Arsenic removal by electrocoagulation using combined Al-Fe electrode system and characterization of products.

Combination of electrodes, such as aluminum and iron in a single electrochemical cell provide an alternative method for removal of arsenic from water by electrocoagulation. The removal process has been studied with a wide range of arsenic concentration (1-1000 ppm) at different pH (4-10). Analysis of the electrochemically generated by-products by XRD, XPS, SEM/EDAX, FT-IR, and Mössbauer Spectroscopy revealed the expected crystalline iron oxides (magnetite (Fe3O4), lepidocrocite (FeO(OH)), iron oxide (FeO)) and aluminum oxides (bayerite (Al(OH)3), diaspore (AlO(OH)), mansfieldite (AlAsO(4).2(H2O)), as well as some interaction between the two phases. The amorphous or very fine particular phase was also found in the floc. The substitution of Fe3+ ions by Al3+ ions in the solid surface has been observed, indicating an alternative removal mechanism of arsenic in these metal hydroxides and oxyhydroxides by providing larger surface area for arsenic adsorption via retarding the crystalline formation of iron oxides.

Experimental and theoretical study of the atmospherically important O2-H2O complex.

The theoretically predicted water-oxygen van der Waals adduct has been experimentally confirmed by vibrational characterization using matrix isolation spectroscopic studies at 10 K. Vibrational bands for asymmetric and symmetric OH-stretching for this adduct have been found at 3728 cm(-1) and 3639 cm(-1), respectively. Theoretical calculations performed with Gaussian 98 software at the MP2/6-311++G(2d,2p) level of theory support the alternative structure of the hydrated complex proposed by this study.

Water-related matrix isolation phenomena during NO2 photolysis in argon matrix.

Photolysis (350-450 nm) of NO(2) molecules trapped in argon matrices at 10 K has been studied using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to examine the mobility of the photolysis products, O((3)P) and NO, and their subsequent reactions. The formation of N(2)O(5) and N(2)O(3) from reactions of these mobile species with immobilized NO(2) and N(2)O(4) is confirmed. Water molecules from the background gases in the vacuum have been found to be isolated in the argon matrix during deposition of diluted NO(2) in Ar. The entrapped water molecules along with some of their NO(2) adducts have been characterized. Exposure of the matrix to photons to photolyze NO() resulted in not only internal matrix reactions, but also an enhanced deposition of ice over the surface of the argon matrix. This is caused by photodesorption of water molecules from the walls of the matrix isolation chamber and their subsequent condensation on the matrix surface. This ice overlayer has been found to give a very significant dangling OH band and a substantial librational band in the FT-IR spectra, indicating substantial surface area and internal porosity, respectively. The potential of using photodesorbed water to establish high surface area ice interfaces with dangling OH groups for heterogeneous photoreaction studies is discussed.

Fourier transform infrared-probed O(3P) microreactor: demonstration with ethylene reactions in argon matrix.

To demonstrate the development of an oxygen atom microreactor in the form of liquid-helium-cooled solid argon matrix deposited on an infrared (IR) window, the oxidation of ethylene by mobile O atoms has been investigated. O atom diffusion through the argon matrix is confirmed and used to examine ethylene-oxygen atom reactions. In a bench-scale matrix isolation system probed with a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer, matrices of solid Ar at 8-10 K doped with NO2 and ethylene have been prepared on a ZnSe window within an evacuated cryostat. The matrices have been photolyzed using 350-450 nm photons, and the reaction products resulting from the reaction of O(3P), one of the photolysis products of NO2, with ethylene have been identified using FT-IR and a Gaussian 98W simulation program. These products include oxirane, acetaldehyde, ethyl nitrite radical, and ketene. The temperature effect in the range of 10-30 K on the products formed has also been investigated. The reaction mechanisms are discussed and the viability of the solid Ar matrix being a low temperature microreactor to examine reaction mechanisms of mobile oxygen atoms is elaborated.

Fundamentals, present and future perspectives of electrocoagulation.

Electrocoagulation is an electrochemical wastewater treatment technology that is currently experiencing both increased popularity and considerable technical improvements. There has been relatively little effort to better understand the fundamental mechanisms of the processes, particularly those that could provide design parameters to optimize the performances of this relatively simple and inexpensive technique. In a research programme to delineate the mechanisms of the fundamental processes involved in, the authors have realized that the technology has been insufficiently reviewed with emphasis on the fundamentals and their relationship to the performance of this technology. This paper presents an in-depth discussion and consideration of the factors that need to be addressed for optimum performance of this technology. Recent improvements of this technique and the theoretical model studies are also reviewed.

Treatment of orange II azo-dye by electrocoagulation (EC) technique in a continuous flow cell using sacrificial iron electrodes.

This paper describes the EC treatment of orange II dye solution in a flow cell using sodium chloride as an internal electrolyte. In this technique dye solutions were passed through a flow-through EC apparatus consisting of a flow-through cell, the electrode assembly, the feed pump and the DC power supply unit. The cell contained five parallel iron electrodes, which form four parallel cells. Experiments were run at 25 degrees C under various electrolyte concentrations, dye concentrations, current density, flow rate of the solution, and pH at dc current range of 2-5A. Various number of recycles of the treated dye solution were also performed at the same dc current range. Optimum conditions to get high removal efficiency were experimentally determined. It was found that 98.5% of the dye was removed from the solution under the optimum conditions. The residue from a blank run (pH = 7.3) and a dye added run (pH = 8.5) were collected by vacuum filtration and analyzed by XRD after drying in a vacuum desiccator. The XRD data indicated the presence of mainly maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4) in the residue. However, there is not much difference between the X-ray diffractograms of the blank sample and the dye-containing residue to warrant any conclusions therefrom with regard to the interactions between the oxides and the dye molecules.

Electrochemical treatment of Orange II dye solution--use of aluminum sacrificial electrodes and floc characterization.

Electrocoagulation (EC) of Orange II dye in a flow through cell with aluminum as sacrificial electrodes was carried out under varying conditions of dye concentration, current density, flow rate, conductivity, and the initial pH of the solution in order to optimize the operating parameters for maximum benefits. Maximum removal efficiency of 94.5% was obtained at the following conditions: dye concentration=10 ppm, current density=160 A/m(2), initial pH 6.5, conductance=7.1 mS/cm, flow rate=350 mL/min, and concentration of added NaCl=4.0 g/L of dye solution. The EC-floc was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction techniques. The removal mechanism has been proposed that is in compliance with the Pourbaix diagram, solubility curve of aluminum oxides/hydroxides, and physico-chemical properties of the EC-floc.