The production of biodiesel generates soap impurities that hinder biodiesel performance and complicate its purification. This study presents a novel approach for soap removal from biodiesel using NiO–doped ZnO nanoparticle (NP) adsorbent. The NPs are synthesized using a gliding arc discharge (GAD) method as a non-thermal plasma source (NTP). NiO doping reduced the bandgap energy by 74%, reduced the crystallite size, and increased the surface area by 78%, entailing lattice strain and structural modifications. Soap removal efficiency was 99.7% for NiO–doped ZnO within 16 min, compared with 95.5% for ZnO. Soap uptake as high as 2320 mg/g NiO–doped ZnO was reported, which could be equally fitted by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms suggesting effective physicochemical interactions. Adsorption kinetics followed a pseudo-first-order model with k1 = 0.172 min−1. NiO–doped ZnO retained 94% of its efficiency after five cycles, whereas the efficiency of ZnO NPs decreased to 90.4%. Molecular docking study revealed a binding energy of
The potential application of granules of brick waste (GBW) as a low-cost sorbent for removal of Ni+2ions from aqueous solutions has been studied. The properties of GBW were determined through several tests such as X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and BET surface area. In batch tests, the influence of several operating parameters including contact time, initial concentration, agitation speed, and the dose of GBW was investigated. The best values of these parameters that provided maximum removal efficiency of nickel (39.4%) were 1.5 hr, 50 mg/L, 250 rpm, and 1.8 g/100mL, respectively. The adsorption data obtained by batch experiments subjected to the Three i
... Show MorePharmaceuticals have been widely remaining contaminants in wastewater, and diclofenac is the most common pharmaceutical pollutant. Therefore, the removal of diclofenac from aqueous solutions using activated carbon produced by pyrocarbonic acid and microwaves was investigated in this research. Apricot seed powder and pyrophosphoric acid (45 wt%) were selected as raw material and activator respectively, and microwave irradiation technique was used to prepare the activated carbon. The raw material was impregnated in pyrophosphoric acid at 80◦C with an impregnation ratio of 1: 3 (apricot seeds to phosphoric acid), the impregnation time was 4 h, whereas the power of the microwave was 700 watts with a radiation time of 20 min. A series o
... Show MoreEnvironmental pollution is experiencing an alarming surge within the global ecosystem, warranting urgent attention. Among the significant challenges that demand immediate resolution, effective treatment of industrial pollutants stands out prominently, which for decades has been the focus of most researchers for sustainable industrial development aiming to remove those pollutants and recover some of them. The liquid membrane (LM) method, specifically electromembrane extraction (EME), offers promise. EME deploys an electric field, reducing extraction time and energy use while staying eco-friendly. However, there's a crucial knowledge gap. Despite strides in understanding and applying EME, optimizing it for diverse industrial pollutant
... Show MoreThe kinetics of removing cadmium from aqueous solutions was studied using a bio-electrochemical reactor with a packed bed rotating cylindrical cathode. The effect of applied voltage, initial concentration of cadmium, cathode rotation speed, and pH on the reaction rate constant (k) was studied. The results showed that the cathodic deposition occurred under the control of mass transfer for all applied voltage values used in this research. Accordingly, the relationship between logarithmic concentration gradient with time can be represented by a first-order kinetic rate equation. It was found that the rate constant (k) depends on the applied voltage, the initial cadmium concentration, the pH and the rotational speed of cathode. It
... Show MoreZinc oxide nanoparticles sample is prepared by the precipitation method. This method involves using zinc nitrate and urea in aqueous solution, then (AgNO3) Solution with different concentrations is added. The obtained precipitated compound is structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The average particle size of nanoparticles is around 28nm in pure, the average particle size reaches 26nm with adding AgNO3 (0.05g in100ml =0.002 M) (0.1g in100ml=0.0058M), AgNO3 (0.2g in 100ml=0.01M) was 25nm. The FTIR result shows the existence of -CO, -CO2, -OH, and -NO2- groups in sample and oxides (ZnO, Ag2O).and used an
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