Electrochemical splitting of methane in melts: Producing and tuning high-value carbon materials with controllable morphology.

Catalytic decomposition of methane offers a viable solution for producing pure hydrogen and nanocarbon without emitting carbon dioxide. However, conventional thermal catalytic processes and catalysts have limitations in terms of poor carbon quality and catalyst deactivation due to carbon deposition. The newly developed electrochemical splitting of methane (ESM) in molten salt has emerged as a promising alternative that allows for the separate production of hydrogen at the anode and carbon deposition at the cathode.

Synthesis of sewage sludge biochar in molten salt environment for advanced wastewater treatment: Performance enhancement, carbon footprint and environmental impact reduction.

Sewage sludge (SS) pyrolysis to produce biochar is a vital approach for treating and utilizing SS, while reducing the carbon footprint of SS disposal. However, the high inorganic content in SS results in low carbon content and underdeveloped pore structure of biochar prepared under inert atmospheres. There is a significant risk of secondary pollutant emissions, including CO, SO, and NO.

Accurate identification and measurement of the precipitate area by two-stage deep neural networks in novel chromium-based alloys.

The performance of advanced materials for extreme environments is underpinned by their microstructure, such as the size and distribution of nano- to micro-sized reinforcing phase(s). Chromium-based superalloys are a recently proposed alternative to conventional face-centred-cubic superalloys for high-temperature applications, , Concentrated Solar Power. Their development requires the determination of precipitate volume fraction and size distribution using Electron Microscopy (EM), as these properties are crucial for the thermal stability and mechanical properties of chromium superalloys.

Co-pyrolysis technology for enhancing the functionality of sewage sludge biochar and immobilizing heavy metals.

Sewage sludge (SS) is a frequent and challenging issue for countries with big populations, due to its massive output, significant hazard potential, and challenging resource utilization. Pyrolysis can simultaneously realize the reduction, harmlessness and recycling of SS. Co-pyrolysis offers a wide range of potential in terms of increasing product quality and immobilizing heavy metals (HMs), thanks to its capacity to use additives to address the mismatch between SS characteristics and pyrolysis.

Tetracycline Removal by Hercynite-Biochar from the Co-Pyrolysis of Red Mud-Steel Slag-Sludge.

The sludge-derived biochar is considered an effective emerging contaminants adsorbent for wastewater treatment. In this paper, red mud and steel slag (RMSS) was used for improving sludge dewaterability and enhancing the sludge-derived biochar adsorption capacity. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) were employed to comprehensively characterize the mineral composition, functional group, and morphology of the adsorbent.

Fabrication of Nano Iron Oxide-Modified Biochar from Co-Hydrothermal Carbonization of Microalgae and Fe(II) Salt for Efficient Removal of Rhodamine B.

Dye adsorption by magnetic modified biochar has now received growing interest due to its excellent adsorption performance and facile separation for recycling. In this study, nano iron oxide-modified biochar was fabricated via the successive hydrothermal-pyrolyzing method using (Cv) and FeSO·7HO as raw materials, and its adsorption on Rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution was studied. Multiple techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to comprehensively characterize the structure, morphology and physicochemical properties of the adsorbent.

Hydrophobic modification of nanoscale zero-valent iron with excellent stability and floatability for efficient removal of floating oil on water.

Usually, nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) cannot float on water because of high density and hydrophilic surface. Herein, alkyltrimethoxysilanes with different carbon chain lengths (C1, C8 and C16) were used as "water-repellent legs" to graft onto NZVI, enduing NZVI with hydrophobic and floatable characteristics like a water strider. The hydrophobic performance of as-modified NZVI materials was found to be better when NZVI was modified by alkyltrimethoxysilane with longer carbon chain, and a large contact angle of 151.

Facile modification of nanoscale zero-valent iron with high stability for Cr(VI) remediation.

In this study, a highly stable nanoscale zero-valent iron composite (HS-NZVI) was obtained via modifying nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMOS), and used for Cr(VI) remediation in aqueous solution. The obtained HS-NZVI remained stable in water without being oxidized for over 12h. After four consecutive runs, the Cr(VI) removal efficiency of HS-NZVI maintained a value of more than 82%.