Removal of Microplastics from Laundry Wastewater Using Coagulation and Membrane Combination: A Laboratory-Scale Study.

Microplastic (MP) pollution has recently emerged as a critical global environmental issue. Laundry wastewater is a significant contributor to MP pollution, containing high concentrations of MPs. Although coagulation has recently been widely applied to remove MPs from such wastewater, its efficiency remains poor, and the removal mechanisms are not yet fully elucidated.

Selective recovery of europium from real acid mine drainage using modified Cr-MIL and SBA15 adsorbents.

The successful adoption and widespread implementation of innovative acid mine drainage treatment and resource recovery methods hinge on their capacity to demonstrate enhanced performance, economic viability, and environmental sustainability compared to conventional approaches. Here, an evaluation of the efficacy of chromium-based metal-organic frameworks and amine-grafted SBA15 materials in adsorbing europium (Eu) from actual mining wastewater was conducted. The adsorbents underwent comprehensive characterization and examination for their affinity for Eu.

Persulfate assisted photocatalytic and antibacterial activity of TiO-CuO coupled with graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide.

Photocatalysts of TiO-CuO coupled with 30% graphene oxide (GO) were hydrothermally fabricated, which varied the TiO to CuO weight ratios to 1:4, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1 and 4:1 and reduced to form TiO-CuO/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) photocatalysts. They were characterized using XRD, TEM, SEM, XPS, Raman, and DRS technologies. TiO-CuO composites and TiO-CuO/GO degrade methylene blue when persulfate ions are present.

Surface Treatment of Polymer Membranes for Effective Biofouling Control.

Membrane biofouling is the consequence of the deposition of microorganisms on polymer membrane surfaces. Polymeric membranes have garnered more attention for filtering and purifying water because of their ease of handling, low cost, effortless surface modification, and mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties. The sizes of the pores in the membranes enable micro- and nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, and reverse osmosis.

Membranes in Water Reclamation: Treatment, Reuse and Concentrate Management.

In this article, an extensive examination is provided on the possible uses of membranes and hybrid processes in wastewater treatment. While membrane technologies face certain constraints, such as membrane fouling and scaling, the incomplete elimination of emerging contaminants, elevated expenses, energy usage, and brine disposal, there are approaches that can address these challenges. Methods such as pretreating the feed water, utilizing hybrid membrane systems and hybrid dual-membrane systems, and employing other innovative membrane-based treatment techniques can enhance the efficacy of membrane processes and advance sustainability.

ZnO/PDA/Mesoporous Cellular Foam Functionalized Thin-Film Nanocomposite Membrane towards Enhanced Nanofiltration Performance.

Thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes are the third-generation membranes being explored for nanofiltration applications. Incorporating nanofillers in the dense selective polyamide (PA) layer improves the permeability-selectivity trade-off. The mesoporous cellular foam composite Zn-PDA-MCF-5 was used as a hydrophilic filler in this study to prepare TFN membranes.

Kinetics and Thermodynamics Study of Methylene Blue Adsorption to Sucrose- and Urea-Derived Nitrogen-Enriched, Hierarchically Porous Carbon Activated by KOH and HPO.

Hierarchically porous nitrogen-enriched carbon materials synthesized by polymerization of sucrose and urea (SU) were activated by KOH and HPO (SU-KOH and SU-HPO, respectively). Characterization was undertaken and the synthesized materials were tested for their ability to adsorb methylene blue (MB). Scanning electron microscopic images along with the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis revealed the presence of a hierarchically porous system.

Fabrication of Naturally Derived Chitosan and Ilmenite Sand-Based TiO/FeO/Fe-N-Doped Graphitic Carbon Composite for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue under Sunlight.

Fabrication of chitosan and ilmenite sand-based novel photocatalysts through the catalytic graphitization of chitosan is reported. Nanocomposites consisted of TiO, FeO and Fe nanoparticles dispersed on a nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon framework. The surface area, pore volume and macropore structure of the carbon matrix is disturbed by the heterogeneously distributed nanoparticles.

Bisphenols in water: Occurrence, effects, and mitigation strategies.

Bisphenols (bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol AF (BPAF)) are widely used as additives in numerous industries and therefore they are ubiquitously present throughout the world's natural environment including water. A review of the literature is presented on their sources, pathways of entry into the environment, and especially aquatic contexts, their toxicity to humans and other organisms and the technologies for removing them from water. The treatment technologies used are mostly adsorption, biodegradation, advanced oxidation, coagulation, and membrane separation processes.

Recent Advances in Chitosan-Based Applications-A Review.

Chitosan derived from chitin gas gathered much interest as a biopolymer due to its known and possible broad applications. Chitin is a nitrogen-enriched polymer abundantly present in the exoskeletons of arthropods, cell walls of fungi, green algae, and microorganisms, radulae and beaks of molluscs and cephalopods, etc. Chitosan is a promising candidate for a wide variety of applications due to its macromolecular structure and its unique biological and physiological properties, including solubility, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and reactivity.

Treatment Trends and Combined Methods in Removing Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products from Wastewater-A Review.

When discharged into wastewater, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) become microorganic contaminants and are among the largest groups of emerging pollutants. Human, animal, and aquatic organisms' exposures to PPCPs have linked them to an array of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reproductive toxicity risks. For this reason, various methods are being implemented to remove them from water bodies.

Fabrication of r-GO/GO/α-FeO/FeTiO Nanocomposite Using Natural Ilmenite and Graphite for Efficient Photocatalysis in Visible Light.

Hematite (α-FeO) and pseudobrookite (FeTiO) suffer from poor charge transport and a high recombination effect under visible light irradiation. This study investigates the design and production of a 2D graphene-like r-GO/GO coupled α-FeO/FeTiO heterojunction composite with better charge separation. It uses a simple sonochemical and hydrothermal approach followed by L-ascorbic acid chemical reduction pathway.

Coaxial Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes for Enhanced Water Recovery by Direct Contact Membrane Distillation.

Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging technology for water recovery from hypersaline wastewater. Membrane scaling and wetting are the drawbacks that prevent the widespread implementation of the MD process. In this study, coaxially electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-co-HFP) nanofibrous membranes were fabricated with re-entrant architecture and enhanced hydrophobicity/omniphobicity.

Effects of Viscosity on Submerged Membrane Microfiltration Systems.

Submerged microfiltration has a wide range of applications in water and wastewater treatment. Membrane fouling is a major problem, resulting in a severe decline in flux, high energy consumption and frequent membrane cleaning and replacement. The effect of viscosity was not previously studied under controlled conditions to relate it to the air scour.

Fabrication of TiO Spheres and a Visible Light Active α-FeO/TiO-Rutile/TiO-Anatase Heterogeneous Photocatalyst from Natural Ilmenite.

High-purity (98.8%, TiO) rutile nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using ilmenite sand as the initial titanium source. This novel synthesis method was cost-effective and straightforward due to the absence of the traditional gravity, magnetic, electrostatic separation, ball milling, and smelting processes.

Efficient Visible-Light Photocatalysis and Antibacterial Activity of TiO-FeC-Fe-FeO/Graphitic Carbon Composites Fabricated by Catalytic Graphitization of Sucrose Using Natural Ilmenite.

Dyes in wastewater are a serious problem that needs to be resolved. Adsorption coupled photocatalysis is an innovative technique used to remove dyes from contaminated water. Novel composites of TiO-FeC-Fe-FeO dispersed on graphitic carbon were fabricated using natural ilmenite sand as the source of iron and titanium, and sucrose as the carbon source, which were available at no cost.

Ozonation/adsorption hybrid treatment system for improved removal of natural organic matter and organic micropollutants from water - A mini review and future perspectives.

Elevated concentrations of natural organic matter (NOM) and organic micropollutants (OMPs) can contaminate the quality of drinking water, and current water treatment technologies are not always successful in removing all their constituents. Ozonation and adsorption are two advanced processes with different removal mechanisms used to treat NOM and OMPs. Their treatment efficiency depends on the strength and kinetics of adsorption and ozonation (ozone molecule and OH radical (OH•) reaction) of the individual NOM constituents and OMPs.

Single-step removal of arsenite ions from water through oxidation-coupled adsorption using Mn/Mg/Fe layered double hydroxide as catalyst and adsorbent.

This study developed a layered double hydroxides (Mn/Mg/Fe-LDH) material through a simple co-precipitation method. The Mn/Mg/Fe-LDH oxidized arsenite [As(III)] ions into arsenate [As(V)] anions. The As(III) and oxidized As(V) were then adsorbed onto Mn/Mg/Fe-LDH.

Removing ammonium from contaminated water using Purolite C100E: batch, column, and household filter studies.

Ammonium removal from drinking water to protect human and environmental health is one of the major global concerns. This study evaluates the performance of Purolite C100E, a commercial cation exchange resin, in eliminating ammonium in synthetic and real contaminated groundwater. The results demonstrate that the pH operation range of the resin for better ammonium removal is 3 to 8.

On-site domestic wastewater treatment system using shredded waste plastic bottles as biofilter media: Pilot-scale study on effluent standards in Bhutan.

In this study, a 1000 L/d capacity one-off on-site wastewater treatment system was operated for over a year as a pilot alternative to the conventional on-site treatment as currently used in urban Bhutan. An up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) was used for blackwater treatment (to replace "septic tank followed by an anaerobic biofilter (ABF) (to replace soak pits) for the treatment of a mixture of greywater and UASB effluent. Shredded waste plastic bottles were used as the novel biofilter media in the ABF.

Recovery of rare earth elements (Lu, Y) by adsorption using functionalized SBA-15 and MIL-101 (Cr).

Due to increasing application in the green energy sector, rare earth elements (REEs) have become a precious commodity in the international market. The REEs, Yttrium (Y) and Lutetium (Lu) are used as catalysts in wide array of industries. SBA-15 modified with 1,4-phthaloyl diamido-propyltriethoxysilane (1,4-PA-APTES) ligands; and chromium based metal organic frameworks (MOF) modified with PMIDA (MIL-101-PMIDA) were prepared in this study as potential adsorbents for recovery of these elements.

Continuous and selective copper recovery by multi-modified and granulated SBA-15.

Continuous and selective recovery of copper (Cu) from heavy metal wastewater not only mitigates the pollution of environment but also can be applied for industrial field. Due to several advantages such as large pore size, easy modification, physical and chemical stabilities, mesoporous silica material, SBA-15, has been synthesized via hydrothermal reaction in this study. For enhancing the adsorption capacity and selectivity for Cu ions, prepared SBA-15 was modified with manganese loading and amine-grafting (MN-SBA) then granulated by alginic-acid (GMN-SBA), successfully.