key strategies for environmental
protection and remediation. Iron is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, and
plays an important role in the environmental cycling reactions of heavy metal contaminants.
Consequently, iron-based technologies have been proposed to immobilize heavy metals in soil
remediation, solid-waste disposal and wastewater treatment with or without energy
enhancement. Here, we will show that zero-valent iron, ferrous ions and iron-based composites
could be used as reductants, adsorbents, precipitants, Fenton-like catalysts, and even
microwave energy transformer to enhance reactions for immobilization of heavy metals, and
also exhibit the environmental matrix how to impact the immobilization pathways.
Keywords: heavy metal, iron-based technology, immobilization, solid waste, soil, waste water
The relationship between soil properties and bioaccessibility of Cr and Ni
in geologic and anthropogenic contaminated soils
Ying-Lin Wang1, Ming-Chien Tsou2, Hsiu-Ting Liao1, Zeng-Yei Hseu3, Ling-Chu Chien2,*,
Hsing-Cheng Hsi1,* 1 Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
2 School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
3 Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886 2 3366 4374, E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
In Taiwan, elevated levels of chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) in soils were concerned due to
their potential oral cancer mortality. Serpentine minerals with high levels of geologic Cr and
Ni were widely found in the eastern part of Central Ridge and Costal Range, adjacent to the
convergent boundary of Eurasia Plate and Philippine Sea Plate. In contrast, long-term
industrialization and urbanization have also caused high Cr and Ni anthropogenic-polluted
paddy soils in central part of Taiwan through the combination of part of discharge and irrigation
system. Children under six years old may be in high risk through soil ingestion due to their
high frequency hand-to-mouth behaviour when playing in the neighborhood of these sites.
Notably, total content of heavy metals used to assess the risk may result in overestimation of
the risk. Bioaccessibility, instead of total content, increasingly be applied to adequately
evaluate the children exposure risk. Moreover, polluted sources and soil properties such as pH
or particle size distribution were the crucial factors affecting the bioaccessibility of heavy
metals. However, it was still unclear how these factors affecting the bioaccessibility of Cr and
Ni in Taiwan.
In this study, eighteen high Cr and Ni containing soils were collected from geochemical
background serpentine and farmlands polluted by irrigation water. Soil pH, total organic carbon,
texture and fractionation were measured by electrode, Walkley-Black titration, pipette method
and European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR), respectively. The bioaccessibility was
also analyzed by simplified bioaccessibility extraction test (SBET), which has been validated
by animal models. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression were
then used to evaluate the relationship between polluted sources, soil properties and
bioaccessibility. The results showed that TOC was the major factor influencing the
bioaccessibiity of Cr and Ni in anthropogenic soils (p<0.05). However, statistically significance
was not shown between soil properties and the bioaccessibiity of Cr and Ni in geologic soils.
This may be due to the lower range of pH, TOC and the bioaccessibility of Cr and Ni in geologic
than in anthropogenic soils. Besides, the difference sources of Ni also led to significant
differences in bioaccessibility (p<0.001), but not shown for Cr (p=0.172).
Keywords: Geologic soils, anthropogenic soils, soil properties, heavy metal, bioaccessibility
Co-adsorption of zinc and chlortetracycline onto montmorillonite at
different pH
Lingqing Wang1,*, Xiaoxiao Han1 1Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China
* Corresponding author. Tel: , Fax: , E-mail: [email protected]
Heavy metals and antibiotics often coexist in soil environment due to widely-used animal
wastes in agriculture and other sources of inputs to soil. The interaction and relation between
many antibiotics and heavy metal ions in soil solution can affect their individual speciation and
consequent environmental behaviors. However, the mechanism on how the changed
characteristics of soil by heavy metals on the adsorption of antibiotics have not been
appropriately understood. This study was aim to evaluate the interaction of Zn and
chlortetracycline (CTC) regarding to their adsorption and cosorption on montmorillonite at
different pH ranging from 3 to 10 using integrated batch adsorption experiments. Results
indicated that the adsorption isotherms of Zn and CTC onto montmorillonite spiked with
different contents CTC or Zn varied from 0 to 0.2 mM were well fitted with the Freundlich
equation. The Zn sorption increased with an increase of solution pH, while the CTC sorption
decreased as the pH increased until 4.5 and then increased with an increase of pH, which might
result from the presence of Ca(II). The presence of CTC enhanced Zn adsorption on
montmorillonite at pH<7.5, which was ascribed to the formation of the positive charged
complexes of Zn and CTC with greater sorption affinity to montmorillonite than Zn itself.
However, the presence of Zn suppressed the adsorption of CTC on montmorillonite at pH from
3 to 9 due to the competition of Zn with CTC and CTC-Zn complexes.
Figure Molecular structure of CTC (pKa1 = 3.3, pKa2 = 7.44, pKa3 = 9.27) (a) and its speciation
as a function of pH (b).
Keywords: Cosorption, zinc, chlortetracycline, montmorillonite
Recycling of Reverse Osmosis Wastewater by MCDI
I-H. Chen1, H.-C. Cheng1, H.-L. Huang2, H. Paul Wang1,* 1 Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
2 Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, National United University, Miaoli 36000,
Taiwan.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886 9556 3099, Fax: +886 6275 2790, E-mail: [email protected]
The lack of water resources is becoming one of the most important issues in the world. For
example, a large portion of water is discharged from reverse osmosis (RO) water purifier for
better drinking water. In the RO process, under high pressures, further purified water can be
obtained with a large amount of wastewater being discharged. Efficiencies of RO are general
acceptable, however, 30-70% of RO wastewater are to be discharged. A new analogous
membrane capacitive deionization (aMCDI) consisted of sulfonated graphene oxide (SGO)
coated activated carbon (SGO/AC) that can trap left-behind ions from the RO
wastewater was used for water recycling and reuse. The SGO-AC and AC electrodes were
used as the negative and positive electrodes, respectively, and a voltage of 1.2 V was applied
for electrosorption. When the electrodes were saturated, a reverse voltage was applied to the
electrodes to release the electrosorbed ions that were concentrated to a small amount of salt.
Thus relatively low energy consumption is required in the aMCDI processes. The
electrosorption efficiency for the AC/SGO-AC electrode pair for CDI is about 77%. In
addition, the aMCDI can be used to control the concentrations of mineral ions in the treated
water to avoid the mineral deficiency for human. Accordingly, the currently widely-used RO
water purifier may be replaced with the aMCDI method having a high electrosorption
efficiency.
Keywords: Membrane capacitive deionization, reverse osmosis, graphene, water recycling.
Capacitive Deionization of Arsenic from Contaminated Underground
Water
L.-G. Chong1, P.-A. Chen1, H.-L. Huang2, H. Paul Wang1,* 1 Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
2 Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, National United University, Miaoli 36000,
Taiwan.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886 9556 3099, Fax: +886 6275 2790, E-mail: [email protected]
Relatively high arsenic with a concentration was frequently found in the southern west of
Taiwan which caused the black-foot disease (BFD) in the 1950s. It is of great important to
develop a practicable method for removal of arsenic from the contaminated underground water
for supplementary water supply. Capacitive deionization (CDI) possessing advantages of low
energy consumption and less secondary pollution is effective to remove charged ions by
electrosorption with the electrode double layers. A pair of porous carbon electrodes is generally
used for CDI. In this work, the activated carbon (AC) recycled from palm-shell wastes has a
high surface area and specific capacitance for the CDI electrodes. The removal efficiency
(concentration changes) of arsenate (H2AsO4-) from the BFD underground water by CDI using
the AC-Z (activated by ZnCl2) electrodes is as high as 87%, and its regeneration efficiencies
are > 95% by removing the voltage. Remarkably, by reversing the polarity from +1.2 V to -1.2
V, the removal efficiencies for all ions in the BFD underground waters is enhanced by about
1.8 times, possibly due to the formation of oxygenated species on the positive electrode
surfaces. This work exemplifies that removal of arsenic ions from the BFD underground water
by CDI using the recycled AC electrodes is chemically feasible.
Keywords: Capacitive deionization, arsenic-contaminated underground water, black-foot
disease, recycled activated carbon.
.
Metabolomics Integrated with Transcriptomics Reveals Synthesis of Lipids
in Suaeda salsa
Xin Wang1, Junhong Bai1*
1. State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University,
Beijing, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86 13521343219, E-mail: [email protected]
As a kind of traditional medicine and food, the Chenopodiaceae C3 halophyte Suaeda salsa is
widely used as raw material to produce vegetable, edible oil and beverage in food industry due
to its high content of nutrition. Previous studies presented that S. salsa had many therapeutic
effects, such as lowering blood pressure, reducing blood sugar and cholesterol, and
strengthening immune function. In recent years, flavonoids, coenzyme Q, amino acids, trace
elements, vitamins, pigments, lipids and polysaccharides were detected in S. salsa, further
supporting its health effects. Here we adopt widely targeted metabolomics to identify 646
metabolites including 13 alcohols, 37 alkaloids, 81 amino acids and its derivatives, 15
anthocyanins, 4 betalains, 17 carbohydrates, 15 flavanones, 66 flavones, 16 flavonoids, 30
flavonols, 7 indole derivatives, 2 isoflavones, 73 lipids, 46 nucleotide and its derivatives, 87
organic acid and its derivatives, 27 other metabolites, 10 phenolamides, 52 phenylpropanoids,
7 polyphenols, 1 proanthocyanidin, 2 quinones, 6 sterides, 14 terpenes, 18 vitamins and its
derivatives and 209 significantly differential metabolites were selected. It was worth noting
that the lipid content of the seeds was much higher than that of the leaves. In addition, a
combinatorial analysis of transcriptome and metabolome profiles indicated that genes
associated with lipids synthesis were more highly expressed in seeds than in leaves. Our work
revealed the regulation of lipid synthesis, and the transcriptomic and metabolomic data also
greatly enhanced the molecular and metabolite information of S. salsa.
Keywords: Suaeda salsa, lipids, metabolomics, transcriptomics, food
Co-reduction of phosphorus and nitrogen release from sediments using
oxygen nano-bubble-modified minerals
Jingfu Wang1,*, Pingping Yu1,2, Xiaohong Yang1,2, Yong Liu1,3, Jingan Chen1 1Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550081, PR China
2College of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, PR China
3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
* Corresponding author: Jingfu Wang. Tel: +86 851 85895095, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Due to the limited aeration capacity of current aeration techniques at the sediment-
water interface (SWI), we developed a specialized aeration material aimed at the SWI, known
as oxygen nano-bubble-modified minerals (ONBMMs). Furthermore, we simulated its aeration
efficiency at the SWI and the control effects of total phosphorous (TP), total nitrogen (TN) and
ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) release under anaerobic conditions during 25 days. High resolution
Planar luminescent optode (PO) technologies were used to measure the temporal variation of
dissolved oxygen (DO) of the SWI. These results show that ONBMMs can effectively increase
the content of DO at the SWI and decrease the release flux of internal TP, TN, and NH3-N from
sediments. The use of ONBMMs reduced 96.4%, 24.9%, and 51.1% of the TP, TN, and NH3-
N concentration of the overlaying water as compared with the control groups. Inhibition of
reductive dissolution of Fe-P from sediments was the primary principle that effectively
inhibited the input of internal P by ONBMMs. The results of 16S rRNA high throughput
sequencing show that, after 25 days of continuous release of oxygen from the ONBMMs, the
aerobic microorganisms in 0-2cm sediments increased significantly, which enhanced the
phosphorus fixation and nitrogen removal capacity of sediments. Therefore, ONBMMs are
potentially promising technology for the treatment of internal pollution in eutrophic lakes and
reservoirs.
Keywords: Oxygen nano-bubbles-modified minerals, Phosphorus, Nitrogen, Sediment-water
interface, Planar luminescent optode technology
Effects of phragmites communis straw addition on nitrogen mineralization
in degraded saltmarsh soils
Wei Wang1, Junhong Bai1*
1 State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University.
Beijing, 100875, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +8613521343219, Fax: 010-58802029 , E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Application of maize straw can potentially improve soil fertility and sequester
carbon (C) in the soil, however, effects of straw addition on net nitrogen mineralization is
seldom studied in coastal wetlands. To understand the phenomenon and mechanisms of straw
application on nitrogen mineralization in degraded saltmarsh soils, a short-term laboratory
incubation (47 days) including control (CK) and reed straw (1%, w/w) was conducted. Our
results showed that straw addition significantly reduced pH of saltmarsh soils (P < 0.05) while
had no significant effects on soil EC (P > 0.05). Contents of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N),
nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) and inorganic nitrogen (NH4
+-N + NO3--N ) were reduced as a result
of addition of reed straw. Urease activities in soil with straw were higher compared with those
in soil without straw, which indicated that straw addition could affect N transformation by the
regulation of related microbial enzyme activities.
Key Words: Saltmarsh soils; Phragmites communis straw; Nitrogen mineralization.
Comprehensive analysis of the influence of environmental factors and
genotypes on the energy quality of sweet sorghum
Zhenggang HAO，Yuqing WEI *
(College of Biosciences and Bioengineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, 750021, China)
* Corresponding author. Tel:+86-951-2067893, Fax:+86-951-2067875 , E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: [Objective] To explore the environmental adaptability of different genotypes of
sweet sorghum and its impact on energy quality, and provide reference for the development
of sweet sorghum bio-energy industry. [Method] Eight different varieties of sweet sorghum
seeds were used as experimental materials, and field experiments were carried out in three
different regions. Based on the yield performance of different varieties in different regions,
analysis of variance, neural network model and principal component analysis were used.
[Result](1) There are differences in the yield indicators of the 8 varieties tested in different
regions. The difference is mainly the result of the combination of species (V), environmental
factors (E) and the interaction of the two. The impact of production is greatest. Among them,
environmental factors have the greatest impact on the yield of sweet sorghum. (2) Soil
organic matter is more important for sweet sorghum stem yield, stem sugar production and
comprehensive wine production. The ratio of soil total salt to stalk juice sugar hammer is the
highest. Annual rainfall is an important environmental factor affecting grain yield of sweet
sorghum. The juice yield is mainly affected by the frost-free period, soil pH, and organic
matter. (3) Variety 823, Sart and M81-E have higher comprehensive quality in Inner
Mongolia Wuyuan. Chuntian No. 2, Liaotian No. 1, and Nengsi No. 1 have higher
comprehensive quality in Yangxin District of Shandong Province. Variety M81-E,Energy
miscellaneous 1, Liaotian No. 1 in Hebei Huanghua comprehensive quality is higher.
[Conclusion]There are varieties and geographical differences in the comprehensive quality of
sweet sorghum, and the development of sweet sorghum crops needs to be adapted to local
conditions.
Key words：Sweet sorghum; Genotype; Environment; Energy quality
Ammonia Inhibition on Methane Production and Glutamate Removal from
Wastewater in a UASB Reactor during Long-term Operational Period
Hong Chen1, Yanxiao Wei1, Yaoyu Zhou2,3, Yingbing Hu1, Rong Huang1, Chunyan Du1,
Guanlong Yu1,* 1 Key Laboratory of Dongting Lake Aquatic Eco-Environmental Control and Restoration of Hunan Province,
School of Hydraulic Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410004, China;
2 College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; 3
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86-731-8525-8522; Fax: +86-731-8525-8438, E-mail: [email protected]
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) wastewater is a typical high-strength organic wastewater with
high concentrations of amino acid as well as ammonia nitrogen. As anaerobic technologies
commonly used for high-strength organic wastewater treatment, the removal efficiency and the
methanogenic performance can be greatly inhibited by the internal ammonia at its high
concentration. However, the ammonia inhibition characteristics and its mechanism for the
anaerobic treatment of MSG wastewater are still unclear. In this study, a laboratory-scale up-
flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor for treating synthetic MSG wastewater was
continuously operated for over 250 days under various influent ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N)
concentrations (0-6,000 mg N/L). The overall operational performance of and characteristics
of granule and dynamic changes of microbial community structure in the UASB reactor were
also investigated. Results show that removal efficiency of glutamate and methane production
rate reduced to 85.1% and 5.3 L/L/d at the influent NH4+-N of 2,000 mg N/L, respectively,
which means the obvious inhibition by ammonia began to appear. When the influent ammonia
concentration increased to 4,000 mg/L with the free ammonia concentration in the reactor of
354.6 ± 39.1 mg/L, the average COD removal efficiency decreased to 49.4 ± 2.3% and the
methane production rate was 2.6 L/L/d. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50)
expressed as the influent NH4+-N calculated is approximately 4,080 mg N/L. When the influent
NH4+-N increased from 0 mg N/L to 4,000 mg N/L, the VSS content and the average particle
size of the granules in the reactor decreased to 20.1 mg/L and 0.85 mm from 35.2 mg/L and
1.5 mm, separately. During the inhibition process, the microbial community structure of
granular sludge changed significantly and the bacterial diversity and richness decreased
apparently, while Archaeal diversity and richness increased slightly. Methanosaeta was the
main Archaea genus in its abundance of 47.7%, and Firmicutes, Synergistets and Proeobacteria
were the dominant bacteria in the reactor operated at the IC50.
Keywords: Ammonia inhibition, Archaea, Glutamate wastewater treatment, Methane
production potential, Half-maximal inhibitory concentration
Carbon Capture of Rice Straw via Slow Pyrolysis with an After-pyrolysis
Vapor Catalytic Converter
Yu-Ling Wei1,*, Bo-Jen Kuo1, H. Paul Wang2 1 Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tunghai University, Taichung City, Taiwan
2 Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +886 42 359 1368, Fax: +886 42 359 6858, E-mail: [email protected]
Slow pyrolysis of rice straw is performed in a laboratory-scale home-made pyrolyzer in the
temperature range of 400‒500 oC to study temperature effect on biochar and bio-vapor
(including condensibles and non-condensibles), and a TGA-FTIR instrument from room
temperature to 900oC. In the home-made pyrolyzer, an elevated catalyst bed was equipped
downstream the pyrolyzer for converting/upgrading the pyrolysis vapors. Three waste solid
materials are used as the catalysts: spent zeolite, spent corundum ball, and waste steel slag. The
former two are spent catalyst discharged from a petro-chemical refinery plant. TGA-FTIR
experiments are conducted at two heating rates, 10 and 30 oC min-1, under air and nitrogen
environment. The TGA-FTIR results show that heating rate considerably affects product
characteristics. Under air environment, only H2O and CO2 are observed as main components
in 10 oC min-1 FTIR spectra, with barely detectable organic components. In contrast, with an
increase in heating rate (to 30 oC min-1), organic components, such as methane and other
hydrocarbons, ethers, aldehydes, and acids are observed in FTIR in much greater amount.
Further, under N2 environment, an increase in heating rate, from 10 to 30 oC min-1, leads to
more production in CO, CO2, and H2O, resulting from the oxidation of carbon and hydrogen
by the nearly 50% oxygen content in dry rice straw feed. However, these components produced
under N2 environment are considerably less than their respective components under air
environment. For pyrolysis in the home-made pyrolyzer under an almost air-free environment
(the reactor contains negligible air-born oxygen gas, being only about 1% of the oxygen content
in rice straw feed), with increasing temperature, the bio-char surface area increases and its
average pore diameter decreases. All the bio-chars produced are mesoporous, with their BET
surface areas being 2.55‒15.5 m2 g-1. Their lower heating values (Hl) increase in the range
5180‒5430 kcal kg-1 (dry basis) with increasing temperature, and it is 3450 kcal kg-1 for dry
rice straw. Carbon sequestration in all bio-chars from the pyrolysis represents about 60%
carbon of the rice straw feed. GC-MS results indicate that the condensable bio-vapor mainly
consists of acid, ketone, alcohol, phenol, and furan. Post-pyrolyzer catalysis changes chemical
compositions of the condensibles. Given higher calories, phenol and furan are desired
condensable components, as compared with acid, ketone, and alcohol. All catalysts effectively
reduce tar formation in the condensibles.
Keywords: rice straw, biochar, bio-liquid, slow pyrolysis, bio-vapor catalytic conversion
Using Biochars Produced from Thai Agricultural Waste Materials for
Water Treatment in Aquaculture
David Werner1,*, Soydoa Vinitnantharat 2, Wojciech Mrozik1, Thunchanok Thongsamer2
1 School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
2 School of Energy, Environment and Materials, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok,
10140, Thailand.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +44 191 208 5099, E-mail: [email protected]
An analysis of three aquaculture farms downstream of Bangkok, Thailand, identified the
aquacultures as net sources of herbicides (diuron) and antibiotics (tetracycline) into adjacent
canals. We evaluated the suitability of biochars produced locally from Thai agricultural waste
materials (coconut shells, coconut husks, corn cobs, rice straw) by different methods (drum
kiln, pyrolysis), with and without chitosan impregnation, for treating the effluent of
aquacultures in a biofiltration process. Batch, column and field pilot scale trials were conducted
to investigate the removal of micropollutants from brackish canal/pond water in biofilters,
comparing sand with 10% weight biochar amended sand. Drum kiln coconut husk biochar,
which can be readily produced using locally available skills and biomass residues from local
coconut plantations, was identified as a suitable amendment material to enhance the
micropollutant removal in biofilters by the combined action of adsorption and biodegradation.
Based on the experimental data, numerical modelling, and information about the water
exchange regime of the aquacultures, which was gathered from interviews with the farmers, a
feasible biofiltration design was developed, which would require conversion of only 5% of the
aquaculture pond footprint for water treatment, and could minimize inputs of micropollutants
from aquacultures into the adjacent canals. Frequent, but discontinuous biofilter loading can
substantially enhance the water treatment process.
Figure 1: a) Micropollutant breakthrough curves for sand filter, b) micropollutant breakthrough
curves for 10% w/w biochar amended sand filter, c) experimental set-up.
Keywords: Biochar, Water Treatment, Aquaculture, Herbicides, Antibiotics
Enhanced Photo-fermentative Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate Production from
Crude Glycerol Medium by Rhodopseudomonas palustris
Bo Wang1,2, Po Keung Wong1,3,*
1School of Life Sciences and 2Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT,
Hong Kong SAR, China, and
3Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering,
Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +852 39436383, Fax: +852 2603 5767, E-mail: [email protected]
The plausible solution of non-renewal energy shortage and serious fossil fuels air pollution is
developing renewable energy. The rapid development of biodiesel production faces a serious
problem of generating large amount of byproduct, crude glycerol. Further converting the crude
glycerol into utilizable compounds is economically unpractical. Utilizing crude glycerol as a
substrate for photo-fermentative poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) production by
Rhodopseudomonas palustris was attempted. However, the efficient production of PHB was
not achieved.
In this study, a selected photocatalyst was constructed onto the cell surface of R.
palustris to enhance photo-fermentative PHB production in crude glycerol medium. The
physical, chemical and biological parameters for photo-enhanced PHB production by the
photocatalyst-R. palustris system were optimized to achieve the best PHB production and crude
glycerol utilization. The feasibility of using this novel photocatalyst-R. palustris system for
large-scale application will be discussed.
Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) Derived Effective Solid Catalysts
for Lignocellulosic Biomass Valorization
Kevin C.-W. Wu*
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
*Corresponding author: +886-2-23623040, [email protected]
Over the past decade, the development in the valorization of biomass technologies keeps
increasing because the biomass utilization for the manufacturing fine chemical and fuels has
diverse advantages over fossil feedstock. The review focuses on the utilization of metal-organic
framework-derived (MOF-derived) materials as effective solid catalysts for the valorization of
biomass into platform chemicals. MOFs compose of abundant organic ligands and metal cluster,
and additional functional groups could be modified on ligands (or metal clusters), serving as
active sites. On the other hand, MOFs could also be converted into porous carbons or metal
oxide composites by calcination at nitrogen or air, respectively, for catalytic reactions. These
MOF-derived catalysts feature the advantages like high specific surface area, porosity and
active sites from mother MOFs. More importantly, stronger interactions between guests (i.e.
metal or alloy NPs) and hosts (i.e. MOF-derived carbon or metal oxides) make these catalysts
more efficient than conventional catalysts where guests are deposited on hosts by impregnation.
We summarize the studies of lignocellulosic biomass conversion including (1) dehydration of
sugars such as glucose, fructose, and xylose into furans, (2) hydrogenation of furans into fine
chemicals and (3) sugars into sugar alcohols using MOF-derived catalysts. The challenges and
prospective of MOF-derived materials applied in biomass conversion are also described.
References
1 Green Chemistry, 2011, 13, 2844. 2 Journal of Materials Chemistry. 2012, 22, 23181. 3 ChemCatChem. 2013,
5, 2153 (Front Cover). 4 ChemSusChem. 2014, 7, 3421 (Inside Front Cover). 5 Green Chemistry. 2014, 16, 4615
(Front Cover). 6 Energy & Environmental Science. 2014, 7 (11), 3574 (Inside Front Cover). 7 ChemSusChem.
2015, 8, 789-794 (Inside Front Cover). 8 Catalysis Today. 2016, 278, 344-349. 9 Advanced Materials. 2017, 29,
1700213. 10 Scientific Reports. 2017, 7, 13508. 11 ChemCatChem. 2018, 10, 361-365. 12 ACS Sustainable
Chemistry & Engineering. 2019 (in press). 13 Green Chemistry. 2019 (in press).
Scaffolding Co3O4 Nanocrystals on ZnO Nanorods using Pulsed
Electrodeposition for Improved Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution
Reaction
Hao Wu1, Yun Hau Ng1,* 1 School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
* Corresponding author. Tel: / , Fax: / , E-mail: [email protected]
Water oxidation is the anodic reaction of water splitting, liquid phase CO2 conversion, and the
charging process in the rechargeable metal-air batteries, which has been regarded as a major
bottleneck for the total activities. In this presentation, recent progress on the development of
1-D Co3O4/ZnO nanostructured anodes for electrochemical water oxidation will be introduced.
Particularly, pulsed electrodeposition as a scalable surface coating technique developed by our
group will be presented.
We employed ZnO nanorods as scaffolds to synthesize Co3O4 decorated ZnO 1-D hybrid
nanoarrays via a pulsed electrochemical deposition method. By pulsing the potential from a
seeding potential to the nucleation potential, the OH- ions from the reduction of NO32- will
penetrate to the bottom and couple with the free Co2+ cations to precipitate on the surface of
ZnO. With a subsequent post-thermal treatment, deposited cobalt precursor will be transformed
into crystalline Co3O4. Pulsed electrodeposition offers a distinct advantage over typical
electrodeposition for homogeneous coating of oxygen evolution catalysts on nanostructured
substrates. Different amounts of Co3O4 nanocrystals have been coated on ZnO nanorod arrays
or FTO substrate by finely controlling the deposition time at the nucleation potential in a
solution containing cobalt nitrate. The Co3O4/ZnO binary hybrid nanostructured electrodes
exhibit better oxygen evolution activities with lower overpotentials in comparison to the
Co3O4/FTO planar electrodes. Also, the interfacial kinetics of pristine ZnO is significantly
increased. The improved oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity can be attributed to the
good electronic contact, boosted active sites spreading over the large surface area, and
favorable charge transport in the well-aligned nanorod array electrode. Pulsed
electrodeposition method has the great potential as a general route to deposit other oxygen
evolution catalysts on various nanostructures and form efficient hybrid nanoarrays for OER in
the future.
Keywords: electrochemistry, hybrid nanostructures, oxygen evolution, pulsed
electrodeposition, water splitting
Rapid and effective removal of uranium (VI) from aqueous solution by
facile synthesized hierarchical hollow hydroxyapatite microspheres
Yanhong Wu 1, Daniel C.W. Tsang 2, Qingpu Shi 1, Ruibing Xu 1,
Diyun Chen 1, *, Minhua Su 1, 2, * 1 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, School of
Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
* Corresponding authors, Prof. Diyun Chen, E-mail: [email protected]; Dr. Minhua Su, Tel: +86-20-39366937,
E-mail: [email protected].
Rapidly increasing development of nuclear power stimulates the exploration of low-cost and
highly efficient materials to selectively remove uranium (VI) from contaminated wastewater
streams. Herein, we successfully developed a novel hydroxyapatite (HAP) adsorbent by using
a facile and template-free hydrothermal method. The XRD results demonstrated that the HAP
was crystallized in hexagonal structure (space group P63/m(176)), and the images of SEM and
TEM indicated that the HAP possessed hollow and hierarchical nanostructure. A large BET
specific surface area (182.6 m2/g) and average pore size of 10.5 nm, suggested that the
hierarchical hollow HAP microspheres could provide sufficient active sites for highly efficient
removal of uranium from aqueous solutions, indicated the HAP might be a prompt emergency
material for the remediation of nuclear leakage accident. Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-
second-order kinetics model fitted well to sorption experimental data. The study was further
advanced by FT-IR and XPS. The sorption mechanism was mainly attributed to surface
chemisorption between U(VI) and HAP, forming a new U-containing compound, viz., autunite
(Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2·3H2O).
Keywords: Uranium (VI) adsorption; Hollow hydroxyapatite; Phosphate precipitation;
Sustainable remediation; Radioactive wastewater treatment.
Biohydrogen production from anaerobic co-fermentation of rice straw and
pig manure: Effects of inoculum pretreatment and substrate mixture ratio
Hong Chen1, Jun Wu1,2, Hong Wang1, Yaoyu Zhou3,4, Ke Liu1, Zhi Tu1, Benyi Xiao2,*
1 Key Laboratory of Dongting Lake Aquatic Eco-Environmental Control and Restoration of Hunan Province,
School of Hydraulic Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha 410004, China; 2
Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China;
3 College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; 4
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86-10-62912465; Fax: +86-10-62849108, E-mail: [email protected]
Hydrogen, a renewable clean energy, can be produced from some cheap organic wastes through
a dark fermentation process (namely anaerobic fermentation). Although rice straw and pig
manure, two of main agricultural wastes with huge annual outputs in China, have tremendous
potential for biohydrogen production by anaerobic co-fermentation, the pretreatment of
inoculum and mixture ratio of rice straw and pig manure are still puzzling its practical
application in batch mode. In this study, the biohydrogen production of rice straw or/and pig
manure in anaerobic batch co-fermentation was investigated. Three pretreatment methods were
employed to enrich hydrogen-producing bacteria (HPB) from inoculum in the test, including
acid pretreatment by adjusting pH value to 2.0 ± 0.1 for 24 h with 6 M HCl, alkaline
pretreatment by adjusting pH to 12.0 ± 0.1 for 24 h with 6 M NaOH and thermal pretreatment
by boiling for 30 min. Meanwhile, five ratios of rice straw and pig manure (1:0, 1:1, 3:1, 5:1
and 0:1, based on TS) were used in the test. Results show that all three pretreatments of
inoculum could enhance the biohydrogen production of rice straw or/and pig manure and the
order of pretreatment effect on biohydrogen production is: acid pretreatment > thermal
pretreatment > alkaline pretreatment. The mixture ratio significantly affected the biohydrogen
production of rice straw and pig manure. After the inoculum pretreated by acid, a maximum
biohydrogen production rate of 404.35 ml/L with a hydrogen yield of 11.64 ml/g VS was
obtained at a rice straw/pig manure mixing ratio of 5:1, while a maximum hydrogen yield of
14.12 ml/g VS with a biohydrogen production rate of 374.10 ml/L achieved at a rice straw/pig
manure mixing ration of 1:0. The optimal range of pH value for biohydrogen production was
5.3-5.5 in this study. The result suggested that acid pretreatment of inoculum is the most
efficient approach to enrich the HPB that can help to start up the biohydrogen production. This
provides a practical basis for biohydrogen production by anaerobic co-fermentation of rice
straw and pig manure.
Keywords: Biohydrogen, Pig manure, Pretreatment of inoculum, Rice straw, Substrate mixture
ratio
A novel nanoporous BiVO4 photocatalyst for the removal of Cr(VI) under
visible-light illumination
Guangyu Xie 1, Yaoyu Zhou2,3, Xinjiang Hu 1* 1 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Central South University of Forestry and Technology,
Changsha 410004, P.R. China
2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
3College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University
Changsha, 410128, Hunan Province, China
Corresponding author. Tel:15243694564, E-mail: [email protected]
Nanoporous photocatalysts with large surface areas are found more efficient compared with
compact solid counterparts, for their larger surface areas and pore structure can prolong transfer
paths of the light, thereby enhancing the light adsorption and confinement, and increase the
chances of reaction between Cr(VI) ions and catalysts. Here we report on a novel nanoporous
BiVO4 prepared via a facile soft-template method, which exhibited greater adsorptive and
photocatalytic performance. Their high photocatalytic activity are induced by its larger surface
area, enhanced photoresponce and more efficient photoexcited electron-hole separation that are
collaborated by the BET, UV-vis absorption spectra, and photoelectrochemical measurements,
in comparison with conventional BiVO4 particles. In addition, As Cr(VI)-contaminated
wastewaters usually contain various inorganic ions such as Fe3+, NO3-, and SO4
2-, which can
influence the photoreduction of Cr(VI) by competing with Cr(VI) for active sites onto catalyst,
transforming the surface chemistry of catalysts, scavenging·OH or h+, or triggering redox
cycle in the system. Their effects on Cr(VI) photoreduction are also explored. The results show
that the existence of Fe3+ and NO3- increases Cr(VI) photoreduction, for these ions serve as a
mediator in the redox cycle; whereas, the existence of SO42- inhibits Cr(VI) photoreduction,
for the produced SO4·- predominantly existing in low-pH environment oxidizes Cr(III) back
into Cr(VI).
Keywords: Cr(VI); photoreduction; nanopores; BiVO4; inorganic anions
Photoreduction of Cr(VI) by BiVO4-a, b, c, d, e: C0Cr(Ⅵ)= 10 mg/L, m/V = 2.5 g/L, pH = 2.0.
-60 -30 0 30 60 90
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
Photocatalysis
Ct/C
0
Time (min)
BiVO4-b
BiVO4-e
BiVO4-c
BiVO4-a
BiVO4-d
Adsorption
Carbon-based Materials as Green Catalysts for Biorefineries
Xinni Xiong a, Iris K.M. Yu a,b, Daniel C.W. Tsang a,*
a Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
b Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Due to the worldwide demand for sustainable resources and renewable energy, synthesis of
platform chemicals from waste biomass has drawn significant attention. Valorisation of
renewable lignocellulosic biomass involves extensive breakdown and transformation reactions,
such as hydrolysis, isomerisation, and dehydration. Our research aims to devise high-
performance carbon-based catalysts for sustainable biorefineries. Using the sulfonated biochar
as catalysts, hydrolysis of maltose resulted in the maximum glucose yield and selectivity of
85.4% and 88.2%, respectively, under microwave heating at 140-160 oC, whereas dehydration
of fructose at 160-180 oC produced HMF with a maximum yield and selectivity of 42.3% and
60.4%, respectively. Besides, aluminium-impregnated carbon materials serve as novel Lewis
acid heterogeneous catalysts for isomerisation of glucose to fructose. A series of Al biochars
were synthesised from waste wood biomass, by varying the Al loading (10 or 20 wt%),
pyrolysis temperature (from 500 to 750 °C), and purge gas (N2 or CO2). As for their catalytic
activity, 21.5 mol% fructose (selectivity 73.8 mol%) can be obtained from glucose conversion
over Al biochar, after only 5 min heating at 160 °C in acetone/H2O as the medium. Graphite
oxide (GIO)- and graphene oxide (GO)-supported Al catalysts were also active towards
catalytic isomerisation of glucose in water as the greenest solvent. The highest fructose yield
of 34.6 mol% was achieved under microwave heating at 140 oC for 20 min. The major active
sites were characterised as amorphous Al hydroxides (e.g., β-Al(OH)3, γ-Al(OH)3, and γ-
AlO(OH)) with octahedral coordination. Their formation was critically determined by the
presence of oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of GO/GIO. These studies
highlight the great prospect of using carbon-based materials for achieving green biomass
valorisation.
Keywords: food waste valorisation; biochar; graphene oxide; hydrolysis; isomerisation;
dehydration
Developing a DPSIR-based Sustainability Assessment Framework to
Evaluate the Spatial Distribution of Groundwater Sustainability in China
Xiyue Jia 1, Deyi Hou 1,* 1 School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 010-62781159, E-mail: [email protected]
China is facing a groundwater depletion and deterioration crisis, culminating from long-term
over-exploitation and groundwater contamination. Aggravating factors include population
growth, unprecedented urbanization and climate change. Sustainable groundwater
management is called for, however, a valid means for a national-scale assessment of
groundwater resource sustainability does not currently exist. Here we present a drivers-
pressures-states-impact-response (DPSIR) assessment framework. Based on this framework,
groundwater sustainability indices for mainland China’s 31 provinces and municipalities were
derived, with an average score of 59.5 out of 100, ranging from 47.3 for Tianjin to 72.9 for
Tibet. We found that due to fewer Drivers and better States, groundwater resources in southern
China are far more sustainable than those in the northern and eastern areas. The coupling of
groundwater depletion and deterioration has been identified in provinces such as Jiangsu and
Liaoning from the correlations between the subcategories. The negative correlations between
groundwater sustainability and economic development and production intensity have become
a warning appealing to more sustainable development style in China. Additionally, poor
groundwater resource sustainability becomes a driver to improve groundwater management.
An appraisal of subcategories shed light on the importance of affording attention to
externalities such as societal, economic and environmental factors, which are interrelated as
complex systems. Comparing scores of different subcategories provides us guidance to
improve overall sustainability of groundwater. Based on the assessment findings, implications
for policy and decision making suggestions for sustainable management of China’s
groundwater resources are put forward.
Keywords: Groundwater sustainability assessment; DPSIR; National-wide; Complex adaptive
system; Sustainable groundwater management
Mechanism Study of the Utilization of Photochemical Circulation between
NO3− and NO2
− in Water to Degrade Photoinert Dimethyl Phthalate
Lijie Xu1, Yang Sun1, Lu Gan2, Wei Chu3*
1 College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, Jiangsu, People’s
Republic of China
2 College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, Jiangsu,
People’s Republic of China
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
* Corresponding author. Tel:15651721667, E-mail: [email protected]
This study showed that the photoconversion of NO3− or NO2
− with wastewater relevant
concentrations can serve as an advanced oxidation process for mineralizing the dimethyl
phthalate (DMP), photoinert endocrine disruptor. Three different wavelengths (350 nm, 300
nm, 254 nm) were involved. The influence of NO3− or NO2
− was found to be wavelength-
dependent. More remarkable catalysis was obtained at λ = 300 nm and 350 nm. Both •OH and
O2•- were detected, while •OH was identified as the primary contributor to DMP decomposition.
NO2− plays a dual role as both a source and sink of •OH, depending on the relative abundance
between NO2− and DMP. NO3
- was more efficient than NO2- for treating low-level DMP.
However, higher organic content could effectively inhibit the quenching role of NO2-, making
NO2- more efficient for catalyzing DMP decomposition. For irradiation at λ = 350 nm, NO3
-
was completely ineffective, while self regeneration of NO2- enabled [•OH]: [NO2
-]>>1. For
irradiation at λ = 300 nm, cycling between NO2- and NO3
- occurred, and the transformation
from NO2- to NO3
- proceeded much faster. Complete decomposition of DMP at the
concentrations higher than those of NO2- or NO3
- were observed, and mineralization was also
realized. Based on the identification of the intermediates, •OH addition to the aromatic ring
and hydrogen atom transfer by •OH were the dominant pathways, while nitration products were
detected at low levels.
Keywords: nitrate, nitrite, photochemistry, dimethyl phthalate, Circulation
Removal of Aquatic Ammonium by Hydrothermal Decomposition Product
of Struvite Pellet
Kangning Xu1,*, Shihua Chen1, Min Zheng2,3, Xiaomin Dou1 1 College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
2 Advanced Water Management Centre, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
3 School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +8610-62336615, Fax: +8610-62336900, E-mail: [email protected]
Hydrothermal decomposition product (HDP) of struvite can be used to remove and recover
aquatic ammonium. However, it is difficult to separate struvite fines from wastewater. Struvite
pellet yielded in fluidized bed reactor can be easily separated from liquid. This study
investigated the hydrothermal decomposition of struvite pellet for ammonia release, as well as
the removal of ammonium from wastewater by the HDP. Results showed that increasing the
concentration of NaOH and the temperature promoted the release efficiency of ammonia from
struvite while reducing the crushing strength of HDP. The optimized release of ammonia was
obtained at 80°C using 1 M NaOH. The release efficiency of ammonia increased from 37% to
91% while the crushing strength of HDP decreased from 5.9 N to 1.9 N when hydrothermal
time increased from 10 min to 80 min. Factors influencing the removal of ammonium from
wastewater using HDP were further evaluated. The optimum pH was 9. The removal efficiency
of ammonium reached 90% when the dosage of HDP was 1.5:1 (the molar ratio of the
phosphate in the HDP to the aquatic ammonium). HDP was then characterized to provide a
comprehensive understanding on the mechanisms of decomposition and precipitaiton.
Therefore, this study proposed an effective approach to remove and recover ammonium from
wastewater using the HDP of struvite pellet.
a)
b)
Figure 1 The ammonia release ratio at varying temperature (a) and the XRD patterns of the
decomposition product yielded at optimized conditions (b).
Keywords: struvite pellet, hydrothermal decomposition, ammonium, recovery
Biotechnological potential of microbial heavy metal resistance functional
genes and applications in bioremediation
Piao Xu 1, *, Fangling Li 2, Guangming Zeng 1, *, Danlian Huang 1, Yaoyu Zhou 3, Ziwei Wang
1, Han Wang 1, Zixuan Wang 1, Ming Chen 1, Cui Lai 1 1 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, P.R. China.
2 Shenzhen institute of environmental science, Shenzhen 518001, P.R. China.
3 College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410028, China.
* Corresponding authors. Fax: +86-731-88823701; Tel: +86-73- 88823701. E-mail: [email protected] (P. Xu);
[email protected] (G.M. Zeng).
Abstract: The potential of microorganisms capable of improving bioremediation is well
established, taking advantage of their short culture period, reproductive cycle and capability of
surviving in the metal stressing environment. Understanding the mechanisms of microbial
heavy-metal resistance would contribute to the improvement in bioremediation. Numerous
studies have thoroughly conducted in the aspect of ecology, physiology and biochemistry to
explain their resistance mechanisms. Ascertaining the molecular resistance mechanisms with
the aid of advanced molecular biotechnologies has gained increasing attention. Furthermore,
the functional genes based genetic engineering for enhancing metal removal and extending
applications in bioremediation tends to be a research focus. This paper outlined heavy metal
toxicity, microbial metabolism and the genes involved in metal uptake, transport, and
sequestration, which contribute to the microbial resistance and potential bioaccumulation of
heavy metals. The possible practical, feasible, and sustainable strategies that can lead to their
applications in improving bioremediation capabilities are forecasted. The study might serve to
improve our knowledge of the functioning, diversity, the evolution and application of heavy-
metal resistant microorganisms in bioremediation.
Keywords: Heavy-metal resistance, functional genes, microorganism, bioremediation
Title:
Flexibility of Energy Systems with Renewable Penetration
Prof. J. Yan
Royal Institute of Technology & Mälardalen University, Sweden
Editor in chief of Applied Energy
Abstract
With increased renewable energy penetration, flexibility of the energy systems becomes
more important for dynamic balancing of supplies and demands. This lecture focuses on the
challenges and opportunities associate with the flexibility, grid parity capabilities and values
of renewable energy. We argue that the renewable industry has reached the tipping point of
competitive costs. We call for accelerating and promoting market-based distributed energy
technologies, energy storage, and smart integration of prosumers to respond energy
transition.
Bio
Dr. J. Yan is chair professor of Energy Engineering at Mälardalen University & Royal Institute
of Technology, Sweden. He is director of Future Energy Profile. Prof. Yan's research interests
include advanced energy systems; renewable energy; advanced power generation; climate
change mitigation technologies and related environment and policy etc. Prof. Yan published
about 400 papers including papers in Science & Nature Climate and hold 10+ patents. Prof.
Yan is the editor-in-chief of Applied Energy journal & editor-in-chief of Handbook of Clean
Energy Systems. He is the Chair of International Conferences on Applied Energy. He is an
academician of European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and serves as the advisory expert to
the UN, EU, & ADB etc. Funder of ICAE, AEii, UNiLAB, iCET.
Eco-friendly catalytic conversion of biomass-derived monomers into
biofuels using metal catalysts
Kai Yan*, Di Hu, Zixiao Yi, Hong Xu
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou
510027, China * Corresponding author. Tel: +86 2039277362, E-mail: Email:[email protected]
A voluminous body of work over the past several decades has been devoted to searching
renewable energy to replace the limited fossil fuel sources and reduce the associated
environmental issues [1-3]. Replacing fossil fuels with environmentally-friendly and
sustainable alternative sources of energy have exhibited promising aspects over the last decades
[4-5]. Among the renewable energy sources, biomass is very attractive due to its wide
distribution, low-cost and carbon-neutrality [2,6,7]. It has the burgeoning potential for
integration with the current world energy infrastructure. In this talk, we will show how to
catalytic conversion of biomass-derived monomers (six carbon sugar) into platform chemicals
and further upgrading into biofuels, whereby metal nanoparticles are controllably synthesized
by supercritical carbon dioxide deposition method. The 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and levulinic
acid two platform chemicals can be selectively produced, where they can be further upgraded
into biofuels Gamma-valerolactone and valerate biofuels (Figure 1). This work was supported
by National Ten Thousand Plan Young Top-notch Talents, National Key R&D Program of
China (2018YFD0800700), National Natural Science Foundation of China (21776324), and
“Hundred Talent Plan”.
Figure 1. Top bio-renewable chemicals produced via chemical processes, biological
processes, or both (from the DOE “Top 10” list [32] and its update [33]).
Keywords: Biomass, Metal Nanoparticles, Biofuels, Catalysis
References
1. K. Yan, Y. Liu, Y. Lu, J. Chai, L.Sun. Catal. Sci. Technol. 2017, 7, 1622.
2. K. Yan,* Y. Yang, et al. Appl. Catal. B: Environ. 2015, 179, 292.
3. K. Yan, T. lafleu, et al. Chem. Commun. 2015, 51, 6894.
4. K. Yan,* C. Jarvis, et al. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2015, 51, 986. .
5. K. Yan, T. Adit Maark, A Khorshidi, et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 6175
6. K. Yan,* G. Wu, et al. J. Clean. Prod. 2014, 72, 230.
Comparison of catalytic efficiency in the production of microalgae biofuel
Sol Yang, and Hyun-Woo Kim*
Department of Environmental Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82-63-270-2444, Fax: +82-63-270-2449, E-mail: [email protected]
The demand and supply of energy is increasing year after year, also environmental problems
caused using energy are emerging all over the world. The development of biofuels using
microalgae can reduce the dependence of fossil fuel on the environment. Microalgae can
cultivate organic materials of various properties and fix CO2 in the atmosphere. The direct-
transesterification (DT) is a biodiesel production process using either base or acid catalyst,
which can reduce cost and time when compared with conventional processes. However, the
glycerol and biomass residuals after the DT process generates is terminated. However, the DT
process produces glycerol and biomass residuals. Residuals can be removed by anaerobic
digestion and converted to CH4 and used as biogas. In this study, the effects of catalysts were
compared with the yield of biodiesel and biogas production of biochemical methane potential
(BMP) test.
The two kinds of substrates were used to culture microalgae: livestock wastewater and
anaerobic digestion effluent together with BG-11 medium (control). Both acid and base
homogeneous catalysts were used for the direct-transesterification. After biodiesel extraction,
glycerol residue and microalgae by-products were used as substrates for BMP test following
prescribed procedures.
The results show that biodiesel yield from microalgae cultured by BG-11 was 5.8 ~ 7.2%,
and the yield of wastewater-treated biomass was 50% lower than that. Monitored biogas
recovery by anaerobic digestion was about 390 mL/gCOD in total which is close to theoretical
value though it was found that the difference in the methane production was due to the catalyst
used in the transesterification process. Readily biodegradable materials such as methanol or
other organic material remaining can be converted to methane instantaneously. Subsequently,
the slowly hydrolysing glycerol was converted to methane, resulting in the non-linear
regression result. The calculated energy potential at the biodiesel from microalgae was 0.6 kJ
while additional 0.2 kJ could be recovered from additional biogas production using by-products.
In summary, the convergence of bio-gasification with biodiesel production can be a viable
option to increase energy recovery reducing secondary pollution by residual by-products.
Keywords: microalgae, biofuel, direct-transesterification, anaerobic digestion, catalyst
Assessment on the effects of aluminum-modified clay in inactivating
internal phosphorus in deep eutrophic reservoirs
Xiaohong Yang1,2, Jingfu Wang1,*, Pingping Yu1,2, Zuxue Jin1,2, Jingan Chen1 1Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550081, PR China
2College of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, PR China
* Corresponding author: Jingfu Wang. Tel: +86 851 85895095, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: At present, one of the important endogenous phosphorus control technologies in
polluted lakes and reservoirs is the use of aluminum-salt inactivating agents. However, there is
a lack of micromechanism information regarding the sediment P cycle and its interactions with
aluminum-salt, which has largely restricted the en-gineering applications of aluminium- salts.
In this study, an aluminium-modified clay (AMC) was selected to simulate the effects of
aerobic and anaerobic conditions on its effectiveness and stability. Furthermore, this study
investigated the millimeter-scale dynamics of P across the sediment-water interface (SWI)
using the HR-Peeper and DGT techniques. The results show that more P has released from
sediment to overlying water under anaerobic conditions than under aerobic conditions. Under
anaerobic conditions (DO < 1 mg/L), AMC effectively reduced the internal-P loading. and its
average removal rate of SRP reached 90.31%. Aerobic conditions (DO > 6 mg/L) effectively
inhibited the release of sediment P and promoted the sedimentation of SRP in overlying water.
In pore water, there was a positive correlation between soluble Fe and SRP (anaerobic: R2 =
0.319 and R2 = 0.476, aerobic: R2 = 0.795 and R2 = 0.599), indicating that the reductive
dissolution of Fe-P constituted the main mechanism of sediment P release. After with dosing
AMC, the concentrations of SRP and labile P in the capping layer both dropped abruptly to low
levels (SRP: from ~ 0.048 mg/L to ~ 0.015 mg/L, labile P: from ~ 0.084 mg/L to ~ 0.038 mg/L),
and the content of Al-P in surface sediments increased (from ~ 8.4 mg/L to ~ 23.0 mg/L,
increasing by 2.7 times), suggesting that AMC had strongly adsorbed phosphates, formed inert
Al-P and blocked the phosphate exchange between pore water and overlying water. This study
elaborated on the micromechanism of the control of sediment internal P input by AMC and
revealed that Al-P precipitation constituted the main mechanism of the inhibition of sediment
P release by aluminum-salt inactivating agents (Surface adsorption reaction is the main
mechanism by which AMC fixes P in sediments) and the influencing factors of AMC in
controlling phosphorus pollution in lakes were discussed. The research findings have a great
significance for guiding field applications of aluminum-salt inactivating agents.
Keywords: Aluminum-modified clay, Phosphorus, Sediment, Diffusive gradients in thin films,
High-resolution dialysis peeper
Synthesis of NaP Zeolite from Industrial Waste Lithium Silicon Power for
Removal of Cu2+
Lu Yao1,2,*, Xiaoqin Pu1, Wenju Jiang1,2 1 College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
2 National Engineering Research Center for Flue Gas Desulfurization, Chengdu, China
* Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Lithium silicon power (LSP) is a solid waste generated in the production of lithium compounds.
LSP could be used as a cheap aluminium and silicon sources (SiO2 + Al2O3 > 65%) to synthesis
a zeolite by hydrothermal synthesis method. In the present work, the LSP was from a
Regenerated Resources Recycling Co. Ltd. located in Sichuan province of China, which was
utilized to prepare a NaP zeolite, and then used as an adsorbent for the removal of Cu2+ from
aqueous solutions.
As shown in Fig. 1a, the predominant crystalline phase in the raw material LSP were quartz
(SiO2), gypsum (CaSO4) and leached spodumene (LiAlSi2O6). It was also shown that at 1 h
(hydrothermal time), no diffraction peaks of NaP zeolite observed. With the hydrothermal time
prolonged, at 5 h the intensity of leached spodumence peak decreased apparently, at the same
time, the diffraction peaks of NaP zeolite appeared. In addition, the peak intensity of quartz
decreased until 10 h. After 10 h, the intensity of quartz increased. Thus, on one hand, the quartz
in the LSP could not dissolve completely during the crystallization process and remained in the
zeolite product. On the other hand, the crystallization of NaP zeolite decreased with the
crystallization time from 5 to 10 h, which suggested that, an alkaline attack affect due to long
variations. As The effect of hydrothermal time on the removal of Cu2+ was evaluated, as shown
in Fig. 1b. The adsorption capacity of Cu2+ increased to a high level for about 62.3 mg/g (C0-
Cu = 200 mg/L) with the Cu2+ removal rate of 55.3%.
Fig.1 (a) the XRD patterns of LSP and zeolite at different hydrothermal time at 100 °C; (b) Effect of
hydrothermal time on synthesized zeolites for Cu2+ removal at 25 °C.
Keywords: lithium silicon power, zeolite, Cu2+ removal
Fine Particles when Sediment Resuspension Hinders the Ecological
Restoration of Shallow Eutrophic Lakes
Siliang Zhang1, Qitao Yi1,2, *, Shijiao Buyang1
1 Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China.
2 State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water
Resources and Hydropower Research, 100038, Beijing, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: (+86) 15215546045, E-mail: [email protected]
Particles are components of sediments that determine the biogeochemical behaviour of
phosphorus (P) and present great heterogeneity with the grain size distribution. The
redistribution of P in heterogeneous particles could provide deep insight into its cycle and
ecological implications. Our research presents such a perspective by characterizing the P
redistribution between particle size groups during sediment resuspension. Most of bioavailable
P (BAP) are enriched in fine particles of < 10 μm in sediment samples, which were sieved into
different grain size groups of particles by wet sedimentation method. Furthermore, we
conducted the bioassays of sediment supplying P potential for cyanobacterial growth
(Microcystis aeruginosa sp.) based on P-depleted culture by adding suspension of different size
groups of particles. It showed an increasing potential for algal growth on suspension of fine
particles, which are tended to be suspended in shallow eutrophic lakes. We propose a
hypothesis for activated P cycle between sediment and cyanobacterial bloom based on the
aforementioned two facts in shallow eutrophic lakes. The fine particles enriched Fe/Al bound
P shows great P supplying potential when pH values are transited from slightly acidic-neutral
sediment interface to alkaline overlying water of bicarbonate water chemistry with algal growth,
breaking the barriers of resorption in P in aerobic sediment interface of shallow eutrophic lakes.
Our research could clarify the mechanism connecting sediment and algal blooms in shallow
eutrophic lakes with frequent particle resuspension.
Keywords: sediment resuspension, particle size distribution, shallow eutrophic lakes, algal
bloom
Ionic liquid-templated synthesis of 1-D zeolite as a potential catalyst for
selective biomass conversion
Xuemin Li1, Owen Curnow2, Alex C. K. Yip1,*
1 Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
2 Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand * Corresponding author. Tel: +64 3 3694086, E-mail: [email protected]
Zeolites are widely used in industry for catalysis, ion-exchange, gas/liquid separations and
adsorption. Ionothermal synthesis method, in which ionic liquids (ILs) act as both solvent and
template/structure-directing agent (SDA), has received great attention due to its almost zero
vapor pressure at typical zeolite synthesis temperatures (ca. 170-180 °C). This allows non-
pressurized equipment to be used in process scale-up, which is highly attractive from safety
and economic point of view. However, the existing reports in literature show that a wide range
of random zeolite types tend to form when ionic liquids were used for zeolite synthesis.
We systematically studied the effect of various ILs, such as 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium
bromide ([EMIM]Br), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([EMIM]Cl), 1-buthyl-3-
methylimidazolium bromide ([BMIM]Br), 1-buthyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride
([BMIM]Cl), 1-buthyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate ([BMIM]CH3SO3), on the
resulted zeolite products using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), fumed silica and colloidal silica
as the Si sources. The results also showed that the morphology of the product zeolite can be
tailored using appropriate ILs as a soft template (Fig. 1) and that anisotropic behavior can be
obtained in zeolite catalysis. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to
give insights into the ILs-zeolite interactions, from which a general guideline of using ILs for
precise zeolite control will be elucidated. The synthesized 1-D zeolite may be suitable for
biomass conversions which selectively aim at linear hydrocarbon products.
Fig. 1. ILs-templated 10-membered ring zeolites with different morphologies: a) typical MFI
morphology, b) MFI agglomerates. c) 1-D TON morphology
Keywords: Zeolites, ionic-liquids, anisotropic, selectivity.
a) b) c)
Effect of application of composted horse manure on components of
leaching water in the volcanic ash soil of Jeju, Korea
Jihyun Yoo1, Jaehoon Woo1, Mooncheol Shin1, and Namgeon Park1
1Subtropical Livestock Research Institute, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Jeju, Korea
Tel:+82-64-754-5720, Fax:+82-64-754-5713, E-mail:[email protected]
The government of Korea have implemented policies to improve Korean horse industry. So the
number of horses have increased for the last several years(Korea Racing Authority, 2018). It is
the reason why it can be predicted that the amount of horse manure will consistently increase
in the future. Therefore, studies to disposal horse manure, such as application on earth, are
important. Also, because Jeju island, where about 56% of horses in Korea live, is consist of
volcanic ash soil which leach away more water and components than other types of soil do(Shin
et al., 1975), the composted manure application needs much attention. In this study, it is
analysed how much water pollutant was leached away in summer and winter while horse
manure was applied on Jeju island. Treatments were set-up as nothing fertilized, chemical
fertilizer, and three different nitrogen levels of composted horse manure(N 50, 100, 150%).
The composted horse manure was obtained from horse stall of Subtropical Livestock Research
Institute and was composted for more than six months. The experiment was performed with
lysimeters which were filled with the volcanic ash soil of Jeju island. And each treatment was
replicated three times and placed as randomized block design. NO₃-N, PO₄-P, Cr, Cu, Zn were
analysed as components of leaching water. The experiment was conducted in from June to
August and from October to April of 2018 to 2019. In summer, the horse manure was applied
on the lysimeters with oat. Although there was no statistically significant difference, compared
to a chemical fertilizer, similar amounts of NO₃-N were leached in the horse manure treatment
which was treated as 100% levels of nitrogen. And in winter, the horse manure was applied on
the lysimeters with Italian ryegrass. In that case, although there was no statistically difference,
all of the horse manure treatments had higher NO₃-N levels than that of the chemical fertilizer
treatment. But NO₃-N levels of the horse manure treatments became lower gradually than that
of the chemical fertilizer treatment. Also total leaching nitrate levels of the chemical fertilizer
treatment was higher than that of the horse manure treatment. Other components were nearly
not detected. In these results, it is considered positive that 100% nitrogen levels of horse
manure can be applied on volcanic ash soil of Jeju island. But this study is required to be
conducted to get more data for improving accuracy.
*Keywards : Horse manure, Leaching water, volcanic ash soil
Removal of Cr (VI) by ascorbic acid coated magnetite
Sunho Yoon, Sungjun Bae*
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu,
Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: +82024503904, E-mail: [email protected]
In this study, we synthesized water-dispersible magnetite nanoparticles by surface coating with
ascorbic acid (AA) for the enhanced removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) in aqueous
phase. Among the different concentrations of AA, 5 mM of AA coating on the magnetite surface
(AA@magnetite) showed the best efficiency for Cr (VI) removal at pH 7. The amount of coated
AA was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), resulting in the 3.15 wt% AA
amount on the magnetite surface. Various surface analysis (e.g., x-ray diffraction (XRD),
fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-emmett-teller (BET), zeta potential)
demonstrated that the AA coating significantly increased the specific surface area of magnetite
and changed surface charge of magnetite to negatively at neutral pH, leading to the well
dispersion until several days of sedimentation experiments. The removal amounts of Cr (VI)
by AA@magnetite (29 mg/g) was 1.7 times higher than bare-magnetite without surface coating
of AA (16.9 mg/g) at pH 7. Adsorption-desorption experiments showed that AA@magnetite
removed Cr (VI) more efficiently than bare-magnetite by reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr (III). The
experimental results suggest that the water-dispersible AA@magnetite could be a promising
material for the in-situ groundwater remediation.
Keywords: Hexavalent chromium; Magnetite; Ascorbic acid; Reduction; Immobilization
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning
(KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, 20174010201490) and by the
program for fostering next-generation researchers in engineering of National Research Foundation of
Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Plannig (No. 2017H1D8A2032495).
Energy Recovery of Chitin via a Pyrolytic Platform Using CO2
Kwangsuk Yoon1, Gihoon Kwon1, Eilhann E. Kwon1, Hocheol Song1,*
1 Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05005, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: 82 2 3408 3232, Fax: 82 2 3408 4320, E-mail: [email protected]
In this study, a pyrolysis of aquatic carbohydrate (i.e., chitin) was mainly investigated as a
strategic mean for reinforcing the insecure supply chains of terrestrial biomass. To maximize
carbon utilization in the carbon substrate and establish a sustainable pyrolysis platform, this
study particularly employed CO2 as reactive gas medium. To this end, this study focused on
elucidating the mechanistic role of CO2 in pyrolysis of chitin. For the fundamental study, a
pyrolysis of chitin in CO2 in reference to the case in N2 was characterized thermo-
gravimetrically. Lab-scale pyrolysis of chitin in CO2 demonstrated that CO2 enhanced thermal
cracking of the volatile hydrocarbon species from the thermolysis of chitin. In parallel, CO2
reacted with the volatile hydrocarbon species to form CO. To justify such genuine mechanistic
roles of CO2, two-stage pyrolysis of chitin was conducted, and all experimental findings
strongly supported the genuine mechanistic roles of CO2.
Keywords: Chitin, biopolymer, pyrolysis, waste-to-energy, carbon dioxide
Long-Term Operation of Plant Microbial Fuel Cells for Urban Green Roof
Chung-Yu Guan and Chang-Ping Yu* 1 Graduated Institute Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Daan District, Taipei, Taiwan
* Corresponding author. Tel: 886-2-33663729, Fax: 886-2-2392-8830, E-mail: [email protected]
The increasingly serious global warming and urbanization issues have accompanied with
urban climate and heat island effect to the urban environment. As the city is the main area of
human daily life, the concept of urban green infrastructure has gradually attracted more and
more attention, and one of the key focuses is green roof for urban greening. The plant microbial
fuel cell (PMFC) is an emerging technology that integrates plants, microbes and
electrochemical elements together to create renewable energy. However, research is still limited
regarding the application of PMFC systems to urban green roof. In this study, we evaluated the
potentials of PMFCs as green roof with different plants and electrode materials for their
electricity generation, temperature maintenance and other functions for urban buildings.
In over one year of operation of PMFC green roof, PMFCs have continuously produced
electricity and shown resistance for running in colder weather in winter, but the temperature
was never below zero since Taiwan is located in the subtropical area. PMFCs also showed the
ability to survive typhoons in summer. From experimental results, PMFCs could generate
higher output voltage than no plant soil MFCs in spring. Furthermore, the maximum daily
output voltage of Chinese pennisetum and Oriental Cat-tail PMFC systems were 607.3 and
215.2 mV in March. It is also observed that Chinese pennisetum possesses high density of roots
for keeping soil moisture in dry days. The results indicate different plant species of PMFC
systems possess varied efficiencies of electricity generation. Other factors affecting electricity
production are considered to be temperature and net solar radiation. For the function of
temperature maintenance, floor slabs below PMFC systems could achieve 24.8oC lower than
no module slabs in hot periods of the day but could achieve 4.1oC warmer in cold periods of
the day. Furthermore, according to results of soil heat flux, PMFCs could absorb and store solar
thermal energy in liquid-solid phase.
Overall, PMFCs with green roof were observed to possess multiple functions: generating
green energy with no secondary pollution, temperature maintenance of building, rainfall
collection, utilizing CO2 and sunlight energy, and increasing biodiversity.
Keywords: plant microbial fuel cell, urban climate, green roof, Chinese pennisetum,
multiple functions
Effect of Distiller's Grains and Sewage Sludge Compost Application on the
Vegetation Restoration in the Shale Gas Production of Arid and Semi-Arid
Areas
Bao Yu1,2, Guodi Zheng1,2,*, Tongbin Chen1,2 1 Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
2 College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
* Corresponding author. Tel:+86-10-64888050, Fax: +86-10-64888087, E-mail: [email protected]
The arid and semi-arid areas, such as Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang in
the north of China, are ecologically fragile, and yet, the local vegetation of these named areas
are usually destroyed by the energy exploitation, transport, etc, due to they are also China’s
major bases of fossil oil, coal and natural gas. Hence, it is necessary to implement vegetation
restoration project to save their local ecological environment. The urgent issues of the
vegetation restoration in these areas are improve soil conditions, promote plant growth and
shorten vegetation restoration cycle. On another hand, the major obstacle for wine and alcohol
industry development is the disposal of distiller's grains. In addition, the production of sewage
sludge has gradually increased as the improvement in sewage treatment capacity. Perhaps the
vegetation restoration in the shale gas production of arid and semi-arid areas could be
accelerated by amendments of distiller's grains and sewage sludge.
The present study has investigated the effect of distiller's grains and sewage sludge compost on
vegetation restoration in the shale gas production areas by pot experiment and field trial. Soil
physical, chemical and biological properties were measured after compost applied to the sandy
soil; the effect of compost on plants growth status were also monitored during the process of
vegetation restoration. The major barrier factors for plant growth are lack organic matter, poor
water retention capacity, sandy soil fluidity, and these factors also inhibit the seedlings
germination and growth. After distiller's grains and sewage sludge co-composting product
applied to sandy soil, the fluidity of sandy soil decreased, the seedlings germination rate and
survival rate increased significantly, and so did the microbial biomass and activity. For the arid
and semi-arid areas of shale gas production, the critical factors for rapid vegetation restoration
are improvement of the water retention capacity and decrease of the fluidity of sandy soil. This
work demonstrates a dispose method for sludge and distiller's grains, which baffling the
municipal wastewater treatment plants and wine industry in China. It also provides a method
to increase soil fertility, promote plant growth and improve sandy soil structure of vegetation
restoration in the arid and semi-arid areas of the shale gas production.
Keywords: Distiller's grains, co-composting, vegetation restoration, ecotone, sandy soil
Sandwiched SiO2@Ni@ZrO2 as a Coke Resistant Nanocatalyst for Carbon
Dioxide Reforming with Addition of Methane
Jian Dou and Fei Yu*
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
39762, United States
* Corresponding author. Tel: 6623250206, Fax: 6623253853, E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract:
Design active and coke resistant Ni based catalysts is critical for implementation of dry
reforming of methane technology. In this work, coke resistant SiO2@Ni@ZrO2 catalyst has
been successfully prepared through precipitation of nickel nitrate with ammonia onto silica
spheres, followed by coating with porous ZrO2 shell. Through thermal treatment in air and
hydrogen, nickel nanoparticles with size of 6 nm were uniformly sandwiched between silica
core and zirconia shell. The ZrO2 coated Ni catalyst exhibited a high activity of ~13.0 mol CH4
per gram of Ni per hour for methane dry reforming at 700 oC, which is more than 6 times higher
than that of SiO2@Ni catalyst under the same reaction condition. The SiO2@Ni@ZrO2 catalyst
is also coke resistant as no carbon formation was observed for methane dry reforming at 700 oC for 20 h. As a comparison, carbon nanotubes formed over SiO2@Ni catalyst during dry
reforming reaction with a coking rate of 0.019 gram of carbon formed per gram of catalyst per
hour. Operando XANES/EXAFS study of SiO2@Ni@ZrO2 catalyst confirmed metallic Ni
phase during methane dry reforming from 400 to 800 oC. Theoretical calculations suggests that
ZrO2 stabilized Ni clusters lowers the highest dissociation energy barrier of CH4 and CO2 by
1.37 and 2.56 eV comparing to bulk Ni, increasing dry reforming activity on SiO2@Ni@ZrO2
catalyst. Furthermore, the higher binding energy of CO2 over CH4 on SiO2@Ni@ZrO2 leads to
enrichment of CO2 on catalyst surface, which mitigates coke formation.
Keywords: coke resistant, Ni based catalyst, dry reforming of methane
Improvement of energy density and grindability for wood pellets
by torrefaction
Seunghan Yu, Jinje Park, Changkook Ryu*
School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel:+82-(0)31-299-4841, Fax: +82-(0)31-290-5889, E-mail: [email protected]
In dedicated wood pellet combustion and co-firing with coal in large pulverized fuel furnaces,
poor grindability and low bulk density of biomass are important issues for lowering the
unburned carbon in ash and achieving high co-firing ratios with coal for entrained flow
combustion furnaces. Pretreatment of biomass by torrefaction is an ideal solution to meet such
needs. It is performed typically in a temperature range of 250-300 °C under an inert atmosphere
involving partial decomposition of the lignocellulosic structure. As a result, the carbon content
and heating value increase. The loss of hydroxyl groups reduces the adsorption of moisture
after torrefaction. Furthermore, the fibrous structure of carbohydrates becomes brittle during
torrefaction, which can significantly improve the grindability.
In this study, the torrefaction of wood pellets for improvement of fuel quality and grindability
was investigated by determining the reaction kinetics and characterizing the product properties
using a fixed bed reactor. The torrefaction tests were performed for a temperature range of 210-
310°C and holding time of 15-60 min. The mass yield varied from 86.18% to 39.46 %
accompanied by an increase in the carbon content and heating value. The fuel properties were
correlated with the mass yield for use with different time-temperature histories. The bulk
density decreased by the mass yield raised to the power of 0.538, indicating an increase in the
intra-particle pores as well as a reduction in the particle size. The energy density increased in
the initial torrefaction stage with a peak of 10.41 GJ/m3 at a mass yield of 83%, but was below
that for the original pellets (9.35 GJ/m3) when the mass yield was approximately ≤ 60 %. The
grindability measured using the thermally-treated biomass grindability index (TTBGI)
increased almost linearly by torrefaction from 16 for the original pellets to 71 for a mass yield
of 39.5 %. In particular, the grindability index became similar to those of coal (40 or higher) at
a torrefaction yield of 75%. In terms of energy density and grindability, therefore, the
torrefaction yield between 75% - 80% can be selected as an ideal range for wood pellet to be
used in pulverized fuel combustion applications.
Keywords: biomass, wood pellet, torrefaction, grindability, energy density
Phosphorus fractions and influencing factors in surface soils of estuarine
wetlands with different flooding conditions before and after flow-sediment
regulation in the Yellow River Delta, China
Junhong Bai*, Lu Yu, Xiaofei Ye, Zibo Yu, Dawei Wang, Yanan Guan, Chengdong Zhang,
Baoshan Cui, Xinhui Liu
State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University,
Beijing, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 010-58802029, E-mail: [email protected]
To investigate the spatial and temporal distributions of phosphorus fractions and their
influencing factors in surface soils of estuarine wetlands with different flooding conditions,
soil samples were collected in each month from April to October in wetlands (including tidal
flooding wetlands (TFW), freshwater flooding wetlands (FFW) and seasonal flooding wetlands
(SFW)) of the Yellow River Delta. Our results showed that the average contents of organic
phosphorus (OP) followed the order FFW soils (60.05 mg/kg) > TFW soils (38.72 mg/kg) >SFW
soils (27.56 mg/kg), which accounted for less than 12% of total phosphorus (TP). Unlike OP,
FFW soils contained lower inorganic phosphorus (IP) levels than TFW and SFW soils from
April to August (p<0.05). After flow-sediment regulation, the soluble and loosely bound IP
(S/L-P) contents in TFW and the TP contents in TFW and SFW decreased (p<0.05), while the
S/L-P contents and the calcium-bound IP contents in FFW increased (p<0.05). In three wetland
soils, ferrous/aluminium-bound IP (Fe/Al-P), occluded IP (Oc-P) and moderately labile OP
(ML-OP) were decreased after flow-sediment regulation. The fate and levels of phosphorus
fractions was mainly affected by water and salt conditions, soil texture, microbial activities and
the growth of plants. Higher salinity in TFW and SFW soils limits plant growth. The input of
freshwater could effectively reduce soil salinity and thus promoted plant growth. The
phosphorus contents decreased with the absorption and assimilation of plants. The clay in TFW
and SFW soils increased and the sand in FFW soils increased after flow-sediment regulation,
which had different effects on phosphorus fractions removing and transforming. The
continuous anaerobic conditions were formed after flow-sediment regulation, which
contributed the reduction in Fe3+, ferric oxide and aluminium oxide so that Fe/Al-P and Oc-P
in three wetland soils was released. Moreover, flow-sediment regulation enhanced microbial
activity and promoted organic matter mineralization, thus the ML-OP contents were decreased.
The findings of this study can contribute to providing basic data regarding phosphorus fractions
in the estuarine wetlands of the Yellow River Delta and guiding freshwater restoration and
flow-sediment regulation to enhance the ecological functions of estuarine wetlands.
Keywords: Phosphorus fractions; Influence factors; Freshwater input; Flow-sediment
regulation; Estuarine wetlands
Decomplexation of Cr(III)-citrate complexes from aqueous solution by
mFe/Cu process
Yue Yuan *, Zhicheng Jiang, Lin Li, Rui Meng
National Engineering Laboratory for Clean Technology of Leather Manufacture, Sichuan University, Chengdu
610065, P. R. China
* Corresponding author. Tel:+86 18215501987, Fax:+86 028-85405508 , E-mail: [email protected]
Most advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are inappropriate used for the removal of Cr(III)-
organic complexes from water due to the possible formation of more toxic Cr(VI). In this study,
reduction process based on micro-size Fe/Cu bimetals (mFe/Cu) was applied to achieve
environmentally benign removal of Cr(III)-organic complexes from water. In case of mFe/Cu
process, it was found that more than 45% of Cr(III) was removed within 5 minutes, while it
was less than 5% for that of mFe0. More attractively, no Cr(VI) was formed during the reduction
process. It is believed that the Cu could promote Fe to generate atomic H·, leading to the
decomplexation of Cr(III)-organic complexes. Additionally, SEM-EDS observation suggested
that the decomplexation of Cr(III)-organic complexes is greatly responsible for the removal of
Cr(III)-citrate , rather than the adsorption of Cr(III)-citrate on the mFe/Cu particles.
Furthermore, as evidenced by TOC and BOD5/COD (B/C) ratio, mFe/Cu process cannot
remove the organics from Cr(III)-citrate aqueous solution, but can improve its biodegradability
due to the removal of Cr(III). In summary, it is a novel approach for the decomplexation of
Cr(III)-organic complexes using atomic H· even the decomplexation efficiency needs to be
further improved.
Carbon Materials of Different Origins for Pollution Abatement
Guodong Yuan1,*, Jing Wei2, Liang Xiao2, Dongxue Bi2, Lirong Feng2, Jie Wang2 1 School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, Guangdong, China
2 Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, Shandong, China.
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86 131 7208 8847, Fax: 86 0758 2752360, E-mail: [email protected]
Though being a minor element in the Earth’s crust, carbon plays a key role in
photosynthesis and soil formation, arguably the most importance natural processes that sustain
life. We obtained carbon nanoparticles (CN) via hydrothermal carbonization of glucose,
biochar from tree branches in the field via a fire-water coupled process, and humic substance
(HS) by extracting a leonardite with KOH. These different carbon materials were characterized
for their properties and assessed for their propensity for, capacity of, and kinetics in, adsorbing
heavy metals (Cd, As, Cr), antibiotics (oxytetracycline), and salt (NaCl). The CN (Fig. 1, TEM)
had a high adsorption capacity for Cr(IV) (12.4 mg/g), even at pH=8. The biochar demonstrated
its good effect on relieving salt stress through salt adsorption, salt leaching, and enhanced
nutrient availability (Fig. 2). It was also a good adsorbent for oxytetracycline, possibly via
multiple mechanisms (Fig. 3), providing an inexpensive option to clean up aquacultural pond.
The HS simultaneously removed Cd and As from spiked soils (Cd 41–49, As 450–584 mg/kg,
Fig. 4) and could serve as a green washing agent for soil remediation. Regardless of origins,
the carbon materials share common features of a large specific surface area (SSA) and abundant
COOH and phenolic-OH groups, which underpins their strong interactions with contaminants
and potential use in pollution abatement.
Keywords: Cadmium, Arsenic, Chromium, Oxytetracycline, Saline soil
Fig. 1 Fig. 2
Fig. 3 Fig. 4
Delignification Kinetics of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) in Sucrose-
Based Low Transition Temperature Mixtures (LTTMs)
Chung Loong Yiin1, Suzana Yusup1,*, Armando T. Quitain2,3 1 Biomass Processing Cluster, Centre for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Chemical Engineering
Department, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar,
Perak, Malaysia
2 Department of Applied Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology,
Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
3 College of Cross-Cultural and Multidisciplinary Studies, Kumamoto University, 2-40-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku,
Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
* Corresponding author. Tel: +605-3687642/3688208, Fax: +605-3688205, E-mail:
The concept of sustainable and green process has received a significant level of attention in the
field of chemistry. The challenge of searching green solvents for replacing conventional
biomass delignification techniques became a foregoing goal in producing renewable fuels. In
this sense, natural low transition temperature mixtures (LTTMs) tend to be most favourable
next-generation green solvents for biomass delignification. A delignification kinetic model
accompanied by three first-order reactions was used to explain the delignification kinetics of
oil palm EFB in sucrose-based LTTMs at 60, 80 and 100 oC under different reaction time. The
transition points between the initial, bulk and residual phases were taken as the main points for
quantification of lignin fractions. The assumption of first-order delignification kinetics was
made by diving the experimental curve of lignin removal into various periods and taking first
approximation as linear. The first term for initial delignification stage, k1 was denoted as ∞ due
to rapid rate of removal of low molecular weight lignin and high rate cleavage of α-aryl ether
linkages. The second and third terms, k2 and k3, were correspond to bulk and residual
delignification stages. Three first-order reactions showed a good agreement in expressing the
delignification kinetic model of EFB. The activation energies for delignification reactions using
L-malic acid and cactus malic acid based LTTMs were estimated as 74.46 and 16.80 kJ/mol
and 133.53 and 16.27 kJ/mol in the bulk and residual stages, respectively.
Keywords: kinetics, delignification, empty fruit bunch, low transition temperature mixtures
Removal of Phosphate from Water by Biochar Derived from Paper Mill
Sludge
Xiaodian Li, Ming Zhang*
Department of Environmental Engineering, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, P.R. China
* Corresponding author. Tel:+86 571 8687 2425, Fax: +86 571 87676226, E-mail: [email protected]
Phosphorus (P) was believed to be the primary limiting nutrients causing eutrophication, and
many case studies were implemented to reduce P loading in water for the purpose of
eutrophication inhibition. Adsorption is a fast and easily operated physical-chemical
technology for the removal of contaminants from water, and it was also widely studied to
remove P from water in recently years. In this study, biochars derived from paper mill sludge
(PMS-Biochar) under different pyrolysis temperature were used to remove PO43- from water.
Results showed that PMS-Biochars have higher adsorption capacity (Qm, calculated by
Langmuir model) than the majority of literature reported data. With the increase of pyrolysis
temperature, the Qm was also increased, especially there was a very significant abrupt
increasement of Qm from approximate 10 mg/g (700 ℃) to 26.7 mg/g (800 ℃). Adsorption
kinetics showed that PO43- adsorption reached apparent equilibrium in 24h, which was fitted
with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating that the PO43- adsorption process was
controlled by the chemical mechanism. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that there
were plenty of iron oxides and (FeO, Fe2O3, Fe3O4) in PMS-biochars, which may facilitate the
adsorption of PO43-. Furthermore, the decomposition of CaCO3 to CaO between 700~800℃
led to the sharp increase of Qm via precipitation by forming Ca-Phosphate composite. To
conclude, PMS-Biochars can effectively adsorb phosphate from water, which is beneficial to
both nutrient removal from water and the disposal of paper mill sludge.
Key words: Paper mill sludge, Biochar, Phosphate, Adsorption, Precipitation.
Water-assisted Selective Hydrodeoxygenation of Phenol to Benzene over Ru
Composite Catalyst in Biphasic Process
Cheng Zhang1,3, Chuhua Jia3, Yang Cao1, Yao Yao3, Shaoqu Xie3, Shicheng Zhang1,2,*, and
Hongfei Lin3,* 1 Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of
Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
2 Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
3 The Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State
University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
* Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (SZ), [email protected] (HL)
Aromatic hydrocarbons as a liquid fuel have unique combustion properties (high volume
energy density, etc.). Thus preserving the aromatic rings while selectively cleaving the C–O
bonds in the hydrodeoxygenation of lignin derived substituted phenols without additional
consumption of H2 is of crucial importance. In this regard, the hybridization of niobium oxide
with MC (micro-mesoporous carbon) as the support was prepared by the incipient wetness
impregnation method and characterized by various techniques, including XRD, SEM, TEM,
BET, NH3-TPD and XPS, etc. Under the mild conditions (200-250 oC and 2.0-10 bar H2), the
Ru/Nb2O5-MC catalyst was proved to be highly effective for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO)
of phenol. With regard to achieving a high selectivity to benzene, the biphasic catalytic process
in the decalin/water mixed solvent was superior to the monophasic processes in either the
decalin or water solvent under the same conditions. Water acted as a co-solvent that prevented
the occurrence of side reactions and promoted the catalytic C–O bond scission of phenol. The
synergistic effect of the biphasic solvents (decalin and water) and the Ru/Nb2O5-MC composite
catalysts, which might stabilize the emulsions and decrease the activation energy of HDO, was
investigated. Meanwhile, other probe reactions were conducted to elucidate the mechanism of
the HDO of phenol. The application of the efficient biphasic catalytic process may provide a
promising approach for improving lignin valorization.
Keywords: Phenol, hydrodeoxygenation, benzene, ruthenium, biphasic catalytic process
Biomass Stabilization: Phosphorus Fixation and Utilization
Tao Zhang 1,* 1 Biomass Engineering Center, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation,
Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of Ministry of Education, College of Resources and Environmental
Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86-10-62733638, Fax: 86-10-62733638, E-mail: [email protected]
One of the reality before us today is the increasingly exhausted of phosphorus (P) resource.
Animal manure, produced from livestock and poultry production, contains large amount of P.
The treatment of P recovery from animal manure is regarding as a promising technical for food
security. Recently, numbers methods to treat waste agricultural biomass have been considered.
Amongst, pyrolysis to generate biochar has attracted attention. Biochar, has a rich surface
chemistry, interesting nanostructures, abundant oxygen-containing functional groups, and a
large porous structure, regarded as a potential sorbent. Due to the limitation of P-solubilization
and selectivity recovery processes caused by the existing of organic phosphorus, sparingly
soluble P, and many other kinds of substances, we have conducted a series of explorations on
phosphorus solubilization and selectivity adsorption. For P solubilization, organic phosphorus
and sparingly soluble P can be decomposed, dissolved, and released under thermal conversion
(ultrasound, hydrothermal process, microwaves digestion). Coupling degradation and
oxidation process, such as microwaves digestion and NaOH (or H2O2-HCl), ultrasound/H2O2,
and hydrothermal assisted process have been developed. For P fixation, cation loaded biochar,
such as magnesium modified corn biochar, ferric oxide hydrate modified biochar, calcium
modified biochar, can be synthesized to enhance P adsorption selectivity. The adsorption
isotherm, adsorption kinetics, thermodynamics have been investigated. The P saturated
adsorbed modified biochar could continually release P in soil environment and its fertilizer
property has been analysis.
Keywords: phosphorus, animal manure, biochar
Coastal wetland restoration enhances the soil bacterial diversity and
strengthens their interactions: an evidence from a wetland desalination
project
Guangliang Zhang1, Junhong Bai1*, Jia Jia1, Wei Wang1,
Xin Wang1, Shuo Yin1, Qingqing Zhao2
1 State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment,
Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, P.R. China
2 Ecology Institute, Qi Lu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences),
Jinan 250000, P.R. China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86-10-58802029 E-mail: [email protected]
Wetlands restoration has been viewed as an effective way to combat wetland losses and
promote ecosystem functioning. While the knowledge in dynamics of soil bacterial community
caused by restoration project is still limited, especially in coastal degraded area. Here, high
throughput sequencing approach (16S rRNA genes) was applied to characterize the soil
bacterial community structure in a degraded wetland (DW) and two restored wetlands with 10-
and 14-years restoration age (RW10 and RW14). Soil abiotic properties (soil pH, salinity,
carbon and nitrogen) were also determined to explore the key influencing factors in shaping
the bacterial community. The results showed that the soil pH and soil organic carbon was
significantly enhanced after the implement of wetland desalination project, unsurprisingly, the
soil salinity was dramatically decreased. The soil bacterial species richness (observed
operational taxonomic units (OTUs, 97% similarity level) number and Chao1 index) all
increased with the restoration project, but the bacterial evenness was decreased. Dissimilarity
tests indicated that there were distinct differences in soil bacterial community at OTUs level
between the degraded and restored wetlands (P < 0.001). Soil bacterial network was more
intricate in RW14 than that in DW and RW10, and the interactive strength and direction among
bacterial species were also changed. Random forest analysis indicated that soil pH, salinity and
C/N ratio were the best predictors for the dynamics of soil bacterial diversity. In conclusion,
our findings emphasize the effects of coastal wetland restoration project on soil properties and
bacterial community, and provide the insight into the response of soil bacterial diversity and
bacterial species interactions to the ecological restoration practices.
Keywords: coastal wetland restoration, soil bacterial community, bacterial diversity, network
analysis
Clean Composting – Opportunities, Approaches and Challenges
Zengqiang Zhang1,* 1 College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86 13609254113, Fax: , E-mail: [email protected]
With the rapid population growth and industrial development in the fast developing countries,
there is a significant increase in the production of waste. The increase in the rate of organic
waste generation has become a global environmental issue that cannot be ignored because it is
easily biodegradable and rich in valuable elements. Improper disposal of these waste is likely
to cause several environmental problems, such as wasting of resources and various soil, water
and atmosphere pollutions. Possible treatment options for organic waste include anaerobic
digestion, combustion, gasification, hydrothermal liquefaction and composting. Under the
more and more greater pressure from environmental protection, composting is widely
recognized as a cleaner approach to others technologies in terms of organic waste disposal.
Composting convers unstable organic waste to organic fertilizer with the participation of
aerobic microorganism, reduces global warming potential of organic waste and the final
product is an ideal alternative for chemical fertilizer. The composting industry has developed
rapidly in recently years and received strong support from the society and the government. Its
main advantage lies in its capability to recycle nutrients through compost utilisation and
minimize its environmental risks during composting.
However, there are still many challenges involving odors and greenhouse gas emissions,
nitrogen loss, higher bioavailability of heavy metals, residual antibiotic and dissemination of
antibiotic resistant genes. Lots of men made efforts are still needed to improve the mitigation
efficiency of organic waste composting in recently years. This study discusses the opportunities,
approaches and challenges of composting in organic waste management and the current
methods to improve mitigation efficiency during cleaner composting.
Keywords: Environmental protection, clean composting, opportunities, approaches, challenges
Phycoremediation of Coastal Waters Contaminated with endocrine-
disrupting chemicals by Green Tidal Algae
Cui Zhang1,2, Jian Lu1,* 1 Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal
Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, Shandong 264003, People’s Republic of China
2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
* Jian Lu. Tel: 86-535-2109278, Fax: 86-535-2109000, E-mail: [email protected]
Ulva prolifera (U. prolifera) has been frequently involved in terrible algal proliferation in
coastal areas. Although it is known to be associated with green tide, its contribution to the
natural attenuation of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and endocrine-disrupting
chemicals (EDCs) in seawater has not been evaluated. In this study, the removal of
phenanthrene (Phe) and bisphenol A (BPA) using U. prolifera collected from coastal water with
green tide blooming was investigated. The results demonstrated that both Phe and BPA could
be removed rapidly in the presence of U. prolifera. The accumulation of Phe and BPA in U.
prolifera was confirmed by laser confocal scanning microscopy (LCSM). The removal
efficiency of these pollutants by green tide algae was BAP (94.3%) > Phe (92.0%), and the
removal process included several mechanisms depending on different pollutants. The removal
of Phe was mainly involved in abiotic factors such as algae absorption, algae adsorption,
microbial degradation and photolysis, while the removal of BPA was mainly involved in the
combination of algae absorption and microbial degradation. The differences in their
degradation mechanisms were mainly related to the physical and chemical properties of the
pollutants. Uptake experiments under different conditions showed that the removal efficiency
of Phe and BPA by U. prolifera had positive relationships with light, nutrient and temperature
while the salinity had no effect. A linear relationship existed between the removal efficiency
and the pollutants initial concentration, indicating the high tolerance of the green-tidal algae to
the toxic effect of Phe and BPA. High Phe and BPA removal efficiency (> 94%) was achieved
at the environmental relevant concentrations. The field investigation indicated that the target
contaminants concentration in the coastal water in the green tide blooming area was much
lower than that in the adjacent coastal water without green tide. The contribution of the green-
tidal algae in the removal of Phe and BPA in the coastal waters was remarkable due to their
high removal efficiency, and high biomass & huge covered area of the U. prolifera during the
outbreak of green tide. These findings demonstrate a new important phycoremediation process
for coastal water containing typical PAHs and EDCs during the green tide blooming.
Keywords: Phycoremediation, Green tide, Phenanthrene, Bisphenol A, Coastal waters
Health Assessment of Waste Gas Exposure During Food Waste Anaerobic
Digestion
Guodi Zheng1,2,*, Junwan Liu1,2, Tongbin Chen1,2 1 Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
2 College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
* Corresponding author. Tel:+86-10-64888050, Fax: +86-10-64888087, E-mail: [email protected]
Recent studies have shown that about one-third of the human food in the world is wasted and
it account for approximately 1.3 billion tons. The huge amount of wasted food not only leads
to resources and energy wasted, but also causes environmental pollution. Anaerobic digestion
has been widely considered as one of the critical food waste treatments, due to the economy
and environment friendliness. Most researches on anaerobic digestion technology have focused
on the improvement of anaerobic treatment process efficiency, but they ignored the health of
workers. Long-term exposure to stinking atmosphere can cause chronic damage to the human
respiratory system, endocrine and nervous system, and stimulate the human senses.
In order to assess the potential health risk of organic waste gas generated during anaerobic
digestion, 65 VOCs emitted from different units of a food waste anaerobic digestion plant were
analysed for a year term. In the four main units of the plant, five types of VOCs (organosulfur,
terpenes compounds, halogenated compounds, aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes and ketones)
were investigated; carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of occupational exposure were also
calculated and analysed via the monitoring data of VOCs emitted. The results showed that the
VOCs generated and released from the hydrothermal hydrolysis unit and the store unit occupied
more than 90% of the total discharge of the entire plant. The average carcinogenic risk of the
four seasons was 3.67×10-5, and it was exceed the acceptable range of 1×10-6 recommended by
the USEPA and it could be a potential risk. The carcinogenic risk was 8.31×10-5 in summer,
and it was the highest peak among the four seasons. The average non-carcinogenic risk for a
year was 1.92×10-2, and it was not exceed the acceptable threshold of 1.
Keywords: Food waste, anaerobic digestion, VOCs, health assessment
Highly efficient removal of pefloxacin from aqueous solution by acid-alkali
modified sludge-based biochar: adsorption kinetics, isotherm,
thermodynamics and mechanism
Yongxin Zhenga,b, Hongli Huanga,b,*, Dongning Weia,b, Lin Luoa,b, Jiachao Zhanga,b,
Liuhui Huanga,b, Yaoyu Zhoua,c,*
a College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
b Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Agricultural Typical Pollution
Remediation and Wetland Protection, Changsha 410128, China
c Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong,
China
* Hongli Huang. Tel:13548576946, Fax: 0731-84617803, E-mail: [email protected]
* Yaoyu Zhou. Tel:15273124146, Fax: 0731-84617803, E-mail: [email protected]
In this paper, low-cost and high-efficiency acid-alkali modified sludge-based biochar (ASBC)
was prepared and used to adsorb pefloxacin, a quinolone antibiotic in aqueous solution.
Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) showed that both ASBC and unmodified sludge-based biochar
(SBC) have a large specific surface area, but the Vp of ASBC (0.0222 m3/g) is significantly
higher than the Vp of SBC (0.01353 m3/g). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed
ASBC had a rougher surface and a larger particle distribution. Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed that ASBC was rich in the functional groups (e.g. Fe-
O ,C=O, Si-O-Si, C-O, C-H and O-H). Comparing the adsorption abilities of ASBC and SBC,
it was found that the adsorption capacity of ASBC was 1.57 times than SBC. Static experiments
showed that the optimum amount of adsorbent was 0.1g/L, the best pH was 8.0 for ASBC.
Adsorption kinetics analysis showed that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model was more
suitable than pseudo-first-order kinetic model for describing the adsorption process, the
equilibrium data were in good agreement with the Langmuir isotherm model, indicated that the
adsorption of pefloxacin by ASBC was mainly based on multi-layer chemical adsorption. The
adsorption of pefloxacin by ASBC was mainly due to the disubstituted reaction between C-H
on biochar and the benzene ring on pefloxacin. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the
adsorption of pefloxacin by ASBC was spontaneous and endothermic.
Keywords: Acid-alkali modified sludge-based biochar; Pefloxacin; Adsorption Kinetic;
Isotherm; Thermodynamic
Human activities facilitate mercury methylation in the environment
Huan Zhong1,2*, Fei Dang3 1 School of Environment, Nanjing University, China,
2 Environmental and Life Sciences Program (EnLS), Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada,
3 Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Nanjing, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: 86-15651972650, Fax: , E-mail: [email protected]
Recently, there are increasing concerns about human activity-impacted methylmercury (MeHg)
production and bioaccumulation in aquatic and terrestrial systems. For instance, new hotspots
of Hg methylation were reported in paddy soils and sediments in eutrophic lakes. It is thus
necessary to better understand the effects of human activities on mercury methylation, and the
underlying mechanisms. Our recent studies focus on investigating the impacts of human
activities (e.g., farming activities and eutrophication) on Hg methylation in soils and sediments.
By conducting national-scale survey in China (~70 paddy soils and 10 major lakes) together
with mechanistic studies, we demonstrate that: (1) Input of plant-derived organic matter due to
human activities (rice cultivation, straw return, and eutrophication and algal bloom) could
mobilize refractory Hg in soils/sediments (e.g., HgS), or provide electron donors to microbial
methylators, thus facilitating Hg methylation in soils and sediments. These may partly explain
the enhanced MeHg levels in paddy soils and sediments in eutrophic lakes. (2) Sulfur
fertilization in Hg-mining areas could impact Hg speciation in soils, e.g., by releasing mobile
Hg species from HgS minerals, leading to enhanced MeHg levels in soils and crop grains.
These recent findings demonstrate that human activities could be important factors,
contributing to elevated risk of MeHg in both aquatic and terrestrial systems.
Keywords: Mercury, Methylmercury, Organic matter, Bioavailability, Bioaccumulation
Magnetic biochar based composites for the removal of antibiotics from
water
Yujia Xiang1,2, Yaoyu Zhou1,2,3*, Daniel C.W.Tsang3 1 College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
2 Hunan International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Agricultural Typical Pollution
Remediation and Wetland Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410028
3 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
* Corresponding author: [email protected]
Highly efficient and cost-effective adsorbents for antibiotics removal are the key to mitigate
pollution by industrial wastewaters. Pyrolyzing low-cost winemaking-waste into biochar (BC)
is a promising means for waste biomass utilization. This study assembled vinasse-derived BC
with manganese ferrite into V-MFB-MCs through simultaneous pyrolysis of waste biomass and
metal (Mn and Fe) hydroxide precipitates. Batch sorption experiments evaluated the kinetics
and isotherms of chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC) adsorption as well as the influence of
pH value and NaCl solution. Morphological characterization showed that crystalline MnFe2O4
nanoparticles were impregnated within the framework of fabricated V-MFB-MCs. Superior
CTC adsorption capacity (163.93 mg g−1) and fast pseudo-second-order kinetics
(0.935<R2<0.989) could be achieved by the V-MFB-MCs at pH 3.0. The CTC adsorption onto
V-MFB-MCs was pH dependent and subjected to positive influence of NaCl. Rapid removal
and high performance can be maintained after six regeneration/reuse cycles. Multiple
interaction mechanisms including pore filling effect, π-π stacking interaction, and hydrogen
bonding are responsible for CTC removal by V-MFB-MCs, which can be a novel biowaste-
derived material for wastewater treatment.
Keywords: Engineered biochar, mineral biochar composites, waste biomass valorization,
antibiotics removal, wastewater treatment.
Enhanced separation performance and Cr(VI) ions removal efficiency of
kenaf biochar via facile coupling to magnetic BiFeO3 on cross-linked
chitosan
Daixi Zhou1, Guangyu Xie1, Xinjiang Hu1 * Yaoyu Zhou2,3,
1 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Central South University of Forestry and Technology,
Changsha 410004, P.R. China
2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
3College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University
Changsha, 410128, Hunan Province, China
Corresponding author. Tel:15243694564, E-mail: [email protected]
BiFeO3 and kenaf biochar were loaded on cross-linked chitosan to obtain chitosan-kenaf
biochar@BiFeO3 (CKB) for improving adsorption capacity towards Cr(VI). Glutaraldehyde is
used to strengthen the mechanical strength of the material and prevent the material from being
decomposed in a lower acidic environment. Biochar provides abundant adsorption sites and
functional groups, which enhances the adsorption effect. BiFeO3 provides magnetic properties
for the composite material, which makes the material easy to separate in the solution. The
optimum pH for Cr(VI) adsorption onto CKB is around 2. CKB exhibits highest adsorption
capacity (qmax is up to 109.5mg/g)and adsorption percentage (up to 96.06 %) under the optimal
pH, compared with chitosan, chitosan-kenaf biochar, and chitosan-BiFeO3.The adsorption
percentage maintains higher than 95% at concentration of Cr(VI) from 10 to 200 mg/L,
indicating impressive adsorption ability of CKB. The adsorption experimental data is well
fitted with pseudo-first-order model, suggesting that chemisorption is not the dominant rate-
limiting step. Freundlich isotherm model can better explain the adsorption process, indicating
a non-ideal adsorption towards Cr(VI) on a heterogeneous surface of CKB. The intra-particle
diffusion model confirmed that the adsorption process included film diffusion, intra-particle
diffusion and adsorption and equilibrium. A 25-1 Fractional Factorial Design (FFD) was used
to describe the main and interactive effects. It shows that main effects of pH and initial
concentration of Cr(VI)
Keywords: magnetic biochar, Cr(VI) decontamination, Adsorption, Fractional factor design
Comparison of adsorption capacity among chitosan,
chitosan-kenaf biochar chitosan-BiFeO3, and CKB
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
CKBchitosan-BiFeO3
chitosan-kenaf
qe
Ee
qe (
mg
/g)
chitosan0
20
40
60
80
100
Ee (
%)
The application of machine learning methods for prediction of heavy
metals sorption onto biochars
Xinzhe Zhu1, Yong Sik Ok2, Xiaonan Wang1,* 1 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585,
Singapore
2Korea Biochar Research Center & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea
University, Seoul 02841, Korea
* Corresponding author. Tel: + 65 6601 6221, Fax: + 65 6601 6221, E-mail: [email protected]
Biochar, as the solid by-product of biomass, had been applied in multidisciplinary area
such as wastewater treatment due to its microporous structure and abundant surface functional
groups. The treatment efficiency of biochar for wastewater was significantly influenced by
biochar characteristics and adsorption conditions. However, the diversity of biomass feedstock
and uncertainty of produced biochar made the relationship complicated for understanding.
Machine learning may be a preferred approach to resolve the problem by letting machine learn
from the data, to find, recognize, and extract the relationships or rules based on statistical data.
In this work, the adsorption of six heavy metals (lead, cadmium, nickel, arsenic, copper and
zinc) on the 44 kinds of biochars were modelled using artificial neural network (ANN) and
random forest (RF), respectively, based on the collected 353 datasets of adsorption experiments
from the literature. The regression models were trained and optimized to predict the adsorption
efficiency according to biochar characteristics, metal sources, adsorption conditions (e.g.
temperature and pH in water and wastewater), and the initial concentration ratio of metals to
biochars. The RF model showed better accuracy and predictive performance for adsorption
efficiency (R2=0.973) than ANN model (R2=0.948). The biochar characteristics resulted to be
the most significant factor for adsorption efficiency, in which the contribution of cation
exchange capacity (CEC) and pHH2O of biochars accounted for 66% in the biochar
characteristics and surface area only accounted for 2% of adsorption efficiency. Meanwhile,
the models developed by RF had better generalization ability than ANN model. The accurate
predicted ability of the developed models could significantly reduce experiment workload such
as predicting the removal efficiency of biochars for target metal according to biochar
characteristics, so as to select more efficient biochar without increasing experimental times. In
addition, the relative importance of variables could provide a right direction for better removing
heavy metals in the real water and wastewater.
Keywords: Pyrolysis; Biochar; Sorption model; Machine learning; Artificial Intelligence
Effects of turbulence on carbon emission in shallow lakes
Lin Zhu1, Boqiang Qin1,*, Jian Zhou1, Bryce Van Dam2 1 School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology,
Nanjing 210044, China.
2.Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, NC, USA
* Corresponding author. Tel: 02586882192, Fax: 02586882192, E-mail: [email protected]
Turbulent mixing is enhanced in shallow lakes. As a result, exchanges across the air-water and
sediment-water interfaces are increased, causing these systems to be large sources of
greenhouse gases. This study investigated the effects of turbulence on carbon dioxide (CO2)
and methane (CH4) emissions in shallow lakes using simulated mesocosm experiments. Results
demonstrated that turbulence increased CO2 emissions, while simultaneously decreasing CH4
emissions by altering microbial processes. Under turbulent conditions, a greater fraction of
organic carbon was recycled as CO2 instead of CH4, potentially reducing the net global
warming effect because of the lower global warming potential of CO2 relative to CH4. The
CH4/CO2 flux ratio was approximately 0.006 under turbulent conditions, but reached 0.078 in
the control. The real-time quantitative PCR analysis indicated that methanogen abundance
decreased and methanotroph abundance increased under turbulent conditions, inhibiting CH4
production and favoring the oxidation of CH4 to CO2. These findings suggest that turbulence
may play an important role in the global carbon cycle by limiting CH4 emissions, thereby
reducing the net global warming effect of shallow lakes.
Keywords: turbulence; carbon dioxide; methane; methanogen; methanotroph
Triplex DNA Helix Sensor Based on RGO and EAu for Sensitive Lead(II)
Detection
Yuan Zhu1,*, Guangming Zeng1,*, Yi Zhang1,*, Lin Tang1, Yaoyu Zhou2, Yingrong Wang1, Yi
Hu1, Huai Long1, Yujie Yuan3, Hongxue An4 1 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China.
2 College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410028, China.
3 Institute of Hydroecology, Ministry of Water Resources and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430079,
China
4 School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hebei University of Science and Technology,
Shijiazhuang, 050018, China
* Corresponding author. Tel: +86-0731-88822754, fax: +86-0731-88823701, E-mail: [email protected]
(Y. Zhu), [email protected] (G.M. Zeng), [email protected] (Y. Zhang).
A triplex DNA electrochemical sensor based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and
electrodeposited gold nanoparticles (EAu) was simply developed for the detection of Pb2+. The
glass carbon electrode (GCE) sequentially electrodeposited with rGO and EAu was furtherly
modified with triplex DNA helix that was consisted of a guanine (G)-rich circle and a stem of
triplex helix based on T-A•T base triplets. In the present of Pb2+, the DNA configuration which
was formed via Watson-Crick and Hoogsteen base pairings was split and transformed into G-
quardruplex. Methylene blue (MB) was as signal indicator for providing adequate
electrochemical response signal. The proposed sensor performed a linear relationship between
the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) peak currents and the logarithm of Pb2+
concentrations in the range from 0.01 to 10 μM with a limit detection of 36.2 nM. The sensor
was also tested with tap water, river and medical wastewater samples with good recovery and
accuracy and represented a promising method for Pb2+ detection.
Keywords: DNA sensor, triple helix, T-A•T, G-quardruplex, Pb2+ detection.
