Real-Time Electrical Conductivity Monitoring and Correlation with Sulfate Release and Acid Mine Drainage Potential from a Gold/Silver Paste Tailing Storage

Safe disposal of tailings as high-density thickened tailings or paste tailings can reduce the environmental risks of conventional tailings deposits, reduce water use, minimize tailings storage facility footprints, reduce the potential for acid mine drainage (AMD), and minimize risks of failure, among other advantages. In the dewatering process, the addition of flocculants is key to improving the sedimentation of the tailings and the formation of a compact paste. Despite the environmental and operational advantages of using paste tailings, it is not clear how the chemical nature of coagulants and flocculants could influence the discharge of toxic elements (salts and metals) from tailings after storage. In this study, we show the results of the real-time evaluation of the release of polluting runoffs from a paste tailings deposit. To do this, we analyzed paste tailing samples for AMD potential through static and kinetic tests and monitored the electrical conductivity and real-time pH, evaluating the correlation with the sulfate in the thickener and downstream from the tailings deposit. Tailing samples have low sulfur content (<2%) and low acid-generating potential. Moreover, there is no evidence of a significant positive correlation (Pearson’s coefficient r < 0.8) between the sulfate concentrations with the pH or EC. Thus, the chemical nature of the paste tailings prior to discharge has no direct impact on the release of sulfate-rich runoffs from the tailings after its storage. This indicates that the tailings paste at the evaluated site is chemically stable in the short term.

Adsorption Characteristics of Stone-Bentonite Mixtures towards Zn: Equilibrium and Kinetic Tests

In the treatment of industrial polluted sites and the construction of landfill sites, anti-pollution barriers are usually used to prevent the diffusion of pollutants. In this paper, the adsorption characteristics of Zn ions by the rock-bentonite anti-pollution barrier were observed by means of static equilibrium and dynamic adsorption tests. The experimental results showed that the adsorption of Zn by stone chips—bentonite was close to the nonlinear Freundlich and Langmuir models. When the concentration of Zn ion is constant, the adsorption capacity increases with the increase in temperature. At a certain temperature, the adsorption removal rate decreases with the increase in concentration. Further study found that the adsorption of Zn from mixed soil was mainly an ion exchange process, and the adsorption mode of Zn from mixed soil was controlled by both intra-particle diffusion and membrane diffusion. Zeta potential, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and The Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that with the increase in concentration, the mixed soil adsorbed more metal ions, and the thickness of the double electric layer decreased. Moreover, the adsorption of Zn2+ by bentonite was mainly interlayer adsorption and ion exchange. As an anti-pollution barrier material, the mixed soil of stone chips -bentonite can prevent the diffusion of pollutants, which has certain reference significance for engineering construction.

The influence of inorganic components and carbon-oxygen surface functionalities in activated hydrothermally carbonized waste materials for water treatment

In this study, we have examined how the activation of hydrothermally carbonized sewage sludge and horse manure influences the inorganic component of these materials and surface chemistry. This was examined through statistical correlations between kinetic tests using trimethoprim, fluconazole, perfluorooctanoic acid, and copper, zinc, and arsenic and physicochemical properties. Yield and inorganic content varied considerably, with potassium hydroxide–activated materials producing lower yields with higher inorganic content. Phosphoric acid activation incorporated inorganically bound phosphorus into the material, although this showed no statistically relevant benefit. A maximum surface area of 1363 m2g−1 and 343 m2g−1 was achieved for the horse manure and sewage sludge. Statistical analysis found positive correlations between carbon-oxygen functionalities and trimethoprim, fluconazole, perfluorooctanoic acid, and copper removal, while inorganic content was negatively correlated. Conversely, arsenic removal was positively correlated with inorganic content. This research provides insight into the interactions with the organic/inorganic fraction of activated waste materials for water treatment.

Thiol Ligand Adsorption on Gold Nanoparticle Surfaces: Mathematical Models to Predict Optimal Concentration of Heterobifunctional Polyethylene Glycol for Horseradish Peroxidase Immobilization

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are often used in numerous applications, including diagnostics, drug delivery and treatment of diseases, given its physical features and excellent biocompatibility, where factors such as dispersion and stability are directly related to the its performance and efficiency. Mathematical models for experimental design can be very useful and contribute to predict optimal functionalization strategies. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to stabilize and functionalize GNPs of 40 nm and 80 nm and determine optimal concentrations of heterobifunctional polyethylene glycols (HS-PEG-NH2 3500 and 7500 g/mol). Mathematical models relating particle diameter, initial concentration and quantification of the polymers adsorbed for both varieties of thiol PEG was predicted. GNP were modified and subjected to the four different strategies employed in this study (strategy I and III with HS-PEG-NH2 3500; II and IV with HS-PEG-NH2 7500). Solutions with concentrations ranging from 30 to 200 ng/ml of enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were used as an alternative to gauge the efficiency of the evaluated strategies. A superior yield and efficacy of strategies I and II was observed, since the former had a capture capacity of up to 5 times when stabilized for 2 h and up to 6 times for 12 h. Regarding stability, the most promising strategy observed was number II for nanoparticles of 40 nm. Moreover, the mathematical models highlighted in this study were efficient in predicting behavior of colloidal solutions with sizes of 40 nm and 80 nm when in contact with different varieties of thiol PEG and may exempt new kinetic tests.

Compensation of Water Influence on Anionic Polymerization of ε-Caprolactam: 1. Chemistry and Experiments

The activated anionic ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactam to polyamide 6 is highly sensitive to external influences such as water. Based on an initial theory, preliminary reaction kinetic tests are carried out with the aim of compensating the influence of the water by increasing the activator and catalyst concentration. Different formulations of activator and catalyst were studied to understand the influence of water on the concentration of activator and catalyst. It was found that the compensation of added water with activator and catalyst restores the original reaction time. The test plates produced are examined with regard to their mechanical characteristics and the polymer properties. The results of the mechanical characterization show no significant impairment after compensation of the added water. The physical properties of the matrix show degradation with repeated compensation. However, the residual ε-caprolactam content remains below the critical value of 1% for three of the four investigated formulations.

Adsorption of Direct Blue 78 Using Chitosan and Cyclodextrins as Adsorbents

The dyeing industry is one of the most polluting in the world. The adsorption of dyes by polymeric matrixes can be used to minimize the discharge of dyes into the environment. In the present study, chitosan-NaOH and β-cyclodextrin-epichlorohydrin polymers were used to remove the dye Direct Blue 78 from a wastewater model. To understand the adsorption behavior of Direct Blue 78 onto the polymers, adsorption rate and maximum adsorption capacity were calculated using kinetic tests and isotherm curves respectively. The kinetic data and mechanism of the adsorption process were analyzed by three models and the equilibrium data by three adsorption isotherms; also the different thermodynamic parameters were calculated. Results showed that the adsorption process follows pseudo-second-order kinetics in both polymers and the Langmuir isotherm best-fitted data for chitosan-NaOH polymer and the Freundlich isotherm for the β-CDs-EPI polymer. The adsorption process is exothermic in both cases and spontaneous for the β-CDs-EPI polymer to a certain temperature and not spontaneous for the chitosan-NaOH polymer and β-CDs-EPI polymer at higher temperatures. The complementary action of an advanced oxidation process eliminated >99% of the dye from water. The coupled process seems to be suitable for reducing the environmental impact of the dyeing industry.

Options for Removing Refractory Organic Substances in Pre-Treated Process Water from Hydrothermal Carbonization

Granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption, as well as ozonation in combination with biodegradation was investigated in order to remove refractory organics from biologically pre-treated process waters (PW) produced by the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of spent grains and fine mulch. Kinetic tests revealed that the organics in spent grains PW had much lower molecular weights than organics in fine mulch PW. Moreover, isotherms showed that they were more strongly adsorbable. This was confirmed in GAC column experiments, where the breakthrough curves could be predicted fairly well by a dynamic adsorption model. On the other hand, ozonation had a stronger effect on fine mulch PW with respect to an enhancement of the aerobic degradability. Thus, the type of input material determines the properties of soluble reaction products from the carbonization process that must be accounted for when selecting the most suitable post-treatment method for HTC PW. However, adsorption on granular activated carbon should always be the final stage.

Novel composite sorbents based on carbon fibers decorated with ferric hydroxides – simultaneous removal of antimonate and arsenate from aqueous solutions

The competitive adsorption of antimonate and arsenate on carbon fibers decorated with ferric hydroxide (CF-Fe) has been investigated at different pH and temperatures. Tap and drinking water samples spiked with unitary and binary solutions were subjected to kinetic tests and compared with distilled water media. As the required time for attaining the arsenate concentration permitted by law, the legal limit was found as 3 hours for drinking and tap water systems. It was shown that arsenate can be adsorbed more strongly than antimonate. Such multiple adsorption/desorption cycles showed that the CF-Fe sample had approximately 96% of the first antimonate adsorption at the seventh cycle. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses were performed in order to obtain insight into the adsorption mechanism.