Biosorption of cadmium (II) and lead (II) from aqueous solution using exopolysaccharide and biomass produced by Colletotrichum sp.

The biosorption of Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions on biomass and exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by Colletotrichum sp. fungus has been investigated as a function of contact time, initial pH, initial metal ion concentration, and initial adsorbent concentration in a batch system. Adsorption equilibrium was described by Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. Adsorption was characterized through granulometry, SEM and EDX analysis. Then, studies were performed to regenerate the adsorbent. Biosorption of metals by biomass and EPS were best described by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm, respectively. Results of thermodynamic investigations showed that adsorption reactions were spontaneous (ΔG° < 0), exothermal, and mainly physical. The EPS was able to remove 79 and 98% of cadmium and lead, respectively, and the biomass removed 85 and 84% of cadmium and lead, respectively, in a solution with initial concentration 100 mg L-1, and the four adsorption-desorption cycles of all adsorbents showed up with great regenerative capacity and relative stability after these four cycles, the high potential of these biological materials in sorption has been shown. © 2013 Copyright Balaban Desalination Publications.

Assessing the effectiveness of 30% sodium chloride aqueous solution for the preservation of fixed anatomical specimens: a 5-year follow-up study

Anatomical specimens used in human or veterinary anatomy laboratories are usually prepared with formaldehyde (a cancerous and teratogenic substance), glycerin (an expensive and viscous fluid), or ethanol (which is flammable). This research aimed to verify the viability of an aqueous 30% sodium chloride solution for preservation of anatomical specimens previously fixed with formaldehyde. Anatomical specimens of ruminant, carnivorous, equine, swine and birds were used. All were previously fixed with an aqueous 20% formaldehyde solution and held for 7days in a 10% aqueous solution of the same active ingredient. During the first phase of the experiment, small specimens of animal tissue previously fixed in formaldehyde were distributed in vials with different concentrations of formaldehyde, with or without 30% sodium chloride solution, a group containing only 30% sodium chloride, and a control group containing only water. During this phase, no contamination was observed in any specimen containing 30% sodium chloride solution, whether alone or in combination with different concentrations of formaldehyde. In the second phase of the experiment, the 30% sodium chloride solution, found to be optimal in the first phase of the experiment, was tested for its long-term preservation properties. For a period of 5years, the preserved specimens were evaluated three times a week for visual contamination, odors, and changes in color and texture. There was no visual contamination or decay found in any specimen. Furthermore, no strange odors, or changes in color or softness were noted. The 30% sodium chloride solution was determined to be effective in the preservation of anatomic specimens previously fixed in formaldehyde.

Dinitrosyl iron complexes with cysteine. kinetics studies of the formation and reactions of dnics in aqueous solution

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Removal of reactive dye from aqueous solution using thermally treated red mud

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Self-assembly in aqueous solution of amphiphilic graft copolymers from oxidized carboxymethylcellulose

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A comparison of charge-transfer mechanisms at rotated disk electrode for biomimetic binuclear and tetranuclear oxo-manganese complex in aqueous solution

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Complexation of some trivalent lanthanides, scandium(III) and thorium(IV) by benzylidenepyruvates and cinnamylidenepyruvate in aqueous solution

The protonation constants of benzylidenepyruvate, 2-chloro-, 4-chlorobenzylidinepyruvate and cinnamylidenepyruvate as well as the stability constants of their binary 1:1 complexes with Cu(II), La(III), Pr(III), Sm(III), Lu(III), Sc(III) and Th(IV) have been determined spectrophotometrically in an aqueous medium at 25 °C and ionic strength 0.500 M, held with sodium perchlorate. Coordination centres in the aforementioned ligands are suggested. © 1995.

Hexagonal mesoporous silica modified with 2-mercaptothiazoline for removing mercury from water solution

A method for the attachment of 2-mercaptothiazoline (MTZ) to modified silica gel has been developed. In the first step, a new silylant agent was synthesized, named SiMTZ, by the reaction between MTZ molecule and chloropropyltrimethoxysilane (SiCl). SiMTZ and tetraethylortosilicate were co-condensed in the presence of n-dodecylamine, a neutral surfactant template, to produce a modified ordered hexagonal mesoporous silica named HMTZ. The modified material contained 0.89 +/- 0.03 mmol of 2-mercaptothiazoline per gram of silica. FT-IR, FT-Raman, Si-29- and C-13-NMR spectra were in agreement with the proposed structure of the modified mesoporous silica in the solid state. HMTZ material has been used for divalent mercury adsorption from aqueous solution at 298 I K. The series of adsorption isotherms were adjusted to a modified Langmuir equation. The maximum number of moles of mercury adsorbed gave 2.34 +/- 0.09 mmol/g of material. The same interaction was followed by calorimetric titration on an isoperibol calorimeter. The HMTZ presented a high capacity for the removal of the contaminant mercury from water. The Delta H and Delta G values for the interaction were determined to be -56.34 +/- 1.07 and -2.14 +/- 0.11 kJ mol(-1). This interaction process was accompanied by a decrease of entropy value (- 182 J mol(-1) K-1). Thus, the interaction between mercury and HMTZ resulted in a spontaneous thermodynamic system with a high favorable exothermic enthalpic effect. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of solubility product of mercurous acetate at various ionic strengths in aqueous medium

The conditionals (K-ps) and thermodynamics (K-ps(o)) solubility products of mercurous acetate have been determined, in aqueous solution, at 25 degrees C and ionic strength (I) comprised between 0.300 and 3.000 mol/L (NaClO4). The investigation was carried out potentiometrically by using a second class electrodes which responds to acetate ions. The values obtained for [pK(ps) (I)] were: 9.49+/-0.08 (0.000); 9.51+/-0.08 (0.300); 9.53+/-0.08 (0.500); 9.54+/-0.08 (0.700); 9.55+/-0.09 (0.900), 9.57+/-0.09 (1.200); 9.59+/-0.10(1.500); 9.61+/-0.10 (1.800); 9.63+/-0.10 (2.100); 9.65+/-0.11 (2.400); 9.67+/-0.11 (2.700) e 9.69+/-0.12 (3.000).

Fluorescence study of the interaction between metal ions and methyl methacrylate methacrylic acid copolymers in aqueous solutions: thallium(I), calcium(II), and terbium(III)

The binding of the cations thallium(I), calcium(II) and terbium(III) to methyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid copolymers with different fractions of acid groups (x) has been studied in aqueous solution at, various pH values using the fluorescence of covalently bonded 9-vinyl anthracene as a probe. In all cases, the extent of binding increases as a function of the charge of the polymer with either increasing fraction of carboxylic acids or of pH. However, differences are observed in the behavior of the three cations, With Tl(I), quenching of the anthracene group fluorescence is observed. indicating that the thallium(I) approaches the probe and suggesting that the alkylanthracene is probably in a relatively polar region. Binding constants have been determined from anthracene quenching data and from studies with the fluorescent-probe sodium pyrenetetrasulfonate, Good agreement is obtained between the two methods, and values for the binding constants increase from 250 to 950 M-1 as x increases from 0.39 to 1. It is suggested that the cation is held in the polyelectrolyte domain, partly by Debye-Huckel effects and partly by more specific interactions. Stronger binding is found with calcium(II) and terbium(III), and in this case increases in fluorescence intensity are observed on complexation due to the anthracene group being in a more hydrophobic region, probably as a result of conformational changes in the polymer chain. In the former case the stoichiometry of the interaction was determined from the fluorescence data to involve two carboxylate groups bound per calcium. Association constants were found using murexide as an indicator of free calcium to vary from 8400 to 37 000 M-1 as x increases from 0.39 to 1. It is suggested that in this case specific calcium(II)-carboxylate interactions contribute to the binding. With terbium(III), a greater increase in the probe fluorescence intensity was observed than with calcium, and it is suggested that the interaction with the polymer is even stronger, leading to a more pronounced conformational change in the polymer. It is proposed that the terbium(III) interacts with sis carboxylic groups on the polymer chain, with three being coordinated and three attracted by electrostatic interactions.

Evaluation of the influences of solution path length and additives concentrations on the solar photo-Fenton degradation of 4-chlorophenol using multivariate analysis

This study reports the photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in aqueous solution by the photo-Fenton process using solar irradiation. The influence of solution path length, and Fe(NO3)(3) and H2O2 concentrations on the degradation of 4-CP is evaluated by response surface methodology. The degradation process was monitored by the removal of total organic carbon (TOC) and the release of chloride ion. The results showed a very important role of iron concentration either for TOC removal or dechlorination. on the other hand, a negative effect of increasing solution path length on mineralization was observed, which can be compensated by increasing the iron concentration. This permits an adjustment of the iron concentration according to the irradiation exposure area and path length (depth of a tank reactor). Under optimum conditions of 1.5 mM Fe(NO3)(3), 20.0 mM H2O2 and 4.5 cm solution path length, 17 min irradiation under solar light were sufficient to reduce a 72 mg C L-1 solution of 4-CP by 91 (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microstructural and optical characterization of CaWO4 and SrWO4 thin films prepared by a chemical solution method

Stoichiometric CaWO4 and SrWO4 thin films were synthesized using a chemical solution processing, the so-called polymeric precursor method. In this soft chemical method, soluble precursors such as strontium carbonate, calcium carbonate and tungstic acid, as starting materials, were mixed in an aqueous solution. The thin films were deposited on glass substrates by means of the spinning technique. The surface morphology and crystal structure of the thin films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Nucleation stages and surface morphology evolution of the thin films on glass substrates were studied by atomic force microscopy. The films nucleate at 300 degreesC, after the coalescence of small nuclei into larger grains yielding a homogeneous dense surface. XRD characterization of these films showed that the CaWO4 and SrWO4 phases crystallize at 400 degreesC from an inorganic amorphous phase. No intermediate crystalline phase was identified. The optical properties were also studied. It was found that CaWO4 and SrWO4 thin films have an optical band gap, E-gap=5.27 and 5.78 eV, respectively, of a direct transition nature. The excellent microstructural quality and chemical homogeneity confirmed that this soft solution processing provides an inexpensive and environmentally friendly route for the preparation of CaWO4 and SrWO4 thin films. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Small-angle X-ray scattering study of the smart thermo-optical behavior of zirconyl aqueous colloids

The smart thermo-optical systems studied here are based on the unusual thermoreversible sol-gel transition of zirconyl chloride aqueous solution modified by sulfuric acid in the molar ratio Zr/SO4:3/1. The transparency to the visible light changes during heating due to light scattering. This feature is related to the aggregates growth that occurs during gelation. These reversible changes can be controlled by the amount of chloride ions in solution. The thermoreversible sol-gel transition temperature increases from 323 to 343 K by decreasing the molar ratio Cl/Zr from 7.0 to 1.3. In this work the effect of the concentration of chloride ions on the structural characteristics of the system has been analyzed by in situ SAXS measurements during the sol-gel transition carried out at 323 and 333 K. The experimental SAXS curves of sols exhibit three regions at small, medium and high scattering vectors characteristics of Guinier, fractal and Porod regimes, respectively. The radius of primary particles, obtained from the crossover between the fractal and Porod regimes, remains almost invariable with the chloride concentration, and the value (4 Angstrom) is consistent with the size of the molecular precursor. During the sol-gel transition the aggregates grow with a fractal structure and the fractal dimensionality decreases from 2.4 to 1.8. This last value is characteristic of a cluster-cluster aggregation controlled by a diffusion process. Furthermore, the time exponent of aggregate growth presents values of 0.33 and 1, typical of diffusional and hydrodynamic motions. A crossover between these two regimes is observed.

Influence of membrane-solution interface on the selectivity of SnO2 ultrafiltration membranes

SnO2 supported membranes, presenting 3.0 nm average pore size, have been produced by sol casting on alumina tubular substrate using aqueous colloidal suspensions prepared by sol-gel route. The selectivity and flux throughout SnO2 membrane were analyzed by permeation experiments, using a laboratory tangential filtration pilot equipped with a monotubular membrane. To evaluate the effect of the surface charge at the membrane-solution interface, aqueous salt solutions (NaCl, Na2SO4, CaCl, and CaSO4) of different ionic strength have been filtered and the results correlated with the values of zeta potential measured at several pH. The results show that the retention coefficient is dependent on the electrolyte present in aqueous solution decreasing as: (dication, monoanion) > (monocation, monoanion) approximate to (monocation, dianion) > (dication, dianion). The surface charge and the cation adsorption capacity play a determinant role in these selectivity sequences. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.