Decomposition of the Simulant 2-Chloroethyl Ethyl Sulfide Blister Agent under Ambient Conditions Using Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been suggested as promising materials for application in the degradation of chemical warfare agents, with the majority of studies to date focusing on nerve agents. One of the most prominent MOFs used in the detoxification of nerve agents is UiO-66, which is of interest as a future nerve agent decontaminant. However, blister agents, which constitute one of the most toxic and highly reactive categories of chemical agents, are yet to be examined as gas-phase decontamination targets using MOF structures.

Performance and life cycle environmental benefits of recycling spent ion exchange brines by catalytic treatment of nitrate.

Salt used to make brines for regeneration of ion exchange (IX) resins is the dominant economic and environmental liability of IX treatment systems for nitrate-contaminated drinking water sources. To reduce salt usage, the applicability and environmental benefits of using a catalytic reduction technology to treat nitrate in spent IX brines and enable their reuse for IX resin regeneration were evaluated. Hybrid IX/catalyst systems were designed and life cycle assessment of process consumables are used to set performance targets for the catalyst reactor.

The role of condensed carbonaceous materials on the sorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants in subsurface sediments.

The identification and characterization of carbonaceous materials (CMs) that control hydrophobic organic chemical (HOC) sorption is essential to predict the fate and transport of HOCs in soils and sediments. The objectives of this paper are to determine the types of CMs that control HOC sorption in the oxidized and reduced zones of a glacially deposited groundwater sediment in central Illinois, with a special emphasis on the roles of kerogen and black carbon. After collection, the sediments were treated to obtain fractions of the sediment samples enriched in different types of CMs (e.

Evaluation of methods to obtain geosorbent fractions enriched in carbonaceous materials that affect hydrophobic organic chemical sorption.

To better understand sorption, separation methods are needed to enrich soils and sediments in one or more types of carbonaceous materials (CM), especially in fine grain materials where physical separation is not possible. We evaluated a series of chemical and thermal treatment methods by applying them to four different CMs prepared in our laboratory: a humic acid (HA), a char, a soot, and a heat-treated soot (HN-soot). Before and after each treatment step, CM properties were evaluated including aqueous phase sorption with trichloroethene (TCE).