Using the entrapped bioprocess as the pretreatment method for the drinking water treatment receiving eutrophic source water.

Control of organic matter, nutrients and disinfection byproduct formation is a major challenge for the drinking water treatment plants on Matsu Islands, Taiwan, receiving source water from the eutrophic reservoirs. A pilot entrapped biomass reactor (EBR) system was installed as the pretreatment process to reduce organic and nitrogen contents into the drinking water treatment plant. The effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and combination of preceding physical treatment (ultraviolet and ultrasound) on the treatment performance were further evaluated. The results showed that the EBR system achieved higher than 81%, 35%, 12% and 46% of reduction in chlorophyll a (Chl a), total COD (TCOD), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total nitrogen (TN), respectively under varied influent concentrations. The treatment performance was not significantly influenced by HRT and presence/absence of physical pretreatment and the effluent water quality was stable; however, removal efficiencies and removal rates of Chl a, TCOD and DOC showed strong correlation with their influent concentrations. Excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy identified fulvic-like and humic-like substances as the two major components of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the reservoir, and decreased intensity of the major peaks in effluent EEM fluorescence spectra suggested the effective removal of DOM without production of additional amount of soluble microbial products in the EBR. Through the treatment by EBR, about 10% of reduction of total trihalomethane formation potential for the effluent could also be achieved. Therefore, the overall results of this study demonstrate that EBR can be a potential pretreatment process for drinking water treatment plants receiving eutrophic source water.

Achiral polyamine-induced chiral zinc gallophosphates with fused double helix-like strands exhibiting blue to green photoluminescence.

This study found non-chiral polyamines to be effective in inducing chiral frameworks. Four zinc gallophosphates with a chiral UCSB-7 topology were generated from the use of four different linear-chain polyamines as templates. In the structure, helical inorganic strands and templates appeared to fuse into a double helix-like arrangement. Notably, they are the first chiral frameworks to display optical analogues and intriguing photoluminescence properties.

Crystalline inorganic frameworks with 56-ring, 64-ring, and 72-ring channels.

The development of zeolite-like structures with extra-large pores (>12-membered rings, 12R) has been sporadic and is currently at 30R. In general, templating via molecules leads to crystalline frameworks, whereas the use of organized assemblies that permit much larger pores produces noncrystalline frameworks. Synthetic methods that generate crystallinity from both discrete templates and organized assemblies represent a viable design strategy for developing crystalline porous inorganic frameworks spanning the micro and meso regimes. We show that by integrating templating mechanisms for both zeolites and mesoporous silica in a single system, the channel size for gallium zincophosphites can be systematically tuned from 24R and 28R to 40R, 48R, 56R, 64R, and 72R. Although the materials have low thermal stability and retain their templating agents, single-activator doping of Mn(2+) can create white-light photoluminescence.

The first organic-templated vanadyl(IV) gallophosphates with ambient (51)V hyperfine structure, {V(2)Ga(2)O(14)} cluster or heterometal 12-ring channels.

Three new vanadyl gallium phosphates, (H(2)dap)(3)[(VO)(2)(GaO)(2)(PO(4))(4)].H(2)O (1), (H(2)dap)(1.5)[(VO)(2)(GaO)(2)(PO(4))(3)].3H(2)O (2), and (H(2)dap)[(VO)(2)Ga(4)(PO(4))(6)(H(2)O)(4)].2H(2)O (3) (dap = 1,3-diaminopropane), have been prepared under mild solvothermal conditions and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, magnetic susceptibility, and EPR spectroscopy. They are the first examples of an organic/V(4+)/Ga/P/O system that displays three different dimensional structures with a common template. The 1D chain structure of 1 and the 2D layered 2 are both built up with a PO(4) and {V(2)Ga(2)O(14)} cluster which contains a syn-square pyramidal {V(2)O(8)} dimer and two GaO(4) tetrahedra. The tetrameric cluster and V-O-Ga therein are observed in a metal phosphate system. Compound 3 is composed of VO(5)(H(2)O) octahedra, GaO(4)(H(2)O) trigonal bipyramids, and GaO(4) and PO(4) tetrahedra from which a unique 3D structure containing one-dimensional 12-ring channels is constructed. The channel aperture uncommonly comprises heterometal (V, Ga) polyhedra. Magnetic susceptibility data for 1-3 are consistent with V(4+) and show a T(N) of 12 K for 3. The unusual syn-{V(2)O(8)} dimers in 1 and 2 induce superexchange interactions, while isolated VO(5)(H(2)O) octahedra in 3 display super-super-exchange interaction. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra with (51)V hyperfine structures were distinctly observed at 300 K for 1, while they started emerging at 30 K for 2 and 7 K for 3. The average hyperfine constant, 85.56 Gauss, was obtained via spectral simulations and nonlinear least-squares fittings for 1 and 2. Crystal data for 1 are triclinic, P1, a = 9.1754(4) A, b = 10.7853(5) A, c = 15.6519(7) A, alpha = 93.251(1) degrees , beta = 92.530(1) degrees , gamma = 95.106(1) degrees , V = 1538.4(1) A(3), and Z = 2; for 2, monoclinic, P2(1)/n, a = 8.9195(3) A, b = 14.6374(5) A, c = 17.8608(6) A, beta = 97.272(1) degrees , V = 2313.1(1) A(3), and Z = 4; and for 3, monoclinic, P2(1)/c, a = 9.0970(5) A, b = 16.9940(9) A, c = 9.6441(5) A, beta = 103.456(3) degrees , V = 1450.0(1) A(3), and Z = 4.

Novel vanadium(V) compounds with a layer structure: synthesis, crystal structures, and solid state NMR spectroscopy of [(VO(2))(2)(4,4'-bpy)(0.5)(4,4'-Hbpy)(XO(4))] x H(2)O (X = P and As).

A novel vanadium(V) phosphate and the arsenate analogue, [(VO(2))(2)(4,4'-bpy)(0.5)(4,4'-Hbpy)(XO(4))].H(2)O (X = P, As; bpy = bipyridine), have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. They are the first structurally characterized compounds in the vanadium(V)/4,4'-bpy/phosphate (or arsenate) systems. The two compounds are isostructural and crystallize in the triclinic space group P macro (No. 2) with a = 7.9063(3) A, b = 10.2201(4) A, c = 12.1336(5) A, alpha = 113.4652(7) degrees, beta = 95.7231(7) degrees, gamma = 94.4447(7) degrees, and Z = 2 for the phosphate, and a = 7.8843(6) A, b = 10.3686(7) A, c = 12.2606(9) A, alpha = 113.464(1) degrees, beta = 95.560(1) degrees, gamma = 94.585(1) degrees, and Z = 2 for the arsenate. The structure consists of phosphate-bridged vanadium(V) double chains linked through 4,4'-bpy ligands to form a sheet with the monoprotonated 4,4'-Hbpy(+) ligand being coordinated to the metal atom as a pendent group. The (1)H MAS NMR spectrum exhibits four resonances at 14.2, 9.5, 7.2, and 3.7 ppm with an intensity ratio close to 1:6:6:2, corresponding to three different types of protons in 4,4'-bpy and 4,4'-Hbpy(+) and one type of protons in H(2)O. The peak at 14.2 ppm can be assigned to the proton bonded to the pyridine nitrogen atom, which confirms the presence of 4,4'-Hbpy(+).