Alcohol addiction is characterized by extensive alcohol consumption that dominates other behaviours previously important to a patient. According to data from The State Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems, up to 900,000 people in Poland are addicted to alcohol. On average, approximately 9.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBipolar membranes (BPMs), a special class of ion exchange membranes with the unique ability to electrochemically induce either water dissociation or recombination, are of growing interest for environmental applications including eliminating chemical dosage for pH adjustment, resource recovery, valorization of brines, and carbon capture. However, ion transport within BPMs, and particularly at its junction, has remained poorly understood. This work aims to theoretically and experimentally investigate ion transport in BPMs under both reverse and forward bias operation modes, taking into account the production or recombination of H and OH, as well as the transport of salt ions (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn efficient health care system combines maximum accessibility with high-quality treatments, as well as cost optimization of individual health care facilities throughout the entire system. In hospitals, the critical element is the number of beds within individual wards, which generates costs and, at the same time, affects the capacity to serve patients. The aim of this article is to discuss the restructuring and optimization of hospital bed occupancy in a healthcare facility in the Podkarpackie voivodeship.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding the salt-water separation mechanisms of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes is critical for the further development and optimization of RO technology. The solution-diffusion (SD) model is widely used to describe water and salt transport in RO, but it does not describe the intricate transport mechanisms of water molecules and ions through the membrane. In this study, we develop an ion transport model for RO, referred to as the solution-friction model, by rigorously considering the mechanisms of partitioning and the interactions among water, salt ions, and the membrane.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) is a water desalination technology employing porous electrodes and ion-exchange membranes. The electrodes are cyclically charged to adsorb ions and discharged to desorb ions. During MCDI operation, a difference in pH between feed and effluent water is observed, changing over time, which can cause the precipitation of hardness ions and consequently affect the long-term stability of electrodes and membranes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFor a thorough mechanistic understanding of reverse osmosis (RO), data on ion retention obtained by desalination of multi-ionic solutions are needed. In this paper, we show how to obtain such data under controlled laboratory conditions at any nonextreme pH. For that, we propose a simple method where we use N and CO gas control to set the composition of a gas phase in equilibrium with the feedwater solution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of abnormalities in selected parameters measured in the trunk area.
Design: Cross-sectional studies.
Setting: The research was conducted in a primary school in the Trzebownisko Municipality, a rural area in south-eastern Poland.
In the growing field of capacitive deionization (CDI), a number of performance metrics have emerged to describe the desalination process. Unfortunately, the separation conditions under which these metrics are measured are often not specified, resulting in optimal performance at minimal removal. Here we outline a system of performance metrics and reporting conditions that resolves this issue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCapacitive deionization (CDI) typically uses one porous carbon electrode that is cation adsorbing and one that is anion adsorbing. In 2016, Smith and Dmello proposed an innovative CDI cell design based on two cation-selective electrodes and a single anion-selective membrane, and thereafter this design was experimentally validated by various authors. In this design, anions pass through the membrane once, and desalinated water is continuously produced.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiquid-infused membranes inspired by slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) have been recently introduced to membrane technology. The gating mechanism of these membranes is expected to give rise to anti-fouling properties and multi-phase transport capabilities. However, the long-term retention of the infusion liquid has not yet been explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvited for this month's cover are the groups of Tim-Patrick Fellinger (MPI Potsdam) and Volker Presser (INM Saarbrücken and Saarland University). The image shows the dynamic process of ion electrosorption: anions are attracted and cations repelled from electrically charged electrodes based on carbons with heteroatoms. This process of capacitive deionization is particularly attractive for facile low-energy water treatment applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroporous carbons are an interesting material for electrochemical applications. In this study, we evaluate several such carbons without/with N or S doping with regard to capacitive deionization. For this purpose, we extent the salt-templating synthesis towards biomass precursors and S-doped microporous carbons.
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