Degradation of carbamazepine from wastewater by ultrasound-enhanced zero-valent iron -activated persulfate system (US/Fe0/PS): kinetics, intermediates and pathways.

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a common antiepileptic drug. CBZ enters the environment through unreasonable and standardized ways such as human and animal metabolites, discarded drugs, and more than half of its metabolites are released into the environment. Since CBZ is not easy to be degraded, continuous input of CBZ into the water environment will cause long-term impact on the water ecological environment and seriously endanger human health. Aiming at how to degrade wastewater containing carbamazepine, studies were conducted on the degradation of carbamazepine by ultrasound/zero-valent iron/persulfate system (US/Fe0/PS). Firstly, the removal effects of carbamazepine by different systems, such as ultrasound/sodium persulfate (US/PS), zero-valent iron/persulfate system (Fe0/PS) and US/Fe0/PS, were compared; Secondly, the influence of factors, such as ultrasonic power, sodium persulfate dosage, zero-valent iron dosage, reaction temperature, pH, etc., on the reaction was investigated by the control variables method. Results show that ultrasound power, PS concentration, pH and temperature have a great influence on the removal of carbamazepine in US/Fe0/PS reaction system. Besides, the optimum parameters for degradation of carbamazepine with US/Fe0/PS reaction system were determined ([CBZ]0 = 0.025 mM; [PS]0 = 0.4 mM; Fe0 = 4.0 mg/L; ultrasonic power = 40 W; T = 30 ℃; initial pH = 5.0). Finally, the intermediates and degradation pathways of carbamazepine by US/Fe0/PS system were analyzed and speculated. It was inferred that two intermediates were generated during the degradation of carbamazepine, mainly through the ring opening and decyclization of piperazine rings. It was proved that process US/Fe0/PS has a very important application value in the degradation of antibiotic-containing wastewater.

One-pot conversion of wheat straw into biobased chemicals in methanol/water medium using cheap mixed acid catalyst.

BACKGROUND: Environmental concerns and the diminishing availability of unrenewable resources have spurred research into the use of agricultural waste as a feedstock for industrial applications. Efficient conversion of wheat straw into biobased chemicals is an important way to realize the potential value of renewable agricultural biomass. This study investigated one-pot conversion of wheat straw into two notable platform chemicals, levulinic acid (LA) and methyl levulinate (ML). RESULTS: A mixed acid catalyst system, including 1% H2 SO4 and 0.015 mol L-1 Al2 (SO4 )3 , was an efficient catalyst for the conversion of wheat straw due to the combination of Brønsted acid and Lewis acid. A ratio of wheat straw to methanol of 5 g/50 mL was identified as the preferred solid/liquid ratio, and a methanol/H2 O medium with 25% water content aided the simultaneous production of LA and ML from wheat straw. Under optimum conditions, the maximum total yield of LA and ML reached 23.01% at 220 °C and 3 h. The kinetics of biobased chemical formation and the reaction pathways in methanol/water were investigated. CONCLUSION: The presence of water in the methanol/H2 O medium affected the distribution of products and promoted hydrolysis reactions. The methanol/H2 O medium not only inhibited the side reactions but also promoted the degradation of wheat straw and increased the total yield of LA and ML. This study provides a feasible method for the conversion of wheat straw to prepare biobased chemicals. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Removal of Cr(VI) by modified diatomite supported NZVI from aqueous solution: evaluating the effects of removal factors by RSM and understanding the effects of pH.

In this study, a novel composite of modified diatomite supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (mD-NZVI) was synthesized and characterized. The effects of four factors (mD-NZVI dose, temperature, contact time and initial pH) on the removal of Cr(VI) by mD-NZVI were studied by experimental work and analyzed by response surface methodology (RSM). A second-order polynomial equation fitted by Box-Behnken design was used as a statistical model and proved to be precise in describing the significance of four factors. The analysis results show that the effects of four factors on the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) were significant (F value is 19.83), initial pH was found to be the key factor. In addition, the effect of initial pH was further studied and the maximum removal efficiency of 89.34% was obtained at pH of 3, the decrease in removal efficiency with the increase in pH is a synergistic effect of Cr(VI) species, surface charge of mD-NZVI and OH- amount at different pH.

[Determination of soluble organic fraction in diesel exhaust particulates by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry].

The soluble organic fractions (SOF) in diesel exhaust particulates have been extracted with ultrasonic separator and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/ MS). The GC/MS conditions were as follows: an HP SE-50 capillary column (30 m x 0.2 mm i. d. x 0.2 microm); temperature programming started at 100 degrees C, holding for 2.0 min, then increased to 160 degrees C at a rate of 4.0 degrees C /min, then to 250 degrees C at 8 degrees C/min, finally, kept at 250 degrees C for 31.75 min; boiling chamber temperature 260 degrees C; helium gas as carrier; chapiter pressure 45 kPa; sample size 1 microL; electron impact energy of mass spectrometer 70 eV; multiplier voltage 1 800 V; mass range 300 - 500 u. The results showed that under exhaust temperature, about 80% of SOF in particulates were normal or isomeric alkanes with carbon numbers from 9 to 28. The rest of the fractions of SOF were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (homologs of indene, fluorene, phenanthrene, naphthalene etc.) and other organic substances. It is demonstrated that most of SOF were from unburned diesel and engine oils. The testing conclusion should be useful in designing and evaluating particulate filters.