Search results for: photodegradation of recalcitrant pollutants
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Agnieszka Ubowska dr hab. inż.
PeopleAgnieszka Ubowska, PhD Dsc Eng was born in 1978 in Piła, where she graduated from the Secondary School of Environmental Protection. In the years 1998-2003 she studied at the Faculty of Technology and Chemical Engineering of the Szczecin University of Technology, majoring in environmental protection. She obtained her doctorate in technical sciences in 2008, defending her thesis entitled "Hybrid hydrophilic acrylamide (co)polymers"....
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Application of vertical flow cw for highly contaminated wastewater treatment
PublicationBasing on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of reject waters generated during digested sewage sludge dewatering on centrifuges in conventional WWTP (RWC) and municipal landfill leachate (LL), the pilot constructed wetlands for treatment of both types of highly contaminated wastewater were designed. In the paper the characteristics of the pilot plants and assumed treatment efficiencies are presented. According to the...
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Multiresidue Methods for Determination of Currently Used Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables Using QuECHERS Technique
PublicationApplied all over the world, pesticides are some of the most common pollutants of the environment because of their stability, mobility, their consequent long-term adverse effects on living organisms in general and human health in particular. For these reasons it is essential to monitor and analyse pesticide residues in the fruits and vegetables. The analysis of food samples for the presence of pesticides causes a lot of difficulties...
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Reject water and landfil leachate treatment with hydrophyte method - preliminary results
PublicationTreatment of landfill leachate (LL) and reject water (RWC) from dewatering of digested sludge in WWTPs have become one of the actual problems. Treatment of both types of wastewater is in many cases very costly and difficult due to quality and quantity fluctuations in time as well as high concentrations of specific pollutants. In case of our investigation the TSS concentration in RWC was two times higher than in LL. The shere of...
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The Use of Sensory Analysis Techniques to Assess the Quality of Indoor Air
PublicationThe quality of indoor air is one of the significant elements that influences people's well-being and health inside buildings. Emissions of pollutants, which may cause odor nuisance, are the main reason for people's complaints regarding the quality of indoor air. As a result, it is necessary to perform tests aimed at identifying the sources of odors inside buildings. The article contains basic information on the characteristics...
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Nanosorbents as Materials for Extraction Processes of Environmental Contaminants and Others
PublicationThe aim of this work focuses on the application of nanomaterials (NMs) in different sorp- tive extraction techniques for the analysis of organic contaminants from environmental samples of distinct matrix compositions. Without any doubt, the integration of specific NMs such as carbona- ceous nanomaterials, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), silica na- noparticles, and ion-imprinted NPs with so lid-phase...
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Forced degradation studies of ivabradine and in silico toxicology predictions for its new designated impurities
PublicationAll activities should aim to eliminate genotoxic impurities and/or protect the API againstdegradation. There is a necessity to monitor impurities from all classification groups,hence ivabradine forced degradation studies were performed. Ivabradine was provedto be quite durable active substance, but still new and with insufficient stability data.Increased temperature, acid, base, oxidation reagents and...
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Lanthanide co-doped TiO2: the effect of metal type and amount on surface properties and photocatalytic activity
PublicationPreparation of new rare earth metal-containing TiO2 nanocomposites (Nd3+/Er3+, Nd3+/Eu3+, Eu3+/Ho3+-TiO2) using sol–gel route and their photoactivity under visible and ultraviolet light is reported. The obtained photocatalysts were subsequently characterized by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, UV–Vis diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), luminescence spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray powder diffraction...
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Optimization of electrochemical doping approach resulting in highly photoactive iodine-doped titania nanotubes
PublicationThe paper focuses on the optimization procedure concerning the synthesis method resulting in highly ordered titania nanotubes doped with iodine atoms. The doping process was based on the electrochemical treatment of a titania nanotube layer immersed in a potassium iodide (KI) solution acting as an iodine precursor. A number of endeavors were undertaken in order to optimize the doping conditions. Electrolyte concentration, reaction...
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Polysaccharide nanocomposites in wastewater treatment: A review
PublicationIn modern times, wastewater treatment is vital due to increased water contamination arising from pollutants such as nutrients, pathogens, heavy metals, and pharmaceutical residues. Polysaccharides (PSAs) are natural, renewable, and non-toxic biopolymers used in wastewater treatment in the field of gas separation, liquid filtration, adsorption processes, pervaporation, and proton exchange membranes. Since addition of nanoparticles...
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Influence of the boron doping level on the electrochemical oxidation of the azo dyes at Si/BDD thin film electrodes
PublicationIn this study the efficiency of electrochemical oxidation of aromatic pollutants, such as reactive dyes, at boron-doped diamond on silicon (Si/BDD) electrodes was investigated. The level of [B]/[C] ratio which is effective for the degradation and mineralization of selected aromatic pollutants, and the impact of [B]/[C] ratio on the crystalline structure, layer conductivity and relative sp3/sp2 coefficient of a BDD electrode were...
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Environmental characteristics of a tundra river system in Svalbard. Part 2: Chemical stress factors
PublicationBacterial communities in the Arctic environment are subject to multiple stress factors, including contaminants, although typically their concentrations are small. The Arctic contamination research has focused on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) because they are bioaccumulative, resistant to degradation and toxic for all organisms. Pollutants have entered the Arctic predominantly by atmospheric and oceanic long-range transport,...
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Combination of hydrodynamic cavitation and SR-AOPs for simultaneous degradation of BTEX in water
PublicationHydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is an emerging technology gaining interest in water treatment for use in elimination of a wide range of organic pollutants. The energy released during cavitation phenomenon has number of applications and, particularly, it can be utilized for activation of persulfate (PS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS). In the present study, hybrid techniques: HC combined with persulfates – HC-PS and HC-PMS were tested...
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Application of Passive Samplers in Monitoring of Organic Constituents of Air
PublicationThe principles of passive dosimetry, which has been known for over 100 years, are finding an ever increasing use in analytical practice and are being used as a convenient technique for isolation and enrichment of analytes from various environmental media. Due to its simplicity, a variety of designs, as well as the possibility of using a number of different final determination techniques, passive dosimetry has been applied in...
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Calixthioamides as ionophores for transition and heavy-metal cations
PublicationThere is an increasing interest in applying p-tert-butylcalix[4]arenes as sensing materials in ion-selective electrodes(ISEs). Considerable efforts were made to design calixarenes that are selective for some heavy- or transitionmetal ions to be used in ISEs for controlling and monitoring the level of such pollutants in the environment. It has been reported that introduction of softer sulfur atoms instead of oxygen atoms in calix[4]arene...
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Green aspects of techniques for the determination of currently used pesticides in environmental samples
PublicationPesticides are among the most dangerous environmental pollutants because of their stability, mobility and long-term effects on living organisms. Their presence in the environment is a particular danger. It is therefore crucial to monitor pesticide residues using all available analytical methods. The analysis of environmental samples for the presence of pesticides is very difficult: the processes involved in sample preparation are...
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Investigation of the temperature modulation parameters on semiconductor gas sensor response
PublicationIn this work we present the results of the investigation of the sensing properties of semiconductor gas sensors with a sinusoidally modulated temperature in the presence of synthetic air (SA) and three volatile air pollutants, i.e. NH3, NO2 and SO2. The measurements were performed for different average sensor heater temperatures and the amplitude of the modulation signal. In addition, the extraction of features from the sensor...
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Wpływ ścieków przemysłowych na energochłonność i efektywność procesów technologicznych w komunalnej oczyszczalni ścieków
PublicationW artykule skupiono się na przedstawieniu wpływu jakości i ilości ścieków przemysłowych wprowadzanych do sieci kanalizacyjnej PEWIK GDYNIA Sp. z o. o. na stabilność procesów technologicznych. Określono również wpływ ścieków przemysłowych na energochłonność i efektywność oraz na wzrost kosztów oczyszczania ścieków komunalnych w Grupowej Oczyszczalni Ścieków „Dębogórze” w latach 2012-2015.
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Evaluation of the photoprotective effect of β-cyclodextrin on the emission of volatile degradation products of ranitidine
PublicationThe process of the photo-excitation of ranitidine hydrochloride (RAN) in a solid state makes visible changes to its colour and generates an unpleasant odour. The purpose of the present study was to observe the protective effects of ˇ-cyclodextrin (CD) complexation as well as the effect of the mixture of two stoichiometries 1:1 and 1:2 (RAN:CD, IC) on the photostability of samples in a solid state. Samples of inclusion complexes...
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Evaluation of the photoprotective effect of ˇ-cyclodextrin on the emission of volatile degradation products of ranitidine
PublicationThe process of the photo-excitation of ranitidine hydrochloride (RAN) in a solid state makes visible changes to its colour and generates an unpleasant odour. The purpose of the present study was to observe the protective effects of ˇ-cyclodextrin (CD) complexation as well as the effect of the mixture of two stoichiometries 1:1 and 1:2 (RAN:CD, IC) on the photostability of samples in a solid state. Sam- ples of inclusion complexes...
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Preparation and Characterization of Defective TiO2. The Effect of the Reaction Environment on Titanium Vacancies Formation
PublicationAmong various methods of improving visible light activity of titanium(IV) oxide, the formation of defects and vacancies (both oxygen and titanium) in the crystal structure of TiO2 is an easy and relatively cheap alternative to improve the photocatalytic activity. In the presented work, visible light active defective TiO2 was obtained by the hydrothermal reaction in the presence of three different oxidizing agents: HIO3, H2O2, and...
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Multistage treatment wetland for treatment of reject waters from digested sludge dewatering
PublicationThe paper presents the influence of sewage composition on treatment in pilot-scale facility for reject waters (RW) from sewage sludge centrifugation. The facility consisted of mechanical (two tanks with 10 d retention each) and biological parts composed of three subsurface flow reed beds working in batch. Two years of monitoring of the facility proved high efficiency removal of predominant pollutants: COD 75–80%, BOD 82.2–95.5%...
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Application of vertical flow constructed wetlands for highly contaminated wastewater treatment: preliminary results
PublicationBasing on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of reject waters (RWC) generated during dewatering of digested sewage sludge on centrifuges in conventional WWTP and municipal landfill leachate (LL), the pilot constructed wetlands for treatment of both types wastewater were designed and built. In the paper the conception, design and assumed treatment efficiencies of the pilot plants are presented. The water balance of the...
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The influence of humic substances in treated sewage on the quality of surface waters
PublicationAt present the evaluation of WWTP effectiveness is based upon organic matter and nutrients removal. Recently it was found out that sewage treatment leads to formation of resistant to biochemical degradation organic compounds, similar to humic acids. The humic acids formed during sewage treatment process play diversified functions when discharged to surface waters - for instance they can act as carriers of hydrophobic organic pollutants...
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Natural ventilation performance of family building in cold climate during windy days
PublicationAdequately designed natural ventilation is the cheapest and easiest way to effectively remove indoor pollutants and keep the fresh air inside a building. A prediction of performance and effectiveness of ventilation in order to determine the design of a ventilation system can provide real and long term cost savings. The paper presents results of performance (air change rate ACH) and effectiveness (CO2 concentration in the breathing...
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Effects of beach wrack on the fate of mercury at the land-sea interface – A preliminary study
PublicationSince the 1970s, the amount of aquatic plants and algae debris, called beach wrack (BW), has increased along the shores of industrialised regions. The strong ability of primary producers to accumulate pollutants can potentially result in their deposition on the beach along with the BW. Despite that, the fate and impact of such pollutants on sandy beach ecosystems have not been investigated so far. This study examines the fate...
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Impacts on human health in the Arctic owing to climate-induced changes in contaminant cycling – The EU ArcRisk project policy outcome
PublicationResults of the EU ArcRisk project on human health impacts in the Arctic owing to climate-induced changes in contaminant cycling are summarized in the context of their policy application. The question on how will climate change affect the transport of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury, both to and within the Arctic has been addressed, as well as the issue of human health impacts of these pollutants in the...
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Spatial distribution of pharmaceuticals in conventional wastewater treatment plant with Sludge Treatment Reed Beds technology
PublicationPharmaceutical residues are an emerging environmental problem. It is strongly confirmed that pharmaceuticals are present in soils and environmental waters (surface, marine and even groundwater), and that wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents are the main source of pharmaceuticals in the watershed. The aim of this studywas to recognize the spatial distribution and seasonal changes of selected pharmaceuticals in conventional WWTP...
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Green aspects of techniques for the determination of pesticides in fruits and vegetables
PublicationApplied all over the world, pesticides are some of the most dangerous pollutants of the environment because of their stability, mobility, their ability to accumulate in the environment and their consequent long-term adverse effects on living organisms in general and human health in particular. Their presence in the environment is a particular danger. It is therefore crucial to monitor pesticide residues using all available analytical...
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Greening procedures and analytical parameters. The polychlorinated naphthalenes analysis in complex matrices as proof of concept
PublicationDue to the complexity of analytical procedures employed for the determination of wide spectrum of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), it is important to consider the green character of the applied protocols and propose the greenest solutions. In this review, the green aspects of several analytical procedures used for the determination of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) (as a representatives of POPs) in different types of...
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Application of multicriteria decision analysis to assess the greenness of molecularly imprinted polymers synthesis components
PublicationThe study applies multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to rank the components of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) synthesis according to their greenness. The components are taken from papers that are describing synthesis of MIPs for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) sorbents. Functional monomers (n = 14), target/surrogate molecules (n = 10), porogens (n = 8), cross-linking agents (n = 8) and initiators (n = 4) are described...
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Influence of nitrogen and organic matter fractions on wastewater treatment in treatment wetland
PublicationMunicipal wastewater contains both biodegradable and non-degradable pollutants. Moreover, they are present in dissolved, colloidal and particulate forms. These fractions are characterised by various decomposition rates, hence their bioavailability during microbial respiration. It was confirm that biological degradation rate in terms of COD reduction is influenced by particle size speciation. Therefore, the objective of the study...
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Katalizatory wykorzystywane w syntezie biodiesla
PublicationRising prices of electricity, conventional fuels and heating require decisive steps in the further development of technologies based on renewable energy sources. These include geothermal-; hydrothermal-; aerothermal-; and solar energy. Due to the fact that the petrochemical industry is one of the fastest growing branches of the economy, we would like to expand on the topic related to biofuels. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel similar...
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Biotrickling filtration of n-butanol vapors: process monitoring using electronic nose and artificial neural network
PublicationBiotrickling filtration is one of the techniques used to reduce odorants in the air. It is based on the aerobic degradation of pollutants by microorganisms located in the filter bed. The research presents the possibility of using the electronic nose prototype combined with artificial neural network for biofiltration process monitoring in terms of reduction in n-butanol concentration and odour intensity of treated air. The study...
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Phytoremediation—From Environment Cleaning to Energy Generation—Current Status and Future Perspectives
Publication:Phytoremediationis a technology based on the use of green plants to remove, relocate, deactivate, or destroy harmful environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, radionuclides, hydrocarbons, and pharmaceuticals. Under the general term of phytoremediation, several processes with distinctively different mechanisms of action are hidden. In this paper, the most popular modes of phytoremediation are described and discussed. A broad...
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Interspecific and intraspecific variation in organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls using non-destructive samples from Pygoscelis penguins
PublicationAs humans are present in Antarctica only for scientific and tourism-related purposes, it is often described as a pristine region. However, studies have identified measurable levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), such as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in the Antarctic region. These are highly toxic anthropogenic compounds with tendency to travel long distances and reach remote environments, where...
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Seasonal changes in organotin compounds in water and sediment samples from the semi-closed Port of Gdynia
PublicationThe effect of seasonal changes on the distribution of organotin compounds (OTC) in the sediments and seawaterfrom the docks of the Port of Gdynia was investigated. Sediment and seawater samples were collectedfrom four industrial docks in February (winter) and June (summer) in 2009. The samples were analyzed forbutyltin, phenyltin, octyltin, and tricyclohexyltin (total of 9 OTC derivatives). The fine fraction (b0.063 mm)accumulated...
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Preparation and photocatalytic activity of Nd-modified TiO2 photocatalysts: Insight into the excitation mechanism under visible light
PublicationTitanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) modified with neodymium (Nd) in the range between 0.1 and 1.0 mol% were prepared via the hydrothermal method. The samples obtained were characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (EDX), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence...
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Phototransformation of Amlodipine: Degradation Kinetics and Identification of Its Photoproducts
PublicationNowadays, monitoring focuses on the primary compounds and does not include degradation products formed during various biological and chemical processes. Transformation products may have the same effects to human health and the environment or sometimes they can be more toxic than the parent compound. Unfortunately, knowledge about the formation of degradation products is still limited, however, can be very important for the environmental...
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Enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performance of iodine-doped titania nanotube arrays
PublicationThe paper discusses the synthesis and performance of iodine doped titania nanotube arrays exhibited under irradiation. The doping procedure was performed as an additional, electrochemical process carried out after formation of nanotube arrays via anodization of Ti substrate. The optical and structural properties were characterized using Raman, UV-vis, photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The surface morphology...
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The effect of microemulsion composition on the morphology of Pd nanoparticles deposited at the surface of TiO2 and photoactivity of Pd-TiO2
PublicationA series of microemulsion (ME) system, constituted by different water to surfactant molar ratios (Wo) and oil to surfactant mass ratios (S), have been applied for Pd-TiO2 preparation. The effect of ME properties on the morphology of Pd nanoparticles formed at TiO2 surface and an effect of Pd size and distribution on the surface and photocatalytic properties of Pd-TiO2 were investigated. Microemulsion systems were characterized...
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Preparation and photocatalytic properties of BaZrO 3 and SrZrO 3 modified with Cu 2 O/Bi 2 O 3 quantum dots
PublicationIn this study, we report a novel method of BaZrO3 and SrZrO3 surface modification by two different types of quantum dots (QDs, Cu2O and Bi2O3), which improved the photocatalytic performance of the obtained materials under UV-Vis light irradiation. Pristine BaZrO3 and SrZrO3 were prepared by the hydrothermal method. The deposition of Cu2O- and Bi2O3-QDs was carried out by chemical reduction. The morphology of the nanoparticles was...
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Novel composite of Zn/Ti-layered double hydroxide coupled with MXene for the efficient photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals
PublicationIn the present study, a hybrid photocatalyst of Zn/Ti layered double hydroxide (LDH) coupled with MXene – Ti3C2 was synthesized for the first time and applied in photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen and ibuprofen, two commonly present in the natural environment and prone to accumulate in the aquatic ecosystem pharmaceuticals. The effect of MXene content (0.5 wt%, 2.5 wt%, and 5 wt%) on the photocatalytic activity of LDH/MXene...
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Phototransformation of three selected pharmaceuticals, naproxen, 17α-Ethinylestradiol and tetracycline in water: Identification of photoproducts and transformation pathways
PublicationTransformation products (TPs) may be formed during various processes, however, it was proved that one of the main mechanisms responsible for degradation of pharmaceuticals in natural waters is photolysis. Three compounds were selected, tetracycline (TC), 17-α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) and naproxen (NAP), for degradation experiments which were performed using a xenon lamp emitting light with a spectrum closely approximating that of...
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Enhanced photocatalytic activity of accordion-like layered Ti3C2 (MXene) coupled with Fe-modified decahedral anatase particles exposing {1 0 1} and {0 0 1} facets
PublicationNew composites consisting of decahedral anatase particles exposing {001} and {101} facets coupled with accordion-like layered Ti3C2 with boosted photocatalytic activity towards phenol and carbamazepine degradation were investigated. The photocatalysts were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DR/UV–Vis), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron...
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abiotic degradation of chlorinated ethanes and ethenes in water
PublicationIntroduction Chlorinated ethanes and ethenes are among themost frequently detected organic pollutants of water. Theirphysicochemical properties are such that they can contaminateaquifers for decades. In favourable conditions, they canundergo degradation. In anaerobic conditions, chlorinatedsolvents can undergo reductive dechlorination.Degradation pathways Abiotic dechlorination is usuallyslower than microbial but abiotic dechlorination...
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The use of bioassays in the analysis of environmental samples
PublicationToxicological tests are increasingly used as effective tool to complement the information obtained during the environmental monitoring. Moreover bioassays provide basic knowledge about the health effects of exposure to harmful factors associated with the environment. Toxicity tests might be a source of information about the content of pollutants in the sample, and the possibility of their interactions. They can be considered as...
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Sources and Fate of PAHs and PCBs in the Marine Environment
PublicationThe assessment of a hazard resulting from the pollution of the environment by chemical compounds is in principle limited to the determination of their concentrations in its various compartments. But for solving many problems in this context, knowledge of the emission sources, transport pathways, and sites of deposition is of great benefit. By far the largest amounts of pollutants, regardless of where they were discharged, end up...
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The effect of ionic liquids on the surface and photocatalytic properties of semiconducting materials
PublicationSemiconductor-mediated photocatalysis represents an environmentally friendly technology that could be used for the degradation of different pollutants in the gas and aqueous phases, for hydrogen generation, and for CO2-to-valuable product transformation reactions. Therefore, it is extremely important to accurately design a photocatalyst with the relevant features. In recent years, ionic liquids have often been employed as reagents...
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Removal efficiency of phenol by ozonation process with calcium peroxide from aqueous solutions
PublicationPhenol has been introduced as a priority pollutant by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are one of the most efcient methods for removal of non-degradable organic pollutants in aqueous solutions. The removal efciencies of phenol and COD under optimal conditions pH=3, phenol concentration=5 mg/L, CaO2 concentration=0.025 mg/L, temperature 25 °C, 1 g/min ozonation rate and contact time=90...