Synthesis and Photocatalytic Sterilization Performance of SA/TiO2.

The photocatalyst sorbic acid (SA)/titanium dioxide (TiO2) was successfully synthesized by sol-gel method and characterized. The composite exhibited regularly spherical particles with the size of 50 nm and the specific surface area of 90.3 m2 g-1, furthermore, it showed mesoporous structure and significantly improved dispersion. SA was grafted on TiO2 surface by -COOTi and TiO2 existed as pure anatase phase in the composite. The addition of SA made the band gap of TiO2 increased from 3.03 to 3.35 eV, which indicting that the composite exhibited a strong response to the ultraviolet light. The optimum preparation parameters of the catalyst were as follows: n(Ti):n(SA) = 1:0.05, ethanol 60 mL, glacial acetic acid 40 mL, hydrothermal temperature 180 °C, hydrothermal time 12 h. The composite could reach the 4.31 log reduction of E. coli, with the optimum catalyst dosage of 0.7 g L-1, irradiated by UV light for 60 min. SA/TiO2 was an environmentally friendly, non-toxic and safe sterilized nanocomposite material appropriate for future bactericidal applications, providing a new way to effectively increase the dispersion of TiO2 particles to achieve superior photocatalytic sterilization efficiency.

Organochlorine pesticides contaminated soil decontamination using TritonX-100-enhanced advanced oxidation under electrokinetic remediation.

Remediation of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs)-contaminated soils is urgently required especially in China. Surfactants have emerged as reliable and efficient co-solvent for the treatment of hardly soluble organic pollutants in contaminated soil. Here, we report the use of TritonX-100 (TX-100) in advanced oxidation under electrokinetic technology (EK) for OCPs removal from a historically contaminated soil from a former pharmaceutical industrial wasteland. Result shows that TX-100 (10%) played a key role in soil remediation. In effect, after a treatment period of 15 days, pollutants washed ranged from 50.68% (4,4'-DDT) to 76.07% (HCB), when TX-100 was used as the electrolyte (EK-TX-100). A simple advanced oxidation of the soil using sodium persulfate (PS) under EK approach (EK-PS) was limited to achieve good removal efficiency of the pollutants; as the result of OCPs' hardly dissolvable nature. The achieved removal efficiency were comprised between 22.62% (2,4-DDT) and 55.78% (1,2,4,5-TCB). With the application of TX-100 as co-solvent (EK-TX-100/PS), the pollutants removal efficiency significantly improved (p < 0.05). The treatment efficiency was shifted and up to 88.05% (1,2,4-TCB) was achieved, while the lowest removal efficiency was 56.36% (4,4'-DDE). We come to the conclusion that the use of TX-100-enhanced advanced oxidation (EK-TX-100/PS) as a reliable treatment for remediating organochlorine contaminated soil.

Treatment of brewery wastewater using anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR).

Brewery wastewater was treated in a pilot-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) in which a floating cover(@) was employed. Long time experiments showed that the reactor worked stably and effectively for COD removal and gas production. When the organic loading rate was controlled between 1.5 kg COD/m3 d and 5.0 kg COD/m(3)d, and hydraulic retention time one day, COD removal efficiency could reach more than 90%. Sludge granulation was achieved in the reactor in approximately 60 days, which is much less than the granulation time ever reported. In addition, high specific methanogenic activity (SMA) for formate was observed. The study suggests that the ASBR technology is a potential alternative for brewery wastewater treatment.

[Preparation of ß-In2S3 and Catalytic Degradation of Oxytetracycline Under Solar Light Irradiation].

The preparation of beta-In2S3 nanomaterial was carried out by reacting In (NO3)3 with thioacetamide through hydrothermal process at 120 degrees C for 12 h. The size and morphology of In2S3 were characterized by the scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) while the degradation efficiency was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of oxytetracycline under natural sunlight. The results revealed that beta-In2S3 nanoparticles are made up of nanosheets with a length of 15-30 nm and with high efficient catalytic performance, in which more than 98% of the initial oxytetracycline (30 mg x L(-1)) was degraded in 4 h. Furthermore, the prepared pG-In2 S3 can be recycled and kept efficient catalytic performance above 85% even after reusing for four times, which reflected the good stability and relative photocatalytic activity of In2S3.

[Effects of F/M on the uptake, storage and utilization of carbonhydrate in ASBR].

Substrate utilization in a glucose-fed anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) under different F/M ratios was investigated. Glucose added was quickly taken up by fermentation bacterial in anaerobic digestion, then partly degraded directly to volatile fatty acid (VFA, accounted for 34%-38% of COD-fed) and partly accumulated transiently in the cell as glycogen (accounted for 41%-46% of COD-fed) and degraded to VFA in the following. The bacterial accumulation capacities increased with F/M. The maximum specific storage capacities could reach as high as 116.8, 81.1 and 62.4 mg/g as F/M (COD/VSS) was controlled in 0.27, 0.20 and 0.14 respectively. VFA production rate slowed down due to glucose storage, which resulted in low VFA accumulation and guaranteed a stable operation in ASBR under high loading rate.

[Identification of circulating type II pre-dendritic cells (pDC2) and its clinical significance in chronic hepatitis B virus infection].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics of circulating type II pre-dendritic cells (pDC2) and evaluate its role in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. METHODS: The quantitative alterations of pDC2 in 27 chronic HBV-infected patients as treated group and 15 healthy individuals as a control group were analyzed by using flow cytometry based on the comparison of CD4+/CD8+ ratios of T lymphocyte subsets between the two groups. The IFN-alpha-producing ability of pDC2 after incubation was determined by ELISA. RESULTS: The percentage of pDC2 (0.096 +/- 0.086) from the peripheral blood in chronic HBV-infected patients were significantly lower than that (0.304 +/- 0.093) from the normal controls (P less than 0.001) while the CD4+/CD8+ ratios were higher than those in normal controls (P less than 0.01). The values of IFN-alpha-producing function and IL-12 of circulating pDC2 in chronic HBV-infected patients group were significantly lower than those in healthy subjects (P < 0.001). The percentage of pDC2 and CD4+/CD8+ ratios were higher in the patients positive for HBV DNA in sera than those in patients negative for HBV DNA in sera (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The decreased number of circulating pDC2 and IFN-alpha-producing function from peripheral blood in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection may result in the decline of host immune response, which may partially contribute to the disease progress of HBV infection and existence of viral genomic DNA in patient's sera.