ABSTRACT
In this work, we present the application of solar photocatalysis for air purification including toxic substances such as ammonia and methane normally related to emissions from agriculture (e.g., poultry and cattle farms), landfills, etc. The study was done in three different laboratory and semi-pilot scale reactors: annular reactor (AR), mini-photocatalytic wind tunnel (MPWT), and photocatalytic wind tunnel (PWT). Reactors present a physical model for estimation of air-borne pollutant degradation over TiO2-based photocatalytic layer in respect to optimal operating conditions (relative humidity, air/gas flow, and feed concentration). All studies were performed under artificial solar irradiation with different portions of UVB and UVA light. The application of solar photocatalysis for air purification was evaluated based on thorough monitoring of pollutants in inlet and outlet streams. The kinetic study resulted with intrinsic reaction rate constants: kp,int,NH3 = (3.05 ± 0.04) × 10-3 cm4.5 mW-0.5 g-1 min-1 and kp,int,CH4 = (1.81 ± 0.02) × 10-2 cm4.5 mW-0.5 g-1 min-1, calculated using axial dispersion model including mass transfer considerations and first-order reaction rate kinetics with photon absorption effects. The results of photocatalytic oxidation of NH3 and CH4 confirmed continuous reduction of pollutant content in the air stream due to the oxidation of NH3 to N2 and CH4 to CO and CO2, respectively. The application of solar photocatalysis in outdoor air protection is still a pioneering work in the field, and the results obtained in this work represent a good basis for sizing large-scale devices and applying them to prevent further environmental pollution. In the current study, a TiO2 P25 supported on a glass fiber mesh was prepared from commercially available materials. The system designed in this way is easy to perform, operate, and relatively inexpensive.
Subject(s)
Ammonia , Methane , Animals , Catalysis , Cattle , Glass , TitaniumABSTRACT
The molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with sulfaguanidine as a template, methacrylic acid, 4-vinylpyridine, and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate as functional monomers, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker and 2,2'-azobis-isobutyronitrile as an initiator have been prepared through the cross-link reaction of polymerization. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure for the extraction of sulfaguanidine from water samples using the prepared MIPs and non-imprinted (NIPs) was evaluated. The best MIP in combination with commercial sorbents was applied for simultaneous extraction of eight pharmaceuticals. New SPE cartridges were prepared by combination of optimal produced MIP and Oasis HLB in 6 mL of polypropilene SPE reservoir. The developed method which includes new SPE cartridge (MIPMAA-Oasis HLB, 400mg/6 mL) and thin-layer chromatography was validated. The method provides a linear response over the concentration range of 0.5-150 µg/L, depending on the pharmaceutical with the correlation coefficients>0.9843 in all cases except for norfloxacin (0.9770) and penicillin G procaine (0.9801). Also, the method has revealed low limits of detection (0.25-20 µg/L), good precision (intra and inter-day), a relative standard deviation below 15% and recoveries above 95% for all eight pharmaceuticals. The developed method by using newly prepared SPE cartridge has been successfully applied to the analysis of production wastewater samples from pharmaceutical industry.
Subject(s)
Molecular Imprinting , Pharmaceutical Preparations/isolation & purification , Polymers/chemistry , Solid Phase Extraction/methods , Sulfaguanidine/chemistry , Water Pollutants, Chemical/isolation & purification , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods , Chromatography, Thin Layer/methods , Microscopy, Electron, Scanning , Sewage/analysis , Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform InfraredABSTRACT
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the influence of humic acids (HA) and Ca-montmorillonite (CaM) on the solid-phase extraction (SPE) efficiency of atrazine, alachlor and alpha-cypermethrin from water samples at various pH-values. The nature and intensity of binding of the studied pesticides to CaM were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis and termogravimetric analysis (TGA) test. The studied pesticides eluted from discs were analysed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The effects of CaM and humic acid were generally pH-dependent and acted independently in extraction efficiency influence. Lower recovery of pesticides was observed at higher pH values when CaM was > or =0.1 g and was attributed to greater dispersion of clay, increased surface area and subsequent adsorption. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in humic acid had less effect on the extraction efficiency when water was at pH 8 compared to water at pH 2, which was probably due to greater nonpolar interactions of the pesticides to the charge-neutralized humic acid molecule.
