Min-Jin Hwang

Fabrication of granular activated carbons derived from spent coffee grounds by entrapment in calcium alginate beads for adsorption of acid orange 7 and methylene blue.

Biomass-based granular activated carbon was successfully prepared by entrapping activated carbon powder derived from spent coffee grounds into calcium-alginate beads (SCG-GAC) for the removal of acid orange 7 (AO7) and methylene blue (MB) from aqueous media. The dye adsorption process is highly pH-dependent and essentially independent of ionic effects. The adsorption kinetics was satisfactorily described by the pore diffusion model, which revealed that pore diffusion was the rate-limiting step during the adsorption process. The equilibrium isotherm and isosteric heat of adsorption indicate that SCG-GAC possesses an energetically heterogeneous surface and operates via endothermic process in nature. The maximum adsorption capacities of SCG-GAC for AO7 (pH 3.0) and MB (pH 11.0) adsorption were found to be 665.9 and 986.8mg/g at 30°C, respectively. Lastly, regeneration tests further confirmed that SCG-GAC has promising potential in its reusability, showing removal efficiency of more than 80% even after seven consecutive cycles.

Phosphate adsorption ability of biochar/Mg-Al assembled nanocomposites prepared by aluminum-electrode based electro-assisted modification method with MgCl₂ as electrolyte.

In this work, the textural properties and phosphate adsorption capability of modified-biochar containing Mg-Al assembled nanocomposites prepared by an effective electro-assisted modification method with MgCl2 as an electrolyte have been determined. Structure and chemical analyses of the modified-biochar showed that nano-sized stonelike or flowerlike Mg-Al assembled composites, MgO, spinel MgAl2O4, AlOOH, and Al2O3, were densely grown and uniformly dispersed on the biochar surface. The adsorption isotherm and kinetics data suggested that the biochar/Mg-Al assembled nanocomposites have an energetically heterogeneous surface and that phosphate adsorption could be controlled by multiple processes. The maximum phosphate adsorption capacity was as high as 887 mg g(-1), as fitted by the Langmuir-Freundlich model, and is the highest value ever reported. It was concluded that this novel electro-assisted modification is a very attractive method and the biochar/Mg-Al assembled nanocomposites provide an excellent adsorbent that can effectively remove phosphate from aqueous solutions.

A novel approach for preparation of modified-biochar derived from marine macroalgae: Dual purpose electro-modification for improvement of surface area and metal impregnation

In the present study, an aluminum electrode-based electrochemical process was newly adopted as a modification method for fabricating physically and chemically modified biochar derived from marine macroalgae. Specifically, a current density of 93.96 mA cm(-2) was applied for 5 min at pH 3.0. Subsequently, the mixture was stirred continuously for 30 min without electric field, and the dried sample was then pyrolyzed at 450 °C under a N2 environment for 2 h. SEM-EDS and XRD analyses clearly indicated that nano-sized aluminum crystals (beohemite, AlOOH) were uniformly present on the EM-biochar surface. Adsorption equilibrium tests showed that the phosphate adsorption onto EM-biochar agreed well with the Langmuir-Freundlich adsorption isotherm model, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 31.28 mg-P g(-1). These findings suggest that this novel and simple electro-modification method is a reasonable and effective option for simultaneously upgrading both the surface area and chemical properties of biochar.

Application and optimization of electric field-assisted ultrasonication for disintegration of waste activated sludge using response surface methodology with a Box-Behnken design.

In the present study, an electric field is applied in order to disintegrate waste activated sludge (WAS). As a preliminary step, feasibility tests are investigated using different applied voltages of 10-100V for 60min. As the applied voltage increases, the disintegration degrees (DD) are gradually enhanced, and thereby the soluble N, P, and carbohydrate concentrations increase simultaneously due to the WAS decomposition. Subsequently, an optimization process is conducted using a response surface methodology with a Box-Behnken design (BBD). The total solid concentration, applied voltage, and reaction time are selected as independent variables, while the DD is selected as the response variable. The overall results demonstrate that the BBD with an experimental design can be used effectively in the optimization of the electric field treatment of WAS. In the confirmation test, a DD of 10.26±0.14% is recorded, which corresponds to 99.1% of the predicted response value under the statistically optimized conditions. Finally, the statistic optimization of the combined treatment (electric field+ultrasonication) demonstrated that even though this method is limited to highly disintegrated WAS when it is applied individually, a high DD of 47.28±0.20% was recorded where the TS concentration was 6780mg/l, the strength of ultrasonication was 8.0W, the applied voltage was 68.4V, and the reaction time was 44min. E-SEM images clearly revealed that the application of the electric field is a significant alternative method for the combined treatment of WAS. This study was the first attempt to increase disintegration using the electric field for a combined treatment with ultrasonication.

Development of a novel electric field-assisted modified hydrodynamic cavitation system for disintegration of waste activated sludge

In this current study, we present a modified hydrodynamic cavitation device that combines an electric field to substitute for the chemical addition. A modified HC system is basically an orifice plate and crisscross pipe assembly, in which the crisscross pipe imparts some turbulence, which creates collision events. This study shows that for maximizing disintegration, combining HC system, which called electric field-assisted modified orifice plate hydrodynamic cavitation (EFM-HC) in this study, with an electric field is important. Various HC systems were compared in terms of disintegration of WAS, and, among them, the EFM-HC system exhibited the best performance with the highest disintegration efficiency of 47.0±2.0% as well as the destruction of WAS morphological characteristics. The experimental results clearly show that a conventional HC system was successfully modified. In addition, electric field has a great potential for efficient disintegration of WAS for as a additional option in a combination treatment. This study suggests continued research in this field may lead to an appropriate design for commercial use.

Decolorization of Acid Orange 7 by an electric field-assisted modified orifice plate hydrodynamic cavitation system: Optimization of operational parameters

In this study, the decolorization of Acid Orange 7 (AO-7) with intensified performance was obtained using hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) combined with an electric field (graphite electrodes). As a preliminary step, various HC systems were compared in terms of decolorization, and, among them, the electric field-assisted modified orifice plate HC (EFM-HC) system exhibited perfect decolorization performance within 40 min of reaction time. Interestingly, when H2O2 was injected into the EFM-HC system as an additional oxidant, the reactor performance gradually decreased as the dosing ratio increased; thus, the remaining experiments were performed without H2O2. Subsequently, an optimization process was conducted using response surface methodology with a Box-Behnken design. The inlet pressure, initial pH, applied voltage, and reaction time were chosen as operational key factors, while decolorization was selected as the response variable. The overall performance revealed that the selected parameters were either slightly interdependent, or had significant interactive effects on the decolorization. In the verification test, complete decolorization was observed under statistically optimized conditions. This study suggests that EFM-HC is a useful method for pretreatment of dye wastewater with positive economic and commercial benefits.