Optimising pollutant degradation in reductant-mediated copper Fenton-like systems using mechanistically-based kinetic modelling.

A mechanistic kinetic model has been developed and validated for Cu(II)/AA (ascorbic acid) and Cu(II)/HO/AA systems under varying chloride concentrations and circumneutral pH. While the Cu(II)/AA system degraded the selected target contaminant (formate) via Cu(III) generation through a Fenton-like mechanism, observed efficiencies were inadequate for practical water treatment across a broad range of chloride concentrations. This limitation stemmed from insufficient HO production, leading to low Cu(III) concentrations, and scavenging of Cu(III) by AA and its oxidation products.

Fouling in Capacitive Deionization: A Critical Review.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a promising alternative technology for efficient removal of aqueous charged species from brackish or contaminated feed streams. Over the past decade, CDI has transitioned from a laboratory curiosity to a viable technology for desalination and resource recovery. However, rapid advancements in this field have raised concerns regarding various operational issues, including energy efficiency and fouling tendencies.

Predicting Membrane Fouling of Submerged Membrane Bioreactor Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Machine Learning.

Membrane fouling remains a significant challenge in the operation of membrane bioreactors (MBRs). Plant operators rely heavily on observations of filtration performance from noisy sensor data to assess membrane fouling conditions and lab-based protocols for plant maintenance, often leading to inaccurate estimations of future performance and delayed membrane cleaning. This challenge is further compounded by the difficulty in integrating existing complex mechanistic models with the Internet of Things (IoT) systems of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).

Use of Copper in Evaluating the Role of Phenolic Moieties in the Photooxidation of Dissolved Organic Matter.

In a recent study, copper was shown to act as a novel quencher for investigating the mechanism of the photooxidation and photobleaching of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by selectively quenching the one-electron oxidizing intermediates of DOM (DOM). However, the capture of DOM by Cu is possibly partially due to strong competition from phenolic antioxidant moieties intrinsically present in DOM for DOM quenching. In this study, the extent of interaction between DOM and phenolic antioxidant moieties is quantified by measuring the inhibitory effect of Cu on DOM photooxidation and photobleaching under varying pH (5.

Transformation of Natural Organic Matter in Simulated Abiotic Redox Dynamic Environments: Impact on Fe Cycling.

Redox fluctuations within redox dynamic environments influence the redox state of natural organic matter (NOM) and its interaction with redox-active elements, such as iron. In this work, we investigate the changes in the molecular composition of NOM during redox fluctuations as well as the impact of these changes on the Fe-NOM interaction employing Suwannee River Dissolved Organic Matter (SRDOM) as a representative NOM. Characterization of SRDOM using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry showed that irreversible changes occurred following electrochemical reduction and reoxidation of SRDOM in air.