Recent Advances in Environmental Separations Analysis
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Dear Colleagues,
Nowadays, environmental issues are facing several serious challenges, including all kinds of emissions and pollution threatening the environment and human health. Environmental analysis includes all analytical aspects of studies related to environmental problems and their management. Treatment of soil, water and air pollution, and recovery of metals and resources from soil, water and solid wastes can have a great contribution to the environmental analysis section. Apart from that, the development of new analytical methods or improvement of current techniques for the monitoring of contaminants is of paramount importance for this section. Your valuable unpublished research and review papers can find a worldwide audience among readers of Separations.
Dr. Amin Mojiri
Collection Editor
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Keywords
- method development for analysis of environmental aspects
- validation of methods
- treatment of water, soil, air, and solid wastes
- removal and monitoring of emerging contaminants
- degradation/transformation products
Published Papers (3 papers)
Open AccessArticle
Aniline-p-Phenylenediamine Copolymer for Removal of Hexavalent Chromium from Wastewater
by
Yifeng Li, Jingyue Chen, Xiwei Tan, Han Lou and Hongbo Gu
Viewed by 639
Abstract
Hexavalent chromium, one of the heavy metal pollutants in water, harms the ecological environment and human health. In this work, an aniline-
p-phenylenediamine copolymer has been prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization to remove the hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from wastewater. The results show
[...] Read more.
Hexavalent chromium, one of the heavy metal pollutants in water, harms the ecological environment and human health. In this work, an aniline-
p-phenylenediamine copolymer has been prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization to remove the hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from wastewater. The results show that when the initial Cr(VI) concentration is 1.5 mg·L
−1, the removal percentage (RP%) of Cr(VI) could reach 94.84% after 180 s of treatment. The RP% of Cr(VI) increases with the dosage of copolymers and decreases with an increase in the initial Cr(VI) concentration. Additionally, the RP% of Cr(VI) removal reaches a maximum of 97.70% with a pH value of 1.0. The Cr(VI) removal kinetics of the copolymers follows a pseudo-first-order chemical reaction model. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results demonstrate that the Cr(VI) removal mechanism by the aniline-
p-phenylenediamine copolymer is a redox reaction. The positive value of Δ
H° and negative value of Δ
G° affirm that the Cr(VI) removal process by aniline-
p-phenylenediamine copolymer is endothermic, thermodynamically achievable, and spontaneous.
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Open AccessReview
Removal of Inorganic Pollutants and Recovery of Nutrients from Wastewater Using Electrocoagulation: A Review
by
Mohamed Ammar, Ezz Yousef, Sherif Ashraf and Jonas Baltrusaitis
Viewed by 477
Abstract
Water pollution is a major concern due to its detrimental effects on the environment and public health. The particular danger of inorganic pollutants arises from their persistent toxicity and inability to biodegrade. Recently, electrocoagulation (EC) has been demonstrated as an alternative sustainable approach
[...] Read more.
Water pollution is a major concern due to its detrimental effects on the environment and public health. The particular danger of inorganic pollutants arises from their persistent toxicity and inability to biodegrade. Recently, electrocoagulation (EC) has been demonstrated as an alternative sustainable approach to purifying wastewater due to the increasingly strict pollution prevention rules. In particular, EC has been used to remove inorganic pollutants, such as Cr, Zn, Pb, or As. EC has emerged as a sustainable tool for resource recovery of some inorganic pollutants such as N and P that, when recovered, have value as plant nutrients and are critical in a circular economy. These recovered materials can be obtained from diverse agricultural drainage water and recycled as fertilizers. In this work, a state-of-the-art technique is reviewed describing the advances in contaminant removal and nutrient recovery using EC through an in-depth discussion of the factors influencing the contaminant removal process, including operating pH, time, power, and concentration. Furthermore, limitations of the EC technology are reviewed, including the high-power consumption, fast deterioration of the sacrificial electrodes, and the types of contaminants that could not be efficiently removed. Finally, new emerging constructs in EC process optimization parameters are presented.
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Open AccessArticle
Ultrasonic (US)-Assisted Electrocoagulation (EC) Process for Oil and Grease (O&G) Removal from Restaurant Wastewater
by
Shefaa Omar Abu Nassar, Mohd Suffian Yusoff, Herni Halim, Nurul Hana Mokhtar Kamal, Mohammed J. K. Bashir, Teh Sabariah Binti Abd Manan, Hamidi Abdul Aziz and Amin Mojiri
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2723
Abstract
Restaurant wastewater contains a high concentration of O&G, up to 3434 mg/L. This study aims to (a) assess the efficiency of EC combined with US methods for O&G removal in restaurant wastewater, (b) identify the optimum condition for COD degradation using EC treatment
[...] Read more.
Restaurant wastewater contains a high concentration of O&G, up to 3434 mg/L. This study aims to (a) assess the efficiency of EC combined with US methods for O&G removal in restaurant wastewater, (b) identify the optimum condition for COD degradation using EC treatment via response surface methodology (RSM), and (c) determine the morphological surface of the aluminium (Al) electrode before and after EC treatment. The wastewater samples were collected from the Lembaran cafeteria at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The efficiency of EC, US, and US-EC, combined methods for O&G removal, was investigated using a batch reactor (pH 7). The interelectrode distance (ID, 2–6 cm), electrolysis time (T, 15–35 min), and current density (CD, 40–80 A/m
2) were analysed, followed by RSM. The response variables were O&G (1000 mg/L) and chemical oxygen demand (COD low range, 1000 mg/L). The central composite design (CCD) with a quadratic model was used to appraise the effects and interactions of these parameters. The morphological surface of the electrode used was observed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optimum removal efficiencies obtained were 95.4% (O&G) and 75.9% (COD) (ID: 2.4 cm, T: 30.5 min, and CD: 53.2 A/m
2). The regression line fitted the data (R
2 O&G: 0.9838, and R
2 COD: 0.9558). The SEM images revealed that the use of US was useful in minimising cavitation on the electrode surface, which could lower the EC treatment efficacy. The US-EC combined technique is highly recommended for O&G removal from the food industry’s wastewater.
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