Modification of Concrete Composition Doped by Sewage Sludge Fly Ash and Its Effect on Compressive Strength.

The sustainable development of construction materials is an essential aspect of current worldwide trends. Reusing post-production waste in the building industry has numerous positive effects on the environment. Since concrete is one of the materials that people manufacture and use the most, it will continue to be an integral element of the surrounding reality. In this study, the relationship between the individual components and parameters of concrete and its compressive strength properties was assessed. In the experimental works, concrete mixes with different contents of sand, gravel, Portland cement CEM II/B-S 42.5 N, water, superplasticizer, air-entraining admixture, and fly ash from the thermal conversion of municipal sewage sludge (SSFA) were designed. According to legal requirements in the European Union, SSFA waste from the sewage sludge incineration process in a fluidized bed furnace should not be stored in landfills but processed in various ways. Unfortunately, its generated amounts are too large, so new management technologies should be sought. During the experimental work, the compressive strength of concrete samples of various classes, namely, C8/10, C12/15, C16/20, C20/25, C25/30, C30/37, and C35/45, were measured. The higher-class concrete samples that were used, the greater the compressive strength obtained, ranging from 13.7 to 55.2 MPa. A correlation analysis was carried out between the mechanical strength of waste-modified concretes and the composition of concrete mixes (the amount of sand and gravel, cement, and FA), as well as the water-to-cement ratio and the sand point. No negative effect of the addition of SSFA on the strength of concrete samples was demonstrated, which translates into economic and environmental benefits.

Effective use of elderberry (Sambucus nigra) pomace in biosorption processes of Fe(III) ions.

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) pomace obtained as a result of processing in the food industry was examined for the bioremoval of Fe(III) ions from aqueous solutions in batch experiments. Several physicochemical properties of the biomass were analyzed using a variety of analytical methods, such as particle size distribution, elemental composition (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), thermogravimetry (TGA, DTG), specific surface area and average pore diameter (BET adsorption isotherms), volume of pores and pore volume distribution (BJH), morphology (SEM), mid-infrared analysis FT-IR. The impact of adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, pH and contact time on the process efficiency was studied. The calculated maximum adsorption efficiency and capacity was estimated at 99.5% and 33.25 mg/g, respectively. The biosorption kinetic analysis indicated that the removal process fits better to the pseudo-second order equation and the Langmuir model. Summing up, the biosorbent is a promising low-cost material for the highly effective iron recovery from effluents and improvement of water quality.

Studies on the kinetics and equilibrium of the solvent extraction of chromium(III) from alkaline aqueous solutions of different composition in the system with Aliquat 336.

The kinetics and equilibrium of Cr(III) extraction with Aliquat 336 from the alkaline aqueous solutions containing anions of various complexing abilities and solvating properties, as: nitrates, or perchlorates, or sulphates, were studied and interpreted. Stoichiometry of Cr(III) complexes formed in the organic phases was also discussed. It was found that under the same conditions the yield and the rate of Cr(III) extraction as well as values of mass transfer coefficient increase in the following order of anions: perchlorates

Kinetic and equilibrium studies of the removal of cadmium ions from acidic chloride solutions by hydrophobic pyridinecarboxamide extractants.

Liquid-liquid extraction of cadmium(II) from acidic chloride solutions was carried out with alkyl derivatives of pyridinecarboxamide in toluene with addition of 2-ethylhexan-1-ol as modifier. Equilibrium as well as kinetic studies was performed. The kinetic studies of a Cd(II) extraction process were carried out with a Lewis cell having a constant interfacial area. Cadmium(II) concentration in the aqueous phases was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (Varian SPECTR AA800). The results of equilibrium experiments showed that cadmium(II) was quantitatively extracted with N,N-dihexylpyridine-3-carboxamide whereas the derivative N,N-dihexylpyridine-2-carboxamide was not able to transfer Cd(II) ions from the aqueous phase to the organic one. Thus, the kinetics of extraction and the initial extraction rate were examined only in the systems with N,N-dihexylpyridine-3-carboxamide. The obtained experimental data as well as the calculated values of mass transfer coefficients suggest that the investigated process of extraction of Cd(II) by means of pyridinecarboxamide as extractant occurs in the mixed diffusion-kinetic region. Moreover, the results of adsorption studies indicated that the extraction of Cd(II) with a hydrophobic extractant should be considered as an interfacial process.