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Advance in Environmentally Friendly Materials
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Advance in Environmentally Friendly Materials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2023) | Viewed by 18973

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ecaterina Matei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Processing and Ecometallurgy, Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: ecomaterials; water treatment; environmental pollutants

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Preserving biodiversity and maintaining a clean environment represent an important concern in today’s world. Contemporary environmental threats could be balanced by a continuous monitoring of water, air, and soil parameters and the development of sustainable and ecological materials, though durability, an adequate quality–price balance, and recycling and reuse potential are pivotal. Under these circumstances, eco-friendly concepts have attracted increasing attention in the design and construction stages of these materials. Traditional sources of raw materials can be replaced with waste byproducts with the potential for recycling/reuse and with minimal energy consumption. Other factors, such as water consumption, secondary waste generation, and design and integration into other systems, are important features in labeling a material as “environmentally friendly” and can play a role in how safe materials are. Environmentally friendly materials are especially important in construction and in various industrial and purification processes, as well as in the decontamination of polluted environments. This Special Issue of Materials is dedicated to “Advances in Environmentally Friendly Materials” and will publish cutting-edge research and technology developments from the materials engineering and environmental science communities, with new advances and approaches to the preparation and design of reuse concepts and efficiency data regarding materials applications, studies of their fate and behavior in the environment and in the biogeochemical cycle, as well as their impacts on ecosystems, public health, and mitigation strategies. It is our pleasure to invite you to contribute your research article, communication, or review to this Special Issue.

Dr. Ecaterina Matei
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ecological materials
  • ecofriendly nanomaterials
  • nontoxicity
  • metallic materials
  • building materials
  • green synthesis
  • green and clean technologies
  • non-conventional depollution technologies
  • reutilization
  • biosystems

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 4847 KiB  
Article
Chemically Activated Carbon Based on Biomass for Adsorption of Fe(III) and Mn(II) Ions from Aqueous Solution
by Amal M. Elewa, Ahmed A. Amer, Mohamed F. Attallah, Hamdy A. Gad, Zehbah Ali Mohamed Al-Ahmed and Inas A. Ahmed
Materials 2023, 16(3), 1251; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031251 - 1 Feb 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2332
Abstract
Rice husk was converted into activated carbon (AC) as a byproduct of agricultural waste in an electric furnace at 700 °C and chemically activated using three distinct processes: NaOH AC(C), acetic acid AC(C-1), phosphoric acid AC(C-2), and carbonization AC(C-3) without any chemical activation. [...] Read more.
Rice husk was converted into activated carbon (AC) as a byproduct of agricultural waste in an electric furnace at 700 °C and chemically activated using three distinct processes: NaOH AC(C), acetic acid AC(C-1), phosphoric acid AC(C-2), and carbonization AC(C-3) without any chemical activation. To characterize the activated carbon and the removal efficiencies of Fe(III) and Mn(II) from aqueous solutions, various analytical tools were used. The results revealed that the capacities of the four adsorbents to adsorb Fe(III) or Mn(II) from an aqueous solution differ significantly. AC(C-3) was chosen for additional research. The impact of different operational factors, including pH, contact time, adsorbent dosage, starting metal ion concentration, interfering ions, and temperature, were investigated. The optimum pH values for Fe(III) and Mn(II) adsorption were found to be pH 3 and pH 6, respectively. The results obtained were utilized to assess the kinetics and thermodynamics of the adsorption process. The sorption of Fe(III) and Mn(II) ions was found to be a pseudo-second-order kinetic process, and the equilibrium data were fitted with the Langmuir isotherm. Additionally, the evidence suggests that an endothermic mechanism governs the adsorption process. The maximum adsorption capacities of Fe(III) and Mn(II) were 28.9 and 73.47 mg/g, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Environmentally Friendly Materials)
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15 pages, 4602 KiB  
Article
Zn Modification of Pd/TiO2/Ti Catalyst for CO Oxidation
by Payam Samadi, Michal J. Binczarski, Waldemar Maniukiewicz, Aleksandra Pawlaczyk, Jacek Rogowski, Elzbieta Szubiakiewicz, Malgorzata I. Szynkowska-Jozwik and Izabela A. Witonska
Materials 2023, 16(3), 1216; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031216 - 31 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1807
Abstract
The main goal of this study was to modify the activity of Pd/TiO2/Ti catalyst in the reaction of CO oxidation by the addition of Zn. Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of Ti wire was conducted to produce a uniform porous layer of [...] Read more.
The main goal of this study was to modify the activity of Pd/TiO2/Ti catalyst in the reaction of CO oxidation by the addition of Zn. Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of Ti wire was conducted to produce a uniform porous layer of TiO2. A mixture of Pd and Zn was then introduced by means of adsorption. After reduction treatment, the activity of the samples was examined by oxidation of 5% CO in a temperature range from 80–350 °C. Model catalysts with sufficient amounts of the metals for physico-chemical investigation were prepared to further investigate the reaction between Pd and Zn during CO oxidation. The structures and compositions of the samples were investigated using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Modification of Pd/TiO2/Ti catalyst by Zn with a Pd:Zn atomic ratio of 2:1 decreased the temperature of complete CO oxidation from 220 °C for Pd/TiO2/Ti to 180 °C for Pd-Zn/TiO2/Ti. The temperature of 50% CO conversion on Pd-Zn(2:1)/TiO2/Ti was around 55 °C lower than in the reaction on monometallic Pd catalyst. The addition of Zn to the Pd catalyst lowered the binding energy of CO on the surface and improved the dissociative adsorption of oxygen, facilitating the oxidation of CO. FTIR showed that the bridging form of adsorbed CO is preferred on bimetallic systems. Analysis of the surface compositions of the samples (SEM-EDS, TOF-SIMS) showed higher amounts of oxygen on the bimetallic systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Environmentally Friendly Materials)
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14 pages, 3480 KiB  
Article
Aerogel Composites Produced from Silica and Recycled Rubber Sols for Thermal Insulation
by Alyne Lamy-Mendes, Ana Dora Rodrigues Pontinha, Paulo Santos and Luísa Durães
Materials 2022, 15(22), 7897; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15227897 - 8 Nov 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2122
Abstract
Hydrophobic rubber-silica aerogel panels (21.5 × 21.5 × 1.6 cm3) were fabricated from silica and rubber sols and reinforced with several fiber types (recycled tire textile fibers, polyester blanket, silica felt, glass wool). A recycled rubber sol was prepared using peracetic [...] Read more.
Hydrophobic rubber-silica aerogel panels (21.5 × 21.5 × 1.6 cm3) were fabricated from silica and rubber sols and reinforced with several fiber types (recycled tire textile fibers, polyester blanket, silica felt, glass wool). A recycled rubber sol was prepared using peracetic acid and incorporated for the first time in TEOS-based sol-gel chemistry. The composites exhibited good thermal stability up to 400 °C and very low thermal conductivity, in the superinsulation range when using polyester fibers (16.4 ± 1.0 mW·m−1·K−1), and of 20–30 mW·m−1·K−1 for the remaining fibers. They could also endure cyclic compression loads with near full recovery, thus showing very promising properties for insulation of buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Environmentally Friendly Materials)
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13 pages, 3319 KiB  
Article
Selected Properties of Two Alternative Plant Fibers: Canola and Sweet Clover Fibers
by Vahid Sadrmanesh and Ying Chen
Materials 2022, 15(22), 7877; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15227877 - 8 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1808
Abstract
Identifying sustainable resources of natural fibers is essential due to their high demand in industrial applications such as automotive and biomedical materials. Two alternative fibers obtained from canola and sweet clover stalks were characterized for their properties using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), [...] Read more.
Identifying sustainable resources of natural fibers is essential due to their high demand in industrial applications such as automotive and biomedical materials. Two alternative fibers obtained from canola and sweet clover stalks were characterized for their properties using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), contact angle, and tensile test. Hemp and flax fibers, both in use as industrial fibers, were also characterized as conventional fibers. Results showed that all the fibers had the same chemical elements (carbon, oxygen, magnesium, and potassium) and chemical bonds. The crystallinity index for the alternative fibers ranged from 62 to 71%, which was close but lower than the conventional fibers (82% for hemp and 80% for flax). The thermal stability of the alternative fibers was around 220 °C, close to the conventional fibers (230 °C). The alternative fibers had contact angles of less than 90°, showing high surface energy. Since the alternative fibers had a low Young’s modulus and tensile strength (5.57–8.52 GPa and 57.45–71.26 MPa, respectively), they are suitable for some specific applications in the biomedical industry. In contrast, conventional fibers are suitable where a higher stiffness and strength is required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Environmentally Friendly Materials)
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13 pages, 12752 KiB  
Article
Ozone Formation during Photocatalytic Oxidation of Nitric Oxides under UV Irradiation with the Use of Commercial TiO2 Photocatalytic Powders
by Hubert Witkowski, Wioletta Jackiewicz-Rek, Janusz Jarosławski, Karol Chilmon and Artur Szkop
Materials 2022, 15(17), 5905; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15175905 - 26 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1619
Abstract
The application of photocatalytic materials has been intensively researched in recent decades. The process of nitric oxide (NO) oxidation during photocatalysis has been observed to result in the formation of nitric dioxide (NO2). This is a significant factor of the photocatalysis [...] Read more.
The application of photocatalytic materials has been intensively researched in recent decades. The process of nitric oxide (NO) oxidation during photocatalysis has been observed to result in the formation of nitric dioxide (NO2). This is a significant factor of the photocatalysis process, as NO2 is more toxic than NO. However, it has been reported that ozone (O3) is also formed during the photocatalytic reaction. This study analyzed the formation and oxidationof O3 during the photocatalytic oxidation of NO under ultraviolet irradiation using commercial photocatalytic powders: AEROXIDE® TiO2 P25 by Evonik, KRONOClean® 7050 by KRONOS®, and KRONOClean® 7000 by KRONOS®. An NO concentration of 100 ppb was assumed in laboratory tests based on the average nitric oxide concentrations recorded by the monitoring station in Warsaw. A mix flow-type reactor was applied in the study, and the appropriateness of its application was verified using a numerical model. The developed model assumed an empty reactor without a photocatalytic material, as well as a reactor with a photocatalytic material at its bottom to verify the gas flow in the chamber. The analysis of the air purification performance of photocatalytic powders indicated a significant reduction of NO and NOx and typical NO2 formation. However, no significant formation of O3 was observed. This observation was verified by the oxidation of pure ozone in the process of photocatalysis. The results indicated the oxidation of ozone concentration during the photocatalytic reaction, but self-decomposition of a significant amount of the gas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Environmentally Friendly Materials)
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Review

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19 pages, 4390 KiB  
Review
Production and Upgrading of Recovered Carbon Black from the Pyrolysis of End-of-Life Tires
by Sebastião M. R. Costa, David Fowler, Germano A. Carreira, Inês Portugal and Carlos M. Silva
Materials 2022, 15(6), 2030; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15062030 - 9 Mar 2022
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 8104
Abstract
Increasing awareness regarding fossil fuel dependence, waste valorization, and greenhouse gas emissions have prompted the emergence of new solutions for numerous markets over the last decades. The tire industry is no exception to this, with a global production of more than 1.5 billion [...] Read more.
Increasing awareness regarding fossil fuel dependence, waste valorization, and greenhouse gas emissions have prompted the emergence of new solutions for numerous markets over the last decades. The tire industry is no exception to this, with a global production of more than 1.5 billion tires per year raising environmental concerns about their end-of-life recycling or disposal. Pyrolysis enables the recovery of both energy and material from end-of-life tires, yielding valuable gas, liquid, and solid fractions. The latter, known as recovered carbon black (rCB), has been extensively researched in the last few years to ensure its quality for market applications. These studies have shown that rCB quality depends on the feedstock composition and pyrolysis conditions such as type of reactor, temperature range, heating rate, and residence time. Recent developments of activation and demineralization techniques target the production of rCB with specific chemical, physical, and morphological properties for singular applications. The automotive industry, which is the highest consumer of carbon black, has set specific targets to incorporate recycled materials (such as rCB) following the principles of sustainability and a circular economy. This review summarizes the pyrolysis of end-of-life tires for the production of syngas, oil, and rCB, focusing on the process conditions and product yield and composition. A further analysis of the characteristics of the solid material is performed, including their influence on the rCB application as a substitute of commercial CB in the tire industry. Purification and modification post-treatment processes for rCB upgrading are also inspected. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advance in Environmentally Friendly Materials)
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