Monthly Archives: October 2019

Ammonia

Chlorination

Sonolysis

Ultrasonic

 

Sonolysis effects are based on ultrasonic cavitation which means generation of very reactive radical especially hydroxyl radical. Its high oxidation potential makes sonolysis one of the best advanced oxidation methods for removal of micropollutants from drinking water sources. Ammonia ions are often present in groundwater sources and must be removed because it favors microorganism development. Chlorination and biological nitrification are the well-known methods for ammonia removal from drinking water. This paper emphasized the alternative of ultrasonic and chlorination for advanced removal of ammonia ions. Laboratory tests have shown 80% ammonia removal efficiency for 9 mg NH4+/L initial concentration for 8.5 reaction pH.

Cellulosic material

Isotherm

Kinetics

Metallic cations

Mining waste water

 

Due to their bioavailability, various vegetable waste such as agricultural and industrial by-products (referred to in the literature as bio-adsorbents) can be used mainly for the retention of metallic cations. Thus, these biomaterials have the ability to remove metallic cations with functional groups that are in their structure but as well as through different mechanisms of physical sorption or the porosity of the biomaterial. Furthermore, the advantage to use this vegetable waste in environmental pollution reduction processes is primarily an economic justification because in our country there are significant quantities of such agricultural waste that could be used for this purpose with relatively low operating costs and having the major advantage because are cheap and easy to use. These methodologies can be applied for the following purposes, such as depollution, recovery, revaluation and concentration to determine them. The goal of this study was to use this maize stalk in retention of Cu(II) and Fe(III) from synthetic solutions and in the second part it was proposed to the treatment of waste water from mining exploitations as well as in the greening of a tailings pond can containing mining sediments.  

Agents

Extile auxiliary

Synthetic effluent

Free formaldehyde

COD

Coagulation

 

Wastewaters generated from textile factories are linked to one of the main water pollution problems. They contain a mixture of different dyes, auxiliaries, additives, and additional chemicals that were added during textile production processes. If these effluents do not treat they will cause serious environmental concerns. However, the main problematic pollutants from textile factories in the aquatic environment are dye mixtures. These mixtures can be treating by more physic-chemical methods such as electro flotation, coagulation, exchange ions etc. Coagulation process is important in several wastewater treatment operations. It reduces suspended solids and organic loads from primary clarifiers in overloaded wastewater treatment plants and is the practice of chemically enhancing primary treatment. The main purpose of the research is to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment by coagulation process in model systems with the following composition: red direct dye – dispersing agent – emollient – fixing agent, I – DR – LS – Bis-MPA – DEG and the second system contains also free formaldehyde, II – DR – LS – Bis-MPA – DEG – FA. The related objectives were to (i) determine the chemical oxygen demand of mixtures that containing direct red dye and textile auxiliary agents and (ii) comparing these results. 

Bovine serum albumin

Collagen

Regenerated cellulose membrane

Ultrafiltration

 

 

Membranes are used for the concentration and purification of proteins (ultrafiltration) and for small molecule clearance (ultrafiltration/diafiltration). The membrane separation techniques that use regenerated cellulose membranes are applied in various domains. The aim of this study was to examine the ultrafiltration process on the rejection of the collagen protein using a tangential flow filtration, with flat regenerated cellulose membrane (5 kDa), evaluating permeate flows and physicochemical characteristics of the concentrates, permeates and feed solutions. Regenerated cellulose membranes UF processes performances to bovine serum albumin (BSA) separation are also reported. 

Antioxidant activity

Functionalisation

Quercetine

Maleic anhydride (MA) 

 

 

Chitosan has become one of the most interesting polymers in different fields due to a rare combination of biological, mechanical and physical activities. It is one of the main products of chitin, which is commercially obtained by chitin deacetylation produced by crustaceans. Reducing the molecular weight and thus decreasing the crystallinity, it is improved its solubility in diluted acids at pH = 5 where the free amine groups are protonated. In the synthesis of chitosan derivatives, three methods have been developed to produce chitosan compounds functionalized with polyphenols: ester-mediated modification; enzyme-mediated strategy; grafting induced by free radicals. The main purpose of experimental studies is the synthesis of chitosan derivatives by grafting it with certain compounds that exhibit antioxidant properties and represent part of the flavonoid class and studying, comparing the antioxidant properties of the obtained copolymers. 

Biomembranes

Membranes

Geosynthetics

Engineering Applications 

 

Engineering is a profession to convert natural resources and energy to uses of humankind, benefitting from the productive synergy between the fundamental and applied sciences under certain professional standards. Advances and innovations in engineering have been made possible through analysis of natural phenomena, materials and biota, and their synthesis as man-made replicates.  This lecture will cover a special topic of biomimicry on membranes leading to wide range of synthetic membranes applications in analytical chemistry, physics and medical research and industrial applications. 

Antioxidants

Chitosan

Dihydroxyfumaric acid

Functionalization 

 

Chitin occupies second place after cellulose and is among the most widespread biopolymers in nature. Chitosan (made from chitin) is a versatile biopolymer and therefore its derivatives are used in various fields such as agriculture, food industry, cosmetics, water treatment and so on. Chitosan is also of interest in the pharmaceutical field because it is biodegradable, biocompatible and has a low toxicity. The main objective of this paper was the synthesis of some derivatives of chitosan functionalized with dihydroxyfumaric acid and ascorbic acid.

Chitosan

Functionalization

Quercetine

Thiosemicarbazone 

 

Cancer is a major health problem and is the second leading cause of death in the world. DNA oxidation can cause mutations and can therefore play an important role in the initiation and progression of carcinogenesis.Various antioxidants can be used to inhibit the DNA oxidation process, which may in the first place protect the DNA and, secondly, inhibit the formation of N-nitrosamines, which in turn ~ 80% are carcinogenic substances. Natural polymers (chitosan) functionalized with polyphenols can be used to prolong these effects. Chitosan is a natural polymer that is abundant in nature. Due to its unique biological properties, chitosan is applied in many industries. Polyphenols are well known for their antioxidant properties, they are natural compounds with one or more phenolic groups. In this paper, the functionalization of chitosan with cvercitine was studied and the antioxidant properties of the obtained composite were determined. 

Medicinal plants

Plant waste

Soil fertilization 

 

Agricultural activities generate a large amount of crop residues that can create environmental problems, like occupying vast areas and often being a source of pathogenic microorganisms. However, this plant waste can be a potential source of organic carbon and other major macronutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (NPK), essential for plant growth. Given this background and the fact that Hofigal is a major producer of dietary supplements and medicinal plants and produces an important amount of plant waste from plant processing, its researchers aimed to study the influence of soil fertilization with plant waste on phytochemical composition and growth of some medicinal plants. 

Groundwater

Iron

Manganese

Nitrification 

 

Ammonium, iron and manganese are some of the compounds found widely spread in groundwater. Such waters are usually improper for human consumption without a proper treatment. This is due to the fact that the presence of iron in the water can increase the turbidity, and global studies have shown that excessive assimilation of manganese can have adverse effects on the human body primarily affecting the nervous system. Thus, the simultaneous presence of Fe, Mn, NH4+ has led to the development of new methods for the replacement of the physicochemical removal methods of  Fe and Mn by biological processes, already successfully applied in water treatment containing N-NH4+ > 1 mg / L.

Bulk liquid membranes

Nitrophenols

Organic acids

Phenols 

 

Organic acids, phenols and their derivatives represent a category of chemical compounds frequently encountered in wastewater because of their use in various industrial fields. Some of these compounds have a high toxic potential and their removal from wastewater is a necessity. Membrane processes are often indicated for this purpose due to the many advantages they present: high efficiency and selectivity, low cost price etc. Experimental studies performed on a group of organic compounds: organic acids (indole-3-acetic acid, nicotinic acid) and nitrophenols (o-, m-, p-nitrophenol) have demonstrated the applicability of a membrane technique to remove these compounds in yields over 90%. The optimal of operational parameters of a bulk liquid membrane system were determined in the performed studies: the concentration of the organic substrate in the feed phase, the nature and concentration of the stripping agent in stripping phase, the type of membranes, the transport time. 

Activated microalgae

Wastewater treatment 

 

Conservation of water resources represents one of the socio-ecologic sustainable development priority strategies, wastewater treatment plants ensuring water resources reintegration within the hydrologic circuit. The activated sludge system needs to undergo frequent switch between anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic conditions for biological nutrient removal, thus requiring extra energy and chemicals to fulfil the task, leading to the need for evaluating alternative solutions with reduced operational costs and high efficiencies. The study focuses on assessing the efficiency of microalgae-bacteria granules for wastewater treatment and possibility to use the microalgae-bacteria system as a single step for wastewater treatment.

Clean-in-place system

Collagen

Environment

Wastewater 

 

SC Sanimed International Impex SRL (Sanimed) develops eco-innovative systemic activities based on innovation and market-driven approaches. The enterprise is engaged in an ambitious approach within biomedical field, producing medical devices. An integrated R&D-production strategy has allowed the enterprise to increase its activity domains mainly by collaboration and partnerships with prestigious research institutes, taking into account funding policies at national and European level, with impact on the development of production framework technologies and development of a research infrastructure. The main enterprise objective is represented by production of new and high-quality bio-products with the aim to improve the quality of life. In this context, the enterprise also focuses directly on environmental protection within the partnership with ECOIND. As a starting point for this direction Sanimed has initiated the refurbishment of collagen production facility by coupling it to a Cleaning-In-Place system. 

COM(2016)759

EU Energy & Climate

Romanian NECP

Sustainable transportation. 

 

The EU Life Plan-Up Project started in 2018 and has as main objective providing support to authorities in 5 EU countries (Italy, Spain, Hungary, Poland and Romania) for implementing the most recent requirements of Energy & Climate documents issued at EU level (COM (2016) 759 of 30.11.2016 on Governance of the Energy Union) The EU document calls for national level action in 5 directions:  1. Decarbonisation (having as main components: GHG emissions and removal, renewable energy) 2. Energy efficiency 3. Energy security 4. Internal energy market (components: electricity interconnectivity, energy transmission infrastructure, market integration, energy poverty) 5. Research, innovation and competitiveness. The paper refers to the contribution of GEC-Bucovina to the assessment of the Romanian National Energy & Climate Plan (NECP) in the field of transportation, in the mainframe of the Energy&Climate Strategy for the period 2020-2030. Measures for the implementation phase of the NECP will be also addressed. 

This paper is an overview reporting on a five stages research program concerning the use of bauxite residue as amendment for rehabilitation the acidic soils. The first two experimental works on this subject deal with: a) Preliminary experiments with particularly selected soil compositions and selected plants from both spontaneous flora and high intensive culture plants, 2012- 2014; b) Acid Soils Remediation, Glass house experiment on maize plants growth, 2016-2017; These studies showed that the successful acidic soils remediation required some complementary adjuvant for significant changes in soil agrochemical properties, and for raising the soil fertility up to a reasonable level. In the second and the third stage – Open field experiment on maize plants 2018-2019 – three property control adjuvant were used for this purpose: the bauxite residue for pH control, the organic compost as source of organic carbon and better control of the soil properties, and the NPK mineral fertilizers as source of main macronutrients. All these kind of formulations promoted in acidic soils normal vegetative plant growth and significantly rises in maize crop production and quality. The in both glass house and open field experiments on maize plants, the particular targets were: a) analysis and validation the good results of the glass house stage experiments; b) Better understanding of the BR rehabilitation effect on soil properties and composition after first year in a three years rehabilitation program; c) Accumulating credible data about crop outputs and grains quality in the remediated acidic soils. Also, these studies results sustain and bolster the expectations for the next two stages of the research program: a) Open field experiment on wheat plants; Final report 2019 and b) Open field experiment on sun flower plants; Final report 2020.