Experimental Study of the Factors Influencing the Regeneration Performance of Reduced Graphite Oxide Filter Materials under Water Cleaning

With the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, air filters are being used and replaced more frequently. How to efficiently utilize air filter materials and determining whether they have regenerative properties have become current research hotspots. This paper discusses the regeneration performance of reduced graphite oxide filter materials, which were studied in depth using water cleaning and the relevant parameters, including the cleaning times. The results showed that water cleaning was most effective using a 20 L/(s·m²) water flow velocity with a 17 s cleaning time. The filtration efficiency decreased as the number of cleanings increased. Compared to the blank group, the filter material's PM₁₀ filtration efficiency decreased by 0.8%, 19.4%, 26.5%, and 32.4% after the first to fourth cleanings, respectively. The filter material's PM_2.5 filtration efficiency increased by 12.5% after the first cleaning, and decreased by 12.9%, 17.6%, and 30.2% after the second to fourth cleanings, respectively. The filter material's PM_1.0 filtration efficiency increased by 22.7% after the first cleaning, and decreased by 8.1%, 13.8%, and 24.5% after the second to fourth cleanings, respectively. Water cleaning mainly affected the filtration efficiency of particulates sized 0.3-2.5 μm. Reduced graphite oxide air filter materials could be water washed twice and maintain cleanliness equal to 90% of the original filter material. Water washing more than twice could not achieve the standard cleanliness equal to 85% of the original filter material. These data provide useful reference values for the evaluation of the filter materials' regeneration performance.

Charged Boron Nitride Nanosheet Membranes for Improved Organic Solvent Nanofiltration

Two-dimensional nanomaterial-based membranes have earned broad attention because of their excellent capability of separation performance in a mixture that can challenge the conventional membrane materials utilized in the organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) field. Boron nitride (BN) nanosheet membranes have displayed superb stability and separation ability in aqueous and organic solutions compared to the widely researched analogous graphene-based membranes; nevertheless, the concentration polarization of organic dye pollutants fades their separation performance and eclipses their potential adoption as a feasible technology. Herein, PDDA-modified BN (PBN) and sodium alginate-modified BN (SBN) nanosheet membranes with a thinner laminar structure are facially fabricated to improve the molecule separation performance compared to that of the pristine BN membrane. In aqueous separation application, the SBN membranes (2 μm) can reject positively charged dyes up to 100% and the PBN membrane (2 μm) could reject negatively charged dyes up to 100%. Impressively, the PBN membranes (3 μm) and SBN membranes (3 μm) demonstrate record high performances in OSN, with a permeance of 809 L m^-2 h^-1 bar^-1 and 97.71% rejection to acid fuchsin in acetonitrile and 290 L m^-2 h^-1 bar^-1 and 94.94% rejection to Azure B in dimethyl sulfoxide, respectively. The charged PBN and SBN nanosheet membranes demonstrate stable separation capability, exhibiting their potential for practical water and organic solvent purification processes.

Surface Decoration of Amino-Functionalized Metal-Organic Framework/Graphene Oxide Composite onto Polydopamine-Coated Membrane Substrate for Highly Efficient Heavy Metal Removal

A new metal-organic framework/graphene oxide composite (IRMOF-3/GO) with high adsorption capacity of copper(II) (maximal adsorption amount = 254.14 mg/g at pH 5.0 and 25 °C) was prepared. Novel and highly efficient nanofiltration (NF) membrane can be facilely fabricated via surface decoration of IRMOF-3/GO onto polydopamine (PDA)-coated polysulfone (PSF) substrate. After decoration of IRMOF-3/GO, membrane surface potential increased from 6.7 to 13.1 mV at pH 5.0 and 25 °C. Due to the adsorption effect of IRMOF-3/GO and the enhancement of membrane surface potential, the prepared NF membrane (the loading amount of IRMOF-3/GO is ca. 13.6 g/m²) exhibits a highly efficient rejection of copper(II). The copper(II) rejection reaches up to ∼90%, while maintaining a relatively high flux of ∼31 L/m²/h at the pressure of 0.7 MPa and pH 5.0. Moreover, the membrane also presents an outstanding stability throughout the 2000 min NF testing period. Thus, the newly developed NF membrane shows a promising potential for water cleaning. This work provides a worthy reference for designing highly efficient NF membranes modified by metal-organic framework (MOF) relevant materials.

Efficient Removal of Cationic and Anionic Radioactive Pollutants from Water Using Hydrotalcite-Based Getters

Hydrotalcite (HT)-based materials are usually applied to capture anionic pollutants in aqueous solutions. Generally considered anion exchangers, their ability to capture radioactive cations is rarely exploited. In the present work, we explored the ability of pristine and calcined HT getters to effectively capture radioactive cations (Sr(2+) and Ba(2+)) which can be securely stabilized at the getter surface. It is found that calcined HT outperforms its pristine counterpart in cation removal ability. Meanwhile, a novel anion removal mechanism targeting radioactive I(-) is demonstrated. This approach involves HT surface modification with silver species, namely, Ag2CO3 nanoparticles, which can attach firmly on HT surface by forming coherent interface. This HT-based anion getter can be further used to capture I(-) in aqueous solution. The observed I(-) uptake mechanism is distinctly different from the widely reported ion exchange mechanism of HT and much more efficient. As a result of the high local concentrations of precipitants on the getters, radioactive ions in water can be readily immobilized onto the getter surface by forming precipitates. The secured ionic pollutants can be subsequently removed from water by filtration or sedimentation for safe disposal. Overall, these stable, inexpensive getters are the materials of choice for removal of trace ionic pollutants from bulk radioactive liquids, especially during episodic environmental crisis.

Nanosheet-structured boron nitride spheres with a versatile adsorption capacity for water cleaning

Here, we report the synthesis of nanosheet-structured boron nitride spheres (NSBNSs) by a catalyzing thermal evaporation method from solid B powders. The NSBNSs consist of radially oriented ultrathin nanosheets with the sheet edges oriented on the surface. Formation of this unique structure occurs only at a certain reaction temperature. The diameter from 4 μm to 700 nm and the nanosheet thickness from 9.1 to 3.1 nm of the NSBNSs can be well-controlled by appropriately changing the mass ratio of boron powders and catalyst. The NSBNSs possess versatile adsorption capacity, exhibiting excellent adsorption performance for oil, dyes, and heavy metal ions from water. The oil uptake reaches 7.8 times its own weight. The adsorption capacities for malachite green and methylene blue are 324 and 233 mg/g, while those for Cu(2+), Pb(2+), and Cd(2+) are 678.7, 536.7, and 107.0 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption capacities of the NSBNSs for Cu(2+) and Pb(2+) are higher or much higher than those of the adsorbents reported previously. These results demonstrate the great potential of NSBNSs for water treatment and cleaning.