Immobilization of Pb, Cu and Zn in contaminated soil using ball milling technique.

Soil contamination caused by heavy metals has gained widespread attention from both government and public. In the present research, ball milling was utilized to remediate soil contaminated by Pb, Cu, and Zn and the influence of milling time on immobilization effectiveness was also investigated. The effectiveness of immobilization was evaluated by analyzing the leachable fraction of heavy metals from the ball-milled soil.

Pyrolysis-based separation mechanism for waste crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules by a two-stage heating treatment.

Heating treatment is the mainstream method to separate the modules in the waste photovoltaic (PV) module recycling process, which has not been studied thoroughly. In the present study, a two-stage heating treatment was conducted to separate the waste crystalline silicon solar panels. The TPT backing material could be recovered integrally by heating at 150 °C for 5 min, which was conducive to further recycling and regeneration.

Tuning Electronic Properties of the SiC-GeC Bilayer by External Electric Field: A First-Principles Study.

First-principles calculations were used to investigate the electronic properties of the SiC/GeC nanosheet (the thickness was about 8 Å). With no electric field (E-field), the SiC/GeC nanosheet was shown to have a direct bandgap of 1.90 eV.

A Trust-Based Formal Model for Fault Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are prone to failures and malicious attacks. Trust evaluation is becoming a new method for fault detection in WSNs. In our previous work, a comprehensive trust model based on multi-factors was introduced for fault detection.

Rapid Cr(VI) reduction and immobilization in contaminated soil by mechanochemical treatment with calcium polysulfide.

Mechanochemical treatment with calcium polysulfide (CPS) was applied to remediate the Cr(VI) contaminated soil. The effects of parameters including milling speed, milling time, ball to powder ratio (BPR) and dosage of CPS were investigated. The effectiveness of mechanical treatment with or without CPS is estimated by analyzing the leachable fraction of Cr(VI).

Single platinum atoms embedded in nanoporous cobalt selenide as electrocatalyst for accelerating hydrogen evolution reaction.

Designing efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction is significant for renewable and sustainable energy conversion. Here, we report single-atom platinum decorated nanoporous CoSe (Pt/np-CoSe) as efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. The achieved Pt/np-CoSe shows high catalytic performance with a near-zero onset overpotential, a low Tafel slope of 35 mV dec, and a high turnover frequency of 3.

In-situ reaction for recycling indium from waste liquid crystal display panels by vaccum reduction with pyrolytic carbon as reductant.

In the past, the pretreatment and indium extracting were conducted in independent disposal system to recycle indium from waste liquid crystal display (LCD), which make the recycling process inefficient and costly. In this study, an efficient and environmental friendly indium recycling process was proposed by an in-situ reaction process. The carbon residue generated in the pretreatment stage (organic removing stage) was used as the reductant to extract indium in the same reaction system.

Dielectric Properties and Thermal Conductivity of Poly(vinylidene fluoride)-Based Composites with Graphite Nanosheet and Nickel Particle.

The nickel (Ni) particles and graphite nanosheet (GNS) filled poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) composites were prepared by solution blending and hot-press processing in the magnetic field. The influence of Ni particles and GNS fillers for the structure, morphology, AC conductivity, dielectric properties and thermal conductivity of composites was investigated. The results showed that the -phase crystals of PVDF matrix was increased obviously.

Efficient Pb removal through the formations of (basic) carbonate precipitates from different sources during wet stirred ball milling with CaCO.

Calcium carbonate (CaCO) may be used for lead removal. However, due to compact structure and high crystallinity of CaCO, the utilization of CO is low and Pb removal only stays at the extent of physical adsorption and surface precipitation. In this research, a wet stirred ball milling process was introduced to induce nearly stoichiometric reactions between lead salts of nitrate, chloride or sulfate with CaCO by consequently updating fresh surfaces of CaCO.

Pollution analysis of soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from informal electronic waste dismantling areas in Xinqiao, China.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are considered to be persistent organic pollutants, which pose a great threat to human health and the surrounding environment. In order to explore the influence of informal electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling activities on inhabitants who live nearby, soil samples were collected from informal e-waste dismantling areas in Xinqiao, China and analysed for 16 United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) priority PAHs. Results indicated that the 16 USEPA priority PAHs were found at all seven sampling locations.

Effect of H SO Solution Treatment on Adhesion, Charge Transfer, and Catalytic Performance of Screen-Printed PEDOT:PSS.

Post-treatment was performed for poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films screen-printed on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates, to improve their charge transfer efficiency. Different H SO solutions, including concentrated H SO and H SO diluted with H O or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), were adopted during the post-treatment. The adhesion of the as-treated films was evaluated by adhesive tape peeling tests, the surface morphology and vertical charge transfer from the films to the substrates were investigated by current-sensing atomic force microscopy, and the catalytic activities toward I reduction of PEDOT:PSS films were characterized by electrochemical measurements.

Synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes-FePO composite from phosphate residue and its application as effective Fenton-like catalyst for dye degradation.

Phosphate residue is regarded as a hazardous waste, which could potentially create significant environmental and health problems if it is not properly treated and disposed of. In this study, nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes-FePO (NCNTs-FePO) composite was successfully synthesized from phosphate residue, and its application as an effective catalyst was explored. Firstly, an effective method was developed to recover FePO from phosphate residue, achieving an impressive FePO mass recovery rate of 98.

Gravity-driven catalytic nanofibrous membrane with microsphere and nanofiber coordinated structure for ultrafast continuous reduction of 4-nitrophenol.

Silver loaded nanofibrous membrane with high catalytic performance for 4-nitrophenol under continuous gravity-driven filtration was developed in this study. A polydopamine (PDA) microsphere and nanofiber coordinated composite structure was fabricated through an in situ PDA synthesis to achieve a high catalyst loading and controllable residence time of 4-nitrophenol. The incorporated PDA microspheres played an important role for the enhancement of catalytic performance due to the increased surface area (23% increase compared with PAN and PAN-PDAs-Ag) and reduced membrane porosity.

Intercropping with sunflower and inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promotes growth of garlic chive in metal-contaminated soil at a WEEE-recycling site.

Heavy metal (HM) pollution in agricultural soils due to the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has become a serious concern, but most farmers cannot afford the economic losses of fallow land during remediation. Thus, it is imperative to produce low-HM crops while remediating the contaminated soils. A 17-week pot experiment was conducted to investigate the growth and HM (Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr, Zn, and Ni) acquisition of garlic chives (Allium tuberosum Rottl.

Mechanochemical treatment of Cr(VI) contaminated soil using a sodium sulfide coupled solidification/stabilization process.

In this research, mechanochemical reduction was carried out to remediate Cr(VI) contaminated soil, and the reduction effectiveness was evaluated by analyzing the corresponding leachable fraction obtained through the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) proposed by the EPA. The results indicated that mechanochemical reduction can efficiently reduce the Cr(VI) concentration in the leachate. Under a milling time of 2 h, milling speed of 500 rpm, ball-to-powder weight ratio of 14 and NaS dosage of 5%, the Cr(VI) leaching concentration significantly decreased from 663.

Effects of pH value and calcium hardness on the removal of 1,1,1-trichloroethane by immobilized nanoscale zero-valent iron on silica based supports.

Immobilizing nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) particles on silica-based supports is an effective way to overcome the NZVI aggregation. The pH value and calcium hardness can change the aggregation kinetics and alter the stability of the suspensions of NZVI-silica based materials, thus change the reactivity of these NZVI-silica based materials to remove chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs). The removal of CAHs by these NZVI-silica based materials includes adsorption by silica based supports and degradation by NZVI particles.

Stocks and environmental release of mercury in backlight cold cathode fluorescence lamps.

Cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs), with mercury as their essential component, were widely used as backlight in liquid crystal display (LCD) appliances before 2008. Since 2008, the mercury-free light emitting diode started to be used as a substitute for CCFLs and the replacement finished in about 2014. Nowadays, CCFLs are obsolete products from the viewpoint of manufacture but they are important as waste.

Preparation of Co-N carbon nanosheet oxygen electrode catalyst by controlled crystallization of cobalt salt precursors for all-solid-state Al-air battery.

Production of bifunctional catalysts for catalyzing both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is highly advisable but challenging with respect to the applications of these catalysts in renewable energy conversion and storage technologies. Herein, we prepared highly reactive and stable cobalt-embedded nitrogen-rich carbon nanosheets (Co-N/CNs). Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experiments, the as-prepared Co-N/CNs showed outstanding catalytic activities toward both OER and ORR.

Modified iron phosphate/polyvinyl alcohol composite film for controlled-release fertilisers.

Traditional soluble phosphorous (P) fertilisers can be easily leached to pollute water systems, resulting in water eutrophication, a major environmental problem from the oversupply of unused nutrients. One innovative solution is to control the release of P upon demands of the plants. This study established a new concept of controlled-release P fertiliser incorporation of ferric phosphate (FePO) as a P source in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films, which can immobilise the FePO particles and stimuli-responsively accelerate their release rate in the presence of citric acid.

Intriguingly high thermal conductivity increment for CuO nanowires contained nanofluids with low viscosity.

Nanofluids offer the exciting new possibilities to enhance heat transfer performance. In this paper, experimental and theoretical investigations have been conducted to determine the effect of CuO nanowires on the thermal conductivity and viscosity of dimethicone based nanofluids. The CuO nanowires were prepared through a thermal oxidation method, and the analysis indicated that the as-prepared CuO nanowires had high purity, monocrystalline with a monoclinic structure and large aspect ratio compared to CuO nanospheres.

Sustainable Transportation and Health.

We are experiencing a shift in thinking about Transportation and Mobility, which makes this Special Issue on Sustainable Transportation and Health in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health especially timely.[..

2D Photonic Crystal Hydrogel Sensor for Tear Glucose Monitoring.

Photonic crystal (PC) materials have huge potentials as sensors for noninvasive and real-time monitoring glucose in tears. We developed a glucose-sensitive PC material based on monolayered colloidal crystals (MCCs). Polystyrene nanoparticles were first self-assembled into a highly ordered MCC, and this two-dimensional (2D) template was then coated by a 4-boronobenzaldehyde-functionalized poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel.

Neurobehavioral effects of two metabolites of BDE-47 (6-OH-BDE-47 and 6-MeO-BDE-47) on zebrafish larvae.

Two metabolites, OH-BDEs and MeO-BDEs, of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were ubiquitously detected in animal tissues and environmental samples, drawing a widely public concern to their toxicity. The comparison of toxicity between PBDEs and their metabolites has been a focus in recent years, however, comparisons seldom involve neurobehavioral toxicity of PBDEs metabolites in published works. In this study, zebrafish larvae were exposed to 6-OH-BDE-47 and 6-MeO-BDE-47 and their neurobehavioral traits (including locomotion, path angle, and social activity) were recorded using the instrument Zebrabox; meanwhile, light illumination was used as stimuli in the test duration.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alleviate the heavy metal toxicity on sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants cultivated on a heavily contaminated field soil at a WEEE-recycling site.

An 8-week pot experiment was conducted to investigate the growth and responses of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal inoculations on a heavily heavy metal (HM)-contaminated (H) soil and a lightly HM-enriched (L) soil, both of which were collected from a waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)-recycling site. Compared with the L soil, the H soil induced significantly larger (P<0.

Emulsion Electrospinning of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Nanofibrous Membranes for High-Performance Triboelectric Nanogenerators.

Electrospinning is a simple, versatile technique for fabricating fibrous nanomaterials with the desirable features of extremely high porosities and large surface areas. Using emulsion electrospinning, polytetrafluoroethylene/polyethene oxide (PTFE/PEO) membranes were fabricated, followed by a sintering process to obtain pure PTFE fibrous membranes, which were further utilized against a polyamide 6 (PA6) membrane for vertical contact-mode triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) measurements of the sintered electrospun PTFE membranes revealed the presence of both positive and negative surface charges owing to the transfer of positive charge from PEO which was further corroborated by FTIR measurements.