The natural attenuation of hydrocarbons can be hindered by their rapid dispersion in the environment and limited contact with bacteria capable of oxidizing hydrocarbons. A functionalized composite material is described herein, that combines in situ immobilized alkane-degrading bacteria with an adsorbent material that collects hydrocarbon substrates, and facilitates biodegradation by the immobil...

Due to hollow and tubular structure, a natural kapok fiber (KF) was used as the support and orientation matrix to control the polymerization of ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and N-vinylimidazole (VIM) along its inherent axial surface via a facile in situ rapid polymerization reaction in air atmosphere. The as-formed KF@VIM/EGDMA composite is featured with porous surface and rich N-conta...

Magnetic polyvinyl alcohol adsorbent M-PVAL was employed to remove and concentrate dimethyl phthalate DMP. The M-PVAL was prepared after sequential syntheses of magnetic Fe3O4 (M) and polyvinyl acetate (M-PVAC). The saturated magnetizations of M, M-PVAC, and M-PVAL are 57.2, 26.0, and 43.2 emu g(-1) with superparamagnetism, respectively. The average size of M-PVAL by number is 0.75 μm in micro ...

Uncontrolled massive release of the primary greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into atmosphere from anthropogenic activities poses a big threat and adversely affects our global climate and natural environment. One promising approach to mitigate CO2 emission is carbon capture and storage (CCS), in which ideal adsorbent materials with high storage capacity and excellent adsorption selectivity ov...

Many important physical and chemical processes occur at phase boundaries. The role of surface phenomena is frequently underestimated or overlooked although surfaces play a significant role in many natural science disciplines. Experimental data from the literature indicate that in adsorption from solution, most of the adsorbates move to the adsorbent surface in a relatively short time period. Ac...

Background: Metoprolol (MTP) with its low biodegradability is one of the most dominant micropollutant in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants. The aim of this study was to investigate the removal of metoprolol from aqueous solutions by the activated carbon prepared from pine cones. Methods: The pine cones were activated using thermal activation method. Characteristics of the adsorbent w...