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Acetone is solvent widely used in laboratories and factories. Serious problems will occur when it is exposed to the environment. Therefore, a new design for a bimetallic metal functional group catalyst that can convert acetone into carbon dioxide and water within 250 °C was prepared, in order to effectively treat acetone and reduce the required energy. Hydrophobic Y type zeolite adsorption and low-temperature catalytic combustion were used to continuously treat acetone, and the effect of different operating parameters (including different metal loads, metal content, transformation temperature, pollutant concentration, and space velocity) on the efficiency of acetone treatment was discussed in this study. The isothermal adsorption model, kinetics, and thermodynamic model analysis were also used to establish the reaction mechanism, and to explore the factors affecting the catalyst reaction rate. The results show that the acetone conversion rate of 10-Fe1Mn1-USY reaches 90% at 400 ppm, 20,000 h−1 space velocity, and 227 °C. The kinetic behavior of the reaction between 10-Fe1Mn1-USY and acetone is more suited to the Power-rate Law model. Arrhenius equation analysis results show that the required activation energy for the reaction between 10-Fe1Mn1-USY and acetone is 70.2 kJ mol−1, and the collision frequency factor is 2.81 × 105 s−1. This reaction is an endothermic reaction, and the main reaction mechanism is surface metal oxidation.A new design for a bimetallic metal functional group catalyst that can convert acetone into carbon dioxide and water within 250 ℃ was prepared, in order to effectively treat acetone and reduce the required energy. Hydrophobic Y type zeolite adsorption and low-temperature catalytic combustion were used to continuously treat acetone, and the effect of different operating parameters on the efficiency of acetone treatment was discussed in this study. Result shown that the redox reaction between the adsorbed acetone and the active oxygen on the surface of the catalyst to generate CO2 and H2O.

This study presents the first attempt at employing catalytic biochar to remove ground-level ozone at ambient temperature. With the increase in human activity, ozone has become a critical inorganic pollutant that needs to be addressed, using more sustainable methods. Fe- and Mn-impregnated catalytic biochars were prepared from a sugarcane feedstock via the wet impregnation method and pyrolysis at various temperatures, where the optimum value was determined to be 550 °C. The metal-impregnated biochar samples demonstrated enhanced surface areas and pore volumes compared with the pristine biochar (SCB550), resulting in improved ozone-adsorption capacity. SCB550-Fe exhibited an ozone-adsorption capacity of 52.1 mg/g at 20 ppm, which was approximately four times higher than that of SCB550. SCB550-Fe demonstrated superior ozone-removal performance compared to SCB550-Mn; 122 mg/g capacity as opposed to 116.2 mg/g at 80 ppm, respectively. Isothermal and kinetic modeling are also presented to suggest a plausible mechanism of ozone removal by catalytic biochar. This includes physical adsorption, complexation, electrostatic interaction, and electron transfer during the redox reaction between ozone and metals. Overall, this study should provide preliminary insights into ozone removal using biochar and promote further research regarding material optimization and kinetic studies.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organic chemicals consisting of a biphenyl structure substituted with one to ten chlorine atoms, with 209 congeners depending on the number and position of the chlorine atoms. PCBs are widely known to be endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and have been found to be involved in several diseases/disorders. This study takes various molecular descriptors of these PCBs (e.g., molecular weight) and toxicity endpoints as molecular activities, investigating the possibility of correlations via the quantitative structure–toxicity relationship (QSTR). This study then focuses on molecular docking and dynamics to investigate the docking behavior of the strongest-binding PCBs to nuclear receptors and compares these to the docking behavior of their natural ligands. Nuclear receptors are a family of transcription factors activated by steroid hormones, and they have been investigated to consider the impact of PCBs on humans in this context. It has been observed that the docking affinity of PCBs is comparable to that of the natural ligands, but they are inferior in terms of stability and interacting forces, as shown by the RMSD and total energy values. However, it is noted that most nuclear receptors respond to PCBs similarly to how they respond to their natural ligands—as shown in the RMSF plots—the most similar of which are seen in the ER, THR-β, and RAR-α. However, this study is performed purely in silico and will need experimental verification for validation.

Plant-Microbial Fuel Cell (PMFC) technology is a promising bioelectrochemical system that can exploit natural plant rhizodeposition to generate electricity. PMFCs can be used to simultaneously generate electricity while growing edible plants, as illustrated in this study. However, the common problem encountered for soil PMFCs is the low power output. To solve this problem, the stacking behavior of PMFCs was examined to maximize the power output of several cells. A grid of 9 PMFCs (3x3) was constructed with stainless steel and carbon fiber electrodes growing green beans (V. ungiculata spp. sesquipedalis) for stacking purposes. Stacking results have shown that too many cells connected in series will result in voltage losses, while stacking in parallel conserves voltage between cells. Stacking a maximum of 3 cells in series is acceptable based on the results, since cumulative stacking revealed that voltage reversals can reduce the overall potential of the stack if there are too many connected cells. Stack combinations were also tested, resulting in an enhanced performance upon combining series and parallel connections allowing power to be amplified and power density to be conserved. The combination of three sets of three cells in series stacked in parallel (3S-P) generated the highest power and power density (160.86 μW/m2) amongst all combinations, showing that power amplification without losses to power density are possible in PMFC stacking. Overall, proper stacking combinations have been shown to greatly affect the performance of PMFCs. It is hoped that the results of this study will contribute to the efforts of applying PMFC technology on a larger scale.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-furans (PCDD/Fs) are a group of organic chemicals containing three-ring structures that can be substituted with one to eight chlorine atoms, leading to 75 dioxin and 135 furan congeners. As endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), they can alter physiological processes causing a number of disorders. In this study, quantitative structure–toxicity relationship (QSTR) studies were used to determine the correlations between the PCDD/Fs’ molecular structures and various toxicity endpoints. Strong QSTR models, with the coefficients of determination (r2) values greater than 0.95 and ANOVA p-values less than 0.0001 were established between molecular descriptors and the endpoints of bioconcentration, fathead minnow LC50, and Daphnia magna LC50. The ability of PCDD/Fs to bind to several nuclear receptors was investigated via molecular docking studies. The results show comparable, and in some instances better, binding affinities of PCDD/Fs toward the receptors relative to their natural agonistic and antagonistic ligands, signifying possible interference with the receptors’ natural biological activities. These studies were accompanied by the molecular dynamics simulations of the top-binding PCDD/Fs to show changes in the receptor–ligand complexes during binding and provide insights into these compounds’ ability to interfere with transcription and thereby modify gene expression. This introspection of PCDD/Fs at the molecular level provides a deeper understanding of these compounds’ toxicity and opens avenues for future studies.

Typha angustifolia L. (TA) pollen has been utilized as a traditional Chinese medicine for treating various internal and external traumas. Moreover, bioactive compounds possess diverse pharmacological activities. This study aims to evaluate the antiviral properties of TA based on its ability to generate bioenergy, capable of inhibiting viruses. TA pollens were extracted using water and ethanol solvents. These extracts were utilized to identify the phytochemical contents and correlate with the antioxidant activity via 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. HPLC analysis was conducted to identify its electron-shuttling compositions. The bioenergy-generating characteristics were determined via microbial fuel cells. The water extract (TA-W) showed higher antioxidant activity due to a higher phenolic and flavonoid content compared to the ethanol extract (TA-E). Quercetin-3-O-(2G-α-L-rhamnosyl)-rutinoside, quercetin-3-O-neohesperidoside, and quercetin are the electron shuttles (ES) identified out of the 11 compounds. TA obtained a 1.39 ± 0.10 amplification factor of power generation that indicates potential bioenergy-generating and associated antiviral characteristic properties. The findings may provide a foundation for developing antiviral medications specifically designed to target virus-related diseases, while minimizing the risk of drug toxicity and reducing the costs of drug development.

The advancement in membrane science and technology, particularly in nanofiltration applications, involves the blending of functional nanocomposites into the membranes to improve the membrane property. In this study, Ag-polydopamine (Ag-PDA) particles were synthesized through in situ PDA-mediated reduction of AgNO3 to silver. Infusing Ag-PDA particles into polyethersulfone (PES) matrix affects the membrane property and performance. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses confirmed the presence of Ag-PDA particles on the membrane surface. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) describe the morphology of the membranes. At an optimum concentration of Ag-PDA particles (0.3 wt % based on the concentration of PES), the modified membrane exhibited high water flux 13.33 L∙m−2∙h−1 at 4 bar with high rejection for various dyes of >99%. The PESAg-PDA0.3 membrane had a pure water flux more than 5.4 times higher than that of a pristine membrane. Furthermore, in bacterial attachment using Escherichia coli, the modified membrane displayed less bacterial attachment compared with the pristine membrane. Therefore, immobilizing Ag-PDA particles into the PES matrix enhanced the membrane performance and antibacterial property.

Acetone is a solvent used in many laboratories and factories. Serious problems will occur when it is exposed to the environment. Therefore, a new design hydrophobicity bimetallic metal material (10-Fe 1 Mn 1 -USY) was prepared for acetone adsorption under conditions of high humidity. Hydrophobic Y type zeolite was used to prepare bimetallic metal materials and the effect of different operating parameters (including different material, humidity, temperature, pollutant concentration, residence time, and regeneration) on the efficiency of acetone treatment was examined. Isothermal adsorption model, kinetics and thermodynamic model analysis were also used to establish the reaction mechanism. The 10-Fe 1 Mn 1 -USY material has good adsorption capacity (133 mg g −1 ) for acetone under a relative humidity of 50%. The main factors affecting the adsorption capacity are the contact angle, hydrophobicity, specific surface area, and Si/Al of the material. The isothermal adsorption and the kinetic adsorption behavior of 10-Fe 1 Mn 1 -USY material for acetone are more suitable for the Temkin isotherm adsorption model and the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The adsorption of acetone by 10-Fe 1 Mn 1 -USY material is dominated by intra-particle diffusion. According to the thermodynamic analysis results, the adsorption behavior of 10-Fe 1 Mn 1 -USY material for acetone is a type of physical adsorption, and a spontaneous and non-sequential reaction.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are more environment-friendly and sustainable solvents than ionic liquids (ILs). Determining their physical properties is vital prior to their application. However, it is not practical to experimentally determine the physical properties of all DESs. Therefore, developing models to estimate their physical properties is necessary. In this study, a generalized model using artificial neural network (ANN) was developed to predict the heat capacities of ammonium- and phosphonium-based DESs over the temperature range of 278.15 – 353.15 K at atmospheric pressure. The best ANN model developed from the training and optimization process has an architecture with two hidden layers of 7 and 6 neurons, respectively. The overall average absolute relative deviation of the proposed model from the data was 0.57%. Qualitative analyses suggest a promising predicting capability of the proposed model. The calculated values of the statistical descriptors are close to their ideal values. Therefore, the proposed model can be used to reliably predict the heat capacities of other ammonium- and phosphonium-based two-component DESs.

This study utilized the 3k factorial design with k as the two varying factors namely, temperature and air velocity. The effects of temperature and air velocity on the drying rate curves and on the average particle diameter of the arrowroot starch were investigated. Extracted arrowroot starch samples were dried based on the designed parameters until constant weight was obtained. The resulting initial moisture content of the arrowroot starch was 49.4%. Higher temperatures correspond to higher drying rates and faster drying time while air velocity effects were approximately negligible or had little effect. Drying rate is a function of temperature and time. The constant rate period was not observed for the drying rate of arrowroot starch. The drying curves were fitted against five mathematical models: Lewis, Page, Henderson and Pabis, Logarithmic and Midili. The Midili Model was the best fit for the experimental data since it yielded the highest R2 and the lowest RSME values for all runs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for qualitative analysis and for determination of average particle diameter of the starch granules. The starch granules average particle diameter had a range of 12.06 – 24.60 μm. The use of ANOVA proved that particle diameters for each run varied significantly with each other. And, the Taguchi Design proved that high temperatures yield lower average particle diameter, while high air velocities yield higher average particle diameter.