Integrating PET chemical recycling with pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste via pressureless alkaline depolymerization in a hydrocarbon solvent.

This study presents a proof of concept for a technology train that integrates polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recovery from mixed plastic waste and plastic pyrolysis. PET is depolymerized into terephthalic acid (TPA) by hydrolysis using a low volatility oil as medium, which enables (i) low-pressure operation, and (ii) a selective separation and recovery of TPA from the product mix by a simple process of filtration, washing, and precipitation. Full PET conversion and high TPA recovery (>98 %) were achieved at 260 °C.

Review of Rare-Earth Phosphate Materials for Nuclear Waste Sequestration Applications.

Several materials have or are currently being investigated for nuclear waste sequestration applications, including crystalline ceramic oxides, glasses, and glass-ceramic composites. Rare-earth phosphates have been investigated extensively for this application owing to the range of structures that the hydrous or anhydrous versions can adopt as well as the fact that naturally occurring rare-earth phosphates have been found to contain U or Th. The purpose of this mini-review is to discuss (generally) the properties that must be considered when identifying nuclear wasteform materials and (more specifically) the structure and properties of rare-earth phosphates with special attention being given to the resistance of these materials to radiation-induced structure damage.

Insights into non-thermal plasma chemistry of acetone diluted in N/O mixtures: a real-time MS experiment.

Understanding non-thermal plasma reactivity is a complicated task as many reactions take place due to a large energy spectrum. In this work, we used a well-defined photo-triggered non-filamentous discharge to study acetone decomposition in N/O gas mixtures. The plasma reactor is associated to a compact chemical ionization FTICR mass spectrometer (BTrap) in order to identify and quantify in real-time acetone and by-products in the plasma.

Carbon nitride used as a reactive template to prepare mesoporous molybdenum sulfide and nitride.

Carbon nitride CN has been used as a sacrificial template to prepare inorganic materials with hierarchical pore structure. CN impregnated with ammonium heptamolybdate was treated in reactive gas mixtures (HS/H or NH/H). This approach allowed mesoporous molybdenum sulfide and molybdenum nitride materials to be obtained that replicate the morphology of the CN template.

Effect of Annealing on Structural and Thermodynamic Properties of ThSiO-ErPO Xenotime Solid Solution.

The effect of annealing on structural and thermochemical properties of a thorite-xenotime solid solution ThEr(SiO)(PO) was assessed. The samples synthesized at low temperatures and stored at room temperature for 2 years retained their tetragonal structures. This structure was also maintained after heating to 1100 °C.

Enhancing N Fixation Activity by Converting Ti C MXenes Nanosheets to Nanoribbons.

Metal carbides M C (MXenes) with two-dimensional (2D) structure have been indicated as promising materials for N fixation, with the activity being related to edge planes. Here, it is instead demonstrated that the transformation from a 2D- (nanosheets) to a 3D-type nanostructure (nanoribbons) leads to a significant enhancement of the N fixation activity due to the formation of exposed Ti-OH sites. A linear relationship is observed between ammonia formation rate and amount of oxygen on the surface of Ti C MXene.

Gas chromatography vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy: A review.

Accelerated technological progress and increased complexity of interrogated matrices imposes a demand for fast, powerful, and resolutive analysis techniques. Gas chromatography has been for a long time a 'go-to' technique for the analysis of mixtures of volatile and semi-volatile compounds. Coupling of the several dimensions of gas chromatography separation has allowed to access a realm of improved separations in the terms of increased separation power and detection sensitivity.

Controlled grafting of dialkylphosphonate-based ionic liquids on γ-alumina: design of hybrid materials with high potential for CO separation applications.

In this work we provide a detailed study on grafting reactions of various dialkylphosphonate-based ILs. Special attention has been devoted to a comprehensive investigation on how the nature of the anion and the organic spacer composition (hydrophilic or hydrophobic groups) could impact the grafting densities and bonding modes of phosphonate-based ILs anchored to γ-alumina (γ-AlO) powders. For the first time, the bonding of phosphonate-based ILs with only surface hexacoordinated aluminum nuclei was established using both solid-state P-Al D-HMQC and P NMR experiments.

Formation features of nitrous acid in the offshore area of the East China Sea.

Nitrous acid (HONO) is an important precursor of hydroxyl radical (OH), which plays a key role in atmospheric chemistry. In this study, a shipboard-based measurement of HONO and related species in the offshore area of the East China Sea (ECS) was performed during June 2017. The HONO concentration ranged from 35 ppt to 1.

Unexpected Structure of a Helical N -Schiff-Base Zn(II) Complex and Its Demetallation: Experimental and Theoretical Studies.

A new Zn-N -Schiff base L=((±)-trans-N,N'-Bis(2-aminobenzylidene)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane) complex was synthesized and fully characterized, showing an unexpected self-assembled double-stranded helicate structure. The X-ray crystal analysis of the Zn L complex ((C H N Zn ,CH Cl , a=14.2375(3) Å, b=16.

Particle-Phase Photosensitized Radical Production and Aerosol Aging.

Atmospheric aerosol particles may contain light absorbing (brown carbon, BrC), triplet forming organic compounds that can sustain catalytic radical reactions and thus contribute to oxidative aerosol aging. We quantify UVA induced radical production initiated by imidazole-2-carboxaldehyde (IC), benzophenone (BPh). and 4-benzoylbenzoic acid (BBA) in the presence of the nonabsorbing organics citric acid (CA), shikimic acid (SA), and syringol (Syr) at varying mixing ratios.

Environmental exposure to TiO nanomaterials incorporated in building material.

Nanomaterials are increasingly being used to improve the properties and functions of common building materials. A new type of self-cleaning cement incorporating TiO nanomaterials (TiO-NMs) with photocatalytic properties is now marketed. This promising cement might provide air pollution-reducing properties but its environmental impact must be validated.

Carbon and nitrogen removal from glucose-glycine melanoidins solution as a model of distillery wastewater by catalytic wet air oxidation.

Sugarcane molasses distillery wastewater contains melanoidins, which are dark brown recalcitrant nitrogenous polymer compounds. Studies were carried out in batch mode to evaluate Pt and Ru supported catalysts in the Catalytic Wet Air Oxidation (CWAO) process of a synthetic melanoidins solution, prepared by stoichiometric reaction of glucose with glycine. The addition of a catalyst slightly improved TOC removal compared with the non-catalytic reaction, and especially promoted the conversion of ammonium produced from organically-bound nitrogen in melanoidins to molecular nitrogen and nitrate.

Static and dynamic adsorption studies of PolyChloroBiphenyls (PCBs) over activated carbons.

Since PolyChloroBiphenyls (PCBs) have been extensively used in the past century, they are frequently detected in surface water and ground water. Due to their poor solubility, extremely low concentrations are observed in water. However, PCBs were demonstrated more recently to be highly toxic and need to be eliminated.

Unravelling New Processes at Interfaces: Photochemical Isoprene Production at the Sea Surface.

Isoprene is an important reactive gas that is produced mainly in terrestrial ecosystems but is also produced in marine ecosystems. In the marine environment, isoprene is produced in the seawater by various biological processes. Here, we show that photosensitized reactions involving the sea-surface microlayer lead to the production of significant amounts of isoprene.

Photosensitized production of functionalized and unsaturated organic compounds at the air-sea interface.

The sea-surface microlayer (SML) has different physical, chemical and biological properties compared to the subsurface water, with an enrichment of organic matter i.e., dissolved organic matter including UV absorbing humic substances, fatty acids and many others.

Photocatalytic abatement results from a model street canyon.

During the European Life+ project PhotoPAQ (Demonstration of Photocatalytic remediation Processes on Air Quality), photocatalytic remediation of nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone (O3), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and airborne particles on photocatalytic cementitious coating materials was studied in an artificial street canyon setup by comparing with a colocated nonactive reference canyon of the same dimension (5 × 5 × 53 m). Although the photocatalytic material showed reasonably high activity in laboratory studies, no significant reduction of NOx, O3, and VOCs and no impact on particle mass, size distribution, and chemical composition were observed in the field campaign. When comparing nighttime and daytime correlation plots of the two canyons, an average upper limit NOx remediation of ≤2% was derived.

Photosensitized Production of Atmospherically Reactive Organic Compounds at the Air/Aqueous Interface.

We report on experiments that probe photosensitized chemistry at the air/water interface, a region that does not just connect the two phases but displays its own specific chemistry. Here, we follow reactions of octanol, a proxy for environmentally relevant soluble surfactants, initiated by an attack by triplet-state carbonyl compounds, which are themselves concentrated at the interface by the presence of this surfactant. Gas-phase products are determined using PTR-ToF-MS, and those remaining in the organic layer are determined by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and HPLC-HRMS.

Construction of a photocatalytic de-polluting field site in the Leopold II tunnel in Brussels.

Within the framework of the European Life+-funded project PhotoPAQ (Demonstration of Photocatalytic remediation Processes on Air Quality), which was aimed at demonstrating the effectiveness of photocatalytic coating materials on a realistic scale, a photocatalytic de-polluting field site was set up in the Leopold II tunnel in Brussels, Belgium. For that purpose, photocatalytic cementitious materials were applied on the side walls and ceiling of selected test sections inside a one-way tunnel tube. This article presents the configuration of the test sections used and the preparation and implementation of the measuring campaigns inside the Leopold II tunnel.

Selective aerobic oxidation of 5-HMF into 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid with Pt catalysts supported on TiO2 - and ZrO2 -based supports.

Pt catalysts prepared over different metallic oxide supports were investigated in the oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) in alkaline aqueous solutions with air, to examine the combined effect of the support and base addition. The base (nature and amount) played a significant role in the degradation or oxidation of HMF. Increasing amounts of the weak NaHCO3 base improved significantly the overall catalytic activity of Pt/TiO2 and Pt/ZrO2 by accelerating the oxidation steps, especially for the aldehyde group.

Polluted dust promotes new particle formation and growth.

Understanding new particle formation and their subsequent growth in the troposphere has a critical impact on our ability to predict atmospheric composition and global climate change. High pre-existing particle loadings have been thought to suppress the formation of new atmospheric aerosol particles due to high condensation and coagulation sinks. Here, based on field measurements at a mountain site in South China, we report, for the first time, in situ observational evidence on new particle formation and growth in remote ambient atmosphere during heavy dust episodes mixed with anthropogenic pollution.

Glyoxal induced atmospheric photosensitized chemistry leading to organic aerosol growth.

In recent years, it has been proposed that gas phase glyoxal could significantly contribute to ambient organic aerosol (OA) mass through multiphase chemistry. Of particular interest is the reaction between glyoxal and ammonium cations producing light-absorbing compounds such as imidazole derivatives. It was recently shown that imidazole-2-carboxaldehyde (IC) can act as a photosensitizer, initiating aerosol growth in the presence of gaseous volatile organic compounds.

A new device for formaldehyde and total aldehydes real-time monitoring.

A new sensitive technique for the quantification of formaldehyde (HCHO) and total aldehydes has been developed in order to monitor these compounds, which are known to be involved in air quality issues and to have health impacts. Our approach is based on a colorimetric method where aldehydes are initially stripped from the air into a scrubbing solution by means of a turning coil sampler tube and then derivatised with 3-methylbenzothiazolinone-2-hydrazone in acid media (pH = -0.5).

Cellulose conversion with tungstated-alumina-based catalysts: influence of the presence of platinum and mechanistic studies.

The performances of platinum supported on tungstated alumina (Pt/AlW) in the hydrothermal conversion of cellulose at 190 °C under H2 pressure were evaluated and compared to that of Pt-free tungstated alumina (AlW). We show that the presence of Pt significantly increased the extent of conversion and led to a different product distribution with the formation of acetol and propylene glycol as the main products and a global yield of up to 40 %. Based on previous reports, we propose the formation of pyruvaldehyde on the Lewis acid sites of the tungstated alumina as a key intermediate.