Publications by authors named "Zhouzhou Liu"

This study aims to optimize the node deployment of underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) using intelligent optimization algorithms and robot collaboration technology to enhance network performance and coverage. The study employs the chemical reaction optimization (CRO) algorithm, which combines the advantages of genetic algorithms, simulated annealing algorithms, and ant colony algorithms. The CRO algorithm is enhanced through a structure correction function to determine the optimal node deployment scheme to achieve effective and optimal coverage control of the UWSN.

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The applications of natural polymeric flocculants due to their green feature has been recently received much more attention. In this work, the combined usages of a cationic starch-based coagulant and polyaluminum chloride (PACl) were extensively evaluated for various addition sequences in the coagulation of both raw (surface water from the Jiuxiang River) and synthetic turbid water (two kaolin suspensions with different initial turbidities). Two typical cationic starch-based coagulants with different structures (St-G and St-E) were tried.

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Micro-polluted surface water with low turbidity and low content of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is usually inefficiently purified. In this work, a combined technique for the enhanced coagulation of this surface water was proposed and investigated using cationic grafted starch (St-G) and polyaluminum chloride (PACl) as co-coagulants, followed by a magnetic ion-exchange resin (MIER). St-G was fed before PACl, and this procedure not only efficiently removes turbidity but also largely reduces the doses of the two coagulants.

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In this study, a series of cationized starch-based flocculants (starch-3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl triethyl ammonium chloride, St-CTA) containing various quaternary ammonium salt groups on the starch backbone were prepared using a simple etherification reaction. All of the prepared starch-based flocculants show effective performance for the flocculation of kaolin suspension, two bacterial (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) suspensions, and two contaminant mixtures (kaolin and each bacterium) under most pH conditions. St-CTA with a high substitution degree of CTA demonstrates improved contaminant removal efficiency because of the strong cationic nature of the grafted quaternary ammonium salt groups and the charge naturalization flocculation effect.

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The molecular structure of a material substantially determines its final application performance. In this work, a series of starch-based flocculants with different charge densities and average graft chain lengths were prepared by the co-graft polymerization of acrylamide and [(2-methacryloyloxyethyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride] (St-g-PAM-co-PDMC). The flocculation performance of St-g-PAM-co-PDMC was studied systematically at neutral pH using kaolin suspension and sodium humate (NaHA) aqueous solution as synthetic wastewaters.

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In this work, a series of quaternary ammonium salt grafted starch flocculant, starch-graft-poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride (St-g-PDMC), with different grafting ratios was prepared by a simple method. Various characterization techniques were employed to investigate the structure and charge property of the starch-based flocculants. The efficiencies of St-g-PDMC for flocculation of kaolin and Escherichia coli suspensions as well as their mixtures were systematically examined in laboratory scale.

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China is a major textile manufacturer in the world; as a result, large quantities of dyeing effluents are generated every year in the country. In this study, the performances of two cationic starch-based flocculants with different chain architectures, i.e.

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Three different starch-based flocculants with various chain architectures and charge properties have been prepared through etherification, graft copolymerization, or their combination. Two of the flocculants (starch-graft-poly[(2-methacryloyloxyethyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride] and starch-3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl triethyl ammonium chloride, denoted as STC-g-PDMC and STC-CTA respectively) are cationic, and another one (carboxymethyl starch-graft-poly[(2-methacryloyloxyethyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride], denoted as CMS-g-PDMC) is amphoteric. Those three flocculants have shown far different flocculation efficiency and floc properties for the removal of humic acid (HA) from water due to their distinct structural features.

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Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are able to directly convert about 50 to 90% of energy from oxidation of organic matters in waste to electricity and have great potential application in broad fields such as wastewater treatment. Unfortunately, the power density of the MFCs at present is significantly lower than the theoretical value because of technical limitations including low bacteria loading capacity and difficult electron transfer between the bacteria and the electrode. We reported a three-dimensional (3D) graphene aerogel (GA) decorated with platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) as an efficient freestanding anode for MFCs.

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