Aboughaly, M & Fattah, IMR 2023, 'Environmental Analysis, Monitoring, and Process Control Strategy for Reduction of Greenhouse Gaseous Emissions in Thermochemical Reactions', Atmosphere, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 655-655.
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This review paper illustrates the recommended monitoring technologies for the detection of various greenhouse gaseous emissions for solid waste thermochemical reactions, including incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification. The illustrated gas analyzers are based on the absorption principle, which continuously measures the physicochemical properties of gaseous mixtures, including oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane, during thermochemical reactions. This paper illustrates the recommended gas analyzers and process control tools for different thermochemical reactions and aims to recommend equipment to increase the sensitivity, linearity, and dynamics of various thermochemical reactions. The equipment achieves new levels of on-location, real-time analytical capability using FTIR analysis. The environmental assessment study includes inventory analysis, impact analysis, and sensitivity analysis to compare the mentioned solid waste chemical recycling methods in terms of greenhouse gaseous emissions, thermal efficiency, electrical efficiency, and sensitivity analysis. The environmental impact assessment compares each technology in terms of greenhouse gaseous emissions, including CO2, NOx, NH3, N2O, CO, CH4, heat, and electricity generation. The conducted environmental assessment compares the mentioned technologies through 15 different emission-related impact categories, including climate change impact, ecosystem quality, and resource depletion. The continuously monitored process streams assure the online monitoring of gaseous products of thermochemical processes that enhance the quality of the end products and reduce undesired products, such as tar and char. This state-of-the-art monitoring and process control framework provides recommended analytical equipment and monitoring tools for different thermochemical reactions to optimize process parameters and reduce greenhouse gaseous emissions and undesired products.
Abounahia, N, Ibrar, I, Kazwini, T, Altaee, A, Samal, AK, Zaidi, SJ & Hawari, AH 2023, 'Desalination by the forward osmosis: Advancement and challenges', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 886, pp. 163901-163901.
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Abu, SM, Hannan, MA, Hossain Lipu, MS, Mannan, M, Ker, PJ, Hossain, MJ & Mahlia, TMI 2023, 'State of the art of lithium-ion battery material potentials: An analytical evaluations, issues and future research directions', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 394, pp. 136246-136246.
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Abu, SM, Hannan, MA, Ker, PJ, Mansor, M, Tiong, SK & Mahlia, TMI 2023, 'Recent progress in electrolyser control technologies for hydrogen energy production: A patent landscape analysis and technology updates', Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 72, pp. 108773-108773.
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Alternative low-to-zero carbon technologies must be developed to facilitate the clean energy transition rather than only concentrating on one or a few specific technology trajectories. The hydrogen electrolyser has many benefits over traditional energy storage technologies, making it a competitive alternative to the current fossil fuel combustion-based energy generation system. To better understand the impact and developments of electrolyser control technologies for hydrogen production, this study aims to shed light on current research and patent trends. The research was conducted by performing extensive keyword searches on electrolyser control methods for hydrogen generation in the Lens database and then extracting the bibliometric data from the 107 patent publications selected based on keywords, family filtering and material exclusion. An up-to-date technical overview is provided with a bibliographic study of patent growth, key players and innovators, patent distribution across jurisdictions and technological sectors, and patent categorization using the cooperative patent classification (CPC) code. Key owners, inventors, and jurisdictional hierarchies in patent publications are also identified, and the potential for further study is assessed. These selected patent documents and their landscape analysis aim to provide a systematic foundation for future developments in electrolyser technologies and materials related to hydrogen production and to propose emerging research and commercialization prospects for future researchers.
Adeoti, OS, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2023, 'Water infrastructure sustainability in Nigeria: a systematic review of challenges and sustainable solutions', Water Policy, vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 1094-1111.
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Abstract Using the PRISMA method, this systematic literature review synthesized findings from 15 studies to elucidate the key factors contributing to water infrastructure failure in Nigeria and propose evidence-based sustainable solutions. The study identified technical, financial, environmental, social, political, and institutional factors as predominant challenges in achieving water infrastructure sustainability. In response to these challenges, the researcher proposes a comprehensive ‘Sustainability Framework for Water Infrastructure’. This framework is designed to guide every stage of water infrastructure development, starting from pre-construction with an emphasis on inclusive project planning, followed by the construction phase where suitable techniques are utilized, and extending to the post-construction stage, focusing on efficient monitoring and management mechanisms. The study highlights the complexity of water infrastructure sustainability in Nigeria and underscores the urgent need for a structured and comprehensive approach to address this pressing issue.
Aditya, L, Vu, HP, Abu Hasan Johir, M, Mahlia, TMI, Silitonga, AS, Zhang, X, Liu, Q, Tra, V-T, Ngo, HH & Nghiem, LD 2023, 'Role of culture solution pH in balancing CO2 input and light intensity for maximising microalgae growth rate', Chemosphere, vol. 343, pp. 140255-140255.
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The interplay between CO2 input and light intensity is investigated to provide new insight to optimise microalgae growth rate in photobioreactors for environmental remediation, carbon capture, and biomass production. Little is known about the combined effect of carbon metabolism and light intensity on microalgae growth. In this study, carbonated water was transferred to the microalgae culture at different rates and under different light intensities for observing the carbon composition and growth rate. Results from this study reveal opposing effects from CO2 input and light intensity on the culture solution pH and ultimately microalgae growth rate. Excessive CO2 concentration can inhibit microalgae growth due to acidification caused by CO2 dissolution. While increasing light intensity can increase pH because the carboxylation process consumes photons and transfers hydrogen ions into the cell. This reaction is catalysed by the enzyme RuBisCO, which functions optimally within a specific pH range. By balancing CO2 input and light intensity, high microalgae growth rate and carbon capture could be achieved. Under the intermittent CO2 transfer mode, at the optimal condition of 850 mg/L CO2 input and 1089 μmol/m2/s light intensity, leading to the highest microalgae growth rate and carbon fixation of 4.2 g/L as observed in this study.
Aditya, L, Vu, HP, Nguyen, LN, Mahlia, TMI, Hoang, NB & Nghiem, LD 2023, 'Microalgae enrichment for biomass harvesting and water reuse by ceramic microfiltration membranes', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 669, pp. 121287-121287.
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Harvesting and water reuse are two critical issues for large-scale microalgae cultivation. Using two representative microalgae species, namely C. vulgaris and Scenedesmus sp., this study evaluates the performance of a ceramic microfiltration membrane to extract clean water for reuse and pre-concentrate the microalgae solution for subsequent harvesting. The results show that fouling was specific to each individual microalgae species due to the difference in cell properties (e.g. size, shape, and cell membrane). Importantly, membrane fouling could be efficiently mitigated by aeration and regular backwashing without any chemical addition. Aeration reduced the transmembrane pressure when filtering C. vulgaris and Scenedesmus sp. by 56 and 38%, respectively. In long-term performance experiments, C. vulgaris showed considerable membrane fouling over time; by contrast, Scenedesmus sp. showed negligible fouling. The results reaffirmed that membrane filtration efficiency was microalgae species-specific. Permeate water reuse for growing another batch of microalgae was also demonstrated using both species. Results reported here suggest that ceramic microfiltration membrane can simultaneously enrich the microalgae solution and recycle permeated water for microalgae cultivation.
Afsari, M, Jiang, J, Phuntsho, S, Shon, HK & Tijing, LD 2023, 'Ammonia recovery from source-separated hydrolyzed urine via a dual-membrane distillation in-series process', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 470, pp. 144215-144215.
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Afsari, M, Li, Q, Karbassiyazdi, E, Shon, HK, Razmjou, A & Tijing, LD 2023, 'Electrospun nanofiber composite membranes for geothermal brine treatment with lithium enrichment via membrane distillation', Chemosphere, vol. 318, pp. 137902-137902.
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In this study, a composite electrospun nanofiber membrane was fabricated and used to treat a geothermal brine source with lithium enrichment. An in-situ growth technique was applied to incorporate silica nanoparticles on the surface of nanofibers with (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane as the nucleation site. The fabricated composite nanofiber membrane was heat pressed to enhance the integration of the membrane and its mechanical stability. The fabricated membranes were tested to evaluate their performance in feedwater containing different concentrations of NaCl in the range of 0-100 g/L, and the wetting resistivity of the membranes was examined. Finally, the optimal membrane was applied to treat the simulated geothermal brine. The experimental results revealed that the in-situ growth of nanoparticles and coating of flourosilane agent dramatically improved the separation performance of the membrane with high salt rejection, and adequate flux was achieved. The heat-pressed membrane obtained >99% salt rejection and flux of 14-19 L/m2h at varying feedwater salinity (0-100 g/L), and the concentration of the Li during the 24 h test reached >1100 ppm from the initial 360 ppm. Evaluation of the energy efficiency of the membranes showed that the heat-pressed membrane obtained the optimum energy efficiency in the high concentration of salts. Additionally, the economic analysis indicated that MD could achieve a levelized cost of 2.9 USD/m3 of lithium brine concentration as the heat source is within the feed. Overall, this technology would represent a viable alternative to the solar pond to concentrate Li brine, enabling a compact, efficient, and continuous operating system.
Afsari, M, Park, MJ, Kaleekkal, NJ, Motsa, MM, Shon, HK & Tijing, L 2023, 'Janus Distillation Membrane via Mussel-Inspired Inkjet Printing Modification for Anti-Oil Fouling Membrane Distillation', Membranes, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 191-191.
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In this work, inkjet printing technology was used to print a thin layer of a hydrophilic solution containing polydopamine as a binder and polyethyleneimine as a strong hydrophilic agent on a commercial hydrophobic membrane to produce a Janus membrane for membrane distillation. The pristine and modified membranes were tested in a direct-contact membrane distillation system with mineral oil-containing feedwater. The results revealed that an integrated and homogenous hydrophilic layer was printed on the membrane with small intrusions in the pores. The membrane, which contained three layers of inkjet-printed hydrophilic layers, showed a high underwater oil contact angle and a low in-air water contact angle. One-layer inkjet printing was not robust enough, but the triple-layer coated modified membrane maintained its anti-oil fouling performance even for a feed solution containing 70 g/L NaCl and 0.01 v/v% mineral oil concentration with a flux of around 20 L/m2h. This study implies the high potential of the inkjet printing technique as a facile surface modification strategy to improve membrane performance.
Afsari, M, Shirazi, MMA, Ghorbani, AH, Sayar, O, Shon, HK & Tijing, LD 2023, 'Triple-layer nanofiber membrane with improved energy efficiency for treatment of hypersaline solution via membrane distillation', Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 110638-110638.
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Ahmed, SF, Alam, MSB, Hassan, M, Rozbu, MR, Ishtiak, T, Rafa, N, Mofijur, M, Shawkat Ali, ABM & Gandomi, AH 2023, 'Deep learning modelling techniques: current progress, applications, advantages, and challenges', Artificial Intelligence Review, vol. 56, no. 11, pp. 13521-13617.
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AbstractDeep learning (DL) is revolutionizing evidence-based decision-making techniques that can be applied across various sectors. Specifically, it possesses the ability to utilize two or more levels of non-linear feature transformation of the given data via representation learning in order to overcome limitations posed by large datasets. As a multidisciplinary field that is still in its nascent phase, articles that survey DL architectures encompassing the full scope of the field are rather limited. Thus, this paper comprehensively reviews the state-of-art DL modelling techniques and provides insights into their advantages and challenges. It was found that many of the models exhibit a highly domain-specific efficiency and could be trained by two or more methods. However, training DL models can be very time-consuming, expensive, and requires huge samples for better accuracy. Since DL is also susceptible to deception and misclassification and tends to get stuck on local minima, improved optimization of parameters is required to create more robust models. Regardless, DL has already been leading to groundbreaking results in the healthcare, education, security, commercial, industrial, as well as government sectors. Some models, like the convolutional neural network (CNN), generative adversarial networks (GAN), recurrent neural network (RNN), recursive neural networks, and autoencoders, are frequently used, while the potential of other models remains widely unexplored. Pertinently, hybrid conventional DL architectures have the capacity to overcome the challenges experienced by conventional models. Considering that capsule architectures may dominate future DL models, this work aimed to compile information for stakeholders involved in the development and use of DL models in the contemporary world.
Ahmed, SF, Debnath, JC, Mehejabin, F, Islam, N, Tripura, R, Mofijur, M, Hoang, AT, Rasul, MG & Vo, D-VN 2023, 'Utilization of nanomaterials in accelerating the production process of sustainable biofuels', Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, vol. 55, pp. 102894-102894.
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Around 84 % of the global energy needs are met by fossil fuels, notwithstanding their several drawbacks. Dependence on fossil fuels can be reduced when biofuels become more widely used. Compared to fossil fuel, biofuel is substantially less combustible and derived from renewable resources. Biofuel production from non-edible feedstocks can be enhanced by utilizing nanotechnology. Biofuel research to date has produced promising results, but very few recent studies have underlined the use of nanotechnology to enhance the biofuel production process. This study comprehensively reviews the potential use of nanotechnology in improving biofuel production processes. It also highlights the factors that affect nanomaterial performance in the biofuel production process. The nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles (NPs) are shown to be highly efficient, with harvesting Chlorella vulgaris biomass at an efficiency of 98.75 % in 1 min at pH 7. In terms of cost-effectiveness, naked modified magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) cost significantly less, ranging from £3-500 to £0.5–108 per kg following nanoparticle reactivation. Due to their toxicity, nanomaterials used in biofuel production systems have several detrimental effects on living organisms, the environment, and the economy. Developing non-toxic nanomaterials, utilizing cheaper nanoparticles, and doing additional research might increase knowledge availability and understanding to address the current issues.
Ahmed, SF, Islam, N, Kumar, PS, Hoang, AT, Mofijur, M, Inayat, A, Shafiullah, GM, Vo, D-VN, Badruddin, IA & Kamangar, S 2023, 'Perovskite solar cells: Thermal and chemical stability improvement, and economic analysis', Materials Today Chemistry, vol. 27, pp. 101284-101284.
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Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are highly efficient and are comparatively cheaper than the large silicon crystals primarily used in solar cells. Their outstanding photovoltaic performance makes them a potential alternative to silicon solar cells. While efficiency and photovoltaic performance have been investigated in recent decades, a knowledge gap on the degradation, economic feasibility and stability of PSCs exists, and their poor stability remains a barrier to commercialization. Thus, this review aims to fill this knowledge gap by focusing on approaches to improve PSCs’ thermal and chemical stability, and their economic viability under different conditions. The structure and manufacture of PSCs are also discussed along with an economic analysis of different perovskite devices. Improvements in thermal stability can be reached by incorporating inorganic materials into the PSC. A PSC model optimized with ZnO improves chemical stability by 8% and works well under low temperatures. To make PSCs more economically feasible, certain parts like counter electrodes (CE) and hole transport materials (HTMs) can be replaced with alternative elements like carbon and inorganic HTMs, respectively. PSCs with long durability and high conversion efficiency will expand the commercial prospects for this material. To bridge the lack of knowledge, further investigation is required on the sustainability and longevity of PSCs.
Ahmed, SF, Kabir, M, Mehjabin, A, Oishi, FTZ, Ahmed, S, Mannan, S, Mofijur, M, Almomani, F, Badruddin, IA & Kamangar, S 2023, 'Waste biorefinery to produce renewable energy: Bioconversion process and circular bioeconomy', Energy Reports, vol. 10, pp. 3073-3091.
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Ahmed, SF, Rafa, SJ, Mehjabin, A, Tasannum, N, Ahmed, S, Mofijur, M, Lichtfouse, E, Almomani, F, Badruddin, IA & Kamangar, S 2023, 'Bio-oil from microalgae: Materials, production, technique, and future', Energy Reports, vol. 10, pp. 3297-3314.
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Ahmed, T, Cha, JS, Park, C-G, Shon, HK, Han, DS & Park, H 2023, 'Activated Carbon-Embedded Reduced Graphene Oxide Electrodes for Capacitive Desalination', Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 222-230.
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Capacitive deionization of saline water is one of the most promising water purification technologies due to its high energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This study synthesizes porous carbon composites composed of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and activated carbon (AC) with various rGO/AC ratios using a facile chemical method. Surface characterization of the rGO/AC composites shows a successful chemical reduction of GO to rGO and incorporation of AC into rGO. The optimized rGO/AC composite electrode exhibits a specific capacitance of ~243 F g<sup>−1</sup> in a 1 M NaCl solution. The galvanostatic charging-discharging test shows excellent reversible cycles, with a slight shortening in the cycle time from the ~260<sup>th</sup> to the 530<sup>th</sup> cycle. Various monovalent sodium salts (NaF, NaCl, NaBr, and NaI) and chloride salts (LiCl, NaCl, KCl, and CsCl) are deionized with the rGO/AC electrode pairs at a cell voltage of 1.3 V. Among them, NaI shows the highest specific adsorption capacity of ~22.2 mg g<sup>−1</sup>. Detailed surface characterization and electrochemical analyses are conducted.
Ajani, PA, Savela, H, Kahlke, T, Harrison, D, Jeffries, T, Kohli, GS, Verma, A, Laczka, O, Doblin, MA, Seymour, JR, Larsson, ME, Potts, J, Scanes, P, Gribben, PE, Harrison, L & Murray, SA 2023, 'Response of planktonic microbial assemblages to disturbance in an urban sub-tropical estuary', Water Research, vol. 243, pp. 120371-120371.
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Microbes are sensitive indicators of estuarine processes because they respond rapidly to dynamic disturbance events. As most of the world's population lives in urban areas and climate change-related disturbance events are becoming more frequent, estuaries bounded by cities are experiencing increasing stressors, at the same time that their ecosystem services are required more than ever. Here, using a multidisciplinary approach, we determined the response of planktonic microbial assemblages in response to seasonality and a rainfall disturbance in an urban estuary bounded by Australia's largest city, Sydney. We used molecular barcoding (16S, 18S V4 rRNA) and microscopy-based identification to compare microbial assemblages at locations with differing characteristics and urbanisation histories. Across 142 samples, we identified 8,496 unique free-living bacterial zOTUs, 8,175 unique particle associated bacterial zOTUs, and 1,920 unique microbial eukaryotic zOTUs. Using microscopy, we identified only the top <10% abundant, larger eukaryotic taxa (>10 µm), however quantification was possible. The site with the greater history of anthropogenic impact showed a more even community of associated bacteria and eukaryotes, and a significant increase in dissolved inorganic nitrogen following rainfall, when compared to the more buffered site. This coincided with a reduced proportional abundance of Actinomarina and Synechococcus spp., a change in SAR 11 clades, and an increase in the eukaryotic microbial groups Dinophyceae, Mediophyceae and Bathyoccocaceae, including a temporary dominance of the harmful algal bloom dinoflagellate Prorocentrum cordatum (syn. P. minimum). Finally, a validated hydrodynamic model of the estuary supported these results, showing that the more highly urbanised and upstream location consistently experienced a higher magnitude of salinity reduction in response to rainfall events during the study period. The best abiotic variables to explain commu...
Akhtar, R, Hamza, A, Razzaq, L, Hussain, F, Nawaz, S, Nawaz, U, Mukaddas, Z, Jauhar, TA, Silitonga, AS & Saleel, CA 2023, 'Maximizing biodiesel yield of a non-edible chinaberry seed oil via microwave assisted transesterification process using response surface methodology and artificial neural network techniques', Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 11, pp. e22031-e22031.
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AlJaberi, FY, Ahmed, SA, Makki, HF, Naje, AS, Zwain, HM, Salman, AD, Juzsakova, T, Viktor, S, Van, B, Le, P-C, La, DD, Chang, SW, Um, M-J, Ngo, HH & Nguyen, DD 2023, 'Recent advances and applicable flexibility potential of electrochemical processes for wastewater treatment', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 867, pp. 161361-161361.
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Amirkhani, F, Dashti, A, Jokar, M, Mohammadi, AH, Gholamzadeh Chofreh, A, Varbanov, PS & Zhou, JL 2023, 'Estimation of CO2 solubility in aqueous solutions of commonly used blended amines: Application to optimised greenhouse gas capture', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 430, pp. 139435-139435.
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Ampah, JD, Jin, C, Rizwanul Fattah, IM, Appiah-Otoo, I, Afrane, S, Geng, Z, Yusuf, AA, Li, T, Mahlia, TMI & Liu, H 2023, 'Investigating the evolutionary trends and key enablers of hydrogen production technologies: A patent-life cycle and econometric analysis', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 48, no. 96, pp. 37674-37707.
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With rapid industrialization, rising fossil fuel consumption, and environmental concerns, developing clean and green energy is an inescapable option. Hydrogen has emerged as a significant potential energy carrier and a viable future replacement fuel for fossil fuels due to its renewable and pollution-free properties. Previous review papers have significantly contributed to the body of literature on the various technologies for producing hydrogen by revealing key insights into their working principles and conditions, as well as the economic and environmental aspects. In addition, they also highlighted the potential pathways to enable the application of these technologies in the context of carbon neutrality. However, these studies have not broken down the evolutionary patterns and developmental progress of either fossil fuel-based or renewable energy-based technologies used to produce hydrogen. In addition, the currently available literature does not contain the most recent research that focuses on the evolution and life cycle of each technology category from a chronological point of view. The key drivers, countries/regions, and their contributions to the field's development have received little attention. As a result, it is critical to monitor technological advances in hydrogen energy production and investigate the key enablers of these advancements. Against this backdrop, the current study employs patent analysis tools to achieve four primary goals: (1) to track the development trends in the field of hydrogen production from 2000 to 2019; (2) to identify and compare the recent development trends in the last five years according to the feedstock, i.e., fossil fuel, water, and biomass-based technologies; (3) to predict the technology life cycle of the two main groups of hydrogen production technologies (fossil and renewable); (4) to identify and compare the key drivers of hydrogen production technologies from a statistical standpoint. The findings of the ...
Arsad, AZ, Hannan, MA, Al-Shetwi, AQ, Begum, RA, Hossain, MJ, Ker, PJ & Mahlia, TMI 2023, 'Hydrogen electrolyser technologies and their modelling for sustainable energy production: A comprehensive review and suggestions', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 48, no. 72, pp. 27841-27871.
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Ashfaque Ahmed, S, Elahi M. Soudagar, M, Rahamathullah, I, Sadhik Basha, J, Yunus Khan, TM, Javed, S, Elfasakhany, A & Kalam, MA 2023, 'Investigation of ternary blends of animal fat biodiesel-diethyl ether-diesel fuel on CMFIS-CI engine characteristics', Fuel, vol. 332, pp. 126200-126200.
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The experimental study aims at investigation of the ternary blends of animal fat oil biodiesel, diesel and diethyl ether in-terms of performance, emission and combustion analysis in single cylinder four stroke diesel engine. The animal (mono) fat biodiesel was prepared through transesterification process by using alcohol (6:1) and potassium hydroxide (4:1) at 50 °C –55 °C and obtained 90 % of biodiesel. The prepared biodiesel was blended with neat diesel to get the tested blend, animal fat biodiesel (AFB20). To improve the performance parameters of AFB20, the prepared biodiesel blend AFB20 was again blend with diethyl ether (DEE) in various proportions by 10 % and 20 % to obtain the ternary blend AFB20DEE10 and AFB20DEE20. Addition of DEE to AFB20 enhances the physicochemical properties of the biodiesel blends. The first stage of this study was that the neat diesel was examined in the single cylinder four stroke diesel engine to obtain the reference readings. The second and third stage of this investigation was the prepared animal fat biodiesel blend AFB20 and AFB20DEE10 and AFB20DEE20 were examined in the diesel engine. The fourth stage of this investigation was that, the obtained results of neat diesel was compared with the other tested blends. The experimental outcome reveals that, AFB20DEE20 blend perform better than that of the other tested blends. 4.8 % higher fuel is consumed, and 7.1 % lowered brake thermal efficiency and exhaust gas temperature was found in the blend AFB20DEE20 compared to neat diesel. The blend AFB20DEE20 exhibits higher cylinder pressure by 70.43 bar and lower heat release rate by 35.23 J/deg., compared to neat diesel. 0.15 % lower CO emission and 37.8 % lower UBHC emission were found in AFB20DEE20 compared with ND. Reduction of NOx emission by 4.18 % and higher smoke emissions were found in the blend AFB20DEE20 compared to neat diesel.
Aworanti, OA, Agbede, OO, Agarry, SE, Ajani, AO, Ogunkunle, O, Laseinde, OT, Rahman, SMA & Fattah, IMR 2023, 'Decoding Anaerobic Digestion: A Holistic Analysis of Biomass Waste Technology, Process Kinetics, and Operational Variables', Energies, vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 3378-3378.
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The continual generation and discharge of waste are currently considered two of the main environmental problems worldwide. There are several waste management options that can be applied, though anaerobic digestion (AD) process technology seems to be one of the best, most reliable, and feasible technological options that have attracted remarkable attention due to its benefits, including the generation of renewable energy in the form of biogas and biomethane. There is a large amount of literature available on AD; however, with the continuous, progressive, and innovative technological development and implementation, as well as the inclusion of increasingly complex systems, it is necessary to update current knowledge on AD process technologies, process variables and their role on AD performance, and the kinetic models that are most commonly used to describe the process-reaction kinetics. This paper, therefore, reviewed the AD process technologies for treating or processing organic biomass waste with regard to its classification, the mechanisms involved in the process, process variables that affect the performance, and the process kinetics. Gazing into the future, research studies on reduced MS-AD operational cost, integrated or hybrid AD-biorefinery technology, integrated or hybrid AD-thermochemical process, novel thermochemical reactor development, nutrient recovery from integrated AD-thermochemical process, and solid and liquid residual disposal techniques are more likely to receive increased attention for AD process technology of biomass wastes.
Basavaraja, BM, Bantwal, RP, Tripathi, A, Hegde, G, John, NS, Thapa, R, Hegde, G, Balakrishna, RG, Saxena, M, Altaee, A & Samal, AK 2023, 'Functionalized Silver Nanocubes for the Detection of Hazardous Analytes through Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering: Experimental and Computational Studies', ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, vol. 11, no. 29, pp. 10605-10619.
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Bates, H, Zavafer, A, Szabó, M & Ralph, PJ 2023, 'The slow-phase of chlorophyll fluorescence induction curve reflects the electron transport rates of Photosystem II in vivo in Chlorella vulgaris', Journal of Applied Phycology, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 109-116.
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Benkhaya, S, Lgaz, H, Tang, H, Altaee, A, Haida, S, Vatanpour, V & Xiao, Y 2023, 'Investigating the effects of polypropylene-TiO2 loading on the performance of polysulfone/polyetherimide ultrafiltration membranes for azo dye removal: Experimental and molecular dynamics simulation', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 56, pp. 104317-104317.
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Bhattad, A, Rao, BN, Atgur, V, Veza, I, Zamri, MFMA & Fattah, IMR 2023, 'Thermal Performance Evaluation of Plate-Type Heat Exchanger with Alumina–Titania Hybrid Suspensions', Fluids, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 120-120.
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This paper aims to develop models for the thermal conductivity and viscosity of hybrid nanofluids of aluminium oxide and titanium dioxide (Al2O3-TiO2). The study investigates the impact of fluid temperature (283 K–298 K) on the performance of a plate heat exchanger using Al2O3-TiO2 hybrid nanofluids with different particle volume ratios (0:5, 1:4, 2:3, 3:2, 4:1, and 5:0) prepared with a 0.1% concentration in deionised water. Experimental evaluations were conducted to assess the heat transfer rate, Nusselt number, heat transfer coefficient, Prandtl number, pressure drop, and performance index. Due to the lower thermal conductivity of TiO2 nanoparticles compared to Al2O3, a rise in the TiO2 ratio decreased the heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt number, and heat transfer rate. Inlet temperature was found to decrease pressure drop and performance index. The Al2O3 (5:0) nanofluid demonstrated the maximum enhancement of around 16.9%, 16.9%, 3.44%, and 3.41% for the heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt number, heat transfer rate, and performance index, respectively. Additionally, the TiO2 (0:5) hybrid nanofluid exhibited enhancements of 0.61% and 2.3% for pressure drop and Prandtl number, respectively. The developed hybrid nanofluids enhanced the performance of the heat exchanger when used as a cold fluid.
Bhol, P, Patil, SA, Barman, N, Siddharthan, EE, Thapa, R, Saxena, M, Altaee, A & Samal, AK 2023, 'Design and fabrication of cobaltx nickel(1-x) telluride microfibers on nickel foam for battery-type supercapacitor and oxygen evolution reaction study', Materials Today Chemistry, vol. 30, pp. 101557-101557.
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Bibin, C, Sheeja, R, Devarajan, Y, Raja, T, Hossain, I, Ouladsmane, M & Kalam, MA 2023, 'Process optimization study on the feedstock derived from Cerbera odollam seeds', Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, vol. 13, no. 17, pp. 16253-16262.
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Boshir Ahmed, M, Alom, J, Hasan, MS, Asaduzzaman, M, Rahman, MS, Hossen, R, Abu Hasan Johir, M, Taufiq Alam, M, Zhou, JL, Zhu, Y & Zargar, M 2023, 'Front Cover: General Doping Chemistry of Carbon Materials (ChemNanoMat 4/2023)', ChemNanoMat, vol. 9, no. 4.
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Boshir Ahmed, M, Alom, J, Hasan, MS, Asaduzzaman, M, Rahman, MS, Hossen, R, Abu Hasan Johir, M, Taufiq Alam, M, Zhou, JL, Zhu, Y & Zargar, M 2023, 'General Doping Chemistry of Carbon Materials', ChemNanoMat, vol. 9, no. 4.
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AbstractCarbon has an extraordinary ability to bind with itself and other elements, resulting in unique structures for a wide range of applications. Recently, intensive research has been focused on the properties of carbon‐based materials (CBMs) and on increasing their performance by doping them with metals and non‐metallic elements. While materials with excellent performance have been experimentally achieved, a fundamental knowledge of the relationship between the electronic, physical, and electrochemical properties and their structural features, particularly the chemistry of carbon‐based materials remains a top challenge. This review begins with the doping chemistries of CBMs, covering the role of electron affinity, orbital chemistry, the chemistry of band gap, conductivity, bonding type, spin redistribution, and conducting relevant comparisons. These will lead to providing an in‐depth understanding of the overall picture in the CBMs doping chemistry particularly as catalysts. The future research prospects and challenges for doped CBMs are highlighted.
Cai, Z, Yang, F, Song, Y, Liu, Y, Liu, W, Wang, Q & Sun, X 2023, 'Semiconducting mineral induced photochemical conversion of PAHs in aquatic environment: Mechanism study and fate prediction', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 860, pp. 160382-160382.
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Semiconducting minerals (such as iron sulfides) are highly abundant in surface water, but their influences on the natural photochemical process of contaminants are still unknown. By simulating the natural water environment under solar irradiation, this work comprehensively investigated the photochemical processes of anthracene (a typical Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) in both freshwater and seawater. The results show that the natural pyrite (NP) significantly promotes the degradation of anthracene under solar illumination via 1) NP induced photocatalytic degradation of anthracene, and 2) Fenton reaction due to the NP induced photocatalytic generation of H2O2. The material characterization and theoretical calculation reveal that the natural impurity in NP enlarges its band gap, which limits the utilization of solar spectra to shorter wavelength. The contribution of generated reactive intermediates on anthracene degradation follows the order of 1O2 >OH > O2- in freshwater and O2- >1O2 >OH in seawater. The photochemically generated H2O2 is a vital source for OH generation (from Fenton reaction). The steady-state concentration of OH, 1O2 and O2- in freshwater were monitored as 3.0 × 10-15 M, 1.1 × 10-13 M, and 4.5 × 10-14 M, respectively. However, the OH concentration in seawater can be negligible due to the quenching effects by halides, and the 1O2 and O2- concentrations are higher than that in freshwater. An anthracene degradation kinetic model was built based on the experimentally determined reactive intermediates concentration and its second order rate constant with anthracene. Moreover, the anthracene degradation pathway was proposed based on intermediates analysis and DFT calculation, and its toxicity evolution during the photochemical process was assessed by quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) based prediction. This finding suggests that the natural semiconducting minerals can affect the fate and environmental risks of contaminants...
Cao, J-S, Wang, S-N, Xu, R-Z, Luo, J-Y, Ni, B-J & Fang, F 2023, 'Phosphorus recovery from synthetic anaerobic fermentation supernatant via vivianite crystallization: Coupling effects of various physicochemical process parameters', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 897, pp. 165416-165416.
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Cao, Y, Cheng, H, Gu, N, Ou, K, Wang, Z, Liu, Q, Guan, R, Fu, Q & Sun, Y 2023, 'Excellent mechanical durability of superhydrophobic coating by electrostatic spraying', Materials Chemistry and Physics, vol. 301, pp. 127658-127658.
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Chandrakant Nikam, K, Jathar, L, Shelare, SD, Shahapurkar, K, Dambhare, S, Soudagar, MEM, Mubarak, NM, Ahamad, T & Kalam, MA 2023, 'Parametric analysis and optimization of 660 MW supercritical power plant', Energy, vol. 280, pp. 128165-128165.
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Chen, J, Hao, D, Chen, W, Liu, Y, Yin, Z, Hsu, H, Ni, B, Wang, A, Lewis, SW & Jia, G 2023, 'Engineering Colloidal Metal‐Semiconductor Nanorods Hybrid Nanostructures for Photocatalysis†', Chinese Journal of Chemistry, vol. 41, no. 22, pp. 3050-3062.
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Comprehensive SummaryEmerging engineering strategies of colloidal metal‐semiconductor nanorod hybrid nanostructures spanning from type, size, dimension, and location of both metal nanoparticles and semiconductors, co‐catalyst, band gap structure, surface ligand to hole scavenger are elaborated symmetrically to rationalize the design of this type of intriguing materials for efficient photocatalytic applications.
Chen, L, Zhang, Y, Liang, J, Li, Y, Zhang, J, Fang, W, Zhang, P, Zhang, G & Hao Ngo, H 2023, 'Improvement of anaerobic digestion containing sulfur with conductive materials: Focusing on recent advances and internal biological mechanisms', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 472, pp. 144867-144867.
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Chen, N, Zhang, X, Du, Q, Huo, J, Wang, H, Wang, Z, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Advancements in swine wastewater treatment: Removal mechanisms, influential factors, and optimization strategies', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 54, pp. 103986-103986.
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Chen, P, Ouyang, L, Lang, C, Zhong, H, Liu, J, Wang, H, Huang, Z & Zhu, M 2023, 'All-pH Hydrogen Evolution by Heterophase Molybdenum Carbides Prepared via Mechanochemical Synthesis', ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, vol. 11, no. 9, pp. 3585-3593.
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Chen, X, Chen, X, Zeng, RJ, Nie, W-B, Yang, L, Wei, W & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Instrumental role of bioreactors in nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation-based biotechnologies for wastewater treatment: A review', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 857, no. Pt 3, pp. 159728-159728.
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Recently, the nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) processes have become a research hotspot in the field of wastewater treatment. The n-DAMO processes could not only mitigate direct and indirect carbon emissions from wastewater treatment plants but also strengthen biological nitrogen removal. However, the applications of n-DAMO-based biotechnologies face practical difficulties mainly caused by the distinctive properties of n-DAMO microorganisms and the limited/availability of methane with poor solubility. In this sense, the choice of bioreactors will play important roles that influence the growth and functioning of n-DAMO microorganisms, thus enabling dedicated development of the n-DAMO processes and efficient applications of n-DAMO-based biotechnologies. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss the three commonly-applied types of bioreactors, covering the individual working principle and state-of-the-art removal performance of nitrogen as well as dissolved methane observed when adopted for n-DAMO-based biotechnologies. With noted limitations for each bioreactor type, several key perspectives were proposed which hopefully would inspire future investigation and practical applications of the n-DAMO processes.
Chen, X, Chen, Z, Ngo, HH, Mao, Y, Cao, K, Shi, Q, Lu, Y & Hu, H-Y 2023, 'Comparison of inactivation characteristics between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in water by synergistic UV and chlorine disinfection', Environmental Pollution, vol. 333, pp. 122007-122007.
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Chen, X, Wang, D, Nie, W-B, Yang, L, Wei, W, Ni, B-J & Chen, X 2023, 'Impacts of Biofilm Properties on the Start-Up and Performance of a Membrane Biofilm Reactor Performing Anammox and Nitrate/Nitrite-Dependent Anaerobic Methane Oxidation Integrated Processes: A Model-Based Investigation', ACS ES&T Water, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 1141-1149.
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Even though the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) performing the anammox and nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) integrated processes has been known to enable complete nitrogen removal, the effects of biofilm properties on such an MBfR are yet to be disclosed. In this work, a biofilm model was constructed to investigate the effects of the initial microbial composition of the biofilm, the initial biofilm thickness, the boundary layer thickness of the biofilm, and the diffusivity of solutes in the biofilm structure on the start-up process and steady-state performance of the MBfR performing anammox/n-DAMO. The results showed that the four biofilm properties would not affect the steady-state performance but would significantly regulate the start-up time of the MBfR. Unless the MBfR was operated under undesired operational conditions, inoculation of sludge comprised mainly of anammox bacteria or/and n-DAMO archaea to form a thin initial biofilm would accelerate the start-up process of the MBfR. Moreover, measures could be taken to reduce the boundary layer thickness and the diffusivity of solutes in the biofilm structure, the latter of which would also enhance methane utilization. This work would provide valuable practical guidance for the rapid establishment of the MBfR with a high-level treatment capacity based on anammox/n-DAMO.
Chen, X, Zhao, Q, Yang, L, Wei, W, Ni, B-J & Chen, X 2023, 'Impacts of granular sludge properties on the bioreactor performing nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation/anammox processes', Bioresource Technology, vol. 386, pp. 129510-129510.
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Chen, Y, Lin, S, Qin, Y, Surawski, NC & Huang, X 2023, 'Carbon distribution and multi-criteria decision analysis of flexible waste biomass smouldering processing technologies', Waste Management, vol. 167, pp. 183-193.
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Waste biomass treatment is a globally urgent matter which highly relates to environmental quality and human health. Here, a flexible suite of smouldering-based waste biomass processing technologies is developed and four processing strategies: (a) full smouldering, (b) partial smouldering, (c) full smouldering with a flame, and (d) partial smouldering with a flame, are proposed. The gaseous, liquid, and solid products of each strategy are quantified under various airflow rates. Then, a multi-criteria analysis in terms of environmental impact, carbon sequestration, waste removal efficiency, and by-product value is performed. The results show that full smouldering achieves the highest removal efficiency but generates significant greenhouse and toxic gases. Partial smouldering effectively generates stable biochar, sequesters over 30% carbon, and therefore reduces the greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. By applying a self-sustained flame, the toxic gases are significantly reduced to clean smouldering emissions. Finally, the process of partial smouldering with a flame is recommended to process the waste biomass that can sequester more carbon as biochar, minimize carbon emissions and mitigate the pollution. And the process of full smouldering with a flame is preferred to maximally reduce the waste volume with minimum environmental impact. This work enriches strategies for carbon sequestration and environmentally friendly waste biomass processing technologies.
Chen, Z, Han, N, Zheng, R, Ren, Z, Wei, W & Ni, B 2023, 'Design of earth‐abundant amorphous transition metal‐based catalysts for electrooxidation of small molecules: Advances and perspectives', SusMat, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 290-319.
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AbstractElectrochemical oxidation of small molecules (e.g., water, urea, methanol, hydrazine, and glycerol) has gained growing scientific interest in the fields of electrochemical energy conversion/storage and environmental remediation. Designing cost‐effective catalysts for the electrooxidation of small molecules (ESM) is thus crucial for improving reaction efficiency. Recently, earth‐abundant amorphous transition metal (TM)‐based nanomaterials have aroused souring interest owing to their earth‐abundance, flexible structures, and excellent electrochemical activities. Hundreds of amorphous TM‐based nanomaterials have been designed and used as promising ESM catalysts. Herein, recent advances in the design of amorphous TM‐based ESM catalysts are comprehensively reviewed. The features (e.g., large specific surface area, flexible electronic structure, and facile structure reconstruction) of amorphous TM‐based ESM catalysts are first analyzed. Afterward, the design of various TM‐based catalysts with advanced strategies (e.g., nanostructure design, component regulation, heteroatom doping, and heterostructure construction) is fully scrutinized, and the catalysts’ structure‐performance correlation is emphasized. Future perspectives in the development of cost‐effective amorphous TM‐based catalysts are then outlined. This review is expected to provide practical strategies for the design of next‐generation amorphous electrocatalysts.
Chen, Z, Shi, X, Zhang, J, Wu, L, Wei, W & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Nanoplastics are significantly different from microplastics in urban waters', Water Research X, vol. 19, pp. 100169-100169.
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Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are ubiquitous and intractable in urban waters. Compared with MPs, the smaller NPs have shown distinct physicochemical features, such as Brownian motion, higher specific surface area, and stronger interaction with other pollutants. Therefore, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of NPs is more challenging than that of MPs. Moreover, these characteristics endow NPs with significantly different environmental fate, interactions with pollutants, and eco-impacts from those of MPs in urban waters. Herein, we critically analyze the current advances in the difference between MPs and NPs in urban waters. Analytical challenges, fate, interactions with surrounding pollutants, and eco-impacts of MPs and NPs are comparably discussed., The characterizations and fate studies of NPs are more challenging compared to MPs. Furthermore, NPs in most cases exhibit stronger interactions with other pollutants and more adverse eco-impacts on living things than MPs. Subsequently, perspective in this field is proposed to stimulate further size-dependent studies on MPs and NPs. This review would benefit the understanding of the role of NPs in the urban water ecosystem and guide future studies on plastic pollution management.
Chen, Z, Yun, S, Wu, L, Zhang, J, Shi, X, Wei, W, Liu, Y, Zheng, R, Han, N & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Waste-Derived Catalysts for Water Electrolysis: Circular Economy-Driven Sustainable Green Hydrogen Energy', Nano-Micro Letters, vol. 15, no. 1, p. 4.
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AbstractThe sustainable production of green hydrogen via water electrolysis necessitates cost-effective electrocatalysts. By following the circular economy principle, the utilization of waste-derived catalysts significantly promotes the sustainable development of green hydrogen energy. Currently, diverse waste-derived catalysts have exhibited excellent catalytic performance toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and overall water electrolysis (OWE). Herein, we systematically examine recent achievements in waste-derived electrocatalysts for water electrolysis. The general principles of water electrolysis and design principles of efficient electrocatalysts are discussed, followed by the illustration of current strategies for transforming wastes into electrocatalysts. Then, applications of waste-derived catalysts (i.e., carbon-based catalysts, transitional metal-based catalysts, and carbon-based heterostructure catalysts) in HER, OER, and OWE are reviewed successively. An emphasis is put on correlating the catalysts’ structure–performance relationship. Also, challenges and research directions in this booming field are finally highlighted. This review would provide useful insights into the design, synthesis, and applications of waste-derived electrocatalysts, and thus accelerate the development of the circular economy-driven green hydrogen energy scheme.
Choi, W, Fang, J, Kim, J, Love, N, Saeys, M & Wong, M 2023, 'ACS ES&T Engineering’s 2022 Excellence in Review Awards', ACS ES&T Engineering, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 1053-1054.
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Cui, Z, Zhang, M, Yuan, Y, Jia, H, Hao Ngo, H & Wang, J 2023, 'Study on pre-concentration of trace heavy metal ions in water quality detection using FO-electroosmotic integrated chip', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 472, pp. 144968-144968.
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Dang, B-T, Bui, X-T, Nguyen, T-T, Ngo, HH, Nghiem, LD, Huynh, K-P-H, Vo, T-K-Q, Vo, T-D-H, Lin, C & Chen, S-S 2023, 'Effect of biomass retention time on performance and fouling of a stirred membrane photobioreactor', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 864, pp. 161047-161047.
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Co-culture of microalgae-activated sludge has the potential to purify wastewater while reduce energy demand from aeration. In this work, a mechanically stirred membrane photobioreactor (stirred-MPBR) was used to evaluate the impact of the biomass retention time (BRT) on the treatment performance and membrane fouling. Results showed that stirred-MPBR was affected by BRT during treating domestic wastewater at a flux of 16.5 L m-2 h-1. The highest productivity was attained at BRT 7d (102 mg L-1 d-1), followed by BRT 10d (86 mg L-1 d-1), BRT 5d (85 mg L-1 d-1), and BRT 3d (83 mg L-1 d-1). Statistical analysis results showed that BRT 7d had a higher COD removal rate than BRT 10d, however, there is no difference in total nitrogen removal rate. The highest TP removal occurred when the biomass operated at BRT as short as 3d. Reduced BRTs caused a change in the microalgae-activated sludge biomass fraction that encouraged nitrification activity while simultaneously contributing to a higher fouling rate. The bound protein concentrations dropped from 31.35 mg L-1 (BRT 10d) to 10.67 mg L-1 (BRT 3d), while soluble polysaccharides increased from 0.99 to 1.82 mg L-1, respectively. The concentrations of extracellular polymeric substance fractions were significantly altered, which decreased the mean floc size and contributed to the escalating fouling propensity. At the optimum BRT of 7d, the stirred-MPBR showed sufficient access to light and nutrients exchange for mutualistic interactions between the microalgae and activated sludge.
Dang, KB, Pham, HH, Nguyen, TN, Giang, TL, Pham, TPN, Nghiem, VS, Nguyen, DH, Vu, KC, Bui, QD, Pham, HN, Nguyen, TT & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Monitoring the effects of urbanization and flood hazards on sandy ecosystem services', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 880, pp. 163271-163271.
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Dashti, A, Raji, M, Riasat Harami, H, Zhou, JL & Asghari, M 2023, 'Biochar performance evaluation for heavy metals removal from industrial wastewater based on machine learning: Application for environmental protection', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 312, pp. 123399-123399.
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Deng, L, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Zhang, X, Wei, D, Wei, Q & Deng, S 2023, 'Novel catalysts in catalytic upcycling of common polymer wastes', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 471, pp. 144350-144350.
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Deng, R, Huo, P, Chen, X, Chen, Z, Yang, L, Liu, Y, Wei, W & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Towards efficient heterotrophic recovery of N2O via Fe(II)EDTA-NO: A modeling study', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 859, no. Pt 1, pp. 160285-160285.
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Efficient recovery of nitrous oxide (N2O) through heterotrophic denitrification with the help of Fe(II)EDTA-NO as a chelating agent has been regarded as an ideal technology to treat nitric oxide (NO)-rich flue gas. In this study, an integrated NO-based biological denitrification model was developed to describe the sequential reduction of the NO fixed in Fe(II)EDTA-NO with organic carbon as the electron donor. With the inclusion of only the key pathways contributing to nitrogen transformation, the model was firstly developed and then calibrated/validated and evaluated using the data of batch tests mediated by the identified functional heterotrophic bacteria at various substrates concentrations and then used to explore the possibility of enhancing N2O recovery by altering the substrates condition and reactor setup. The results demonstrated that the optimal COD/N ratio decreased consistently from 1.5 g-COD/g-N at the initial NO concentration of 40 g-N/m3 to 1.0 g-COD/g-N at the initial NO concentration of 420 g-N/m3. Furthermore, sufficiently increasing the headspace volume of the reactor was considered an ideal strategy to obtain ideal N2O production of 86.6 % under the studied conditions. The production of high-purity N2O (98 %) confirmed the practical application potential of this integrated treatment technology to recover a valuable energy resource from NO-rich flue gas.
Deng, S, Wang, C, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, You, N, Tang, H, Yu, H, Tang, L & Han, J 2023, 'Comparative review on microbial electrochemical technologies for resource recovery from wastewater towards circular economy and carbon neutrality', Bioresource Technology, vol. 376, pp. 128906-128906.
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Dewi, OC, Putra, N, Yatim, A, Mahlia, TMI, Rahmasari, K, Hanjani, T, Siregar, R, Rangin, B & Izzatur, N 2023, 'Zoning and activity-based post occupancy evaluation of multipurpose auditorium in campus facility', Energy and Buildings, vol. 295, pp. 113319-113319.
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Dharma, S, Silitonga, AS, Shamsuddin, AH, Sebayang, AH, Milano, J, Sebayang, R, Sarjianto, Ibrahim, H, Bahri, N, Ginting, B & Damanik, N 2023, 'Properties and corrosion behaviors of mild steel in biodiesel-diesel blends', Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 3887-3899.
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Global warming in relation to fossil fuel pollution and their environmental impacts have become a major global concern. Biodiesel has entered the scene as an alternative fuel but it also generated controversy associated with increased residual fuel, increased acidity, oxidation, and corrosion. The main objective of this study was to observe the corrosion behavior of the mild steel immersed in J50C50 biodiesel-diesel fuel blends for up to 800 h at ambient temperature. The results showed corrosion rate at 800-h immersion are 0.0103, 0.0044, 0.0117, 0.0155, 0.2283 and 0.02524 mm/year, respectively, for B0, B10, B20, B30, B40 and B50. Mild steel coupon surface observation using SEM showed corrosion attacks are characterized by round holes on the metal surface. The addition of J50C50 biodiesel into diesel fuel accelerated the corrosion rate and acid value. Overall, corrosion observations conducted on mild steel suggested J50C50 biodiesel-diesel fuel blend is more corrosive compared with diesel fuel.
Ding, A, Lin, W, Shi, H, Chen, R, Ngo, HH, He, X, Nan, J, Li, G & Ma, J 2023, 'Enhanced Sludge Dewaterability by Efficient Oxidation of α-Mn2O3/Peroxymonosulfate: Analysis of the Mechanism and Evaluation of Engineering Application', ACS ES&T Engineering, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 236-247.
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Doane, MP, Ostrowski, M, Brown, M, Bramucci, A, Bodrossy, L, van de Kamp, J, Bissett, A, Steinberg, P, Doblin, MA & Seymour, J 2023, 'Defining marine bacterioplankton community assembly rules by contrasting the importance of environmental determinants and biotic interactions', Environmental Microbiology, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 1084-1098.
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AbstractBacterioplankton communities govern marine productivity and biogeochemical cycling, yet drivers of bacterioplankton assembly remain unclear. Here, we contrast the relative contribution of deterministic processes (environmental factors and biotic interactions) in driving temporal dynamics of bacterioplankton diversity at three different oceanographic time series locations, spanning 15° of latitude, which are each characterized by different environmental conditions and varying degrees of seasonality. Monthly surface samples (5.5 years) were analysed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The high‐ and mid‐latitude sites of Maria Island and Port Hacking were characterized by high and intermediate levels of environmental heterogeneity, respectively, with both alpha diversity (72%; 24% of total variation) and beta diversity (32%; 30%) patterns within bacterioplankton assemblages explained by day length, ammonium, and mixed layer depth. In contrast, North Stradbroke Island, a sub‐tropical location where environmental conditions are less variable, interspecific interactions were of increased importance in structuring bacterioplankton diversity (alpha: 33%; beta: 26%) with environment only contributing 11% and 13% to predicting diversity, respectively. Our results demonstrate that bacterioplankton diversity is the result of both deterministic environmental and biotic processes and that the importance of these different deterministic processes varies, potential in response to environmental heterogeneity.
Du, Z, Yang, M, Yang, Y, Zhang, X, Chen, H, Ngo, HH & Liu, Q 2023, 'Sulfur-Modified Biochar Efficiently Removes Cr(VI) from Water by Sorption and Reduction', Environmental Engineering Science, vol. 40, no. 9, pp. 362-372.
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Duan, J-L, Han, Y, Feng, L-J, Ma, J-Y, Sun, X-D, Liu, X-Y, Geng, F-S, Jiang, J-L, Liu, M-Y, Sun, Y-C, Peu, P, Ni, B-J & Yuan, X-Z 2023, 'Single bubble probe atomic force microscope and impinging-jet technique unravel the interfacial interactions controlled by long chain fatty acid in anaerobic digestion', Water Research, vol. 231, pp. 119657-119657.
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Ebrahimi Farshchi, M, Madadian Bozorg, N, Ehsani, A, Aghdasinia, H, Chen, Z, Rostamnia, S & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Green valorization of PET waste into functionalized Cu-MOF tailored to catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 345, pp. 118842-118842.
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Elmakki, T, Zavahir, S, Gulied, M, Qiblawey, H, Hammadi, B, Khraisheh, M, Shon, HK, Park, H & Han, DS 2023, 'Potential application of hybrid reverse electrodialysis (RED)-forward osmosis (FO) system to fertilizer-producing industrial plant for efficient water reuse', Desalination, vol. 550, pp. 116374-116374.
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This study presents an experimental investigation and a parametric analysis of the applicability of agricultural fertigation and power generation using a reverse electrodialysis-forward osmosis (RED-FO) hybrid system, with a water stream discharged from a fertilizer-producing plant. The results of this study demonstrated the possibility of achieving high salinity power generation from the RED system utilizing high-salinity brine and low-salinity ammonia solution that simulates reverse osmosis (RO) brine and wastewater streams released by the fertilizer-producing industry. The feasibility of stream dilution for fertigation application is demonstrated when the resulting moderately saline RED effluent is introduced into the FO process as a draw solution. The effect of external load addition, flow velocities variation, and concentration changes of the working solutions on the overall stack internal resistance and, thereby, RED performance was evaluated. As such, the lowest internal resistance converged to a threshold value of 4.03 Ω, giving the highest gross power density of 2.17 W/m2 when a flow velocity of 1.18 cm/s, 10 Ω external load, and 0.015 M (NH4)2SO4/1 M NaCl solution pair were utilized. In addition, the effect of the number of ion exchange membrane pairs and wastewater stream recycling was studied and optimized to amplify the osmotically generated power. As a result, the most consistent power generation was achieved when using 20 pairs of membrane cells in a single-pass flow mode operation. The applicability of the RED effluent to a subsequent FO system as a draw solution (DS) was investigated, showing a dilution rate (17 %) and a conductivity (1–2 mS/cm of DS) suitable for agricultural fertigation applications.
Fathoni, AM, Putra, N & Mahlia, TMI 2023, 'A systematic review of battery thermal management systems based on heat pipes', Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 73, pp. 109081-109081.
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The global economic increase is accompanied by an increase in energy use. As a result, there is an increase in emissions of greenhouse gases that can harm the environment and lead to global warming. Electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries were developed to lower the transportation sector's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. In order to work optimally, the battery must be maintained at its optimal temperature. Heat pipe-based thermal management systems of electric vehicles' batteries have been gaining interest recently due to their ability to dissipate heat to the environment quickly and work passively without any added energy. Heat pipes are anticipated to keep battery packs for electric vehicles at their ideal operating temperature, ensure temperature uniformity between battery cells, and minimize thermal runaway possibility. This paper mainly discusses the application of heat pipes in the thermal management system of the electric vehicle battery. Besides conventional heat pipes, hybrid thermal management systems for electric vehicle batteries based on heat pipes have also been reviewed and discussed. For the hybrid battery management system, heat pipes coupled with phase change materials, air cooling and liquid cooling have been analysed. Finally, this review study describes the limitations and future work opportunities in the research area of thermal management systems in electric vehicle batteries based on heat pipes.
Fatima, Z, Quinto, M, Zhou, JL & Li, D 2023, 'Active substances of fat-soluble vitamins: Advances in extraction and analysis approaches', TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, vol. 167, pp. 117276-117276.
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Fattah, IMR, Farhan, ZA, Kontoleon, KJ, kianfar, E & Hadrawi, SK 2023, 'Hollow fiber membrane contactor based carbon dioxide absorption − stripping: a review', Macromolecular Research, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 299-325.
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Energy need is predicted to increase by 47% in the next 30 years. Global warming resulting from the continuously increasing atmospheric Carbon dioxide concentration is becoming a serious and pressing issue that needs to be controlled. Carbon dioxide capture and storage/use (CCS/CCU) provide a promising route to mitigate the environmental consequences of Carbon dioxide emission from fossil fuel combustion. In recent years, hollow fiber membrane contactors are regarded as an advanced technique with several competitive advantages over conventional technologies such as easy scale-up, independent control of flow rates, more operational flexibility, absence of flooding and foaming as well as high interfacial area per unit volume. However, many factors such as the membrane material selection, proper choice of solvent, and membrane module design are critical to success. In this regard, this paper aims at covering all areas related to hollow fiber membranes, including membrane material, membrane modification, membrane surface modification, shape, solvent characterization, operating parameters and costs, hybrid process, hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of the absorption materials in the membranes, Advantages and Disadvantages of Membrane Contact Technology, membrane lifetime, and energy consumption as well as commercially available systems. Current progress, future potential, and development of pilot-scale applications and thermal fluid of this strategy are also assessed carefully. Furthermore, pore wetting as the main technical challenge in membrane contactor industrial implementation for post- and pre-combustion Carbon dioxide capture processes is investigated in detail. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].
Fei, Y, Han, N, Shi, J, Tang, S, Zhuang, H, Wang, L, Ran, J, Gao, E, Habila, MA, Chen, Z, Tao, D, Ni, B-J & Jiang, M 2023, 'Red mud-derived iron carbon catalyst for the removal of organic pollutants in wastewater', Chemosphere, vol. 337, pp. 139211-139211.
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Feng, A, Mao, S, Onggowarsito, C, Naidu, G, Li, W & Fu, Q 2023, 'Tillandsia-Inspired Composite Materials for Atmospheric Water Harvesting', ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, vol. 11, no. 15, pp. 5819-5825.
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Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) is a potentially promising small-scale approach to alleviate the water crisis in arid or semiarid regions. Inspired by the asymmetric structure of tillandsia leaves, a plant species native to semiarid regions, we report the development of a bioinspired composite (BiC) to draw moisture for AWH applications. With the advent of the post-COVID era, the nonwoven materials in used masks are discarded, landfilled, or incinerated along with the masks as medical waste, and the negative impact on the environment is inevitable. The nonwoven sheet has porosity, softness, and certain mechanical strength. We innovatively developed BiCs, immobilizing hygroscopic salt with a nonwoven mask for fast vapor liquefaction and using a polymer network to store water. The resulting BiC material manages to achieve a high-water adsorption capacity of 1.24 g g-1 under a low-moderate humidity environment and a high-water release ratio of ca. 90% without the use of photothermal materials, while maintaining high structural integrity in cyclic testing.
Feng, A, Onggowarsito, C, Mao, S, Qiao, GG & Fu, Q 2023, 'Divide and Conquer: A Novel Dual‐Layered Hydrogel for Atmospheric Moisture Harvesting', ChemSusChem, vol. 16, no. 14, p. e202300137.
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AbstractAtmospheric water harvesting (AWH) has been recognized as a next‐generation technology to alleviate water shortages in arid areas. However, the current AWH materials suffer from insufficient water adsorption capacity and high‐water retention, which hinder the practical application of AWH materials. In this study, we developed a novel dual‐layered hydrogel (DLH) composed of a light‐to‐heat conversion layer (LHL) containing novel polydopamine‐manganese nanoparticles (PDA−Mn NPs) and a water adsorption layer (WAL) made of 2‐(acryloyloxyethyl) trimethylammonium chloride (AEtMA). The WAL has a strong ability to adsorb water molecules in the air and has a high‐water storage capacity, and the PDA−Mn NPs embedded in the LHL have excellent photothermal conversion efficiency, leading to light‐induced autonomous water release. As a result, the DLH displays a high‐water adsorption capacity of 7.73 g g−1 under optimal conditions and could near‐quantitatively release captured water within 4 h sunlight exposure. Coupled with its low cost, we believed that the DLH will be one of the promising AWH materials for practical applications.
Feng, S, Hao Ngo, H, Guo, W, Woong Chang, S, Duc Nguyen, D, Thanh Bui, X, Zhang, X, Ma, XY & Ngoc Hoang, B 2023, 'Biohydrogen production, storage, and delivery: A comprehensive overview of current strategies and limitations', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 471, pp. 144669-144669.
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The development of biohydrogen is crucial for achieving a sustainable and eco-friendly society and reducing dependence on traditional fossil fuels. Biohydrogen production, storage, and delivery are three essential components of the biohydrogen economy. Strategies like dark fermentation and photo-fermentation have been widely studied for biohydrogen production. At the same time, hydrogen storage options have also been explored, including compressed, liquid, and material-based hydrogen. However, many of the technologies aimed at developing the biohydrogen economy are still immature, and the current biohydrogen economy is facing challenges like low biohydrogen production, high hydrogen storage costs, and unsatisfactory hydrogen delivery efficiency. Therefore, this review aims to present a comprehensive overview of the latest technologies for biohydrogen production, storage, and delivery, while highlighting their respective benefits and drawbacks. Furthermore, the review proposes perspectives on the challenges facing current biohydrogen production, storage, and delivery technologies, as well as suggesting further research directions to improve these technologies for widespread implementation of the biohydrogen economy.
Feng, S, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Khan, MA, Zhang, S, Luo, G, Liu, Y, An, D & Zhang, X 2023, 'Fruit peel crude enzymes for enhancement of biohydrogen production from synthetic swine wastewater by improving biohydrogen-formation processes of dark fermentation', Bioresource Technology, vol. 372, pp. 128670-128670.
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Feng, X, Chen, Z, Wang, S, Cen, L, Ni, B-J & Liu, Q 2023, 'Insights into the weathering behavior of pyrite in alkaline soil through electrochemical characterizations: Actual hazards or potentially benefits?', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 451, pp. 131145-131145.
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Pyrite is the most common metal sulfide mineral in the crust and readily weathers under natural circumstances to release H+ to acidify surrounding groundwater and soil, resulting in heavy metal ions in the surrounding environment (e.g., meadow and saline soils). Meadow and saline soils are two common, widely distributed alkaline soils and can affect pyrite weathering. Currently, the weathering behaviors of pyrite in saline and meadow soil solutions have not been systematically studied. Electrochemistry coupled with surface analysis methods were employed to study pyrite weathering behaviors in simulated saline and meadow soil solutions in this work. Experimental results suggest that saline soil and higher temperatures increase pyrite weathering rates due to the lower resistance and greater capacitance. Surface reactions and diffusion control the weathering kinetics, and the activation energies for the simulated meadow and saline soil solutions are 27.1 and 15.8 kJ mol-1, respectively. In-depth investigations reveal that pyrite is initially oxidized to Fe(OH)3 and S0, and Fe(OH)3 further transforms into goethite γ-FeOOH and hematite α-Fe2O3, while S0 ultimately converts into sulfate. When these iron compounds enter alkaline soils, the alkalinity of soil changes, and iron (hydr)oxides effectively reduce the bioavailability of heavy metals and benefit alkaline soils. Meanwhile, weathering of natural pyrite ores containing toxic elements (such as Cr, As, and Cd) makes these elements bioavailable and potentially degrades the surrounding environment.
Firme, GF, Hughes, DJ, Laiolo, L, Roughan, M, Suthers, IM & Doblin, MA 2023, 'Contrasting phytoplankton composition and primary productivity in multiple mesoscale eddies along the East Australian coast', Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, vol. 193, pp. 103952-103952.
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Fisher, NL, Halsey, KH, Suggett, DJ, Pombrol, M, Ralph, PJ, Lutz, A, Sogin, EM, Raina, J-B & Matthews, JL 2023, 'Light-dependent metabolic shifts in the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana', Algal Research, vol. 74, pp. 103172-103172.
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Fonseka, C, Ryu, S, Choo, Y, Naidu, G, Kandasamy, J, Thiruvenkatachari, R, Foseid, L, Ratnaweera, H & Vigneswaran, S 2023, 'Selective recovery of europium from real acid mine drainage by using novel amine based modified SBA15 adsorbent and membrane distillation system', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 56, pp. 104551-104551.
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Fonseka, C, Ryu, S, Naidu, G, Kandasamy, J, Thiruvenkatachari, R & Vigneswaran, S 2023, 'Europium adsorption by granulated Cr-MIL-PMIDA metal−organic frameworks and dynamic fixed bed column modelling', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 56, pp. 104475-104475.
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Gabryelczyk, A, Yadav, S, Swiderska-Mocek, A, Altaee, A & Lota, G 2023, 'From waste to energy storage: calcinating and carbonizing chicken eggshells into electrode materials for supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries', RSC Advances, vol. 13, no. 34, pp. 24162-24173.
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The study explores waste-derived sustainable materials from the eggshell's inner and outer layers. The materials work as an inert scaffold to reduce the carbon content in supercapacitors and as a Li-ion anode with a specific capacity of 280 mA h g−1.
Ganbat, N, Hamdi, FM, Ibrar, I, Altaee, A, Alsaka, L, Samal, AK, Zhou, J & Hawari, AH 2023, 'Iron slag permeable reactive barrier for PFOA removal by the electrokinetic process', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 460, pp. 132360-132360.
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The efficacy of the Standalone Electrokinetic (EK) process in soil PFAS removal is negligible, primarily due to the intersecting mechanisms of electromigration and electroosmosis transportation. Consequently, the redistribution of PFAS across the soil matrix occurs, hampering effective remediation efforts. Permeable reactive barrier (PRB) has been used to capture contaminants and extract them at the end of the EK process. This study conducted laboratory-scale tests to evaluate the feasibility of the iron slag PRB enhanced-EK process in conjunction with Sodium Cholate (NaC) biosurfactant as a cost-effective and sustainable method for removing PFOA from the soil. A 2 cm iron slag-based PRB with a pH of 9.5, obtained from the steel-making industry, was strategically embedded in the middle of the EK reactors to capture PFOA within the soil. The main component of the slag, iron oxide, exhibited significant adsorption capacity for PFOA contamination. The laboratory-scale tests were conducted over two weeks, revealing a PFOA removal rate of more than 79% in the slag/activated carbon PRB-EK test with NaC enhancement and 70% PFOA removal in the slag/activated carbon PRB-EK without NaC. By extending the duration of the slag/AC PRB-EK test with NaC enhancement to three weeks, the PFOA removal rate increased to 94.09%, with the slag/AC PRB capturing over 87% of the initial PFOA concentration of 10 mg/L. The specific energy required for soil decontamination by the EK process was determined to be 0.15 kWh/kg. The outcomes of this study confirm the feasibility of utilizing iron slag waste in the EK process to capture PFOA contaminants, offering a sustainable approach to soil decontamination. Combining iron slag PRB and NaC biosurfactant provides a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method for efficient PFOA removal from soil.
Gao, L, Li, X, Li, M, Zamyadi, A & Wang, Q 2023, 'Recent research advances in aqueous pollutants and treatment approaches', Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 171, pp. 132-135.
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The water industry faces significant challenges under the impacts of climate change, population growth, and water resource scarcity. Great efforts and progress have been made to understand the presence and behaviors of emerging contaminants, their health and environmental impacts, and the energy-efficient and cost-effective treatment technologies. In this ‘Aqueous Emerging Pollutants and Treatment’ special issue, we collect 32 articles to demonstrate recent research progress in aqueous pollutants and treatment approaches. An overview of these 32 articles is provided. Six main trends for future research in aqueous pollutants and their treatment technologies have been provided.
Gautam, K, Sharma, P, Dwivedi, S, Singh, A, Gaur, VK, Varjani, S, Srivastava, JK, Pandey, A, Chang, J-S & Ngo, HH 2023, 'A review on control and abatement of soil pollution by heavy metals: Emphasis on artificial intelligence in recovery of contaminated soil', Environmental Research, vol. 225, pp. 115592-115592.
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Gong, S, Ball, J & Surawski, N 2023, 'A method of estimating imperviousness for the catchment modelling of urban environments', Journal of Hydroinformatics, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 451-468.
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Abstract Urban impervious surfaces, a symbol of urbanisation, have permanently changed urban hydrology behaviour and play a critical role in modelling rainfall-runoff process. The distribution pattern of impervious surfaces is intrinsically connected with functional land zoning schemes. However, estimating impervious fractions for catchment modelling is becoming increasingly difficult due to intricate land zoning categories and heterogeneous land use land cover (LULC) during urbanisation. This study demonstrates an integrated approach of deep learning (DL) and grid sampling method to overcome the challenges of LULC classification, sample standardisation and statistical sample extraction. The classified impervious features were extracted within the land zoning scope and translated into polynomial functions using a probability-fitting approach to measure the occurrence likelihood distribution of samples' impervious fraction. Then, we use the information entropy (IE) to evaluate prediction stability by quantifying the condition entropy and information gain (IG) from each functional land zones to the occurrence likelihood of different impervious fraction intervals. The DL model shows robust LULC prediction, while probability-fitting study of impervious samples reflects the distribution differential of impervious fractions under the land zoning categories. The IE stability test shows a robust approach that clarifies different confident ranges of imperviousness estimation based on land zoning information.
Gong, S, Ball, JE & Surawski, N 2023, 'An initial parameter estimation approach for urban catchment modelling', Urban Water Journal, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 171-183.
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Gong, Y, Yin, J, Zhang, T, Yin, W, Sun, L, Liang, Q & Wang, Q 2023, 'Ferrous sulfide nanoparticles control mercury speciation and bioavailability to methylating bacteria in contaminated groundwater: Impacts of mercury species', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 455, pp. 140612-140612.
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Mercury speciation in groundwater affects its removal effectiveness and methylation potential. Yet, most studies focus on the removal of inorganic dissolved Hg(II) and few studies explored the mercury methylation before and after the treatment. This study comprehensively explored the removal performance of three model mercury species, namely, dissolved inorganic divalent Hg (Hg(II), including free Hg2+ and Hg2+ complexes with Cl− and OH−), Hg2+ bound to dissolved organic matter (Hg-DOM), and HgS nanoparticles by FeS nanoparticles and further investigated the resultant impacts on the microbial methylation of Hg. Among three different stabilizers (starch, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), carboxymethyl starch (CMS)), CMC stabilized FeS nanoparticles (CMC-FeS) demonstrated best physical stability and highest mercury uptake. The CMC-FeS nanoparticles efficiently immobilized the three mercury species within 20 h. The sorption isotherm data of Hg(II) and Hg-DOM were well fitted by the dual-mode isotherm model and the maximum sorption capacities were 3358.28 and 2396.38 mg/g, respectively. Hg(II) and Hg-DOM were predominantly removed via ion exchange, chemical precipitation, and surface complexation whereas HgS was mainly immobilized through heteroaggregation. The simple treatment greatly reduced the bioavailable Hg species, thereby diminishing the net MeHg production by 70.2 %, 32.7 %, and 11.3 %, respectively. This study provides compelling evidence that FeS nanoparticles efficiently removed various mercury species in groundwater and remarkably inhibited the microbial methylation of mercury.
Gowd, SC, Ganeshan, P, Vigneswaran, VS, Hossain, MS, Kumar, D, Rajendran, K, Ngo, HH & Pugazhendhi, A 2023, 'Economic perspectives and policy insights on carbon capture, storage, and utilization for sustainable development', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 883, pp. 163656-163656.
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Gul, M, Zulkifli, NWM, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Mujtaba, MA, Harith, MH, Syahir, AZ, Ahmed, W & Farooq, AB 2023, 'Corrigendum to “Effect of TMP-based-cottonseed oil-biolubricant blends on tribological behavior of cylinder liner-piston ring combinations” [Fuel 278 (2020) 118242]', Fuel, vol. 331, pp. 125742-125742.
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Gulied, M, Logade, K, Mutahir, H, Shaftah, S, Salauddin, S, Hameed, A, Zavahir, S, Elmakki, T, Shon, HK, Hong, S, Park, H & Han, DS 2023, 'A review of membrane-based dewatering technology for the concentration of liquid foods', Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 110583-110583.
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Gunawan, Y, Firmansyah, AI, Supriatna, NK, al Irsyad, MI, Cendrawati, DG, Ahadi, K, Adilla, I & Silitonga, AS 2023, 'Comprehensive assessment using preheat crude palm oil on endurance test engine diesel: Technical and supply chain scheme', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 204, pp. 117286-117286.
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Hafiz, M, Alfahel, R, Altaee, A & Hawari, AH 2023, 'Techno-economic assessment of forward osmosis as a pretreatment process for mitigation of scaling in multi-stage flash seawater desalination process', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 309, pp. 123007-123007.
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Hamzelou, S, Belobrajdic, D, Broadbent, JA, Juhász, A, Lee Chang, K, Jameson, I, Ralph, P & Colgrave, ML 2023, 'Utilizing proteomics to identify and optimize microalgae strains for high-quality dietary protein: a review', Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, pp. 1-16.
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Algae-derived protein has immense potential to provide high-quality protein foods for the expanding human population. To meet its potential, a broad range of scientific tools are required to identify optimal algal strains from the hundreds of thousands available and identify ideal growing conditions for strains that produce high-quality protein with functional benefits. A research pipeline that includes proteomics can provide a deeper interpretation of microalgal composition and biochemistry in the pursuit of these goals. To date, proteomic investigations have largely focused on pathways that involve lipid production in selected microalgae species. Herein, we report the current state of microalgal proteome measurement and discuss promising approaches for the development of protein-containing food products derived from algae.
Han, C, Li, W, Li, W, Yang, L & Huang, Z 2023, 'CoFeNi based trifunctional electrocatalysts featuring in-situ formed heterostructure', Inorganic Chemistry Communications, vol. 149, pp. 110402-110402.
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All-in-one transition metal-based electrocatalysts with high activities towards different reactions in aqueous electrolytes are of critical importance as they can dramatically bring down the cost of relevant energy devices. Herein a facile and low-cost synthesis of CoFeNi nanoparticles encapsulated by an N-doped carbon layer has been developed by pyrolyzing Prussian blue (PB) precursors. The obtained catalyst features tri-catalytic activity towards OER, ORR, and HER reactions in alkaline and acidic condition, and show great potential as a catalyst for water splitting and anode material for Zinc-Air batteries. Moreover, compared with the single phase, the sample with the heterostructure composed of both fcc and bcc phases exhibited dramatic enhancement in multi-catalytic activity. The heterostructure originates from an in-situ phase separation induced by composition variation. This demonstrates the effectiveness of heterostructure engineering introduced by in-situ phase separation in boosting the multi-catalytic activity.
Hasan, HA, Hacheem, ZA, Almurshedi, AD & Khabbaz, H 2023, 'The Influence of Styrene Butadiene Latex on Sandy Soil Reinforced by Soil Mixed Columns under Raft Foundation', Mathematical Modelling of Engineering Problems, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 733-739.
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Hassan, Z, Mahmood, M, Ahmed, N, Saeed, MH, Khan, R, Abbas, MM, Kalam, MA, Almomani, F & Abdelsalam, E 2023, 'Techno‐economic assessment of evacuated flat‐plate solar collector system for industrial process heat', Energy Science & Engineering, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 2185-2201.
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AbstractIn the industrial sector, hot water applications constitute a significant share of final energy consumption. This creates a wide demand‐supply energy gap that must be bridged by integrating renewable sources with conventional fuels. This paper presents the performance analysis of a solar water heating system based on an evacuated flat‐plate collector (EFPC) with a surface area of 4 m2. A water–glycol mixture was used as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) with mass flow rates of 0.03, 0.0336, and 0.0504 kg/s under a vacuum pressure of –0.8 bar created inside the collector. A detailed numerical model was developed in MATLAB for the proposed EFPC system, followed by experimental validation. A maximum root mean square error of 2.81 for the absorber temperature and a percentage error of 6.62 was observed for the thermal efficiency in model validation. This substantiates the model's capability to predict actual system performance with reasonable accuracy. The maximum thermal efficiency of the EFPC is 78% with a maximum fluid outlet temperature of 98°C in June and 69°C in January. The maximum useful energy extracted is 1300 W in January. Additionally, the effect of design parameters on system performance such as mass flow rates, collector areas, tube spacing, and different HTF mixtures is simulated. Lastly, an economic analysis of the EFPC was conducted for hot water demand in a textile industry. The results revealed a payback period of 7.4 years, which highlights the feasibility of this system.
Hazrat, MA, Rasul, MG, Khan, MMK, Ashwath, N, Fattah, IMR, Ong, HC & Mahlia, TMI 2023, 'Biodiesel production from transesterification of Australian Brassica napus L. oil: optimisation and reaction kinetic model development', Environment, Development and Sustainability, vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 12247-12272.
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AbstractEdible oil-based feedstocks based biodiesel is still leading the industry around the world. Canola oil (Brassica napus L.) contributes significantly to that race. Process optimisation and the development of reaction kinetic models of edible oil feedstocks are still required since the knowledge of kinetics is needed for designing industrial facilities and evaluating the performance of catalysts during transesterification or other related processes in a biorefinery. This research focuses on the transesterification process for biodiesel production because of its higher output efficiency, reactivity with feedstock, techno-economic feasibility in terms of FFA content, and environmental sustainability. The response surface method with the Box–Behnken model was used to optimise the process. Multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also performed to investigate the effectiveness of the regression model. The optimal process conditions were found to be 5.89 M methanol, 0.5% (w/w) KOH, 60 °C and 120 min. The predicted yield was 99.5% for a 95% confidence interval (99.1, 99.9). The experimental yield was 99.6% for these conditions. Two different kinetic models were also developed in this study. The activation energy was 16.9% higher for the pseudo-first-order irreversible reaction than for the pseudo-homogenous irreversible reaction. Such a comprehensive analysis will assist stakeholders in evaluating the technology for industrial development in biodiesel fuel commercialisation.
He, Z, Fan, X, Jin, W, Gao, S, Yan, B, Chen, C, Ding, W, Yin, S, Zhou, X, Liu, H, Li, X & Wang, Q 2023, 'Chlorine-resistant bacteria in drinking water: Generation, identification and inactivation using ozone-based technologies', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 53, pp. 103772-103772.
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He, Z, Fan, X, Qu, L, Zhou, X, Jin, W, Hatshan, MR, Li, X, Liu, H, Jiang, G & Wang, Q 2023, 'Cultivation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Scenedesmus obliquus in swine wastewater: Nitrogen and phosphorus removal and microalgal growth', Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 179, pp. 887-895.
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Using microalgae to treat swine wastewater can effectively reduce the increasing pollution and save the cost of cultivating microalgae. In this study, the growth and denitrification and phosphorus removal effects of Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella pyrenoidosa at different dilutions in swine wastewater were investigated to solve the problem that microalgae could not be cultivated in the raw swine wastewater. After diluting the swine wastewater 8 and 12 times, the growth was optimized after 11 days of cultivation of Scenedesmus obliquus and 9 days of cultivation of Chlorella pyrenoidosa. Compared to Chlorella pyrenoidosa, the biomass and chlorophyll-a content were higher in Scenedesmus obliquus, at 1.48 g/L and 18.46 mg/L, respectively. The removal of nitrogen and phosphorus indicators was almost 100 %. Subsequently, Scenedesmus obliquus was cultured in an 8-fold dilution of swine and domestic wastewater, with dry weights of 0.83 g/L and 1.44 g/L, and lipid contents of 41.26 % and 25.11 %, respectively. Compared to Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Scenedesmus obliquus was more tolerant to nitrogen and phosphorus in swine wastewater, and at the same time, it had a higher growth rate, making it more suitable for treating swine wastewater and accumulating biomass.
He, Z, Zhou, X, Fan, X, Jin, W, Chen, C, Yan, B, Yin, S, Zhou, T, Li, X & Jiang, G 2023, 'Advanced oxidation-based combined conditioning technologies to improve sludge dewaterability: A mini review', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 53, pp. 103773-103773.
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Herdean, A, Hall, C, Hughes, DJ, Kuzhiumparambil, U, Diocaretz, BC & Ralph, PJ 2023, 'Temperature mapping of non-photochemical quenching in Chlorella vulgaris', Photosynthesis Research, vol. 155, no. 2, pp. 191-202.
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AbstractLight intensity and temperature independently impact all parts of the photosynthetic machinery in plants and algae. Yet to date, the vast majority of pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements have been performed at well-defined light intensities, but rarely at well-defined temperatures. In this work, we show that PAM measurements performed at various temperatures produce vastly different results in the chlorophyte Chlorella vulgaris. Using a recently developed Phenoplate technique to map quantum yield of Photosystem II (Y(II)) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) as a function of temperature, we show that the fast-relaxing NPQ follows an inverse normal distribution with respect to temperature and appears insensitive to previous temperature acclimation. The slow-relaxing or residual NPQ after 5 minutes of dark recovery follows a normal distribution similar to Y(II) but with a peak in the higher temperature range. Surprisingly, higher slow- and fast-relaxing NPQ values were observed in high-light relative to low-light acclimated cultures. Y(II) values peaked at the adaptation temperature regardless of temperature or light acclimation. Our novel findings show the complete temperature working spectrum of Y(II) and how excess energy quenching is managed across a wide range of temperatures in the model microalgal species C. vulgaris. Finally, we draw attention to the fact that the effect of the temperature component in PAM measurements has been wildly underestimated, and results from experiments at room temperature can be misleading.
Hoang, AT, Balasubramanian, D, Venugopal, IP, Rajendran, V, Nguyen, DT, Lawrence, KR, Nguyen, XP & Kalam, MA 2023, 'A feasible and promising approach for diesel engine fuelled with a blend of biodiesel and low-viscosity Cinnamon oil: A comprehensive analysis of performance, combustion, and exergy', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 401, pp. 136682-136682.
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Hoang, AT, Murugesan, P, PV, E, Balasubramanian, D, Parida, S, Priya Jayabal, C, Nachippan, M, Kalam, MA, Truong, TH, Cao, DN & Le, VV 2023, 'Strategic combination of waste plastic/tire pyrolysis oil with biodiesel for natural gas-enriched HCCI engine: Experimental analysis and machine learning model', Energy, vol. 280, pp. 128233-128233.
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Hoch, L, Herdean, A, Argyle, PA & Ralph, PJ 2023, 'High throughput phenomics for diatoms: Challenges and solutions', Progress in Oceanography, vol. 216, pp. 103074-103074.
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Hoque, M, Alam, M, Wang, S, Zaman, JU, Rahman, MS, Johir, MAH, Tian, L, Choi, J-G, Ahmed, MB & Yoon, M-H 2023, 'Interaction chemistry of functional groups for natural biopolymer-based hydrogel design', Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports, vol. 156, pp. 100758-100758.
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Hossain, SM, Yu, H, Choo, Y, Naidu, G, Han, DS & Shon, HK 2023, 'ZiF-8 induced carbon electrodes for selective lithium recovery from aqueous feed water by employing capacitive deionization system', Desalination, vol. 546, pp. 116201-116201.
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The demand for lithium (Li) will grow from about 500,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent in 2021 to 3–4 million metric tons in 2030. To meet the Li demand, the separation of Li-mixed monovalent and divalent cations is critical for Li extraction from an aqueous medium. Capacitive deionization (CDI) and membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) have recently emerged as viable water treatment technologies, yet ion-specific selective recovery using CDI systems is still under-investigated. In this study, the electrode surface of each system was modified to improve Li+ selectivity. Metal-organic frameworks (MOF), particularly zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZiF-8), have shown substantial promise due to their tunable pore size and pore channel chemistry. Through an aqueous medium-based surface modification, we offer a simple technique of synthesizing ZiF-8 on carbon electrodes and underneath the cation exchange membrane (CEM). The bare CDI and MCDI systems initially showed poor selectivity towards Li+ in the mono and divalent ion incorporated simulated solutions. The relative selectivity (ρMLi; (M = metal ions)) in the CDI system was estimated as 0.73, 0.43, 0.67, and 0.58 for Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+, respectively, which was 0.93, 0.97, 0.39, and 0.30 in the MCDI system. In the case of bare activated carbon (AC) electrodes, the difference of hydration enthalpy played a critical role in Li+ selectivity towards other monovalent ions. However, despite having high hydration enthalpy, the Mg2+ and Ca2+ showed low Li+ selectivity due to the superior charge density of divalent ions. On the other hand, after the modification of AC electrodes with in-situ growth of ZiF-8 on the surface, the Li+ selectivity for monovalent Na+ and K+ was estimated at 3.08 and 1.12, respectively, which is 4.2 and 2.6 times higher than the bare AC electrode, respectively. Besides, compared to Na+, the trade-off between the low dehydration energy of K+ and the rapid ion transit ...
Hosseinzadeh, A, Altaee, A, Li, X & Zhou, JL 2023, 'Machine learning-based modeling and analysis of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances controlling systems in protecting water resources', Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, vol. 42, pp. 100983-100983.
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Huang, C-W, Huang, W-Y, Lin, C, Li, Y-L, Huang, T-P, Bui, X-T & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Ecological risk assessment and corrective actions for dioxin-polluted sediment in a chemical plant's brine water storage pond', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 859, pp. 160239-160239.
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Huang, C-W, Li, Y-L, Lin, C, Bui, X-T, Vo, T-D-H & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Seasonal influence on pollution index and risk of multiple compositions of microplastics in an urban river', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 859, pp. 160021-160021.
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Emerging contaminant microplastics (MPs) are getting worldwide attention for their ubiquitous occurrence and potential risk to the environment. However, the seasonal influence on freshwater MP pollution remains poorly understood. To better understand and evaluate the riverine MPs in different seasons, this study conducted the risk assessment of MPs in an urban river, Houjin River, during the different seasons. The present study found that the MPs (0.1-5 mm, mostly 0.1-2 mm) were more abundant in the dry season (183.33 ± 128.95 items/m3) compared with the wet season (102.08 ± 45.80 items/m3). Similarly, the mixture of different MPs polymers was more diverse in the dry season. The related pollution indices such as the contamination factor (CF) and pollution load index (PLI) showed that average CF and PLI were 5.15 and 2.10 in the dry season, which significantly decreased to 1.58 and 1.25, respectively, in the wet season (p < 0.05). Additionally, significant difference of the average risk quotient (RQ) was observed, which was 0.037 in the dry season and 0.021 in the wet season (p < 0.05). To sum up, the results of this study indicate the seasonal effects on the pollution and risk of multiple compositions of MPs in the urban river, suggesting higher impacts of riverine MPs pollution in the dry season, as well as the potential increase of MPs, may lead to environmental risk in the future.
Huang, C-W, Lin, C, Nguyen, MK, Hussain, A, Bui, X-T & Ngo, HH 2023, 'A review of biosensor for environmental monitoring: principle, application, and corresponding achievement of sustainable development goals', Bioengineered, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 58-80.
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Huang, M, Cao, C, Liu, L, Wei, W, Zhu, Q-L & Huang, Z 2023, 'Controlled synthesis of MOF-derived hollow and yolk–shell nanocages for improved water oxidation and selective ethylene glycol reformation', eScience, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 100118-100118.
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Delicately designed metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived nanostructured electrocatalysts are essential for improving the reaction kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction and tuning the selectivity of small organic molecule oxidation reactions. Herein, novel oxalate-modified hollow CoFe-based layered double hydroxide nanocages (h-CoFe-LDH NCs) and yolk–shell ZIF@CoFe-LDH nanocages (ys-ZIF@CoFe-LDH NCs) are developed through an etching–doping reconstruction strategy from a Co-based MOF precursor (ZIF-67). The distinctive nanostructures, along with the incorporation of the secondary metal element and intercalated oxalate groups, enable h-CoFe-LDH NCs and ys-ZIF@CoFe-LDH NCs to expose more active sites with high intrinsic activity. The resultant h-CoFe-LDH NCs exhibit outstanding OER activity with an overpotential of only 278 mV to deliver a current density of 50 mA cm−2. Additionally, controlling the reconstruction degree enables the formation of ys-ZIF@CoFe-LDH NCs with a yolk–shell nanocage nanostructure, which show outstanding electrocatalytic performance for the selective ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) toward formate, with a Faradaic efficiency of up to 91%. Consequently, a hybrid water electrolysis system integrating the EGOR and the hydrogen evolution reaction using Pt/C||ys-ZIF@CoFe-LDH NCs is explored for energy-saving hydrogen production, requiring a cell voltage 127 mV lower than water electrolysis to achieve a current density of 50 mA cm−2. This work demonstrates a feasible way to design advanced MOF-derived electrocatalysts toward enhanced electrocatalytic reactions.
Huang, M, Zhou, S, Ma, D-D, Wei, W, Zhu, Q-L & Huang, Z 2023, 'MOF-derived MoC-Fe heterojunctions encapsulated in N-doped carbon nanotubes for water splitting', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 473, pp. 145170-145170.
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Engineering the synergistic interfacial structures in nanostructured electrocatalysts is an effective yet challenging pursuit. Here we report porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) entrapping heterojunctions between carbide and transition metal nanoparticles (NPs) as excellent bifunctional catalyst for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER). Dual-phase MoC and Fe NPs confined in NCNTs (denoted as MoC-Fe@NCNTs) was fabricated by trapping [Fe(C2O4)3]3– into Zn/Mo-HZIF framework followed by pyrolysis. The resultant catalyst exhibited commendable bifunctional activities with small overpotentials at 50 mA cm−2 for the HER of 252 and OER of 304 mV, respectively. Theoretical calculations and experimental observation prove that the combination of Fe NPs generates synergistic heterointerfaces and improves OER activity of MoC, thus endowing outstanding bifunctional electrocatalytic performances. Moreover, the NCNTs, as the electronic communication amplifier, can facilitate electron transfer and inhibit the aggregation and corrosion of the active species. The controllable fabrication of MOF-derived heterostructures reported in this work provides a prospect for developing bifunctional MOF derivatives for water electrolysis.
Huang, Q-S, Chu, C, Li, Q, Liu, Q, Liu, X, Sun, J, Ni, B-J & Mao, S 2023, 'Three-Phase Interface Construction on Hydrophobic Carbonaceous Catalysts for Highly Active and Selective Photocatalytic CO2 Conversion', ACS Catalysis, vol. 13, no. 17, pp. 11232-11243.
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Huang, W-Y, Huang, C-W, Li, Y-L, Huang, T-P, Lin, C, Ngo, HH & Bui, X-T 2023, 'Reduced pollution level and ecological risk of mercury-polluted sediment in a alkali-chlorine factory’s brine water storage pond after corrective actions: A case study in Southern Taiwan', Environmental Technology & Innovation, vol. 29, pp. 103003-103003.
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Huo, P, Deng, R, Chen, X, Liu, Y, Yang, L, Wu, L, Wei, W & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Model-Based Evaluation of N2O Recovery as an Energy Source in Sulfur-Driven NO-Based Autotrophic Denitrification', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 453, pp. 139732-139732.
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Instead of the conventional perception of nitrous oxide (N2O) as a potent greenhouse gas whose production should be minimized, this work aimed to assess N2O recovery as a potential energy source from nitric oxide (NO) in the form of Fe(II)EDTA-NO through element sulfur (S0) or thiosulfate (S2O32−)-driven NO-based autotrophic denitrification (SNADS0 or SNADS2O3). A mathematical model was proposed to describe substrate dynamics related to N2O production and reduction and was successfully calibrated and validated using batch experimental data from lab-scale SNADS0 and SNADS2O3 systems under different substrates conditions. The model was subsequently employed to assess the potential of N2O accumulation and recovery by altering the S/N mass ratio and the ratio of gas volume to liquid volume of the system. The simulation results suggested that with a S/N mass ratio of nearly 1.0, high-purity N2O could be more rapidly and efficiently recovered from Fe(II)EDTA-NO in the SNADS0 and SNADS2O3 systems with a higher ratio of gas volume to liquid volume (i.e., a N2O recovery efficiency of up to 80.2%−84.9% reached within 3.1 h−3.5 h under the studied conditions). Comparatively, the SNADS0 process showed an economic and viable advantage for practical applications to the efficient treatment and resource utilization of NO-containing flue gas.
Huo, Y, Zheng, H, Jiang, Y, Chen, H, Cao, W, Mameda, N, Nghiem, LD, Zhang, X & Liu, Q 2023, 'Comparison and Characterization of Nitrogen/Sulfur-Doped Activated Carbon for Activating Peroxydisulfate to Degrade Acid Orange 7: An Experimental and Theoretical Study', Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 62, no. 30, pp. 11894-11904.
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Hussain, A, Wu, SC, Le, T-H, Huang, W-Y, Lin, C, Bui, X-T & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Enhanced biodegradation of endocrine disruptor bisphenol A by food waste composting without bioaugmentation: Analysis of bacterial communities and their relative abundances', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 460, pp. 132345-132345.
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Ibrar, I, Alsaka, L, Yadav, S, Altaee, A, Zhou, JL & Shon, HK 2023, 'Kappa carrageenan-vanillin composite hydrogel for landfill leachate wastewater treatment', Desalination, vol. 565, pp. 116826-116826.
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Ibrar, I, Yadav, S, Altaee, A, Braytee, A, Samal, AK, Zaid, SMJ & Hawari, AH 2023, 'A machine learning approach for prediction of reverse solute flux in forward osmosis', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 54, pp. 103956-103956.
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Ijaz Malik, MA, Kalam, MA, Mujtaba, MA & Almomani, F 2023, 'A review of recent advances in the synthesis of environmentally friendly, sustainable, and nontoxic bio-lubricants: Recommendations for the future implementations', Environmental Technology & Innovation, vol. 32, pp. 103366-103366.
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Imran, S, Gul, M, Kalam, MA, Zulkifli, NWM, Mujtaba, MA, Yusoff, MNAM & Awang, MSN 2023, 'Effect of various nanoparticle biodiesel blends on thermal efficiency and exhaust pollutants', International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 937-948.
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Imran, S, Mujtaba, MA, Zafar, MM, Hussain, A, Mehmood, A, Farwa, UE, Korakianitis, T, Kalam, MA, Fayaz, H & Saleel, CA 2023, 'Assessing the potential of GHG emissions for the textile sector: A baseline study', Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 11, pp. e22404-e22404.
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Inayat, A, Jamil, F, Ahmed, SF, Ayoub, M, Abdul, PM, Aslam, M, Mofijur, M, Khan, Z & Mustafa, A 2023, 'Thermal degradation characteristics, kinetic and thermodynamic analyses of date palm surface fibers at different heating rates', Fuel, vol. 335, pp. 127076-127076.
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The potential of the least-exploited date pam waste was presented as feedstock for bio-oil production. The surface fibers of the date palm are widely available as waste material in the Gulf region, the Middle East, and Africa. Chemical composition analysis and physiochemical characterization showed that surface fibers are valuable feedstock for energy production. Surface fibers were analyzed thermogravimetrically at different heating rates (10, 20, and 30 °C /min) in an inert atmosphere. Decomposition was carried out in three stages: dehydration, devolatilization, and solid combustion. Kinetic analysis was performed on the devolatilization region using the Coats–Redfern model–fitting method using twenty–one reaction mechanisms from four different solid-state reaction mechanisms. Two diffusion models: one–way transport (g(x) = α2) and Valensi equation (g(x) = α+(1-α) × ln(1-α)) showed the highest regression coefficient (R2) with the experimental data. The activation energy (Ea) and the pre-exponential factor (A) was estimated to be 91.40 kJ/mol and 1.59 × 103 –29.39 × 103 min−1, respectively. The kinetic parameters were found to be dependent on the heating rate. The surface fibers' thermodynamic parameters ΔH, ΔG, and ΔS were 80–97, 151–164, and −0.17- −0.18 kJ/mol, respectively. This indicates that the pyrolysis of surface fibers is endothermal and not spontaneous. Since there is not much experimental work on the pyrolysis of surface fibers available in the literature, the reported results are crucial for designing the pyrolysis process.
Inbanaathan, PV, Balasubramanian, D, Nguyen, VN, Le, VV, Wae-Hayee, M, R, R, Veza, I, Yukesh, N, Kalam, MA, Sonthalia, A & Varuvel, EG 2023, 'Comprehensive study on using hydrogen-gasoline-ethanol blends as flexible fuels in an existing variable speed SI engine', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 48, no. 99, pp. 39531-39552.
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Islam Rony, Z, Mofijur, M, Hasan, MM, Rasul, MG, Jahirul, MI, Forruque Ahmed, S, Kalam, MA, Anjum Badruddin, I, Yunus Khan, TM & Show, P-L 2023, 'Alternative fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from marine transport and promote UN sustainable development goals', Fuel, vol. 338, pp. 127220-127220.
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The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has placed stricter controls on several aspects of global maritime transport operations to protect the environment. In light of this, the goal of this study is to examine and assess the different prospective paths and technologies that will assist the shipping industry in decarbonizing its operations. We consider how the utilisation of various alternative energy sources reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from marine transportation and contributes to the promotion of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). The complexities associated with maritime industry operations using alternative energy sources are also explored. Biofuel as an alternative energy source, including biomethanol and biodiesel, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry by 25% to 100%. However, the current supply of biofuels can only meet about 15% of the total demand which is not sufficient to sustainably power the entire marine fleet. There are several issues associated with these biofuels, including oxidation, ecological consequences, feedstock availability, technical and operational constraints, and economic factors that must be addressed before their full potential may be achieved.
Izadi, R, Assarian, D, Altaee, A & Mahinroosta, M 2023, 'Investigation of methods for fuel desulfurization wastewater treatment', Chemical Engineering Research and Design, vol. 190, pp. 198-219.
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Jathar, LD, Ganesan, S, Awasarmol, U, Nikam, K, Shahapurkar, K, Soudagar, MEM, Fayaz, H, El-Shafay, AS, Kalam, MA, Bouadila, S, Baddadi, S, Tirth, V, Nizami, AS, Lam, SS & Rehan, M 2023, 'Comprehensive review of environmental factors influencing the performance of photovoltaic panels: Concern over emissions at various phases throughout the lifecycle', Environmental Pollution, vol. 326, pp. 121474-121474.
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Jiang, J, Dorji, P, Badeti, U, Sohn, W, Freguia, S, Phuntsho, S, El Saliby, I & Shon, HK 2023, 'Potential nutrient recovery from source-separated urine through hybrid membrane bioreactor and membrane capacitive deionisation', Desalination, vol. 566, pp. 116924-116924.
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Jiang, W, Tao, J, Luo, J, Xie, W, Zhou, X, Cheng, B, Guo, G, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Cai, H, Ye, Y, Chen, Y & Pozdnyakov, IP 2023, 'Pilot-scale two-phase anaerobic digestion of deoiled food waste and waste activated sludge: Effects of mixing ratios and functional analysis', Chemosphere, vol. 329, pp. 138653-138653.
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Kabir, MM, Akter, MM, Huang, Z, Tijing, L & Shon, HK 2023, 'Hydrogen production from water industries for a circular economy', Desalination, vol. 554, pp. 116448-116448.
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Kabir, MM, Nahar, N, Akter, MM, Alam, F, Gilroyed, BH, Misu, MM, Didar-ul-Alam, M, Hakim, M, Tijing, L & Shon, HK 2023, 'Agro-waste-based functionalized and economic adsorbents for the effective treatment of toxic contaminants from tannery effluent', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 52, pp. 103578-103578.
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The present investigation explored two novel adsorbents, i.e., hydroxyapatite (HAP) and moringa-modified activated carbon (MMAC) from eggshell and moringa (Moringa oleifera) seeds, respectively, for the treatment of tannery effluents (TE). Particular emphasis was given to Cr(VI) adsorption when varying equilibration time, effluent pH, initial concentration of Cr(VI) and temperature. The adsorbents' characteristics suggested significant Cr(VI) accumulation onto the adsorbent's surface, whereas adsorption modelling recommended pseudo-second-order (PSO) and Langmuir models fitted well with the experimental data based on the regression coefficient (R2) values with minimum errors. The surface complexation model (SCM) indicated that speciation of Cr(VI) sorbed complexes formed an inner-sphere compound dominated by acidic pH, validated by pHpzc. The maximum adsorption capacities (qmax) of Cr(VI) were accounted to be 295 and 280 mg/g for HAP and MMAC, correspondingly. Interestingly, both adsorbents effectively removed other metallic ions; Fe, Pd, Cu and Zn removal was 85 %, while Cd, Ni, and Mn removal was 70 %. The Cr(VI) adsorption processes followed chemisorption mechanisms dominated by the surface complexation phenomenon. The performance of a 100 L packed-bed reactor was evaluated, and the breakthrough time of Cr(VI) adsorption for both adsorbents was 15 min. The adsorbents had splendid regeneration capacities and could be re-used numerous times. In essence, the present study concludes that both adsorbents are highly effective at removing Cr(VI) and other contaminants. The adsorbents are innovative and economical and can be one of the breakthrough feasible options for treating toxic contaminants in a large-scale TE.
Kabir, MM, Roy, SK, Alam, F, Nam, SY, Im, KS, Tijing, L & Shon, HK 2023, 'Machine learning-based prediction and optimization of green hydrogen production technologies from water industries for a circular economy', Desalination, vol. 567, pp. 116992-116992.
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Currently, there exists a significant number of green hydrogen production (GHP) technologies based on scaling-up issues (SCUI). Optimal prediction and process optimization could be one of the most substantial SCUI of GHP. Machine learning (ML)-based prediction and optimization of GHP technologies from water industries for a circular economy (CRE) could be a plausible solution for these SCUI. We studied a detailed techno-economic and environmental feasibility study, which recommended proton exchange membrane (PEM) and dark fermentation (DF) as the most promising and environment-friendly technologies for GHP. Thus, the present investigation aims to apply different ML models to predict and optimize the GHP of DF and PEM technologies to solve the SCUI. The results revealed K-nearest neighbor and random forest are the best-fitted models to predict GHP for DF and PEM, correspondingly based on the regression co-efficient (R2), root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MEA). The permutation variable index (PVI) recommended that chemical oxygen demand (COD), butyrate, temperature, pH and acetate/butyrate ratio are the most influential process parameters in decreasing order for DF, while temperature, cell areas, cell pressure, cell voltage and catalysts loadings are the most effective process parameters for PEM in reducing order. The partial dependency analysis (PDA) demonstrated GHP increases with increasing COD values up to 10 mg/L, and the optimal temperature range in the DF process is between 25 and 30 °C. On the other hand, cell temperature up to 35 °C should be considered optimum for PEM, and 40–70 cm2 cell areas could produce a significant GHP. In summary, the present study underscores the potential of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) as promising techniques for optimizing GHP, ultimately addressing scaling-up challenges in large-scale industrial GHP production and ensuring a sustainable hydrogen economy (HE).
Kalam, MA, Asif, CAA, Stormer, A, Bishop, T, Jackson‐deGraffenried, M & Talukder, A 2023, 'Use of designing for behaviour change framework in identifying and addressing barriers to and enablers of animal source feeding to children ages 8–23 months in Bandarban Hill District in Bangladesh: Implications for a nutrition‐sensitive agriculture programme', Maternal & Child Nutrition, vol. 19, no. 2.
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AbstractInadequate diet quality is a cause of undernutrition among children 6–23 months of age in Bangladesh, particularly in remote and isolated areas such as Bandarban District. Feeding animal source foods can help to combat stunting and wasting problems among children, but it may not be accessible or acceptable. A barrier analysis using the Designing for Behavior Change Framework was conducted in Bandarban district with participants from 4 ethnic groups, to explore potential barriers and key motivators by examining 12 behavioural determinants of consumption of animal‐source food in complementary feeding for children 8–23 months. Data were collected from 45 mothers of children 8–23 months, who provided animal‐source foods to their children (doers), and from 45 mothers who did not (non‐doers), for a total of 90 interviews. Nine determinants were statistically significantly different between doers and non‐doers as follows: self‐efficacy, positive consequences, negative consequences, social norms, access, reminders, perceived risk, perceived severity and perceived action efficacy. Nearby access to purchase animal‐source foods, rearing poultry or livestock at home and the support of household and community members are enablers to feeding animal‐source food. In contrast, these same factors are barriers for non‐doers. The lack of money to spend on animal‐source foods is also a barrier. An integrated nutrition‐sensitive and gender‐transformative animal‐based food production, and inclusive market programme could increase access to meat and eggs at the household level, increase opportunities to earn income and support gender‐equitable household workloads and decision‐making for optimal child feeding.
Kang, X, Li, C, Ding, W, Ma, Y, Zhou, X, Gao, S, Chen, C, Liu, W, He, Z, Li, X & Jiang, G 2023, 'Optimization of biological enzymes combined with Fe2+-activated advanced oxidation process for waste activated sludge conditioning using the response surface method', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 53, pp. 103634-103634.
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Karbassiyazdi, E, Altaee, A, Ibrar, I, Razmjou, A, Alsaka, L, Ganbat, N, Malekizadeh, A, Ghobadi, R & Khabbaz, H 2023, 'Fabrication of carbon-based hydrogel membrane for landfill leachate wastewater treatment', Desalination, vol. 564, pp. 116783-116783.
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The challenge of effectively managing the discharge of metal ions into aquatic environments, which poses a significant risk to both human health and ecosystems, persists despite the availability of various analytical tools and techniques. There are limitations of existing separation technologies and the inefficacy of hydrogel materials in removing low molecular weight contaminants, such as metal ions, in aqueous solutions. This study added carbon powder to the hydrogel membrane to reduce the low-mechanical strength and drying problems and increase its capacity for adsorbing ionic and non-ionic substances. The study introduced a novel carbon-based aluminium hydroxide hydrogel for wastewater filtration. CG was characterized using various analytical techniques, including examining surface morphology, elemental analysis, surface functional groups, and surface charge. These analytical tools provided a comprehensive understanding of the properties and performance of the CG. The effects of different carbon-based hydrogel (CG) concentrations on water flux and ion rejection were evaluated in a gravity filtration setup. Experiments investigated the influence of different ion concentrations, activated carbon (AC) concentration, centrifugation, water flux, and rejection on removing heavy metals from synthetic and natural wastewater. The pure water flux of the hydrogel membrane was 120 LMH. The results indicated that an AC concentration of 4 g/L in the aqueous solution is optimal for heavy metals removal, with 99.9 % removal for Pb2+ and Cu2+, 84 % rejection for Ca2+, and 85 % rejection for Mg2+ in 10 mg/L of synthetic water. Besides, the 4 g/L AC hydrogel membrane removed 90 % of Ni, Zn, Pb, As, and Cu ions and 53 % of the total organic carbon from leachate wastewater.
Karbassiyazdi, E, Altaee, A, Razmjou, A, Samal, AK & Khabbaz, H 2023, 'Gravity-driven composite cellulose acetate/activated carbon aluminium-based hydrogel membrane for landfill wastewater treatment', Chemical Engineering Research and Design, vol. 200, pp. 682-692.
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Karbassiyazdi, E, Kasula, M, Modak, S, Pala, J, Kalantari, M, Altaee, A, Esfahani, MR & Razmjou, A 2023, 'A juxtaposed review on adsorptive removal of PFAS by metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with carbon-based materials, ion exchange resins, and polymer adsorbents', Chemosphere, vol. 311, pp. 136933-136933.
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KB, H, S, V, G, N, R, P, Alwetaishi, M, Alahmadi, AA, Alzaed, AN, MA, K & Shahapurkar, K 2023, 'Effects of machining parameters on H13 die steel using CNC drilling machine', Composites and Advanced Materials, vol. 32.
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In order to enhance the fitness of the product and in order to improve productivity in turning operations, greater amount of challenges have been faced. In this paper, we have made a comparative analysis of HSS and carbide coated HSS drills while machining with H13 steel plates. For the drilling operation, process parameters were analysed using the Taguchi design of experiments. The response performance characteristics of surface roughness of H13 die steel plates for the drilling settings, cutting speed (rpm), and feed rate (mm/min) is optimized. The design of the experiment was conducted using the Taguchi technique for the L18 orthogonal array, and an analysis of variance was observed. The effect of drilling settings on the quality of drilled holes is examined; variation in surface roughness for various levels of speed and feed and the different combinations of these levels will form an L18 orthogonal array design of experiment by Taguchi analysis. A total of 36 cutting tests were performed with two different drill bits; here three different cutting speeds of 300, 600, and 900 rpm were taken with a feed rate of 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06 mm/rev combinations. The response of SN ratio for surface roughness of HSS and carbide tool has been found out for different levels of speed and feed. From this Taguchi analysis, it is identified that the optimal parameter. As a result, the factors are analysed, and optimized parameters have been concluded for H13 material using HSS, and carbide tools were examined both statistically and experimentally. The carbide coated drill bit gives 60% better surface roughness value based on experimental data obtained. The surface roughness value based on experimentation for HSS tool was found to be 34.16% and carbide coated drill bit was 23.40%.
Khabbaz, H, Rujikiatkamjorn, C & Parsa, A 2023, 'Preface', Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol. 325 LNCE, pp. v-vi.
Khan, A, Ibrar, I, Mirdad, A, Al-Juboori, RA, Deka, P, Subbiah, S & Altaee, A 2023, 'Novel Approach to Landfill Wastewater Treatment Fouling Mitigation: Air Gap Membrane Distillation with Tin Sulfide-Coated PTFE Membrane', Membranes, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 483-483.
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This study addressed the fouling issue in membrane distillation (M.D.) technology, a promising method for water purification and wastewater reclamation. To enhance the anti-fouling properties of the M.D. membrane, a tin sulfide (TS) coating onto polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was proposed and evaluated with air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) using landfill leachate wastewater at high recovery rates (80% and 90%). The presence of TS on the membrane surface was confirmed using various techniques, such as Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), contact angle measurement, and porosity analysis. The results indicated the TS-PTFE membrane exhibited better anti-fouling properties than the pristine PTFE membrane, and its fouling factors (FFs) were 10.4–13.1% compared to 14.4–16.5% for the PTFE membrane. The fouling was attributed to pore blockage and cake formation of carbonous and nitrogenous compounds. The study also found that physical cleaning with deionized (DI) water effectively restored the water flux, with more than 97% recovered for the TS-PTFE membrane. Additionally, the TS-PTFE membrane showed better water flux and product quality at 55 °C and excellent stability in maintaining the contact angle over time compared to the PTFE membrane.
Khan, AUH, Liu, Y, Fang, C, Naidu, R, Shon, HK, Rogers, Z & Dharmarajan, R 2023, 'A comprehensive physicochemical characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles extracted from sunscreens and wastewaters', Environmental Advances, vol. 12, pp. 100381-100381.
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Khan, AUH, Naidu, R, Dharmarajan, R, Fang, C, Shon, H, Dong, Z & Liu, Y 2023, 'The interaction mechanisms of co-existing polybrominated diphenyl ethers and engineered nanoparticles in environmental waters: A critical review', Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 124, pp. 227-252.
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Khan, NA, Hussain Khoja, A, Ahmed, N, Riaz, F, Mahmood, M, Ali, M, Kalam, MA & Mujtaba, MA 2023, 'Solar-assisted hybrid oil heating system for heavy refinery products storage', Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, vol. 49, pp. 103276-103276.
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Khavari Kashani, MR, Wang, Q, Khatebasreh, M, Li, X, Sheikh Asadi, AM, Boczkaj, G & Ghanbari, F 2023, 'Sequential treatment of landfill leachate by electrocoagulation/aeration, PMS/ZVI/UV and electro-Fenton: Performance, biodegradability and toxicity studies', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 338, pp. 117781-117781.
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This study presents a systematic study on sequential treatment of highly resistant landfill leachate by electrocoagulation (EC)/aeration, sulfate radical advanced oxidation process (SR-AOP) and electro-Fenton (EF). In case of SR-AOP, peroxymonosulfate (PMS) catalyzed by zero valent iron (ZVI) and ultraviolet irradiation (UV) system was developed. Treatment process was optimized in respect to COD removal. Analysis of results revealed that sequential application of EC/aeration, PMS/ZVI/UV, and EF processes provide an extraordinary performance and meet the environmental regulations. The source of iron for EF process was provided from previous process reducing the cost of sequential process. Separately, EC/aeration (inlet COD = 4040 mg/L), PMS/ZVI/UV (inlet COD = 1560 mg/L), and EF (inlet COD = 471 mg/L) removed 61, 69 and 82% of COD respectively. Overall, sequential processes of EC/aeration, PMS/ZVI/UV and EF could remove the COD, TOC and ammonia of the landfill leachate around 98%, 93% and 94%, respectively. The comparison of different sequences of following processes indicated that current configuration (EC/aeration-PMS/ZVI/UV-EF) could meet the discharge standards. Furthermore, humification degree was significantly improved after oxidative processes. Biodegradability study was also performed by means of BOD/COD, average oxidation state (AOS), and Zahn-Wellens test, and the best results associated with these indices were obtained 0.56, 2.37, and over 98%, respectively. Phytotoxicity of leachate was remarkably reduced and the final effluent can be considered as a non-phytotoxic wastewater.
Khounani, Z, Abdul Razak, NN, Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha, H, Madadi, M, Sun, F, Fattah, IMR, Karimi, K, Gupta, VK, Aghbashlo, M & Tabatabaei, M 2023, 'Assessing the environmental impacts of furfural production in a poplar wood biorefinery: A study on the role of mannitol concentration and catalyst type', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 203, pp. 117230-117230.
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Kim, B-J, Shon, HK, Han, DS & Park, H 2023, 'In-situ desalination-coupled electrolysis with concurrent one-step-synthesis of value-added chemicals', Desalination, vol. 551, pp. 116431-116431.
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Kim, J, Tijing, L, Shon, HK & Hong, S 2023, 'Electrically conductive membrane distillation via an alternating current operation for zero liquid discharge', Water Research, vol. 244, pp. 120510-120510.
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Kołodziejczak-Radzimska, A, Bielejewski, M, Zembrzuska, J, Ciesielczyk, F, Jesionowski, T & Nghiem, LD 2023, 'Exploring the functionality of an active ZrF-laccase biocatalyst towards tartrazine decolorization', Environmental Technology & Innovation, vol. 31, pp. 103201-103201.
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Kulandaivelu, J, Chen, Y, Choi, PM, Li, X, Rebosura, M, Song, Y, Yuan, Z, Mueller, JF & Jiang, G 2023, 'Fate of micropollutants in a lab-scale urban wastewater system: Impact of iron-rich drinking water treatment sludge', Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, vol. 12, pp. 100360-100360.
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Kumar, A, Naidu, G, Fukuda, H, Du, F, Vigneswaran, S, Drioli, E & Lienhard, JH 2023, 'Correction to “Metals Recovery from Seawater Desalination Brines: Technologies, Opportunities, and Challenges”', ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 464-465.
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Lal Mohammadi, E, Khaksar Najafi, E, Zanganeh Ranjbar, P, Payan, M, Jamshidi Chenari, R & Fatahi, B 2023, 'Recycling industrial alkaline solutions for soil stabilization by low-concentrated fly ash-based alkali cements', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 393, pp. 132083-132083.
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Lalsangi, S, Yaliwal, VS, Banapurmath, NR, Soudagar, MEM, Ağbulut, Ü & Kalam, MA 2023, 'Analysis of CRDI diesel engine characteristics operated on dual fuel mode fueled with biodiesel-hydrogen enriched producer gas under the single and multi-injection scheme', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 48, no. 74, pp. 28927-28944.
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Le, L-T, Nghiem, LD, Bui, X-T & Jahng, D 2023, 'Improve nitrogen removal of the biofilm single-stage PN/A process by optimizing the intermittent aeration strategy', Environmental Technology & Innovation, vol. 30, pp. 103078-103078.
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Le, T, Desa, S & Khabbaz, H 2023, 'The Influence Of Bagasse Fly Ash Particle Size In Controlling Expansive Soils In Combination With Hydrated Lime', Australian Geomechanics Journal, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 47-57.
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Sugarcane is the second largest export crop in Australia. Industrial production of sugar, from sugarcane, results in bagasse fly ash (BFA), a by-product from the cogeneration in sugar milling operations that generate electricity by steam. The chemical and physical properties of BFA highlight its potential as a promising pozzolan for the stabilization of expansive soils, due primarily to a high content and surface area of the amorphous silicate found in BFA. Silicate in bagasse fly ash reacts extensively with calcium hydrate in lime to produce hydrated products via pozzolanic reactions, this results in a hardening of the material to which BFA and lime have been added. This reaction has been studied to be a function of the size of BFA particles and conditions of the curing process. This study explored the variables that influence the reaction and evaluated shrinkage and compressive strength of the mixtures to which bagasse fly ash, in the form of different particle size distributions, and hydrated lime are added. The maximum BFA particles sizes considered within this study include 75, 150 and 425 μm; curing times of 7 and 28 days are also explored. A suite of testing, including Atterberg limits, linear shrinkage (LS), and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests were completed on the prepared mixtures. The findings indicate that bagasse fly ash with a maximum size of 425 μm yields a higher UCS and lower LS, compared to finer BFA particle mixtures. The ash with a maximum particle size of 425-μm also improves the ductility of treated soils and accelerates their strength gain, compared to soil- lime stabilized samples. The results of the study build towards a better understanding of BFA, and the ways in which such a material maybe engineered to replace concrete in road work projects and other applications involving expansive soils.
Le, T-H, Tran, D-T, Vu, T-P-T & Nghiem, LD 2023, 'A novel tertiary magnetic ZnFe2O4/BiOBr/rGO nanocomposite catalyst for photodegrading organic contaminants by visible light', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 891, pp. 164358-164358.
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Li, D, Ma, XY, Zhang, S, Wang, YK, Han, Y, Chen, R, Wang, XC & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Aquatic photolysis of high-risk chemicals of emerging concern from secondary effluent mediated by sunlight irradiation for ecological safety and the enhanced methods', Water Research, vol. 238, pp. 120002-120002.
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Li, D, Ou, T, Fu, Q, Li, D-S, Liu, Z & Sun, Y 2023, 'A Novel Thin Film Composite Membrane for Osmotic Energy Generation', Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 62, no. 14, pp. 5889-5897.
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Li, D, Ou, T, Fu, Q, Li, D-S, Liu, Z & Sun, Y 2023, 'A Novel Thin Film Composite Membrane for Osmotic Energy Generation', INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH, vol. 62, no. 14, pp. 5889-5897.
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Li, J, Li, X, Liu, H, Gao, L, Wang, W, Wang, Z, Zhou, T & Wang, Q 2023, 'Climate change impacts on wastewater infrastructure: A systematic review and typological adaptation strategy', Water Research, vol. 242, pp. 120282-120282.
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Wastewater infrastructures play an indispensable role in society's functioning, human production activities, and sanitation safety. However, climate change has posed a serious threat to wastewater infrastructures. To date, a comprehensive summary with rigorous evidence evaluation for the impact of climate change on wastewater infrastructure is lacking. We conducted a systematic review for scientific literature, grey literature, and news. In total, 61,649 documents were retrieved, and 96 of them were deemed relevant and subjected to detailed analysis. We developed a typological adaptation strategy for city-level decision-making for cities in all-income contexts to cope with climate change for wastewater structures. 84% and 60% of present studies focused on the higher-income countries and sewer systems, respectively. Overflow, breakage, and corrosion were the primary challenge for sewer systems, while inundation and fluctuation of treatment performance were the major issues for wastewater treatment plants. In order to adapt to the climate change impact, typological adaptation strategy was developed to provide a simple guideline to rapidly select the adaptation measures for vulnerable wastewater facilities for cities with various income levels. Future studies are encouraged to focus more on the model-related improvement/prediction, the impact of climate change on other wastewater facilities besides sewers, and countries with low or lower-middle incomes. This review provided insight to comprehensively understand the climate change impact on wastewater facilities and facilitate the policymaking in coping with climate change.
Li, P, Li, W, Wang, K, Zhou, JL, Castel, A, Zhang, S & Shah, SP 2023, 'Hydration of Portland cement with seawater toward concrete sustainability: Phase evolution and thermodynamic modelling', Cement and Concrete Composites, vol. 138, pp. 105007-105007.
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To mitigate the shortage of freshwater resource in the island and coastal regions, using seawater (SW) for concrete mix can provide significant economic and environmental benefits. To achieve a safe and reliable application, in-depth investigation is needed on hydration of Portland cement in SW. The composition of solid and liquid phases in hydrated Portland cement was quantitively determined and analysed in this study. The use of SW not only significantly increases the hydration rate of clinker but also affects the evolution of phase assemblage. Both the thermodynamic calculations and experimental determinations indicates the formation of Friedel's salt (FS) instead of sulfo-AFm in hydrated cement by SW, implying sulfate ions cannot compete with chloride ions to combine with AFm phases. The characteristic reaction in SW leads to higher sulfate concentration, thus indirectly hindering ettringite (AFt) conversion at the late stage. Through the experimental quantification of thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis, the kinetic model of clinker dissolution was modified to be more suitable for the hydration of Portland cement in SW. The calculation from coupled models exhibits a novel method to evaluate the evolution of phases in cement hydration. Through model calculations, 3.70% higher solid volume and 12.2% lower liquid volume were obtained in the cement-SW paste at the end of the hydration, which may cause the mechanical properties to be more sensitive under environmental humidity and the temperature.
Li, W, Li, X, Han, C, Gao, L, Wu, H & Li, M 2023, 'A new view into three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy for dissolved organic matter', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 855, pp. 158963-158963.
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Three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3D EEMs) has been extensively used for dissolved organic matter (DOM) characterization. However, the application of 3D EEMs is constantly limited by issues such as contradictory component identification, confusing interpretation of spectral indicators, and inability to establish biodegradability. In this study, some improvements were proposed by investigating the 3D EEMs, spectral indicators, and degradability of the standard and representative DOM. To overcome the unclear identification of DOM components, it was recommended to partition 3D EEMs into three subareas: aromatic protein (New-I), humic-like (New-II), and soluble microbial by-product-like (New-III). Significant strong positive correlations (ρ = 0.727, P < 0.001) were observed between fluorescence index (FI) and biological index (BIX), and (R = 0.809, P < 0.001) humification index (HIX) and specific ultraviolet absorbance of 254 nm (SUVA254). Except for FI (R = -0.483, P = 0.023), no other spectral indicators (P > 0.05) were found to be significantly correlated with molecular weight. As thence results, the FI and HIX were the most suitable indicators for evaluating DOM. The half-life (20 < 21 < 26 < 29 < 46 days) revealed that the degradability of individual DOM components was in the order of tyrosine > tryptophan > fulvic acid > protein > humic acid. The degradation dynamics were governed by first-order decay kinetics (R2 = 0.91-0.99). This study clarified the fluorescence properties and degradability of DOM, as well as the reliability of spectral indicators. The degradation performance of individual DOM components engaged in the carbon cycling process was revealed, paving the path for further applications of 3D EEMs in DOM research.
Li, X, Liu, H, Gao, L, Sherchan, SP, Zhou, T, Khan, SJ, van Loosdrecht, MCM & Wang, Q 2023, 'Wastewater-based epidemiology predicts COVID-19-induced weekly new hospital admissions in over 150 USA counties', Nature Communications, vol. 14, no. 1, p. 4548.
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AbstractAlthough the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emergency status is easing, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect healthcare systems globally. It is crucial to have a reliable and population-wide prediction tool for estimating COVID-19-induced hospital admissions. We evaluated the feasibility of using wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to predict COVID-19-induced weekly new hospitalizations in 159 counties across 45 states in the United States of America (USA), covering a population of nearly 100 million. Using county-level weekly wastewater surveillance data (over 20 months), WBE-based models were established through the random forest algorithm. WBE-based models accurately predicted the county-level weekly new admissions, allowing a preparation window of 1-4 weeks. In real applications, periodically updated WBE-based models showed good accuracy and transferability, with mean absolute error within 4-6 patients/100k population for upcoming weekly new hospitalization numbers. Our study demonstrated the potential of using WBE as an effective method to provide early warnings for healthcare systems.
Li, X, Liu, H, Zhang, Z, Zhou, T & Wang, Q 2023, 'Sulfite pretreatment enhances the medium-chain fatty acids production from waste activated sludge anaerobic fermentation', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 871, pp. 162080-162080.
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Production of high-value medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) from anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS) has been considered as a promising alternative for renewable energy resources. However, the low biodegradability of WAS greatly limits the anaerobic fermentation performance. This study proposed and demonstrated a novel approach, sulfite pretreatment, to efficiently produce MCFAs through anaerobic fermentation of WAS. Pretreatment of WAS at a sulfite concentration of 100-500 mg S/L for 24 h effectively improved the MCFAs production and MCFAs selectivity and the promotion effect was positively correlated with the sulfite concentration used in pretreatment (Pearson's R > 0.9). The maximum MCFAs production of 6.84 g COD/L and MCFAs selectivity of 39.1 % were both achieved under 500 mg S/L sulfite pretreatment, which accounts for 2.6 times and 2.4 times of the control, respectively (MCFAs production of 2.62 g COD/L and MCFAs selectivity of 16.4 % in the control). Sulfite pretreatment also enhanced the WAS degradation from 25 ± 2 % in the control to a maximum of 39 ± 2 % under 500 mg S/L sulfite pretreatment. The electron transfer efficiency and COD flows from the substrate to products were enhanced by up to 25 % due to the sulfite pretreatment, which supports the enhanced WAS degradation. Sulfite pretreatment also promoted the solubilization, hydrolysis, and acidification processes during the anaerobic fermentation by up to 200 %, 60 %, and 45 %, respectively, which subsequently makes more substrates available for MCFAs production. The findings from this study provide a potential solution of using industrial sulfite-laden wastes for WAS pretreatment, to enhance the MCFAs production at a minimized cost.
Li, X, Zhang, S, Sherchan, S, Orive, G, Lertxundi, U, Haramoto, E, Honda, R, Kumar, M, Arora, S, Kitajima, M & Jiang, G 2023, 'Correlation between SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in wastewater and COVID-19 cases in community: A systematic review and meta-analysis', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 441, pp. 129848-129848.
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Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been considered as a promising approach for population-wide surveillance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Many studies have successfully quantified severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA concentration in wastewater (CRNA). However, the correlation between the CRNA and the COVID-19 clinically confirmed cases in the corresponding wastewater catchments varies and the impacts of environmental and other factors remain unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to identify the correlation between CRNA and various types of clinically confirmed case numbers, including prevalence and incidence rates. The impacts of environmental factors, WBE sampling design, and epidemiological conditions on the correlation were assessed for the same datasets. The systematic review identified 133 correlation coefficients, ranging from -0.38 to 0.99. The correlation between CRNA and new cases (either daily new, weekly new, or future cases) was stronger than that of active cases and cumulative cases. These correlation coefficients were potentially affected by environmental and epidemiological conditions and WBE sampling design. Larger variations of air temperature and clinical testing coverage, and the increase of catchment size showed strong negative impacts on the correlation between CRNA and COVID-19 case numbers. Interestingly, the sampling technique had negligible impact although increasing the sampling frequency improved the correlation. These findings highlight the importance of viral shedding dynamics, in-sewer decay, WBE sampling design and clinical testing on the accurate back-estimation of COVID-19 case numbers through the WBE approach.
Li, Y, Zhang, X, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Long, T, Wen, H & Zhang, D 2023, 'Combination of magnetic biochar beads and peroxymonosulfate pretreatment process for mitigating ultrafiltration membrane fouling caused by typical natural organic matters in water', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 670, pp. 121383-121383.
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Lin, B-L, Lee, D-J, Mannina, G & Guo, W 2023, 'Advanced biological technologies for removal and recovery of reactive nitrogen (Nr) from wastewaters', Bioresource Technology, vol. 368, pp. 128327-128327.
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Lin, Q, Pang, L, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Zhao, S, Liu, L, Chen, L & Li, F 2023, 'Occurrence of microplastics in three types of household cleaning products and their estimated emissions into the aquatic environment', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 902, pp. 165903-165903.
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Lin, W, Gong, C, Chen, R, He, X, Nan, J, Li, G, Hao Ngo, H & Ding, A 2023, 'In-situ utilization of EPS improves the directional oxidation ability of Fe(III)/H2O2 and enhances sludge dewaterability', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 475, pp. 146123-146123.
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Lin, W, Guo, J, Zeng, J, Chen, R, Ngo, HH, Nan, J, Li, G, Ma, J & Ding, A 2023, 'Enhanced sludge dewaterability by ferrate/ferric chloride: The key role of Fe(IV) on the changes of EPS properties', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 858, pp. 159562-159562.
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Lin, Y, Chen, Y, Chen, J, Chen, J, Yang, L, Wei, W, Ni, B-J & Chen, X 2023, 'Efficient Chloroquine Removal by Electro-Fenton with FeS2-Modified Cathode: Performance, Influencing Factors, Pathway Contributions, and Degradation Mechanisms', ACS ES&T Water, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 2786-2796.
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Liu, H, Li, X, Zhang, Z, Nghiem, LD, Gao, L, Batstone, DJ & Wang, Q 2023, 'Achieving expanded sludge treatment capacity with additional benefits for an anaerobic digester using free ammonia pretreatment', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 465, pp. 142846-142846.
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Population growth rapidly increased waste activated sludge (WAS) production in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), making the expansion of sludge treatment capacity urgent. Free ammonia (FA) pretreatment is experimentally applied to expand the treatment capacity of an anaerobic digester through reducing sludge retention time (SRT) for the first time. Two semi-continuous flow mesophilic (37 °C) anaerobic digestion systems, control system with a uniform SRT of 12 d and the experimental systems with progressively reduced SRTs (from 12 d to 10 d and then 8 d), were operated for>7 months. The volatile solids (VS) destruction in the experimental system at a SRT of 8 d was comparable to the control system (30.0 ± 1.4 % vs 30.5 ± 1.7 %) but increased by 16.2 % (35.1 ± 1.5 % vs 30.2 ± 1.4 %) under an SRT of 10 d, which was supported by methane production and total chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. The biomass-specific hydrolysis rate was significantly increased by up to 80 % (from 0.05 ± 0.01 g COD/g VS/d to 0.09 ± 0.01 g COD/g VS/d), which may contribute to the expanded capacity. The volatile fatty acids (VFAs)/alkalinity of systems maintained a reasonable range (0.01 – 0.06), suggesting the stability of digesters. FA pretreatment played a dominant role in the changes in the bacterial microbial community (52.80 % in PC1) and archaeal community (94.25 % in PC1). FA pretreatment improved the removal of pathogen by 1.3–2.0 log and antibiotic resistance genes by 34–86 %. This study first demonstrated that FA pretreatment expands the treatment capacity of an anaerobic digester by up to 50 % with economic and environmental benefits, promoting FA pretreatment to be a wider and pragmatic implementation for WWTPs.
Liu, H, Li, X, Zhou, T, Zhang, Z, Nghiem, LD, Gao, L & Wang, Q 2023, 'Long-term effect of free ammonia pretreatment on the semi-continuous anaerobic primary sludge digester for enhancing performance: Towards sustainable sludge treatment', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 465, pp. 142780-142780.
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Primary sludge (PS) is one of the major sludge sources for anaerobic digesters in wastewater treatment plants. Although the impact of free ammonia (FA) pretreatment on methane production from anaerobic PS digestion was previously investigated using batch biochemical methane potential tests, these tests could not fully represent the continuous/semi-continuous anaerobic digestion that is currently used in practice. This study comprehensively evaluated the impact of FA pretreatment on the performance of anaerobic PS digestion for the first time using semi-continuous systems that run for over 120 days. FA pretreatment (560 mg NH3-N/L, 24 h) improved the volatile solids (VS) removal of PS by 12.2 % from 60.5 % to 67.9 %, with a similar improvement in total chemical oxygen demand removal of 14.9 % and methane production of 16.1 %. FA pretreatment increased the biomass-specific hydrolysis rate of digesters by 23.5 %. Model-based analysis revealed that the enhanced anaerobic digestion performance may be due to both the increased apparent hydrolysis rate (increased by 26.7 %) and the enhanced degradability extent (increased by 9.5 %) of PS, caused by FA pretreatment. The dewaterability of digested sludge was enhanced by 14.0 % due to FA pretreatment, which is also supported by the reduced capillary suction time from 15.1 s to 10.9 s. Removals of Fecal Coliform and E. Coli were enhanced by 0.6 and 1.4 log Most Probable Number/g vS by FA pretreatment. This study firstly manifested that FA pretreatment is a favourable approach to improve the performance of anaerobic PS digestion with extra benefits in pathogen removal and dewaterability.
Liu, H, Wang, C, Sohn, W, Wang, Q, Shon, HK & Sun, P 2023, 'Source-separated urine treatment based on forward osmosis technology: Performance, applications and future prospects', Desalination, vol. 565, pp. 116872-116872.
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Liu, S, Cheng, J, You, H, Chong, W, Zheng, M, Wei, Q, Liu, W, Chen, H, Li, X & Liu, H 2023, 'Spatial distribution of ammonia oxidizers in marine sediments of the Bohai, Yellow and East China Seas', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 53, pp. 103867-103867.
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Liu, S, Xu, M, Zheng, M, Liu, H, Kuang, S, Chen, H & Li, X 2023, 'Abundance, diversity, and community structure of comammox cladeA in sediments of China's offshore continental shelf', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 889, pp. 164290-164290.
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Liu, W, Cao, D, Wang, Y, Xu, Z, Li, G, Nghiem, LD & Luo, W 2023, 'Occurrence and transformation of heavy metals during swine waste treatment: A full scale study', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 895, pp. 164947-164947.
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Liu, W, Song, X, Ding, X, Xia, R, Lin, X, Li, G, Nghiem, LD & Luo, W 2023, 'Antibiotic removal from swine farming wastewater by anaerobic membrane bioreactor: Role of hydraulic retention time', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 677, pp. 121629-121629.
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Liu, W, Wang, Y, Xia, R, Ding, X, Xu, Z, Li, G, Nghiem, LD & Luo, W 2023, 'Occurrence and fate of antibiotics in swine waste treatment: An industrial case', Environmental Pollution, vol. 331, pp. 121945-121945.
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Liu, X, Chen, Z, Lu, S, Xu, B, Cheng, D, Wei, W, Shen, Y & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Heterogeneous photocatalytic conversion of biomass to biofuels: A review', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 476, pp. 146794-146794.
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Liu, X, Gong, K, Duan, X, Wei, W, Wang, T, Chen, Z, Zhang, L & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Photo-Induced Bismuth Single Atoms on TiO2 for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Defluorination of Perfluorooctanoic Acid: Ionization of the C–F Bond', ACS ES&T Engineering, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 1626-1636.
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Liu, X, Tian, K, Chen, Z, Wei, W, Xu, B & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Online TG-FTIR-MS analysis of the catalytic pyrolysis of polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 441, pp. 129881-129881.
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Microplastics (MPs) are frequently detected in urban waters, which would pose a threat to human health through the food chain. Thus, efficient approaches to the elimination of MPs are urgently required. Pyrolysis is a powerful technique for the potential treatment of MPs. The online thermogravimetry-Fourier transform infrared reflection-Mass spectrometry (TG-FTIR-MS) is applied for tracking the pyrolysis process of representative polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) MPs in urban waters, together with or without the FeAlOx catalyst. TG could quantitatively determine the decomposition behavior and kinetics of MPs while FTIR and MS spectra would be capable of characterizing the pyrolysis products. The results revealed that FeAlOx is an excellent carbon support, and the deposited carbon can be gasified to CO at higher pyrolysis temperatures. Moreover, more aromatic compounds were generated from the pyrolysis of PE MPs with the catalyzation of FeAlOx. Large quantities of benzene were also produced in the PVC MPs pyrolysis with or without FeAlOx. Also, FeAlOx largely decreased the concentrations of chlorine-containing compounds in the liquid products of PVC MPs pyrolysis. This study provides a efficient technique for the online observation of the MPs' catalytic pyrolysis process, which would guide future upcycling of MPs into value-added products.
Liu, X, Xu, Q, Du, M, Yang, J, Lu, Q, Pan, M, Zhong, H, Wang, D & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Calcium peroxide mediated sustainable microalgal-bacterial consortium system: Role and significance of configured anaerobic fermentation', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 476, pp. 146807-146807.
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Liu, Y, Huang, X, Zhang, X, Ngo, HH, Fu, X, Wen, H & Jin, C 2023, 'The peroxidase-like cleaning strategy for organic fouling of water treatment membranes based on MoS2 functional layers', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 54, pp. 103955-103955.
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Liu, Y, Zhang, W, Zhang, X, Yang, L, Huang, Z, Fang, F, Sun, W, Gao, M & Pan, H 2023, 'Nanostructured light metal hydride: Fabrication strategies and hydrogen storage performance', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 184, pp. 113560-113560.
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Hydrogen can play an important role in the development of a sustainable energy system. However, storing hydrogen in a safe, efficient and economical manner remains a huge challenge. Light metal hydrides have attracted considerable attention for hydrogen storage owing to their high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen densities. However, the strong covalent and/or ionic bonds between metal atoms and hydrogen result in slow kinetics, poor reversibility, and temperatures too high for dehydrogenation, hence delaying their practical large–scale applications. Considerable efforts have been toward tailoring the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of light metal hydride–based hydrogen storage materials for performance improvement, with the fabrication of nanoscale particles being a key and effective strategy. This review covers the preparation methods and hydrogen storage performance of nanostructured light metal hydrides. The physical and chemical properties and hydrogen storage behaviors of reversible light metal hydrides are first summarized, including MgH2, borohydrides, aluminum hydrides, amide–hydride systems, and hydride composites. The second section focuses on the research progress in nanostructuring for enhancing the reversible hydrogen storage properties of these hydrides. Finally, the main challenges and the future research prospects are discussed. The combination of nanostructuring and nanocatalysis can significantly enhance the performance of these hydrides and make them practical hydrogen carriers.
Liu, Y, Zhang, X, Xu, Y, Liu, Q, Ngo, HH & Cao, W 2023, 'Transport behaviors of biochar particles in saturated porous media under DC electric field', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 856, pp. 159084-159084.
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Liu, Z, Sun, G, Chen, Z, Ma, Y, Qiu, K, Li, M & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Anchoring Cu-N active sites on functionalized polyacrylonitrile fibers for highly selective H2S/CO2 separation', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 450, pp. 131084-131084.
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As an essential part of clean energy, natural gas is often mixed with varying degrees of H2S and CO2, which poses a serious environmental hazard and reduces the fuel's calorific value. However, technology for selective H2S removal from CO2-containing gas streams is still not fully established. Herein, we synthesized functional polyacrylonitrile fibers with Cu-N coordination structure (PANFEDA-Cu) by an amination-ligand reaction. The results showed that PANFEDA-Cu exhibited a remarkable adsorption capacity (143 mg/g) for H2S at ambient temperature, even in the presence of water vapor, and showed a good separation of H2S/CO2. X-ray absorption spectroscopy results confirmed the Cu-N active sites in as-prepared PANFEDA-Cu and the formed S-Cu-N coordination structures after H2S adsorption. The active Cu-N sites on the fiber surface and the strong interaction between highly reactive Cu atoms and S are the main reasons for the selective removal of H2S. Additionally, a possible mechanism for the selective adsorption/removal of H2S is proposed based on experimental and characterization results. This work will pave the way for the design of highly efficient and low-cost materials for gas separation.
Liu, Z, Yin, X, Ni, B, Chen, X, Xie, F, Guo, Z, Li, D, Liu, W, Yue, X & Zhou, A 2023, 'Synchronous vivianite and hydrogen recovery from waste activated sludge fermentation liquid via electro-fermentation mediated by iron anode', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 474, pp. 145442-145442.
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Liyanaarachchi, H, Thambiliyagodage, C, Lokuge, H & Vigneswaran, S 2023, 'Kinetics and Thermodynamics Study of Methylene Blue Adsorption to Sucrose- and Urea-Derived Nitrogen-Enriched, Hierarchically Porous Carbon Activated by KOH and H3PO4', ACS Omega, vol. 8, no. 18, pp. 16158-16173.
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Loganathan, P, Vigneswaran, S, Kandasamy, J, Nguyen, TV, Katarzyna Cuprys, A & Ratnaweera, H 2023, 'Bisphenols in water: Occurrence, effects, and mitigation strategies', Chemosphere, vol. 328, pp. 138560-138560.
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Long, S, Yang, J, Hao, Z, Shi, Z, Liu, X, Xu, Q, Wang, Y, Wang, D & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Multiple roles of humic substances in anaerobic digestion systems: A review', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 418, pp. 138066-138066.
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Lu, J, Guo, Z, Li, M, He, M, Zhen, J, Ni, B-J & Zhang, J 2023, 'Manganese ore enhanced polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons removal in constructed wetlands: Insights into the key removal mechanism and main driving factor', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 467, pp. 143430-143430.
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Luo, L, Yang, C, Jiang, X, Guo, W, Ngo, HH & Wang, XC 2023, 'Impacts of fulvic acid and Cr(VI) on metabolism and chromium removal pathways of green microalgae', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 459, pp. 132171-132171.
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Luo, T, Dai, X, Chen, Z, Wu, L, Wei, W, Xu, Q & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Different microplastics distinctively enriched the antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge digestion through shifting specific hosts and promoting horizontal gene flow', Water Research, vol. 228, no. Pt A, pp. 119356-119356.
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Both microplastics (MPs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are intensively detected in waste activated sludge (WAS). However, the distinctive impacts of different MPs on ARGs emergence, dissemination, and its potential mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, long-term semi-continuous digesters were performed to examine the profiles of ARGs and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in response to two different typical MPs (polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)) in anaerobic sludge digestion. Metagenomic results show that PE- and PVC-MPs increase ARGs abundance by 14.8% and 23.6% in digester, respectively. ARB are also enriched by PE- and PVC-MPs, Acinetobacter sp. and Salmonella sp. are the dominant ARB. Further exploration reveals that PVC-MPs stimulates the acquisition of ARGs by human pathogen bacteria (HPB) and functional microorganisms (FMs), but PE-MPs doesn't. Network analysis shows that more ARGs tend to co-occur with HBP and FMs after MPs exposure, and more importantly, new bacteria are observed to acquire ARGs possibly via horizontal gene flow (HGF) in MPs-stressed digester. The genes involved in the HGF process, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, cell membrane permeability, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) secretion, and ATP synthesis, are also enhanced by MPs, thereby attributing to the promoted ARGs dissemination. These findings offer advanced insights into the distinctive contribution of MPs to fate, host, dissemination of ARGs in anaerobic sludge digestion.
Luo, T, Dai, X, Wei, W, Xu, Q & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Microplastics Enhance the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Anaerobic Sludge Digestion by Enriching Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Surface Biofilm and Facilitating the Vertical and Horizontal Gene Transfer', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 57, no. 39, pp. 14611-14621.
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Luo, T, Wei, W & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Reply for comment on “Different microplastics distinctively enriched the antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic sludge digestion through shifting specific hosts and promoting horizontal gene flow [Water Research 228 (2023), 119356]”', Water Research, vol. 236, pp. 119928-119928.
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M.B., B, Rhakho, N, Jena, SR, Yadav, S, Altaee, A, Saxena, M & Samal, AK 2023, 'Detection of PFAS via surface-enhanced Raman scattering: Challenges and future perspectives', Sustainable Chemistry for the Environment, vol. 3, pp. 100031-100031.
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Ma, C-Q, Han, N, Zhang, R-Z, Lin, S-N, Chen, Z, Liu, H, Yu, S, Dong, R-Z, Wang, Y-B, Ni, B-J & Xing, L-B 2023, 'Construction of artificial light-harvesting system based on host-guest interactions of sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin and its application in photocatalysis', Environmental Surfaces and Interfaces, vol. 1, pp. 3-9.
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Macdonald Miller, S, Herdean, A, Gupta, V, Signal, B, Abbriano, RM, Ralph, PJ & Pernice, M 2023, 'Differential gene expression in a subpopulation of Phaeodactylum tricornutum with enhanced growth and carotenoid production after FACS-mediated selection', Journal of Applied Phycology, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 2777-2787.
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AbstractFluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) is a powerful method with many applications in microalgal research, especially for screening and selection of cells with improved phenotypes. However, the technology requires review of gene expression changes responsible for enhanced phenotypes in sorted populations. Phaeodactylum tricornutum cells were sorted using FACS with excitation/emission parameters targeted to favouring the industrially-relevant carotenoid fucoxanthin. The resulting cultures showed significantly higher growth rate (1.10 ×), biomass (1.30 ×), chlorophyll a levels (1.22 ×) and fucoxanthin content (1.28 ×) relative to the wild-type strain. RNA-seq was used to elucidate the underlying molecular-level regulatory changes associated with these traits and represents the first study do so on FACS-sorted microalgal cultures. Transcriptome analysis corroborated evidence of increased chlorophyll a and fucoxanthin, showing enrichment for the genes/pathways for tetrapyrrole biosynthesis and for suites of genes directly related to photosynthesis. Only three genes were upregulated in the MEP (non-mevalonate) pathway to carotenoid biosynthesis pathway, suggesting either a strong influence of IDI, CRTISO5 and ZEP1 on fucoxanthin biosynthesis or a post-transcriptional or post-translational mechanism for the observed increase in fucoxanthin content.
Mai, C, Mojiri, A, Palanisami, S, Altaee, A, Huang, Y & Zhou, JL 2023, 'Wastewater Hydroponics for Pollutant Removal and Food Production: Principles, Progress and Future Outlook', Water, vol. 15, no. 14, pp. 2614-2614.
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As the global population reaches eight billion, large quantities of wastewater (domestic, industrial, livestock) need to be treated in an efficient, green, and environmentally friendly manner. Wastewater hydroponics technology (HP) can efficiently remove various pollutants (conventional and emerging pollutants, heavy metals, and microorganisms) and create economic benefits. This paper aims to systematically review the principles, applications, and limitations of wastewater hydroponics technology in the context of pollution and nutrient removal. Unlike constructed wetlands, wastewater hydroponics has been proven to be effective in removing pollutants through small-scale in situ restoration. For instance, the average removal of COD, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) was more than 70%, 60%, 80%, 64.2%, and 49.5%, respectively. However, HP technology still has the disadvantages of high energy consumption, complex control parameters, and low public acceptance of using wastewater for planting crops. Therefore, further research is needed to reduce system energy consumption. In addition, hybrid technologies, such as two-stage hydroponics that use aquatic plants (algae or aquatic floating weeds) to recycle pollutant-containing wastewater nutrients for hydroponics, should be further developed.
Maidi, AM, Kalam, MA & Begum, F 2023, 'Photonic crystal fibre for blood components sensing', Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research, vol. 41, pp. 100565-100565.
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Maidi, AM, Kalam, MA & Begum, F 2023, 'Unsafe food additive sensing through octagonal-core photonic crystal fibre sensor', Physica Scripta, vol. 98, no. 6, pp. 065528-065528.
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Abstract To detect food additives, a simple photonic crystal fibre design based on an octagonal hole and hollow circular cladding holes in two layers has been introduced. The numerical study of the design is conducted by simulation in the COMSOL Multiphysics software with the infiltrated test analytes: saccharin, sorbitol, and butyl acetate, operating in the wavelength variation from 1.6 to 4.0 μm. The performance of the proposed sensor is determined by analysing the principal optical parameters: effective refractive index, power fraction, relative sensitivity, confinement loss, chromatic dispersion, propagation constant, V-parameter, spot size, and beam divergence. At the optimal wavelength of 2.0 μm, the sensor design depicts high relative sensitivities of 98.06% for saccharin, 97.05% for sorbitol, 95.81% for butyl acetate, and 3.82 × 10−23 dBm−1 for saccharin, 3.44 × 10−22 dBm−1 for sorbitol, and 1.81 × 10−21 dBm−1 for butyl acetate for confinement loss, which is extremely low. Hence, the proposed food additive sensor is suitable for actual sensing applications based on these obtained results.
Mannina, G, Ni, B-J, Makinia, J, Harmand, J, Alliet, M, Brepols, C, Ruano, MV, Robles, A, Heran, M, Gulhan, H, Rodriguez-Roda, I & Comas, J 2023, 'Biological processes modelling for MBR systems: A review of the state-of-the-art focusing on SMP and EPS', Water Research, vol. 242, pp. 120275-120275.
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Mao, S, Feng, A, Zhang, S, Onggowarsito, C, Chen, Q, Su, D & Fu, Q 2023, 'Investigation of structure–property–application relationships of a hydrogel-based solar vapor generator', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 11, no. 42, pp. 23062-23070.
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We correlated the hydration ability of different hydrophilic groups to the varying performance of their corresponding hydrogels in solar vapor generation (SVG), establishing the relationships between the chemical structure, hydration property, and applications.
Mao, X, Zhou, X, Fan, X, Jin, W, Xi, J, Tu, R, Naushad, M, Li, X, Liu, H & Wang, Q 2023, 'Proteomic analysis reveals mechanisms of mixed wastewater with different N/P ratios affecting the growth and biochemical characteristics of Chlorella pyrenoidosa', Bioresource Technology, vol. 381, pp. 129141-129141.
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Matthews, JL, Hoch, L, Raina, J-B, Pablo, M, Hughes, DJ, Camp, EF, Seymour, JR, Ralph, PJ, Suggett, DJ & Herdean, A 2023, 'Symbiodiniaceae photophysiology and stress resilience is enhanced by microbial associations', Scientific Reports, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 20724.
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AbstractSymbiodiniaceae form associations with extra- and intracellular bacterial symbionts, both in culture and in symbiosis with corals. Bacterial associates can regulate Symbiodiniaceae fitness in terms of growth, calcification and photophysiology. However, the influence of these bacteria on interactive stressors, such as temperature and light, which are known to influence Symbiodiniaceae physiology, remains unclear. Here, we examined the photophysiological response of two Symbiodiniaceae species (Symbiodinium microadriaticum and Breviolum minutum) cultured under acute temperature and light stress with specific bacterial partners from their microbiome (Labrenzia (Roseibium) alexandrii, Marinobacter adhaerens or Muricauda aquimarina). Overall, bacterial presence positively impacted Symbiodiniaceae core photosynthetic health (photosystem II [PSII] quantum yield) and photoprotective capacity (non-photochemical quenching; NPQ) compared to cultures with all extracellular bacteria removed, although specific benefits were variable across Symbiodiniaceae genera and growth phase. Symbiodiniaceae co-cultured with M. aquimarina displayed an inverse NPQ response under high temperatures and light, and those with L. alexandrii demonstrated a lowered threshold for induction of NPQ, potentially through the provision of antioxidant compounds such as zeaxanthin (produced by Muricauda spp.) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP; produced by this strain of L. alexandrii). Our co-culture approach empirically demonstrates the benefits bacteria can deliver to Symbiodiniaceae photochemical performance, providing evidence tha...
Meng, X, Li, X, Charteris, A, Wang, Z, Naushad, M, Nghiem, LD, Liu, H & Wang, Q 2023, 'Impacts of site real-time adaptive control of water-sensitive urban designs on the stormwater trunk drainage system', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 53, pp. 103656-103656.
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Increased rainfall intensity due to climate change is expected to exacerbate flood inundation in urban areas. Water sensitive urban design (WSUD) provides a variety of benefits in stormwater quantity management, ranging from stormwater harvesting to flood mitigation. Currently, however, developed areas lack any system that can improve the management of existing stormwater harvesting facilities to increase stormwater storage capacity without enlarging the stormwater drainage system. This study modelled a new method, Site Real-Time Adaptive Control (SRAC), that combined existing stormwater harvesting infrastructure at both regional and site levels with the existing stormwater drainage system (SWDS) through a cloud computing platform to increase stormwater storage capacity and reduce runoff water to the surface. The research found that: (1) the SRAC can manage runoff water dynamically and reduce flood inundation. The proposed impact factor Mt could help designers to measure the recovery capacity between two continuous rainfall events; (2) the SRAC model could postpone the peak flow in the trunk drainage system by 8–10 min; (3) the SRAC model could remove most of the excess water during very frequent rainfall events, decreasing over 98 % excess flow in design events 1h1EY (14,650 m3) and 2h1EY (11,272 m3); (4) the SRAC model showed a 36–50 % reduction in total outfall volume in the 1 h rainfall events, a 42–50 % reduction in the 2 h rainfall events; (5) the SRAC model could increase the capacity of downstream water treatment plants and save 43 % of the stormwater trunk drainage demand.
Meng, X, Li, X, Nghiem, LD, Hatshan, MR, Lam, KL & Wang, Q 2023, 'Assessing the effectiveness of site real-time adaptive control for stormwater quality control', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 56, pp. 104324-104324.
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Mineo, A, Cosenza, A, Ni, B-J & Mannina, G 2023, 'Enhancing the production of volatile fatty acids by potassium permanganate from wasted sewage sludge: A batch test experiment', Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 11, pp. e21957-e21957.
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Mirakhorli, F, Razavi Bazaz, S, Warkiani, ME & Ralph, PJ 2023, 'Ultra-high throughput microfluidic concentrator for harvesting of Tetraselmis sp. (Chlorodendrophyceae, Chlorophyta)', Algal Research, vol. 72, pp. 103145-103145.
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Mistry, G, Popat, K, Patel, J, Panchal, K, Ngo, HH, Bilal, M & Varjani, S 2023, 'Corrigendum to “New outlook on hazardous pollutants in the wastewater environment: Occurrence, risk assessment and elimination by electrodeionization technologies” [Environ. Res. 219 (2023) 115112]', Environmental Research, vol. 227, pp. 115693-115693.
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Mistry, G, Popat, K, Patel, J, Panchal, K, Ngo, HH, Bilal, M & Varjani, S 2023, 'New outlook on hazardous pollutants in the wastewater environment: Occurrence, risk assessment and elimination by electrodeionization technologies', Environmental Research, vol. 219, pp. 115112-115112.
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Mofijur, M, Ahmed, SF, Rony, ZI, Khoo, KS, Chowdhury, AA, Kalam, MA, Le, VG, Badruddin, IA & Khan, TMY 2023, 'Screening of non-edible (second-generation) feedstocks for the production of sustainable aviation fuel', Fuel, vol. 331, pp. 125879-125879.
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This paper examines the potential of suitable second-generation feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel production, theoretically based on fatty acid-based fuel properties. The fatty acid composition of 38 s-generation feedstocks was collected from the literature. The fuel properties of these feedstocks were then calculated using empirical formula and assessed according to international fuel standards including American and European standards. The selected feedstocks were assessed and ranked using a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool, i.e., PROMETHEE GAIA, to identify the suitability of the sources based on kinematic viscosity (KV), density (D), higher heating value (HHV), cetane number (CN), iodine value (IV), oxidation stability (OS), and cold filter plugging point (CFPP). It was found that 20 of the 38 feedstocks meet international fuel standards. The utilisation of the MCDA tool indicates that Ricinus communis is the highest-ranked feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel production, followed by the Azadirachta indica feedstock, with Sterculia feotida L. the lowest-ranked feedstock. The assessment of the properties of ranked feedstock against aviation fuel standards, including Jet A and Jet A1, reveals that the kinematic viscosity of all the feedstocks meets both these standards. However, fatty acid-based fuel properties could not satisfy the international aviation fuel standards for D, HHV, and freezing points. Further experimental work is recommended, including improvements in the processing and modification of biofuel produced from second-generation feedstocks. It is recommended that a comprehensive action plan is required to facilitate the introduction of sustainable biofuel from non-edible sources for the aviation industry, such as the adjustment of the current jet fuel standards.
Mofijur, M, Hasan, MM, Sultana, S, Kabir, Z, Djavanroodi, F, Ahmed, SF, Jahirul, MI, Badruddin, IA & Khan, TMY 2023, 'Advancements in algal membrane bioreactors: Overcoming obstacles and harnessing potential for eliminating hazardous pollutants from wastewater', Chemosphere, vol. 336, pp. 139291-139291.
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Mojiri, A, Zhou, JL, Ozaki, N, KarimiDermani, B, Razmi, E & Kasmuri, N 2023, 'Occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in aquatic environments and their removal by advanced oxidation processes', Chemosphere, vol. 330, pp. 138666-138666.
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MS, K, Johnson, I, Ngo, H-H, Guo, W & Kumar, M 2023, 'Application of Chlorella vulgaris for nutrient removal from synthetic wastewater and MBR-treated bio-park secondary effluent: growth kinetics, effects of carbon and phosphate concentrations', Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, vol. 195, no. 3, p. 415.
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Application of Chlorella vulgaris for polishing secondary effluent of a wastewater treatment (containing C, N and P) was investigated. As a first step, batch experiments were conducted in Bold's Basal Media (BBM) to quantify the effects of orthophosphates (0.1-107 mg/L), organic carbon (0-500 mg/L as acetate) and N/P ratio on the growth of Chlorella vulgaris. The results revealed that the orthophosphate concentration was found to control the removal rates of nitrates and phosphates; however, both were effectively removed (> 90%) when the initial orthophosphate concentration was 4-12 mg/L. The maximum nitrate and orthophosphate removals were observed at an N:P ratio of ~ 11. However, the specific growth rate (µ) was significantly increased (from 0.226 to 0.336 g/g/day) when the initial orthophosphate concentration was 0.1-4.3 mg/L. On the other hand, the presence of acetate had significantly improved the specific growth and specific nitrate removal rates of Chlorella vulgaris. The specific growth rate increased from 0.34 g/g/day in a purely autotrophic culture to 0.70 g/g/day in the presence of acetate. Subsequently, the Chlorella vulgaris (grown in BBM) was acclimated and grown in the membrane bioreactor (MBR)-treated real-time secondary effluent. Under the optimised conditions, 92% nitrate and 98% phosphate removals (with a growth rate of 0.192 g/g/day) were observed in the bio-park MBR effluent. Overall, the results indicate that coupling Chlorella vulgaris as a polishing treatment in existing wastewater treatment units could be beneficial for highest level of water reuse and energy recovery goals.
Muniappan, A, Jarin, T, Sabitha, R, Ghfar, AA, Fattah, IMR, Bowa, CK & Mwanza, M 2023, 'Bi-LSTM and partial mutual information selection-based forecasting groundwater salinization levels', Water Reuse, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 525-544.
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Abstract Fresh-saline groundwater is distributed in a highly heterogeneous way throughout the world. Groundwater salinization is a serious environmental issue that harms ecosystems and public health in coastal regions worldwide. Because of the complexities of groundwater salinization processes and the variables that influence them, it is challenging to predict groundwater salinity concentrations precisely. It compares cutting-edge machine learning (ML) algorithms for predicting groundwater salinity and identifying contributing factors. It employs bi-directional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) to indicate groundwater salinity. The input variable selection problem has attracted attention in the time series modeling community because it has been shown that information-theoretic input variable selection algorithms provide a more accurate representation of the modeled process than linear alternatives. To generate sample combinations for training multiple BiLSTM models, PMIS-selected predictors are used, and the predicted values from various BiLSTM models are also used to calculate the degree of prediction uncertainty for groundwater levels. The findings give policymakers insights for recommending groundwater salinity remediation and management strategies in the context of excessive groundwater exploitation in coastal lowland regions. To ensure sustainable groundwater management in coastal areas, it is essential to recognize the significant impact of human-caused factors on groundwater salinization.
Navidpour, AH, Hosseinzadeh, A, Zhou, JL & Huang, Z 2023, 'Progress in the application of surface engineering methods in immobilizing TiO2 and ZnO coatings for environmental photocatalysis', Catalysis Reviews, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 822-873.
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Photocatalysis is widely used for the degradation of organic pollutants, with TiO2 and ZnO as the best candidates with unique properties. However, agglomeration and recycling are major challenges in practical photocatalysis applications. Advanced deposition processes can provide nanotubular or hierarchical structures that are more promising than suspended particles. More importantly, higher efficiency of photoelectrocatalysis than photocatalysis for the degradation of persistent organic pollutants including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) necessitates catalyst immobilization. Photoelectrocatalysis exhibited remarkably higher efficiency (56.1%) than direct photolysis (15.1%), electrocatalysis (5.0%) and photocatalysis (18.1%) for PFOA degradation. This paper aims to review the progress in the application of anodizing and thermal spraying as two major industrial surface engineering processes to bridge the gap between laboratorial and practical photocatalysis technology. Overall, thermal spraying is considered as one of the most efficient methods for the deposition of TiO2 and ZnO photocatalytic films.
Nguyen, LN, Vu, MT, Vu, HP, Johir, MAH, Labeeuw, L, Ralph, PJ, Mahlia, TMI, Pandey, A, Sirohi, R & Nghiem, LD 2023, 'Microalgae-based carbon capture and utilization: A critical review on current system developments and biomass utilization', Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 216-238.
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Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is an emerging technology with commercial potential to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into net zero or negative emission products. In microalgae-based CCU, microalgae utilize CO2 and sunlight to generate biomass for commercial applications. This paper reviews the current state of microalgal culture development for CCU and highlights its potential contribution to addressing climate change challenges. Current microalgal culture systems have not been designed for high throughput biomass growth and carbon capture. Raceways, high-rate algal ponds, and photobioreactors are the most widely used for microalgal cultivation at a large-scale. The limitations of these systems are related to microalgal growth requirements. Ponds are operated at narrow depth to ensure sufficient light distribution and thus need a large land surface. CO2 gas needs to be in a dissolved form for efficient utilization by microalgae. Innovative system designs to achieve optimized distribution of light, nutrient, and CO2 utilization for enhanced biomass production are crucial to achieve large-scale CO2 capture by microalgae. Data corroborated in this review highlights several innovative techniques to deliver CO2 effectively and enhance light illumination to microalgal cells. Submerged and internal illuminations can enhance light distribution without compromising culture volume and land requirements. CO2 delivery technique selections mainly depend on CO2 sources. The carbonation column appears to be the best option regarding efficiency, easy operation, and simple design. The downstream processes of microalgal culture (i.e. harvesting, biomass utilization, and water reuse) are important to make microalgae-based CCU a significant contribution to global carbon mitigation solutions.
Nguyen, MK, Lin, C, Hoang, HG, Bui, XT, Ngo, HH, Le, VG & Tran, H-T 2023, 'Investigation of biochar amendments on odor reduction and their characteristics during food waste co-composting', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 865, pp. 161128-161128.
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Nguyen, TAH, Bui, TH, Guo, WS & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Valorization of the aqueous phase from hydrothermal carbonization of different feedstocks: Challenges and perspectives', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 472, pp. 144802-144802.
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Nguyen, TTH, Nguyen, XC, Nguyen, DLT, Nguyen, DD, Vo, TYB, Vo, QN, Nguyen, TD, Ly, QV, Ngo, HH, Vo, D-VN, Nguyen, TP, Kim, IT & Van Le, Q 2023, 'Converting biomass of agrowastes and invasive plant into alternative materials for water remediation', Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 5391-5406.
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Three types of biomass of invasive plants and agrowastes, namely, the wattle bark of Acacia auriculiformis (BA), mimosa (BM), and coffee husks (BC), were converted into biochars through slow pyrolysis and investigated for their ability to remove dyes in water. The properties of the materials were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. The BET surface area (total pore volume) of BC was 2.62 m2/g (0.007 cm3/g), far below those of BA and BM with 393.15 cm2/g (0.195 m3/g) and 285.53 cm2/g (0.153 m3/g), respectively. The optimal adsorption doses for the removal of methylene blue (MB) were found to be 2, 5, and 5 g/L for BC, BA, and BM, respectively. The suitable pH ranges for MB removal were 6–12 for BA, 7–12 for BC, and 2–10 for BM. The majority of MB (over 83%) was removed in the initial 30 min, followed by a more quasisteady state condition after the removal rate exceeded 90%. The experimental data were fitted with the kinetic models (PFO, PSO, Bangham, IDP), indicating that physicochemical adsorption, pore diffusion process, and multiple stages are the dominant mechanisms for the MB adsorption onto biochars. Finally, BA and BM showed similar adsorption efficiencies, while BC may not be favorable for use as an adsorbent due to its low surface area and low pore volume.
Ni, B-J, Thomas, KV & Kim, E-J 2023, 'Microplastics and nanoplastics in urban waters', Water Research, vol. 229, pp. 119473-119473.
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Ojelade, OA, Zaman, SF & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Green ammonia production technologies: A review of practical progress', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 342, pp. 118348-118348.
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Ortega, JS, Corrales-Orovio, R, Ralph, P, Egaña, JT & Gentile, C 2023, 'Photosynthetic microorganisms for the oxygenation of advanced 3D bioprinted tissues', Acta Biomaterialia, vol. 165, pp. 180-196.
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3D bioprinting technology has emerged as a tool that promises to revolutionize the biomedical field, including tissue engineering and regeneration. Despite major technological advancements, several challenges remain to be solved before 3D bioprinted tissues could be fully translated from the bench to the bedside. As oxygen plays a key role in aerobic metabolism, which allows energy production in the mitochondria; as a consequence, the lack of tissue oxygenation is one of the main limitations of current bioprinted tissues and organs. In order to improve tissue oxygenation, recent approaches have been established for a broad range of clinical applications, with some already applied using 3D bioprinting technologies. Among them, the incorporation of photosynthetic microorganisms, such as microalgae and cyanobacteria, is a promising approach that has been recently explored to generate chimerical plant-animal tissues where, upon light exposure, oxygen can be produced and released in a localized and controlled manner. This review will briefly summarize the state-of-the-art approaches to improve tissue oxygenation, as well as studies describing the use of photosynthetic microorganisms in 3D bioprinting technologies. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: 3D bioprinting technology has emerged as a tool for the generation of viable and functional tissues for direct in vitro and in vivo applications, including disease modeling, drug discovery and regenerative medicine. Despite the latest advancements in this field, suboptimal oxygen delivery to cells before, during and after the bioprinting process limits their viability within 3D bioprinted tissues. This review article first highlights state-of-the-art approaches used to improve oxygen delivery in bioengineered tissues to overcome this challenge. Then, it focuses on the emerging roles played by photosynthetic organisms as novel biomaterials for bioink generation. Finally, it provides considerations around current challenges...
Osborne, B, Siboni, N, Seymour, JR, Ralph, P & Pernice, M 2023, 'Exploring the potential of algae-bacteria interactions in the biocontrol of the marine pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus', Journal of Applied Phycology, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 2731-2743.
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AbstractThe marine bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading cause of seafood-related food poisoning worldwide and a pathogen of marine species harvested in aquaculture. An outbreak of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus within crustacean and bi-valve aquaculture facilities often results in significant loss of farmed product and in the spread of the pathogen into the human population. Evidence shows several marine bacteria and microalgae species have antibacterial effects against marine pathogens, including V. parahaemolyticus. This study explored the potential of combining possible mutualistic species as a consortium to enhance antibacterial properties against V. parahaemolyticus. Marine bacteria and microalgae were screened with the aim of identifying those able to successfully coexist while demonstrating growth suppression of multiple V. parahaemolyticus strains. This trial involved four screening phases to find effective inhibitor species and to gain insight into species-specific influences on cell growth. The combination of Tetraselmis sp. and Pseudoalteromonas peptidolytica achieved the greatest inhibition rate of V. parahaemolyticus of all combinations. This pairing resulted in the significant reduction of up to 24 ± 15% in Vibrio sp. copy number mL−1 day−1 in two of the five examined V. parahaemolyticus strains within five days, compared to control cultures absent of probiotic bacteria. Applying probiotic consortia such as this has the potential for use as a biocontrol technique within mariculture, but it will require additional research into the self-sustainability of successful consortia in natural aqua...
Ou, K, Liu, Z, Liu, Z, Fu, Q, Cao, Y, Liu, Q & Sun, Y 2023, 'Ultra-thin flame retardant polymer nanocomposite coating based on synergistic effect of graphene and glass sheets', Materials Research Bulletin, vol. 164, pp. 112247-112247.
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Ou, Y, Zhou, JL, Jia, Y, Liang, M, Hu, H & Ren, L 2023, 'Complete genome of Mycolicibacterium phocaicum RL-HY01, a PAEs-degrading marine bacterial strain isolated from Zhanjiang Bay, China', Marine Genomics, vol. 69, pp. 101019-101019.
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Mycolicibacterium phocaicum RL-HY01, a marine bacterial strain with the capability to degrade phthalic acid esters (PAEs), was isolated from Zhanjiang Bay, China. Here, the complete genome sequence of strain RL-HY01 was presented. The genome of strain RL-HY01 contains one circular chromosome of 6,064,759 bp with a G + C content of 66.93 mol%. The genome contains 5681 predicted protein-encoding genes, 57 tRNA genes, and 6 rRNA genes. Genes and gene clusters potentially involved in the metabolism of PAEs were further identified. The genome Mycolicibacterium phocaicum RL-HY01 will be helpful for advancing our understanding of the fate of PAEs in marine ecosystem.
Pacholak, A, Żur-Pińska, J, Piński, A, Nguyen, QA, Ligaj, M, Luczak, M, Nghiem, LD & Kaczorek, E 2023, 'Potential negative effect of long-term exposure to nitrofurans on bacteria isolated from wastewater', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 872, pp. 162199-162199.
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Park, MJ, Pathak, NB, Wang, C, Tran, VH, Han, D-S, Hong, S, Phuntsho, S & Shon, HK 2023, 'Fouling of reverse osmosis membrane: Autopsy results from a wastewater treatment facility at central park, Sydney', Desalination, vol. 565, pp. 116848-116848.
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Parsa, SM, Norouzpour, F, Shoeibi, S, Shahsavar, A, Aberoumand, S, Said, Z, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Ni, B-J, Afrand, M & Karimi, N 2023, 'A comprehensive study to find the optimal fraction of nanoparticle coated at the interface of solar desalination absorbers: 5E and GHGs analysis in different seasons', Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 256, pp. 112308-112308.
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In recent years utilizing nanoparticles in black paint (nano-paint) of solar desalination absorbers has become a topic growing interest. However, in most of studies, only the effect of using different types of nanoparticles brought into the spotlight, while in those limited studies that discussed on optimum concentration of nanoparticles, the results were controversial and not conclusive. Herein, an experimental study to find the optimum concentration of nanoparticles (silver, 1–5%) in solar absorbers in summer, spring and autumn with/without reflectors was conducted. To find the optimum concentration, performance of the systems from different viewpoints including energetic, exergetic, economic, productivity, exergoeconomic, energy-matrices, and environmental (amount of CO2/SO2/NO emission/reduction) analysis for each season and thorough its lifetime was examined thoroughly. Ascribe the highly variable of parameters; two Matlab codes have been developed to precisely calculate the economic and exergoeconomic parameters for different scenarios. The results showed that increasing the nanoparticle concentration to 5% from an economic viewpoint was reasonable just in summer, while for autumn and spring, 2.5% was optimum. The same was valid for productivity and exergy analysis. Importantly, the embodied energy of nanoparticles for the first time considered in calculation to obtain more accurate results in terms of environmental analysis and energy-matrices. Finally, it was concluded that even though using 5% nanoparticle in limited cases led to better results, the 2.5% concentration with reflector was optimum for all seasons and through the lifetime. This work would be a cornerstone for future researches in the context of using nano-paint in solar absorbers.
Peellage, WH, Fatahi, B & Rasekh, H 2023, 'Assessment of cyclic deformation and critical stress amplitude of jointed rocks via cyclic triaxial testing', Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 1370-1390.
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Peng, L, Qiu, H, Li, S, Xu, Y, Liang, C, Wang, N, Liu, Y & Ni, B-J 2023, 'The mitigation effect of free ammonia and free nitrous acid on nitrous oxide production from the full-nitrification and partial-nitritation systems', Bioresource Technology, vol. 372, pp. 128564-128564.
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The potentials of using endogenous free ammonia (FA) and free nitrous acid (FNA) as nitrous oxide (N2O) mitigators were investigated in treatment of both mainstream and sidestream wastewater. Although the N2O emission factor of a sidestream partial-nitritation (PN) reactor (averaged 1.70 % ± 0.39 %, n = 30) was about 2.4 times higher than a mainstream full-nitrification (FN) reactor (averaged 0.72 % ± 0.24 %, n = 30) (P < 0.01), one-hour exposure of PN sludge to 1.5 mg HNO2-N/L FNA could virtually abolish N2O emission. As for FN sludge, both 45 mg NH3-N/L FA and 0.015 mg HNO2-N/L FNA successfully mitigated N2O production at varying dissolved oxygen (DO) levels (50 % vs 61 %), while 1.5 mg HNO2-N/L FNA not only reduced more N2O (92 %) but also altered the N2O dependency on DO. Both FNA and FA sludge treatment were effective N2O mitigation strategies with FNA toward the end of carbon neutrality and FA being more economically appealing (2 % cost saving).
Price, S, Kuzhiumparambil, U, Pernice, M, Herdean, A & Ralph, P 2023, 'Enhancement of cyanobacterial PHB production using random chemical mutagenesis with detection through FACS', Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 297-306.
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Qamar, A, Shaukat, R, Imran, S, Farooq, M, Amjad, M, Anwar, Z, Ali, H, Farhan, M, Mujtaba, MA, Korakianitis, T, Kalam, MA & Almomani, F 2023, 'Effect of surfactants on the convective heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of ZnO/DIW nanofluids: An experimental study', Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, vol. 42, pp. 102716-102716.
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Qi, C, Cao, D, Gao, X, Jia, S, Yin, R, Nghiem, LD, Li, G & Luo, W 2023, 'Optimising organic composition of feedstock to improve microbial dynamics and symbiosis to advance solid-state anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and organic waste', Applied Energy, vol. 351, pp. 121857-121857.
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Qian, J, Ma, R, Chen, Z, Wang, G, Zhang, Y, Du, Y, Chen, Y, An, T & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Hierarchical Co-Fe layered double hydroxides (LDH)/Ni foam composite as a recyclable peroxymonosulfate activator towards monomethylhydrazine degradation: Enhanced electron transfer and 1O2 dominated non-radical pathway', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 469, pp. 143554-143554.
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Qian, J, Zhang, Y, Chen, Z, Du, Y & Ni, B-J 2023, 'NiCo layered double hydroxides/NiFe layered double hydroxides composite (NiCo-LDH/NiFe-LDH) towards efficient oxygen evolution in different water matrices', Chemosphere, vol. 345, pp. 140472-140472.
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Qian, J, Zhang, Y, Chen, Z, Yu, R, Ye, Y, Ma, R, Li, K, Wang, L, Wang, D & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Sulfur-decorated Fe/C composite synthesized from MIL-88A(Fe) for peroxymonosulfate activation towards tetracycline degradation: Multiple active sites and non-radical pathway dominated mechanism', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 344, pp. 118440-118440.
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Qin, Y, Jia, H, Liu, W, Lu, N, Ngo, HH & Wang, J 2023, 'Application of in-situ micro laser transmission on real-time monitoring of flocculation process', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 51, pp. 103364-103364.
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Quyet Truong, D, Choo, Y, Akther, N, Roobavannan, S, Norouzi, A, Gupta, V, Blumenstein, M, Vinh Nguyen, T & Naidu, G 2023, 'Selective rubidium recovery from seawater with metal-organic framework incorporated potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate nanomaterial', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 454, pp. 140107-140107.
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Rabie, M, Ali, AYM, Abo-Zahhad, EM, Elkady, MF, El-Shazly, AH, Salem, MS, Radwan, A, Rajabzadeh, S, Matsuyama, H & Shon, HK 2023, 'New hybrid concentrated photovoltaic/membrane distillation unit for simultaneous freshwater and electricity production', Desalination, vol. 559, pp. 116630-116630.
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Raggam, S, Mohammad, M, Choo, Y, Naidu, G, Zargar, M, Shon, HK & Razmjou, A 2023, 'Advances in metal organic framework (MOF) – Based membranes and adsorbents for lithium-ion extraction', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 307, pp. 122628-122628.
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Lithium plays a vital role in energy storage which is crucial for the transition to renewable energy, where it enables a stable and continuous release of the harvested energy from batteries. From both primary and secondary sources, there are various cost-effective and environmentally friendly methods of obtaining Lithium. This review highlights the development of novel metal organic framework (MOF)-based technologies (i.e., thin film membranes, mixed matrix membranes and adsorbents) for Lithium-ion extraction from aqueous sources like brine or seawater. The synthesis methods and the performance of the MOF-based membranes and adsorbents are further discussed in detail. MOF-based membranes and adsorbents can achieve a high selectivity towards Lithium ions up to the range of ∼270 times higher than competing ions such as Potassium. However, these materials have drawbacks in terms of water stability or their requirement of highly sophisticated fabrication methods which need to be considered before scaling-up processes. ZIF-8, UiO-66 and HKUST-1 are among the most researched MOFs for the desired application in this work and future progress should be done to address the aforementioned issues. This review compares the development and performance of a variety of different MOF-based materials for Lithium-ion extraction which will give an insight into the commercialization of this material in the industry.
Rathinasuriyan, C, Elumalai, PV, Bharani Chandar, J, Karthik, K, Medapati, SR, Alahmadi, AA, Alwetaishi, M, Alzaed, AN, Kalam, MA & Shahapurkar, K 2023, 'Welding-based additive manufacturing processes for fabrication of metallic parts', Composites and Advanced Materials, vol. 32.
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Additive Manufacturing (AM) is modernizing the manufacturing industry by enabling the layer-by-layer deposition process to manufacture objects in nearly any form with minimum material waste. However, components developed utilizing the AM process have dimensional constraints. To address this issue, AM-produced metal materials can be coupled with various welding processes. This article focuses on the foundations, highlighting the distinguishing features, capabilities, and challenges of welding-based AM processes by categorizing them into two major groups; arc welding-based AM like Cold Metal Transfer (CMT), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), Plasma Arc Welding (PAW), and high-energy density welding based AM like Laser Beam Welding (LBW) and Electron Beam Welding (EBW). The prior study findings of welding-based AM metal components on mechanical characteristics and microstructural characterization have been addressed. This work will aid researchers, academicians, and professional welders since it gathers vital information on welding-based AM processes. Furthermore, current research in the arena of welding-based AM and its future opportunities has been discussed.
Razzaq, L, Abbas, MM, Waseem, A, Jauhar, TA, Fayaz, H, Kalam, MA, Soudagar, MEM, A.S.Silitonga, Samr-Ul-Husnain & Ishtiaq, U 2023, 'Influence of varying concentrations of TiO2 nanoparticles and engine speed on the performance and emissions of diesel engine operated on waste cooking oil biodiesel blends using response surface methodology', Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 7, pp. e17758-e17758.
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Ren, L, Guo, Z, Zhang, L, Hu, H, Li, C, Lin, Z, Zhen, Z & Zhou, JL 2023, 'A novel aerobic denitrifying phosphate-accumulating bacterium efficiently removes phthalic acid ester, total nitrogen and phosphate from municipal wastewater', Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 52, pp. 103532-103532.
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Simultaneous removal of nitrogen, phosphate and emerging pollutants are critical for safe reuse of wastewater, but research in this field is limited. In the present study, a novel aerobic denitrifying phosphate-accumulating bacterial strain RL-GZ01 was found to be able to utilize phthalic acid esters (PAEs) as carbon resource for cell growth. Based on 16S rRNA gene analysis, physiological and biochemical characterization, and genome-based average nucleotide identity calculation, RL-GZ01 was identified as Rhodococcus pyridinivorans. Strain RL-GZ01 showed high DEHP degradation in alkaline conditions and good tolerance of salinity and organic solvents. The degradation of DEHP by RL-GZ01 fitted well with a modified Gompertz model (R2 = 0.9985). Metabolic intermediates of DEHP were identified via UHPLC-MS/MS analysis and the catabolic pathway was proposed thereafter. Genes and gene clusters contributed to the utilization of DEHP were analyzed through genomic analysis. Analysis of KEGG nitrogen metabolism pathway indicated that nitrate and nitrite were further transformed into ammonium which was further used for the biosynthesis of L-glutamine and L-glutamate. Strain RL-GZ01 was further identified as a denitrifying phosphate accumulating organism which can accumulate phosphate by generating polyphosphate. Finally, strain RL-GZ01 was applied to municipal wastewater treatment for simultaneous removal of nitrogen, phosphate and DEHP. The removal percentages of DEHP (5 mg/L), TN (71.2 mg/L), NH4+-N (70.9 mg/L), PO43−-P (10.89 mg/L) and COD (622.4 mg/L) by strain RL-GZ01 were 89.94 %, 64.45 %, 64.94 %, 76.30 % and 63.23 % within 84 h, respectively. These demonstrated the capability of strain RL-GZ01 for the biological treatment of wastewater containing PAEs.
Ren, L, Weng, L, Chen, D, Hu, H, Jia, Y & Zhou, JL 2023, 'Bioremediation of PAEs-contaminated saline soil: The application of a marine bacterial strain isolated from mangrove sediment', Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 192, pp. 115071-115071.
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Ren, Z, Cao, H, Desmond, P, Liu, B, Ngo, HH, He, X, Li, G, Ma, J & Ding, A 2023, 'Ions play different roles in virus removal caused by different NOMs in UF process: Removal efficiency and mechanism analysis', Chemosphere, vol. 313, pp. 137644-137644.
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Ren, Z, Shi, H, Zeng, J, He, X, Li, G, Ngo, HH, Ma, J, Tang, CY & Ding, A 2023, 'In Situ Utilization of Iron Flocs after Fe3+ Coagulation Enhances H2O2 Chemical Cleaning to Eliminate Viruses and Mitigate Ultrafiltration Membrane Fouling', ACS ES&T Water, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 2718-2729.
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Reza, MS, Hannan, MA, Ker, PJ, Mansor, M, Lipu, MSH, Hossain, MJ & Mahlia, TMI 2023, 'Uncertainty parameters of battery energy storage integrated grid and their modeling approaches: A review and future research directions', Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 68, pp. 107698-107698.
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Rony, ZI, Mofijur, M, Hasan, MM, Ahmed, SF, Almomani, F, Rasul, MG, Jahirul, MI, Loke Show, P, Kalam, MA & Mahlia, TMI 2023, 'Unanswered issues on decarbonizing the aviation industry through the development of sustainable aviation fuel from microalgae', Fuel, vol. 334, pp. 126553-126553.
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Concerns have been raised about the effects of fossil fuel combustion on global warming and climate change. Fuel consumer behavior is also heavily influenced by factors such as fluctuating fuel prices and the need for a consistent and reliable fuel supply. Microalgae fuel is gaining popularity in the aviation industry as a potential source of energy diversification. Microalgae can grow in saltwater or wastewater, capture CO2 from the atmosphere and produce lipids without requiring a large amount of land. As a result, the production of oil from microalgae poses no threat to food availability. The low carbon footprint of microalgae-derived fuels has the potential to mitigate the impact of traditional aviation fuels derived from petroleum on climate change and global warming. Therefore, aviation fuels derived from microalgae have the potential to be a more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional fuels. Gathering microalgal species with a high lipid content, drying them, and turning them into aviation fuel is an expensive process. The use of biofuels derived from microalgae in the aviation industry is still in its infancy, but there is room for growth. This study analyses the potential routes already researched, their drawbacks in implementation, and the many different conceptual approaches that can be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel from microalgal lipids. Microalgae species with fast-growing rates require less space and generate lipids that can be converted into biofuel without imperiling food security. The key challenges in algal-based aviation biofuel include decreased lipid content, harvesting expenses, and drying procedure that should be enhanced and optimized to increase process viability.
Roobavannan, S, Choo, Y, Truong, DQ, Han, DS, Shon, HK & Naidu, G 2023, 'Seawater lithium mining by zeolitic imidazolate framework encapsulated manganese oxide ion sieve nanomaterial', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 474, pp. 145957-145957.
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Roopa, AK, Hunashyal, AM, Patil, AY, Kamadollishettar, A, Patil, B, Soudagar, MEM, Shahapurkar, K, Khan, TMY & Kalam, MA 2023, 'Study on Interfacial Interaction of Cement-Based Nanocomposite by Molecular Dynamic Analysis and an RVE Approach', Advances in Civil Engineering, vol. 2023, pp. 1-18.
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There is an increased demand for cement nanocomposites in the twenty-first century due to their composition, higher strength, high efficiency, and multiscale nature. As carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess extremely high strength, resilience, and stiffness, inclusion of carbon nanotubes in small quantities to the concrete mix makes them a multifunctional material. A molecular level understanding is significant to capacitate the macrolevel properties of these composites. In the proposed work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to understand the behaviour of the composites at the atomic level and continuum mechanics with representative volume element (RVE) homogenization modelling is carried out for interfacial interaction study of composites. The mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus, shear modulus, and poisons are evaluated using previous methods of simulations for different compositions of nanomaterials in cement matrix. The FORCITE module of MD simulation and square RVE model is used to determine the mechanical, electrical properties, and elastic constants of the cement nanocomposite. The MD simulation describes the linking effect of CNT into cement matric, and the RVE modelling study reveals the pull-out effect of CNT from matrix. From experimental and analytical studies, it is found that increase in CNT till 0.5% weight fraction increases the mechanical properties about 12% and further increasing of CNT weight fraction causes a reduction in mechanical properties about 5% due to the agglomeration of nanotubes. The density of states method in MD simulation indicates that mobility of the electrons increases with an increase in carbon nanotube proportion in the composites. The experimental test results substantiate the analytical studies, and the error obtained from both approaches is less than 20%. From the analytical study, the average maximum Young’s modulus, shear modulus, and bulk modulus are obtained as 46 GPa, 31 GPa, and 32 ...
Rybarczyk, A, Smułek, W, Grzywaczyk, A, Kaczorek, E, Jesionowski, T, Nghiem, LD & Zdarta, J 2023, '3D printed polylactide scaffolding for laccase immobilization to improve enzyme stability and estrogen removal from wastewater', Bioresource Technology, vol. 381, pp. 129144-129144.
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This study reports a biocatalytic system of immobilized laccase and 3D printed open-structure biopolymer scaffoldings. The scaffoldings were computer-designed and 3D printed using polylactide (PLA) filament. The immobilization of laccase onto the 3D printed PLA scaffolds were optimized with regard to pH, enzyme concentration, and immobilization time. Laccase immobilization resulted in a small reduction in reactivity (in terms of Michaelis constant and maximum reaction rate) but led to significant improvement in chemical and thermal stability. After 20 days of storage, the immobilized and free laccase showed 80% and 35% retention of the initial enzymatic activity, respectively. The immobilized laccase on 3D printed PLA scaffolds achieved 10% improvement in the removal of estrogens from real wastewater as compared to free laccase and showed the significant reusability potential. Results here are promising but also highlight the need for further study to improve enzymatic activity and reusability.
Samadi, A, Ni, T, Fontananova, E, Tang, G, Shon, H & Zhao, S 2023, 'Engineering antiwetting hydrophobic surfaces for membrane distillation: A review', Desalination, vol. 563, pp. 116722-116722.
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Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging membrane separation technology with great potential for desalination, wastewater treatment and volatile resource recovery. It becomes even more attractive as it can utilize low-grade heat or renewable energy, and treat high-salinity waste liquids towards zero liquid discharge. However, the performance of MD is often limited by the wetting of hydrophobic porous membranes during operation, leading to reduced flux and efficiency. To overcome this challenge, the development of antiwetting hydrophobic MD membranes has gained increasing attention in recent years. In this review, we examine the liquid entry pressure (LEP) and its influencing factors (e.g. the maximum pore size, surface chemistry/free energy and surface roughness/architecture) of an MD membrane, which determine the antiwetting performance of the porous MD membrane. From enhancing the LEP point of view, we propose two key strategies for engineering antiwetting surfaces: (1) reducing the membrane pore size, and (2) increasing the liquid contact angle by minimizing the surface free energy and the liquid/solid contact area through enhancing the surface roughness and/or creating hierarchical/re-entrant structures. These strategies include various specific fabrication techniques, such as surface coating, vapor deposition, layer-by-layer assembly, surface fluorination, and surface functionalization. Green surface modification materials and methods are also discussed to reduce the application of less environmentally friendly fluoride-containing compounds. Furthermore, we provide insights and future directions for the design and engineering of high-performance antiwetting hydrophobic MD membranes. Overall, this review offers a comprehensive analysis of the current state-of-the-art research in engineering antiwetting hydrophobic MD membranes, and highlights the potential for the development of next-generation MD membranes with improved performance and efficiency.
Samadi-Boroujeni, H, Haghshenas-Adarmanabadi, A, Shayannejad, M & Khabbaz, H 2023, 'Comparison of Mohr-Coulomb and hardening soil constitutive models for simulation of settlements in the Karkheh earth dam', Australian Geomechanics Journal, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 143-158.
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This paper presents the settlement behaviour of Karkheh earth dam during its construction and operation stages. Karkheh is one of the largest earth dams in the world in terms of its reservoir capacity and body volume. The settlement of such a large body of soil can affect the performance of the dam elements and endanger downstream areas; should a breach or failure occur in the dam, more than two million people will be affected. It is crucial to know the settlement behaviour of this structure and use the existing results to predict its future settlements and calibrate the existing stress-strain models. For anticipation of dam settlement the measured displacement from the portable probe anchor magnets installed in the dam body are compared to the results of numerical simulations. The available data cover a period of 12 years including construction, and two material impounding and operation periods of the dam. The numerical analysis is performed in 2D plane-strain conditions and two material models are used, including Mohr-Coulomb (MC) and Hardening Soil (HS) models. The comparison between the calculation results and the measured vertical deformations in the dam site reveals that the accuracy of model for the deformations in the middle levels of dam is better than those of the crest for both applied material models in construction and impounding stages. The maximum settlement differences between computed and observed values are 0.05 m for MC model and 0.01 m for HS model. For the operation stage, the error of calculated settlements for the MC model is smaller; hence the results of this model might be more reliable for prediction of future dam settlements. The similar trends, obtained from both material models, exhibit the suitability of the model parameters used in the simulations.
Sateesh, KA, Yaliwal, VS, Banapurmath, NR, Soudagar, MEM, Yunus Khan, TM, Harari, PA, El-Shafay, AS, Mujtaba, MA, Elfaskhany, A & Kalam, MA 2023, 'Effect of MWCNTs nano-additive on a dual-fuel engine characteristics utilizing dairy scum oil methyl ester and producer gas', Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, vol. 42, pp. 102661-102661.
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Sebayang, AH, Ideris, F, Silitonga, AS, Shamsuddin, AH, Zamri, MFMA, Pulungan, MA, Siahaan, S, Alfansury, M, Kusumo, F & Milano, J 2023, 'Optimization of ultrasound-assisted oil extraction from Carica candamarcensis; A potential Oleaginous tropical seed oil for biodiesel production', Renewable Energy, vol. 211, pp. 434-444.
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Sebayang, AH, Kusumo, F, Milano, J, Shamsuddin, AH, Silitonga, AS, Ideris, F, Siswantoro, J, Veza, I, Mofijur, M & Reen Chia, S 2023, 'Optimization of biodiesel production from rice bran oil by ultrasound and infrared radiation using ANN-GWO', Fuel, vol. 346, pp. 128404-128404.
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Shahabuddin, M, Uddin, MN, Chowdhury, JI, Ahmed, SF, Uddin, MN, Mofijur, M & Uddin, MA 2023, 'A review of the recent development, challenges, and opportunities of electronic waste (e-waste)', International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 4513-4520.
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AbstractThis study reviews recent developments, challenges, and the prospect of electronic waste (e-waste). Various aspects of e-waste, including collection, pre-treatment, and recycling, are discussed briefly. It is found that Europe is the leading collector of e-waste, followed by Asia, America, Oceania, and Africa. The monetary worth of e-waste raw materials is estimated to be $57.0 billion. However, only $10.0 billion worth of e-waste is recycled and recovered sustainably, offsetting 15.0 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2. The major challenges of e-waste treatment include collection, sorting and inhomogeneity of waste, low energy density, prevention of further waste, emission, and cost-effective recycling. Only 78 countries in the world now have e-waste related legislation. Such legislation is not effectively implemented in most regions. Developing countries like south-eastern Asia and Northern Africa have limited or no e-waste legislation. Therefore, country-specific standards and legislation, public awareness, effective implementation, and government incentives for developing cost-effective technologies are sought to manage e-waste, which will play an important role in the circular economy.
Shahariar, GMH, Bodisco, TA, Surawski, N, Komol, MMR, Sajjad, M, Chu-Van, T, Ristovski, Z & Brown, RJ 2023, 'Real-driving CO2, NOx and fuel consumption estimation using machine learning approaches', Next Energy, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 100060-100060.
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Shanmugam, S, Mathimani, T, Rajendran, K, Sekar, M, Rene, ER, Chi, NTL, Ngo, HH & Pugazhendhi, A 2023, 'Perspective on the strategies and challenges in hydrogen production from food and food processing wastes', Fuel, vol. 338, pp. 127376-127376.
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Sharma, K, Akther, N, Choo, Y, Zhang, P, Matsuyama, H, Shon, HK & Naidu, G 2023, 'Positively charged nanofiltration membranes for enhancing magnesium separation from seawater', Desalination, vol. 568, pp. 117026-117026.
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Sharma, SK, Truong, DQ, Guo, J, An, AK, Naidu, G & Deka, BJ 2023, 'Recovery of rubidium from brine sources utilizing diverse separation technologies', Desalination, vol. 556, pp. 116578-116578.
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Shelare, SD, Belkhode, PN, Nikam, KC, Jathar, LD, Shahapurkar, K, Soudagar, MEM, Veza, I, Khan, TMY, Kalam, MA, Nizami, A-S & Rehan, M 2023, 'Biofuels for a sustainable future: Examining the role of nano-additives, economics, policy, internet of things, artificial intelligence and machine learning technology in biodiesel production', Energy, vol. 282, pp. 128874-128874.
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Shi, AC, Maidi, AM, Shamsuddin, N, Kalam, MA & Begum, F 2023, 'Photonic crystal fibre sensor for alcohol detection with extremely low birefringence', International Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 1-7.
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Shi, X, Chen, Z, Wei, W, Chen, J & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Toxicity of micro/nanoplastics in the environment: Roles of plastisphere and eco-corona', Soil & Environmental Health, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 100002-100002.
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Shi, X, Chen, Z, Wu, L, Wei, W & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Microplastics in municipal solid waste landfills: Detection, formation and potential environmental risks', Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, vol. 31, pp. 100433-100433.
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Sohn, W, Jiang, J, Phuntsho, S, Choden, Y, Tran, VH & Shon, HK 2023, 'Nutrients in a circular economy: Role of urine separation and treatment', Desalination, vol. 560, pp. 116663-116663.
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Son Tran, V, Hao Ngo, H, Guo, W, Ha Nguyen, T, Mai Ly Luong, T, Huan Nguyen, X, Lan Anh Phan, T, Trong Le, V, Phuong Nguyen, M & Khai Nguyen, M 2023, 'New chitosan-biochar composite derived from agricultural waste for removing sulfamethoxazole antibiotics in water', Bioresource Technology, vol. 385, pp. 129384-129384.
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Song, Y, He, W, Sun, X, Lei, J, Nghiem, LD, Duan, J, Liu, W, Liu, Y & Cai, Z 2023, 'C-doped Bi3O4X nanosheets with self-induced internal electric fields for pyrene degradation: Effects of carbon and halogen element type on photocatalytic activity', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 323, pp. 124426-124426.
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Soo, A, Wang, L, Wang, C & Shon, HK 2023, 'MachIne learning for nutrient recovery in the smart city circular economy – A review', Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 173, pp. 529-557.
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Urbanisation is leading to a concentration of growing city populations that contribute significantly to economic growth, while becoming epicentres of waste generation, greenhouse gas emissions, and food consumption. Nutrient smart city circular economy is currently an understudied intersection of growing city populations of food consumers, nutrient recovery technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), and agriculture. Meanwhile, machine learning has exploded with popularity over the years, with many circular economy literatures examining its usefulness in its predictive qualities to support management, optimisation, and recovery of useful resources from organic waste. This review paper examines advancements in machine learning for macronutrient recovery in city organic waste systems for a circular economy. The use of ML will greatly improve the scalability, transparency, productivity and accuracy of nutrient: recovery technologies, logistics, dissemination, and reuse. ML can also be combined with hardware to automate tedious waste separation, recovery and agricultural tasks using drones, hydroponics and satellites. Meanwhile, crop yields, nutrient demand-supply efficiencies, food security, environmental soil monitoring, and prosumer involvement could all increase. However, ML applications for urine, anaerobic digestion and prosumer economics are lacking.
Soudagar, MEM, Nik-Ghazali, N-N, Kalam, MA, Badruddin, IA, Banapurmath, NR, Khan, TMY, Bashir, MN, Akram, N, Farade, R & Afzal, A 2023, 'Corrigendum to “The effects of graphene oxide nanoparticle additive stably dispersed in dairy scum oil biodiesel-diesel fuel blend on CI engine: Performance, emission and combustion characteristics” [Fuel 257 (2019) 116015]', Fuel, vol. 352, pp. 128943-128943.
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Stelling-Wood, TP, Gribben, PE, Birch, G, Bishop, MJ, Blount, C, Booth, DJ, Brown, C, Bruce, E, Bugnot, AB, Byrne, M, Creese, RG, Dafforn, KA, Dahlenburg, J, Doblin, MA, Fellowes, TE, Fowler, AM, Gibbs, MC, Glamore, W, Glasby, TM, Hay, AC, Kelaher, B, Knott, NA, Larkum, AWD, Parker, LM, Marzinelli, EM, Mayer-Pinto, M, Morgan, B, Murray, SA, Rees, MJ, Ross, PM, Roughan, M, Saintilan, N, Scanes, E, Seymour, JR, Schaefer, N, Suthers, IM, Taylor, MD, Williamson, JE, Vila Concejo, A, Whittington, RJ & Figueira, WF 2023, 'A deep dive into the ecology of Gamay (Botany Bay, Australia): current knowledge and future priorities for this highly modified coastal waterway', Marine and Freshwater Research, vol. 74, no. 12, pp. 1003-1025.
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Context Gamay is a coastal waterway of immense social, cultural and ecological value. Since European settlement, it has become a hub for industrialisation and human modification. There is growing desire for ecosystem-level management of urban waterways, but such efforts are often challenged by a lack of integrated knowledge. Aim and methods We systematically reviewed published literature and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and consulted scientists to produce a review of Gamay that synthesises published knowledge of Gamay’s aquatic ecosystem to identify knowledge gaps and future research opportunities. Key results We found 577 published resources on Gamay, of which over 70% focused on ecology. Intertidal rocky shores were the most studied habitat, focusing on invertebrate communities. Few studies considered multiple habitats or taxa. Studies investigating cumulative human impacts, long-term trends and habitat connectivity are lacking, and the broader ecological role of artificial substrate as habitat in Gamay is poorly understood. TEK of Gamay remains a significant knowledge gap. Habitat restoration has shown promising results and could provide opportunities to improve affected habitats in the future. Conclusion and implications This review highlights the extensive amount of knowledge that exists for Gamay, but also identifies key gaps that need to be filled for effective management.
Stone, RC, Farhangi, V, Fatahi, B & Karakouzian, M 2023, 'A novel short pile foundation system bonded to highly cemented layers for settlement control', Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 60, no. 9, pp. 1332-1351.
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While design methods of deep foundations are mainly developed for homogenous soil deposits, the presence of highly cemented layers could lead to underestimation of resistance and overestimation of settlement of pile foundations. This study presents a novel approach using competent caliche layers bonded to the top and bottom of a continuous flight auger (CFA) pile as a new composite foundation system named caliche stiffened pile (CSP). The key objective is to optimize the required pile length in a cost-effective approach without ameliorating soil properties. Settlements of the CSP foundation for a high-rise building were monitored and full-scale tests were conducted to measure piles’ capacity. Finite element back analyses were performed to avoid adverse effect of sample disturbance in settlement calculations. A back calculation of a test fill embankment was performed to determine soil stiffness parameters by simulating an unscheduled imposed load to the structure. Impacts of the CSP on controlling the settlement of pile foundation and optimizing the required pile length are investigated using finite element analysis and a parametric study. The proposed CSP foundation can reduce the CFA pile settlement significantly in the presence of caliche layers with thickness equal or greater than a pile diameter at CFA pile head and toe, where the CSP is located.
Suherman, Abdullah, I, Sabri, M, Turmuzi, M, Silitonga, AS, Dharma, S & Yusfiani, M 2023, 'A Review of Properties, Engine Performance, Emission Characteristics and Material Compatibility Biodiesel From Waste Cooking Oil (WCO)', Automotive Experiences, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 624-651.
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Biodiesel is one of the renewable energy sources, non-fossil. The chosen feedstock should ideally be low-cost. Using waste cooking oil can reduce synthetic biodiesel's price by up to 70%. However, biodiesel has the advantage of lower heating value and higher density, causing increased fuel consumption and NOx emissions. Biodiesel has physicochemical properties such as a more significant cetane number than fossil diesel, a high flash point, and the absence of sulfur. This study identifies the potential availability of WCO as biodiesel and summarizes recent studies on the physiochemical properties of WCO biodiesel. This study also aims to clarify the use of WCO biodiesel on engine performance and exhaust emission characteristics (H.C., CO, CO2, NOx) when this biodiesel is used. Engine type and biodiesel ratio were identified for all articles. This study also discusses the effect of adding nanoparticles on engine performance and exhaust emissions in WCO biodiesel. This study also clarifies material compatibility (corrosion, wear, and friction). The corrosion rate in various types of materials and corrosion testing methods. Finally, this paper presents the opportunity for WCO biodiesel to be very feasible to reduce fossil diesel use.
Suherman, S, Abdullah, I, Sabri, M & Silitonga, AS 2023, 'Evaluation of Physicochemical Properties Composite Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil and Schleichera oleosa Oil', Energies, vol. 16, no. 15, pp. 5771-5771.
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Waste cooking oil (WCO) biodiesel has some disadvantages, such as poor cold flow properties, low oxidation stability, and flash point during storage. These poor physicochemical properties can be improved by different ways, such as the addition of non-edible oil. The aim of this study to analyse physicochemical properties of the biodiesel made by between WCO and Schleichera oleosa (SO). The biodiesel produced with 70:30% of WCO and SO respectively as crude oil, further introducing of different KOH-based catalyst into this oil to obtained the methyl ester. The optimum yield transesterification process are 94% with 60 min. of the reaction time, 1 wt.% KOH, and 12:1 molar ratio the methanol to oil. On the other hand, the Schleichera oleosa blend shows oxidation stability at 6.8 h and 3.3 h for Waste cooking oil methyl ester (WCME). The reduction of cold flow and, on the contrary, the flash point increase were obtained with a 70:30% ratio of WCO and SO. The cold flow properties and flash point of the fuel. Thus, mixed WCO and Schleichera oleosa oil improve the physiochemical properties such as oxidation stability, flash point, and cold flow of biodiesel without the need for synthetic antioxidants.
Sulaiman, M, Rabbani, FA, Iqbal, T, Kazmi, MA, Yasin, S, Mujtaba, MA, Kalam, MA & Almomani, F 2023, 'Impact of eco-friendly chemical pretreatment on physicochemical and surface mechanical properties of sustainable lignocellulosic agricultural waste', Algal Research, vol. 71, pp. 103051-103051.
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Sun, H, Tian, Y, Zhan, W, Zhang, H, Meng, Y, Li, L, Zhou, X, Zuo, W & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Estimating Yangtze River basin's riverine N2O emissions through hybrid modeling of land-river-atmosphere nitrogen flows', Water Research, vol. 247, pp. 120779-120779.
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Sun, X, Pan, Y, Song, Y, Liu, W, Nghiem, LD, Wang, Q & Cai, Z 2023, 'Ceftriaxone sodium degradation by carbon quantum dots (CQDs)-decorated C-doped α-Bi2O3 nanorods', Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, vol. 13, pp. 100219-100219.
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A novel carbon quantum dots decorated C-doped α-Bi2O3 photocatalyst (CBO/CQDs) was synthesized by solvothermal method. The synergistic effect of adsorption and photocatalysis highly improved contaminants removal efficiencies. The ceftriaxone sodium degradation rate constant (k) of CBO/CQDs was 11.4 and 3.2 times that of pure α-Bi2O3 and C-doped α-Bi2O3, respectively. The interstitial carbon doping generated localized states above the valence band, which enhanced the utilization of visible light and facilitated the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes; the loading of CQDs improved the charge carrier separation and extended the visible light response; the reduced particle size of CBO/CQDs accelerated the migration of photogenerated carriers. The •O2 - and h+ were identified as the dominant reactive species in ceftriaxone sodium degradation, and the key role of •O2 - was further investigated by NBT transformation experiments. The Fukui index was applied to ascertain the molecular bonds of ceftriaxone sodium susceptible to radical attack, and intermediates analysis was conducted to explore the possible degradation pathways. The toxicity evaluation revealed that some degradation intermediates possessed high toxicity, thus the contaminants require sufficient mineralization to ensure safe discharge. The present study makes new insights into synchronous carbon dopping and CQDs decoration on modification of α-Bi2O3, which provides references for future studies.
Szczygiełda, M, Krajewska, M, Andrzejewski, A, Zheng, L, Nghiem, LD, Oleskowicz-Popiel, P, Szymanowska, D & Prochaska, K 2023, 'Dewatering fermentation broth for keto carboxylic acid enrichment by forward osmosis: A techno-economic analysis', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 679, pp. 121699-121699.
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Tang, J, Yang, H, Pu, Y, Hu, Y, Qu, X, Chen, S, Wang, XC, Ngo, HH, Li, Y & Abomohra, A 2023, 'Bioenergy production from swine wastewater based on a combined process of anaerobic dynamic membrane reactor and microalgae cultivation: Feasibility and performance', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 899, pp. 165621-165621.
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Tang, L, Pan, Z, Li, X, Li, J & Meng, J 2023, 'Antibiotics resistance removal from piggery wastewater by an integrated anaerobic–aerobic biofilm reactor: Efficiency and mechanism', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 905, pp. 167031-167031.
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Tawalbeh, M, Mohammed, S, Al-Othman, A, Yusuf, M, Mofijur, M & Kamyab, H 2023, 'MXenes and MXene-based materials for removal of pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater: Critical review', Environmental Research, vol. 228, pp. 115919-115919.
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Thanikodi, S, Milano, J, Sebayang, AH, Shamsuddin, AH, Rangappa, SM, Siengchin, S, Silitonga, AS, Bahar, AH, Ibrahim, H & Benu, SM 2023, 'Enhancing the engine performance using multi fruits peel (exocarp) ash with nanoparticles in biodiesel production', Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 2122-2143.
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Thiri Zun, M, Shakeel Ahmad, M, Fayaz, H, Selvaraj, J, Ahmed, W, Wang, Y, Ben Khedher, N, Silitonga, AS, Elfasakhany, A, Kalam, MA & Rashid, B 2023, 'Towards techno-economics of green hydrogen as a primary combustion fuel for recreational vehicle vapor absorption refrigeration system', Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, vol. 56, pp. 103007-103007.
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Velumayil, R, Seikh, A, Balasubramanian, V, Kalam, M, Ravishankar, S, Venugopal, J, Chitra, L, Saravanakumar, L & Senthilkumar, TS 2023, 'Performance enhancement of water output via latent heat storage system with single slope solar stills', Thermal Science, vol. 27, no. 6 Part B, pp. 4851-4860.
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The purpose of this study was to design, build, and assess the performance of a latent heat storage system in tandem with a single slope solar still. Using a solar accumulator to transfer hot water to a shell and a spiral finned tube filled with 30 kg of paraffin wax ? 1.2 wt.% of Al2O3 nanocomposites, latent heat was stored. To test the effect of the storage system?s performance, two trials were conducted, with and without storage, under as similar of conditions as could be arranged. The proposed storage system design eliminates any potential issues with usage of paraffin wax as the storage system in conjunction with the solar still. An outcome indicated that daily fresh water output was enhanced by 4.63% when the solar still was used in conjunction with the storage system.
Veza, I, Asy'ari, MZ, Idris, M, Epin, V, Rizwanul Fattah, IM & Spraggon, M 2023, 'Electric vehicle (EV) and driving towards sustainability: Comparison between EV, HEV, PHEV, and ICE vehicles to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 from EV', Alexandria Engineering Journal, vol. 82, pp. 459-467.
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Veza, I, Irianto, Tuan Hoang, A, Yusuf, AA, Herawan, SG, Soudagar, MEM, Samuel, OD, Said, MFM & Silitonga, AS 2023, 'Effects of Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) addition on HCCI-DI engine performance, combustion and emission', Fuel, vol. 333, pp. 126377-126377.
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Veza, I, Spraggon, M, Fattah, IMR & Idris, M 2023, 'Response surface methodology (RSM) for optimizing engine performance and emissions fueled with biofuel: Review of RSM for sustainability energy transition', Results in Engineering, vol. 18, pp. 101213-101213.
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Vishwakarma, V, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2023, 'Surface Treatment of Polymer Membranes for Effective Biofouling Control', Membranes, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 736-736.
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Membrane biofouling is the consequence of the deposition of microorganisms on polymer membrane surfaces. Polymeric membranes have garnered more attention for filtering and purifying water because of their ease of handling, low cost, effortless surface modification, and mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties. The sizes of the pores in the membranes enable micro- and nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, and reverse osmosis. Commonly used polymers for water filter membranes are polyvinyl chloride (PVA), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyamide (PA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyethersulfone (PES), polyimide (PI), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl alcohol (PA), poly (methacrylic acid) (PMAA), polyaniline nanoparticles (PANI), poly (arylene ether ketone) (PAEK), polyvinylidene fluoride polysulfone (PSF), poly (ether imide) (PEI), etc. However, these polymer membranes are often susceptible to biofouling because of inorganic, organic, and microbial fouling, which deteriorates the membranes and minimizes their lives, and increases operating costs. Biofouling infection on polymer membranes is responsible for many chronic diseases in humans. This contamination cannot be eliminated by periodic pre- or post-treatment processes using biocides and other chemicals. For this reason, it is imperative to modify polymer membranes by surface treatments to enhance their efficiency and longevity. The main objective of this manuscript is to discuss application-oriented approaches to control biofouling on polymer membranes using various surface treatment methods, including nanomaterials and fouling characterizations utilizing advanced microscopy and spectroscopy techniques.
Vo, T-K-Q, Hoang, Q-H, Ngo, HH, Tran, C-S, Ninh, TNN, Le, S-L, Nguyen, A-T, Pham, TT, Nguyen, T-B, Lin, C & Bui, X-T 2023, 'Influence of salinity on microalgae-bacteria symbiosis treating shrimp farming wastewater', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 902, pp. 166111-166111.
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Vo, TPT, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Turney, C, Liu, Y, Nguyen, DD, Bui, XT & Varjani, S 2023, 'Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on climate change summit negotiations from the climate governance perspective', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 878, pp. 162936-162936.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to the world since 2020, with over 647 million confirmed cases and 6.7 million reported deaths as of January 2023. Despite its far-reaching impact, the effects of COVID-19 on the progress of global climate change negotiations have yet to be thoroughly evaluated. This discussion paper conducts an examination of COVID-19's impact on climate change actions at global, national, and local levels through a comprehensive review of existing literature. This analysis reveals that the pandemic has resulted in delays in implementing climate policies and altered priorities from climate action to the pandemic response. Despite these setbacks, the pandemic has also presented opportunities for accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy. The interplay between these outcomes and the different levels of governance will play a crucial role in determining the success or failure of future climate change negotiations.
Vu, HP, Cai, Z, Tra, V-T, Wang, Q & Nghiem, LD 2023, 'Anaerobic co-digestion of expired alcohol-based hand sanitizer with synthetic wastewater for biogas production', Environmental Technology & Innovation, vol. 32, pp. 103319-103319.
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Vu, MT, Duong, HC, Wang, Q, Ansari, A, Cai, Z, Hoang, NB & Nghiem, LD 2023, 'Recent technological developments and challenges for phosphorus removal and recovery toward a circular economy', Environmental Technology & Innovation, vol. 30, pp. 103114-103114.
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Vu, MT, Duong, HC, Wang, Q, Cai, Z, Hoang, NB, Viet, NTT & Nghiem, LD 2023, 'A low-cost method using steel-making slag to quench the residual phosphorus from wastewater effluent', Environmental Technology & Innovation, vol. 31, pp. 103181-103181.
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Wali, SB, Hannan, MA, Abd Rahman, MS, Alghamdi, HA, Mansor, M, Ker, PJ, Tiong, SK & Mahlia, TMI 2023, 'Usage count of hydrogen-based hybrid energy storage systems: An analytical review, challenges and future research potentials', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 48, no. 89, pp. 34836-34861.
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Wali, SB, Hannan, MA, Ker, PJ, Rahman, MSA, Tiong, SK, Begum, RA & Mahlia, TMI 2023, 'Techno-economic assessment of a hybrid renewable energy storage system for rural community towards achieving sustainable development goals', Energy Strategy Reviews, vol. 50, pp. 101217-101217.
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Walworth, NG, Espinoza, JL, Argyle, PA, Hinners, J, Levine, NM, Doblin, MA, Dupont, CL & Collins, S 2023, 'Genus-Wide Transcriptional Landscapes Reveal Correlated Gene Networks Underlying Microevolutionary Divergence in Diatoms', Molecular Biology and Evolution, vol. 40, no. 10.
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Abstract Marine microbes like diatoms make up the base of marine food webs and drive global nutrient cycles. Despite their key roles in ecology, biogeochemistry, and biotechnology, we have limited empirical data on how forces other than adaptation may drive diatom diversification, especially in the absence of environmental change. One key feature of diatom populations is frequent extreme reductions in population size, which can occur both in situ and ex situ as part of bloom-and-bust growth dynamics. This can drive divergence between closely related lineages, even in the absence of environmental differences. Here, we combine experimental evolution and transcriptome landscapes (t-scapes) to reveal repeated evolutionary divergence within several species of diatoms in a constant environment. We show that most of the transcriptional divergence can be captured on a reduced set of axes, and that repeatable evolution can occur along a single major axis of variation defined by core ortholog expression comprising common metabolic pathways. Previous work has associated specific transcriptional changes in gene networks with environmental factors. Here, we find that these same gene networks diverge in the absence of environmental change, suggesting these pathways may be central in generating phenotypic diversity as a result of both selective and random evolutionary forces. If this is the case, these genes and the functions they encode may represent universal axes of variation. Such axes that capture suites of interacting transcriptional changes during diversification improve our understanding of both global patterns in local adaptation and microdiversity, as well as evolutionary forces shaping algal cultivation.
Wang, C, Park, MJ, Choo, YW, Huang, Y, Phuntsho, S & Shon, HK 2023, 'Inkjet printing technique for membrane fabrication and modification: A review', Desalination, vol. 565, pp. 116841-116841.
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Recently, inkjet printing technology has received increasing interests for membrane fabrication and modification. It offers various advantages such as the facile and fast process, minimal chemical consumption and precise chemical deposition. It is essential to have a holistic understanding of the inkjet printing technique used for different kinds for membranes, not only to further accelerate its application in membrane field, but also to prepare more advanced membranes with excellent performance. This review paper introduced the basic inkjet printer types used for membrane preparation such as thermal and piezoelectric drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet printers. It also provided a comprehensive review of the detailed inkjet printing assisted membrane fabrication and modification processes and their applications in different membrane areas including the membrane-based separation (e.g., reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN), gas separation membranes, and oil/water separation membranes) and fuel cell applications.
Wang, C, Park, MJ, Gonzales, RR, Matsuyama, H, Drioli, E & Shon, HK 2023, 'Graphene oxide-based layer-by-layer nanofiltration membrane using inkjet printing for desalination', Desalination, vol. 549, pp. 116357-116357.
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Wang, C, Wang, L, Soo, A, Bansidhar Pathak, N & Kyong Shon, H 2023, 'Machine learning based prediction and optimization of thin film nanocomposite membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 304, pp. 122328-122328.
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In this study, machine learning was used to form prediction models for thin film nanocomposite (TFN) organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membrane performance evaluation in terms of relative permeability (RP) and relative selectivity (RS). Twenty references including 9252 data points were collected to form four different models: linear, support vector machine (SVM), boosted tree (BT), and artificial neural network (ANN). Among the four models, BT exhibited optimal prediction accuracy in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2) values for membrane RP (RMSE: 0.295, R2: 0.918) and RS (RMSE: 0.053, R2: 0.849) performance prediction. Parameter contribution analysis indicated that nanoparticle loading, amine concentration, chloride concentration, water contact angle, solvent viscosity, and molar volume are the main parameters influencing RP performance. For RS performance, nanoparticle loading, amine concentration, chloride concentration, and solute molecular weight play important roles. Partial dependence analysis indicated that the optimal conditions for TFN-OSN membrane fabrication are nanoparticle loading less than 5 wt%, the amine concentration around 2 wt%, and the chloride concentration around 0.15 wt%. In addition, membrane with super-hydrophilic or super-hydrophobic surface property exhibited higher RP performance based on different feed solvent types. Overall, this work introduces new ways both for TFN-OSN membrane performance prediction and for higher performance membrane design and development.
Wang, C, Wang, Y, Chen, Z, Wei, W, Chen, X, Mannina, G & Ni, B-J 2023, 'A novel strategy for efficiently transforming waste activated sludge into medium-chain fatty acid using free nitrous acid', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 862, pp. 160826-160826.
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The global energy crisis is approaching due to rapid population growth and overexploitation of fossil fuels. Therefore, the development and use of new and renewable energy sources is already in the extreme urgency. This work developed a novel technology to efficiently produce renewable liquid bioenergy from discarded wastes, by effectively transforming sewage sludge into high-value medium chain fatty acids (MCFA). The maximum MCFA yield in the anaerobic sludge fermentation was revealed to be 10.6 times of control when utilizing sewage sludge with 1.78 mg-N/L free nitrous acid (FNA) pretreatment. The carbon flow from sewage sludge into MCFA in the fermentation system was significantly enhanced with appropriate levels (0.71-1.78 mg-N/L) of FNA pretreatment. Compared to FNA pretreatment, however, its direct addition severely inhibited total products (i.e., carboxylates and complex alcohols) generation because of the toxicity on live cells (decreasing to 8.3 %-13.9 %) in sludge. Kinetic models (one-substrate and two-substrate) were utilized to investigate the mechanism of MCFA promotion by FNA pretreatment on anaerobic sludge fermentation, in which linear relationship analysis between FNA-derived organic release and the fitted parameters were also performed. The results indicated that the conversion of refractory materials into rapidly bioavailable substrates for MCFA production contributed to increasing MCFA production rate and potential. Moreover, the relative abundances of functional microorganisms related to hydrolysis-acidification and chain elongation process increased under FNA pretreatment, further favoring the MCFA production. This study provides a novel and effective technology of sludge energy recovery that can achieve the next-generation sustainable sewage sludge management.
Wang, C, Wei, W, Zhang, Y-T, Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Hydrochar alleviated the inhibitory effects of polyvinyl chloride microplastics and nanoplastics on anaerobic granular sludge for wastewater treatment', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 452, pp. 139302-139302.
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The exposure to microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) has been confirmed to exhibit significant inhibitory effects on anaerobic granular sludge (AGS) for wastewater treatment, with effective mitigation strategies being accordingly imperative. Herein, this study innovatively proposed a strategy for mitigating inhibitory effects of MPs/NPs on AGS system based on coconut shell-derived hydrochar through efficiently capturing the existing polyvinyl chloride microplastics and nanoplastics (PVC-MPs and PVC-NPs) from AGS. The hydrochar increased methane production of AGS from 69.4% to 76.2% and from 65.6% to 91.4% of control when the AGSs were exposed to PVC-MPs and PVC-NPs, respectively. More extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) was secreted with the existence of hydrochar, which enhanced the protective capabilities AGS held to against the negative effects from the external toxicity of PVC-MPs and PVC-NPs, thus maintaining better AGS integrity regarding granule size and cell viability (especially for the PVC-NPs affected AGS). The hydrochar showed stronger adsorption capability to PVC-MPs and PVC-NPs than AGS, confirmed by their characteristics and adsorption kinetic tests. As a result, less plastic particles would attach AGS, inducing less oxidative stress to the microbes. Specially, it would also be less likely for PVC-NPs to penetrate through AGS surface and enter the internal core, retaining better richness of bacteria such as Bacteroidales and Syntrophobacterales in AGS. This work demonstrated hydrochar effectively alleviated the suppression on AGS caused by PVC-MPs and PVC-NPs, providing a novel strategy for improving the wastewater treatment performance under the stress of MPs and NPs.
Wang, F, Long, G & Zhou, JL 2023, 'Deep insight into green remediation and hazard-free disposal of electrolytic manganese residue-based cementitious material', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 894, pp. 165049-165049.
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This work presents an innovative approach to developing a low-carbon and hazard-free cementitious material (EGC) by activating ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) with electrolytic manganese residue (EMR), which has an excellent heavy metal solidified capacity. Herein, the multi-step leaching was creatively conducted to investigate the solidified morphology of heavy metals in hazardous EMR. CO2 emission per unit strength factor was calculated to quantitatively analyze the low-carbon degree. The results show that the added hazardous EMR rich in sulfate and the dilution effect caused by the decrease in GGBS lessen the final setting time and fluidity. Low-temperature calcination (200 °C) alters the dissolution rate of ettringite and AFm-like phases by changing the sulfate crystal. Excessive acidic EMR consumes more calcium hydroxide and lowers the pH of the EGC system, resulting in weakened GGBS activity. The formation of jouravskite, thaumasite, and henritermierite are AFm-like hydrated lamellated structures, which provides evidence for the immobilization of Mn2+ in EMR. Vast Mn2+ are embedded in the main interlayer of [Ca2Al(OH)6]+ by substituting Al to form AFm-like phase. The lowest 60d unit compressive strength carbon emission of the EGC system containing 20 % calcinated EMR is 0.78 kg∙MPa-1∙m-3, meaning the substitution barrier is better addressed by adding calcined EMR. This work provides an innovative solution for high value-added and hazard-free utilization for EMR and carbon reduction in the cement industry.
Wang, F, Long, G, Bai, M, Shi, Y & Zhou, JL 2023, 'Feasibility of low-carbon electrolytic manganese residue-based supplementary cementitious materials', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 883, pp. 163672-163672.
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Wang, F, Long, G, Bai, M, Wang, J, Shi, Y, Zhou, X & Zhou, JL 2023, 'A new perspective on Belite-ye'elimite-ferrite cement manufactured from electrolytic manganese residue: Production, properties, and environmental analysis', Cement and Concrete Research, vol. 163, pp. 107019-107019.
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In this research, the electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) based belite-ye'elimite-ferrite (E-BYF) clinker composed of 51.6 % belite, 25.6 % iron phase, 15.8 % ye'elimite and 6.5 % over-burned anhydrite phase was manufactured successfully at 1200 °C _ 30 min by utilizing EMR (45.5 %) and additional CaO and Al2O3. The existence of iron-rich and heavy metal phases was a potential driving force for achieving near complete calcination at 1200 °C _30 min. The iron ions (8.4 %) and the over-burned anhydrite phase partially replaced the Al3+ ions by entering the ye'elimite lattice and provided enough SO3 (5.9 %) to help stabilize ye'elimite and β-C2S formation, respectively. Layered double hydroxides such as AFm phase and strätlingite formed dense microstructure and improved pastes strength as a new rigid skeleton. The formation of rigid solid skeleton-flexible gel embedded co-support system provided a reliable solution for eliminating inherent strength plateau (3-day of 45.9 MPa and 60-day of 107.0 MPa). In this system, the solid-phase hydrates as the main skeleton offered sufficient rigid-supporting, while the gels hydrates as the auxiliary fluid that filled into the pores of the formed skeleton gave the adequately flexible-supporting. In addition, the pastes showed an excellent stabilization ability of heavy metals. The E-BYF system has great potential in reducing CO2 emissions (0.58 kg/kg and 1.36 kg·/MPa·m3) and cost. This work provides a new perspective for a high-quality solution to the strength plateau while achieving a high value-added utilization of EMR.
Wang, F, Long, G, Ma, K, Zeng, X, Tang, Z, Dong, R, He, J, Shangguan, M, Hu, Q, Liew, RK, Li, Y & Zhou, J 2023, 'Recyling manganese-rich electrolytic residues: a review', Environmental Chemistry Letters, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 2251-2284.
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Wang, H, Zhang, Q, Li, X, Yi, Y, Wang, Q, Gao, L, Wang, J, He, D & Li, M 2023, 'Surface microrelief induced by tillage management alters the pathway and composition of dissolved organic matter exports from soils to runoff during rainfall', Water Research, vol. 245, pp. 120554-120554.
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Wang, M-M, Liu, L-J, Xi, J-R, Ding, Y, Liu, P-X, Mao, L, Ni, B-J, Wang, W-K & Xu, J 2023, 'Lattice doping of Zn boosts oxygen vacancies in Co3O4 Nanocages: Improving persulfate activation via forming Surface-Activated complex', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 451, pp. 138605-138605.
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The presence of oxygen vacancies (OVs) promotes persulfate activation. However, rational modulation of OVs without compromising the inherent structure of catalysts is challenging. Herein, novel OVs-enriched hollow ZnCo2O4 nanocages are synthesized based on a bimetallic ZIF-67@ZIF-8 precursor for efficient peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation. The incorporation of Zn into the lattice of Co3O4 boosts the number of OVs in the catalysts while preserving the morphology of Co3O4 nanocages derived from metal-organic framework (MOFs) templates. As a result, the degradation rate of organic pollutants such as bisphenol A is improved by over 20 times in the developed PDS activation system. OVs promote the formation of a surface-activated complex from PDS onto the catalyst surface, which can subsequently deprive electrons from pollutants. The developed PDS activation system is resistant to Cl−, NO3− and humic acid at environmental concentrations. This system adapts to selectively degrade organic pollutants with low ionic potential, and shows applicable potential in practical packaging wastewater treatment. The decreased catalytic performance of catalysts during utilization can be recovered with a facile thermal treatment. Our work constructs OV active sites on Co3O4 nanocages while preserving their original structural superiorities, providing a new strategy to functionalize MOF-derived materials.
Wang, Q, Han, N, Shen, Z, Li, X, Chen, Z, Cao, Y, Si, W, Wang, F, Ni, B-J & Thakur, VK 2023, 'MXene-based electrochemical (bio) sensors for sustainable applications: Roadmap for future advanced materials', Nano Materials Science, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 39-52.
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MXenes are emerging transition metal carbides and nitrides-based 2D conductive materials. They have found wide applications in sensors due to their excellent valuable properties. This paper reviews the recent research status of MXene-based electrochemical (bio) sensors for detecting biomarkers, pesticides, and other aspects. The first part of this paper introduced the synthesis strategy and the effect of surface modification on various properties of MXenes. The second part of this paper discussed the application of MXenes as electrode modifiers for detecting pesticides, environmental pollutants, and biomarkers such as glucose, hydrogen peroxide, etc. Hope this review will inspire more efforts toward research on MXene-based sensors to meet the growing requirements.
Wang, S, Zhang, X, Peng, A, Liu, Y, Ngo Huu, H, Guo, W & Wen, H 2023, 'Research progress and challenges in recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients from water by biochar', Huagong Jinzhan/Chemical Industry and Engineering Progress, vol. 42, no. 10, pp. 5459-5469.
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The presence of excessive nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients leads to eutrophication of water. Biochar has the advantages of large specific surface area, high porosity, high thermal stability, and abundant surface functional groups, and presents good performance in adsorption and removal of pollutants in water. In recent years, biochar has received much attention as an economical and efficient adsorbent for the adsorption of nitrogen and phosphorus in water, however, various biochar exhibits the different adsorption performance in recovering nitrogen or phosphorus in water. This paper reviewes the adsorption performance of biochar prepared and modified from various waste biomasses on nitrogen and phosphorus in water, discusses the factors affecting the adsorption of nitrogen and phosphorus in water by different types of biochar, ambient temperature, solution pH and coexisting ions, and summarizes the main mechanisms for the adsorption of nitrogen and phosphorus in water by biochar. In the meantime, the challenges faced in practical applications are pointed out, and further the future research directions of biochar are also prospected, so as to provide a theoretical basis for the practical use of biochar for the adsorption and recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus in water.
Wang, S-N, Cao, J-S, Zhang, J-L, Luo, J-Y, Ni, B-J & Fang, F 2023, 'Recovery of phosphorus from wastewater containing humic substances through vivianite crystallization: Interaction and mechanism analysis', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 331, pp. 117324-117324.
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Vivianite crystallization has been regarded as a suitable option for recovering phosphorus (P) from P-containing wastewater. However, the presence of humic substances (HS) would inevitably affect the formation of vivianite crystals. Therefore, the influences of HS on vivianite crystallization and the changes in the harvested vivianite crystals were investigated in this study. The results suggested the inhibition effect of 70 mg/L HS on vivianite crystallization reached 12.24%, while it could be attenuated by increasing the pH and Fe/P ratio of the solution. Meanwhile, the addition of HS altered the size, purity, and morphology of recovered vivianite crystals due to the blockage of the growth sites on the crystal surface. Additionally, the formation of phosphate ester group, hydrogen bonding, and COOH-Fe2+ complexes are the potential mechanisms of HS interaction with vivianite crystals. The results obtained herein will help to elucidate the underlying mechanism of HS on vivianite crystallization from P-containing wastewater.
Wang, S-N, Chen, Y-H, Ge, R, Cao, J-S, Ni, B-J & Fang, F 2023, 'Revealing the hydrodynamic effects on phosphorus recovery as vivianite in stirring and aeration systems through PIV experiments and theoretical calculations', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 475, pp. 146454-146454.
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Wang, X, Han, C, Li, H, Su, P, Ta, N, Ma, Y, Huang, Z & Liu, J 2023, 'Fabrication of monodispersed B, N co-doped hierarchical porous carbon nanocages through confined etching to boost electrocatalytic oxygen reduction', Nano Research, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 290-298.
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Dual heteroatom-doped carbons have attracted widespread research attention as catalysts in the field of energy storage and conversion due to their unique electronic structures and chemical tunability. In particular, boron and nitrogen co-doped carbon (B,N@C) has shown great potential for photo/electrocatalytic applications. However, more needs to be done for rational designing and regulating the structure of these materials to improve their catalytic performance. Herein, monodispersed hierarchical porous B,N@C nanocages were fabricated by pyrolyzing zeolite imidazole framework (ZIF) which was treated with ammonia borane or boric acid via an integrated double-solvent impregnation and nanocofined-etching method. The treated ZIF-8 provided an essential structural template to achieve B, N co-doped hierarchical structures with micro/meso/macro multimodal pore size distributions. The resultant B,N@C nanocages displayed high catalytic activities for electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media, outperforming most carbon-based catalysts, particularly from the perspective of the half-wave potentials. Such high catalytic performance is due to the enhanced activity by the coexistence of B and N and the mass transfer promoted by the unique hierarchical porous structure. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].
Wang, X, Liu, T, Li, H, Han, C, Su, P, Ta, N, Jiang, SP, Kong, B, Liu, J & Huang, Z 2023, 'Balancing Mass Transfer and Active Sites to Improve Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction by B,N Codoped C Nanoreactors', Nano Letters, vol. 23, no. 11, pp. 4699-4707.
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Mass transfer is critical in catalytic processes, especially when the reactions are facilitated by nanostructured catalysts. Strong efforts have been devoted to improving the efficacy and quantity of active sites, but often, mass transfer has not been well studied. Herein, we demonstrate the importance of mass transfer in the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by tailoring the pore sizes. Using a confined-etching strategy, we fabricate boron- and nitrogen-doped carbon (B,N@C) electrocatalysts featuring abundant active sites but different porous structures. The ORR performance of these catalysts is found to correlate with diffusion of the reactant. The optimized B,N@C with trimodal-porous structures feature enhanced O2 diffusion and better activity per heteroatomic site toward the ORR process. This work demonstrates the significance of the nanoarchitecture engineering of catalysts and sheds light on how to optimize structures featuring abundant active sites and enhanced mass transfer.
Wang, Y, He, Y, Zheng, K, Wei, W, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Ni, B-J, Zhu, T, Horn, H & Liu, Y 2023, 'Ferric oxide stimulates medium-chain carboxylic acids synthesis from waste activated sludge via ethanol-driven chain elongation: Mechanisms and implications', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 389, pp. 136044-136044.
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Nowadays, conductive iron-containing materials (i.e., Fe3O4 and zerovalent iron) have attracted greatly attention in improving medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCA) from waste activated sludge (WAS). However, the feasibility and mechanism of semi-conductive iron oxide, i.e., ferric oxide (Fe2O3), in stimulating MCCA synthesis from WAS via ethanol-driven chain elongation (CE) has been unclear. Therefore, this work is aimed to fill up the knowledge gap. Results showed that the MCCA yield in the Fe2O3-supplemented fermenter attained at 9162 mg COD/L (i.e., 6268 mg COD/L caproate and 2895 mg COD/L caprylate), which was 2.4 times that of the control system. Kinetic analysis proved that Fe2O3 enhanced both the potential and rate of MCCA synthesis. Mechanism analysis indicated that Fe2O3 facilitated the individual steps for MCCA production, i.e., hydrolysis, acidification and CE. Further investigation disclosed that the dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) induced by Fe2O3 corrosion and released ferrous ions improved enzymes activities of hydrolysis and acidification, while the promotion of CE was mainly ascribed to increased electron transfer efficiency by crystalline Fe2O3. Further, Fe2O3 promotes electron transfer through several mechanisms, including stimulating extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) excretion, increasing EPS electroactivity, and enhancing electron transport system activity. Microbial analysis revealed that Fe2O3 induced microflora structure shifting towards substrates transformation, iron reduction and MCCA generation, and up-regulated the key enzymes in CE pathways. This work provides an efficient strategy for MCCA generation and WAS management.
Wang, Z, Gu, X, Zhang, X, Wang, X, Zhang, J, Liu, Y, Tan, X, Zhao, Y, Kang, D, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2023, 'New easily recycled carrier based polyurethane foam by loading Al-MOF and biochar for selective removal of fluoride ion from aqueous solutions', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 901, pp. 166312-166312.
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Wang, Z, Li, X, Liu, H, Zhou, T, Li, J, Siddiqui, MA, Lin, CSK, Rafe Hatshan, M, Huang, S, Cairney, JM & Wang, Q 2023, 'Enhancing methane production from anaerobic digestion of secondary sludge through lignosulfonate addition: Feasibility, mechanisms, and implications', Bioresource Technology, vol. 390, pp. 129868-129868.
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This study explores the feasibility of using lignosulfonate, a byproduct of the pulp and paper industry, to facilitate sludge anaerobic digestion. Biochemical methane potential assays revealed that the maximum methane production was achieved at 60 mg/g volatile solids (VS) lignosulfonate, 22.18 % higher than the control. One substrate model demonstrated that 60 mg/g VS lignosulfonate boosted the hydrolysis rate, biochemical methane potential, and degradation extent of secondary sludge by 19.12 %, 21.87 %, and 21.11 %, respectively, compared to the control. Mechanisms unveiled that lignosulfonate destroyed sludge stability, promoted organic matter release, and enhanced subsequent hydrolysis, acidification, and methanogenesis by up to 31.30 %, 74.42 % and 28.16 %, respectively. Phytotoxicity assays confirmed that lignosulfonate promoted seed germination and root development of lettuce and Chinese cabbage, with seed germination index reaching 170 ± 10 % and 220 ± 22 %, respectively. The findings suggest that lignosulfonate addition offers a sustainable approach to sludge treatment, guiding effective management practices.
Wang, Z, Li, X, Liu, H, Zhou, T, Qin, Z, Mou, J, Sun, J, Huang, S, Chaves, AV, Gao, L & Wang, Q 2023, 'Bioproduction and applications of short-chain fatty acids from secondary sludge anaerobic fermentation: A critical review', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 183, pp. 113502-113502.
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Anaerobic fermentation of secondary sludge is a crucial bio-energy tactic for achieving stabilization, reduction, and resource utilization of secondary sludge in wastewater treatment plants. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), the end product of anaerobic fermentation, have received substantial attention owing to shorter fermentation time, higher economic value, and broader application range. This review summarizes the composition and structure of secondary sludge, the main tactics for SCFAs accumulation, the metabolic pathway of anaerobes’ participation in SCFAs production, and the impact of SCFAs composition from the fermented liquid on its subsequent application. It was found that the composition and structure of secondary sludge may limit its decomposition and impede SCFAs production. Diverse technologies adopted can promote SCFAs accumulation to some extent. It was concluded that the application of SCFAs derived from anaerobic fermentation of secondary sludge depends on its individual SCFAs composition. This review would help advance the SCFAs production and specific applications from anaerobic fermentation of secondary sludge.
Wang, Z, Li, X, Siddiqui, MA, Liu, H, Zhou, T, Zheng, L, Huang, S, Gao, L, Lin, CSK & Wang, Q 2023, 'Effect of humic substances on the anaerobic digestion of secondary sludge in wastewater treatment plants: a review', Environmental Chemistry Letters, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 3023-3040.
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Anaerobic digestion is a promising technology for energy recovery from secondary sludge, yet the presence of humic substances in wastewater limits anaerobic digestion. In particular, humic substances make secondary sludge denser and more compact, reducing the availability of organic matter for biodegradation. Here we review the impact of humic substances on the anaerobic process, with emphasis on humic substances properties, effect on sludge structure and composition, effect on hydrolysis, acidolysis and methanogenesis, evolution of humic substrances, and strategies to counteract negative impacts. Strategies include removing humic substances, pretreatment of secondary sludge prior anaerobic digestion, and addition of metal salts, enzymes and organisms. We observed that humic substances with a high E4/E6 ratio, representing the absorbance determined at 465 nm and 665 nm, with a low carbon/nitrogen ratio, and with a low aromaticity are easier to digest anaerobically. The liquid–solid phases distribution of humic substances influences the efficiency of anaerobic digestion, and the repolymerisation of humic substances during anaerobic digestion reduces sludge degradability.
Wang, Z-W, WEI, C-H, Yu, H-R, Qu, F-S, Rong, H-W, He, J-G, Liu, G-L, Huang, X & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Preparation and mechanism of carbon felt supported iron trioxide and zero-valent iron for enhancing anaerobic digestion performance', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 468, pp. 143565-143565.
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Wu, J, Tang, L, Jin, S, Li, X, Liu, H, Li, D, Liu, Y & Wang, Q 2023, 'Modeling an Adaptive Hybrid Soft Sensor with Co-training Learning toward Applications in Wastewater Treatment', Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 62, no. 41, pp. 16841-16853.
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Wu, L, Wei, W, Chen, Z, Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Long-chain alcohol production in open culture anaerobic fermentation', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 452, pp. 139225-139225.
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The continuously rising energy prices and the growth in petroleum consumption have induced the pertinent pursuit of producing alternative fuels. Utilizing long-chain alcohols (LCAs) yielded from anaerobic bioprocess as renewable energy is a promising strategy to achieve the sustainable production of biofuels. Anaerobic fermentation is a sustainable process for reclaiming biodiesel from the organic wastes, which has received increasing attention due to its potential in producing renewable energy. Open-culture fermentation is preferred over single-species fermentation to yield the said alcohols because of its lower operating and capital costs. To better explore the LCAs productions from open-culture fermentation, a comprehensive understanding of this subject is currently needed but not available yet. To this end, the formations of LCAs and their possible precursors, medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), were systematically evaluated at first time with the focus on metabolic platforms, interspecies interactions, and competing microbial reactions. Suitable operational conditions and challenges were then synthesized, followed by the discussion on the viability of adopting current strategies towards higher alcohols productivities. The potential opportunities for enhancing LCAs outputs via biological processes were then suggested based on the review.
Wu, L, Wei, W, Chen, Z, Shi, X, Wang, D, Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Medium chain fatty acids production from anaerobic fermentation of food wastes: The role of fermentation pH in metabolic pathways', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 472, pp. 144824-144824.
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Wu, L, Wei, W, Wang, C & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Toward high carbon recovery: Novel strategies to hindering the occurrence of competitive reactions during chain elongation process', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 419, pp. 138340-138340.
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Wu, S-L, Wei, W, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Wang, C, Wang, Y & Ni, B-J 2023, 'In-situ production of lactate driving the biotransformation of waste activated sludge to medium-chain fatty acid', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 345, pp. 118524-118524.
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Xu, G, Zhang, X, Sun, S, Zhou, Y, Liu, Y, Yang, H, Huang, Z, Fang, F, Sun, W, Hong, Z, Gao, M & Pan, H 2023, 'Synergized Tricomponent All‐Inorganics Solid Electrolyte for Highly Stable Solid‐State Li‐Ion Batteries', Advanced Science, vol. 10, no. 25.
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AbstractGarnet‐type oxide Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12 (LLZTO) features superior ionic conductivity and good stability toward lithium (Li) metal, but requires high‐temperature sintering (≈1200 °C) that induces high fabrication cost, poor mechanical processability, and high interface resistance. Here, a novel high‐performance tricomponent composite solid electrolyte (CSE) comprising LLZTO−4LiBH4/xLi3BN2H8 is reported, which is prepared by ball milling the LLZTO−4LiBH4 mixture followed by hand milling with Li3BN2H8. Green pellets fabricated by heating the cold‐pressed CSE powders at 120 °C offer ultrafast room‐temperature ionic conductivity (≈1.73 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 30 °C) and ultrahigh Li‐ion transference number (≈0.9999), which enable the Li|Li symmetrical cells to cycle over 1600 h at 30 °C with only 30 mV of overpotential. Moreover, the Li|CSE|TiS2 full cells deliver 201 mAh g−1 of capacity with long cyclability. These outstanding performances are due to the low open porosity in the electrolyte pellets as well as the high intrinsic ionic conductivity and easy deformability of Li3BN2H8.
Xu, Y, Gu, Y, Peng, L, Wang, N, Chen, S, Liang, C, Liu, Y & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Unravelling ciprofloxacin removal in a nitrifying moving bed biofilm reactor: Biodegradation mechanisms and pathways', Chemosphere, vol. 320, pp. 138099-138099.
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Although moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) have shown excellent antibiotic removal potentials, the information on underlying mechanisms is yet limited. This work assessed the removal of ciprofloxacin in an enriched nitrifying MBBR by clarifying the contribution of adsorption and microbial-induced biodegradation. Results demonstrated the considerable biomass adsorption (55%) in first 30 min. Limiting nitrite oxidizing bacteria growth or inhibiting nitrification would lead to lower adsorption capacities. The highest ciprofloxacin biodegradation rate constant was 0.082 L g SS-1 h-1 in the presence of ammonium, owing to ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB)-induced cometabolism, while heterotrophs played an insignificant role (∼9%) in ciprofloxacin biodegradation. The developed model also suggested the importance of AOB-induced cometabolism and metabolism over heterotrophs-induced biodegradation by analyzing the respective biodegradation coefficients. Cometabolic biodegradation pathways of ciprofloxacin mainly involved the piperazine ring cleavage, probably alleviating antimicrobial activities. It implies the feasibility of nitrifying biofilm systems towards efficient antibiotic removal from wastewater.
Xu, Z, Gao, X, Li, G, Nghiem, LD & Luo, W 2023, 'Microbes from mature compost to promote bacterial chemotactic motility via tricarboxylic acid cycle-regulated biochemical metabolisms for enhanced composting performance', Bioresource Technology, vol. 387, pp. 129633-129633.
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Xu, Z, Khabbaz, H, Fatahi, B & Wu, D 2023, 'Double-layered granular soil modulus extraction for intelligent compaction using extended support vector machine learning considering soil-structure interaction', Engineering Structures, vol. 274, pp. 115180-115180.
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Intelligent Compaction (IC) has been acquiring a growing interest in real-time quality control of compacted soil layers because of its high efficiency and full-area coverage. The current intelligent compaction technology allows the determination of the uniformity level of compaction over large areas according to the dynamic response of the roller. However, accurate real-time determination of the soil modulus during compaction based on roller acceleration has been challenging due to the multi-layered composite nature of the soil and the nonlinearities of the governing dynamic equations of motion and soil response. This study adopts a double-layered soil profile, and a three-dimensional finite element model, accounting for soil-drum interaction, is utilised for the analysis. The isotropic hardening elastoplastic hysteretic model was implemented to simulate the soil behaviour subjected to cyclic loading ranging from small to large strain amplitudes and account for stiffness degradation. The comprehensive dataset composed of the roller acceleration response and ground characteristics is then used to correlate the predicted soil modulus via an advanced machine learning approach. The adopted machine learning method incorporating Gaussian Kernel and Generalised Gegenbauer Kernel functions can reasonably predict the double-layered soil modulus during roller compaction. Additional analyses were conducted to observe the proper training size and number of iterations to achieve real-time quality control to be used by site engineers. Furthermore, the influences of the relative modulus ratio, drum length and top layer modulus on the soil surface dynamic displacement are discussed.
Xu, Z, Sun, M, Xu, X, Cao, X, Ippolito, JA, Mohanty, SK, Ni, B-J, Xu, S & Tsang, DCW 2023, 'Electron donation of Fe-Mn biochar for chromium(VI) immobilization: Key roles of embedded zero-valent iron clusters within iron-manganese oxide', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 456, pp. 131632-131632.
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Yan, X, Sun, J, Wang, Y, Zhang, Z, Zhang, C, Li, W, Xu, J, Dai, X & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Low-rate ferrate dosing damages the microbial biofilm structure through humic substances destruction and facilitates the sewer biofilm control', Water Research, vol. 235, pp. 119834-119834.
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Yang, M, Du, Z, Bao, H, Zhang, X, Liu, Q, Guo, W, Ngo, H-H & Nghiem, LD 2023, 'Experimental and Theoretical Insight of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Destruction by Alkaline Hydrothermal Treatment Enhanced with Zero-Valent Iron in Biochar', ACS ES&T Water, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 1286-1293.
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Yang, Y, Zhang, X, Zhang, L, Zhang, W, Liu, H, Huang, Z, Yang, L, Gu, C, Sun, W, Gao, M, Liu, Y & Pan, H 2023, 'Recent advances in catalyst-modified Mg-based hydrogen storage materials', Journal of Materials Science & Technology, vol. 163, pp. 182-211.
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The storage of hydrogen in a compact, safe and cost-effective manner can be one of the key enabling technologies to power a more sustainable society. Magnesium hydride (MgH2) has attracted strong research interest as a hydrogen carrier because of its high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen densities. However, the practical use of MgH2 for hydrogen storage has been limited due to high operation temperatures and sluggish kinetics. Catalysis is of crucial importance for the enhancement of hydrogen cycling kinetics of Mg/MgH2 and considerable work has been focused on designing, fabricating and optimizing catalysts. This review covers the recent advances in catalyzed Mg-based hydrogen storage materials. The fundamental properties and the syntheses of MgH2 as a hydrogen carrier are first briefly reviewed. After that, the general catalysis mechanisms and the catalysts developed for hydrogen storage in MgH2 are summarized in detail. Finally, the challenges and future research focus are discussed. Literature studies indicate that transition metals, rare-earth metals and their compounds are quite effective in catalyzing hydrogen storage in Mg/MgH2. Most metal-containing compounds were converted in situ to elemental metal or their magnesium alloys, and their particle sizes and dispersion affect their catalytic activity. The in-situ construction of catalyzed ultrasmall Mg/MgH2 nanostructures (< 10 nm in size) is believed to be the future research focus. These important insights will help with the design and development of high-performance catalysts for hydrogen storage in Mg/MgH2.
Yao, Y, Qu, X, Zhou, L, Liu, Y, Hong, Z, Wu, Y, Huang, Z, Hu, J, Gao, M & Pan, H 2023, 'Rational Design of Robust and Universal Aqueous Binders to Enable Highly Stable Cyclability of High‐Capacity Conversion and Alloy‐Type Anodes', ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL MATERIALS, vol. 6, no. 5.
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The development of high‐performance binders is a simple but effective approach to address the rapid capacity decay of high‐capacity anodes caused by large volume change upon lithiation/delithiation. Herein, we demonstrate a unique organic/inorganic hybrid binder system that enables an efficient in situ crosslinking of aqueous binders (e.g., sodium alginate (SA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)) by reacting with an inorganic crosslinker (sodium metaborate hydrate (SMH)) upon vacuum drying. The resultant 3D interconnected networks endow the binders with strong adhesion and outstanding self‐healing capability, which effectively improve the electrode integrity by preventing fracturing and exfoliation during cycling and facilitate Li+ ion transfer. SiO anodes fabricated from the commercial microsized powders with the SA/0.2SMH binder maintain 1470 mAh g−1 of specific capacity at 100 mA g−1 after 200 cycles, which is 5 times higher than that fabricated with SA binder alone (293 mAh g−1). Nearly, no capacity loss was observed over 500 cycles when limiting discharge capacity at 1500 mAh g−1. The new binders also dramatically improved the performance of Fe2O3, Fe3O4, NiO, and Si electrodes, indicating the excellent applicability. This finding represents a novel strategy in developing high‐performance aqueous binders and improves the prospect of using high‐capacity anode materials in Li‐ion batteries.
Yeh, C-K, Tzu, F-M, Chen, P-Y, Shen, H-C, Yuan, C-S, Lin, C, Pu, H-P, Ngo, HH & Bui, X-T 2023, 'Emission characteristics of naphthalene from ship exhausts under global sulfur cap', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 902, pp. 166172-166172.
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Yu, H, Hossain, SM, Wang, C, Choo, Y, Naidu, G, Han, DS & Shon, HK 2023, 'Selective lithium extraction from diluted binary solutions using metal-organic frameworks (MOF)-based membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI)', Desalination, vol. 556, pp. 116569-116569.
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Zabed, HM, Akter, S, Yun, J, Zhang, G, Zhao, M, Mofijur, M, Awasthi, MK, Kalam, MA, Ragauskas, A & Qi, X 2023, 'Towards the sustainable conversion of corn stover into bioenergy and bioproducts through biochemical route: Technical, economic and strategic perspectives', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 400, pp. 136699-136699.
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Zavafer, A, Bates, H, Mancilla, C & Ralph, PJ 2023, 'Phenomics: conceptualization and importance for plant physiology', Trends in Plant Science, vol. 28, no. 9, pp. 1004-1013.
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Zavahir, S, Elmakki, T, Gulied, M, Shon, HK, Park, H, Kakosimos, KE & Han, DS 2023, 'Integrated photoelectrochemical (PEC)-forward osmosis (FO) system for hydrogen production and fertigation application', Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 110525-110525.
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Zeng, J, Desmond, P, Ngo, HH, Lin, W, Liu, X, Liu, B, Li, G & Ding, A 2023, 'Membrane modification in enhancement of virus removal: A critical review', Journal of Environmental Sciences.
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Zeng, S, Sun, J, Lü, X, Peng, Z, Dong, B, Dai, X & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Impacts of norfloxacin on sewage sludge anaerobic digestion: Bioenergy generation and potential environmental risks', Results in Engineering, vol. 20, pp. 101392-101392.
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Zhang, H, Zhang, L, Dong, S, Duan, X, Zhu, D, Ni, B-J & Lyu, C 2023, 'Regulating energy band structures of triazine covalent organic frameworks with electron-donating/withdrawing substituents for visible-light-responsive photocatalytic tetracycline degradation and Cr(VI) reduction', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 446, pp. 130756-130756.
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Environmental contaminations have raised soaring concerns about human health worldwide. Developing metal-free photocatalysts as green agents to solve these problems is urgent. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are considered a promising platform for the molecule-level design of visible-light-responsive photocatalysts due to their tailored coordination/electronic structures and excellent charge carrier mobility. However, COFs without substituents (e.g., COFs-H) still suffer from broad bandgaps and low electron-hole separation efficiency. In this work, we introduced electron-donating/withdrawing substituents on COFs-H to fine-tune the bandgap and photocatalytic performance of COFs. Theoretical and experimental studies revealed that all substituents narrowed the bandgap of COFs and enhanced the electron-hole separation efficiency. Electron-withdrawing/donating substituents significantly alter the energy level of COFs-R, improving the redox capacities of photo-generated holes and electrons for tetracycline (TC) degradation and Cr(VI) reduction. The large difference in electrostatic potential between the two monomers in COFs-R enhances the charge carrier generation and intramolecular electron transfer intrinsically. This work unravels how substituents with different electronic effects regulate the energy band structures and photo-redox capacities of COFs. It further provides new insight into the precise regulation of COFs toward highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic remediation of organic contaminants and heavy metal ions.
Zhang, J, Chen, Z, Liu, Y, Wei, W & Ni, B-J 2023, 'Iron-assisted bio-chemical processes in sewer systems: Iron cycle and its role in sewer management', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 414, pp. 137707-137707.
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Zhang, J, Zhang, N, Wang, D, Gao, B, Shon, HK, Yang, X, Zhao, H & Wang, Z 2023, 'Polyamidoamine and carboxylated cellulose nanocrystal grafted antifouling forward osmosis membranes for efficient leachate treatment via integrated forward osmosis and membrane distillation process', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 668, pp. 121241-121241.
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Organic fouling remains an intractable challenge for forward osmosis (FO) and integrated FO-membrane distillation (MD) strategy to treat landfill leachate. To address this challenge, polyamidoamine (PAMAM)/polydopamine (PDA) and carboxylated cellulose nanocrystal (CCN) were grafted gradually on the commercial thin film composite (TFC) FO membranes via chemical coupling to achieve excellent antifouling capacity. PAMAM dendrimers, with abundant terminal amines, hyperbranched structure and open interior cavity, served as a unique intermediate platform for chemically covalent attachment of CCN with high water affinity, then cooperated with CCN to form a hydrophilic and robust antifouling layer. Compared to the raw TFC membrane, the PAMAM/PDA-CCN modified TFC membrane exhibited a similar water flux of 30.6 L m−2 h−1 (LMH) accompanied with a decreased reverse salt flux of 6.9 g m−2 h−1 (gMH) by using 1 M NaCl solution as draw solution (DS) and DI water as feed solution (FS). When actual leachate was used as FS, the modified FO membranes possessed significantly enhanced antifouling capacity with a lower flux decline (≤43.7%) and a higher flux recovery rate (≥94.2%) than the raw TFC membrane (flux decline ≤59.4% and flux recovery rate ≥79.0%, respectively). The improved fouling resistance could be further demonstrated by the reduced thickness of the organic fouling layer. Eventually, the employment of the modified FO membranes improved the compatibility of the FO and MD water fluxes and achieved sustained water production. The construction of synergistic dendritic PAMAM and CCN grafted surface paves a new way for the development of high-performance water treatment membranes.
Zhang, L, Zhang, X, Zhang, W, Huang, Z, Fang, F, Li, J, Yang, L, Gu, C, Sun, W, Gao, M, Pan, H & Liu, Y 2023, 'Nanoparticulate ZrNi: In Situ Disproportionation Effectively Enhances Hydrogen Cycling of MgH2', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 15, no. 34, pp. 40558-40568.
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High thermal stability and sluggish absorption/desorption kinetics are still important limitations for using magnesium hydride (MgH2) as a solid-state hydrogen storage medium. One of the most effective solutions in improving hydrogen storage properties of MgH2 is to introduce a suitable catalyst. Herein, a novel nanoparticulate ZrNi with 10-60 nm in size was successfully prepared by co-precipitation followed by a molten-salt reduction process. The 7 wt % nano-ZrNi-catalyzed MgH2 composite desorbs 6.1 wt % hydrogen starting from ∼178 °C after activation, lowered by 99 °C relative to the pristine MgH2 (∼277 °C). The dehydrided sample rapidly absorbs ∼5.5 wt % H2 when operating at 150 °C for 8 min. The remarkably improved hydrogen storage properties are reasonably ascribed to the in situ formation of ZrH2, ZrNi2, and Mg2NiH4 caused by the disproportionation reaction of nano-ZrNi during the first de-/hydrogenation cycle. These catalytic active species are uniformly dispersed in the MgH2 matrix, thus creating a multielement, multiphase, and multivalent environment, which not only largely favors the breaking and rebonding of H-H bonds and the transfer of electrons between H- and Mg2+ but also provides multiple hydrogen diffusion channels. These findings are of particularly scientific importance for the design and preparation of highly active catalysts for hydrogen storage in light-metal hydrides.
Zhang, Q, Hu, J, Yang, C, Li, J, Liu, N, Guo, W, Dai, C, Wang, L, Tian, Y & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Preparation of boronate affinity controllable-oriented polysaccharides magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer and its application for membrane flux improvement', Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 110370-110370.
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Zhang, S, Shi, J, Li, X, Coin, L, O'Brien, JW, Sivakumar, M, Hai, F & Jiang, G 2023, 'Triplex qPCR assay for Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli monitoring in wastewater', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 892, pp. 164574-164574.
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Zhang, S, Shi, J, Li, X, Tiwari, A, Gao, S, Zhou, X, Sun, X, O'Brien, JW, Coin, L, Hai, F & Jiang, G 2023, 'Wastewater-based epidemiology of Campylobacter spp.: A systematic review and meta-analysis of influent, effluent, and removal of wastewater treatment plants', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 903, pp. 166410-166410.
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Campylobacter spp. is one of the four leading causes of diarrhoeal diseases worldwide, which are generally mild but can be fatal in children, the elderly, and immunosuppressed persons. The existing disease surveillance for Campylobacter infections is usually based on untimely clinical reports. Wastewater surveillance or wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been developed for the early warning of disease outbreaks and the detection of the emerging new variants of human pathogens, especially after the global pandemic of COVID-19. However, the WBE monitoring of Campylobacter infections in communities is rare due to a few large data gaps. This study is a meta-analysis and systematic review of the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in various wastewater samples, primarily the influent of wastewater treatment plants. The results showed that the overall prevalence of Campylobacter spp. was 53.26 % in influent wastewater and 52.97 % in all types of wastewater samples. The mean concentration in the influent was 3.31 ± 0.39 log10 gene copies or most probable number (MPN) per 100 mL. The detection method combining culture and PCR yielded the highest positive rate of 90.86 %, while RT-qPCR and qPCR were the two most frequently used quantification methods. In addition, the Campylobacter concentration in influent wastewater showed a seasonal fluctuation, with the highest concentration in the autumn at 3.46 ± 0.41 log10 gene copies or MPN per 100 mL. Based on the isolates of all positive samples, Campylobacter jejuni (62.34 %) was identified as the most prevalent species in wastewater, followed by Campylobacter coli (30.85 %) and Campylobacter lari (4.4 %). These findings provided significant data to further develop and optimize the wastewater surveillance of Campylobacter spp. infections. In addition, large data gaps were found in the decay of Campylobacter spp. in wastewater, indicating insufficient research on the persistence of Campylobacter spp. in wastewater.
Zhang, S, Shi, J, Sharma, E, Li, X, Gao, S, Zhou, X, O'Brien, J, Coin, L, Liu, Y, Sivakumar, M, Hai, F & Jiang, G 2023, 'In-sewer decay and partitioning of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli and implications for their wastewater surveillance', Water Research, vol. 233, pp. 119737-119737.
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Zhang, X, Huang, H, Du, Q, Gao, F, Wang, Z, Wu, G, Guo, W & Hao Ngo, H 2023, 'Performance of a recirculated biogas-sparging anaerobic membrane bioreactor system for treating synthetic swine wastewater containing sulfadiazine antibiotic', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 476, pp. 146735-146735.
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Zhang, X, Lin, Y, Zhang, L, Huang, Z, Yang, L, Li, Z, Yang, Y, Gao, M, Sun, W, Pan, H & Liu, Y 2023, 'Hydrogen-assisted one-pot synthesis of ultrasmall TiC nanoparticles enhancing hydrogen cycling of sodium alanate', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 462, pp. 142199-142199.
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Zhang, X, Shu, S, Hou, D, Chen, H, Cao, W, Mameda, N, Nghiem, LD & Liu, Q 2023, 'Role of the surface characteristics of hyper-crosslinked polymers on the transformation of adsorbed trichlorophenol: Implications for understanding the surface reactivity of biochar derived from waste biomass', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 886, pp. 163864-163864.
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Zhang, X, Zhang, X, Zhang, L, Huang, Z, Fang, F, Yang, Y, Gao, M, Pan, H & Liu, Y 2023, 'Remarkable low-temperature hydrogen cycling kinetics of Mg enabled by VH nanoparticles', Journal of Materials Science & Technology, vol. 144, pp. 168-177.
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Nanoscaled catalysts have attracted much more attention due to their more abundant active sites and better dispersion than their bulky counterparts. In this work, VHx nanoparticles smaller than 10 nm in average size are successfully synthesized by a simple solid-state ball milling coupled with THF washing process, which are proved to be highly effective in enhancing the hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics of MgH2 at moderate temperatures. The nano-VHx-modified MgH2 releases hydrogen from 182 °C, which is 88 °C lower than additive-free MgH2. The release of hydrogen amounts to 6.3 wt% H within 10 min at 230 °C and 5.6 wt% H after 30 min at 215 °C with initial vacuum. More importantly, the dehydrogenated MgH2+10 wt.% nano-VHx rapidly absorbs 5.2 wt% H within 3 min at 50 °C under 50 bar H2. It even takes up 4.3 wt% H within 30 min at room temperature (25 °C) under 10 bar H2, exhibiting superior hydrogenation kinetics to most of the previous reports. Mechanistic analyzes disclose the reversible transformation between V and V-H species during the hydrogen desorption-absorption process. The homogeneously distributed V-based species is believed to act as hydrogen pump and nucleation sites for MgH2 and Mg, respectively, thus triggering fast hydrogenation/dehydrogenation kinetics.
Zhang, X, Zhang, X, Zhang, L, Huang, Z, Yang, L, Gao, M, Gu, C, Sun, W, Pan, H & Liu, Y 2023, 'Nb2O5 Nanostructures as Precursors of Cycling Catalysts for Hydrogen Storage in MgH2', ACS Applied Nano Materials, vol. 6, no. 15, pp. 14527-14539.
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High operating temperatures and sluggish kinetics are major obstacles for practical applications of MgH2 as a solid hydrogen carrier. Introducing nanoscaled high-activity catalysts has been effective in improving the hydrogen cycling of MgH2. However, it remains still unclear that between nanoparticle size and morphology, which one is the decisive factor of the catalytic activity of a given catalyst. In this work, we studied this topic by taking nanostructured niobium oxide (Nb2O5) as a representative sample. Five types of Nb2O5 catalytic additives with different morphologies and nanosizes were synthesized, and their catalytic activities were compared with commercial microparticles. Our results unambiguously demonstrate that the catalytic activity of Nb2O5 is determined by the primary particle size rather than the morphology and structure because the ultrasmall Nb2O5 nanoparticles that measured ∼5 nm in size enable dehydrogenation of MgH2 starting at 165 °C after one-cycle activation. The smaller nanoparticle sizes not only enhance the reactivity of Nb2O5 but also lead to more uniform dispersion when ball-milled with MgH2, which enables in situ formation of more homogeneous and finer Nb-based active species and therefore much higher catalytic activity. This important insight will guide the design and optimization of novel high-activity catalysts for hydrogen cycling of MgH2 and other hydrogen storage materials.
Zhang, X, Zuo, S, Li, S, Shang, Y, Du, Q, Wang, H, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2023, 'Responses of biofilm communities in a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor-membrane bioreactor system to sulfadiazine antibiotic exposure', Bioresource Technology, vol. 382, pp. 129126-129126.
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Zhang, Y, Liu, H, Zhao, S, Xie, C, Huang, Z & Wang, S 2023, 'Insights into the Dynamic Evolution of Defects in Electrocatalysts', Advanced Materials, vol. 35, no. 9, pp. 2209680-2209680.
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AbstractThis review focuses on the formation and preparation of defects, the dynamic evolution process of defects, and the influence of defect dynamic evolution on catalytic reactions. The summary of the current advances in the dynamic evolution process of defects in oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, nitrogen reduction reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, and carbon dioxide reduction reaction, and the given perspectives are expected to provide a more comprehensive understanding of defective electrocatalysts on the structural evolution process during electrocatalysis and the reaction mechanisms, especially for the defect dynamic evolution on the performance in catalytic reactions.
Zhang, Y, Peng, Q, Wang, C, Huang, Y, Zhou, P, Qian, Y, Ye, B, Indra Mahlia, TM & Chyuan Ong, H 2023, 'State-of-the-art modeling of two-stage auto-ignition: Turbulence, evaporation and chemistry effects', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 291, pp. 117269-117269.
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Internal combustion engines are the dominant power sources in transport, accounting for significant amounts of fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. Low-temperature combustion is a promising technology for engine combustion, whose main challenge is the complex control of two-stage auto-ignition that determines the performance of a low-temperature combustion engine. This paper systematically reviews the state-of-the-art advances in auto-ignition modeling which is an essential tool to understand auto-ignition mechanisms and provides valuable guidance for designing more efficient and cleaner engines. This paper focuses on turbulence, evaporation and chemistry effects without the consideration of inter-droplet interactions. Five models with increasing complexity are discussed and compared, including homogeneous models without and with evaporation (models 1 and 2), droplet simulation in static environments (model 3), and direct numerical simulation without and with evaporation (models 4 and 5). Rapid mixing leads to homogeneous conditions in models 1 and 2, in which two-stage auto-ignition is divided into low-temperature induction, low-temperature auto-ignition, high-temperature induction and high-temperature auto-ignition. Model 1 only considers chemical reactions and auto-ignition is determined for a certain thermal state. Droplet evaporation affects the auto-ignition evolution in model 2 through evaporation-induced changes in the thermal state. Compared with homogeneous models, droplet evaporation in model 3 leads to compositional and temperature stratifications which cause three new phenomena: preferential auto-ignition, reaction front propagation and non-zero scalar dissipation rate. Models 4 and 5 introduce turbulent effects on induction timescale and front propagation. Finally, challenges and future directions in auto-ignition modeling are outlined.
Zhao, Z-C, Fan, S-Q, Lu, Y, Dang, C-C, Wang, X, Liu, B-F, Xing, D-F, Ma, J, Ren, N-Q, Wang, Q & Xie, G-J 2023, 'Reactivated biofilm coupling n-DAMO with anammox achieved high-rate nitrogen removal in membrane aerated moving bed biofilm reactor', Environmental Research, vol. 220, pp. 115184-115184.
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Zhou, T, Zhang, Z, Liu, H, Dong, S, Nghiem, LD, Gao, L, Chaves, AV, Zamyadi, A, Li, X & Wang, Q 2023, 'A review on microalgae-mediated biotechnology for removing pharmaceutical contaminants in aqueous environments: Occurrence, fate, and removal mechanism', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 443, no. Pt A, pp. 130213-130213.
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Pharmaceutical compounds in aquatic environments have been considered as emerging contaminants due to their potential risks to living organisms. Microalgae-based technology showed the feasibility of removing pharmaceutical contaminants. This review summarizes the occurrence, classification, possible emission sources, and environmental risk of frequently detected pharmaceutical compounds in aqueous environments. The efficiency, mechanisms, and influencing factors for the removal of pharmaceutical compounds through microalgae-based technology are further discussed. Pharmaceutical compounds frequently detected in aqueous environments include antibiotics, hormones, analgesic and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cardiovascular agents, central nervous system drugs (CNS), antipsychotics, and antidepressants, with a concentration ranging from ng/L to μg/L. Microalgae-based technology majorly remove the pharmaceutical compounds through bioadsorption, bioaccumulation, biodegradation, photodegradation, and co-metabolism. This review identifies the opportunities and challenges for microalgae-based technology and proposed suggestions for future studies to tackle challenges. The findings of this review advance our understanding of the occurrence and fate of pharmaceutical contaminants in aqueous environments, highlighting the potential of microalgae-based technology for pharmaceutical contaminants removal.
Zhu, Y, Li, J, Yang, L, Huang, Z, Yang, X-S, Zhou, Q, Tang, R, Shen, S & Ouyang, L 2023, 'Closed loops for hydrogen storage: Hydrolysis and regeneration of metal borohydrides', Journal of Power Sources, vol. 563, pp. 232833-232833.
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