Mercury pollution threatens the environment and human health across the globe. This neurotoxic substance is encountered in artisanal gold mining, coal combustion, oil and gas refining, waste incineration, chloralkali plant operation, metallurgy, and areas of agriculture in which mercury-rich fungicides are used. Thousands of tonnes of mercury are emitted annually through these activities. With the Minamata Convention on Mercury entering force this year, increasing regulation of mercury pollution is imminent. It is therefore critical to provide inexpensive and scalable mercury sorbents. The research herein addresses this need by introducing low-cost mercury sorbents made solely from sulfur and unsaturated cooking oils. A porous version of the polymer was prepared by simply synthesising the polymer in the presence of a sodium chloride porogen. The resulting material is a rubber that captures liquid mercury metal, mercury vapour, inorganic mercury bound to organic matter, and highly toxic alkylmercury compounds. Mercury removal from air, water and soil was demonstrated. Because sulfur is a by-product of petroleum refining and spent cooking oils from the food industry are suitable starting materials, these mercury-capturing polymers can be synthesised entirely from waste and supplied on multi-kilogram scales. This study is therefore an advance in waste valorisation and environmental chemistry.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5724514PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201702871DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

cooking oils
12
mercury
11
mercury pollution
8
mercury sorbents
8
laying waste
4
waste mercury
4
mercury inexpensive
4
inexpensive sorbents
4
sorbents sulfur
4
sulfur recycled
4

Similar Publications

Thymol is a phenol monoterpene that is naturally derived from cymene and is an isomer of carvacrol. It constitutes a significant portion (10%-64%) of the essential oils found in thyme ( L., Lamiaceae), a medicinal plant renowned for its therapeutic properties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The intake of trans-fatty acids (TFA) is strongly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in blood. This review explores the critical factors influencing TFA formation during industrial vegetable oil processing and home cooking practices, particularly deep-frying. While hydrogenation, a major source of TFA, has been largely eliminated in developed countries, it remains unregulated in many developing countries, posing significant health risks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

[Fatty acid content in Jiangnan dishes in Hangzhou].

Wei Sheng Yan Jiu

November 2024

School of Public Heath, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.

Objective: To analyze the fatty acid content of Jiangnan dishes in Hangzhou.

Methods: Based on the order frequency records from an online platform, two popular Jiangnan cuisine restaurants were selected for monitoring. Fat extraction was performed on three types of dishes: purely vegetarian, mixed vegetarian and non-vegetarian, and purely non-vegetarian, using acid hydrolysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The process to synthesize biodiesel is well-developed and optimized to overcome the disadvantages like the competition with agriculture using feedstock, and the problematics in the process. Oils from waste and enzymatic catalysis have proven to be good solutions to these problems. Lipases are currently the most commonly used enzymes in the transesterification of oils; nevertheless, enzymes have a high cost and must be immobilized to offer repetitive reuse.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Commercial grease interceptors (GIs), commonly used in food service establishments, are primarily designed to treat fat, oil and grease (FOG) from handwash sink (HS) wastewater. They are generally less effective for removing highly concentrated FOG from dishwasher (DW) effluents which contain highly emulsified FOG with complex long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). Furthermore, standard testing of GIs uses diesel fuel to simulate FOG separation; however, the flow properties of typical cooking oils and animal fats differ significantly from diesel.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!