Tiantian Sheng

Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron (nZVI) assembled on magnetic Fe3O4/graphene for Chromium (VI) removal from aqueous solution

Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron (nZVI) assembled on magnetic Fe3O4/graphene (nZVI@MG) nanocomposites was synthesized for Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solution. nZVI particles were perfectly dispersed either among Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) or above the basal plane of graphene. This material shows Cr(VI) removal efficiency of 83.8%, much higher than those of individuals (18.0% for nZVI, 21.6% for Fe3O4 NPs and 23.7% for graphene) and even their sum of 63.3%. The removal process obeys pseudo-second-order adsorption model, suggesting that adsorption is rate-controlling step. Maximum Cr(VI) adsorption capacity varies from 66.2 to 101.0 mg g(-1) with decreasing pH from 8.0 to 3.0 at 30°C. Negative ΔG and ΔH indicate spontaneous tendency and exothermic nature. Robust performance of nZVI@MG arises from the formation of micro-nZVI-graphene/nZVI-Fe3O4 batteries and strong adsorption capability of broad graphene sheet/Fe3O4 surfaces. Electrons released by nZVI spread all over the surfaces of graphene and Fe3O4, and the adsorbed Cr(VI) ions on them capture these floating electrons and reduce to Cr(III). Fe3O4 NPs also served as protection shell to prevent nZVI from agglomeration and passivation.

Fe0-Fe3O4 nanocomposites embedded polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate beads for chromium (VI) removal

In this study, Fe(0)-Fe3O4 nanocomposites embedded polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/sodium alginate (SA) beads were synthesized, which exhibited an excellent physical properties and catalytic reactivity, and a robust performance of post-separation (complete separation using a simple grille) and reusability (efficiency of 69.8% after four runs) in Cr(VI) removal. 5.0 wt% PVA with 1.5 wt% SA was the optimal proportion for beads molding, and the followed acidification and reduction treatments were critical to ensure high mechanical strength and high Cr(VI) removal ability of beads. Effects of Fe(0) and Fe3O4 mass fraction, initial pH and Cr(VI) concentration on final removal efficiency were also evaluated. Merely 0.075 wt% Fe(0) together with 0.30 wt% Fe3O4 was sufficient to deal with 20 mg L(-1) Cr(VI) solution. The efficiency decreased from 100 to 79.5% as initial Cr(VI) increased from 5 to 40 mg L(-1), while from 99.3 to 76.3% with increasing pH from 3.0 to 11.0. This work provides a practical and high-efficient method for heavy metal removal from water body, and simultaneously solves the problems in stabilization, separation and regeneration of Fe(0) nanoparticles.

Fe3O4 and MnO2 assembled on honeycomb briquette cinders (HBC) for arsenic removal from aqueous solutions

In this study, a novel composite adsorbent (HBC-Fe3O4-MnO2) was synthesized by combining honeycomb briquette cinders (HBC) with Fe3O4 and MnO2 through a co-precipitation process. The purpose was to make the best use of the oxidative property of MnO2 and the adsorptive ability of magnetic Fe3O4 for enhanced As(III) and As(V) removal from aqueous solutions. Experimental results showed that the adsorption capacity of As(III) was observed to be much higher than As(V). The maximum adsorption capacity (2.16 mg/g) was achieved for As(III) by using HBC-Fe3O4-MnO2 (3:2) as compared to HBC-Fe3O4-MnO2 (2:1) and HBC-Fe3O4-MnO2 (1:1). The experimental data of As(V) adsorption fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model, whereas As(III) data was described perfectly by Freundlich model. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model was fitted well for the entire adsorption process of As(III) and As(V) suggesting that the adsorption is a rate-controlling step. Aqueous solution pH was found to greatly affect the adsorption behavior. Furthermore, co-ions including HCO3(-) and PO4(3-) exhibited greater influence on arsenic removal efficiency, whereas Cl(-), NO3(-), SO4(2-) were found to have negligible effects on arsenic removal. Five consecutive adsorption-regeneration cycles confirmed that the adsorbent could be reusable for successive arsenic treatment and can be used in real treatment applications.

Arsenic Removal from Aqueous Solutions Using Fe3O4-HBC Composite: Effect of Calcination on Adsorbents Performance

The presence of elevated concentration of arsenic in water sources is considered to be health hazard globally. Calcination process is known to change the surface efficacy of the adsorbent. In current study, five adsorbent composites: uncalcined and calcined Fe3O4-HBC prepared at different temperatures (400°C and 1000°C) and environment (air and nitrogen) were investigated for the adsorptive removal of As(V) and As(III) from aqueous solutions determining the influence of solutions pH, contact time, temperature, arsenic concentration and phosphate anions. Characterizations from FTIR, XRD, HT-XRD, BET and SEM analyses revealed that the Fe3O4-HBC composite at higher calcination temperature under nitrogen formed a new product (fayalite, Fe2SiO4) via phase transformation. In aqueous medium, ligand exchange between arsenic and the effective sorbent site ( = FeOOH) was established from the release of hydroxyl group. Langmuir model suggested data of the five adsorbent composites follow the order: Fe3O4-HBC-1000°C(N2)>Fe3O4-HBC (uncalcined)>Fe3O4-HBC-400°C(N2)>Fe3O4-HBC-400°C(air)>Fe3O4-HBC-1000°C(air) and the maximum As(V) and As(III) adsorption capacities were found to be about 3.35 mg g−1 and 3.07 mg g−1, respectively. The adsorption of As(V) and As(III) remained stable in a wider pH range (4–10) using Fe3O4-HBC-1000°C(N2). Additionally, adsorption data fitted well in pseudo-second-order (R 2>0.99) rather than pseudo-first-order kinetics model. The adsorption of As(V) and As(III) onto adsorbent composites increase with increase in temperatures indicating that it is an endothermic process. Phosphate concentration (0.0l mM or higher) strongly inhibited As(V) and As(III) removal through the mechanism of competitive adsorption. This study suggests that the selective calcination process could be useful to improve the adsorbent efficiency for enhanced arsenic removal from contaminated water.

Hexavalent chromium reduction by Escherichia coli in the presence of ferric iron

AbstractThe potential of Cr(VI) reduction by Escherichia coli in the presence of soluble Fe(III) was investigated to explore the chemo-biologically mediated reduction process under anaerobic condition. The reduction efficiency of Cr(VI) reached 95% within 24 h. The influences of experimental parameters, including initial pH, temperature, Fe(III) dosage, carbon source, and chelating agent, were also investigated. The highest efficiency of reduction was observed when pH was 5.8 and temperature was 32°C. Amendments of culture medium with Fe(III) and citric-3Na enhanced Cr(VI) reduction, while the addition of EDTA-2Na inhibited the process. Analysis showed that soluble Fe(III) enhanced the reduction process by shuttling electrons from bio-reduced Fe(II) to Cr(VI) in a coupled biotic-abiotic cycle and hence, Cr(VI) was reduced to Cr(III) followed by deposition to sludge.

Impact of climate factors on cyanobacterial dynamics and their interactions with water quality in South Taihu Lake, China

ABSTRACT Cyanobacterial bloom events in South Taihu Lake cause serious water quality problems and disturb aesthetic view of lake’s environment. In this study, correlations between cyanobacterial blooms and hydro-meteorological factors, including water quality, temperature and precipitation were investigated. Results demonstrated that South Taihu Lake was heavily affected by cyanobacteria and the proliferation of cyanobacteria due to variations in hydro-meteorological factors and water quality conditions. Water quality parameters, including COD, NH3-N, TN and TP improved significantly since 2008 even at an elevated cyanobacterial bloom situation. Correlation analyses have shown that the development of cyanobacterial density and chlorophyll a concentration was sensitive to a wider temperature variation. The optimum temperature for cyanobacteria was 20°C, while extremely low and high temperatures were found to suppress their growth. Moreover, unusual rainfall patterns were measured during the study period (2003–2009), which showed an adverse impact on cyanobacterial development. Findings from this study suggested that seasonal lake’s water quality monitoring; suitable treatment of cyanobacterial blooms and strict policy implementation can solve the water quality issues in highly eutrophic lakes like Taihu.