The present work reports the performance of three types of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane in the removal of highly polluting and toxic lead Pb2+ and cadmium Cd2+ ions from a single salt. This study investigated the effect of operating variables, including pH, types of PES membrane, and feed concentration, on the separation process. The transport parameters and mass transfer coefficient (k) of the membranes were estimated using the combined film theory-solution-diffusion (CFSD), combined film theory-Spiegler-Kedem (CFSK), and combined film theory-finely-porous (CFFP) membrane transport models. Various parameters were used to estimate the enrichment factors, concentration polarization modulus, and Péclet number. The pH values significantly affected the permeation flux of the Pb2+ solution but only had a slight effect on the Cd2+ solution. However, Cd2+ rejection was highly improved by increasing the pH value. The rejection of the PES membranes increased greatly as the heavy metal concentration rose, while the heavy metal concentration moderately affected the permeation flux. The maximum rejection of Pb2+ in a single-salt solution was 99%, 97.5%, and 98% for a feed solution containing 10 mg Pb/L at pH 6, 6.2, and 5.7, for PES1, PES2, and PES3, respectively. The maximum rejection of Cd2+ in single-salt solutions was 78%, 50.2%, and 44% for a feed solution containing 10 mg Cd/L at pH 6.5, 6.2, and 6.5, for PES1, PES2, and PES3, respectively. The analysis of the experimental data using the CFSD, CFSK, and CFFP models showed a good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results. The effective membrane thickness and active skin layer thickness were evaluated using the CFFP model, indicating that the Péclet number is important for determining the mechanism of separation by diffusion.
Melanoma, a highly malignant form of skin cancer, affects individuals of all genders and is associated with high mortality rates, especially in advanced stages. The use of tele-dermatology has emerged as a proficient diagnostic approach for skin lesions and is particularly beneficial in rural areas with limited access to dermatologists. However, accurately, and efficiently segmenting melanoma remains a challenging task due to the significant diversity observed in the morphology, pigmentation, and dimensions of cutaneous nevi. To address this challenge, we propose a novel approach called DenseUNet-169 with a dilated convolution encoder-decoder for automatic segmentation of RGB dermascopic images. By incorporating dilated convolution,
... Show MoreThis study is unique in this field. It represents a mix of three branches of technology: photometry, spectroscopy, and image processing. The work treats the image by treating each pixel in the image based on its color, where the color means a specific wavelength on the RGB line; therefore, any image will have many wavelengths from all its pixels. The results of the study are specific and identify the elements on the nucleus’s surface of a comet, not only the details but also their mapping on the nucleus. The work considered 12 elements in two comets (Temple 1 and 67P/Churyumoy-Gerasimenko). The elements have strong emission lines in the visible range, which were recognized by our MATLAB program in the treatment of the image. The percen
... Show MoreThe effect of electrolysis operating parameters on the removal efficiency of cadmium from a simulated wastewater was studied by adopting response surface methodology combined with Box–Behnken Design. As a new electrode design, spiral-wound woven wire mesh rotating cylinder electrode was used for cadmium removal. Current (240–400 mA), rotation speed (200–1000 rpm), initial cadmium concentration (200–600ppm), and cathode mesh number (30–60) were chosen as independent variables while the removal efficiency of cadmium was considered as a response function. The results revealed that the rotation speed has the major effect on the removal efficiency of cadmium. Regression analysis showed good fit of the experimental data to the second-or
... Show MoreThis work evaluates the influence of combining twisted fins in a triple-tube heat exchanger utilised for latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) in three-dimensional numerical simulation and comparing the outcome with the cases of the straight fins and no fins. The phase change material (PCM) is in the annulus between the inner and the outer tube, these tubes include a cold fluid that flows in the counter current path, to solidify the PCM and release the heat storage energy. The performance of the unit was assessed based on the liquid fraction and temperature profiles as well as solidification and the energy storage rate. This study aims to find suitable and efficient fins number and the optimum values of the Re and the inlet tem
... Show MoreThe poor hole cleaning efficiency could causes many problems such as high torque, drag, poor hydraulics and pipe stuck. These inherent problems result in an avoidable high operation cost which this study tried to address. In this study, the effect of cutting density on hole cleaning efficiency in deviated and horizontal wells was investigated. Experiments were conducted using 40 feet (12 m) long of flow loop made from iron and PVC. However, the test section was made from PVC with (5.1m) long and (4” ID) for outer pipe and (2” OD) inner pipe. The cutting transport ratio (CTR) was determined from weight measurements for each test. Cutting Transport Ratio has been investigated for effects of the following parameters; flow rate, cu
... Show MoreThe current study suggested a thermal treatment as a necessary proactive step in improving the adsorption capacity of bio-waste for contaminants removal in wastewater. This approach was based on the experimental and histological investigation of biowaste pods shell. This investigation showed that these shells compose of parenchyma cells that store secondary metabolites compounds produced from cells were exhibited in present study. The results also reported that these compounds are extracted directly from the cells as soon as they are exposed to an aqueous solution, hampering their use as an adsorbent material. The increase in the weight of bio-waste adsorbent at unit liquid volume increases the production of secondary metabolites compounds
... Show MoreReducing global warming potential (GWP) of refrigerants is needed to the decrease of ozone-depleting of refrigeration systems leakages. Refrigerant R1234yf is now used to substitute R134a inside mobile air conditioning systems. Thermodynamic properties of R1234yf are similar to R134a. Also, it has a very low GWP of 4, compared to 1430 for R134a, making it a proper choice for future automobile refrigerants. The purpose of this research is to represent the main operating and performance differences between R1234yf and R134a. Experimental analysis was carried out on the automotive air conditioning system (AACS) with 3 kW nominal capacity, to test and compare the performance of R134a with R1234yf. Experiments were accomplish
... Show MoreStrengthening of the existing structures is an important task that civil engineers continuously face. Compression members, especially columns, being the most important members of any structure, are the most important members to strengthen if the need ever arise. The method of strengthening compression members by direct wrapping by Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) was adopted in this research. Since the concrete material is a heterogeneous and complex in behavior, thus, the behavior of the confined compression members subjected to uniaxial stress is investigated by finite element (FE) models created using Abaqus CAE 2017 software. The aim of this research is to study experimentally and numerically, the beha
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