Sonochemical Synthesis of Ce-doped TiO2 Nanostructure: A Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalyst for Degradation of Toluene and O-Xylene.

Ce-doped TiO2 nanostructures (CeT) with different amounts of Ce (0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 wt.%) were synthesized using a sonochemical processing method. The physicochemical properties of the prepared samples were explored using UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), field-emission TEM (FE-TEM), XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and surface area and pore size analyzers. The photocatalytic performance of the prepared CeT was assessed by monitoring their degradation efficiencies for gaseous toluene and o-xylene-widely known as significant indoor air pollutants-under daylight irradiation. The prepared CeT exhibited significantly improved photocatalytic performance towards the degradation of toluene and o-xylene, which was much higher than that observed for pure TiO2 and commercial P25 TiO2. Particularly, photocatalytic degradation efficiencies by the prepared CeT catalysts increased remarkably in the case of o-xylene (up to 99.4%) compared to toluene (up to 49.1%). The degradation efficiency by the CeT was greatest for the CeT-0.75 sample, followed by, in order, CeT-1.0, CeT-0.5, CeT-1.5, and CeT-2.0 samples in agreement with the order of the surface area and the particle size of the catalysts. According to the change of light source, the average decomposition efficiencies for toluene and o-xylene by CeT-0.75 were shown in the order of conventional daylight lamp > violet light emitting diodes (LEDs) > white LEDs. The decomposition efficiencies normalized to supplied electric power, however, were estimated to be in the following order of violet LEDs > white LEDs > conventional daylight lamp, indicating that the LEDs could be a much more energy efficient light source for the photodecomposition of target toluene and o-xylene using the CeT-0.75 photocatalyst.

Facile Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles by Amino Acid Asparagine: Selective Sensing of Arsenic.

The amino acid asparagine (ASP) was used as a benign reducing and stabilizing agent for the production of monodisperse gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using green chemistry principles. With an increasing concentration of ASP (0.5 to 10 mM), the absorbance intensity at 525 nm increased; however, no effects on the color, size, or shape of the AuNPs were observed. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images showed that the AuNPs were either hexagonal or spherical in shape and had an average size of approximately 10 ± 5 nm. Facile colorimetric assays of the AuNPs were applied to detect a variety of heavy metal ion species in water. In this study, the selective detection of arsenic ions (As (III) ions) by quenching, aggregation, and/or red-shifting of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was successfully achieved. The AuNPs sensor was sustainable as a visual colorimetric detection system and spectral assay of hazardous As (III) ions in the reaction medium; thus, it will be useful for aqueous assessment without using any sophisticated or expensive instruments.

Reductive denitrification using zero-valent iron and bimetallic iron.

A study of reductive denitrification of nitrate was conducted. Microscale zero-valent iron (ZVI) and palladium-coated iron (Pd/Fe) were used in the reduction of nitrate with variable pH. The solution pH was controlled by an auto controlling system instead of chemical buffers. Higher reduction rates were achieved with lower pH and lower pH gave the pseudo-first-order kinetics while it was close to the zero-order reaction when the pH of the solution was becoming high and nitrate concentration was higher. As it took several hours to convert intermediates to ammonia completely, the assumption, under which mass loss calculated from the measured ammonia concentration right after the reaction was the mass of nitrogen evolved, could lead to overestimation of the nitrogen selectivity. The current study confirmed that the palladium coating on the iron could increase the nitrogen selectivity, and the Pd/Fe system could also achieve the advantages of coupling of electron source and catalyst with regard to the engineering aspects.

Reduction of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol with zero-valent zinc and catalyzed zinc.

Reductive dechlorination of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) was conducted with Zn and Zn bimetals, Pd/Zn, Ni/Zn, Cu/Zn, Pt/Zn. Zn showed relatively low reaction rate toward 2,4,6-TCP, while Pd/Zn had dramatically increased reactivity and other bimetals had higher reaction rates than that of plain zinc. Phenol and less chlorinated phenols were found as dechlorination products. Pd/Zn produced cyclohexanone which is a product of aromatic ring reduced. Surface area normalized kinetic constants and second metal contents normalized kinetic constants were calculated and compared. Two mechanisms, mainly catalytic activation and enhanced corrosion, were proposed for the reactivity enhancement.

Reductive dechlorination and biodegradation of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol using sequential permeable reactive barriers: laboratory studies.

The reductive dechlorination and biodegradation of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) was investigated in a laboratory-scale sequential barrier system consisting of a chemical and biological reactive barrier. Palladium coated iron (Pd/Fe) was used as a reactive barrier medium for the chemical degradation of 2,4,6-TCP, and a sand column seeded with anaerobic microbes was used as a biobarrier following the chemical reactive barrier in this study. Only phenol was detected in the effluent from the Pd/Fe column reactor, indicating that the complete dechlorination of 2,4,6-TCP was achieved. The residence time of 30.2-21.2h was required for the complete dechlorination of 2,4,6-TCP of 100 mg l(-1) in the column reactor. The surface area-normalized rate constant (k(SA)) is 3.84 (+/-0.48)x10(-5)lm(-2)h(-1). The reaction rate in the column tests was one order of magnitude slower than that in the batch test. In the operation of the biobarrier, about 100 microM of phenol was completely removed with a residence time of 7-8d. Consequently, the dechlorination prior to biodegradation turns out to increase the overall treatability. Moreover, the sequential permeable reactive barriers, consisting of iron barrier and biobarrier, could be recommended for groundwater contaminated with toxic organic compounds such as chlorophenols.

Removal of ammonia by biofilters: a study with flow-modified system and kinetics.

The characteristics of ammonia removal by two types of biofilter (a standard biofilter with vertical gas flow and a modified biofilter with horizontal gas flow) were investigated. A mixture of organic materials such as compost, bark, and peat was used as the biofilter media based on the small-scale column test for media selection. Complete removal capacity, defined as the maximum inlet load of ammonia that was completely removed, was obtained. The modified biofilter showed complete removal up to 1.0 g N/kg dry material/day. However, the removal capacity of the standard biofilter started to deviate from complete removal around 0.4 g N/kg dry material/day, indicating that the modified biofilter system has higher removal efficiency than the standard upflow one. In kinetic analysis of the biological removal of ammonia in each biofilter system, the maximum removal rate, Vm, was 0.93 g N/kg dry material/day and the saturation constant, Ks, was 32.55 ppm in the standard biofilter. On the other hand, the values of Vm and Ks were 1.66 g N/kg dry material/day and 74.25 ppm, respectively, in the modified biofilter system.