As emerging contaminants, PAEs (Phthalic Acid Esters or Phthalate Esters) have been extensively utilized in industrial production to soften the rigid plastics (plasticizers), and their related ...products are widely distributed in our daily life. The PAEs can readily transfer from the products to the surrounding environment due to not being chemically bound to the products. In this study, we analyzed the PAEs’ properties, usage, and consumption in the world, as well as toxicity to human beings. As endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), PAEs can disturb the normal hormones reactions, resulting in developmental and reproductive problems. Thus, we have to concern the removal strategies of PAEs. We summarized two novel approaches, including biochars and persulfate (PS) oxidation for effectively removing PAEs in the literature. Their characteristics, removal mechanisms, and the main impact factors on the removal of PAEs were highlighted. Moreover, transition metal-activated PS showed good performance on PAEs degradation. Furthermore, the synergy of biochars and transition metals-PS can overcome the disadvantages of a single approach, and show better performance on the removal of PAEs. Finally, we put forward vital strategies to update two approaches (including the combined) for enhancing the removal of PAEs. It is expected that the researchers or scientists can get a hint on effectively remediating PAEs-contaminated sites via the biochars’ sorption/transition metals-PS or the combined two from this review paper.
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•Mechanisms and key effect factors on the removal of PAEs via biochars were discussed.•The persulfate degraded PAEs was analyzed, including mechanisms and effect factors.•The transition metals activated PS to enhance the degradation of PAEs.•The synergy of biochars with the transition metal-PS showed better performance.•Future development of reducing PAEs by two approaches was prospected.
•A intrinsic kinetic model for microalgae under photoautotrophic condition is proposed.•The model relies on growth kinetics determination and chlorophyll fluorescence analysis which can effectively ...monitor the state of the photosynthetic apparatus of microalgae in the process of biotechnological cultivation.•The model can model can realistically reflect the light energy utilization efficiency of microalgae as well as their intrinsic growth kinetic characteristics.
As photoautotrophic microorganisms, microalgae feature complex mechanisms of photosynthesis and light energy transfer and as such studying their intrinsic growth kinetics is fairly difficult. In this article, the quantum yield of photochemical reaction was introduced in a study of microalgal kinetics to establish an intrinsic kinetic model of photoautotrophic microalgal growth. The blue-green algae Synechococcus sp. PCC7942 was used to verify the kinetic model developed using chlorophyll fluorescence analysis and growth kinetics determination. Results indicate that the kinetic model can realistically reflect the light energy utilization efficiency of microalgae as well as their intrinsic growth kinetic characteristics. The model and method proposed in this article may be utilized in intrinsic kinetics studies of photoautotrophic microorganisms.
An atmospheric effect is a main error source that affects interferometric measurements. When a ground-based multiple-input multiple-output (GB-MIMO) radar, i.e., a specific type of GBsynthetic ...aperture radar (GB-SAR), was utilized to continuously monitor an open-pit mine, the interferometric phases of some interferograms were complexly space-variant due to time-variant weather conditions. The conventional method of atmospheric phase (AP) compensation was no longer applicable. This paper proposes an improved compensation method of a time-space variant AP applied to time-series GB-SAR images. The permanent scatterers (PSs) were classified into three types based on their different spatial properties: The noise-dominant PS (NPS), the deformationdominant PS (DPS), and the atmospheric effect-dominant PS (APS). The NPSs were firstly rejected based on the differential phase analysis of neighboring PSs. The DPSs were then rejected based on the cluster partition and selection. With the APSs, the space-variant AP was estimated with a spatial interpolation. To validate the feasibility of the proposed method, short-term and long-term experimental datasets were processed. Comparisons with a conventional method proved that the proposed method can well reduce AP errors and avoid the misunderstanding of motional areas.
•Proposing an environmental/economic model for optimal energy management.•Considering renewable energy resources in the presence of Photovoltaic and battery.•Presenting hybrid shuffled frog-leaping ...and pattern search (HSFLA-PS) algorithm for optimizing Micro-grid.•Reporting superior solutions in Short-Term Scheduling and Micro-grid Energy Management.
The future of the power system is tied to the use of distributed generation (DGs) like photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine (WT) since international societies are concerned regarding environmental pollution. However, the high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) in power systems causes a lot of control and operational problems that should be addressed by network operators. Therefore, this article proposes optimal management of a grid-connected microgrid (MG) including various DERs such as PV systems and storage devices. The use of the PV system in this MG is based on proposing new mathematical modelling. In the proposed model, the influence of radiation on different days and seasons on optimal operation is considered. Also, to overcome the random behaviour of the PV system, WT and loads, the uncertainties of the problem are modelled using the scenario method. The optimization problem is solved with the hybrid shuffled frog leaping and pattern search (HSFLA-PS) algorithm. The proposed optimal management is simulated by MATLAB/Simulink considering a practical PV model in a real environmental condition. This used algorithm has some advantages such as fast computational time and accurate results. The results show that the suggested day-ahead scheduling using the HSFLA-PS has an edge over other conventional methods.
In this study, batch experiments were conducted to investigate the performance of microscale Fe/Cu bimetallic particles-air-persulfate system (mFe/Cu-air-PS) for p-nitrophenol (PNP) treatment in ...aqueous solution. The results indicate that toxic and refractory PNP in aqueous solution could be decomposed effectively and transformed into lower toxicity intermediates.
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In this study, batch experiments were conducted to investigate the performance of microscale Fe/Cu bimetallic particles-air-persulfate system (mFe/Cu-air-PS) for p-nitrophenol (PNP) treatment in aqueous solution. First, the optimal operating parameters (i.e., aeration rate of 1.0 L/min, theoretical Cu mass loading (TMLCu) of 0.110 g Cu/g Fe, mFe/Cu dosage of 15 g/L, PS total dosage of 15 mmol/L, feeding times of PS of 5, initial pH 5.4) were obtained successively by single-factor experiments. Under the optimal conditions, high COD and TOC removal efficiencies (71.0%, 65.8%) were obtained after 60 min treatment. Afterword, compared with control experiments (i.e., mFe/Cu, air, PS, mFe/Cu-air, mFe/Cu–PS, air-PS and mFe-air-PS), mFe/Cu-air-PS system exerted superior performance for pollutants removal due to the synergistic effect between mFe/Cu, air and PS. In addition, the results of control experiments and radical quenching experiments indicate this reinforcement by feeding of PS was greater than by aeration in mFe/Cu-air-PS system. Furthermore, the degradation intermediates of PNP in mFe/Cu-air-PS process were identified and measured by HPLC. Based on the detected intermediates, the degradation pathways of PNP were proposed comprehensively, which revealed that toxic and refractory PNP in aqueous solution could be decomposed effectively and transformed into lower toxicity intermediates. As a result, mFe/Cu-air-PS system with the performance of oxidation combined reduction can be also a potential technology for the treatment of toxic and refractory PNP contained wastewater.
Ultrafiltration (UF) is widely used in drinking water plants, nevertheless, it still encounters challenges stemming from inevitable membrane fouling caused by natural organic matter (NOM). Herein, ...this work applied VUV/PS as UF membrane pretreatment and used UV/PS for comparison. VUV/PS system exhibited superior ability in removing NOM compared to UV/PS system. HO and SO4− played crucial roles in the degradation. SO4−ss was notably higher than HOss in the systems, yet HO was of greater significance. HOss and SO4−ss in the VUV/PS process were remarkably higher than those in the UV/PS process, due to the function of 185 nm photons. VUV/PS pretreatment basically recovered flux and effectively reduced fouling resistance, with better performance than UV/PS. Fouling mechanism was dominated by multiple mechanisms after UV/PS pretreatment, whereas it was transformed into pore blockage after VUV/PS pretreatment. Moreover, the UF effluent quality after VUV/PS pretreatment outperformed that of UV/PS but fell short of that without pretreatment, possibly due to the generation of abundant low MW substances under the action of HO and SO4−. After chlorine disinfection, UV/PS and VUV/PS pretreatments increased the DBPs production and cytotoxicity. Specifically, oxidant PS affected the membrane surface morphology and fouling behaviors, and had no obvious effect on interception performance and mechanical properties. In actual water treatment, VUV/PS and UV/PS pretreatments exhibited excellent performance in alleviating membrane fouling, improving water quality, and reducing DBPs formation and acute toxicity.
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•VUV/PS system degraded NOM and relieved membrane fouling more effectively than UV/PS.•SO4−ss was notably higher than HOss in systems, but HO was more important.•Membrane fouling was dominated by multiple mechanism after UV/PS pretreatment.•Standard blocking was the only membrane fouling mechanism after VUV/PS pretreatment.•VUV/PS and UV/PS effectively controlled DBPs and toxicity in real water treatment.
•The review identifies eight key polystyrene (PS) upcycling methods, including composite materials and catalytic degradation, aiming to transform PS waste into valuable products while addressing ...environmental concerns.•Catalytic degradation and photodegradation are highlighted as promising for PS waste transformation, offering low-energy, environmentally friendly pathways to valuable chemicals and reducing landfill burden.•The paper emphasizes the need for ongoing research to develop more efficient, sustainable solutions for PS waste management, underscoring the economic and environmental benefits of upcycling technologies.
This review comprehensively examines the latest methodologies for upcycling and degrading polystyrene (PS) wastes, a predominant contributor to environmental pollution. PS, known for its extensive use in disposable products and packaging materials, significantly burdens landfills and oceans. We delve into eight major upcycling pathways: composite materials, nanocomposites, hydrothermal, catalytic, photodegradation, enzymatic, microwave-assisted, and mechanical degradation processes, each offering unique advantages for PS waste transformation. Composite and nanocomposite approaches are favored in industrial applications due to their low cost and enhanced material properties. The hydrothermal degradation, a popular method, efficiently converts PS waste into valuable chemicals, albeit at high temperatures, raising cost and environmental concerns. Catalytic degradation emerges as a promising alternative, reducing the need for high temperatures and offering diverse product outputs. Photodegradation, utilizing light energy and low-cost catalysts, presents an economically viable and environmentally friendly option, while enzymatic degradation offers an eco-friendly, gradual breakdown of PS. Microwave-assisted degradation is noted for its high conversion yield, though cost and scalability issues persist. Mechanical degradation, involving physical processes like milling, shows potential for industrial-scale application without the need for intensive energy or chemicals. While each method presents unique advantages and limitations, ongoing research continues to seek more efficient, sustainable, and eco-friendly solutions for minimizing PS waste's environmental impact. This review aims to highlight these technologies, paving the way for further innovation in PS waste management.
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Coating porous silicon with metal catalysts such as palladium is considered a reliable method to improve the hydrogen storage performance of electrodes. Here, in order to evaluate the most effective ...use of Pd nanoparticle or Pd thin film, Pd nanoparticles with a size of 36 nm obtained by electroless method, and a Pd thin film with a thickness of 30 nm deposited by thermal evaporation were coated onto nanoporous silicon sample” and studied. The Pd deposits were confirmed by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The obtained electrode materials: PS and Pd/PS were characterized by different electrochemical characterization techniques: cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge/discharge. The results showed that Pd NPs/PS achieved the highest hydrogen storage capacity with a value of 425.9 mA h g-1. These results confirm that using Pd nanoparticles as catalyst metal is more suitable to improving the hydrogen storage capacity of electrode materials.
•Nano PS was coated with Pd nanoparticles and Pd thin film.•The Effect of Palladium on the electrochemical hydrogen storage behavior of nonporous silicon was studied.•Electrochemical hydrogen storage capacity of Pd nanoparticles/PS was 425.9 mAhg−1(1.64 wt%).•The mechanism of hydrogen adsorption and desorption reaction in PS and Pd/PS was studied.
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