This study upgrades the sustainability of environmental electrochemical technologies with a novel approach consisting of the in-situ cogeneration and use of two important oxidants, hydrogen peroxide (HO) and Caro's acid (HSO), manufactured with the same innovative cell. This reactor was equipped with a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) to generate cathodically HO, from oxygen reduction reaction, a boron doped diamond (BDD) electrode to obtain HSO, via anodic oxidation of dilute sulfuric acid, and a proton exchange membrane to separate the anodic and the cathodic compartment, preventing the scavenging effect of the interaction of oxidants. A special design of the inlet helps this cell to reach simultaneous efficiencies as high as 99% for HO formation and 19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
July 2019
In this work, waste expanded polystyrene (WEPS) was irradiated with gamma rays, ranging doses from 100 kGy to 1,000 kGy. After irradiation, the WEPS had decrease on its glass transition temperature (Tg), as consequence of the scissions of its polymer chains. Then, the irradiated WEPS was sulfonated, and its degree of sulfonation (DS) was measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNitrogen (N) plays an important role in small-scale dairy systems, both in production costs and as an indicator of environmental impact. The objective of this study was to quantify nitrogen inputs and outputs to identify areas for improvement in nitrogen utilisation efficiency (NUE). Evaluation was in 12 small-scale dairy farms with different feeding strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis work proposed mercury elimination using agricultural waste (Allium Cepa L.). The biomass removed 99.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe usefulness of the standard chemical oxygen demand (COD) test for water characterization is offset to some extent by its requirement for highly toxic or expensive Cr, Ag, and Hg species. In addition, oxidation of the target samples by chromate requires a 2-3 h heating step. We have downscaled this method to obtain a reduction of up to ca.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Biol
January 2014
The wastewater used in this study was obtained from a treatment plant where it mixed with wastewater of 142 industries and was treated using electrocoagulation with iron electrode and phytoremediation with Myriophyllum aquaticum, likewise certain biomarkers of oxidative stress of the plant were evaluated to find out its resistance to contaminant exposure. Electrocoagulation was performed under optimum operating conditions at pH 8 and with a current density of 45.45 A m(-2) to reduce the COD by 42%, color 89% and turbidity 95%; the electrochemical method produces partial elimination of contaminants, though this was improved using phytoremediation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe widely used standard method for chemical oxygen demand (COD) involves hazardous chromium species, and its two-hour heating protocol entails a substantial amount of energy expenditure. In the present work we report a proof of concept for a major modification of this method in the range 10-800 mgCOD/L, whereby H2O2 is proposed as a replacement oxidizer. This modification not only reduces the use of unsafe chromium species but also allows for the use of milder conditions that decrease the total energy outlay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA continuous system electrocoagulation--active sludge was designed and built for the treatment of industrial wastewater. The system included an electrochemical reactor with aluminum electrodes, a clarifier and a biological reactor. The electrochemical reactor was tested under different flowrates (50, 100 and 200 mL/min).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe electrochemical reduction of Cr(VI)-Cr(III) in wastewater by iron and copper-iron bimetallic plates was evaluated and optimized. Iron has been used as a reducing agent, but in this work a copper-iron galvanic system in the form of bimetallic plates is applied to reducing hexavalent chromium. The optimal pH (2) and ratio of copper to iron surface areas (3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis work presents the results obtained from a spectrophotometry study performed on some indicators of the sulfonphtaleins like phenol red (PR), thymol blue (TB), bromothymol blue (BTB), xylenol orange (XO) and methylthymol blue (MTB). During the first stage the acidity constants of some of the indicators were determined using the data from spectrophotometry, potentiometry and with the use of the software SQUAD. These were as follows: for the equilibrium 2H+BTB<-->H(2)BTB, log beta(2)=15.
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