The Potential Use of Zeolite, Montmorillonite, and Biochar for the Removal of Radium-226 from Aqueous Solutions and Contaminated Groundwater

The present work investigated the potential of using zeolite (clinoptilolite), montmorillonite (Swy2), and Conocarpus biochar as adsorbents to remove 226Ra from aqueous solution. The effect of the initial 226Ra concentrations on sorbents’ equilibrium activity concentrations and sorbents’ radium removal efficiency were investigated. The results showed that zeolite has a higher removal efficiency for 226Ra in comparison with the efficiencies of montmorillonite and biochar. In addition to the linear isotherm model, the Freundlich model, followed by Temkin’s model, provided a better description of the adsorption process than the Langmuir model. Kinetic studies indicated that a pseudo-second-order kinetic model could be the best fit for the adsorption of 226Ra onto the three investigated sorbents, which suggests that the mechanism of adsorption of 226Ra by sorbents was chemisorption. The intraparticle diffusion model indicated that adsorption of 226Ra onto the sorbents involves a multistep process: (i) boundary layer diffusion and (ii) intraparticle diffusion. Moreover, the remediation of groundwater samples polluted with 226Ra was assessed using the investigated sorbents; the results showed that zeolite also has the highest removal efficiency among other sorbents. Thus, the low cost, availability, and the high adsorption efficiency of zeolite can be a promising sorbent on 226Ra removal from aqueous solutions and groundwater remediation.

Determining the adsorption and desorption properties of flavonoids found in Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. leaves using macroporous resin and acetylcholinesterase inhibitor screening

The adsorption and desorption properties of 12 resins containing flavonoid compounds found in Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. leaves (EUOL) extracts were investigated. The static adsorption and desorption, kinetic, adsorption, and thermodynamic properties of the adsorption of the flavonoids onto macroporous resins were determined. The HPD-300, NKA-9, and AB-8 resins exhibited a greater adsorption capacity and desorption characteristics. A pseudo-second-order kinetic model was suitable to characterize the kinetics of the adsorption of flavonoids onto the resins selected, and the diffusion of flavonoids was divided into three stages, with the boundary layer diffusion and intra-particle diffusion being the rate-controlling factors. The Langmuir model was found to be the best description of the adsorption behavior of flavonoids. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption of flavonoids was a physical, exothermic, and spontaneous process. The 60% ethanol eluted fraction from the NKA-9 resin column not only had the highest flavonoid content, but also possessed the strongest inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase. In addition, the degree of binding of the main flavonoid compounds found in the EUOL to acetylcholinesterase compounds was investigated via molecular docking technology. The results showed that the docking total score of isoquercetin and enzyme proteins were the highest, followed by kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside.

Permeation of AuCl4− Across a Liquid Membrane Impregnated with A324H+Cl− Ionic Liquid

In the system Au(III)-HCl-A324H+Cl−, liquid-liquid extraction experiments were used to define the extraction equilibrium and the corresponding extraction constant; furthermore, the facilitated transport of this precious metal from HCl solutions across a flat-sheet supported liquid membrane was investigated using the same ionic liquid as a carrier, and as a function of different variables: hydrodynamic conditions, concentration of gold(III) (0.01–0.1 g/L), and HCl (0.5–6 M) in the feed phase, and carrier concentration (0.023–0.92 M) in the membrane. An uphill transport equation was derived considering aqueous feed boundary layer diffusion and membrane diffusion as controlling steps. The aqueous diffusional resistance (Δf) and the membrane diffusional resistance (Δm) were estimated from the proposed equation with values of 241 s/cm and 9730 s/cm, respectively. The performance of the present carrier was compared against results yielded by other ionic liquids, and the influence that other metals had on gold(III) transport from both binary or quaternary solutions was also investigated. Gold was finally recovered from receiving solutions as zero valent gold nanoparticles.

Permeation of AuCl4- across a Liquid Membrane Impregnated with A324H+Cl- Ionic Liquid

On the system Au(III)-HCl-A324H+Cl-, liquid-liquid extraction experiments were used to define the extraction equilibrium and the corresponding extraction constant, and the facilitated transport of this precious metal, from HCl solutions, across a flat-sheet supported liquid membrane was investigated, using the ionic liquid as carrier, as a function of hydrodynamic conditions, concentration of gold(III) (0.01-0.1 g/L), and HCl (0.5-6 M) in the feed phase, and carrier concentration (0.023-0.92 M) in the membrane. An uphill transport equation was derived considering aqueous feed boundary layer diffusion and membrane diffusion as controlling steps. The aqueous diffusional resistance (Δf) and the membrane diffusional resistance (Δm) were estimated from the proposed equation, being their values 241 s/cm an 9730 s/cm, respectively. The performance of the present carrier was compared against results yielded by other ionic liquids, and also it was investigated the influence that other metals had on gold(III) transport both from binary or quaternary solutions. Gold was finally recovered from receiving solutions as zero valent gold nanoparticles.