Polyethylene terephthalate waste derived nanomaterials (WDNMs) and its utilization in electrochemical devices.

Plastics are a vital component of our daily lives in the contemporary globalization period; they are present in all facets of modern life. Because the bulk of synthetic plastics utilized in the market are non-biodegradable by nature, the issues associated with their contamination are unavoidable in an era dominated by polymers. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is extensively used in industries such as automotive, packaging, textile, food, and beverages production represents a major share of these non-biodegradable polymer productions. Given its extensive application across various sectors, PET usage results in a considerable amount of post-consumer waste, majority of which require disposal after a certain period. However, the recycling of polymeric waste materials has emerged as a prominent topic in research, driven by growing environmental consciousness. Numerous studies indicate that products derived from polymeric waste can be converted into a new polymeric resource in diverse sectors, including organic coatings and regenerative medicine. This review aims to consolidate significant scientific literatures on the recycling PET waste for electrochemical device applications. It also highlights the current challenges in scaling up these processes for industrial application.

Reclamation of Hexavalent Chromium from Electroplating Effluents by Electroextraction.

This investigation aims at the reclamation of Cr(VI) from synthetic electroplating industrial effluent by electroextraction process namely electrochemical ion exchange (EIX). An electrochemical ion exchange reactor of desired dimensions was fabricated with the help of ion-permeable membranes, stainless steel cathode and PbO2 coated Ti expanded mesh anode. The performance of the reactor was studied in batch recirculation mode, continuous flow mode at different experimental conditions. The influence of various experimental factors, for instance, initial metal ion concentration (20, 300, 1000 mg/L of Cr(VI)), applied voltages (2.5 V, 5 V, 7.5 V, 10 V) and flow rates of the process stream (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 ml/min) on removal/reclamation efficiency was deliberated. For comparison purposes, an electrodialysis process was conducted at the same optimal conditions. It was found that the EIX process with three compartments has more removal efficiency at optimum experimental conditions than the electrodialysis process. The continuous flow process of the reactor with 300 mg/L of Cr(VI) as inlet concentration has studied to predict the breakeven point of the reactor. It was noted that Cr(VI) ion concentration in the treated wastewater is almost zero up to the discharge of 20 liters of treated rinse water.

Electrochemical detection and quantification of Reactive Red 195 dyes on graphene modified glassy carbon electrode.

Reactive Red 195 was detected from industrial waste samples electrochemically on graphene modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE), using both bare and surface changed GCE at different pH media from 1.0 to 13.0. The optimum pH was determined to be 4.0. RR 195 exhibited good linear responds at pH 4.0 on both electrode surfaces. Other parameters, such as accumulation potential, accumulation time, initial scan potential, pulse height, pulse width, and potential scan increment and scan rate are optimized and calibration plot was also derived on different concentrations of the dye. The stripping voltammetric behavior of dye exhibits very low limit of detection on graphene coated electrode (30 ppb). The adsorption of compound on GCE and graphene coated GCE are confirmed using atomic force microscopy studies.

Biodiesel production from marine cyanobacteria cultured in plate and tubular photobioreactors.

Carbon (neutral) based renewable liquid biofuels are alternative to petroleum derived transport fuels that contribute to global warming and are of a limited availability. Microalgae based biofuels are considered as promising source of energy. Lyngbya sp. and Synechococcus sp. were studied for the possibility of biodiesel production in different media such as ASNIII, sea water enrichment medium and BG11. The sea water enrichment medium was found superior in enhancing the growth rate of these microalgae. Nitrogen depletion has less effect in total chlorophyll a content, at the same time the lipid content was increased in both Lyngbya sp. and Synechococcus sp. by 1.4 and 1.2 % respectively. Increase in salinity from 0.5-1.0 M also showed an increase in the lipid content to 2.0 and 0.8 % in these strains; but a salinity of 1.5 M has a total inhibitory effect in the growth. The total biomass yield was comparatively higher in tubular LED photobioreactor than the fluorescent flat plated photobioreactor. Lipid extraction was obtained maximum at 60 degrees C in 1:10 sample: solvent ratio. GC-MS analysis of biodiesel showed high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; 4.86 %) than saturated fatty acid (SFA; 4.10 %). Biodiesel production was found maximum in Synechococcus sp. than Lyngbya sp. The viscosity of the biodiesel was closely related to conventional diesel. The results strongly suggest that marine microalgae could be used as a renewable energy source for biodiesel production.

Photocatalytic and electrochemical combined treatment of textile wash water.

Various chemical and physical processes for treatment of textile effluent are not destructive but they only transfer the contaminants from one form to another. The presence of high concentration of organic dye and total dissolved solids (TDS) in the effluent that are not removed by biological treatment must be eliminated by an alternative method to the conventional ones is the advanced oxidation process (AOP). A procion blue dye effluent was treated by photo and electrochemical oxidation process as well as by combining photocatalytic degradation using TiO2 suspensions. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and colour removal can be used to follow the degradation of the organic pollutant. The effects of pH, current density, flow rate of effluent that passes into the reactor and supporting electrolyte were studied. Comparative studies were carried out on photocatalytic and electrochemical process to degrade the procion blue. The maximum COD reduction and colour removal were 96 and 100%, respectively. Photodegradation efficiency of dye was high when photolysis was carried out in the presence of 40 mg/l of TiO2.

Removal of nickel ions from industrial plating effluents using activated alumina as adsorbent.

Removal of nickel ions from industrial effluents has been studied using activated alumina prepared by the galvanic oxidation of aluminum metal at ambient temperature as the adsorbent. The effect of various factors, such as initial concentration of nickel, contact time, dose of adsorbent and pH of the solution has been investigated. Batch and column type of adsorption studies have been made. The results indicate that the adsorption process is favored at pH 9. The adsorption data were fitted with suitable adsorption isotherm. The optimum conditions for the best adsorption have been evaluated for the following factors: dosage, contact time, pH, initial concentration of nickel ions and temperature. The process of regeneration of the adsorbent has also been studied.