A Case Study of Swine Wastewater Treatment via Electrochemical Oxidation by Ti4O7 Anode.

With the rapid development of breeding industry, the efficient treatment of dramatically increasing swine wastewater is gradually becoming urgent. In particular, the development of application technologies suitable for the relatively small piggeries is critical due to the time cost and space requirements of conventional biological methods. In this study, Electrochemical oxidation (EO) was selected to systematically explore the treatment performance of three different swine wastewaters by Ti4O7 anode. It was observed that the colors changed from dark brown to light yellow after 60 min treatment at 50 mA/cm2, and the removal rates of turbidity and suspended solids ranged from 89.36% to 93.65% and 81.31% to 92.55%, respectively. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and total phosphorus (TP) of all the three swine wastewaters were simultaneously removed to a very low concentration in 120 min, especially for sample III, 61 ± 9 mg/L of COD, 6.6 ± 0.4 mg/L of NH3-N and 5.7 ± 1.1 mg/L of TP, which met the Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Livestock and Poultry Breeding (GB 18596-2001). Moreover, 70.93%-85.37% mineralization rates were also achieved in 120 min, confirming that EO treatment by Ti4O7 could efficiently remove the organic matters in wastewater. Excitation-emission matrix (EEM) and UV-vis spectrum characterization results further proved that aromatic compounds and macromolecules in wastewater were rapidly removed, which played important roles in the mineralization processes. The findings here provided an efficient and environment-friendly technology for swine wastewater treatment.

Removal of Polystyrene Microplastics from Aqueous Solution Using the Metal-Organic Framework Material of ZIF-67.

Due to the continuous and adverse effects of microplastics on the environment, an increasing number of studies have begun to focus on their migration patterns and removal from aquatic environments. Herein, our study innovatively evaluated the ability of the capacity of ZIF-67, a novel metal-organic framework (MOF) material, to adsorb polystyrene (PS) microplastics (MPs) from aqueous solutions, aiming to explore the potential of MOF materials to remove MPs from wastewater. The adsorption ratio of PSMPs (5 mg/L, 30 mL) by ZIF-67 reached up to 92.1%, and the PSMP adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 20 min at 298 K. The adsorption of PSMPs would be favored at a pH of 8, a PSMPs solution concentration of 5 mg/L, and a temperature of 298 K. Further analyses demonstrated that hydrogen bond interactions, π-π stacking, and electrostatic interactions played a crucial role in the adsorption of PSMPs by ZIF-67 in aqueous solutions. Our findings thus provide insight into novel methods to remove MPs from acidic and weakly alkaline aquatic environments and wastewater.

Potential Application of Discarded Natural Coal Gangue for the Removal of Tetracycline Hydrochloride (TC) from an Aqueous Solution.

The generation and accumulation of discarded coal gangue (CG) have severe environmental impacts. CG can adsorb other pollutants in the aquatic environment. However, previous studies have not assessed whether CG can adsorb the emerging contaminant tetracycline hydrochloride (TC). Here, discarded CG taken from a mine was pretreated by crushing, cleaning, and sieving and subsequently applied to the adsorption of TC. The adsorption studies were carried out by batch equilibrium adsorption experiments. Our findings indicated that the adsorption behavior could be accurately described using the quasi-first order kinetic and Langmuir adsorption isotherm models, indicating that monolayer adsorption was the main mechanism mediating the interaction between CG and TC. The adsorption process was classified as a thermodynamic endothermic and spontaneous reaction, which was controlled by chemical and physical adsorption, including electrostatic interaction and cation exchange. The pH of the solution had a great influence on the TC adsorption capacity of GC, with higher adsorption occurring in acidic environments compared to alkaline environments. This was attributed to the changes in CG Zeta potential and TC pKa at different pH conditions. Collectively, our findings demonstrated the potential applicability of discarded CG for the adsorption of TC and provided insights into the adsorption mechanisms.

Synthesis of core-heteroshell structure for ZIF-67/VTM and its efficient activation of peroxymonosulfate in treatment of levofloxacin from an aqueous solution.

A core-heteroshell structural magnetic composite of ZIF-67/Vanadium-titanium magnetite (VTM) was successfully synthesized through a feasible solvothermal method and efficiently used in activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the treatment of levofloxacin (LVF) in an aqueous solution. The catalytic activity of the ZIF-67/VTM composite in LVF degradation was thoroughly evaluated, demonstrating the LVF removal rate could reach up to 93.3% within 60 min at ZIF-67/VTM composite dosage of 100 mg/L, PMS concertation of 75 mg/L, and the natural pH of 6.4. It is quite interesting that the carbon organic skeleton (in the ZIF-67 shell) have accelerated the internal electron transformation rate of the ZIF-67/VTM composite, thus efficiently promoting the O-O band (in PMS) breakage and the redox cycle of cobalt, further favoring the free radicals generation. The quenching experiments and EPR analysis results demonstrated that ·SO4- would play a crucial role in the LVF degradation process. Surprisingly, we have found that the introduction of Cl- (at some certain dosage) would not always decrease the LVF degradation ratio, for a new reactive oxygen species (singlet oxygen) was emerged in this system. What's more, the ZIF-67 (as the wrapping structure) could stabilize the VTM (the inner structure) in changing reaction conditions, prompting a good adaptability at a wider pH range (3-10) for inhibiting the leaching of various metal ions into the aqueous solution. This novel ZIF-67/VTM composite could provide new ideas and routes for the removal of emerging pollutants from an aqueous solution.