Combining adsorption with anodic oxidation as an innovative technique for removal and destruction of organics.

Coupling of adsorption with electrochemical oxidation is a novel approach to the treatment of aqueous organics that has demonstrated a number of key benefits over the individual application of these processes. This is based on a highly conducting adsorbent material, developed under the trade name Nyex™, that is able to rapidly adsorb the organics and anodically oxidise them within a single treatment unit. Successful scale up of the process (in both continuous and batch operation) has been achieved for the polishing of two separate groundwaters (one containing relatively simple petrol, diesel and their degradation products and the other with a range of more complex organics). Treatment showed that low discharge consents can be achieved, including the removal of more complex and difficult to treat compounds to below the limits of detection. Energy consumption for electrochemical regeneration was relatively low (down to 0.5 kWh/m(3)) suggesting that the process could be a practical alternative approach for effluent polishing.

Removal of mercaptans from a gas stream using continuous adsorption-regeneration.

The removal of the mercaptan, 1-methyl-1-propanethiol, from aqueous solutions using a non-porous, electrically conducting carbon-based adsorbent (Nyex 1000) was investigated. The adsorption process was found to be rapid (equilibrium capacity achieved within 5 minutes) with low adsorptive capacity (of the order of 0.4 mg g(-1)) when compared with activated carbon. Electrochemical regeneration of the Nyex 1000 in a simple divided electrochemical cell within a sequential batch treatment unit restored 100% of the adsorbent's adsorptive capacity using treatment times as low as 20 minutes by passing a current of 0.5 A. The sorptive characteristics of a Nyex-water slurry were also modelled and investigated both in a bubble column and in a continuous adsorption-regeneration treatment system. It was demonstrated that the continuous removal-destruction system could achieve a step reduction in challenge gas concentration of approximately 75% for a period of 35 minutes with a current of 5 Amps. This was attributed to mass transfer enhanced by a combination of adsorption and chemical reaction with free chlorine species generated in the electrochemical process.

A novel porous carbon based on diatomaceous earth.

The production and characterisation of a carbon negative of diatomaceous earth which has a highly intricate and novel porous structure.

Encapsulation of metal particles within the wall structure of mesoporous carbons.

A method for the production of mesoporous carbon, with metal particles encapsulated in the walls to prevent leaching, is demonstrated by the synthesis of a cobalt containing CMK1 structure.

Electrokinetic removal of caesium from kaolin.

Soil, in the form of kaolin and a sample of natural soil from an industrial site, was artificially contaminated with caesium and subjected to electrokinetic treatment. The effect of catholyte pH control on the process was investigated using different acids to control the catholyte pH. During treatment the in situ pH distribution, the current flow, and the potential distribution were monitored. At the end of the treatment the pore fluid conductivity and the caesium concentration distribution was measured. The results of these experiments showed that for caesium contamination, catholyte pH control is essential in order to create a suitable environment throughout the soil to enable contaminant removal. It was found that the type of acid used to control the catholyte pH affected the rate of caesium removal (nitric, sulphuric, acetic and citric acids were tested). All of the acids tested were effective, but the highest caesium extraction was achieved when nitric acid was used to control the catholyte pH. The relatively high adsorption capacity of the soil for caesium was found to significantly reduce the rate of removal. After 240 h of treatment at 1 Vcm(-1) (using sulphuric acid to control the catholyte pH), less than 80% of the caesium was removed from a 30 cm long sample of kaolin. Electrokinetic treatment of the industrial soil sample was slower than for the kaolin, but a significant extraction rate for caesium was achieved.

Atrazine removal using adsorption and electrochemical regeneration.

This paper demonstrates the removal of atrazine using a novel carbon-based adsorbent to below 1.0 microg l(-1) and its subsequent electrochemical regeneration in a simple electrochemical cell. Effective electrochemical regeneration can be achieved with a treatment time as low as 20 min over a number of adsorption/regeneration cycles using laboratory-prepared solutions. The results suggest that electrochemical modification of the particulate surface on electrochemical regeneration can result in adsorptive capacities three times greater than originally achieved.

Treatment of dyehouse effluents with a carbon-based adsorbent using anodic oxidation regeneration.

Adsorption is an attractive route for the removal of coloured, toxic and non-biodegradable organics from wastewater as very low discharge standards can be achieved. This paper reports on the use of a novel carbon-based material, Nyex100, as an adsorbent material for the treatment of dyehouse effluent. The adsorbent has low porosity and high electrical conductivity and these factors have allowed the adsorbent to be electrochemically regenerated. This work has demonstrated that the adsorbent can be cycled through the process of adsorption and regeneration a number of times with little drop in adsorptive capacity. However regeneration appears to modify the preference for organic species adsorption. Electrochemical regeneration can be rapidly achieved (15-20 minutes) using low current densities (< 20 mA cm(-2)). However, the low adsorptive capacity of the adsorbent, because of its small surface area, means that large quantities of adsorbent would need to be cycled within the process to treat the effluent volume generated in even small dyehouses. Thus, it is believed that operating the process in this mode limits the practical application of this technology.

Disinfection of water by adsorption combined with electrochemical treatment.

The disinfection performance of a unique process of adsorption combined with electrochemical treatment is evaluated. A flake graphite intercalation compound adsorbent was used, which is effective for the removal of organic contaminants and is amenable to anodic electrochemical regeneration. Adsorption of Escherichia coli on the graphite flake was followed by electrochemical treatment under a range of experimental conditions in a sequential batch reactor. The adsorption of E. coli cells was found to be a fast process and was capable of removing >99.98% of cells from solution after 5 min with a ca. 6.5-log10 reduction in E. coli concentration after 10 min. With electrochemical treatment the adsorbent could be reused, with no decrease in E. coli adsorption observed over five cycles. In the presence of chloride, >8.5-log10 reduction of E. coli concentration was achieved. Disinfection was found to be less effective in the absence of chloride. However, selection of appropriate operating conditions enabled effective disinfection in a chloride free system, reducing the potential for formation of disinfection by-products. The energy consumption required to achieve >8.5-log10 disinfection was 2-7 kWh m(-3).

Continuous water treatment by adsorption and electrochemical regeneration.

This study describes a process for water treatment by continuous adsorption and electrochemical regeneration using an air-lift reactor. The process is based on the adsorption of dissolved organic pollutants onto an adsorbent material (a graphite intercalation compound, Nyex(®)1000) and subsequent electrochemical regeneration of the adsorbent leading to oxidation of the adsorbed pollutant. Batch experiments were carried out to determine the adsorption kinetics and equilibrium isotherm for adsorption of a sample contaminant, the organic dye Acid Violet 17. The adsorbent circulation rate, the residence time distribution (RTD) of the reactor, and treatment by continuous adsorption and electrochemical regeneration were studied to investigate the process performance. The RTD behaviour could be approximated as a continuously stirred tank. It was found that greater than 98% removal could be achieved for continuous treatment by adsorption and electrochemical regeneration for feed concentrations of up to 300 mg L(-1). A steady state model has been developed for the process performance, assuming full regeneration of the adsorbent in the electrochemical cell. Experimental data and modelled predictions (using parameters for the adsorbent circulation rate, adsorption kinetics and isotherm obtained experimentally) of the dye removal achieved were found to be in good agreement.