Computational fluid dynamic simulations of turbulent flow in a rotating cylinder electrode reactor in continuous mode of operation

Hydrodynamic behavior and start-up performance of a periodic anaerobic baffled reactor in an "every second" switching manner treating traditional Chinese medicine wastewater

Most studies focus on the "clockwise sequential" switching manner for a four-compartment periodic anaerobic baffled reactor (PABR), while the exploration of the "every second" option on the feasibility for real industrial wastewater treatment is rarely reported. Hence, a PABR-treating traditional Chinese medicine wastewater was run continuously in "every second" switching manner with both switching period T and hydraulic residence time of 48 h. Satisfactory start-up performance was achieved during the operation of a climbing average organic load rate at approximately 1, 2, 4, and 6 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD) m-3 d-1 for 12, 24, 24, and 6 days, respectively. The average COD removal was 87.20% after the second lifting of OLR and 89.98% after the third one. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and its cluster analysis showed that the microbial communities in each compartment adapted their structure in response to the periodically changing micro-ecology conditions. Moreover, the residence time distribution test with tap water in the clean PABR was carried out in experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, both of which were in good agreement. The CFD model output visualized the flow velocity field and hydrodynamic-mass transport inside the PABR. Optimization of operation pattern in PABR including switching manner and frequency depended on both the type of waste being treated and the flexibility of biomass to periodically changing micro-ecology conditions.

Copper and Antimony Recovery from Electronic Waste by Hydrometallurgical and Electrochemical Techniques

A strategy for the efficient recovery of highly pure copper and antimony metals from electronic waste (e-waste) was implemented by the combination of hydrometallurgical and electrochemical processes. The focus is on copper recovery as the main component in the leached solution, whereas the antimony recovery process was established as a purification step in order to achieve a highly pure copper deposit. The strategy includes mechanical methods to reduce the size of the wasted printed circuit boards to enhance the efficiency of antimony and copper lixiviation via ferric chloride in acidic media (0.5 M HCl) followed by an electrowinning process. In order to establish the best parameters for copper electrowinning, the leached solution was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and cathodic polarization. Then, an electrochemical reactor with a rotating cylinder electrode was used to evaluate the copper concentration decay, the cathodic current efficiency, the specific energy consumption, and mass-transfer coefficient. Furthermore, antimony was recovered via precipitation by a pH modification in accordance with the Pourbaix diagram. Under this methodology, two valuable products from the e-waste were recovered: a 96 wt % pure copper deposit and 81 wt % pure antimony precipitate. The strategy for recovery of other metal ions, such as lead, present in the e-waste at high concentrations will be reported in further works.