Yi-ming Guo

Effects of background electrolytes and ionic strength on enrichment of Cd(II) ions with magnetic graphene oxide-supported sulfanilic acid.

To elucidate the influence mechanisms of background electrolytes and ionic strength on Cd(II) removal, the adsorption of Cd(II) onto magnetic graphene oxide-supported sulfanilic acid (MGO-SA) in aqueous solutions containing different types and concentrations of background electrolytes was studied. The results indicate that Cd(II) adsorption was strongly dependent on pH and could be strongly affected by background electrolytes and ionic strength. The Cd(II) removal was decreased with the presence of background electrolyte cations (Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Mn(2+), Zn(2+), and Ni(2+)), and the divalent cations exerted more obvious influences on the Cd(II) uptake than the monovalent cations at pH 6. Both Cl(-) and NO3(-) had negative effects on Cd(II) adsorption because they can form water-soluble metal-anion complexes with Cd(II) ions. The presence of 0.01molL(-1) Na3PO4 reduced the removal percentage of Cd(II) at pH<5 but extremely enhanced the Cd(II) removal when the pH>5. The Cd(II) adsorption was sensitive to changes in the concentration of NaCl, NaNO3, NaClO4, and Na3PO4. Besides, the adsorption isotherm of Cd(II) onto MGO-SA could be well described by the Freundlich model and was also influenced by the type of background electrolyte ions and the ionic strength.

Effect of aniline on cadmium adsorption by sulfanilic acid-grafted magnetic graphene oxide sheets

Cd(II) has posed severe health risks worldwide. To remove this contaminant from aqueous solution, the sulfanilic acid-grafted magnetic graphene oxide sheets (MGOs/SA) were prepared and characterized. The mutual effects of Cd(II) and aniline adsorption on MGOs/SA were studied. The effects of operating parameters such as pH, ionic strength, contact time and temperature on the Cd(II) enrichment, as well as the adsorption kinetics and isotherm were also investigated. The results demonstrated that MGOs/SA could effectively remove Cd(II) and aniline from the aqueous solution and the two adsorption processes were strongly dependent on solution pH. The Cd(II) adsorption was reduced by the presence of aniline at pH<5.4 but was improved at pH>5.4. The presence of Cd(II) diminished the adsorption capacity for aniline at pH<7.8 but enhanced the aniline adsorption at pH>7.8. The decontamination of Cd(II) by MGOs/SA was influenced by ionic strength. Besides, the adsorption process could be well described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The intraparticle diffusion study revealed that the intraparticle diffusion was not the only rate-limiting step for the adsorption process. Moreover, the experimental data of isotherm followed the Freundlich isotherm model.

Biosorption of copper(II) from aqueous solution by Bacillus subtilis cells immobilized into chitosan beads

Abstract The ability of Bacillus subtilis immobilized into chitosan beads (BICB) to remove Cu(II) from aqueous solution was studied. The effects of pH, biosorbent dosage, temperature, initial Cu(II) concentration and contact time on removal of Cu(II) were studied using batch adsorption experiments. The results show that the Cu(II) absorption strongly depends on pH and the optimum pH is 6. Compared with chitosan beads (CB), the BICB has higher efficiency and capacity on Cu(II) removal. The Langmuir isotherm model ( R 2 =0.994) is proved to fit the equilibrium data best. The maximum adsorption capacity determined from Langmuir model is 100.70 mg/g. The kinetic data fit well with the pseudo-second-order model and the correlation coefficient is greater than 0.999. The biosorbents are successfully regenerated using 0.1 mol/L NaOH solution.

Adsorption of Cr(VI) by modified chitosan from heavy-metal polluted water of Xiangjiang River, China

Methacrylic acid was used together with a molecular imprinting technique to modify chitosan. In addition, the adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms were recorded and the results were analyzed to investigate reparative adsorption for Cr(VI) from the polluted Xiangjiang River water. A comparative X-ray analysis shows that the degree of crystallization in the imprinted polymer was significantly weakened, the area of the non-crystalline region was larger. There were more adsorption sites in the imprinted polymer, and the adsorption capacity towards Cr(VI) was increased. The adsorption capacity of the imprinted polymer towards Cr(VI) increased with time and reaches saturation after 8 h. The optimal adsorption time was 4−8 h after the adsorption starting and the optimal pH value for the solution was in the range of 4.5−7.5. When the chitosan reaches saturation, the adsorption capacity achieves a state of equilibrium, and the maximum Cr(VI) extraction rate reaches 33.7%. Moreover, the adsorption capacity of the imprinted polymer towards Cr(VI) increases with increasing chitosan concentration. In this situation, the Cr(VI) extraction rate shows little variation, and the maximum removal rate can reach 98.3%. Furthermore, the Cr(VI) extraction rate increases with an increase in the degree of deacetylation in the chatoyant and chitosan, with the best adsorption effect corresponding to 90% deacetylation. Fitting the adsorption data to the quasi first- and second-order kinetic models yields correlation coefficients of 0.9013 and 0.9875, respectively. The corresponding rate constants for the two models are 0.0091 min −1 and 7.129 g/(mg·min), respectively. Hence, the adsorption

Cadmium accumulation and apoplastic and symplastic transport in Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaudich on cadmium-contaminated soil with the addition of EDTA or NTA

A Cd-tolerant plant species named Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaudich (ramie) was applied to study its Cd accumulation and translocation mechanisms with the addition of ethylene diamine tetracetic acid (EDTA) or nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA). A pot experiment was designed to systematically investigate the Cd accumulation and subcellular compartmentation in different ramie tissues as well as soil Cd solubility and its physiological response. Results showed that soil EDTA- and NTA-extractable Cd concentrations were remarkably higher than the control, and Cd content in each tissue with Cd translocation factor (TF) after EDTA and NTA addition were significantly increased with elevated chelant concentration. In spite of the decreased cytoderm Cd contents in different tissues, extracellular and intracellular Cd content were increased dramatically under chelant treatment, particularly in ramie leaves with EDTA addition from 2 mmol kg−1 to 10 mmol kg−1 (increased by 98% for extracellular Cd and by 29% for intracellular Cd, respectively). Furthermore, the addition of chelant also resulted in an apparent increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) content and decrease of chlorophyll level in ramie leaves. These results revealed that EDTA and NTA could enhance Cd phytoavailability in soil, facilitate apoplastic and symplastic transport of Cd from root to the aboveground tissues and improve leaf Cd accumulation, which may because of the extracellular loading among spongy tissues and intracellular sequestration in mesophyll vacuoles. This study contributes to the control of Cd accumulation by plants.

A restoration-promoting integrated floating bed and its experimental performance in eutrophication remediation.

Numerous studies on eutrophication remediation have mainly focused on purifying water first, then restoring submerged macrophytes. A restoration-promoting integrated floating bed (RPIFB) was designed to combine the processes of water purification and macrophyte restoration simultaneously. Two outdoor experiments were conducted to evaluate the ecological functions of the RPIFB. Trial 1 was conducted to compare the eutrophication purification among floating bed, gradual-submerging bed (GSB) and RPIFB technologies. The results illustrated that RPIFB has the best purification capacity. Removal efficiencies of RPIFB for TN, TP, NH(+)4-N, NO(-)3-N, CODCr, Chlorophyll-a and turbidity were 74.45%, 98.31%, 74.71%, 88.81%, 71.42%, 90.17% and 85%, respectively. In trial 2, influences of depth of GSB and photic area in RPIFB on biota were investigated. When the depth of GSB decreased and the photic area of RPIFB grew, the height of Potamogeton crispus Linn. increased, but the biomass of Canna indica Linn. was reduced. The mortalities of Misgurnus anguillicaudatus and Bellamya aeruginosa in each group were all less than 7%. All results indicated that when the RPIFB was embedded into the eutrophic water, the regime shift from phytoplankton-dominated to macrophyte-dominated state could be promoted. Thus, the RPIFB is a promising remediation technology for eutrophication and submerged macrophyte restoration.