Fabrication of pH-sensitive cellulose colorimetric papers for rapid detection of water content in transformer oil.

The combination of highly hydrophilic plant fiber and water molecule sensitive material can effectively detect the water content in transformer oil. In this study, two types of rapid response cellulose colorimetric papers (Rp and Bp) were fabricated through a simple impregnation method, with cellulosic fiber serving as the substrate, cresol red/thymol blue as the color developer, boric acid as the pH regulator, and silica aerosol as the filler. Rp and Bp were tested and analyzed using various characterization methods, and their performance in detecting bound water content in transformer oil was investigated.

Fe addition as a promising strategy to enhance the pollutant removal performance and mitigate the membrane fouling of a laboratory-scale membrane bioreactor treating sulfamethoxazole wastewater.

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a water treatment process combining membrane technologies with activated sludge, which is beneficial to the removal of antibiotics. However, with the extension of the operation cycle, its efficiency in treating antibiotic wastewater decreases and the membrane fouling intensifies. As the presence of Fe could improve pollutants removal, microbial activity and sludge properties, it was anticipated that the addition of Fe in MBR might promote the removal of antibiotics and reduce membrane fouling.

Fabrication of hydrophobic cellulosic paper via physical vapor deposition of alkenyl succinic anhydride.

While plant fibers are abundant and biodegradable natural polymers, their high hydrophilicity often limits their applicability. To broaden the applicability of plant fiber materials across diverse fields, the present study employed cellulosic paper as a substrate and alkenyl succinic anhydride (ASA) as a low surface free energy material to fabricate a series of hydrophobic cellulosic papers (ASAP, ASA-P@Si, ASA-P@Ca, and ASA-P@Ti) through surface coating and physical vapor deposition of ASA. The results demonstrated that, in comparison to uncoated cellulosic paper, the coated variants exhibited significantly improved hydrophobicity.

Facile fabrication of nanocellulose-supported membrane composited with modified carbon nitride and HKUST-1 for efficient photocatalytic degradation of formaldehyde.

As a cellulose-derived material, nanocellulose possesses unique properties that make it an ideal substrate for various functional composite materials. In this study, we developed a novel composite membrane material capable of adsorbing and photo-catalyzing formaldehyde by immobilizing HKUST-1 (copper open framework composed of 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) onto NFC (Nano-fibrillated cellulose) membranes and subsequently loading modified carbon nitride. The synthesized CNx@HN composite membrane (consisting of NFC membrane with anchored HKUST-1 and modified g-CNx nanosheets) was thoroughly characterized, and its photocatalytic degradation performance towards low concentrations of formaldehyde (3.

Diatomite Composited with a Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework for Removing Phosphate from Water.

Adsorption technology based on various adsorbents has been widely applied in wastewater treatment containing phosphate. A novel diatomite adsorbent composited with ZIF-8 (CZD) was developed for removing phosphate from water in this work. The chitosan was used to pre-modify the diatomite so that ZIF-8 could be anchored on the surface of the diatomite solidly and uniformly.

Diatomite Modified with an Alkyl Ketene Dimer for Hydrophobicity of Cellulosic Paper.

Multifunctionalization of papermaking chemicals is one of the main developing strategies. Fillers and internal sizing agents are often mutually restricted in practice. Therefore, it is feasible to prepare a new papermaking chemical by combining the functions of both.

Green assembly of high-density and small-sized silver nanoparticles on lignosulfonate-phenolic resin spheres: Focusing on multifunction of lignosulfonate.

In this work, sodium lignosulfonate (SL) was introduced in the hydrothermal preparation of phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin sphere that was subsequently used as a green reducer and support for synthesis of Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The results showed that the addition amount of SL had a remarkable effect on the size of the SL incorporated PF (SLPF) spheres and the smallest particle size was obtained when 20% of SL (based on phenol mass) was added. The addition of SL increased the surface area and negative charge of SLPF spheres, which enhanced the Ag NPs loading amount accordingly.

[Effect of Ca on the Nitrification Activity and the Flocculation and Sedimentation Performances of the Activated Sludge].

Ca is an important microbial growth factor that can affect the activity, flocculation, and sedimentation of activated sludge. In order to study the roles of Ca in the activated sludge system, the activity changes of ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) were analyzed using the specific oxygen uptake rates (SOUR and SOUR). The changes in composition and structure of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and three-dimensional excitation emission fluorescence spectroscopy (3D-EEM).

Effects of K salinity on the sludge activity and the microbial community structure of an AO process.

Salt ions are ubiquitous in wastewater and have significant impacts on the microbial activity and nitrogen and phosphorus removal in biological wastewater treatment processes. The effects of KCl salinity on the removal of COD, TN and PO-P were investigated in a lab-scale AO process. Meanwhile, the effects of K concentration on the composition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and the microbial community structure were demonstrated.

[Effect of NaCl Salinity on Extracellular Polymeric Substances and Bioflocculation of Anoxic Sludge in A/O Process].

In order to improve the biological removal efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus and bioflocculation performance of salt-containing wastewater, the effect of NaCl salinity on the efficiency of denitrification and phosphorus removal in the anoxic zone of an A/O process was investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to analyze the composition and structure of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in activated sludge of the anoxic zone, to discern the effect of salinity on bioflocculation. Results showed that when NaCl salinity was 0-5 g·L, flocculation ability (FA) in A/O anoxic zone was about 44% and the sludge particle size was 45.

[Preparation of Mn-Co/Ceramic Honeycomb Catalyst and Its Performance on Catalytic Ozonation of Hydroquinone].

In order to improve the activity and working life of metal catalysts in the heterogeneous catalytic ozonation of organic wastewater, four kinds of Mn-Co/ceramic honeycomb (CH) catalysts with different mass ratios of Mn and Co were prepared by coating method using cobalt nitrate hexahydrate [Co(NO)·6HO] and manganese nitrate [Mn(NO)] as precursors, respectively, and CH as the carrier. The structure of the catalysts was analyzed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), N adsorption/desorption, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The mechanical properties of the catalysts were studied.