Haizhen Wu

Efficient lipid production with Trichosporon fermentans and its use for biodiesel preparation.

Effects of medium components and culture conditions on biomass and lipid production of Trichosporon fermentans were studied. The optimal nitrogen source, carbon source and C/N molar ratio were peptone, glucose and 163, respectively. The favorable initial pH of the medium and temperature were 6.5 and 25 degrees C. Under the optimized conditions, a biomass of 28.1 g/l and a lipid content of 62.4% could be achieved after culture for 7 days, which were much higher than the original values (19.4 g/l and 50.8%) and the results reported by other groups. T. fermentans could grow well in pretreated waste molasses and a lipid yield of 12.8 g/l could be achieved with waste molasses of 15% total sugar concentration (w/v) at pH 6.0, representing the best result with oleaginous microorganisms on agro-industrial residues. Addition of various sugars to the pretreated molasses could efficiently enhance the accumulation of lipid and the lipid content reached as high as above 50%. Similar to vegetable oils, the lipid mainly contains palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid and the unsaturated fatty acids amount to about 64% of the total fatty acids. The microbial oil with an acid value of 5.6 mg KOH/g was transesterified to biodiesel by base catalysis after removal of free fatty acids and a high methyl ester yield of 92% was obtained.

Development of organovermiculite-based adsorbent for removing anionic dye from aqueous solution

This paper reports on the development of organovermiculite-based adsorbent for removing Congo Red (CR), a model anionic dye, from aqueous solution. The organovermiculite was prepared using hexadecyl trimethylammonium bromide (HDTMAB) with variations in cation exchange capacity (CEC) and was then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results from the adsorption experiments showed that with the organic modification of 50, 100, and 200% CEC, the adsorption capacity of vermiculite towards CR was greatly improved from 2.6 to 74.07, 175.44 and 192.31 mg/g, respectively, at 298 K. The adsorption isotherm experiment was conducted at different temperatures (298, 308 and 318 K), and it was found that the uptake of CR increased with increasing temperature. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied and the Langmuir model was found to fit the equilibrium data better. The adsorption kinetics was found to follow the pseudo-second-order model. In addition, various thermodynamic parameters such as changes in enthalpy, entropy, and the Gibbs free energy were calculated, showing adsorption to be an endothermic yet spontaneous process. The results indicated that the organovermiculite may be an effective adsorbent for the removal of anionic dyes from wastewater.

Novel insights into anoxic/aerobic1/aerobic2 biological fluidized-bed system for coke wastewater treatment by fluorescence excitation–emission matrix spectra coupled with parallel factor analysis

Fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) was applied to investigate the contaminant removal efficiency and fluorescent characteristic variations in a full scale coke wastewater (CWW) treatment plant with a novel anoxic/aerobic(1)/aerobic(2) (A/O(1)/O(2)) process, which combined with internal-loop fluidized-bed reactor. Routine monitoring results indicated that primary contaminants in CWW, such as phenols and free cyanide, were removed efficiently in A/O(1)/O(2) process (removal efficiency reached 99% and 95%, respectively). Three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy and PARAFAC identified three fluorescent components, including two humic-like fluorescence components (C1 and C3) and one protein-like component (C2). Principal component analysis revealed that C1 and C2 correlated with COD (correlation coefficient (r)=0.782, p<0.01 and r=0.921, p<0.01), respectively) and phenols (r=0.796, p<0.01 and r=0.914, p<0.01, respectively), suggesting that C1 and C2 might be associated with the predominating aromatic contaminants in CWW. C3 correlated with mixed liquor suspended solids (r=0.863, p<0.01) in fluidized-bed reactors, suggesting that it might represent the biological dissolved organic matter. In A/O(1)/O(2) process, the fluorescence intensities of C1 and C2 consecutively decreased, indicating the degradation of aromatic contaminants. Correspondingly, the fluorescence intensity of C3 increased in aerobic(1) stage, suggesting an increase of biological dissolved organic matter.

Preparation of trimethylchlorosilane-modified acid vermiculites for removing diethyl phthalate from water.

A hybrid organic-inorganic material based on vermiculite was prepared to remove diethyl phthalate (DEP) from aqueous solution. Natural vermiculite was activated with HCl to improve the specific surface area and was then modified by silanization using trimethylchlorosilane. Organovermiculite prepared by ion exchange with hexadecyl trimethylammonium bromide (HDTMAB) was also tested for comparison. The leaching of 2 mol L(-1) HCl at 80°C increased the specific surface area of vermiculite from 14.4 to 500.0m(2)g(-1), and the average pore-diameter was decreased from 7.90 nm to 2.75 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra indicated that trimethysilyl groups were grafted covalently on the surface of acid vermiculites. The specific surface area of trimethylchlorosilane-modified acid vermiculites (TMAVs) (355.4 m(2) g(-1)) was much larger than that of organovermiculite (6.0 m(2) g(-1)). The isotherm adsorption experiments of DEP showed that TMAVs exhibited linear isotherms, suggesting that the uptake of DEP was controlled by partitioning mechanism. The maximal partition coefficient (K(d)) of TMAVs was 3.1 times higher than that of organovermiculite, implying that TMAVs had stronger organic affinity than organovermiculite. The results demonstrate that the adsorption capacity and mechanism of organoclays were controlled by the specific surface area and organic loading, whereas the length of alkyl chain of organic modifier was not the key factor.

Ozonation in water treatment: the generation, basic properties of ozone and its practical application

Abstract The widespread applications of ozone technologies are established on the basis of large-scale manufacture of ozone generator and chemical reactivity of ozone. It is hence necessary to summarize the principles of ozone generation and to analyze the physicochemical properties of ozone, which are of fundamental significance to indicate its technical developments and practical applications. This review presents a summary concerning ozone generation mechanisms, the physicochemical properties of ozone, as well as the applications of ozone in water treatment. Ozone can be produced by phosphorus contact, silent discharge, photochemical reactions, and electrochemical reactions, principally proceeding by the reaction of oxygen atom with oxygen molecule. There are side reactions to the generation of ozone, however, which are responsible for ozone depletion including thermal decomposition and quenching reactions by reactive species. The solubility of ozone in water is much higher than that of oxygen, suggesting that it may be reliably applied in water and wastewater treatment. Based on the resonance structures of ozone, one oxygen atom in ozone molecule is electron-deficient displaying electrophilic property, whereas one oxygen atom is electron-rich holding nucleophilic property. The superior chemical reactivity of ozone can also be indirectly revealed by radical-mediated reactions initiated from homogenous and heterogeneous catalytic decomposition of ozone. Owing to the reliable generation of ozone and its robust reactive properties, it is worthy to thoroughly elaborate the applications of ozone reaction in drinking water disinfection and pre- or post-treatment of industrial wastewater including cyanide wastewater, coking wastewater, dyeing wastewater, and municipal wastewater. The structural characteristics of ozone reactors and energy requirement of applied technologies are evaluated. In addition, future directions concerning the development of ozone generation, ozone reactivity, and industrial wastewater ozonation have been proposed.

Removal of cyanide compounds from coking wastewater by ferrous sulfate: Improvement of biodegradability.

The effect of ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) treatment on the removal of cyanide compounds and the improvement of biodegradability of coking wastewater were investigated by varying Fe:TCN molar ratios. Results suggested that the reaction between FeSO4 and coking wastewater was a two-step process. At the first step, i.e., 0≤Fe:TCN≤1.0, the reaction mechanisms were dominated by the precipitation of FeS, the complexation of CN(-), and the coagulation of organic compounds. The COD of coking wastewater decreased from 3748.1 mg/L to 3450.2 mg/L, but BOD5:COD (B/C) was improved from 0.30 to 0.51. At the second step, i.e., 1.0<Fe:TCN≤3.2, the immobilization of soluble metal-cyanide compounds by ferrous ions was the dominating mechanism. The COD showed a continuous increase to 3542.2 mg/L (Fe:TCN=3.2) due to the accumulated ferrous ions in coking wastewater. Moreover, B/C decreased progressively to 0.35, which was attributed to the negative effects of excess ferrous ions on biodegradability. To improve coking wastewaters biodegradability, a minimum ferrous dosage is required to complete the first step reaction. However, the optimum ferrous dosage should be determined to control a safe residual TCN in coking wastewater for the further biological treatment.

Multi-phase distribution and comprehensive ecological risk assessment of heavy metal pollutants in a river affected by acid mine drainage

To date, there is a lack of a comprehensive research on heavy metals detection and ecological risk assessment in river water, sediments, pore water (PW) and suspended solids (SS). Here, the concentrations of heavy metals, including Cu, Zn, Mn, Cd, Pb and As, and their distribution between the four phases was studied. Samples for analysis were taken from twelve sites of the Hengshi River, Guangdong Province, China, during the rainy and dry seasons. A new comprehensive ecological risk index (CERI) based on considering metal contents, pollution indices, toxicity coefficients and water categories is offered for prediction of potential risk on aquatic organisms. The results of comprehensive analysis showed that the highest concentrations of Cu, Zn and Mn of 6.42, 87.17 and 98.74mg/L, respectively, in PW were comparable with those in water, while concentrations of Cd, Pb and As of 609.5, 2757 and 96.38μg/L, respectively, were 2-5 times higher. The sum of the exchangeable and carbonate fractions of target metals in sediments followed the order of Cd > Mn > Zn > Pb > Cu > As. The distribution of heavy metals in phases followed the order of sediment > SS > water > PW, having the sum content in water and PW lower than 2% of total. The elevated ecological risk for a single metal and the phase were 34,585 for Cd and 1160 for water, respectively, implied Cd as a priority pollutant in the considered area. According to the CERI, the maximum risk value of 769.3 was smaller than 1160 in water, but higher than those in other phases. Out of considering the water categories and contribution coefficients, the CERI was proved to be more reliable for assessing the pollution of rivers with heavy metals. These results imply that the CERI has a potential of adequate assessment of multi-phase composite metals pollution.

Sequential dynamic artificial neural network modeling of a full-scale coking wastewater treatment plant with fluidized bed reactors

This study proposed a sequential modeling approach using an artificial neural network (ANN) to develop four independent models which were able to predict biotreatment effluent variables of a full-scale coking wastewater treatment plant (CWWTP). Suitable structure and transfer function of ANN were optimized by genetic algorithm. The sequential approach, which included two parts, an influent estimator and an effluent predictor, was used to develop dynamic models. The former parts of models estimated the variations of influent COD, volatile phenol, cyanide, and NH4+-N. The later parts of models predicted effluent COD, volatile phenol, cyanide, and NH4+-N using the estimated values and other parameters. The performance of these models was evaluated by statistical parameters (such as coefficient of determination (R2), etc.). Obtained results indicated that the estimator developed dynamic models for influent COD (R2 = 0.871), volatile phenol (R2 = 0.904), cyanide (R2 = 0.846), and NH4+-N (R2 = 0.777), while the predictor developed feasible models for effluent COD (R2 = 0.852) and cyanide (R2 = 0.844), with slightly worse models for effluent volatile phenol (R2 = 0.752) and NH4+-N (R2 = 0.764). Thus, the proposed modeling processes can be used as a tool for the prediction of CWWTP performance.

Effects of electron-donating groups on the photocatalytic reaction of MOFs

Regulating the synthesis of photocatalytic materials at the molecular level could affect the absorption of light and guide the synthesis of highly efficient photocatalysts for the photocatalytic degradation organic pollutants. The results of UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), zeta potential and the photocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene in water both proved that the stronger the electron-donating groups in MIL-101(Fe)-X and UIO-66-X (X = –OH, –NH2, –COOH, –NO2 and –H), the better the photocatalytic efficiency, and the catalytic efficiency followed the order of –OH > –NH2 > –COOH > –NO2 > –H. This order was due the electronegativity regulation of the MIL-101(Fe)-X and UIO-66-X by the electron-donating groups in their structure. The XRD, UV-vis DRS and XPS studies of MIL-101(Fe)-X and UIO-66-X showed that the structure of these two series of MOFs remained unchanged after the photocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene. The above results provide a direction for the synthesis of highly efficient photocatalysts.

Adsorption of Cd2+ by an ion-imprinted thiol-functionalized polymer in competition with heavy metal ions and organic acids

The simultaneous presence of heavy metals and organic acids in nature and wastewaters and their competition for adsorption sites determine the migration, transformation and fate of pollutants in the environment. A Cd2+-ion-imprinted polymer (Cd2+-IIP) with a thiol-functional group was hydrothermally synthesized by a surface imprinting technique combined with ultrasonic heating for selective adsorption of Cd2+ from wastewaters. The adsorbent was characterized by SEM, EDS, XPS, BET and FT-IR measurements. The experimental results concerning Cd2+ adsorption from single-, binary-, ternary- and quaternary-metal aqueous solutions containing Cu2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ revealed high selectivity. In binary-metal solutions, relative selectivity coefficients for Cd2+ in respect to Cd2+/Cu2+, Cd2+/Ni2+, and Cd2+/Zn2+ were as high as 3.74, 5.73 and 4.15, respectively. In multi-metal solutions, competing heavy metal ions had little effect on the adsorption of Cd2+ attributed to the high selectivity of Cd2+-IIP towards Cd2+ determined by its coordination geometry. The effect of low-molecular weight organic acids on the Cd2+ adsorption was also studied and the results showed that the presence of tartaric, citric and oxalic acids as admixtures in Cd2+ aqueous solutions noticeably reduced the cation adsorption in a wide range of concentrations with the minor exception of low contents of citric and tartaric acids slightly improving adsorption.