This research focuses on enhancing water quality for concrete construction by utilizing treated wastewater from wetlands. The study employs a dual-stage treatment process involving charcoal and ...aggregate layers for primary treatment, followed by water hyacinths for secondary treatment. Investigating water hyacinths’ ability to absorb nutrients and contaminants from wastewater is a unique aspect of the study, offering a potential solution for soil and water remediation. Water hyacinths, especially stems and leaves, act as natural filters, effectively indicating heavy-metal pollution in tropical regions. The primary goal is heavy-metal removal from wastewater, allowing treated-water use in concrete production at varying proportions (20 %, 40 %, 60 %, 80 %, and 100 %). Silica fume at 15 % concentration is incorporated to enhance the concrete’s durability. Concrete specimens undergo thorough preparation and mechanical property evaluations, compared to conventional M20-grade concrete. The results reveal improvements in mechanical properties, particularly with 80 % treated wastewater in the mix. The dual-stage treatment process removes heavy metals, and the inclusion of silica fume enhances the concrete’s durability and resistance.
In this paper we will describe the process of the deposition of thick layers of VPS-Ti coating, which is used as a bonding layer for the upper porous Ti coatings on implant substrates. In order to ...deposit the powder, we used HÖGANÄS Ti powder labelled as AMPERIT 154.086 -63 µm. In order to test the mechanical properties and microstructure of the VPS-Ti coating, the powder was deposited on Č.4171 (X15Cr13 EN10027) steel substrates. Mechanical tests of the microhardness of the coating were performed by the Vickers hardness test method (HV0.3) and tensile strength by measuring the force per unit area (MPa). The microhardness of the coating is 159 HV0.3, which is consistent with the microstructure. The coating was found to have a good bond strength of 68 MPa. The morphology of the powder particles was examined on a scanning electron microscope. The microstructure of the coating, both when deposited and etched, was examined with an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope. By etching the coating layers, it was found that the structure is homogeneous and that it consists of a mixture of low-temperature and high-temperature titanium phases (α-Ti + β-Ti). Our tests have shown that the deposited layers of Ti coating can be used as a bonding layer for porous Ti coatings in the production of implants.
