Use of an Environmental Pollutant From Hexavalent Chromium Removal as a Green Catalyst in The Fenton Process.

The present study refers to the use of an environmental pollutant generated during the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous media. This pollutant is a material with catalytic properties suitable for application in the oxidative degradation of problematic organic compounds. The material, initially used as an adsorbent, is a composite prepared by modifying the crystalline phases of iron oxides together with the chitosan (CT-FeCr). Chemical and morphological characterizations of the materials were performed using SEM analysis coupled with EDS, XRD and DSC. The CT-FeCr beads were used in the degradation of methylene blue dye (MB) and showed excellent degradation potential (93.6%). The presence of Cr on the surface of the catalyst was responsible for the increase in catalytic activity compared to the CT-Fe and pure magnetite materials. The product of the effluent treatment and the presence of the catalyst itself in the environment do not pose toxic effects. In addition, the CT-FeCr beads showed catalytic stability for several consecutive reaction cycles with possible technical and economic viability. The concept of "industrial symbiosis" may be applied to this technology, with that term relating to the reuse of a byproduct generated in one particular industrial sector by another as a raw material.

Chitosan-iron oxide hybrid composite: mechanism of hexavalent chromium removal by central composite design and theoretical calculations.

In this study, the synthesis of iron oxide stabilized by chitosan was carried out for the application and optimization in the removal process of aqueous Cr(VI) by central composite design (CCD). The calculation of these effects allowed to know, quantitatively, the variables and the interaction between them that could affect the Cr(VI) removal process. It was also verified that the most favorable conditions for chromium removal were the following: pH 5.0, Cr(VI) concentration of 130 mg L-1, adsorbent mass of 5 mg, and Fe(II) content of 45% (w/w) in the CT-Fe beads. The adsorption kinetics performed under these conditions showed that the chitosan/iron hybrid composite is an adsorbent material with high chromium removal capacity (46.12 mg g-1). It was found that all variables were statistically significant. However, it was observed that the variable that most affected Cr(VI) removal was the pH of the solution, followed by the concentration of chromium ions in solution and the interaction between them. Therefore, the studied experimental conditions are efficient in chromium adsorption, besides the operational simplicity coming from statistical design. Theoretical calculations showed that the most stable chitosan was that with Fe(II) in the structure, that is, in the reaction mechanism, there is no competition of Fe(II) with Cr(III, VI) in the available sites of chitosan. Thus, the theoretical calculations show that the proposed Cr(VI) removal is effective.

Evaluation of the protective effect of chemical additives in the oxidation of phenolic compounds catalysed by peroxidase.

The use of oxidoredutive enzymes in removing organic pollutants has been the subject of much research. The oxidation of phenolic compounds in the presence of chemical additives has been the focus of this study. In this investigation, the influence of the additives polyethylene glycol and Triton X-100 was evaluated in the phenol oxidation, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid and total phenolic compounds present in coffee processing wastewater (CPW) at different pH values, performed by turnip peroxidase and peroxidase extracted from soybean seed hulls. The influence of these additives was observed only in the oxidation of phenol and caffeic acid. In the oxidation of other studied phenolic compounds, the percentage of oxidation remained unchanged in the presence of these chemical additives. In the oxidation of CPW in the presence of additives, no change in the oxidation of phenolic compounds was observed. Although several studies show the importance of evaluating the influence of additives on the behaviour of enzymes, this study found a positive response from the economic point of view for the treatment of real wastewater, since the addition of these substances showed no influence on the oxidation of phenolic compounds, which makes the process less costly.

Immobilized soybean hull peroxidase for the oxidation of phenolic compounds in coffee processing wastewater.

Chitosan beads were prepared, using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agent for the immobilization of soybean hull peroxidase (SBP). The activity of free and immobilized SBP was studied. The optimum pH was 6.0 for both the free and immobilized enzyme; however, enzyme activity became more dependent on the temperature after immobilization. This study evaluated the potential use of immobilized and free enzyme in the oxidation of caffeic acid, of synthetic phenolic solution (SPS) and of total phenolic compounds in coffee processing wastewater (CPW). Some factors, such as reaction time, amount of H2O2 and caffeic acid were evaluated, in order to determine the optimum conditions for enzyme performance. Both enzymes showed a potential in the removal of caffeic acid, SPS and CPW, and immobilized SBP had the highest oxidation performance. The immobilized enzyme showed a potential of 50% in the oxidation of caffeic acid after 4 consecutive cycles.