Removal of protein, histological dye and tetracycline from simulated bioindustrial wastewater with a dual pore size PPSU membrane.

Wastewater from production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) often contains proteins, azo dyes or antibiotics, which cause severe water eutrophication and growth of drug-resistant bacteria. A series of polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) membranes was prepared to determine the relationships between pore structures and the abilities of different membranes to separate foulants, and the characteristics and performance of the ultrafiltration membranes were investigated. The structure of the skin layer and the cross-sectional texture were converted from dense and finger-like macrovoids to porous sponge shapes because of a delayed liquid-liquid (L-L) demixing time. Formation of novel PPSU membranes via noncovalent bonding interactions was evaluated, and this selectively affected the membrane surface pore structure, layer thickness, surface polarity and electronic repulsive force. All PPSU membranes demonstrated excellent rejection of organic foulants, including bovine serum albumin (BSA) (~100% rejection) and acid red 1 (AR1) (~90% rejection). Additionally, M5 provided an excellent tetracycline (TC) rejection efficiency of 89% in the 1st cycle. Due to the small size of TC, pore size effects were displayed. Moreover, the pure water flux recovery rate (FRR) increased from 85% (M1, water/ethanol: 100/0) to 99.9% (M4, water/ethanol: 30/70) after BSA filtration because the weak nonsolvent decreased the roughness of the membrane surface, and the membrane made with added EtOH yielded excellent FRR values (99.9%) after AR1 filtration. Therefore, PPSU membranes successfully achieved over 90% rejection of organic foulants and excellent FRRs, indicating that they may be suitable for purifying wastewater from API plants that generate organic foulants with a wide range of sizes.

Impacts of Green Synthesis Process on Asymmetric Hybrid PDMS Membrane for Efficient CO2/N2 Separation.

The effects of green processes in hybrid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes on CO2 separation have received little attention to date. The effective CO2 separation of the membranes is believed to be controlled by the reaction and curing process. In this study, hybrid PDMS membranes were fabricated on ceramic substrates using the water-in-emulsion method and evaluated for their gas transport properties. The effects of the tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) concentration and curing temperature on the morphology and CO2 separation performance were investigated. The viscosity measurement showed that, at specific reaction times, it is benefit beneficial to fabricate the symmetric hybrid PDMS membranes with a uniform and dense selective layer on the substrate. Moreover, the a high TEOS concentration can decrease the reaction time and obtain create the a fully crosslinked structure, allowing more efficient CO2/N2 separation. The separation performance was furtherly improved with in the membrane prepared at a high curing temperature of 120 °C. The developed membrane shows excellent CO2/N2 separation with a CO2 permeance of 27.7 ± 1.3 GPU and a CO2/N2 selectivity of 10.3 ± 0.3. Moreover, the membrane shows a stable gas separation performance of up to 5 bar of pressure.

The Viable Fabrication of Gas Separation Membrane Used by Reclaimed Rubber from Waste Tires.

Improper disposal and storage of waste tires poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. In light of the drawbacks of the current disposal methods for waste tires, the transformation of waste material into valuable membranes has received significant attention from industries and the academic field. This study proposes an efficient and sustainable method to utilize reclaimed rubber from waste tires after devulcanization, as a precursor for thermally rearranged (TR) membranes. The reclaimed rubber collected from local markets was characterized by thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. The results revealed that the useable rubber in the as-received sample amounted to 57% and was classified as styrene-butadiene rubber, a type of synthetic rubber. Moreover, the gas separation measurements showed that the C7-P2.8-T250 membrane with the highest H2/CO2 selectivity of 4.0 and sufficient hydrogen permeance of 1124.61 GPU exhibited the Knudsen diffusion mechanism and crossed the Robeson trade-off limit. These findings demonstrate that reclaimed rubber is an appealing, cost effective, and sustainable alternative, as a precursor for TR membranes, for application in gas separation. The present approach is useful in the selection of a suitable reclaimed rubber precursor and related membrane preparation parameters, leading to the advancement in the recycling value of waste tires.

Leisure-time physical activity and milk intake synergistically reduce the risk of pathoglycemia: A cross-sectional study in adults in Beijing, China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the synergistic and individual associations of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) intensity and the frequency of milk intake in adulthood with newly diagnosed pathoglycemia. Pathoglycemia comprised impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study of 3977 adults was conducted in Mentougou District, Beijing, China. After excluding ineligible individuals or those with missing data, 2977 participants were included in the final analysis. Data on LTPA, milk intake, and other demographic characteristics were obtained through previously designed questionnaires. Newly diagnosed pathoglycemia was determined based on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration. RESULTS: Among all participants, 21.4% had newly diagnosed pathoglycemia, 9.9% engaged in moderate to vigorous leisure-time physical activity (MVLTPA), and 63.7% drank milk more than once weekly. Relative to those who engaged in low-intensity LTPA and drank milk less than once weekly, those who engaged in MVLTPA (OR: 0.584, 95%CI: 0.410-0.810) and drank milk more than once weekly (OR: 0.734, 95% CI: 0.614-0.878) had a lower risk of pathoglycemia; this association was greater when both variables interacted (OR: 0.446, 95% CI: 0.287-0.669). CONCLUSIONS: MVLTPA and enough frequency of milk intake synergistically decreased the risk of pathoglycemia. A future interventional study including both factors should be performed.

Associations of physical activity and egg intake with hypertension among Chinese middle-aged and older population.

To explore the independent and interaction associations of physical activity (PA) and egg intake with hypertension. A cross-sectional study of 2189 individuals (aged ≥50 years) selected using multi-stage stratified random sampling was conducted in Mentougou of Beijing, China. Data of PA and egg intake were obtained from questionnaire survey, and blood pressure from physical examination. Individuals were divided into four groups by the level of PA: low, medium, high level 1 and high level 2; and were also divided into three groups by daily amount of egg intake: <1 egg/day, 1 egg/day and >1 egg/day. Self-reported hypertension was defined if individual had a self-reported diagnosis of hypertension or use of antihypertensive medication; examined abnormal blood pressure was defined if individual didn't belong to self-reported hypertension and mean blood pressure was above 130/80 mmHg measured during this examination. After adjusting demographic characteristics, health behavior, BMI, and family history of CVD, compared with medium level PA group, high level 2 group was associated with higher self-reported rate (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.18-2.01) and examined abnormal rate (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.21-2.20). The self-reported rate and examined abnormal rate in <1 egg/day group were both higher than 1 egg/day group (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.06-1.91; OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.08-1.92). Compared with medium level PA and 1 egg/day group, high level 2 and >1 egg/day group with higher examined abnormal rate (OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.28-4.01), high level 2 and <1 egg/day group with higher self-reported rate and examined abnormal rate (OR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.10-3.82; OR: 2.9, 95% CI: 1.54-4.96). In conclusion, excessive high level PA and inadequate egg intake were associated with hypertension, respectively, and the association further increased when both existed at the same time. Besides, moderate PA combined with reasonable egg intake was associated with the low examination rate of hypertension.

Soy product consumption and type 2 diabetes among adults in Beijing, China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between the frequency of soy products consumption and type 2 diabetes or impaired fasting glucose. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of 3,314 subjects aged 18-79 years was conducted in Beijing, China in 2016. Consumption of soy products was assessed by a validated food-frequency questionnaire and examined with type 2 diabetes or impaired fasting glucose risk using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: 509 of the 3,314 participants (15.4%) included in the current analyses had diabetes, and among them 453 were diabetes uncontrolled. The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose was 11.9%. After adjustment for demographic variables, smoke, alcohol, physical activity and BMI, soy products consumption was inversely associated with type 2 diabetes risk and impaired fasting glucose. ORs and 95% CI for diabetes uncontrolled across soy products consumption frequencies (monthly, weekly, daily) were 1 (reference), 0.819 (0.627-1.070), 0.605 (0.387, 0.944) respectively (ptrend=0.033). ORs (95% CI) for impaired fasting glucose across soy products consumption frequencies were 1 (reference), 0.873 (0.661-1.152), 0.616 (0.385, 0.985) respectively (ptrend=0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Consuming soy products daily may decrease the risk of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose.