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This study employed BiOI-deposited TiO 2 nanotube arrays (BiOI-TNTAs) electrode in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) system to oxidize Ibuprofen and generate hydrogen in the anodic and cathodic chamber, respectively. FESEM results revealed the diameter of TiO 2 nanotubes was 90-110nm. According to the XRD analysis, the BiOI-TNTAs were dominated by the anatase phase and tetragonal structure of BiOI. XPS results confirmed the coexistence of BiOI in the BiOI-TNTAs associated with Bi (33.76%) and I (8.81%). UV-vis absorption spectra illustrated BiOI-TNTAs exhibit strong absorptions in the visible light region. The PEC method showed the best degradation efficiency for Ibuprofen is a rate constant of 3.21×10 -2 min -1 . The results of the Nyquist plot revealed the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs was inhibited as the bias potential was applied. Furthermore, the Bode plot demonstrated the lifetime (τ el ) of photoexcited electrons of BiOI-TNTAs was 1.8 and 4.1 times longer than that of BiOI-Ti and TNTAs, respectively. In the cathodic chamber, the amount of hydrogen generation reached 219.94μM/cm 2 after 3h of reaction time., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The present study investigated the biosorption capacity of live and dead cells of Bacillus cereus RC-1 for Cd(II). The biosorption characteristics were investigated as a function of initial pH, contact time, and initial cadmium concentration. Equilibrium biosorption was modeled using Langmuir, Freundlich and Redlich-Peterson isotherm equations. It was found that the maximum biosorption capacities calculated from Langmuir isotherm were 31.95 mg/g and 24.01 mg/g for dead cells and live cells, respectively. The kinetics of the biosorption was better described by pseudo-second order kinetic model. Desorption efficiency of biosorbents was investigated at various pH values. These results indicated that dead cells have higher Cd(II) biosorption capacity than live cells. Furthermore, zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies were carried out to understand the differences in the Cd(II) biosorption behavior for the both biosorbents. The bioaccumulation of Cd(II) by B. cereus RC-1 was found to depend largely on extracellular biosorption rather than intracellular accumulation. Based on the above studies, dead biomass appears to be a more efficient biosorbent for the removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solution., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The promotion of hexadecane biodegradation activity by an n-alkane degrading strain of Burkholderia cepacia (GS3C) with yeast extract amendment was studied using various carbon, nitrogen, vitamin, and amino acid amendments. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase enzymes play a very important role and are especially required to introduce oxygen in n-alkane degradation. These enzymes from GS3C were located and detected using amino acid amendments. It was shown that biodegradation activity was promoted with amino acids amendments. However, only specific amino acids (L-phenylalanine, L-glutamic acid, L-proline, L-lysine, L-valine and L-leucine) have biodegradation promoting ability for GS3C. Cell protein concentration and cytochrome P450 activity were promoted significantly with the addition of L-phenylalanine and yeast extract. Furthermore, a significant positive linear relationship between cytochrome P450 activity and biodegradation efficiency of GS3C was observed. The results indicate that amino acid is the primary factor of nutrient amendment in promoting hexadecane biodegradation by influencing cytochrome P450 activity in GS3C., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Dechlorination of chlorinated aromatic pollutants (CAPs) has become a major issue in recent decades. This paper reported a theoretical indicator for predicting the reductive dechlorination pathways of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), chlorobenzenes and chlorophenols transformed by Dehalococcoides sp. strain CBDB1. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level for all related CAPs and Mulliken atomic charges on chlorine atoms (Q(Cl(n))) were adopted as the probe of the dechlorination reaction activity. Q(Cl(n)) can consistently indicate the main dechlorination daughter products of PCDDs, chlorobenzenes and chlorophenols conducted by strain CBDB1. The dechlorination reaction favors elimination of the chlorine atoms having greater Q(Cl(n)) values. The chlorine atom with the greatest Q(Cl(n)) value tends preferentially to be eliminated, whereas the chlorine atom with the smallest Q(Cl()(n)()) value tends unlikely to be eliminated or does not react at all. For a series of compounds having similar structure, the maximal Q(Cl(n)) of each molecular can be used to predict the possibility of its daughter product(s). In addition, the difference (Q(Cl(n))) between the maximal Q(Cl(n)) and the next maximal Q(Cl(n)) of the same molecule can be used to assess the possibility of formation of multiple dechlorination products., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper reports a theoretical validation and proposition of the reductive dechlorination pathways for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) congeners. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level for all PCDDs and Mulliken atomic charges on chlorine atoms were adopted as the probe of the dechlorination reaction activity. The experimentally substantiated dechlorination pathways of 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (1,2,3,4-TCDD) and its daughter products in the presence of zero-valent zinc were validated and the complete pathway of dechlorination of octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) was proposed. The proposed pathways were found to be consistent with anaerobic biotransformation of several PCDD congeners. Four rules of thumb arrived from this study include (1) the chlorine atoms in the longitudinal (1,4,6,9) positions are removed in preference to the chlorine atoms on lateral (2,3,7,8) positions; (2) the chlorine atom that has more neighboring chlorine atoms at ortho-, meta- and para-positions is to be eliminated; (3) reductive dechlorination prefers to take place on the benzene ring having more chlorine substitutions; and (4) a chlorine atom on the side of the longitudinal symmetry axis containing more chlorine atoms is preferentially eliminated. These rules of thumb can be conveniently used for rapidly predicting the major dechlorination pathway for a given PCDD in specific systems., (Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) modeling is a powerful approach for predicting environmental fate parameters of organic pollutants with their structure descriptors. This study reports QSPR models for photolysis half-lives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aerosols. Quantum chemical descriptors computed with density functional theory at B3LYP/6-31G(d) level and partial least squares (PLS) analysis with optimizing procedure were used for generating QSPR models. The correlation coefficient of the optimal model was 0.993, and the fitting results showed this optimal model had high fitting precision and good predictability. The predicted photolysis half-lives by the optimal model are very close to those observed. The PLS assistant analysis indicated that PAHs with large electronic spatial extent tend to be photolyzed faster, while PAHs with high molecular total energy and small Mulliken atomic charges on the most negative carbon atom tend to be photolyzed slower in aerosols.