ENVIRONMENT - University of the Western · PDF fileContact Details: Environmental Nanosciences Research Group Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science University of the Western Cape

YEARBOOK 2010

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Contact Details:

Environmental Nanosciences Research GroupDepartment of Chemistry

Faculty of ScienceUniversity of the Western Cape

Private Bag X 17Bellville 7535South Africa

Group Leader: Dr. Leslie PetrikPhone: +27 (0)21 959 3304

Fax: +27 (0)21 959 3878Email: [email protected]

Design by:Red Swift Studio

Portfolio: http://www.flickr.com/photos/redswift/

Email: [email protected]: 082 410 1296

© 2011Environmental Nanoscience Research Group, University of the Western Cape

Web:Environmental NanoScience Research Group:

http://www.ensuwc.org/

Platinum Group MetalsFlagship Project:

http://www.pgmnano.org/index.html

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Contact Details:

Environmental Nanosciences Research GroupDepartment of Chemistry

Faculty of ScienceUniversity of the Western Cape

Private Bag X 17Bellville 7535South Africa

Group Leader: Dr. Leslie PetrikPhone: +27 (0)21 959 3304

Fax: +27 (0)21 959 3878Email: [email protected]

Design by:Red Swift Studio



© 2011Environmental Nanoscience Research Group, University of the Western Cape

Web:Environmental NanoScience Research Group:

http://www.ensuwc.org/



2 3

This past year, 2010, has been very productive for the Environmental and Nano Sciences Research Group (ENS). We welcomed many new students into the group at the beginning of the year and in 2010 had 12 PhD students, 10 M.Sc. students, and 3 Honours students in the ENS group and supported 3 M.Tech students at CPUT. Dr. Richard Akinyeye joined our post doctoral team and Drs. Nuran Boke, Patrick Ndungu and Wilson Gitari unfortunately left us during the year. I am very happy to know that their stay in our group resulted in successful academic appointments elsewhere for both Wilson and Patrick and we wish them the very best in their new careers.

Our congratulations go to our M.Sc. students who graduated from ENS during March 2010; Grace Muriithi, Godfrey Madzivire, Bongani Yalala, Amon Nyamingura, Damini Surender, and in September 2010; Olufunke Ojo. 6 graduates in one year is a very significant achievement. Well done! Damini and Amon finished their studies against all odds during their full time working careers. We congratulate you all on your hard work! Currently there are two PhD students who have handed in their theses towards examination and hopefully will graduate in March 2011, and 8 more students are preparing to finalize their studies in 2011. My very best wishes to those of you who are labouring hard to finish.

My promotion to Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at UWC was a very significant milestone for me this year. We have also published 10 papers in peer reviewed journals and presented 31 papers at national and international conferences during this year and early into next year. There are also 11 papers that are being reviewed at present. Those of you who wrote papers and presented at conferences this year can be very proud of your contributions.

We were winners of the THRIP AWARD 2010 for the Quality and Quantity of students for our “Sustainable salt sinks” research programme that is funded by Eskom and Sasol, which award speaks volumes of the progress being made in student training in our group and of the contribution being made by everyone involved. I particularly would like to thank Dr. Wilson Gitari and Dr. Richard Akinyeye for their sterling efforts in managing this programme.

ForewordDr. Leslie Petrik

ENS Group Leader

5

This past year, 2010, has been very productive for the Environmental and Nano Sciences Research Group (ENS). We welcomed many new students into the group at the beginning of the year and in 2010 had 12 PhD students, 10 M.Sc. students, and 3 Honours students in the ENS group and supported 3 M.Tech students at CPUT. Dr. Richard Akinyeye joined our post doctoral team and Drs. Nuran Boke, Patrick Ndungu and Wilson Gitari unfortunately left us during the year. I am very happy to know that their stay in our group resulted in successful academic appointments elsewhere for both Wilson and Patrick and we wish them the very best in their new careers.

Our congratulations go to our M.Sc. students who graduated from ENS during March 2010; Grace Muriithi, Godfrey Madzivire, Bongani Yalala, Amon Nyamingura, Damini Surender, and in September 2010; Olufunke Ojo. 6 graduates in one year is a very significant achievement. Well done! Damini and Amon finished their studies against all odds during their full time working careers. We congratulate you all on your hard work! Currently there are two PhD students who have handed in their theses towards examination and hopefully will graduate in March 2011, and 8 more students are preparing to finalize their studies in 2011. My very best wishes to those of you who are labouring hard to finish.

My promotion to Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at UWC was a very significant milestone for me this year. We have also published 10 papers in peer reviewed journals and presented 31 papers at national and international conferences during this year and early into next year. There are also 11 papers that are being reviewed at present. Those of you who wrote papers and presented at conferences this year can be very proud of your contributions.

We were winners of the THRIP AWARD 2010 for the Quality and Quantity of students for our “Sustainable salt sinks” research programme that is funded by Eskom and Sasol, which award speaks volumes of the progress being made in student training in our group and of the contribution being made by everyone involved. I particularly would like to thank Dr. Wilson Gitari and Dr. Richard Akinyeye for their sterling efforts in managing this programme.

ForewordDr. Leslie Petrik

ENS Group Leader

5

The Environmental and Nanosciences Research Group (ENS) was established in 2006 within the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Western Cape. Under the leadership of Dr. Leslie Petrik, ENS has developed rapidly. A broad suite of nano science, environmental remediation and water related research and industrial projects is currently undertaken by ENS. Partnerships with South African industry leaders such as ESKOM, SASOL, Coaltech, BiofuelsON, and agencies such as the Water Research Commission foster strong alignment of student projects with industry. The projects enable skills training, thus preparing ENS graduates for their future careers.

Growth

In 2010 the ENS group hosted 3 post doctoral students, 12 PhD students, 10 M.Sc. students, and 3 Honours students. Additionally, ENS provided support for 3 M.Tech students from Chemical Engineering at CPUT and a PhD student at Stellenbosch.

Projects

I. Nanoscience

·Nanophase PGM electro-catalysts

·Hydrogen production and separation

·Nanostructured Adsorbents and Ion Exchangers for toxic element removal from water

·Ordered Mesoporous Carbons

·Catalysts for bio-fuel synthesis

·Poison Tolerant Hydrogen Separation / Purification Membranes based on Surface-Modified Polyimide Membranes

·Zeolites in Water Treatment

II. Environmental Remediation

·Neutralization of acid mine drainage with fly ash

·Treatment of circumneutral mine water

·Applications of Ash: Ashwalling and Backfill

·Sustainable salt sinks

·Characteristics of high halide waste streams

Many of our ENS students contributed their time generously during 2010 with the MTN Science Centre’s “Nanoscience” programme and gave more than 400 young learners the opportunity to interact with a “Nano Scientist”, presenting interesting live demonstrations and facilitating nano games, while teaching youngsters to think about science in a positive way.

I was invited to visit our international collaborator Professor Marek Bryjak at Wroclaw University of Technology in Poland through the Polish South African Bilateral programme, and also visited Odile Bruneel in Montpellier, France through the Safewater programme and was shown their acid mine drainage remediation study site. During that visit we were able to prepare a joint proposal with Prof. Patrick Pale of the University of Strassbourg in France as well.

We were invited to publish in a special topic volume “Current Application of Polymers and Nano Materials” with invited peer reviewed papers only. Students and staff of ENS presented our research at the following international conferences during 2010, namely: the World of Coal Ash 2011 (WOCA) Conference. 9-12 May 2011. Marriott Tech Center, Denver. Colorado; Accelerated Carbonation for Environmental and Materials Engineering, ACEME10, 29th November to 1st December 2010, Turku, Finland; 27th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, October 11 - 14, 2010, Hilton Istanbul, Turkey; 10th AIChE Annual Meeting at the Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 7th to 12th Nov., 2010; .. IZC-IMMS2010 Sorrento - Italy, 4-9 July 2010; NanoTR-VI-2010, 6th Nanoscience and Nanotechnology conference, Izmir Institute of Technology. 15-18 June, 2010, Izmir-Turkey; Ars Separatoria (XXV th international symposium on physiochemical methods of separation) July 4-7, 2010, Torun-Poland.

We successfully installed and commissioned the new Ion Chromatograph this year funded by the Water Research Commission. The NRF awarded us funding via the NNEP and we have ordered and are awaiting the new Quantochrome chemisorption instrumentation.

Ilse and Rallston made great strides in improving the throughput of the analytical requirements of the group this year. A hearty thank you! I would also like to say a big thank you to Averil, Vanessa, and Thembekile for supporting the ENS group so consistently through the year.

May we go from strength to strength in the New Year. And to those of our team who have moved on to new things in 2011, may the years ahead be fruitful and happy.

Leslie

Introduction:Environmental NanosciencesResearch group

6 7

The Environmental and Nanosciences Research Group (ENS) was established in 2006 within the Department of Chemistry at the University of the Western Cape. Under the leadership of Dr. Leslie Petrik, ENS has developed rapidly. A broad suite of nano science, environmental remediation and water related research and industrial projects is currently undertaken by ENS. Partnerships with South African industry leaders such as ESKOM, SASOL, Coaltech, BiofuelsON, and agencies such as the Water Research Commission foster strong alignment of student projects with industry. The projects enable skills training, thus preparing ENS graduates for their future careers.

Growth

In 2010 the ENS group hosted 3 post doctoral students, 12 PhD students, 10 M.Sc. students, and 3 Honours students. Additionally, ENS provided support for 3 M.Tech students from Chemical Engineering at CPUT and a PhD student at Stellenbosch.

Projects

I. Nanoscience

·Nanophase PGM electro-catalysts

·Hydrogen production and separation

·Nanostructured Adsorbents and Ion Exchangers for toxic element removal from water

·Ordered Mesoporous Carbons

·Catalysts for bio-fuel synthesis

·Poison Tolerant Hydrogen Separation / Purification Membranes based on Surface-Modified Polyimide Membranes

·Zeolites in Water Treatment

II. Environmental Remediation

·Neutralization of acid mine drainage with fly ash

·Treatment of circumneutral mine water

·Applications of Ash: Ashwalling and Backfill

·Sustainable salt sinks

·Characteristics of high halide waste streams

Many of our ENS students contributed their time generously during 2010 with the MTN Science Centre’s “Nanoscience” programme and gave more than 400 young learners the opportunity to interact with a “Nano Scientist”, presenting interesting live demonstrations and facilitating nano games, while teaching youngsters to think about science in a positive way.

I was invited to visit our international collaborator Professor Marek Bryjak at Wroclaw University of Technology in Poland through the Polish South African Bilateral programme, and also visited Odile Bruneel in Montpellier, France through the Safewater programme and was shown their acid mine drainage remediation study site. During that visit we were able to prepare a joint proposal with Prof. Patrick Pale of the University of Strassbourg in France as well.

We were invited to publish in a special topic volume “Current Application of Polymers and Nano Materials” with invited peer reviewed papers only. Students and staff of ENS presented our research at the following international conferences during 2010, namely: the World of Coal Ash 2011 (WOCA) Conference. 9-12 May 2011. Marriott Tech Center, Denver. Colorado; Accelerated Carbonation for Environmental and Materials Engineering, ACEME10, 29th November to 1st December 2010, Turku, Finland; 27th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, October 11 - 14, 2010, Hilton Istanbul, Turkey; 10th AIChE Annual Meeting at the Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 7th to 12th Nov., 2010; .. IZC-IMMS2010 Sorrento - Italy, 4-9 July 2010; NanoTR-VI-2010, 6th Nanoscience and Nanotechnology conference, Izmir Institute of Technology. 15-18 June, 2010, Izmir-Turkey; Ars Separatoria (XXV th international symposium on physiochemical methods of separation) July 4-7, 2010, Torun-Poland.

We successfully installed and commissioned the new Ion Chromatograph this year funded by the Water Research Commission. The NRF awarded us funding via the NNEP and we have ordered and are awaiting the new Quantochrome chemisorption instrumentation.

Ilse and Rallston made great strides in improving the throughput of the analytical requirements of the group this year. A hearty thank you! I would also like to say a big thank you to Averil, Vanessa, and Thembekile for supporting the ENS group so consistently through the year.

May we go from strength to strength in the New Year. And to those of our team who have moved on to new things in 2011, may the years ahead be fruitful and happy.

Leslie

Introduction:Environmental NanosciencesResearch group

6 7

Nano-Architecture in Platinum Group Metals

DST Flagship Project Collaborators and Team Members:Project lead: Dr. L. Petrik Chemistry UWCProf Candy Lang UCT: Materials Engineering Profs Neil Coville; Mike Scurrell Wits: Chemical EngineeringDr. Vincent Nyamori; Dr P.Ndungu UKZN: ChemistryDr Debbie Blaine; Mechanical Engineering, Ulrich Buttner: Electrical Engineering, US

The Nano-architecture in Platinum Group metals (PGM) spearheaded by Dr L. Petrik (UWC) is one of seven Nanotechnology Flagship Project initiated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and managed by National Research Foundation (NRF). The project is focused on exploring the nano – scale ordering of various PGM systems, and determining the effect on the physical – chemical properties. The overall objective is aimed at gaining fundamental understanding of the design, fabrication and performance of nanophase structures in order to engineer novel functional nanophase metal alloys and catalysts. The ultimate goal is to fabricate nanostructured PGM alloys either as particulates, or layered 2D or nanocomposite 3D structures. Platinum group metal alloys, binary, ternary or quaternary systems will be synthesized in a highly controlled manner to investigate the possibility of controlling the core-shell, ad-mixing or alloying architecture of the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles will be supported on various nanostructured composite supports; such as, ordered mesoporous carbons, carbon nanotubes, titanium dioxide composites, or mesoporous ceria. Read more at http://www.pgmnano.org/

Collaborative Projects 2010·Brine stabilization, treatment and disposal

·CO sequestration2

· Zeolites from waste

·DeNOx and DeSOx

Funders

·Department of Science and Technology

·National Research Foundation

·ESKOM

·Coaltech

·Water Research Commission

·Sasol

ENS collaborates with various South African academic institutions, including: CPUT, UOFS, US, UP, UCT, UJ, Wits and UKZN. Collaborative projects include the DST / NRF-funded “Platinum Nano-Archtecture” flagship project, and the Water Research Commission-funded “Nano in Water” flagship project.

Internationally, ENS has several active projects with various universities and institutions in Poland, Turkey, and France. In addition, ENS is a partner in international projects; specifically, the NRF French Bilateral Safe-water project with 11 local and international collaborators, in partnership with the Laboratoire Hydrosciences Montpellier (HSM), University of Montpellier in France.

8 9

Nano-Architecture in Platinum Group Metals

DST Flagship Project Collaborators and Team Members:Project lead: Dr. L. Petrik Chemistry UWCProf Candy Lang UCT: Materials Engineering Profs Neil Coville; Mike Scurrell Wits: Chemical EngineeringDr. Vincent Nyamori; Dr P.Ndungu UKZN: ChemistryDr Debbie Blaine; Mechanical Engineering, Ulrich Buttner: Electrical Engineering, US

The Nano-architecture in Platinum Group metals (PGM) spearheaded by Dr L. Petrik (UWC) is one of seven Nanotechnology Flagship Project initiated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and managed by National Research Foundation (NRF). The project is focused on exploring the nano – scale ordering of various PGM systems, and determining the effect on the physical – chemical properties. The overall objective is aimed at gaining fundamental understanding of the design, fabrication and performance of nanophase structures in order to engineer novel functional nanophase metal alloys and catalysts. The ultimate goal is to fabricate nanostructured PGM alloys either as particulates, or layered 2D or nanocomposite 3D structures. Platinum group metal alloys, binary, ternary or quaternary systems will be synthesized in a highly controlled manner to investigate the possibility of controlling the core-shell, ad-mixing or alloying architecture of the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles will be supported on various nanostructured composite supports; such as, ordered mesoporous carbons, carbon nanotubes, titanium dioxide composites, or mesoporous ceria. Read more at http://www.pgmnano.org/

Collaborative Projects 2010·Brine stabilization, treatment and disposal

·CO sequestration2

· Zeolites from waste

·DeNOx and DeSOx

Funders

·Department of Science and Technology

·National Research Foundation

·ESKOM

·Coaltech

·Water Research Commission

·Sasol

ENS collaborates with various South African academic institutions, including: CPUT, UOFS, US, UP, UCT, UJ, Wits and UKZN. Collaborative projects include the DST / NRF-funded “Platinum Nano-Archtecture” flagship project, and the Water Research Commission-funded “Nano in Water” flagship project.

Internationally, ENS has several active projects with various universities and institutions in Poland, Turkey, and France. In addition, ENS is a partner in international projects; specifically, the NRF French Bilateral Safe-water project with 11 local and international collaborators, in partnership with the Laboratoire Hydrosciences Montpellier (HSM), University of Montpellier in France.

8 9

WRC Flagship: Collaborators and Team MembersProject lead: Dr. L. Petrik Chemistry (UWC)Dr P. Ndungu, Chemistry (UKZN)Bruce Hendry, Chemical Engineering (CPUT)Tjaart Nicholas van der Walt, Chemistry (CPUT)

The Nanotechnology Strategy of South Africa has identified water treatment as one prime area of focus for the benefit of the nation. Nanotechnology is science and engineering at the molecular level. Nanotechnology could lead to advanced water-treatment technologies. Promising nanotechnology related water-purification technologies include photo and electrocatalytic materials, leading to the destruction of contaminants such as pesticides, industrial solvents and bacteria and new nanostructured materials such as filtering membranes or adsorbents that could purify even the worst effluent. This project aims to develop a suite of nanotechnology based water purification technologies including fundamental research, process engineering and pilot plant evaluation stages and focuses upon water treatment by application of nanomaterials. Materials being investigated include photocatalytic materials to destroy organic contaminants; ordered mesoporous materials, as well as natural zeolites and clay materials such as unmodified Ca-bentonite, Na-bentonite and clinoptilolite for brine treatment. Brines are hypersaline waste waters

- generated by industrial processes that are rich in Mg, K, Ca, Na, SO , Cl as well as trace quantities 4

of many toxic elements, and require expensive management and disposal. Alternative nanomaterials being applied in the study are zero-valent iron nanoparticles that are used for acidic waste water treatment where they act as reductive agents to decrease the oxidation reduction potential of contaminants to oxidation states that are less soluble. The treatment and disinfection of water is being investigated using corona discharge systems with fabrication of nano array electrodes, for removal of harmful micro-organisms from water. Evaluations of nanotechnology based products already commercially available for water treatment are ongoing with modification / optimisation for some specific South African water problems.

Nano in Water

Collaborative International Interactions:

NRF SA/Poland Bilateral Cooperation Project lead: Tjaart Nicholas van der Walt (CPUT)Team members:L. Petrik, Chemistry UWC B.Hendry, Chemical Engineering CPUTM.Bryjak Wroclaw, Poland

WRC SA France Bilateral SAFeWATER ProgrammeProject lead: Leslie Petrik, Department of Chemistry, University of Western Cape (UWC)

DST Flagship: Collaborators and Team Members Project lead: Prof Ron Sanderson Polymer Sciences USDr L. Petrik, Chemistry UWC Prof Perold and U.Buttner Electrical Engineering USDr Catherine Ngila, Chemistry UKZNDr. Dr L. Tichagwa, Chemistry, University of Fort Hare

Eskom SASOL Research Initiative Collaborators and Team MembersSasol: Du Toit Roux (Chairperson); Corné Pretorius; Sam Mahlaba Eskom: Gerhard Gericke; Kelley Reynolds University of Western Cape: Dr Leslie Petrik, J.M.NelUniversity of Free State: Dr G Steyl (IGS)University of KwaZulu-Natal: Prof Chris Buckley and Dr Catherine Ngila

The ESKOM SASOL study focuses in particular on treatment or stabilization of hypersaline solutions, high salt load streams, brine and inorganic sludges. The research question addresses whether it is possible to achieve attenuation of applied inorganic constituents from brine on fly ash and how this affects the mineralogy and chemistry of the ash and underlying soils. In order to quantify the salt sink capacity, leachate profiles and salt sink balances are required on a large scale to establish to what extent the ash could act as a salt sink. The expected outcome of the study is gaining an understanding of the application of ash for sustainable disposal of salts and the risks involved.

Other Collaborative Projects:

10 11

WRC Flagship: Collaborators and Team MembersProject lead: Dr. L. Petrik Chemistry (UWC)Dr P. Ndungu, Chemistry (UKZN)Bruce Hendry, Chemical Engineering (CPUT)Tjaart Nicholas van der Walt, Chemistry (CPUT)

The Nanotechnology Strategy of South Africa has identified water treatment as one prime area of focus for the benefit of the nation. Nanotechnology is science and engineering at the molecular level. Nanotechnology could lead to advanced water-treatment technologies. Promising nanotechnology related water-purification technologies include photo and electrocatalytic materials, leading to the destruction of contaminants such as pesticides, industrial solvents and bacteria and new nanostructured materials such as filtering membranes or adsorbents that could purify even the worst effluent. This project aims to develop a suite of nanotechnology based water purification technologies including fundamental research, process engineering and pilot plant evaluation stages and focuses upon water treatment by application of nanomaterials. Materials being investigated include photocatalytic materials to destroy organic contaminants; ordered mesoporous materials, as well as natural zeolites and clay materials such as unmodified Ca-bentonite, Na-bentonite and clinoptilolite for brine treatment. Brines are hypersaline waste waters

- generated by industrial processes that are rich in Mg, K, Ca, Na, SO , Cl as well as trace quantities 4

of many toxic elements, and require expensive management and disposal. Alternative nanomaterials being applied in the study are zero-valent iron nanoparticles that are used for acidic waste water treatment where they act as reductive agents to decrease the oxidation reduction potential of contaminants to oxidation states that are less soluble. The treatment and disinfection of water is being investigated using corona discharge systems with fabrication of nano array electrodes, for removal of harmful micro-organisms from water. Evaluations of nanotechnology based products already commercially available for water treatment are ongoing with modification / optimisation for some specific South African water problems.

Nano in Water

Collaborative International Interactions:

NRF SA/Poland Bilateral Cooperation Project lead: Tjaart Nicholas van der Walt (CPUT)Team members:L. Petrik, Chemistry UWC B.Hendry, Chemical Engineering CPUTM.Bryjak Wroclaw, Poland

WRC SA France Bilateral SAFeWATER ProgrammeProject lead: Leslie Petrik, Department of Chemistry, University of Western Cape (UWC)

DST Flagship: Collaborators and Team Members Project lead: Prof Ron Sanderson Polymer Sciences USDr L. Petrik, Chemistry UWC Prof Perold and U.Buttner Electrical Engineering USDr Catherine Ngila, Chemistry UKZNDr. Dr L. Tichagwa, Chemistry, University of Fort Hare

Eskom SASOL Research Initiative Collaborators and Team MembersSasol: Du Toit Roux (Chairperson); Corné Pretorius; Sam Mahlaba Eskom: Gerhard Gericke; Kelley Reynolds University of Western Cape: Dr Leslie Petrik, J.M.NelUniversity of Free State: Dr G Steyl (IGS)University of KwaZulu-Natal: Prof Chris Buckley and Dr Catherine Ngila

The ESKOM SASOL study focuses in particular on treatment or stabilization of hypersaline solutions, high salt load streams, brine and inorganic sludges. The research question addresses whether it is possible to achieve attenuation of applied inorganic constituents from brine on fly ash and how this affects the mineralogy and chemistry of the ash and underlying soils. In order to quantify the salt sink capacity, leachate profiles and salt sink balances are required on a large scale to establish to what extent the ash could act as a salt sink. The expected outcome of the study is gaining an understanding of the application of ash for sustainable disposal of salts and the risks involved.

Other Collaborative Projects:

10 11

the Team

12 13

the Team

12 13

Title: Brine treatment, zeolite synthesis and DeNOx

Water is becoming an increasingly precious commodity in South Africa. There is an urgent need of cost effective treatment technologies by which the AMD/ circumneutral/ brine can be treated and pure water can be recovered. This project looks at different technologies for the treatment of brines, including adsorption, counter current ion exchange technology (CCIX), and eutectic freeze crystallization (EFC). The absorbents that were investigated are fly ash, zeolites (commercial, natural and made from waste materials i.e. fly ash or solid residues), ordered mesoporous carbon, hexagonal mesoporous carbon, functionased fibres, activated carbon and resins.

When low grade brown coal of the kind South Africa is burned by coal powered utilities, the approximately 25% inorganic residue, called fly ash, remains as waste that largely consists of quartz and mullite. Zeolite synthesis is one of a number of potential applications for obtaining high-value industrial products from fly ash. Owing to the high content of reactive phases such as alumino-silicate glass, and to the high specific surface area of fly ash, these combustion waste are suitable starting materials for the synthesis of zeolites. Currently, a pure zeolite Na-P1 has been synthesised from fly ash.

Emissions of nitrogen oxides, such as NO, NO , and N O are produced in the combustion processes 2 2

of coal fired power plants. These toxic gases strongly contribute to the formation of photochemical smog and acid rain. The DeNOx project involves investigation of the zeolites derived from fly ash for the treatment of flue gases from power stations. This includes investigating different processing conditions for converting Eskom fly ash from different power stations into zeolites, the incorporation of various cations in the zeolite framework and assessment of the most efficient desorption mechanism. This work is in its early stages with completion and commissioning of an experimental DeNOx rig to test various catalysts.

Qualifications: PhD. Chemical Engineering, UCT

M.Sc. Chemical Engineering, UCT

B.Sc. (Hons) Chemical Engineering, UCT

Schooling: Table View High School, Cape Town

Home Town/City: Cape Town, South Africa

Hobbies: Traveling, Reading, Swimming

Dr. Gillian Balfour

Post

-Docto

ral

Fell

ows

My research interests covers Electrochemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Food/Industrial Chemistry. Presently, I am the Post-Doctoral Research Fellow currently responsible for the management of the SASOL/ESKOM niche project on fly ash/brine co-disposal reactions in inland ash dumps/dams in coal combusting power plants. Some of the ongoing research includes investigating the fly ash/brine interaction chemistry, mineralogy and geochemical transformations taking place in the ash dams/dumps as a function of age, depth, disposal techniques and storage condition. The objective of this work is to establish if the ash dams and/or dumps acts as a sustainable salt sink. Other research covers the use of South African fly ash for the preparation of zeolites using different synthetic routes, characterization and application to treat different industrial aqueous waste effluents. We currently have about ten students on this project.

Part of our current work involves adsorption studies to explore the efficiency of various zeolitic materials for heavy metal removal from environmental aqueous effluents. This focused on the comparison of zeolites (Clinoptilolite and NaP1 type from fly ash); and organic resin ion exchangers (Amberlyst 15) as sorbents and to see which one is the most ideal medium for toxic metal removal in different brine samples discharged from South African mines by looking at their cation exchange capacity.

Other research activities involve the use of electrochemical technique for the interrogation of the reactivities of various electrocatalysts prepared under different synthesis conditions in the group’s nano research programme.

Qualifications: Sc (Hons) Industrial Chemistry

M.Sc. Analytical Chemistry (Ibadan)

MBA (Akure)

PhD Chemistry (UWC, Bellville)

Hobbies: Reading scientific information, Meditation,

Music, Mentoring.

SASOL / ESKOM Fly Ash/Brine Project

Dr. Richard Akinyeye

Post

-Docto

ral

Fell

ows

14 15

Title: Brine treatment, zeolite synthesis and DeNOx

Water is becoming an increasingly precious commodity in South Africa. There is an urgent need of cost effective treatment technologies by which the AMD/ circumneutral/ brine can be treated and pure water can be recovered. This project looks at different technologies for the treatment of brines, including adsorption, counter current ion exchange technology (CCIX), and eutectic freeze crystallization (EFC). The absorbents that were investigated are fly ash, zeolites (commercial, natural and made from waste materials i.e. fly ash or solid residues), ordered mesoporous carbon, hexagonal mesoporous carbon, functionased fibres, activated carbon and resins.

When low grade brown coal of the kind South Africa is burned by coal powered utilities, the approximately 25% inorganic residue, called fly ash, remains as waste that largely consists of quartz and mullite. Zeolite synthesis is one of a number of potential applications for obtaining high-value industrial products from fly ash. Owing to the high content of reactive phases such as alumino-silicate glass, and to the high specific surface area of fly ash, these combustion waste are suitable starting materials for the synthesis of zeolites. Currently, a pure zeolite Na-P1 has been synthesised from fly ash.

Emissions of nitrogen oxides, such as NO, NO , and N O are produced in the combustion processes 2 2

of coal fired power plants. These toxic gases strongly contribute to the formation of photochemical smog and acid rain. The DeNOx project involves investigation of the zeolites derived from fly ash for the treatment of flue gases from power stations. This includes investigating different processing conditions for converting Eskom fly ash from different power stations into zeolites, the incorporation of various cations in the zeolite framework and assessment of the most efficient desorption mechanism. This work is in its early stages with completion and commissioning of an experimental DeNOx rig to test various catalysts.

Qualifications: PhD. Chemical Engineering, UCT

M.Sc. Chemical Engineering, UCT

B.Sc. (Hons) Chemical Engineering, UCT

Schooling: Table View High School, Cape Town


Hobbies: Traveling, Reading, Swimming

Dr. Gillian Balfour

Post

-Docto

ral

Fell

ows

My research interests covers Electrochemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Food/Industrial Chemistry. Presently, I am the Post-Doctoral Research Fellow currently responsible for the management of the SASOL/ESKOM niche project on fly ash/brine co-disposal reactions in inland ash dumps/dams in coal combusting power plants. Some of the ongoing research includes investigating the fly ash/brine interaction chemistry, mineralogy and geochemical transformations taking place in the ash dams/dumps as a function of age, depth, disposal techniques and storage condition. The objective of this work is to establish if the ash dams and/or dumps acts as a sustainable salt sink. Other research covers the use of South African fly ash for the preparation of zeolites using different synthetic routes, characterization and application to treat different industrial aqueous waste effluents. We currently have about ten students on this project.

Part of our current work involves adsorption studies to explore the efficiency of various zeolitic materials for heavy metal removal from environmental aqueous effluents. This focused on the comparison of zeolites (Clinoptilolite and NaP1 type from fly ash); and organic resin ion exchangers (Amberlyst 15) as sorbents and to see which one is the most ideal medium for toxic metal removal in different brine samples discharged from South African mines by looking at their cation exchange capacity.

Other research activities involve the use of electrochemical technique for the interrogation of the reactivities of various electrocatalysts prepared under different synthesis conditions in the group’s nano research programme.

Qualifications: Sc (Hons) Industrial Chemistry

M.Sc. Analytical Chemistry (Ibadan)

MBA (Akure)

PhD Chemistry (UWC, Bellville)

Hobbies: Reading scientific information, Meditation,

Music, Mentoring.

SASOL / ESKOM Fly Ash/Brine Project

Dr. Richard Akinyeye

Post

-Docto

ral

Fell

ows

14 15

Dr. Patrick Ndungu

Title: NANO-ARCHITECTURE IN PLATINUM GROUP METALS (PGM)

Energy generation with none or very little impact on the environment is a core part of global research. Within the context of the developing world, especially Africa, this is a critical component to providing feasible and sustainable solutions to poverty eradication, continual economic growth and development, and other socio-economic problems. Solar energy can be viewed as a primary energy source that can meet modern, and future, demands concerning clean energy production. However, current limitations in terms of cost, efficiency, and lifetime hamper widespread implementation and use. Nanomaterials either as tubular/fibre/wire constructs, thin films, or nanoparticles can be integrated into various systems that can effectively communicate with our macro – world, and at the same time maintain the unique physical – chemical attributes brought about by quantum confinement. Within this highly integrated sphere of research and development, my research interests lie in the rational design, characterization, and demonstration of robust nano – architectures that can harvest solar energy and utilize the resultant energy transformations in water treatment, hydrocarbon chemistry, and energy production. The unique physical – chemical properties exhibited by various nanostructured systems does allow for some flexibility in application and thus some secondary interests lie within the field of electrochemical energy conversion systems; such as, fuel cells and super capacitors.

Qualifications: PhD. Drexel University, USA

B.Sc. Chemistry, B.Sc. Biology, University

of Tennessee Marti, USA

Home Town/City: Nairobi, Kenya

Hobbies: Politics & Philosophy, Fantasy & Sci-fi

books, Gym, Golf, Martial arts, Cooking

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Fell

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Dr. Nuran Boke

Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMC) exhibit both well – ordered mesoporosity and graphitic character. Because of their regular pore size and pore shape and also large surface area, these materials have great potential in environmental processes. But in some processes, such as adsorption, the material must have some additional specifications such as binding sites. Mercury is a pollutant found in some industrial wastewaters, such as mining industry wastewater. Adsorption is a separation method to remove mercury from contaminated aqueous environments. In this study we prepared a modified OMC (MOMC) which has functional groups for Hg (II) binding and used it in adsorption of Hg (II) from model contaminated aqueous solutions. Lab-synthesized ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC), its modified form (MOMC) and a commercial powdered activated carbon (AC) were examined for their removal efficiencies of mercury (II) and dyes from aqueous solutions by making batch adsorption tests. The ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) was synthesized by using silica SBA-15 template and liquid petroleum gas as the carbon source. Adsorption isotherms for three types of carbons have been obtained at 25°C and an adjusted pH of 5.5. The linearized form of the Freundlich equation fitted well to the experimental data. Lab-synthesized ordered mesoporous carbon materials were found more effective than commercial activated carbon for adsorption of mercury(II). It was determined that OMC is a more efficient adsorbent for adsorption of big dye molecules than AC. Adsorption isotherms fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Adsorption capacities of Methylene blue dye onto OMC and AC was found to be 909.0 and 312.5 mg/g, respectively.

Other research interests include:* The effect of pesticide adsorption on biological denitrification of drinking water.* Natural organic matter removal from drinking water by activated carbon adsorption.* Adsorption of pesticides on carbon sources used in biological denitrification.* Pesticide adsorption on activated carbon.* Removal of nitrate from drinking water by using biologically degradable polymers.

Qualifications: PhD, Ege University, Izmir, TurkeyM.Sc. Chemical Engineering, EUB.Sc. Chemical Engineering, EU

Home Town/City: Izmir, Turkey

Hobbies: Tennis, Hiking, Swimming, Photography,

Archaeology

Title: Mercury(II) and dye removal from Aqueous Solution by Using Modified Ordered Mesoporous Carbon and activated carbon.

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16 17

Dr. Patrick Ndungu

Title: NANO-ARCHITECTURE IN PLATINUM GROUP METALS (PGM)

Energy generation with none or very little impact on the environment is a core part of global research. Within the context of the developing world, especially Africa, this is a critical component to providing feasible and sustainable solutions to poverty eradication, continual economic growth and development, and other socio-economic problems. Solar energy can be viewed as a primary energy source that can meet modern, and future, demands concerning clean energy production. However, current limitations in terms of cost, efficiency, and lifetime hamper widespread implementation and use. Nanomaterials either as tubular/fibre/wire constructs, thin films, or nanoparticles can be integrated into various systems that can effectively communicate with our macro – world, and at the same time maintain the unique physical – chemical attributes brought about by quantum confinement. Within this highly integrated sphere of research and development, my research interests lie in the rational design, characterization, and demonstration of robust nano – architectures that can harvest solar energy and utilize the resultant energy transformations in water treatment, hydrocarbon chemistry, and energy production. The unique physical – chemical properties exhibited by various nanostructured systems does allow for some flexibility in application and thus some secondary interests lie within the field of electrochemical energy conversion systems; such as, fuel cells and super capacitors.

Qualifications: PhD. Drexel University, USA

B.Sc. Chemistry, B.Sc. Biology, University

of Tennessee Marti, USA


Hobbies: Politics & Philosophy, Fantasy & Sci-fi

books, Gym, Golf, Martial arts, Cooking

Post

-Docto

ral

Fell

ows

Dr. Nuran Boke

Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMC) exhibit both well – ordered mesoporosity and graphitic character. Because of their regular pore size and pore shape and also large surface area, these materials have great potential in environmental processes. But in some processes, such as adsorption, the material must have some additional specifications such as binding sites. Mercury is a pollutant found in some industrial wastewaters, such as mining industry wastewater. Adsorption is a separation method to remove mercury from contaminated aqueous environments. In this study we prepared a modified OMC (MOMC) which has functional groups for Hg (II) binding and used it in adsorption of Hg (II) from model contaminated aqueous solutions. Lab-synthesized ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC), its modified form (MOMC) and a commercial powdered activated carbon (AC) were examined for their removal efficiencies of mercury (II) and dyes from aqueous solutions by making batch adsorption tests. The ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) was synthesized by using silica SBA-15 template and liquid petroleum gas as the carbon source. Adsorption isotherms for three types of carbons have been obtained at 25°C and an adjusted pH of 5.5. The linearized form of the Freundlich equation fitted well to the experimental data. Lab-synthesized ordered mesoporous carbon materials were found more effective than commercial activated carbon for adsorption of mercury(II). It was determined that OMC is a more efficient adsorbent for adsorption of big dye molecules than AC. Adsorption isotherms fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Adsorption capacities of Methylene blue dye onto OMC and AC was found to be 909.0 and 312.5 mg/g, respectively.

Other research interests include:* The effect of pesticide adsorption on biological denitrification of drinking water.* Natural organic matter removal from drinking water by activated carbon adsorption.* Adsorption of pesticides on carbon sources used in biological denitrification.* Pesticide adsorption on activated carbon.* Removal of nitrate from drinking water by using biologically degradable polymers.

Qualifications: PhD, Ege University, Izmir, TurkeyM.Sc. Chemical Engineering, EUB.Sc. Chemical Engineering, EU

Home Town/City: Izmir, Turkey

Hobbies: Tennis, Hiking, Swimming, Photography,

Archaeology

Title: Mercury(II) and dye removal from Aqueous Solution by Using Modified Ordered Mesoporous Carbon and activated carbon.

Post

-Docto

ral

Fell

ows

16 17

Coal fly ash is an incombustible material produced in coal fired power stations through the combustion process. Enormous quantities of fly ash are generated annually by burning of low grade coal (sub bituminous) in coal fired power stations in South Africa. Eskom as a power generating company produces about 40 million tonnes of coal fly ash annually. Some conventional alternative applications of coal fly ash exist in cement manufacture, road construction, concrete, land fill, etc. Nevertheless, in spite of the rate at which fresh coal fly ash is used in these applications; huge quantities of this solid waste are stored in ash dump sites. In this manner fly ash constitutes a threat to the environment through the possible release of heavy metals from coal fly ash into the environment. Coal fly ash like other minerals such as volcanic ash also undergoes chemical weathering over time due to chemical interactions with ingressed CO , 2

ingressed O and percolating rain water. More often, chemical weathering leads to the dissolution 2

and precipitation of inherent chemical compounds in coal fly ash due to changes in pH. This study investigates the chemical partitioning and mobility of both major and trace metals in dry disposed fly ash; with a perspective of revealing the effects of chemical alteration and mineralogical transformations on the possible release of metals. The study would further throw light on the effects of chemical weathering on the acid susceptibility of the dry disposed ash; with the major intention of understanding the possible release of inorganic metals over time, and environmental implications when dry disposed fly ash comes in contact with acid rain.

Title: Geochemical and mineralogical evaluation of toxic contaminants mobility in weathered coal fly ash: as a case study, Tutuka ash dump site, South Africa

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Qualifications: M.Sc Applied Geology UWC

B.Sc (Hons) Geology UNAD Ado Ekiti,

Nigeria

Schooling: Mary Hill Boy’s High School, Nigeria

Home Town/City: Ado Ekiti, Nigeria

Hobbies: Music, Football, Swimming, Traveling

Segun Ajayi AkinyemiDr. Alexander Nechaev

Fundamental studies of polyimide (PI) pre-treatment processes in alkali solutions play an important role in technologies related to its application. In recent years our attention has been in investigation of PI property’s changes after ion beam irradiation and latent track etching. During the etching step a special “surface-depth relief” was created on the surface of polyimide. Methods of selective latent track etching in PI are described in literature and have been reproduced. The metallization technique of this PI using chemical electrolysis deposition and electro-deposition of palladium was developed by ENS researchers. In parallel, traditional chemical methods using chemical treatment of PI and Metal nano-nucleus implantation into the substrate have also been improved. This technique is based on the simple wet chemical surface pre-treatment or alkaline etching of the polyimide substrate in order to incorporate silver or palladium ions into a thin depth of the polyimide surface layer by application of thermo- or chemical reduction techniques. Traditional methods for surface morphology study such as AFM, SEM, TEM and ERD are actively applied in our team for material analyses. The combination of the above ion track and nano-technological approaches allow the creation of advanced flexible substrates for a wide range of technological applications. In these technologies it is of importance to understand the role played by the method of polymer etching based on the chemistry of alkaline hydrolysis of PI membranes. The fundamental study of enhanced diffusion process through irradiated and non-irradiated PI can be a useful tool for the optimization of technologies based on polymer hydrolyses. The knowledge of the elemental composition and structure of novel nanostructured composite solids is of utmost importance for materials science and development of new technologies. We have shown successful application of RBS element analysis to study diffusion in PI of selective ion latent track enhancement and to optimize the “surface-depth relief” technology for manufacturing of platinum-group metals containing PI based substrates.

Qualifications: PhD, Moscow University

Home Town/City: Moscow, Russia

Hobbies: Music, Swimming

Title: Ion Beam Track Etching Technologies

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Fell

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18 19

Coal fly ash is an incombustible material produced in coal fired power stations through the combustion process. Enormous quantities of fly ash are generated annually by burning of low grade coal (sub bituminous) in coal fired power stations in South Africa. Eskom as a power generating company produces about 40 million tonnes of coal fly ash annually. Some conventional alternative applications of coal fly ash exist in cement manufacture, road construction, concrete, land fill, etc. Nevertheless, in spite of the rate at which fresh coal fly ash is used in these applications; huge quantities of this solid waste are stored in ash dump sites. In this manner fly ash constitutes a threat to the environment through the possible release of heavy metals from coal fly ash into the environment. Coal fly ash like other minerals such as volcanic ash also undergoes chemical weathering over time due to chemical interactions with ingressed CO , 2

ingressed O and percolating rain water. More often, chemical weathering leads to the dissolution 2

and precipitation of inherent chemical compounds in coal fly ash due to changes in pH. This study investigates the chemical partitioning and mobility of both major and trace metals in dry disposed fly ash; with a perspective of revealing the effects of chemical alteration and mineralogical transformations on the possible release of metals. The study would further throw light on the effects of chemical weathering on the acid susceptibility of the dry disposed ash; with the major intention of understanding the possible release of inorganic metals over time, and environmental implications when dry disposed fly ash comes in contact with acid rain.

Title: Geochemical and mineralogical evaluation of toxic contaminants mobility in weathered coal fly ash: as a case study, Tutuka ash dump site, South Africa

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Qualifications: M.Sc Applied Geology UWC

B.Sc (Hons) Geology UNAD Ado Ekiti,

Nigeria

Schooling: Mary Hill Boy’s High School, Nigeria

Home Town/City: Ado Ekiti, Nigeria

Hobbies: Music, Football, Swimming, Traveling

Segun Ajayi AkinyemiDr. Alexander Nechaev

Fundamental studies of polyimide (PI) pre-treatment processes in alkali solutions play an important role in technologies related to its application. In recent years our attention has been in investigation of PI property’s changes after ion beam irradiation and latent track etching. During the etching step a special “surface-depth relief” was created on the surface of polyimide. Methods of selective latent track etching in PI are described in literature and have been reproduced. The metallization technique of this PI using chemical electrolysis deposition and electro-deposition of palladium was developed by ENS researchers. In parallel, traditional chemical methods using chemical treatment of PI and Metal nano-nucleus implantation into the substrate have also been improved. This technique is based on the simple wet chemical surface pre-treatment or alkaline etching of the polyimide substrate in order to incorporate silver or palladium ions into a thin depth of the polyimide surface layer by application of thermo- or chemical reduction techniques. Traditional methods for surface morphology study such as AFM, SEM, TEM and ERD are actively applied in our team for material analyses. The combination of the above ion track and nano-technological approaches allow the creation of advanced flexible substrates for a wide range of technological applications. In these technologies it is of importance to understand the role played by the method of polymer etching based on the chemistry of alkaline hydrolysis of PI membranes. The fundamental study of enhanced diffusion process through irradiated and non-irradiated PI can be a useful tool for the optimization of technologies based on polymer hydrolyses. The knowledge of the elemental composition and structure of novel nanostructured composite solids is of utmost importance for materials science and development of new technologies. We have shown successful application of RBS element analysis to study diffusion in PI of selective ion latent track enhancement and to optimize the “surface-depth relief” technology for manufacturing of platinum-group metals containing PI based substrates.

Qualifications: PhD, Moscow University

Home Town/City: Moscow, Russia

Hobbies: Music, Swimming

Title: Ion Beam Track Etching Technologies

Post

-Docto

ral

Fell

ows

18 19

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Omotola Babajide

Title: The Optimization of Biodiesel Production via Different Catalytic and System Processes.

Biodiesel has attracted increasing interest and has proved to be a good substitute for fossil-based fuels due to its environmental advantages and availability from renewable resources such as refined and waste vegetable oils. Several studies have shown that biodiesel is a better fuel than the fossil-derived diesel in terms of engine performance, emissions reduction, lubricity and environmental benefits. The increasing popularity of biodiesel has generated great demand for its commercial production methods, which in turn calls for the development of technically and economically sound process technologies. This study explores the applicability of ultrasound in the optimization of low-cost feedstocks – in this case waste cooking oil – in the trans-esterification conversion to biodiesel. Suitable heterogeneous catalysts will be synthesized and characterized using. BET, XRD, XRF, TGA, SEM and HRTEM. Catalytic screening of catalysts identified above and different functionalized mesoporous catalysts will be used in the trans-esterification reaction. The determination of the effect of different reaction conditions on the rate of FAME conversion and yield. i.e. reaction temperature, methanol: oil ratio, reaction time and catalyst concentration is ongoing and conversion of the glycerol by-product to GTBE which is a mixture of mono-, di- and tri- alkyl glycerol ethers via the catalytic reaction of glycerol and isobutene will be evaluated. Molecular spectroscopic measurements to characterize synthesized glycerol ethers and polyglycerol will be performed. It was found that the conversion efficiency of the waste oil using ultrasound was higher than with the mechanical stirring method. The optimized variables of 6:1 methanol/oil ratio at a reaction temperature of 30 °C and a reaction time of 30 min and 0.75% KOH (wt/wt) catalyst concentration was obtained for the trans-esterification of the waste oil via the use of ultrasound.

Qualifications: B.Sc. ED (Chemistry) OAU

M.Sc. Chemistry (Industrial)

University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Home Country: Nigeria

Hobbies: Teaching

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

John Alegbe

South African government policy has prompted research on how acid mine drainage (AMD) water can be treated with nano-iron particles to obtain a clean drinkable and usable water for both domestic and industrial purposes. Consideration of minimal environmental pollution or zero waste discharge or disposal into the surrounding rivers at the minimum cost is necessary for industries who mine mineral resources in our country. The nano-iron particles will be extracted from dry raw coal fly ash samples obtained from Hendrina, Kriel, Mathla, Secunda and Tutuka power generation stations, or from acid mine drainage (AMD) water or by chemical synthesis in the laboratory. The raw fly ash, extracted fly ash nano-iron and synthesized nano-iron particles would be characterized and compared with commercial (standard) nano iron particles using BET, TEM, SEM-EDX, XRD and XRF to know the mineral composition before treatment of the AMD waters. Prior to treatment of the AMD water its physiochemical properties will be analysed using physicochemical methods such as pH, EC, TDS, acidity, alkalinity, AAS, ICP-MS and IC to determine its elemental composition which will be compared with nano-iron particles treated AMD water to determine the effectiveness of the nano-iron particles. Absorption studies will be conducted on the mine water samples with the nano particles using column methods. The extracted coal fly ash nano-iron particles, used fly ash particles, AMD nano-iron particles, chemically synthesized and standard nano-iron particles will be characterized using BET, TEM, SEM-MS, XRD and XRF to observe the absorption rate and type of minerals absorbed on the nano-iron particles from different sources. Physicochemical properties, AAS, ICP-MS and IC of the treated water will be analysed. The synthesized, commercial and extracted nano-iron particles treatment would be compared to assess the most efficient way to purify the water. Statistical analysis will be used to analyse all data generated from the experiments conducted. In conclusion one will be able to ascertain the most polluted mining site, the effectiveness of the water treatment and how to treat the water with nano particles before it is discharged into the environment.

Qualifications: M.Sc.


Title: Nano-Iron Application for Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage Water

20 21

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Omotola Babajide

Title: The Optimization of Biodiesel Production via Different Catalytic and System Processes.

Biodiesel has attracted increasing interest and has proved to be a good substitute for fossil-based fuels due to its environmental advantages and availability from renewable resources such as refined and waste vegetable oils. Several studies have shown that biodiesel is a better fuel than the fossil-derived diesel in terms of engine performance, emissions reduction, lubricity and environmental benefits. The increasing popularity of biodiesel has generated great demand for its commercial production methods, which in turn calls for the development of technically and economically sound process technologies. This study explores the applicability of ultrasound in the optimization of low-cost feedstocks – in this case waste cooking oil – in the trans-esterification conversion to biodiesel. Suitable heterogeneous catalysts will be synthesized and characterized using. BET, XRD, XRF, TGA, SEM and HRTEM. Catalytic screening of catalysts identified above and different functionalized mesoporous catalysts will be used in the trans-esterification reaction. The determination of the effect of different reaction conditions on the rate of FAME conversion and yield. i.e. reaction temperature, methanol: oil ratio, reaction time and catalyst concentration is ongoing and conversion of the glycerol by-product to GTBE which is a mixture of mono-, di- and tri- alkyl glycerol ethers via the catalytic reaction of glycerol and isobutene will be evaluated. Molecular spectroscopic measurements to characterize synthesized glycerol ethers and polyglycerol will be performed. It was found that the conversion efficiency of the waste oil using ultrasound was higher than with the mechanical stirring method. The optimized variables of 6:1 methanol/oil ratio at a reaction temperature of 30 °C and a reaction time of 30 min and 0.75% KOH (wt/wt) catalyst concentration was obtained for the trans-esterification of the waste oil via the use of ultrasound.

Qualifications: B.Sc. ED (Chemistry) OAU

M.Sc. Chemistry (Industrial)

University of Ibadan, Nigeria


Hobbies: Teaching

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

John Alegbe

South African government policy has prompted research on how acid mine drainage (AMD) water can be treated with nano-iron particles to obtain a clean drinkable and usable water for both domestic and industrial purposes. Consideration of minimal environmental pollution or zero waste discharge or disposal into the surrounding rivers at the minimum cost is necessary for industries who mine mineral resources in our country. The nano-iron particles will be extracted from dry raw coal fly ash samples obtained from Hendrina, Kriel, Mathla, Secunda and Tutuka power generation stations, or from acid mine drainage (AMD) water or by chemical synthesis in the laboratory. The raw fly ash, extracted fly ash nano-iron and synthesized nano-iron particles would be characterized and compared with commercial (standard) nano iron particles using BET, TEM, SEM-EDX, XRD and XRF to know the mineral composition before treatment of the AMD waters. Prior to treatment of the AMD water its physiochemical properties will be analysed using physicochemical methods such as pH, EC, TDS, acidity, alkalinity, AAS, ICP-MS and IC to determine its elemental composition which will be compared with nano-iron particles treated AMD water to determine the effectiveness of the nano-iron particles. Absorption studies will be conducted on the mine water samples with the nano particles using column methods. The extracted coal fly ash nano-iron particles, used fly ash particles, AMD nano-iron particles, chemically synthesized and standard nano-iron particles will be characterized using BET, TEM, SEM-MS, XRD and XRF to observe the absorption rate and type of minerals absorbed on the nano-iron particles from different sources. Physicochemical properties, AAS, ICP-MS and IC of the treated water will be analysed. The synthesized, commercial and extracted nano-iron particles treatment would be compared to assess the most efficient way to purify the water. Statistical analysis will be used to analyse all data generated from the experiments conducted. In conclusion one will be able to ascertain the most polluted mining site, the effectiveness of the water treatment and how to treat the water with nano particles before it is discharged into the environment.

Qualifications: M.Sc.


Title: Nano-Iron Application for Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage Water

20 21

Title: Chemical Interactions and Mobility of Species in Fly Ash-Brine Co-Disposal Systems

This research focuses on the interaction chemistry and mobility of species when South African fly ashes are co-disposed with brine solution. The study aims to provide a detailed insight into the leaching and removal of major and trace elements when fly ash and brine interact as a result of co-disposal, to understand the geochemical factors controlling the removal or the release of species during the fly ash-brine interactions, to assess the possibility of using South African fly ash as sustainable salt sink for brine, and to determine the environmental implications of co-disposing fly ash and brine. Several experimental and analytical techniques were employed to achieve the aims and objectives of this study. Standard experimental methods such as batch reaction tests, total acid digestion tests, acid neutralization capacity (ANC) tests, sequential extraction tests and up-flow percolation tests (column tests) were used. The geochemical modelling software, PHREEQC, was applied to predict the formation of secondary mineral phases controlling the release of species in the fly ash-brine systems. Analytical techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersion spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and ion chromatography (IC) were applied to characterize the fresh fly ashes, solid residues recovered from the fly ash-brine interaction tests, the brine sample used in this study and the leachate samples in order to determine the chemical and mineralogical compositions and speciation of the waste materials.

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Qualifications: M.Sc. Chemistry, UWC

B.Sc. Chemistry, UWC

Schooling: Methodist Primary Scool, Egbe Ekiti,

Nigeria

Home Town/City: Egbe Ekiti, Nigeria

Olanrewaju Fatoba

The development and synthesis of new water soluble ligands that will selectively extract metal ions from waste water that are produced in the mining industry is the main objective. These ligands must be immobilized on commercial, insoluble supports. These supports are Si-gel, HMS, SBA-15 and MCM41 (supplied by UWC). The last aspect is the recovery of the metal ions from the immobilized ligands, by varying the pH.BET studies were carried out on the different supports to determine the surface areas, the pore volumes and the pore diameters. This will give an indication of the amount of ligand that can be immobilised on the support as well as whether the ligand will be on the surface or in the pores of the support. We have successfully synthesized and characterized 2 novel, highly selective aza macrocyclic ligands with pendant arms. These 2 ligands as well as 2 amino-crown ethers have also been successfully immobilized (in 2 different ways) on the four different Si-supports. FTIR studies have been carried out to confirm our results and these results have been confirmed by solid state NMR studies. Thermal studies were conducted to determine the thermal stabilities of the immobilised ligands. All the immobilised ligands are stable at temperatures up to approximately 250º C. From the SEM images, some changes in the surfaces of the supports were visible after the ligands were immobilized but the results are not conclusive and need more attention. The metal extractions were done at a pH of 4.5 and the results were obtained by ICP analysis. The results showed that, at this pH, the extraction of the metal ions is very weak. A very significant result that was obtained is that the extraction capabilities of the ligands increased significantly when introducing a spacer between the ligand and the support. There is a difference in the extraction capabilities of the same ligand when it is immobilised on the various supports. HMS for instance has the worst results for all ligands while 60 Å Si gel showed the better results in certain respects. Currently experiments are being done at a pH of 5.9 to see whether an increase in the extraction of the metal ions can be achieved.

Qualifications: M.Sc. Chemistry

B.Sc. (Hons) Industrial Chemistry,

University of Stellenbosch

Home Town/City: Rawsonville, South Africa

Hobbies: Horse riding, Hiking,Sailing, Woodwork,

Singing opera, Playing the trumpet

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Synthesis of highly selective crown-based ligands, immobilized on porous Si-support surfaces for

+ + + +the selective extraction of Cr6 , As3 , Sr2 , Cd2 , + +Hg2 and U3

Bertie Barnard

22 23

Title: Chemical Interactions and Mobility of Species in Fly Ash-Brine Co-Disposal Systems

This research focuses on the interaction chemistry and mobility of species when South African fly ashes are co-disposed with brine solution. The study aims to provide a detailed insight into the leaching and removal of major and trace elements when fly ash and brine interact as a result of co-disposal, to understand the geochemical factors controlling the removal or the release of species during the fly ash-brine interactions, to assess the possibility of using South African fly ash as sustainable salt sink for brine, and to determine the environmental implications of co-disposing fly ash and brine. Several experimental and analytical techniques were employed to achieve the aims and objectives of this study. Standard experimental methods such as batch reaction tests, total acid digestion tests, acid neutralization capacity (ANC) tests, sequential extraction tests and up-flow percolation tests (column tests) were used. The geochemical modelling software, PHREEQC, was applied to predict the formation of secondary mineral phases controlling the release of species in the fly ash-brine systems. Analytical techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersion spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and ion chromatography (IC) were applied to characterize the fresh fly ashes, solid residues recovered from the fly ash-brine interaction tests, the brine sample used in this study and the leachate samples in order to determine the chemical and mineralogical compositions and speciation of the waste materials.

Docto

ral

Stu

dents


B.Sc. Chemistry, UWC

Schooling: Methodist Primary Scool, Egbe Ekiti,

Nigeria

Home Town/City: Egbe Ekiti, Nigeria

Olanrewaju Fatoba

The development and synthesis of new water soluble ligands that will selectively extract metal ions from waste water that are produced in the mining industry is the main objective. These ligands must be immobilized on commercial, insoluble supports. These supports are Si-gel, HMS, SBA-15 and MCM41 (supplied by UWC). The last aspect is the recovery of the metal ions from the immobilized ligands, by varying the pH.BET studies were carried out on the different supports to determine the surface areas, the pore volumes and the pore diameters. This will give an indication of the amount of ligand that can be immobilised on the support as well as whether the ligand will be on the surface or in the pores of the support. We have successfully synthesized and characterized 2 novel, highly selective aza macrocyclic ligands with pendant arms. These 2 ligands as well as 2 amino-crown ethers have also been successfully immobilized (in 2 different ways) on the four different Si-supports. FTIR studies have been carried out to confirm our results and these results have been confirmed by solid state NMR studies. Thermal studies were conducted to determine the thermal stabilities of the immobilised ligands. All the immobilised ligands are stable at temperatures up to approximately 250º C. From the SEM images, some changes in the surfaces of the supports were visible after the ligands were immobilized but the results are not conclusive and need more attention. The metal extractions were done at a pH of 4.5 and the results were obtained by ICP analysis. The results showed that, at this pH, the extraction of the metal ions is very weak. A very significant result that was obtained is that the extraction capabilities of the ligands increased significantly when introducing a spacer between the ligand and the support. There is a difference in the extraction capabilities of the same ligand when it is immobilised on the various supports. HMS for instance has the worst results for all ligands while 60 Å Si gel showed the better results in certain respects. Currently experiments are being done at a pH of 5.9 to see whether an increase in the extraction of the metal ions can be achieved.

Qualifications: M.Sc. Chemistry

B.Sc. (Hons) Industrial Chemistry,

University of Stellenbosch

Home Town/City: Rawsonville, South Africa

Hobbies: Horse riding, Hiking,Sailing, Woodwork,

Singing opera, Playing the trumpet

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Synthesis of highly selective crown-based ligands, immobilized on porous Si-support surfaces for

+ + + +the selective extraction of Cr6 , As3 , Sr2 , Cd2 , + +Hg2 and U3

Bertie Barnard

22 23

Title: Treatment of Mine Water from South African Coal Mines using Coal Fly Ash Upscale Studies.

South Africa, especially in Gauteng, is faced with the problem of mine water rising at an alarming rate. Cheap ways of treating mine water are needed to prevent the streets of Johannesburg from being flooded with acid mine drainage. The feasibility of this project may result in making mine water potable, thereby reducing the shortage of drinking water to the South African population. The aim of is project is to find ways of reducing the amount fly ash (FA) that can be used to treat neutral mine water (NMW), in order to make the method industrially feasible.

Removal of sulphates, Fe, Al, Mg and Mn when NMD and AMD were treated with coal FA was found to be pH dependent. About 16 % of sulphates were removed when NMD was treated with FA to pH 10 and 71 % of sulphates was removed when pH was increased beyond 10. In case of AMD 80 % of sulphates were removed when the pH was raised to 10 and 90 % was removed when pH of AMD was raised to greater 10. Presence of Fe and Al in AMD enhanced sulphate removal through precipitation of Fe and Al oxyhydroxysulphates. If the mine water pH was raised to greater than 6, 8, 9 and 11 it was found that approximately 100 % of Al, Fe, Mn and Mg were removed respectively. The mineral phases that were responsible for sulphate removal were found to be alunite, anhydrite, barite, basaluminite, jurbanite, jarosite-ss, jarosite-K, jarosite-Na, jarosite-H, celestite and gypsum. Iron was found to be precipitating in the form of Fe(OH) .7Cl , 2 0.3

amorphous Fe(OH) , Fe (OH) , goethite, hematite, maghematite, magenetite, jarosite(ss) , jarosite-3 3 8

K, jarosite-Na and jarosite-H, while Al was found to be precipitating out as amorphous Al(OH) , 3

alunite , basaluminite, boehmite, diaspore, ettringite, jurbanite and gibbsite. Mg was found to removed as brucite and Mn was found to removed as birnessite, bixbyite, hausamannite, manganite, nsutite, pyrochroite and pyrolusite.

Currently we are trying to study the effect of impinging and cavitation in order to leach more lime from fly ash to precipitate sulphates as gypsum and ettringite.

Docto

ral

Stu

dents


B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry, University of

Zimbabwe

Schooling: Harare High School

Home Town/City: Harare

Hobbies: Music, Football, Reading and Traveling.

Godfrey Madzivire

Adsorbents are widely used for water treatment due to their higher output and lower costs. Among current adsorbents, activated carbons are used in different industries as water purifiers. This is due to their highly developed internal surface area and porosity. The development of micro- and mesopores is of great importance because it allows the carbon to adsorb atoms or molecules of different sizes. Difference in pore size does not only lead to various molecular sieving effects, but to a wide range of characteristic chemical phenomena occurring within the pores. To discover chemically interesting phenomena specific to a particular pore size, ordered porous materials are needed, which have a defined pore size and a well developed porous structure.

The complexity of the carbon structure prevents use of the conventional activation process for preparing carbon materials with strictly controlled or uniform pore structure, although voluminous research has been done and great effort has been made toward the control of pore size and its distribution. The recent development of industrial technology requires that carbon should have desired pore structure for new application fields. For adsorption on a solid surface carbon as an adsorbent for water treatment, the carbon material should have mesoporous framework.

Studies have been conducted on environmental applications of ordered mesoporous silica (OMSi) materials as adsorbents for water treatment. These materials have several defects in spite of their advantages. One of the major disadvantages of ordered mesoporous silica is the instability of the mesoporous structure under hydrothermal conditions, such as boiling water. Fragility in water provokes a doubt about their durability in practical application.

The focus of the study was to develop highly stable, ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials from OMSi templates and functionalize these materials for effective removal of inorganic mercury

+(Hg ) from water. The determination of surface properties of ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) 2

materials using acidic, neutral and basic organic dyes may give special insight.


B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry

B.Sc. Chemistry and Biochemistry

Schooling: Fezeka High School, Cape Town


Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Synthesis of Nanostructured Adsorbents or Mercury Removal from Waste Water.

Ziboneni Godongwana

24 25

Title: Treatment of Mine Water from South African Coal Mines using Coal Fly Ash Upscale Studies.

South Africa, especially in Gauteng, is faced with the problem of mine water rising at an alarming rate. Cheap ways of treating mine water are needed to prevent the streets of Johannesburg from being flooded with acid mine drainage. The feasibility of this project may result in making mine water potable, thereby reducing the shortage of drinking water to the South African population. The aim of is project is to find ways of reducing the amount fly ash (FA) that can be used to treat neutral mine water (NMW), in order to make the method industrially feasible.

Removal of sulphates, Fe, Al, Mg and Mn when NMD and AMD were treated with coal FA was found to be pH dependent. About 16 % of sulphates were removed when NMD was treated with FA to pH 10 and 71 % of sulphates was removed when pH was increased beyond 10. In case of AMD 80 % of sulphates were removed when the pH was raised to 10 and 90 % was removed when pH of AMD was raised to greater 10. Presence of Fe and Al in AMD enhanced sulphate removal through precipitation of Fe and Al oxyhydroxysulphates. If the mine water pH was raised to greater than 6, 8, 9 and 11 it was found that approximately 100 % of Al, Fe, Mn and Mg were removed respectively. The mineral phases that were responsible for sulphate removal were found to be alunite, anhydrite, barite, basaluminite, jurbanite, jarosite-ss, jarosite-K, jarosite-Na, jarosite-H, celestite and gypsum. Iron was found to be precipitating in the form of Fe(OH) .7Cl , 2 0.3

amorphous Fe(OH) , Fe (OH) , goethite, hematite, maghematite, magenetite, jarosite(ss) , jarosite-3 3 8

K, jarosite-Na and jarosite-H, while Al was found to be precipitating out as amorphous Al(OH) , 3

alunite , basaluminite, boehmite, diaspore, ettringite, jurbanite and gibbsite. Mg was found to removed as brucite and Mn was found to removed as birnessite, bixbyite, hausamannite, manganite, nsutite, pyrochroite and pyrolusite.

Currently we are trying to study the effect of impinging and cavitation in order to leach more lime from fly ash to precipitate sulphates as gypsum and ettringite.

Docto

ral

Stu

dents



Zimbabwe

Schooling: Harare High School

Home Town/City: Harare

Hobbies: Music, Football, Reading and Traveling.

Godfrey Madzivire

Adsorbents are widely used for water treatment due to their higher output and lower costs. Among current adsorbents, activated carbons are used in different industries as water purifiers. This is due to their highly developed internal surface area and porosity. The development of micro- and mesopores is of great importance because it allows the carbon to adsorb atoms or molecules of different sizes. Difference in pore size does not only lead to various molecular sieving effects, but to a wide range of characteristic chemical phenomena occurring within the pores. To discover chemically interesting phenomena specific to a particular pore size, ordered porous materials are needed, which have a defined pore size and a well developed porous structure.

The complexity of the carbon structure prevents use of the conventional activation process for preparing carbon materials with strictly controlled or uniform pore structure, although voluminous research has been done and great effort has been made toward the control of pore size and its distribution. The recent development of industrial technology requires that carbon should have desired pore structure for new application fields. For adsorption on a solid surface carbon as an adsorbent for water treatment, the carbon material should have mesoporous framework.

Studies have been conducted on environmental applications of ordered mesoporous silica (OMSi) materials as adsorbents for water treatment. These materials have several defects in spite of their advantages. One of the major disadvantages of ordered mesoporous silica is the instability of the mesoporous structure under hydrothermal conditions, such as boiling water. Fragility in water provokes a doubt about their durability in practical application.

The focus of the study was to develop highly stable, ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials from OMSi templates and functionalize these materials for effective removal of inorganic mercury

+(Hg ) from water. The determination of surface properties of ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) 2

materials using acidic, neutral and basic organic dyes may give special insight.


B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry

B.Sc. Chemistry and Biochemistry

Schooling: Fezeka High School, Cape Town


Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Synthesis of Nanostructured Adsorbents or Mercury Removal from Waste Water.

Ziboneni Godongwana

24 25

Nicholas Mulei Musyoka

Title: Ultrasonic Assisted Synthesis of Micro and Mesoporous Materials from Coal Fly Ash.

The synthesis of zeolites and mesoporous materials from coal fly ash is still an active research area and is receiving increasing attention in academia and industry. Limited research has been conducted to address the alternatives for shortcomings of hydrothermal synthetic approaches. Some of the challenges that need to be addressed are such as high consumption of energy and prolonged synthesis time. This research will concentrate on application of ultrasound as a substitute for hydrothermal synthesis of preferably larger pore zeolites and some important mesoporous materials from coal fly ash. Ultrasonication enables achievement of reactions under normal conditions, which otherwise would require harsh reaction conditions. Some of the zeolites of interest will be; zeolite A, X, Y and ZSM-5 because out of the 24 different types of zeolites that have been synthesized from fly ash, they are among the most valuable. As for the mesoporous materials, the interest will be more on Al-MCM-41 and SBA-15.

This project will be divided into three main sections. The first section will involve the application of ultrasonic energy during the ageing and crystallization step. Some of the variables that will be investigated include: effect of ultrasound intensity, power, frequency, horn immersion depth and tip size, volume of ultrasonicated solution and sonication duration.

Section two will focus on application of different organic template molecules to synthesize commercially important zeolites and mesoporous structures from coal fly ash. Silica which will be extracted from other cheaper natural sources such as natural zeolites, clays and from the pyrolysis of agricultural wastes such as maize stalks will also be used.

Lastly, section three will involve application of the synthesized products in water treatment and/or carbon dioxide adsorption. The economic and environmental benefits associated with sono-crystallization as well as the use of cheap silica sources is expected to trigger research interest further from the bench scale level.

Docto

ral

Stu

dents



Nairobi, Kenya


Hobbies: Traveling, interaction with knowledgeable

people

Coal combustion leads to the emission of CO , a major ‘green house’ gas and contributor to 2

climate change. South Africa, being an energy intensive developing nation with 95 % of electric power coming from coal combustion, has the highest carbon emissions on the continent. For coal combustion to be environmentally benign, proper disposal mechanisms of the solid (fly ash, bottom ash & flue gas desulphurization [FGD]), liquid (brine), and gaseous wastes (CO , SO & 2 2

NOx) need to be sought. Brine is used to either slurry the ash before disposal or quenching the ash at the disposal site for dust control. SO emissions are no longer a major problem due to the wide 2

acceptability and application of flue gas desulphurization while selective catalytic reduction (SRC) technology has been proven effective in NOx reduction. Current technology in application for carbon capture is energy intensive and costly. Fly ash, a by-product of coal combustion collected via bag filters is a major resource that can be used for synthesis of hydrotalcites for use as adsorbents of CO from flue gas. 2

In my M.Sc. project on CO sequestration using brine impacted fly ash, it was proved that fly ash/ 2

brine mixture can sequester CO and clean the brine effluents. Fabrication of carbon adsorbents 2

specifically hydrotalcites from waste fly ash will reduce the cost of capture as well as reduce the disposal cost of fly ash (FA). Since CO is an acidic gas, basic adsorbents such as hydrotalcites 2

are expected to be suitable sorbents. The memory effect of hydrotalcites ensures easy regeneration by simply putting them into solution. This allows for modification by interchange of the interlayer anion, a phenomena that can be optimized for CO adsorption. From literature, 2

hydrotalcites have been observed to be robust at high temperatures; moreover the Ca containing hydrotalcites have higher selectivity for CO than NOx hence being superior to zeolites and 2

activated carbon. Synthesis of hydrotalcites from FA would serve a suite of purposes; benign application of coal combustion by-product, reduction of disposal costs for FA, and reduction in gas emission penalties hence a more sustainable utilization of coal for energy production.



Nairobi, Kenya

Home Town/City: Central Province, Kenya

Activities: Athletics, Freedom from Hunger

Movement

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Investigating the Feasibility of Synthesizing Hydrotalcites from Fly Ash for Use in CO Capture.2

Grace Muriithi

26 27

Nicholas Mulei Musyoka

Title: Ultrasonic Assisted Synthesis of Micro and Mesoporous Materials from Coal Fly Ash.

The synthesis of zeolites and mesoporous materials from coal fly ash is still an active research area and is receiving increasing attention in academia and industry. Limited research has been conducted to address the alternatives for shortcomings of hydrothermal synthetic approaches. Some of the challenges that need to be addressed are such as high consumption of energy and prolonged synthesis time. This research will concentrate on application of ultrasound as a substitute for hydrothermal synthesis of preferably larger pore zeolites and some important mesoporous materials from coal fly ash. Ultrasonication enables achievement of reactions under normal conditions, which otherwise would require harsh reaction conditions. Some of the zeolites of interest will be; zeolite A, X, Y and ZSM-5 because out of the 24 different types of zeolites that have been synthesized from fly ash, they are among the most valuable. As for the mesoporous materials, the interest will be more on Al-MCM-41 and SBA-15.

This project will be divided into three main sections. The first section will involve the application of ultrasonic energy during the ageing and crystallization step. Some of the variables that will be investigated include: effect of ultrasound intensity, power, frequency, horn immersion depth and tip size, volume of ultrasonicated solution and sonication duration.

Section two will focus on application of different organic template molecules to synthesize commercially important zeolites and mesoporous structures from coal fly ash. Silica which will be extracted from other cheaper natural sources such as natural zeolites, clays and from the pyrolysis of agricultural wastes such as maize stalks will also be used.

Lastly, section three will involve application of the synthesized products in water treatment and/or carbon dioxide adsorption. The economic and environmental benefits associated with sono-crystallization as well as the use of cheap silica sources is expected to trigger research interest further from the bench scale level.

Docto

ral

Stu

dents



Nairobi, Kenya


Hobbies: Traveling, interaction with knowledgeable

people

Coal combustion leads to the emission of CO , a major ‘green house’ gas and contributor to 2

climate change. South Africa, being an energy intensive developing nation with 95 % of electric power coming from coal combustion, has the highest carbon emissions on the continent. For coal combustion to be environmentally benign, proper disposal mechanisms of the solid (fly ash, bottom ash & flue gas desulphurization [FGD]), liquid (brine), and gaseous wastes (CO , SO & 2 2

NOx) need to be sought. Brine is used to either slurry the ash before disposal or quenching the ash at the disposal site for dust control. SO emissions are no longer a major problem due to the wide 2

acceptability and application of flue gas desulphurization while selective catalytic reduction (SRC) technology has been proven effective in NOx reduction. Current technology in application for carbon capture is energy intensive and costly. Fly ash, a by-product of coal combustion collected via bag filters is a major resource that can be used for synthesis of hydrotalcites for use as adsorbents of CO from flue gas. 2

In my M.Sc. project on CO sequestration using brine impacted fly ash, it was proved that fly ash/ 2

brine mixture can sequester CO and clean the brine effluents. Fabrication of carbon adsorbents 2

specifically hydrotalcites from waste fly ash will reduce the cost of capture as well as reduce the disposal cost of fly ash (FA). Since CO is an acidic gas, basic adsorbents such as hydrotalcites 2

are expected to be suitable sorbents. The memory effect of hydrotalcites ensures easy regeneration by simply putting them into solution. This allows for modification by interchange of the interlayer anion, a phenomena that can be optimized for CO adsorption. From literature, 2

hydrotalcites have been observed to be robust at high temperatures; moreover the Ca containing hydrotalcites have higher selectivity for CO than NOx hence being superior to zeolites and 2

activated carbon. Synthesis of hydrotalcites from FA would serve a suite of purposes; benign application of coal combustion by-product, reduction of disposal costs for FA, and reduction in gas emission penalties hence a more sustainable utilization of coal for energy production.



Nairobi, Kenya

Home Town/City: Central Province, Kenya

Activities: Athletics, Freedom from Hunger

Movement

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Investigating the Feasibility of Synthesizing Hydrotalcites from Fly Ash for Use in CO Capture.2

Grace Muriithi

26 27

TITLE: ADVANCED OXIDATIVE WATER TREATMENT PROCESS USING AN ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC DISCHARGE REACTOR AND NANO TIO2 IMMOBILIZED ON NANO-FIBRES

Over the last decade advanced oxidation process (AOP) has gained interest as one of the alternatives to conventional water treatment processes due to its high effectiveness, low-cost and environmental benefits. Electro-hydraulic discharges, a type of AOP, utilizes an electrical discharge to produce UV light and highly reactive radicals (OH•, H•, O•) and molecular species (H O , H , 2 2 2

O ) directly in the liquid phase which can target and attack the contaminants in the drinking water. 3

Electro-hydraulic discharges have been studied for several years; however the integration of innovations in nanoscience and nanotechnology have been incorporated into this area of work on a very limited scale.

The focus of this project was to design and to build an electro-hydraulic discharge reactor “ROUPPLA” consisting of high voltage multi-unit electrode across the water flow path and ground electrodes connected to the contaminant water. Milestones covered in the research activities include optimisation of the reactor configuration using copper wire electrodes, incorporation of nano TiO immobilized on nanofibres of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) using electro-spinning technique 2

and replacement of the conventional copper with nano wire electrodes, in order to promote the production of the active species as a cocktail which offers a powerful water disinfection treatment system. Characterization was performed by means of XRD, FT-IR, BET, XPS, UV spectroscopy, NMR, LC-MS and microorganism destruction rates. The pollutant models used are: methylene blue (MB), rhodamine blue (RB), acid orange (AO) and E. coli.

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Qualifications: M.Sc. Chemistry, UWCB.Sc. Chemistry, University Pedagogic National, DRC

Schooling: Elykia College, Kinshasa, DRC

Home Town/City: Lubefu, DRC

Hobbies: Reading, Watching TV, Preaching

Gauthier Okolongo

Platinum nanophase catalysts play vital roles in hydrogen production and many chemical production processes. Beneficiation of platinum and platinum group metals (PGM) holds great promise. PGM metals have unique properties, such as biocompatibility, high melting temperature, good conductivity and electronic and catalytic properties. Also, South Africa holds about 88% of the total known of platinum reserves. All these properties have been used in a bewildering variety of applications. However, the main obstacles for PGM catalysts are low kinetics, low efficiency, and high cost. To enhance catalytic performance, stability, durability and reduce operational costs of platinum electrocatalysts, advanced electro-catalyst design relying on the bi-functional mechanism, and using hybrid support carbon materials has been proposed. Also, the deposition of precious metals either chemically or electrochemically plays an important role in the development of technologies where these metals are used. In recent years, methodological development for Pt-based catalyst preparation has been one of the major topics of catalyst explorations.

My PhD work is based on efforts to develop a simple one step chemical vapour deposition method to produce heterogeneous platinum group catalysts with improving activities and reduce the cost. The current study leading to PhD will seek a deeper understanding of the (1) development of the OMCVD method for producing PGM catalysts; (2) improvement of the functionality of the catalyst by Pt-alloying and (3) the catalyst/support interaction by high dispersion of the catalyst on carbon nanotube supports and composite nanostructured supports for (4) hydrogen production or other electrocatalytic processes.


B.Sc. Chemical Engineering, Guangxi

University of Technology, China

Home Town/City: Guanxi Region, China

Hobbies: Music, Movie, Traveling, Internet

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Synthesis of Platinum Group Metal Catalysts with the Developed Chemical vapour Deposition Method

Qi-Ling Naidoo

28 29

TITLE: ADVANCED OXIDATIVE WATER TREATMENT PROCESS USING AN ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC DISCHARGE REACTOR AND NANO TIO2 IMMOBILIZED ON NANO-FIBRES

Over the last decade advanced oxidation process (AOP) has gained interest as one of the alternatives to conventional water treatment processes due to its high effectiveness, low-cost and environmental benefits. Electro-hydraulic discharges, a type of AOP, utilizes an electrical discharge to produce UV light and highly reactive radicals (OH•, H•, O•) and molecular species (H O , H , 2 2 2

O ) directly in the liquid phase which can target and attack the contaminants in the drinking water. 3

Electro-hydraulic discharges have been studied for several years; however the integration of innovations in nanoscience and nanotechnology have been incorporated into this area of work on a very limited scale.

The focus of this project was to design and to build an electro-hydraulic discharge reactor “ROUPPLA” consisting of high voltage multi-unit electrode across the water flow path and ground electrodes connected to the contaminant water. Milestones covered in the research activities include optimisation of the reactor configuration using copper wire electrodes, incorporation of nano TiO immobilized on nanofibres of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) using electro-spinning technique 2

and replacement of the conventional copper with nano wire electrodes, in order to promote the production of the active species as a cocktail which offers a powerful water disinfection treatment system. Characterization was performed by means of XRD, FT-IR, BET, XPS, UV spectroscopy, NMR, LC-MS and microorganism destruction rates. The pollutant models used are: methylene blue (MB), rhodamine blue (RB), acid orange (AO) and E. coli.

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Qualifications: M.Sc. Chemistry, UWCB.Sc. Chemistry, University Pedagogic National, DRC

Schooling: Elykia College, Kinshasa, DRC

Home Town/City: Lubefu, DRC

Hobbies: Reading, Watching TV, Preaching

Gauthier Okolongo

Platinum nanophase catalysts play vital roles in hydrogen production and many chemical production processes. Beneficiation of platinum and platinum group metals (PGM) holds great promise. PGM metals have unique properties, such as biocompatibility, high melting temperature, good conductivity and electronic and catalytic properties. Also, South Africa holds about 88% of the total known of platinum reserves. All these properties have been used in a bewildering variety of applications. However, the main obstacles for PGM catalysts are low kinetics, low efficiency, and high cost. To enhance catalytic performance, stability, durability and reduce operational costs of platinum electrocatalysts, advanced electro-catalyst design relying on the bi-functional mechanism, and using hybrid support carbon materials has been proposed. Also, the deposition of precious metals either chemically or electrochemically plays an important role in the development of technologies where these metals are used. In recent years, methodological development for Pt-based catalyst preparation has been one of the major topics of catalyst explorations.

My PhD work is based on efforts to develop a simple one step chemical vapour deposition method to produce heterogeneous platinum group catalysts with improving activities and reduce the cost. The current study leading to PhD will seek a deeper understanding of the (1) development of the OMCVD method for producing PGM catalysts; (2) improvement of the functionality of the catalyst by Pt-alloying and (3) the catalyst/support interaction by high dispersion of the catalyst on carbon nanotube supports and composite nanostructured supports for (4) hydrogen production or other electrocatalytic processes.


B.Sc. Chemical Engineering, Guangxi

University of Technology, China

Home Town/City: Guanxi Region, China

Hobbies: Music, Movie, Traveling, Internet

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Synthesis of Platinum Group Metal Catalysts with the Developed Chemical vapour Deposition Method

Qi-Ling Naidoo

28 29

Title: Development of Polymer-metal Composite Membrane for Hydrogen Separation and Purification Process.

In the current global quest to achieve sustainable development and reduce various environmental problems such as global warming and emission of pollutant gases, there is a shift towards energy generation that is environmentally compliant with highly reduced ecological consequences. Hydrogen gas has been considered as an alternative energy carrier with less negative impacts on the environment. Reliable and efficient methods of production, separation and purification of hydrogen gas are important to achieve the ‘hydrogen economy’ objective. Among the several methods such as pressure swing adsorption, cryogenic distillation, absorption and in recent decades membranes technology have been used in the separation and purification of hydrogen from gas mixtures. The membrane technology offers the most competitive economic prospect compared with the aforementioned methods.

This project focuses on the development and use of composite polymer/metal membrane structure with improved properties such as high thermal stability for separation and purification of hydrogen gas in industrial applications such as coal gasification. A home-grown membrane reactor system was developed for this project and has been on trial test to determine the hydrogen diffusion, selectivity and permeability potential of the composite membrane structure from ambient to high temperatures.

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Industrial Chemistry Federal

University of Technology Akure, Nigeria,

Schooling: Oro High School, NigeriaSt. Mary’s Lokoja, Nigeria

Home Town/City: Sokoto State, Nigeria

Hobbies: Music, Football, Traveling

Olushola Rotimi Adeniyi

Qualifications: MSc Chemistry (UWC)

B.Sc. (Hons) Applied Chemistry,

National University of Science and

Technology, Zimbabwe

Home Town/City: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Ion Exchange Resins and Functional Fibres: A Comparative Study For the Treatment of Brine

Bongani Yalala

Water scarcity is an extremely urgent problem within South Africa. Issues with the availability of clean water for drinking or agricultural use is compounded by pollution from the relatively large mining and power generation industries. Of particular interest is the remediation of brines; which are, aqueous systems with unacceptably high concentrations of various salts e.g. sodium, calcium, magnesium, etc.

The focus of this project is on brine waste water treatment, from coal mines and power stations, using ion exchange resins and poly(amidoxime) or other fibrous resins for the recovery of major cationic elements such as sodium, calcium and magnesium. The aims of the research are the

+ +removal of Ca and Mg ion contaminants in the brines, the performance of the chelating fibre 2 2+ +(amidoxime) in removing Ca and Mg from brine solutions, and comparing its performance to 2 2

the conventional commercial resin (Amberlite R 252 RFH).

The application of new enhanced capacity fibrous resins will be optimized for Electro-deionization systems and currently studies are under way to fully functionalize fibrous resins for high capacity removal of specific problem elements from brine streams.

30 31

Title: Development of Polymer-metal Composite Membrane for Hydrogen Separation and Purification Process.

In the current global quest to achieve sustainable development and reduce various environmental problems such as global warming and emission of pollutant gases, there is a shift towards energy generation that is environmentally compliant with highly reduced ecological consequences. Hydrogen gas has been considered as an alternative energy carrier with less negative impacts on the environment. Reliable and efficient methods of production, separation and purification of hydrogen gas are important to achieve the ‘hydrogen economy’ objective. Among the several methods such as pressure swing adsorption, cryogenic distillation, absorption and in recent decades membranes technology have been used in the separation and purification of hydrogen from gas mixtures. The membrane technology offers the most competitive economic prospect compared with the aforementioned methods.

This project focuses on the development and use of composite polymer/metal membrane structure with improved properties such as high thermal stability for separation and purification of hydrogen gas in industrial applications such as coal gasification. A home-grown membrane reactor system was developed for this project and has been on trial test to determine the hydrogen diffusion, selectivity and permeability potential of the composite membrane structure from ambient to high temperatures.

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Industrial Chemistry Federal

University of Technology Akure, Nigeria,

Schooling: Oro High School, NigeriaSt. Mary’s Lokoja, Nigeria

Home Town/City: Sokoto State, Nigeria

Hobbies: Music, Football, Traveling

Olushola Rotimi Adeniyi

Qualifications: MSc Chemistry (UWC)

B.Sc. (Hons) Applied Chemistry,



Home Town/City: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Docto

ral

Stu

dents

Title: Ion Exchange Resins and Functional Fibres: A Comparative Study For the Treatment of Brine

Bongani Yalala

Water scarcity is an extremely urgent problem within South Africa. Issues with the availability of clean water for drinking or agricultural use is compounded by pollution from the relatively large mining and power generation industries. Of particular interest is the remediation of brines; which are, aqueous systems with unacceptably high concentrations of various salts e.g. sodium, calcium, magnesium, etc.

The focus of this project is on brine waste water treatment, from coal mines and power stations, using ion exchange resins and poly(amidoxime) or other fibrous resins for the recovery of major cationic elements such as sodium, calcium and magnesium. The aims of the research are the

+ +removal of Ca and Mg ion contaminants in the brines, the performance of the chelating fibre 2 2+ +(amidoxime) in removing Ca and Mg from brine solutions, and comparing its performance to 2 2

the conventional commercial resin (Amberlite R 252 RFH).

The application of new enhanced capacity fibrous resins will be optimized for Electro-deionization systems and currently studies are under way to fully functionalize fibrous resins for high capacity removal of specific problem elements from brine streams.

30 31

Heterogeneous photo catalysis offers promise as a method that has been identified for water purification and remediation. Titanium dioxide photocatalysts have been found to be chemically and biologically inert, non-toxic, environmentally safe, inexpensive, with low operational temperatures and low energy consumption in the photo degradation of organic pollutants in water. Even though there are many advantages to titanium dioxide, it also has a lot of drawbacks such as the settling velocity of the titanium powder that is very slow and requires a long retention time in the clarifier. Another problem is that as the titanium dioxide content is increased, the photo catalytic activity is reduced because of an increase in turbidity, which is caused by the high titanium dioxide concentration, and therefore this can decrease the depth of the UV penetration in the effluent to be treated. These problems are mainly caused by the fact that the photocatalyst has a small particle size found in the range of 30-300 um, which means that the removal of these small particles require a costly phase separation processes. Therefore several methods have been suggested to deal with the post treatment removal of the photocatalyst. It would be more useful to apply the photocatalytic materials into supports that can easily be separated from the effluent to be treated.

In this project, commercial titanium dioxide will be supported in various ways upon suitable substrates and the activity of new composites will be examined by decomposition of methylene blue. The titanium on various supports will be synthesized via the sol-gel or chemical deposition (CVD) method and their physical and chemical properties will be investigated.

Title: Synthesis of Nanostructured Titanium Dioxide and Application in Water Treatment

Qualifications: B.Sc. Chemical Science, UWC

B.Sc. (Hons) Biotechnology, UWC

Schooling: Cathkin High School, South Africa


Hobbies: Enviroment ,Sports, Debate, Politics

Nomso Hintsho

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Title: Chemical, Physical and Morphological Changes in Weathered Coal fly Ash: A Case Study of Brine Impacted Wet Ash Dump

South Africa is endowed with vast deposits of coal and depends heavily on its combustion for power generation. The major residue from this combustion process is fly ash, about 37 million tonnes are produced annually, of which only 1.4 million tonnes are beneficiated with the rest disposed of as waste. Fly ash is disposed through either dry or wet disposal methods. Various environmental risks such as air pollution and loss of arable land are associated with fly ash disposal. The chemical interactions of the fly ash with atmospheric oxygen, carbon dioxide and percolating rainwater leads to leaching of toxic contaminants into the soil and ground water. This weathering trend of fly ash results in changes in its physical, chemical and mineralogical properties. The management of this combustion waste is of major concern and requires the proper understanding of the weathering characteristics of fly ash because the huge amount that is disposed cannot be separated from nature’s weathering cycle.

This study focuses particularly on the changes in the chemical, physical, morphological properties and mineral phase transformation that has occurred during the disposal or storage of the brine impacted coal fly ash. The main aim of this study is to understand the weathering pattern that occurred in the wet ash handling system over time, which will be used in predicting the environmental impact associated with fly ash disposal techniques and beneficiations.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Industrial Chemistry

UNN, Nigeria

B.Sc. (Hons) Chemical Sciences, UWC

Hobbies: Soccer, Reading, General Knowledge

Paul Eze

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

32 33

Heterogeneous photo catalysis offers promise as a method that has been identified for water purification and remediation. Titanium dioxide photocatalysts have been found to be chemically and biologically inert, non-toxic, environmentally safe, inexpensive, with low operational temperatures and low energy consumption in the photo degradation of organic pollutants in water. Even though there are many advantages to titanium dioxide, it also has a lot of drawbacks such as the settling velocity of the titanium powder that is very slow and requires a long retention time in the clarifier. Another problem is that as the titanium dioxide content is increased, the photo catalytic activity is reduced because of an increase in turbidity, which is caused by the high titanium dioxide concentration, and therefore this can decrease the depth of the UV penetration in the effluent to be treated. These problems are mainly caused by the fact that the photocatalyst has a small particle size found in the range of 30-300 um, which means that the removal of these small particles require a costly phase separation processes. Therefore several methods have been suggested to deal with the post treatment removal of the photocatalyst. It would be more useful to apply the photocatalytic materials into supports that can easily be separated from the effluent to be treated.

In this project, commercial titanium dioxide will be supported in various ways upon suitable substrates and the activity of new composites will be examined by decomposition of methylene blue. The titanium on various supports will be synthesized via the sol-gel or chemical deposition (CVD) method and their physical and chemical properties will be investigated.

Title: Synthesis of Nanostructured Titanium Dioxide and Application in Water Treatment


B.Sc. (Hons) Biotechnology, UWC

Schooling: Cathkin High School, South Africa


Hobbies: Enviroment ,Sports, Debate, Politics

Nomso Hintsho

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Title: Chemical, Physical and Morphological Changes in Weathered Coal fly Ash: A Case Study of Brine Impacted Wet Ash Dump

South Africa is endowed with vast deposits of coal and depends heavily on its combustion for power generation. The major residue from this combustion process is fly ash, about 37 million tonnes are produced annually, of which only 1.4 million tonnes are beneficiated with the rest disposed of as waste. Fly ash is disposed through either dry or wet disposal methods. Various environmental risks such as air pollution and loss of arable land are associated with fly ash disposal. The chemical interactions of the fly ash with atmospheric oxygen, carbon dioxide and percolating rainwater leads to leaching of toxic contaminants into the soil and ground water. This weathering trend of fly ash results in changes in its physical, chemical and mineralogical properties. The management of this combustion waste is of major concern and requires the proper understanding of the weathering characteristics of fly ash because the huge amount that is disposed cannot be separated from nature’s weathering cycle.

This study focuses particularly on the changes in the chemical, physical, morphological properties and mineral phase transformation that has occurred during the disposal or storage of the brine impacted coal fly ash. The main aim of this study is to understand the weathering pattern that occurred in the wet ash handling system over time, which will be used in predicting the environmental impact associated with fly ash disposal techniques and beneficiations.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Industrial Chemistry

UNN, Nigeria

B.Sc. (Hons) Chemical Sciences, UWC

Hobbies: Soccer, Reading, General Knowledge

Paul Eze

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

32 33

A major environmental issue in the generation of electric power for fossil driven power plants beside SO is the emission of nitrogen oxides, collectively referred to as NOx. Nitrogen oxides (NO, 2

NO and N O) remain the major source for air pollution, its removal from out-gasses is one of the 2

most challenging problems of the 21st century. Nitrogen oxides contribute to photochemical smog, acid rain, ozone depletion and greenhouse effects. In the present work, two supports have been identified in order to prepare two different catalysts that will perform the DeNOx process with ammonia as a reducing agent at low temperature. The two support used here are zeolite (d< 2 nm) and mesoporous silica (d > 2 nm). With the incorporation by wet impregnation and ion exchange of Fe and Mn, active metal sites were created on the two support, those active sites have identified and confirmed using different characterization techniques such as XRD, BET, FTIR, TGA, TEM, SEM and TPR. Currently the potential of the new materials are being evaluated for the denitrification of flue gases in a laboratory scale reactor system.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Chemical Engineering,

University of Lubumbashi, D.R. Congo

Schooling: Le Bercail High School, Lubumbashi

Home Town/City: Lubumbashi, DRC

Hobbies: Computer Programming, Football, Reading

Jean Baptiste Kasongo Wa Kasongo

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Title: Micro and Mesoporous Materials for Low Temperature Nitrogen Oxide Reduction.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Chemical Sciences, UWC

Schooling: Parel Vallei, Cape TownScottsville, Pietermaritzburg

Home Town/City: Sofia, BulgariaPietermaritzburg, South Africa

Hobbies: Wakeboarding, Rock climbing

Title: Platinum Group Alloy nanoparticle Architecture and their Electrophoretic Deposition

Alexander Ilchev

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Platinum and its related elements Palladium, Ruthenium, Osmium, Iridium and Rhodium are among the most active catalysts available for processes such as hydrogenation, cracking and selective oxidations. The fact that these elements are inert towards corrosion and extremely rare makes them even more precious for industry. However, issues regarding their applications do arise and innovations to circumvent them are in great demand. In general, to improve a heterogeneous metal catalyst’s activity, selectivity and/or lifetime for a certain process, alloying it with another metal is the first step taken. This can also reduce the cost of the catalyst if the new component is less expensive than the raw metal catalyst itself.

Being able to disperse the metal catalyst onto a nanophase system is another objective of great interest. This is due to the fact that the catalytic reaction takes place on the catalyst surface and by dispersing the catalyst, the surface-to-volume ratio is greatly increased. The selectivity of the catalyst can also be altered by depositing it onto a support. The deposition of the catalyst onto various substrates can be achieved by many techniques, each having its pros and cons. In essence, the deposition method should have reproducible parameters, produce minimal waste and be relatively inexpensive to perform.

There are 3 main types of nanophase alloy systems namely true alloys, core-shell alloys and nanophase aggregates. Each type of alloy has a different effect on the catalyst properties relative to the pure metal catalyst.

The current project is aimed towards producing platinum, vanadium as well as platinum-vanadium alloy nanoparticles, characterizing them in their dispersed state and depositing them each onto graphite electrodes by electrophoretic deposition. The sintering properties will then be established for each type of deposit and the change in electrode activity towards water electrolysis will be measured.

34 35

A major environmental issue in the generation of electric power for fossil driven power plants beside SO is the emission of nitrogen oxides, collectively referred to as NOx. Nitrogen oxides (NO, 2

NO and N O) remain the major source for air pollution, its removal from out-gasses is one of the 2

most challenging problems of the 21st century. Nitrogen oxides contribute to photochemical smog, acid rain, ozone depletion and greenhouse effects. In the present work, two supports have been identified in order to prepare two different catalysts that will perform the DeNOx process with ammonia as a reducing agent at low temperature. The two support used here are zeolite (d< 2 nm) and mesoporous silica (d > 2 nm). With the incorporation by wet impregnation and ion exchange of Fe and Mn, active metal sites were created on the two support, those active sites have identified and confirmed using different characterization techniques such as XRD, BET, FTIR, TGA, TEM, SEM and TPR. Currently the potential of the new materials are being evaluated for the denitrification of flue gases in a laboratory scale reactor system.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Chemical Engineering,

University of Lubumbashi, D.R. Congo

Schooling: Le Bercail High School, Lubumbashi

Home Town/City: Lubumbashi, DRC

Hobbies: Computer Programming, Football, Reading

Jean Baptiste Kasongo Wa Kasongo

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Title: Micro and Mesoporous Materials for Low Temperature Nitrogen Oxide Reduction.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Chemical Sciences, UWC

Schooling: Parel Vallei, Cape TownScottsville, Pietermaritzburg

Home Town/City: Sofia, BulgariaPietermaritzburg, South Africa

Hobbies: Wakeboarding, Rock climbing

Title: Platinum Group Alloy nanoparticle Architecture and their Electrophoretic Deposition

Alexander Ilchev

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Platinum and its related elements Palladium, Ruthenium, Osmium, Iridium and Rhodium are among the most active catalysts available for processes such as hydrogenation, cracking and selective oxidations. The fact that these elements are inert towards corrosion and extremely rare makes them even more precious for industry. However, issues regarding their applications do arise and innovations to circumvent them are in great demand. In general, to improve a heterogeneous metal catalyst’s activity, selectivity and/or lifetime for a certain process, alloying it with another metal is the first step taken. This can also reduce the cost of the catalyst if the new component is less expensive than the raw metal catalyst itself.

Being able to disperse the metal catalyst onto a nanophase system is another objective of great interest. This is due to the fact that the catalytic reaction takes place on the catalyst surface and by dispersing the catalyst, the surface-to-volume ratio is greatly increased. The selectivity of the catalyst can also be altered by depositing it onto a support. The deposition of the catalyst onto various substrates can be achieved by many techniques, each having its pros and cons. In essence, the deposition method should have reproducible parameters, produce minimal waste and be relatively inexpensive to perform.

There are 3 main types of nanophase alloy systems namely true alloys, core-shell alloys and nanophase aggregates. Each type of alloy has a different effect on the catalyst properties relative to the pure metal catalyst.

The current project is aimed towards producing platinum, vanadium as well as platinum-vanadium alloy nanoparticles, characterizing them in their dispersed state and depositing them each onto graphite electrodes by electrophoretic deposition. The sintering properties will then be established for each type of deposit and the change in electrode activity towards water electrolysis will be measured.

34 35

Title: Sorption Properties of Natural and Synthetic Zeolites for the Removal of Hazardous Elements from Industrial Effluents

Water has been a worldwide problem due to the environmental pollution resulting from the various chemical industries and mines. Years of mining has resulted in abandoned and active mines that are a source of ground- and surface-water contamination in many areas in the world. South African mines are facing a big challenge due to their release of toxic heavy metals such as uranium, arsenic and chromium into the environment. Exposure to heavy metals by inhalation, skin contact, or drinking of contaminated water causes can seriously affect the health of humans. It is therefore necessary to remove uranium and other heavy metals from waste water before discharge.

Multiple methods of removing heavy metals from wastewater exist: extraction, precipitation, flocculation, ion exchange, and adsorption. In this study, sorption and ion exchange methods were chosen for the removal of heavy metals from synthetic and industrial brine samples. Since uranium is highly toxic and radioactive, initial studies were done on less toxic elements.

South African natural clinoptilolite was chosen as a sorbent due to its availability in nature and its well known high ion exchange capacity. It is recommended that clinoptilolite should first pre-treated with dilute activating agent such as HCl or NaCl in order to enhance its sorption capacity. Currently the optimum pre-treatment conditions for activation of natural zeolites are being investigated.

Qualifications: B Tech Chemistry, CPUT

Schooling: Teacher Training Centre Gacuba II,

Rwanda

Home Country: Gisenyi Province, Rwanda

Hobbies: Basketball, Football, Music

GuillaUme Ndayambaje

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Water treatment has been the subject of research recently due to pollution of water by heavy metals and toxic elements. Many researchers have suggested a cost effective process, such as ion-exchange, for removing heavy metals from waste waters by using naturally-occurring and synthetic materials. Natural clays that exhibit specific surface chemical properties, such as high cation exchange capacity, high surface area, adsorptive affinity for organic and inorganic compounds, and catalytic properties are found in abundance all over the world. They have been successfully used in waste water treatment because of their high surface area and high adsorptive properties, when conditioned with acid or base. Previous studies show that strong acids used as conditioners at higher temperatures enhance properties already in the clays, by changing their chemical structure and physical properties without destroying their layered structure. The clays have been widely used in modified form to enhance their adsorptive capacity by many researchers.The current study intends to investigate the application of unmodified and modified natural clays in brine treatment. The brine being studied is the retentate effluent remaining as waste after a second stage reverse osmosis water treatment system.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (chemical Science), UWC

B.Sc. (Hons), UWC

Schooling: Pakama High School, Cape Town


Hobbies: Reading, Music, Traveling

Title: Brine Treatment Using Clay Materials

Bonelwa Mabovu

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

36 37

Title: Sorption Properties of Natural and Synthetic Zeolites for the Removal of Hazardous Elements from Industrial Effluents

Water has been a worldwide problem due to the environmental pollution resulting from the various chemical industries and mines. Years of mining has resulted in abandoned and active mines that are a source of ground- and surface-water contamination in many areas in the world. South African mines are facing a big challenge due to their release of toxic heavy metals such as uranium, arsenic and chromium into the environment. Exposure to heavy metals by inhalation, skin contact, or drinking of contaminated water causes can seriously affect the health of humans. It is therefore necessary to remove uranium and other heavy metals from waste water before discharge.

Multiple methods of removing heavy metals from wastewater exist: extraction, precipitation, flocculation, ion exchange, and adsorption. In this study, sorption and ion exchange methods were chosen for the removal of heavy metals from synthetic and industrial brine samples. Since uranium is highly toxic and radioactive, initial studies were done on less toxic elements.

South African natural clinoptilolite was chosen as a sorbent due to its availability in nature and its well known high ion exchange capacity. It is recommended that clinoptilolite should first pre-treated with dilute activating agent such as HCl or NaCl in order to enhance its sorption capacity. Currently the optimum pre-treatment conditions for activation of natural zeolites are being investigated.

Qualifications: B Tech Chemistry, CPUT

Schooling: Teacher Training Centre Gacuba II,

Rwanda

Home Country: Gisenyi Province, Rwanda

Hobbies: Basketball, Football, Music

GuillaUme Ndayambaje

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Water treatment has been the subject of research recently due to pollution of water by heavy metals and toxic elements. Many researchers have suggested a cost effective process, such as ion-exchange, for removing heavy metals from waste waters by using naturally-occurring and synthetic materials. Natural clays that exhibit specific surface chemical properties, such as high cation exchange capacity, high surface area, adsorptive affinity for organic and inorganic compounds, and catalytic properties are found in abundance all over the world. They have been successfully used in waste water treatment because of their high surface area and high adsorptive properties, when conditioned with acid or base. Previous studies show that strong acids used as conditioners at higher temperatures enhance properties already in the clays, by changing their chemical structure and physical properties without destroying their layered structure. The clays have been widely used in modified form to enhance their adsorptive capacity by many researchers.The current study intends to investigate the application of unmodified and modified natural clays in brine treatment. The brine being studied is the retentate effluent remaining as waste after a second stage reverse osmosis water treatment system.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (chemical Science), UWC

B.Sc. (Hons), UWC

Schooling: Pakama High School, Cape Town


Hobbies: Reading, Music, Traveling

Title: Brine Treatment Using Clay Materials

Bonelwa Mabovu

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

36 37

Title: Characterization and Chemical Speciation Modelling of Saline Effluents at Sasol Synthetic Fuels Complex: Secunda and Tutuka Power Station Water resources are becoming scarce due to climate change and other factors. The average annual rainfall in South Africa is half that of the world average and efforts are being made to save water through recycling and other water recovery processes. Saline effluents, also known as brines, are a direct consequence of the drive to save water. Although much progress into desalination techniques has been made over the past decade, concentrated saline effluents still present a major challenge in finding sustainable disposal methods. Brine pre-treatment is a potential method of water recovery and the production of useful chemicals.

The chemistry of brines is highly complex and their interactions need to be better understood. Characterization and chemical speciation modelling of brines at two South African coal-fired power stations was carried out. At these two power stations, brines are used to condition fly ash. Fly ash is known to undergo dissolution and release chemical species that may pre-treat brines to give cleaner effluents or bind and release the pollutants into the environment over time. The interaction of brines and ash is also thought to be influenced by ingress of CO from the 2

atmosphere. Chemical speciation and the evaluation of species distribution is the key to understanding the mobility and release trends of the pollutants into the environment. Ash was found to reduce some major ions from brine at Tutuka Power Station by an average of 85.9 % and increase pH by 24.9 %. Ash was also found to remove many trace elements as well as add some trace elements into brine.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Applied Chemistry



Schooling: Goromonzi High SchoolNyanga High School Marist Brothers

Home Country: Zimbabwe

Hobbies: Sport, Reading

Amon Nyamhingura

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Coal contributes 79% of South Africa’s total energy requirements. Sasol Synfuels (South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corporation) is a South African company involved in mining, energy, chemicals and synthetic fuels. Sasol Synfuels’ Secunda Power Plant utilizes a low-rank bituminous coal for steam, synthetic gas, petrol and diesel production thereby producing different coal ashes.

This study seeks to investigate and understand the mineralogy, morphology, chemical and physico-chemical properties of the fine coal ash co-disposed with brine using analytical procedures such as XRD, XRF, SEM, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, IC, physico-chemical analysis and selective sequential extraction which is a procedure used to partition particulate trace metals contained in solid materials like soils or sediments. Specific metal fractions dissolve in certain solutions under various environmental conditions. In this procedure, several reagents are used which portray selectivity towards specific geochemical phases. The specific fractions are then extracted selectively by using appropriate reagents. The accuracy of this method is evaluated by comparing the total trace metal concentrations with the sum of the specific individual fractions (i.e. mass balance). The main objective of this study is to examine the mineral phases present in the fine coal ash (fine gasification ash & fly ash) co-disposed with brine at the ash dam in order to establish if the dam acts as a salt sink to prevent leaching of toxic elements to surrounding soil and ground water.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry, Nairobi, Kenya


Hobbies: Traveling, Playing, Soccer, Reading

Title: Mineralogical Analysis of Fine Coal Ash co-disposed with Brine using Sequential Extraction procedure

Sammy Mwasaha Nyale

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

38 39

Title: Characterization and Chemical Speciation Modelling of Saline Effluents at Sasol Synthetic Fuels Complex: Secunda and Tutuka Power Station Water resources are becoming scarce due to climate change and other factors. The average annual rainfall in South Africa is half that of the world average and efforts are being made to save water through recycling and other water recovery processes. Saline effluents, also known as brines, are a direct consequence of the drive to save water. Although much progress into desalination techniques has been made over the past decade, concentrated saline effluents still present a major challenge in finding sustainable disposal methods. Brine pre-treatment is a potential method of water recovery and the production of useful chemicals.

The chemistry of brines is highly complex and their interactions need to be better understood. Characterization and chemical speciation modelling of brines at two South African coal-fired power stations was carried out. At these two power stations, brines are used to condition fly ash. Fly ash is known to undergo dissolution and release chemical species that may pre-treat brines to give cleaner effluents or bind and release the pollutants into the environment over time. The interaction of brines and ash is also thought to be influenced by ingress of CO from the 2

atmosphere. Chemical speciation and the evaluation of species distribution is the key to understanding the mobility and release trends of the pollutants into the environment. Ash was found to reduce some major ions from brine at Tutuka Power Station by an average of 85.9 % and increase pH by 24.9 %. Ash was also found to remove many trace elements as well as add some trace elements into brine.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Applied Chemistry



Schooling: Goromonzi High SchoolNyanga High School Marist Brothers

Home Country: Zimbabwe

Hobbies: Sport, Reading

Amon Nyamhingura

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Coal contributes 79% of South Africa’s total energy requirements. Sasol Synfuels (South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corporation) is a South African company involved in mining, energy, chemicals and synthetic fuels. Sasol Synfuels’ Secunda Power Plant utilizes a low-rank bituminous coal for steam, synthetic gas, petrol and diesel production thereby producing different coal ashes.

This study seeks to investigate and understand the mineralogy, morphology, chemical and physico-chemical properties of the fine coal ash co-disposed with brine using analytical procedures such as XRD, XRF, SEM, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, IC, physico-chemical analysis and selective sequential extraction which is a procedure used to partition particulate trace metals contained in solid materials like soils or sediments. Specific metal fractions dissolve in certain solutions under various environmental conditions. In this procedure, several reagents are used which portray selectivity towards specific geochemical phases. The specific fractions are then extracted selectively by using appropriate reagents. The accuracy of this method is evaluated by comparing the total trace metal concentrations with the sum of the specific individual fractions (i.e. mass balance). The main objective of this study is to examine the mineral phases present in the fine coal ash (fine gasification ash & fly ash) co-disposed with brine at the ash dam in order to establish if the dam acts as a salt sink to prevent leaching of toxic elements to surrounding soil and ground water.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry, Nairobi, Kenya


Hobbies: Traveling, Playing, Soccer, Reading

Title: Mineralogical Analysis of Fine Coal Ash co-disposed with Brine using Sequential Extraction procedure

Sammy Mwasaha Nyale

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

38 39

Title: Synthesis, Characterization and Physiochemical Properties of Platinum on Ordered Mesoporous Carbon

Platinum is an important transition metal that displays outstanding catalytic, electrical properties and superior resistant characteristics to corrosion. It has been extensively used in chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, electronic, and automotive industries. It has been reported that platinum metal finds widespread use in catalyzing partial oxidation, hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of a range of essential molecules that are critical to many industrial processes. There has been a remarkable increase in developing new technologies using alternative energy sources other than fossil fuel. Fuel cells are considered to be a alternative way for energy generation that is non-polluting and electrocatalysts are being developed for application in this system.

One of the important areas for the nano-architecture of Pt metal is to create stable Pt catalysts. Platinum supported on mesoporous carbon structures can be an interesting alternative to standard Pt/C catalysts. Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMC) have received great attention because of their potential use as catalytic supports in fuel cell electrodes. They have controllable pore sizes, high surface areas and large pore volumes. The objective of this study was to synthesize stable well dispersed Pt electrocatalysts with controlled size and structure, supported on ordered mesoporous carbon for fuel cell applications. Ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) has been prepared by impregnating the pores of the silica template (SBA-15) with liquid petroleum gas (LPG and other carbon sources). The desired support (OMC) was obtained after carbonization and dissolution of the silica matrix with NaOH. Platinum nanoparticles were dispersed using Chemical Vapour Deposition method. These new composite materials are shown to have high surface areas that will aid in dispersing platinum nanoparticles. The synthesized Pt/OMC were characterized by powder X-Ray diffraction, HR-TEM, HR-SEM, EDS, and BET. The % Pt was measured by ICP. The performance of Pt catalyst supported OMC was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), which shows almost similar activity than the commercial catalyst.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons), Chemistry, UWC

Schooling: Alexander Senior Secondary High School,

Cape Town


Hobbies: Traveling, Reading

Waheed Saban

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Coal fly ash generated from coal fired power plants can be a severe environmental pollutant due to the surface enrichment of the ash with various trace elements during combustion. Only a small portion of the fly ash produced every year is utilized, and as the increase in the demand for electricity continues to grow this disparity in beneficiated fly ash and waste will also continue to grow along with environmental problems. The bulk of the ash is disposed of in ash dams and landfills. Rain water as well as waste water from the ash slurry serves as leaching medium for the toxic elements into the environment, especially into groundwater.

The study focuses on the physical, chemical and mineralogical characterization of the ash samples collected from Kragbron ‘Ash Dump’. The leaching trend of mobile contaminants along sampled drilled cores was thoroughly investigated. The ash core samples were subjected to X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier –Transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy to determine the various mineral phases, morphology and chemical bonding present in the ash. X-ray fluorescence and total acid digestion was used to determine the bulk chemical composition and the pseudo total metal content in the ash. The use of sequential extraction was employed to understand the different geochemical phases with which the various elements are associated. The study showed a significant long term trend of dissolution of the ash matrix and movement of many toxic and ionic components through the ash matrix. This study showed that over time many elements contained in the ash may migrate through the ash and contaminate the surrounding environment.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Geology, University of Ado

Ekiti, Nigeria

Schooling: Merit Mixed Secondary School

Delta State, Nigeria

Home Country: Ekiti State, Nigeria

Hobbies: Reading, Playing Scrabble

Title: Mineralogy and Chemical Mobility of Metal Ions in a South African Ash Dump Site.

Olofunke Idowu Ojo

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

40 41

Title: Synthesis, Characterization and Physiochemical Properties of Platinum on Ordered Mesoporous Carbon

Platinum is an important transition metal that displays outstanding catalytic, electrical properties and superior resistant characteristics to corrosion. It has been extensively used in chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, electronic, and automotive industries. It has been reported that platinum metal finds widespread use in catalyzing partial oxidation, hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of a range of essential molecules that are critical to many industrial processes. There has been a remarkable increase in developing new technologies using alternative energy sources other than fossil fuel. Fuel cells are considered to be a alternative way for energy generation that is non-polluting and electrocatalysts are being developed for application in this system.

One of the important areas for the nano-architecture of Pt metal is to create stable Pt catalysts. Platinum supported on mesoporous carbon structures can be an interesting alternative to standard Pt/C catalysts. Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMC) have received great attention because of their potential use as catalytic supports in fuel cell electrodes. They have controllable pore sizes, high surface areas and large pore volumes. The objective of this study was to synthesize stable well dispersed Pt electrocatalysts with controlled size and structure, supported on ordered mesoporous carbon for fuel cell applications. Ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) has been prepared by impregnating the pores of the silica template (SBA-15) with liquid petroleum gas (LPG and other carbon sources). The desired support (OMC) was obtained after carbonization and dissolution of the silica matrix with NaOH. Platinum nanoparticles were dispersed using Chemical Vapour Deposition method. These new composite materials are shown to have high surface areas that will aid in dispersing platinum nanoparticles. The synthesized Pt/OMC were characterized by powder X-Ray diffraction, HR-TEM, HR-SEM, EDS, and BET. The % Pt was measured by ICP. The performance of Pt catalyst supported OMC was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), which shows almost similar activity than the commercial catalyst.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons), Chemistry, UWC

Schooling: Alexander Senior Secondary High School,

Cape Town


Hobbies: Traveling, Reading

Waheed Saban

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

Coal fly ash generated from coal fired power plants can be a severe environmental pollutant due to the surface enrichment of the ash with various trace elements during combustion. Only a small portion of the fly ash produced every year is utilized, and as the increase in the demand for electricity continues to grow this disparity in beneficiated fly ash and waste will also continue to grow along with environmental problems. The bulk of the ash is disposed of in ash dams and landfills. Rain water as well as waste water from the ash slurry serves as leaching medium for the toxic elements into the environment, especially into groundwater.

The study focuses on the physical, chemical and mineralogical characterization of the ash samples collected from Kragbron ‘Ash Dump’. The leaching trend of mobile contaminants along sampled drilled cores was thoroughly investigated. The ash core samples were subjected to X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier –Transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy to determine the various mineral phases, morphology and chemical bonding present in the ash. X-ray fluorescence and total acid digestion was used to determine the bulk chemical composition and the pseudo total metal content in the ash. The use of sequential extraction was employed to understand the different geochemical phases with which the various elements are associated. The study showed a significant long term trend of dissolution of the ash matrix and movement of many toxic and ionic components through the ash matrix. This study showed that over time many elements contained in the ash may migrate through the ash and contaminate the surrounding environment.

Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons) Geology, University of Ado

Ekiti, Nigeria

Schooling: Merit Mixed Secondary School

Delta State, Nigeria

Home Country: Ekiti State, Nigeria

Hobbies: Reading, Playing Scrabble

Title: Mineralogy and Chemical Mobility of Metal Ions in a South African Ash Dump Site.

Olofunke Idowu Ojo

Mas

ters

Stu

dents

40 41

Title: Synthesis of highly ordered Mesoporous Silica for Adsorption Purposes

SBA-15 ordered mesoporous silicas were synthesized using the method reported by Lázaro et al. The structures of these materials were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption. The samples were found to exhibit structural properties similar to those reported earlier. The study confirmed that the size of primary mesopores of SBA-15 can be tailored by the choice of synthesis temperature and that SBA-15 exhibits a significant amount of ordered mesopores. The volume and size of these complementary pores were found to be dependent to some extent on the structure directing agent used. It was observed that washing of as-synthesized SBA-15 in a solvent was accompanied by structural shrinkage. Ethanol-washed samples also were found to exhibit accessible porosity. The observed structural properties of SBA-15 and their dependence on the synthesis temperature and washing were attributed to the changes in the degree of penetration of the ethylene oxide chains of the triblock copolymer template within the walls of SBA-15.



Viwe Binase

Honours

Stu

dents

The restricted water supply available for major industries, drinking water and other activities such as irrigation as well as the detrimental environmental impacts associated with discharge of contaminated water into water resources has seen authorities the world over, implementing more stringent guidelines that govern this practice. As such, improved and cheaper water treatment technologies are being investigated in the drive towards recycling waste water, The coal mining industry is a major contributor to the generation of toxic acid mine drainage (AMD) that could lead to long-term impairment of the water resources and biodiversity. A host of AMD treatment processes exist, with on-going development of new, improved and cost effective technologies. Universally, fly ash has been applied for the treatment of AMD primarily in passive treatment systems. Passive treatment technologies require little or no operation and maintenance e.g. constructed wetlands and anoxic limestone drains. However, with specific reference to AMD treatment, passive treatment systems require long retention times and greater space as well as provide uncertain treatment efficiencies. Recent research has demonstrated the potential to apply fly ash in active treatment systems for AMD treatment and amelioration. Active treatment technologies make use of some chemical addition or advanced technology e.g. membrane technologies and ion exchange resins. Whilst active treatment technologies are often more expensive than passive treatment systems, active treatment occurs at a faster rate and treatment efficiencies are more controllable and effective.

This study investigated the potential of fly ash to actively neutralize and ameliorate or improve the quality of AMD at beaker and large scale with special attention given to sulphate attenuation. The results of the investigation were compared to data of state-of-the-art treatment technologies, obtained from literature. These included chemical treatment, membrane treatment, ion exchange and biological treatment systems. A comparative study was conducted to ascertain the feasibility of fly ash versus the commonly used limestone treatment technology and demonstrated that South African fly ash is a low cost and competitive technology for treatment of acid mine drainage.


B.Tech. Chemistry, Pretoria Technikon

Schooling: Burnwood Secondary School

Home Town/City: Durban, South Africa

Hobbies: Reading, Traveling, Cooking, Spending

time with my two daughters!

Title: Active Neutralisation and Amelioration of Acid Mine Drainage with Fly Ash

Damini Surender

Honours

Stu

dents

42 43

Title: Synthesis of highly ordered Mesoporous Silica for Adsorption Purposes

SBA-15 ordered mesoporous silicas were synthesized using the method reported by Lázaro et al. The structures of these materials were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption. The samples were found to exhibit structural properties similar to those reported earlier. The study confirmed that the size of primary mesopores of SBA-15 can be tailored by the choice of synthesis temperature and that SBA-15 exhibits a significant amount of ordered mesopores. The volume and size of these complementary pores were found to be dependent to some extent on the structure directing agent used. It was observed that washing of as-synthesized SBA-15 in a solvent was accompanied by structural shrinkage. Ethanol-washed samples also were found to exhibit accessible porosity. The observed structural properties of SBA-15 and their dependence on the synthesis temperature and washing were attributed to the changes in the degree of penetration of the ethylene oxide chains of the triblock copolymer template within the walls of SBA-15.



Viwe Binase

Honours

Stu

dents

The restricted water supply available for major industries, drinking water and other activities such as irrigation as well as the detrimental environmental impacts associated with discharge of contaminated water into water resources has seen authorities the world over, implementing more stringent guidelines that govern this practice. As such, improved and cheaper water treatment technologies are being investigated in the drive towards recycling waste water, The coal mining industry is a major contributor to the generation of toxic acid mine drainage (AMD) that could lead to long-term impairment of the water resources and biodiversity. A host of AMD treatment processes exist, with on-going development of new, improved and cost effective technologies. Universally, fly ash has been applied for the treatment of AMD primarily in passive treatment systems. Passive treatment technologies require little or no operation and maintenance e.g. constructed wetlands and anoxic limestone drains. However, with specific reference to AMD treatment, passive treatment systems require long retention times and greater space as well as provide uncertain treatment efficiencies. Recent research has demonstrated the potential to apply fly ash in active treatment systems for AMD treatment and amelioration. Active treatment technologies make use of some chemical addition or advanced technology e.g. membrane technologies and ion exchange resins. Whilst active treatment technologies are often more expensive than passive treatment systems, active treatment occurs at a faster rate and treatment efficiencies are more controllable and effective.

This study investigated the potential of fly ash to actively neutralize and ameliorate or improve the quality of AMD at beaker and large scale with special attention given to sulphate attenuation. The results of the investigation were compared to data of state-of-the-art treatment technologies, obtained from literature. These included chemical treatment, membrane treatment, ion exchange and biological treatment systems. A comparative study was conducted to ascertain the feasibility of fly ash versus the commonly used limestone treatment technology and demonstrated that South African fly ash is a low cost and competitive technology for treatment of acid mine drainage.


B.Tech. Chemistry, Pretoria Technikon

Schooling: Burnwood Secondary School

Home Town/City: Durban, South Africa

Hobbies: Reading, Traveling, Cooking, Spending

time with my two daughters!

Title: Active Neutralisation and Amelioration of Acid Mine Drainage with Fly Ash

Damini Surender

Honours

Stu

dents

42 43

Title: Synthesis of Zeolites, from Four Fly Ashes from South African Coal Power Plants

Coal plays an important role in electricity production around South Africa, but during its combustion to generate electricity, fly ash is formed as a waste by-product.

Eskom, generated nearly 36.7 million tons of fly ash in 2009 from coal combustion, of which only 5.7% was utilized beneficially, mainly in construction industries. The fly ash production leads to environment concern due to its disposal and management. It is important that research on fly ash utilization is taken into consideration, and the main focus of this my work is utilize this waste fly ash to synthesize zeolites.

The main focus of my project was to investigate whether fly ash from Kriel, Thutuka, Matla, and Lethabo sources will give the same quality of zeolite Na-P1 using ageing and hydrothermal treatment methods. Also to do mass balance studies, that is elemental composition of what goes in the feedstock for synthesizing zeolite, what elements stay trapped in the final zeolite product, and which elements go into the waste. The study found that it was possible to prepare zeolite Na-P from all the ash types under similar synthetic conditions but that the phase purity was not 100% in all cases, requiring optimization of synthetic conditions for each specific ash type.

Qualifications: B.Sc. Chemical Science, Rhodes University

Home Town/City: Kimberley, South Africa

Kerileng Molapo

Honours

Stu

dents

My study focused on investigating the adequacy of the dry ash disposal method for fly ash as a sustainable practice. Fly ash samples from South African coal-fired power station Eskom, Tutuka were subjected to a leaching test under alkaline and acidic conditions. The leaching test was used to determine the effect of pH on the leachability of major and trace elements from the fly ashes and also to assess the effect of the mobility of the species on the receiving environment and on ground and surface water. To achieve this, Acid Neutralization Capacity (ANC) test was employed. Mineralogical characterization of fresh ash and the weathered coal fly ash by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrometer, bulk chemical characterization using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer was undertaken. Leachability of metals in the coal fly ash at different pH’s is observed to be dependent on the solution contacting the ash. A slight change in the ash pH could lead to the dissolution of primary/secondary minerals (compounds) holding the metals in the coal fly ash. This study indicates that large amounts of species from fly ash in disposal sites will be leached out on contact with water and lower pH solutions.


Home Town/City: Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Title: The effect of pH on the Leachability of Major and Trace Species in Dry Disposed Fresh and Weathered Ash Samples from Tutuka Power Station.

Nosipho Khuse

Honours

Stu

dents

44 45

Title: Synthesis of Zeolites, from Four Fly Ashes from South African Coal Power Plants

Coal plays an important role in electricity production around South Africa, but during its combustion to generate electricity, fly ash is formed as a waste by-product.

Eskom, generated nearly 36.7 million tons of fly ash in 2009 from coal combustion, of which only 5.7% was utilized beneficially, mainly in construction industries. The fly ash production leads to environment concern due to its disposal and management. It is important that research on fly ash utilization is taken into consideration, and the main focus of this my work is utilize this waste fly ash to synthesize zeolites.

The main focus of my project was to investigate whether fly ash from Kriel, Thutuka, Matla, and Lethabo sources will give the same quality of zeolite Na-P1 using ageing and hydrothermal treatment methods. Also to do mass balance studies, that is elemental composition of what goes in the feedstock for synthesizing zeolite, what elements stay trapped in the final zeolite product, and which elements go into the waste. The study found that it was possible to prepare zeolite Na-P from all the ash types under similar synthetic conditions but that the phase purity was not 100% in all cases, requiring optimization of synthetic conditions for each specific ash type.

Qualifications: B.Sc. Chemical Science, Rhodes University

Home Town/City: Kimberley, South Africa

Kerileng Molapo

Honours

Stu

dents

My study focused on investigating the adequacy of the dry ash disposal method for fly ash as a sustainable practice. Fly ash samples from South African coal-fired power station Eskom, Tutuka were subjected to a leaching test under alkaline and acidic conditions. The leaching test was used to determine the effect of pH on the leachability of major and trace elements from the fly ashes and also to assess the effect of the mobility of the species on the receiving environment and on ground and surface water. To achieve this, Acid Neutralization Capacity (ANC) test was employed. Mineralogical characterization of fresh ash and the weathered coal fly ash by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrometer, bulk chemical characterization using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer was undertaken. Leachability of metals in the coal fly ash at different pH’s is observed to be dependent on the solution contacting the ash. A slight change in the ash pH could lead to the dissolution of primary/secondary minerals (compounds) holding the metals in the coal fly ash. This study indicates that large amounts of species from fly ash in disposal sites will be leached out on contact with water and lower pH solutions.


Home Town/City: Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Title: The effect of pH on the Leachability of Major and Trace Species in Dry Disposed Fresh and Weathered Ash Samples from Tutuka Power Station.

Nosipho Khuse

Honours

Stu

dents

44 45

Rallston RichardsResearch Assistant Scientific officer

Ilse Wells

CPUT M.Tech Students

Financial ManagerAveril Abbott

Research AssistantThembikile Hoyi

Admin AssistantVanessa Kellerman

Support Staff

Mkhuseli Koki Dakalo Mainganye

Sergio van Wyk

46 47

Rallston RichardsResearch Assistant Scientific officer

Ilse Wells

CPUT M.Tech Students

Financial ManagerAveril Abbott

Research AssistantThembikile Hoyi

Admin AssistantVanessa Kellerman

Support Staff

Mkhuseli Koki Dakalo Mainganye

Sergio van Wyk

46 47

Recent graduands

M.Sc.

PhD M.Sc.

PhD M.Sc.

O.Ojo G.Muriithi G.Madzivire A.Nyamingura

D.Surender B.Yalala

2008-2009

W. Gitari O.Fatoba C.Burgers

Z. Godongwana N.R. Hendricks M.Klink V.S. Somerset

T.Thamahane Q. Ying

2010

2003-2007

48 49

N. Musyoka T. SonquisheL. Petrik

Recent graduands

M.Sc.

PhD M.Sc.

PhD M.Sc.

O.Ojo G.Muriithi G.Madzivire A.Nyamingura

D.Surender B.Yalala

2008-2009

W. Gitari O.Fatoba C.Burgers

Z. Godongwana N.R. Hendricks M.Klink V.S. Somerset

T.Thamahane Q. Ying

2010

2003-2007

48 49

N. Musyoka T. SonquisheL. Petrik

Publications 2010

1. Grace Nyambura Muriithi, Wilson M Gitari, Leslie F Petrik, Patrick G Ndung'u. 2010. Carbonation of brine impacted fractionated coal fly ash: Implications for CO 2

sequestration. Journal of Environmental Management xxx (2010) 1e9 Article in press. Ms. Ref. No.: JEMA-D-10-00627R1.

2. Omotola Babajide, Leslie Petrik, Nicholas Musyoka, Bamikole Amigun and Farouk Ameer. 2010 Use of Coal Fly Ash as a Catalyst in the Production of Biodiesel . Petroleum and Coal. 5 (4) xxx-yyy. Online at www.vurup.sk/pc. Accepted Oct 15, 2010.Manuscript ref number: PC-2010-083. ISSN 1337-7027

3. Omotola Babajide, Leslie Petrik, Bamikole Amigun and Farouk Ameer. Low-Cost Feedstock Conversion to Biodiesel via Ultrasound Technology. Energies 2010, 3(10), 1691-1703; doi:10.3390/en3101691. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/3/10/1691

4. Vadapalli VRK, Gitari WM, Ellendt A, Petrik LF, Balfour G. Synthesis of zeolite-P from coal fly ash derivative and its utilisation in mine-water remediation. S Afr J Sci. 2010;106(5/6), Art. #231, 7 pages. DOI: 10.4102/sajs.v106i5/6.231

5. Haitao Zheng, Leslie Petrik, Mkhulu Mathe. 2010. Preparation and Characterisation of porous Poly (2, 5 benzimidazole) (ABPBI) Membranes using Surfactants as Templates. For polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 35 (2010) 3745-3750

6. Gitari, W. M.; Leslie, F. P.; Key, D. L.; Okujeni, C., (2010). Partitioning of major and trace inorganic contaminants in fly ash-acid mine drainage derived solid residues. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 7 (3), Summer 2010. ISSN: 1735-1472

7. L. F. Petrik, P. Ndungu, E. I. Iwuoha. 2010. Hall measurements on Carbon Nanotube Paper Modified with Electroless Deposited Platinum. Nanoscale research Letters. Volume 5, Number, p 38-47, 2010. DOI 10.1007/s11671-009-9440-5

8. G. Madzivire, L. F. Petrik, W. M. Gitari, T.V. Ojumu and G. Balfour, 2010. Application of coal fly ash to circumneutral mine waters for the removal of sulphates as gypsum and ettringite. Minerals Engineering. MINE3396. Minerals Engineering 23 (2010) pp. 252-257.

9. Misheer, Natasha; Madzivire, G; Gitari, W.M; Ojumu, T.V; Balfour, G; Petrik, L.F (2010): Removal of sulphates from South African mine water using coal fly ash. – In: Wolkersdorfer, Ch. & Freund, A.: Mine Water & Innovative Thinking. – p. 151 – 155; Sydney, Nova Scotia (CBU Press).

10. Gitari, Wilson Mugera; Petrik, Leslie Petrik; Key, David Key; Okujeni, Charles (2010): Inorganic contaminants attenuation in acid mine drainage by fly ash and its derivatives: Column Experiments. – In: Wolkersdorfer, Ch. & Freund, A.: Mine Water & Innovative Thinking. – p. 233 – 237; Sydney, Nova Scotia (CBU Press).

50 51

Publications 2010

1. Grace Nyambura Muriithi, Wilson M Gitari, Leslie F Petrik, Patrick G Ndung'u. 2010. Carbonation of brine impacted fractionated coal fly ash: Implications for CO 2

sequestration. Journal of Environmental Management xxx (2010) 1e9 Article in press. Ms. Ref. No.: JEMA-D-10-00627R1.

2. Omotola Babajide, Leslie Petrik, Nicholas Musyoka, Bamikole Amigun and Farouk Ameer. 2010 Use of Coal Fly Ash as a Catalyst in the Production of Biodiesel . Petroleum and Coal. 5 (4) xxx-yyy. Online at www.vurup.sk/pc. Accepted Oct 15, 2010.Manuscript ref number: PC-2010-083. ISSN 1337-7027

3. Omotola Babajide, Leslie Petrik, Bamikole Amigun and Farouk Ameer. Low-Cost Feedstock Conversion to Biodiesel via Ultrasound Technology. Energies 2010, 3(10), 1691-1703; doi:10.3390/en3101691. http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/3/10/1691

4. Vadapalli VRK, Gitari WM, Ellendt A, Petrik LF, Balfour G. Synthesis of zeolite-P from coal fly ash derivative and its utilisation in mine-water remediation. S Afr J Sci. 2010;106(5/6), Art. #231, 7 pages. DOI: 10.4102/sajs.v106i5/6.231

5. Haitao Zheng, Leslie Petrik, Mkhulu Mathe. 2010. Preparation and Characterisation of porous Poly (2, 5 benzimidazole) (ABPBI) Membranes using Surfactants as Templates. For polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 35 (2010) 3745-3750

6. Gitari, W. M.; Leslie, F. P.; Key, D. L.; Okujeni, C., (2010). Partitioning of major and trace inorganic contaminants in fly ash-acid mine drainage derived solid residues. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 7 (3), Summer 2010. ISSN: 1735-1472

7. L. F. Petrik, P. Ndungu, E. I. Iwuoha. 2010. Hall measurements on Carbon Nanotube Paper Modified with Electroless Deposited Platinum. Nanoscale research Letters. Volume 5, Number, p 38-47, 2010. DOI 10.1007/s11671-009-9440-5

8. G. Madzivire, L. F. Petrik, W. M. Gitari, T.V. Ojumu and G. Balfour, 2010. Application of coal fly ash to circumneutral mine waters for the removal of sulphates as gypsum and ettringite. Minerals Engineering. MINE3396. Minerals Engineering 23 (2010) pp. 252-257.

9. Misheer, Natasha; Madzivire, G; Gitari, W.M; Ojumu, T.V; Balfour, G; Petrik, L.F (2010): Removal of sulphates from South African mine water using coal fly ash. – In: Wolkersdorfer, Ch. & Freund, A.: Mine Water & Innovative Thinking. – p. 151 – 155; Sydney, Nova Scotia (CBU Press).

10. Gitari, Wilson Mugera; Petrik, Leslie Petrik; Key, David Key; Okujeni, Charles (2010): Inorganic contaminants attenuation in acid mine drainage by fly ash and its derivatives: Column Experiments. – In: Wolkersdorfer, Ch. & Freund, A.: Mine Water & Innovative Thinking. – p. 233 – 237; Sydney, Nova Scotia (CBU Press).

50 51

Conference Attendance 2010/11

1. Bruneel O., Casiot C., Personné J-C. Volant A., Vadapalli V.R.K. Petrik L., Cowan, DA., Morin G., Duran R., and Elbaz-Poulichet F. (2010). Impact des microorganismes sur les transformations des métaux et métalloïdes dans des drainages miniers d’Afrique du Sud. Proceeding, réunion de restitution du programme Ec2co. Toulouse, France 22-26 November 2010

2. Hintsho NC, Nechaev A, Titinchi SJJ, Petrik LF. SYNTHESIS OF NANOSTRUCTURED TITANIUM DIOXIDE AND APPLICATION IN WATER TREATMENT. SACI2011, 16th to 21st January 2011 at the University of Witwatersrand.

3. G. Okolongo*, L. Petrik, W. Perold, P. Ndungu, A Nechaev and U. Bettner . ADVANCED OXIDATIVE WATER TREATMENT PROCESS USING AN ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC DISCHARGE REACTOR. SACI2011, 16th to 21st January 2011 at the University of Witwatersrand.

4. Nuran Böke, Ziboneni Godongwana , Leslie Petrik. Removal of Acid Orange 8 from the Aqueous Phase by Using Ordered Mesoporous Carbon and Activated carbon. Annual World Conference on Carbon, July 24 to 29, 2011 in East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China

5. Muriithi, GN; Gitari, MW; Petrik, LF. Carbonation of brine slurried size fractionated coal combustion fly ash. World of Coal Ash 2011 (WOCA) Conference. 9-12 May 2011. Marriott Tech Center, Denver. Colorado

6. Sammy M. Nyale, Richard O. Akinyeye, Wilson M. Gitari, Leslie F. Petrik. Investigation of the mineralogy, weathering patterns and chemical mobility in coal fly ash co-disposed with brine from a 20 year old ash dam at a coal fired power station in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The 15th Southern African Conference on Coal, Carbon and Energy Technology, 17th- 18th November, 2010 at Glenhove Conference Centre, Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa.

7. Sammy M. Nyale, Richard O. Akinyeye, Wilson M. Gitari, Leslie F. Petrik. Chemical and mineralogical analysis of fine coal ash co-disposed with brine at a coal fired power station in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The International Conference On Analytical Sciences Conference (Analitika 2010), University of Stellenbosch, on the 9th day of December, 2010.

8. Ndayambaje G., Akinyeye R.O., Van Der Walt T.N. and Petrik L., Sorption properties of natural and synthetic zeolite for the removal of hazardous elements from industrial effluents, SACI2011, 16th to 21st January 2011 at the University of Witwatersrand.

9. Eze, P.C., Akinyeye, R.O., Gitari, W.M. and Petrik, L.F., The bulk chemistry and mineralogy of weathered fine coal ash from an ash dam in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, Analitika 2010 conference, University of Stellenbosch, 5th – 9th December, 2010.10. G N Muriithi, L F Petrik & W M Gitari, ‘Carbon sequestration using waste brine and fly ash’ Fossil Fuel Foundation, 17th to 18th November, 2010 at Glenhove, Johannesburg.

11. G N Muriithi, L F Petrik, W M Gitari & F Doucet, ‘Hydrotalcites syntheses from South African coal ash for carbon capture purposes’, SACI2011, 16th to 21st January 2011 at the University of Witwatersrand.

12. Grace Muriithi, Leslie Petrik, Wilson Gitari & Frederic Doucet,’ Mineral carbonation of a fly ash/ brine system’ ACEME10, 29th November to 1st December 2010, Turku, Finland.

13. Qiling Ying Naidoo, A. Nechaev, P. Leslie, P. Ndungu, S. Naidoo, Titanium modified carbon carbon nanotubes as platinum group metal catalyst support, SACI Jan. 16-21, 2011.

14. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, G. Balfour and E. Hums “Synthesis of zeolites from coal fly ash: Ultrasonic assisted ageing process” 40th SACI convention, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 16th - 21st January, 2011.

15. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, K. Molapo, G. Balfour and E. Hums “Synthesis of zeolites from fly ashes sourced from different South African coal fired power stations” Analitika 2010, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 5th - 9th December, 2010.

16. Akinyemi, S.A., Akinlua, A., Ojo, O.I., Gitari, W.M., Akinyeye, R. O. and Petrik, L. F., Trace Metals Mobility and Partitioning in Brine Irrigated Weathered Coal Fly Ashes from a Coal Burning Power Station in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, 27th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, October 11 - 14, 2010, Hilton Istanbul, Turkey.

17. S.A. Akinyemi, Akinlua, A. M. M. Gitari, Akinyeye R. O. and Petrik, L. F. Chemical partitioning and mobility of As, Se, and Pb at different stages of weathering of brine irrigated dry disposed ash in land fill. The 26th International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. March 27 - 30, 2011

52 53

Conference Attendance 2010/11

1. Bruneel O., Casiot C., Personné J-C. Volant A., Vadapalli V.R.K. Petrik L., Cowan, DA., Morin G., Duran R., and Elbaz-Poulichet F. (2010). Impact des microorganismes sur les transformations des métaux et métalloïdes dans des drainages miniers d’Afrique du Sud. Proceeding, réunion de restitution du programme Ec2co. Toulouse, France 22-26 November 2010

2. Hintsho NC, Nechaev A, Titinchi SJJ, Petrik LF. SYNTHESIS OF NANOSTRUCTURED TITANIUM DIOXIDE AND APPLICATION IN WATER TREATMENT. SACI2011, 16th to 21st January 2011 at the University of Witwatersrand.

3. G. Okolongo*, L. Petrik, W. Perold, P. Ndungu, A Nechaev and U. Bettner . ADVANCED OXIDATIVE WATER TREATMENT PROCESS USING AN ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC DISCHARGE REACTOR. SACI2011, 16th to 21st January 2011 at the University of Witwatersrand.

4. Nuran Böke, Ziboneni Godongwana , Leslie Petrik. Removal of Acid Orange 8 from the Aqueous Phase by Using Ordered Mesoporous Carbon and Activated carbon. Annual World Conference on Carbon, July 24 to 29, 2011 in East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China

5. Muriithi, GN; Gitari, MW; Petrik, LF. Carbonation of brine slurried size fractionated coal combustion fly ash. World of Coal Ash 2011 (WOCA) Conference. 9-12 May 2011. Marriott Tech Center, Denver. Colorado

6. Sammy M. Nyale, Richard O. Akinyeye, Wilson M. Gitari, Leslie F. Petrik. Investigation of the mineralogy, weathering patterns and chemical mobility in coal fly ash co-disposed with brine from a 20 year old ash dam at a coal fired power station in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The 15th Southern African Conference on Coal, Carbon and Energy Technology, 17th- 18th November, 2010 at Glenhove Conference Centre, Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa.

7. Sammy M. Nyale, Richard O. Akinyeye, Wilson M. Gitari, Leslie F. Petrik. Chemical and mineralogical analysis of fine coal ash co-disposed with brine at a coal fired power station in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The International Conference On Analytical Sciences Conference (Analitika 2010), University of Stellenbosch, on the 9th day of December, 2010.

8. Ndayambaje G., Akinyeye R.O., Van Der Walt T.N. and Petrik L., Sorption properties of natural and synthetic zeolite for the removal of hazardous elements from industrial effluents, SACI2011, 16th to 21st January 2011 at the University of Witwatersrand.

9. Eze, P.C., Akinyeye, R.O., Gitari, W.M. and Petrik, L.F., The bulk chemistry and mineralogy of weathered fine coal ash from an ash dam in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, Analitika 2010 conference, University of Stellenbosch, 5th – 9th December, 2010.10. G N Muriithi, L F Petrik & W M Gitari, ‘Carbon sequestration using waste brine and fly ash’ Fossil Fuel Foundation, 17th to 18th November, 2010 at Glenhove, Johannesburg.

11. G N Muriithi, L F Petrik, W M Gitari & F Doucet, ‘Hydrotalcites syntheses from South African coal ash for carbon capture purposes’, SACI2011, 16th to 21st January 2011 at the University of Witwatersrand.

12. Grace Muriithi, Leslie Petrik, Wilson Gitari & Frederic Doucet,’ Mineral carbonation of a fly ash/ brine system’ ACEME10, 29th November to 1st December 2010, Turku, Finland.

13. Qiling Ying Naidoo, A. Nechaev, P. Leslie, P. Ndungu, S. Naidoo, Titanium modified carbon carbon nanotubes as platinum group metal catalyst support, SACI Jan. 16-21, 2011.

14. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, G. Balfour and E. Hums “Synthesis of zeolites from coal fly ash: Ultrasonic assisted ageing process” 40th SACI convention, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 16th - 21st January, 2011.

15. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, K. Molapo, G. Balfour and E. Hums “Synthesis of zeolites from fly ashes sourced from different South African coal fired power stations” Analitika 2010, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 5th - 9th December, 2010.

16. Akinyemi, S.A., Akinlua, A., Ojo, O.I., Gitari, W.M., Akinyeye, R. O. and Petrik, L. F., Trace Metals Mobility and Partitioning in Brine Irrigated Weathered Coal Fly Ashes from a Coal Burning Power Station in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, 27th Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, October 11 - 14, 2010, Hilton Istanbul, Turkey.

17. S.A. Akinyemi, Akinlua, A. M. M. Gitari, Akinyeye R. O. and Petrik, L. F. Chemical partitioning and mobility of As, Se, and Pb at different stages of weathering of brine irrigated dry disposed ash in land fill. The 26th International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. March 27 - 30, 2011

52 53

18. Omotola Babajide, Leslie Petrik, Farouk Ameer and Bankole Amigun, Application of Coal Fly Ash as a Catalyst in the Transesterification Reaction for Biodiesel Production, 10th AIChE Annual Meeting at the Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 7th to 12th Nov., 2010.

19. O.O. Fatoba, W.M. Gitari, R.O. Akinyeye and L.F. Petrik: Chemical interactions of fly ash and brine: Mobility of major and minor species in fly ash-brine systems. The 26th International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. March 27 - 30, 2011

20. Patrick G. Ndungu, Kelebogile Leeuw, Nonkanyiso Queen Vokwana, and Leslie Petrik. Synthesis of Hexagonal Mesoporous Silica and Carbon Nanotube Composites: Parametric Investigation on the Effect of Molar Compositions on Mesoporous Structure. IZC-IMMS2010 Sorrento - Italy, 4-9 July 2010

21. G N Muriithi, L F Petrik, W M Gitari and F J Doucet, “Hydrotalcites syntheses from South African coal ash for carbon capture purposes” accepted for a poster presentation at the SACI2011 Convention in Witwatersrand University 16th to 20th January, 2011.

22. Grace Muriithi, Leslie Petrik , Wilson Gitari, Frederic Doucet. Mineral carbonation of a fly ash/ brine system. ACEME-10, Accelerated Carbonation for Environmental and Materials Engineering, Turku (Finland), 29 November - 1 December 2010

23. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, K. Molapo, G. Balfour and E. Hums Synthesis of zeolites from fly ashes sourced from different South African coal fired power stations. International conference of analytical sciences (Analitika 2010) 5 – 9 December 2010 Stellenbosch University

24. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, G. Balfour and E. Hums : Impact of ultrasound as a substitute for conventional heating during the synthesis of zeolites from fly ash. Nanosciences Young Researcher Symposium (NYRS)- Western Cape (Hosted by: SANi Student Chapter) Friday 18th September 2010 University of the Western Cape

25. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, G. Balfour and E. Hums. Ultrasonic assisted synthesis of zeolites from coal fly ash: 1. Effect of ultrasound on dissolution of fly ash mineral phases. SACI 2011 Convention (Johannesburg) - January 16th to 21st, 2011.

26. Nuran BÖKE, Ziboneni GODONGWANA, Leslie PETRIK. 2010. Mercury(II) removal from Aqueous Solution by Using Modified Ordered Mesoporous Carbon. NanoTR-VI-2010, 6th Nanoscience and Nanotechnology conference, Izmir Institute of Technology. 15-18 June, 2010, Izmir-Turkey

27. Nuran BÖKE, Ziboneni GODONGWANA , Leslie PETRIK. 2010. Removal of

rhodamine B from aqueous solution by using ordered mesoporous carbon and activated carbon.Ars Separatoria (XXV th international symposium on physicochemical methods of separation) July 4-7, 2010, Torun-Poland. Symposium proceedings

28. G. Madzivire, Treatment of mine water using coal fly ash: Understanding the chemistry, UWC Post Graduate Research Open Day, 26th – 27th October, 2010

29. Eze, P.C., Akinyeye, R.O., Gitari, W.M. and Petrik, L.F, Mobility of Species in Fly Ash at Different Stages of Weathering: A Case study of a Dry Ash Dump UWC Post Graduate Research Open Day, 26th – 27th October, 2010

30. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, G. Balfour and E. Hums “Impact of ultrasound as a substitute for conventional heating during the synthesis of zeolites from fly ash” Nanosciences Young Researcher Symposium (NYRS) - Western Cape, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa, 17th September, 2010.

31. Nyale S.M., Akinyeye, R.O., Gitari, W.M., Petrik, L.F. Chemical and mineralogical analysis of coal fly ash co-disposed with brine at SASOL synfuels-Secunda power station in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Presented at the UWC post graduate annual research open day, University of the Western cape, Bellville on the 26th day of October, 2010.

54 55

18. Omotola Babajide, Leslie Petrik, Farouk Ameer and Bankole Amigun, Application of Coal Fly Ash as a Catalyst in the Transesterification Reaction for Biodiesel Production, 10th AIChE Annual Meeting at the Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 7th to 12th Nov., 2010.

19. O.O. Fatoba, W.M. Gitari, R.O. Akinyeye and L.F. Petrik: Chemical interactions of fly ash and brine: Mobility of major and minor species in fly ash-brine systems. The 26th International Conference on Solid Waste Technology and Management, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. March 27 - 30, 2011

20. Patrick G. Ndungu, Kelebogile Leeuw, Nonkanyiso Queen Vokwana, and Leslie Petrik. Synthesis of Hexagonal Mesoporous Silica and Carbon Nanotube Composites: Parametric Investigation on the Effect of Molar Compositions on Mesoporous Structure. IZC-IMMS2010 Sorrento - Italy, 4-9 July 2010

21. G N Muriithi, L F Petrik, W M Gitari and F J Doucet, “Hydrotalcites syntheses from South African coal ash for carbon capture purposes” accepted for a poster presentation at the SACI2011 Convention in Witwatersrand University 16th to 20th January, 2011.

22. Grace Muriithi, Leslie Petrik , Wilson Gitari, Frederic Doucet. Mineral carbonation of a fly ash/ brine system. ACEME-10, Accelerated Carbonation for Environmental and Materials Engineering, Turku (Finland), 29 November - 1 December 2010

23. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, K. Molapo, G. Balfour and E. Hums Synthesis of zeolites from fly ashes sourced from different South African coal fired power stations. International conference of analytical sciences (Analitika 2010) 5 – 9 December 2010 Stellenbosch University

24. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, G. Balfour and E. Hums : Impact of ultrasound as a substitute for conventional heating during the synthesis of zeolites from fly ash. Nanosciences Young Researcher Symposium (NYRS)- Western Cape (Hosted by: SANi Student Chapter) Friday 18th September 2010 University of the Western Cape

25. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, G. Balfour and E. Hums. Ultrasonic assisted synthesis of zeolites from coal fly ash: 1. Effect of ultrasound on dissolution of fly ash mineral phases. SACI 2011 Convention (Johannesburg) - January 16th to 21st, 2011.

26. Nuran BÖKE, Ziboneni GODONGWANA, Leslie PETRIK. 2010. Mercury(II) removal from Aqueous Solution by Using Modified Ordered Mesoporous Carbon. NanoTR-VI-2010, 6th Nanoscience and Nanotechnology conference, Izmir Institute of Technology. 15-18 June, 2010, Izmir-Turkey

27. Nuran BÖKE, Ziboneni GODONGWANA , Leslie PETRIK. 2010. Removal of

rhodamine B from aqueous solution by using ordered mesoporous carbon and activated carbon.Ars Separatoria (XXV th international symposium on physicochemical methods of separation) July 4-7, 2010, Torun-Poland. Symposium proceedings

28. G. Madzivire, Treatment of mine water using coal fly ash: Understanding the chemistry, UWC Post Graduate Research Open Day, 26th – 27th October, 2010

29. Eze, P.C., Akinyeye, R.O., Gitari, W.M. and Petrik, L.F, Mobility of Species in Fly Ash at Different Stages of Weathering: A Case study of a Dry Ash Dump UWC Post Graduate Research Open Day, 26th – 27th October, 2010

30. N. M. Musyoka, L. F. Petrik, G. Balfour and E. Hums “Impact of ultrasound as a substitute for conventional heating during the synthesis of zeolites from fly ash” Nanosciences Young Researcher Symposium (NYRS) - Western Cape, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa, 17th September, 2010.

31. Nyale S.M., Akinyeye, R.O., Gitari, W.M., Petrik, L.F. Chemical and mineralogical analysis of coal fly ash co-disposed with brine at SASOL synfuels-Secunda power station in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Presented at the UWC post graduate annual research open day, University of the Western cape, Bellville on the 26th day of October, 2010.

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ENS 2010 in Pictures

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ENS 2010 in Pictures

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Environmental NanoScience Research Group:http://www.ensuwc.org/



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Please visit our Website:

Environmental NanoScience Research Group:http://www.ensuwc.org/



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ENVIRONMENT - University of the Western · PDF fileContact Details: Environmental Nanosciences Research Group Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science University of the Western Cape