Chuanyong Jing

Fabrication, Characterization, and Application of a Composite Adsorbent for Simultaneous Removal of Arsenic and Fluoride

Coexisting arsenic (As) and fluoride (F) in groundwater poses severe health risks worldwide. Highly efficient simultaneous removal of As and F is therefore of great urgency and high priority. The purpose of this study was to fabricate a novel composite adsorbent and explore the mechanism for concurrent removal of As(V) and F at the molecular level. This bifunctional adsorbent with titanium and lanthanum oxides impregnated on granular activated carbon (TLAC) exhibits a pronounced As(V) and F adsorption capacity over commercially available iron- and aluminum-based adsorbents for synthetic and real contaminated groundwater samples. Synchrotron-based X-ray microfluorescence analysis demonstrates that La and Ti were homogeneously distributed on TLAC. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopic results suggest that As(V) formed bidentate binuclear surface complex as evidenced by an averaged Ti-As bond distance of 3.34 Å in the presence of F. Adsorption tests and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis indicate that F was selectively adsorbed on lanthanum oxides. The surface configurations constrained with the spectroscopic results were formulated in the charge distribution multisite complexation model to describe the competitive adsorption behaviors of As(V) and F. The results of this study indicate that TLAC could be used as an effective adsorbent for simultaneous removal of As(V) and F.

Organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in fish from lakes of the Tibetan Plateau and the implications

High mountains may play significant roles in the global transport of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). This work aims to investigate the levels, patterns and distribution of semi-volatile organochlorine pollutants and to improve the understanding of the long-range atmospheric transport and fate of contaminants on the Tibetan Plateau. A total of 60 fish samples were collected from eight lakes located between 2813 and 4718 m above sea level across the Plateau. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were measured in fish muscle. The results showed that concentrations of DDT, HCH and HCB were comparable to or lower than those found in remote mountains of Europe, Canada and US, while PCB concentrations in fish were, on average, about 4-150 times lower on Tibet than at other mountain areas. The transport and fate of contaminants in the Plateau are significantly influenced by the unique climatological and meteorological conditions, particularly by the summer Indian monsoon and winter westerly jet stream.

Enrofloxacin sorption on smectite clays: Effects of pH, cations, and humic acid

Enrofloxacin (ENR) occurs widely in natural waters because of its extensive use as a veterinary chemotherapeutic agent. To improve our understanding of the interaction of this emerging contaminant with soils and sediments, sorption of ENR on homoionic smectites and kaolinite was studied as a function of pH, ionic strength, exchangeable cations, and humic acid concentration. Batch experiments and in situ ATR-FTIR analysis suggested multiple sorption mechanisms. Cation exchange was a major contributor to the sorption of cationic ENR species on smectite. The decreased ENR sorption with increasing ionic strength indicated the formation of outer-sphere complexes. Exchangeable cations significantly influenced the sorption capacity, and the observed order was Cs<Ca<K. The peak shifts of the COO(-) stretch, coupled CO stretch and OH deformation, and the result of irreversible desorption FTIR spectra indicated that OH of the carboxyl group was involved in the formation of inner-sphere surface complexes. The XRD analysis confirmed that interlayer intercalation is an important contributor to ENR sorption, while humic acid had a negligible contribution to the interlayer intercalation. The results of this study provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms of ENR sorption on clay minerals.

La3+-modified activated alumina for fluoride removal from water.

A La(3+)-modified activated alumina (La-AA) adsorbent was prepared for effective removal of fluoride from water. The surface properties of adsorbent were characterized with zeta potential analysis, SEM-EDS and EXAFS. Batch and column experiments were conducted to evaluate improvement of F(-) removal by the La-AA. SEM/EDS and EXAFS analyses determined the formation of La(OH)3 coating on the AA and strong bonding interactions between La(3+) and the Al atoms. The points of zero charge (pHPZC) of AA and La-AA were at pH 8.94 and 9.57, respectively. Batch experimental results indicated that the La-AA had much higher adsorption rate and capacity than the AA. The F(-) adsorption processes on La-AA and AA followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm. Column filtration results shows that the La-AA and AA treated 270 and 170 bed volumes of the F(-)-spiked tap water, respectively, before F(-) breakthrough occurred. The results demonstrated that the La-AA was a promising adsorbent for effective removal of F(-) from water.

Remediation of organic and inorganic arsenic contaminated groundwater using a nanocrystalline TiO2-based adsorbent

A nanocrystalline TiO2-based adsorbent was evaluated for the simultaneous removal of As(V), As(III), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in contaminated groundwater. Batch experimental results show that As adsorption followed pseudo-second order rate kinetics. The competitive adsorption was described with the charge distribution multi-site surface complexation model (CD-MUSIC). The groundwater containing an average of 329 microg L(-1) As(III), 246 microg L(-1) As(V), 151 microg L(-1) MMA, and 202 microg L(-1) DMA was continuously passed through a TiO2 filter at an empty bed contact time of 6 min for 4 months. Approximately 11,000, 14,000, and 9900 bed volumes of water had been treated before the As(III), As(V), and MMA concentration in the effluent increased to 10 microg L(-1). However, very little DMA was removed. The EXAFS results demonstrate the existence of a bidentate binuclear As(V) surface complex on spent adsorbent, indicating the oxidation of adsorbed As(III).

Reduction and immobilization of chromate in chromite ore processing residue with nanoscale zero-valent iron

Chromite ore processing residue (COPR) poses a great environmental and health risk with persistent Cr(VI) leaching. To reduce Cr(VI) and subsequently immobilize in the solid matrix, COPR was incubated with nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) and the Cr(VI) speciation and leachability were studied. Multiple complementary analysis methods including leaching tests, X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to investigate the immobilization mechanism. Geochemical PHREEQC model calculation agreed well with our acid neutralizing capacity experimental results and confirmed that when pH was lowered from 11.7 to 7.0, leachate Cr(VI) concentrations were in the range 358-445mgL(-1) which contributed over 90% of dissolved Cr from COPR. Results of alkaline digestion, XANES, and XPS demonstrated that incubation COPR with nZVI under water content higher than 27% could result in a nearly complete Cr(VI) reduction in solids and less than 0.1mgL(-1) Cr(VI) in the TCLP leachate. The results indicated that remediation approaches using nZVI to reduce Cr(VI) in COPR should be successful with sufficient water content to facilitate electron transfer from nZVI to COPR.

Preparation of Fe3O4@Ag SERS substrate and its application in environmental Cr(VI) analysis.

A novel sensitive and recyclable SERS substrate which can actively concentrate chromate (Cr(VI)) in water and substantially enhance Raman signal was synthesized as uniform Fe(3)O(4)@Ag nanoparticles. The surface morphology, structure, and magnetic properties were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry analysis. The closely spaced Fe(3)O(4)@Ag substrate with a core-shell structure exhibited a 25 nm surface roughness. The high saturation magnetization at 48.35 emu g(-1) enabled the complete and rapid separation of the substrate from the solution. The sensitivity and reproducibility of the substrate were confirmed using a common SERS probe molecule, rhodamine 6G. SERS spectra of Cr(VI) in simulated and real contaminated water showed that the symmetric stretching vibrations of Cr-O occurred at 796 cm(-1). This SERS peak area exhibited a linear dependence (R(2)=0.9992) on the Cr(VI) concentration between 5 and 100 μg L(-1). Coexisting anions such as sulfate, nitrate, chloride, carbonate, and humic acid could decrease the sensitivity of the SERS analysis. However, the adverse effect of the competing ions may be eliminated by proper dilution of the raw sample. This study provides a reliable method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of Cr(VI).

Arsenic Levels and Speciation from Ingestion Exposures to Biomarkers in Shanxi, China: Implications for Human Health

Chronic exposure to arsenic (As) threatens human health. To systematically understand the health risks induced by As ingestion, we explored water and diet contributions to As exposure, and compared As in biomarkers and the arsenicosis in a geogenic As area in China. In this study, high percentages of water (77% of n = 131 total samples), vegetables (92%, n = 120), cereals (32%, n = 25), urine (70%, n = 99), nails (76%, n = 176), and hair (62%, n = 61) contained As higher than the acceptable levels. Dietary As contributed 92% of the average daily dose (ADD) when the water As concentration was less than 10 μg/L, for which 5 out of 30 examined participants were diagnosed with arsenicosis symptoms. The distinct positive correlation between ADD and As concentrations in urine, nails, and hair suggests different applicability for these biomarkers. Methylated As as the predominant urinary As species confirms that the ingested inorganic As is methylated and is excreted through urine. In situ microdistribution and speciation analysis indicates that As is mainly associated with sulfur in nails and hair. Nails, rather than hair and urine, could be used as a proper biomarker for arsenicosis. High ADD from the environment and low excretion could result in As toxicity to humans.

Multifunctional Fe3O4@SiO2–Au Satellite Structured SERS Probe for Charge Selective Detection of Food Dyes

Nanofabrication of multifunctional surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates is strongly desirable but currently remains a challenge. The motivation of this study was to design such a substrate, a versatile core-satellite Fe3O4@SiO2-Au (FA) hetero-nanostructure, and demonstrate its use for charge-selective detection of food dye molecules as an exemplary application. Our experimental results and three-dimensional finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation suggest that tuning the Au nanoparticle (NP) gap to sub-10 nm, which could be readily accomplished, substantially enhanced the Raman signals. Further layer-by-layer deposition of a charged polyelectrolyte on this magnetic SERS substrate induced active adsorption and selective detection of food dye molecules of opposite charge on the substrates. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations suggest that the selective SERS enhancement could be attributed to the high affinity and close contact (within a 20 Å range) between the substrate and molecules. Density function theory (DFT) calculations confirm the charge transfer from food dye molecules to Au NPs via the polyelectrolytes. This multifunctional SERS platform provides easy separation and selective detection of charged molecules from complex chemical mixtures.

Adsorption of Enrofloxacin on montmorillonite: Two-dimensional correlation ATR/FTIR spectroscopy study

Adsorption of Enrofloxacin (ENR) on minerals dominates the fate and transport of ENR in the environment. In this study, the sorption process of ENR on montmorillonite and the impact of dissolved organic matters (DOMs) on ENR-montmorillonite interactions were investigated using in situ ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and two-dimensional correlation analysis (2D-COS). Negative peaks were observed in the 3400-2900 cm(-1) region due to the loss of hydrated protons at montmorillonite surfaces. The primary characteristic peaks of adsorbed ENR molecules were resolved in the 1800-1100 cm(-1) range. The results of 2D-COS suggested the sorption process was initiated by the interaction of hydrated protons on montmorillonite surfaces with diverse moieties of ENR molecules depending on pH. The sorption mechanism of ENR was mainly cation exchange at acidic condition, charge neutralization at neutral condition, and proton transfer at alkaline condition. DOM could interact with piperazinyl amine groups of dissolved ENR, which changed the interaction sequence of ENR molecule with montmorillonite surfaces. Electrostatic interaction was the predominant driving force for the interaction between DOM and dissolved ENR. H-donor-acceptor interaction and π-π interaction may also be responsible to this interaction. Insights gained from this study improve our understandings on sorption mechanism of ENR and similar ionic organic pollutants in soil systems.