Mahdi Chiha

Influence of bicarbonate and carbonate ions on sonochemical degradation of Rhodamine B in aqueous phase

The influence of bicarbonate and carbonate ions on sonolytic degradation of cationic dye, Rhodamine B (RhB), in water was investigated. As a consequence of ultrasonic cavitation that generates .OH radicals, carbonate radicals were secondary products of water sonochemistry when it contains dissolved bicarbonate or carbonate ions. The results clearly demonstrated the significant intensification of sonolytic destruction of RhB in the presence of bicarbonate and carbonate, especially at lower dye concentrations. Degradation intensification occurs because carbonate radicals sonochemically formed undergo radical-radical recombination at a lesser extent than hydroxyl radicals. The generated carbonate radicals are likely able to migrate far from the cavitation bubbles towards the solution bulk and are suitable for degradation of an organic dye such as RhB. Therefore, at low dye concentrations, carbonate radical presents a more selective reactivity towards RhB molecules than hydroxyl radical. In the presence of bicarbonate, degradation rate reached a maximum at 3 g L(-1) bicarbonate, but subsequent addition retards the destruction process. In RhB solutions containing carbonate, the oxidation rate gradually increased with increasing carbonate concentration up to 10 g L(-1) and slightly decreased afterward. Carbonate radicals sonochemically generated are suitable for total removal of COD of sonicated RhB solutions.

Influence of experimental parameters on sonochemistry dosimetries: KI oxidation, Fricke reaction and H2O2 production

Central events of the ultrasonic action are the cavitation bubbles that can be considered as microreactors. Adiabatic collapse of cavitation bubbles leads to the formation of reactive species such as hydroxyl radicals (*OH), hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and hydroperoxyl radicals (HOO*). Several chemical methods were used to detect the production of these reactive moieties in sonochemistry. In this work, the influence of several operational parameters on the sonochemistry dosimetries namely KI oxidation, Fricke reaction and H(2)O(2) production using 300 kHz ultrasound was investigated. The main experimental parameters showing significant effect in KI oxidation dosimetry were initial KI concentration, acoustic power and pH. The solution temperature showed restricted influence on KI oxidation. The acoustic power and liquid temperature highly affected Fricke reaction dosimetry. Operational conditions having important influence on H(2)O(2) formation were acoustic power, solution temperature and pH. For the three tested dosimetries, the sonochemical efficiency was independent of liquid volume.

Ultrasound-assisted removal of malachite green from aqueous solution by dead pine needles

The dead needles of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) were tested as a possible sorbent for the removal of malachite green from aqueous solutions in the absence and presence of ultrasound. Batch process was employed for sorption kinetic and equilibrium studies. Sorption experiments indicated that the sorption capacity was dependent of operating variables. Both the rate and the amount of malachite green sorption are markedly increased in the presence of the ultrasonic field. The dye removal with the assistance of ultrasound was enhanced with the increase of sorbate initial concentration and temperature, and with the decrease of sorbent dosage and ionic strength. The combination of stirring and ultrasound leads to an improvement of the removal of dye. The sorption kinetics was controlled by the intraparticle diffusion. The intraparticle diffusion coefficient increased 1.7 times in the presence of ultrasound and up to 3.6 times in the combined process. The sorption capacity, estimated according to the Freundlich model, indicates that ultrasound enhanced the sorption properties of the sorbent. The effect of ultrasound on the improvement of dye sorption is due to a variety of physical and mechanical effects as well as to thermal properties. The combination of ultrasound and stirring for the sorption process was shown to be of interest for the treatment of wastewaters contaminated with malachite green.

Sonolytic degradation of endocrine disrupting chemical 4-cumylphenol in water

The sonolytic degradation of endocrine disrupting compound 4-cumylphenol (4-CyP) in aqueous solution was investigated. The influence of operating parameters for sonication process such as 4-CyP initial concentration, frequency, power, pH, temperature and saturating gas was examined. The extent of degradation was inversely proportional to the initial substrate concentration. The rate of 4-CyP degradation was frequency dependent. The degradation rate increased proportionally with increasing ultrasonic power from 20 to 100 W and temperature in the range of 20-50°C. The most favorable degradation pH was acidic media. Destruction in the presence of saturating gas follows the order: argon>air>nitrogen. The 4-CyP degradation was inhibited in the presence of nitrogen gas owing to the free radical scavenging effect in vapor phase within the bubbles of cavitation. The ultrasonic degradation of 4-CyP was clearly promoted in the presence of bromide anions and the promoting effect on degradation increased with increasing bromide concentration. At low 4-CyP concentration (0.05 mg L(-1)), bicarbonate ion drastically enhanced the rate of 4-CyP degradation. Experiments conducted using pure and natural water demonstrated that the sonolytic treatment was more efficient in the natural water compared to pure water.

Study on ultrasonically assisted emulsification and recovery of copper(II) from wastewater using an emulsion liquid membrane process

The aim of this work was to study the emulsification assisted by ultrasonic probe (22.5kHz) and investigate the removal of copper(II) ions from aqueous solution using water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion liquid membrane process (ELM). The membrane was prepared by dissolving the extractant bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and the hydrophobic surfactant sorbitan monooleate (Span 80) in hexane (diluent). The internal phase consisted of an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid. Effects of operating parameters such as emulsification time, ultrasonic power, probe position, stirring speed, carrier (D2EHPA) and surfactant (Span 80) concentrations volume ratios of organic phase to internal striping phase and of external aqueous phase to membrane (W/O) phase, internal phase concentration and choice of diluent on the membrane stability were studied. With ultrasound, the W/O emulsion lifetime were much higher than those reported previously by mechanical agitation. The effect of carrier and Cu(II) initial concentration on the extraction kinetics was also investigated. Nearly all of the Cu(II) ions present in the continuous phase was extracted within a few minutes. Additionally, the influence of H(2)SO(4) concentration on the stripping efficiency was examined.

Modeling of ultrasonic degradation of non-volatile organic compounds by Langmuir-type kinetics

Sonochemical degradation of phenol (Ph), 4-isopropylphenol (4-IPP) and Rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solutions was investigated for a large range of initial concentrations in order to analyze the reaction kinetics. The initial rates of substrate degradation and H(2)O(2) formation as a function of initial concentrations were determined. The obtained results show that the degradation rate increases with increasing initial substrate concentration up to a plateau and that the sonolytic destruction occurs mainly through reactions with hydroxyl radicals in the interfacial region of cavitation bubbles. The rate of H(2)O(2) formation decreases with increasing substrate concentration and reaches a minimum, followed by almost constant production rate for higher substrate concentrations. Sonolytic degradation data were analyzed by the models of Okitsu et al. [K. Okitsu, K. Iwasaki, Y. Yobiko, H. Bandow, R. Nishimura, Y. Maeda, Sonochemical degradation of azo dyes in aqueous solution: a new heterogeneous kinetics model taking into account the local concentration OH radicals and azo dyes, Ultrason. Sonochem. 12 (2005) 255-262.] and Seprone et al. [N. Serpone, R. Terzian, H. Hidaka, E. Pelizzetti, Ultrasonic induced dehalogenation and oxidation of 2-, 3-, and 4-chlorophenol in air-equilibrated aqueous media. Similarities with irradiated semiconductor particulates, J. Phys. Chem. 98 (1994) 2634-2640.] developed on the basis of a Langmuir-type mechanism. The five linearized forms of the Okitsu et al.s equation as well as the non-linear curve fitting analysis method were discussed. Results show that it is not appropriate to use the coefficient of determination of the linear regression method for comparing the best-fitting. Among the five linear expressions of the Okitsu et al.s kinetic model, form-2 expression very well represent the degradation data for Ph and 4-IPP. Non-linear curve fitting analysis method was found to be the more appropriate method to determine the model parameters. An excellent representation of the experimental results of sonolytic destruction of RhB was obtained using the Serpone et al.s model. The Serpone et al.s model gives a worse fit for the sonolytic degradation data of Ph and 4-IPP. These results indicate that Ph and 4-IPP undergo degradation predominantly at the bubble/solution interface, whereas RhB undergoes degradation at both bubble/solution interface and in the bulk solution.

Adsorption of copper ions from water by different types of natural seed materials

AbstractDifferent plant seeds of okra, pumpkin, grape, and squash available locally were used as adsorbents for the removal of copper ions from their aqueous solutions. Batch sorption experiments were carried out to investigate the seeds’ capability to remove copper ions. Grape seeds showed higher uptake compared with other adsorbents. Experimental results for grape seeds showed that an increase in the initial pH, temperature, or initial adsorbate concentration influenced copper uptake positively. However, copper ion uptake decreased with increasing adsorbent concentration. The optimum pH range for metals removal was 3–4. Addition of sodium or potassium salts to the metal solution resulted in greater metal removal. The copper equilibrium was attained after 3 h contact time. The uptake of Cu+2 were found to be reliable on both the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The results of work will urge the public to use these tested seeds in their diet for possible removal of heavy metals that contaminate either f...

Application of radial basis function neural network for removal of copper using an emulsion liquid membrane process assisted by ultrasound

AbstractIn this present work, artificial neural network was applied for the prediction of the breakage percentage and the extraction efficiency for the removal of copper using emulsion liquid membrane process. The effect of operational parameters such as emulsification time, ultrasonic power, stirring speed, sulfuric acid concentration, extractant concentration, surfactant concentration, internal phase/organic phase volume ratio, emulsion/external phase volume ratio, and copper concentration in the external phase were studied to optimize the condition for maximum copper removal. The performance of the proposed model (radial basis function—RBF) for predicting copper removal efficiency was found to be very impressive. The RBF model perfectly represents the experimental data.

Effect of Mineral and Organic Matrices on Sonochemical Degradation of 4-Isopropylphenol at Low Concentrations

The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of mineral and organic matrices on the sonochemical degradation of 4-isopropylphenol (4-IPP), an endocrine disrupting chemical found in water. Bicarbonate ions as mineral matrix and sucrose as organic competitor were evaluated with respect to their effect on sonochemical degradation rates. At low 4-IPP concentration, the sonolytic degradation was clearly improved in the presence of bicarbonate involving the formation of the carbonate radical resulting from the reaction of bicarbonate with hydroxyl radical. In the presence of large excess of sucrose, the sonochemical degradation of 4-IPP at low concentration was not affected.

Characterization and thermal analysis of olive mills solid residues (peat, pit, and pulp) in Jordan: Case study: Irbid, Ajloun, Jarash, and Jordan Valley

ABSTRACT Fossil fuel is the main energy source used. It won’t last forever and alternative energy sources are needed. The use of olive residues from olive mills is a shift toward the real awareness of the community to invest in natural resources. This work aims to shed light on the olive residues from olive mills as a source of fuel used for heating. Thermal analysis was performed to analyze the combustion behavior. These measurements would help in the design of furnaces that use this fuel. Chemical and physical characterization of solid olive residue composition was carried out.