Pyrolysis kinetic analysis of molten bioplastics based on the combination of real-time characterization and Guassian deconvolution: Case study of poly(lactic acid) materials.

Pyrolysis remains a promising method for the utilization of biogradable plastics. However, the kinetics and mechanisms of molten polymer pyrolysis are not well understood, and the effect of additives (mainly inorganic nucleating agents) on the reaction pathway has not been widely explored. In this work, we conducted a method using the thermogravimetric analysis-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (TG-FTIR) combined with a model-fitting method, instead of a traditional method subjectively selecting a reaction model.

Hydrothermal-enhanced pyrolysis for efficient NO reduction and biochar valorization from food waste digestate.

Pyrolysis has emerged as a promising technology for valorizing digestate resulting from the anaerobic digestion of food waste. However, the high NO emissions during pyrolysis limit its application. This study proposed a hydrothermal coupled pyrolysis process to control the element transfer in digestate during biochar production.

Ion-Imprinted Polymer-Based Sensor for the Detection of Mercury Ions.

In this work, the development of a novel method for the detection of mercury (II) ions in wastewater using a mercury ion-imprinted polymer (IIP) combined with a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is described. The IIP was successfully synthesized via the polymerization of a of a novel fluorescein- and 2-aminophenol-functionalized methacrylic acid monomer, which was noted to have high binding affinity to mercury (II) ions. This polymer was subsequently coated on a QCM chip to create an IIP-QCM sensor.

Impact of polysaccharide and protein interactions on membrane fouling: Particle deposition and layer formation.

Membrane fouling, which limits the application of membrane bioreactors, has received considerable research attention in recent years. In this work, filtration modeling was performed in combination with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis to investigate the membrane fouling mechanism. Sodium alginate (SA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were used to perform dead-end filtration on hydrophilic and hydrophobic poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes.

Mechanism insights into hydrothermal dewatering of food waste digestate for products valorization.

Poor dewaterability is a bottleneck of the disposal of digestate from food waste (DFW). However, the dewatering mechanism remains unclear due to the complex composition of DFW. Understanding the dewatering mechanism, as well as the transformation of organic/inorganic matters is essential for the DFW management and valorization.

Impact of bottom ash co-disposed with municipal solid waste on geotextile clogging in landfills.

Co-disposal of bottom ash (BA) with municipal solid waste (MSW) in landfills is commonly used for BA management. However, BA co-disposal may cause clogging of geotextiles in MSW landfills. This study investigated the effect of different BA co-disposal ratios on geotextile clogging, including MSW, low ash co-disposed (BA_L), high ash co-disposed (BA_H) landfills, and BA mono-fill.

A label-free lead(II) ion sensor based on surface plasmon resonance and DNAzyme-gold nanoparticle conjugates.

Detection of lead(II) (Pb) ions in water is important for the protection of human health and environment. The growing demand for onsite detection still faces challenges for sensitive and easy-to-use methods. In this work, a novel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor based on GR-5 DNAzyme and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was developed.

Geotextile clogging at different stages of municipal solid waste landfills co-disposed with bottom ash.

Co-disposal of bottom ash (BA) with municipal solid waste (MSW) in landfills is a common way for BA management. However, BA co-disposal in MSW landfills may accelerate geotextile clogging and reduce the performance of leachate collection system. This study compared geotextile clogging in a simulated MSW landfill leachate (MSWL) and a BA co-disposed landfill leachate (BAL) at different landfill stages.

Enhancement of hydrogen production using untreated inoculum in two-stage food waste digestion.

This research investigated the possibility to enhance H production using untreated inoculum in a two-stage hydrogen-methane process from food waste. Batch experiments were conducted to evaluate the H production efficiency at different F/M ratios (ranging from 1:1 to 64:1). The results showed that when a proper F/M ratio was selected, significant H production was feasible to be achieved even inoculated with untreated anaerobic sludge.

Characteristics of geotextile clogging in MSW landfills co-disposed with MSWI bottom ash.

As a main byproduct of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI), bottom ash (BA) has become a big challenge in operating MSWI plants. The most common method for BA treatment is co-disposal with MSW in landfills, which may cause clogging in the leachate collection system (LCS). This research investigated the characteristics of geotextile clogging in landfills with BA co-disposal.

HS adsorption by municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash with heavy metals immobilization.

As a byproduct of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plant, fly ash is becoming a challenge for waste management in recent years. In this study, MSWI fly ash (FA) was evaluated for the potential capacity of odorous gas HS removal. Results showed that fly ash demonstrated longer breakthrough time and higher HS capacities than coal fly ash and sandy soil, due to its high content of alkali oxides of metals including heavy metals.

Polyelectrolyte-single wall carbon nanotube composite as an effective cathode catalyst for air-cathode microbial fuel cells.

Polyelectrolyte-single wall carbon nanotube (SCNT) composites are prepared by a solution-based method and used as metal-free cathode catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, two types of polyelectrolytes, polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) and poly[bis(2-chloroethyl)ether-alt-1,3-bis[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]urea] (PEPU) are applied to decorate the SCNTs and the resulting catalysts exhibit remarkable catalytic ability toward ORR in MFC applications. The enhanced catalytic ability could be attributed to the positively charged quaternary ammonium sites of polyelectrolytes, which increase the oxygen affinity of SCNTs and reduce activation energy in the oxygen reduction process.

Development of variable pathlength UV-vis spectroscopy combined with partial-least-squares regression for wastewater chemical oxygen demand (COD) monitoring.

To overcome the challenging task to select an appropriate pathlength for wastewater chemical oxygen demand (COD) monitoring with high accuracy by UV-vis spectroscopy in wastewater treatment process, a variable pathlength approach combined with partial-least squares regression (PLSR) was developed in this study. Two new strategies were proposed to extract relevant information of UV-vis spectral data from variable pathlength measurements. The first strategy was by data fusion with two data fusion levels: low-level data fusion (LLDF) and mid-level data fusion (MLDF).

A combination of metabolomics and metallomics studies of urine and serum from hypercholesterolaemic rats after berberine injection.

Berberine, long used as a remedy in China and India for intestinal infections, has been discovered in recent years in western countries and is now being used to treat ailments ranging from urinary tract infections to diabetes and obesity. In order to study the effect of berberine more deeply, a combined metabolomic and metallomic approach was developed in this study using the hypercholesterolaemic rat model, which involved the use of proton nuclear magnetic resonance for the analysis of rat urine to achieve metabolic fingerprinting and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the analysis of rat blood serum to achieve metallomic fingerprinting. The results obtained indicated that major metabolic processes like Krebs cycle, cholesterol metabolism and osmoregulation in hypercholesterolaemic rats are perturbed upon berberine injection.

Mechanism of mercury detection based on interaction of single-strand DNA and hybridized DNA with gold nanoparticles.

Mechanisms of interaction of single-strand DNA and hybridized DNA on gold nanoparticles in the presence of Hg(2+) was studied in this work. Recently the detection of Hg(2+) using unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) combined with DNA is becoming a promising technique with the advantages of simplicity, cost-effectiveness and high sensitivity. However, few studies focused on the interaction of ssDNA and hybridized DNA on AuNPs to date.