Baowei Hu

X-ray absorption fine structure study of enhanced sequestration of U(VI) and Se(IV) by montmorillonite decorated with zero-valent iron nanoparticles

Herein, using Na-montmorillonite and Al-montmorillonite as templates, supported NZVI with superior reactivity, namely NZVI/Na-Mont and NZVI/Al-Mont, was synthesized and applied for enhanced sequestration of U(VI) and Se(IV). The results indicated that the negatively charged Na-Mont can effectively adsorb cationic U(VI), while the positively charged Al-Mont can adsorb anionic Se(IV), significantly enhancing the rate and extent of U(VI) and Se(IV) sequestration on NZVI due to the synergistic effect between adsorption and reduction. The inhibition effect of 1,10-phenanthroline demonstrated that surface-adsorbed Fe(II) on corrosion products and clay surfaces played an indispensable role in U(VI) and Se(IV) reduction, which was further confirmed by XPS identification. XANES analysis demonstrated that in the NZVI system, Na-Mont and Al-Mont promote the reductive transformation of U(VI) into U(IV), and Se(IV) into Se(0)/Se(−II), respectively. EXAFS analysis indicated the presence of Al/Si scattering for U(VI)-treated NZVI/Na-Mont and Se(IV)-treated NZVI/Al-Mont samples, revealing that Na-Mont and Al-Mont reacted as a scavenger for insoluble products like UO2 and FeSe, thereby, more reactive sites can be used for U(VI) and Se(IV) reduction. Our results suggested that the distinct structure of modified montmorillonite can be utilized for synthesizing supported NZVI to create properties compatible for enhanced enrichment of radionuclides, displaying potential application in nuclear waste management.

Macroscopic and spectroscopic studies of the enhanced scavenging of Cr(VI) and Se(VI) from water by titanate nanotube anchored nanoscale zero-valent iron

Herein, a promising titanate nanotubes (TNT) anchored nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) nanocomposite (NZVI/TNT) was synthesized, characterized and used for the enhanced scavenging of Cr(VI) and Se(VI) from water. The structural identification indicated that NZVI was uniformly loaded on TNT, thereby, the oxidation and aggregation of NZVI was significantly minimized. The macroscopic experimental results indicated that NZVI/TNT exhibited higher efficiency as well as rate on Cr(VI) and Se(VI) scavenging resulted from the good synergistic effect between adsorption and reduction. Besides, TNT can weaken the inhibitory effect of co-existing humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) on the scavenging of Cr(VI) and Se(VI) by NZVI, since TNT showed strong adsorption for HA and FA that inhibit potential reactivity. XPS analysis suggested that surface-bound Fe(II) played a critical role in Cr(VI) and Se(VI) scavenging. XANES analysis demonstrated that TNT acted as a promoter for the almost complete transformation of Cr(VI) into Cr(III), and Se(VI) into Se(0)/Se(-II) in NZVI system. EXAFS analysis indicated that TNT acted as a scavenger for insoluble products, and thus more reactive sites can be used for Cr(VI) and Se(VI) reduction. The excellent performance of NZVI/TNT provide a potential material for purification and detoxification of Cr(VI) and Se(VI) from wastewater.

The enhancement roles of layered double hydroxide on the reductive immobilization of selenate by nanoscale zero valent iron: Macroscopic and microscopic approaches

Herein, we utilized nanoscale zero-valent iron loaded on layered double hydroxide (NZVI/LDH) to immobilize Se(VI) and evaluated the enhancement role of LDH in the NZVI reaction system. The structural characterization indicated that LDH could stabilize and disperse NZVI as well as prevent NZVI from oxidation, thereby increasing iron reactivity. Batch experiments displayed that, compared with those by NZVI, both extent and rate of Se(VI) immobilized by NZVI/LDH significantly increased, owing to the prominent synergistic effect ascribing from adsorption and reduction. Kinetics studies under a series of conditions showed that Se(VI) reaction could be well described by pseudo first-order model. The performance of Se(VI) immobilization was inhibited to a considerable extent by most of co-existing ions, Nevertheless, the presence of Cu2+ improved performance of NZVI/LDH due to its role as a catalyst or medium of charge transfer during reduction. XANES revealed that LDH acted as a promoter for complete reduction of Se(VI) into Se(0)/Se(-II) over a wide pH range, whereas EXAFS suggested that LDH acted as a scavenger for insoluble products, making more reactive sites exposure to Se(VI) for reduction. These results suggested that NZVI/LDH as a promising candidate exhibited potential application in remediation of wastewaters containing Se(VI).

Mechanistic insights into sequestration of U(VI) toward magnetic biochar: Batch, XPS and EXAFS techniques

The magnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles stabilized on the biochar were synthesized by fast pyrolysis of Fe(II)-loaded hydrophyte biomass under N2 conditions. The batch experiments showed that magnetic biochar presented a large removal capacity (54.35mg/g) at pH3.0 and 293K. The reductive co-precipitation of U(VI) to U(IV) by magnetic biochar was demonstrated according to X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption near edge structure analysis. According to extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis, the occurrence of U-Fe and U-U shells indicated that high effective removal of uranium was primarily inner-sphere coordination and then reductive co-precipitation at low pH. These observations provided the further understanding of uranium removal by magnetic materials in environmental remediation.

XANES and EXAFS investigation of uranium incorporation on nZVI in the presence of phosphate

Effect of phosphate on the reduction of U(VI) on nZVI was determined by batch, XPS, XANES and EXAFS techniques. The batch experiments showed that nZVI was quite effective for the removal of uranium under the anaerobic conditions, whereas the addition of phosphate enhanced uranium removal over wide pH range. At low pH, the reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) significantly decreased with increasing phosphate concentration by XPS and XANES analysis. According to EXAFS analysis, the occurrence of UU shell at 10 mg/L phosphate and pH 4.0 was similar to that of U(IV)O2(s), whereas the UP and UFe shells were observed at 50 mg/L phosphate, revealing that reductive co-precipitate (U(IV)O2(s)) and precipitation of uranyl-phosphate were observed at low and high phosphate, respectively. The findings are crucial for the prediction of the effect of phosphate on the speciation and binding of uranium by nZVI at low pH, which is significant in controlling the mobility of U(VI) in contaminated environments.

Performance of biochar derived from rice straw for removal of Ni(II) in batch experiments

Biochar, as a cost-efficient adsorbent, is of major interest in the removal of heavy metals from wastewater. Herein, batch experiments were conducted to investigate the performance of biochar derived from rice straw for the removal of Ni(II) as a function of various environmental conditions. The results showed that Ni(II) sorption was strongly dependent on pH but independent of ionic strength and the effects of electrolyte ions could be negligible over the whole pH range. Ionic exchange and inner-sphere surface complexation dominated the sorption of Ni(II). Humic/fulvic acids clearly enhanced the Ni(II) sorption at pH <7.2 but inhibited the sorption at pH >7.2. The sorption reached equilibrium within 10 hours, and the kinetics followed a pseudo-second-order rate model. Any of the Langmuir, Freundlich, or Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models could describe the sorption well, but the Langmuir model described it best. The maximum sorption capacity calculated from the Langmuir model was 0.257 m·mol/g. The thermodynamic parameters suggested that Ni(II) sorption was a spontaneous and endothermic process and was enhanced at high temperature. The results of this work indicate that biochar derived from rice straw may be a valuable bio-sorbent for Ni(II) in aqueous solutions, but it still requires further modification.

Characterization of molybdenum disulfide nanomaterial and its excellent sorption abilities for two heavy metals in aqueous media

ABSTRACT Here, molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) was characterized and its performance as an adsorbent for Co(II)/Ni(II) removal from water was estimated in batch experiments. The nanomaterial exhibits thin-layered structure and contains numerous hydroxyl groups. High pH enhanced Co(II)/Ni(II) sorption, while ionic strength had no effect. The chemical sorption between the binding sites of MoS2 and Co(II)/Ni(II) limited the rate. The Freundlich isotherm correlated better than Langmuir isotherm. The maximum sorption capacity for Co(II)/Ni(II) was 370.10/375.94 mg· g−1, obviously exceeding other adsorbents. Both adsorptions were endothermic and spontaneous processes. This study indicates the intrinsic value of MoS2 in removing heavy metals from water.

Research and application of flow visualization technique in large-scale hydraulic models

With the rapid development of computer and optical technique, as a powerful measuring method in hydrodynamics, flow visualization technique is able to get much flow field information in practical engineering. It also has an important meaning to projects and environmental areas. The image processing is the key to flow visualization for gaining flow field information. In terms of the PIV principles, the algorithm of PIV based on Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) is studied, and the image mosaic program based on genetic algorithm has been compiled. The flow field of seabuckthorn flexible dam has been calculated and analyzed by using those methods as above-mentioned, and in the meanwhile, the application of flow visualization technique to measure the outdoor flow field has been studied exploringly, which proves that it is feasible to apply this technique to measure the large-scale outdoor flow field.