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Magnetic β-cyclodextrin-chitosan/graphene oxide materials (MCCG) were fabricated through a facile chemical route and their application as excellent adsorbents for dye removal were also demonstrated. The characteristics results of FTIR, SEM, TEM and XRD showed that MCCG was successfully prepared. The results showed that, benefiting from the surface property of graphene oxide, hydrophobicity of β-cyclodextrin, the abundant amino and hydroxyl functional groups of chitosan, and from the magnetic property of Fe(3)O(4), the adsorbent possesses quite a good and versatile adsorption capacity to the dye under investigation, and can be easily and rapidly extracted from water by magnetic attraction. Most importantly, the adsorbent can be easily and efficiently regenerated for reuse with hardly any compromise of the adsorption capacity. The adsorption kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamics were investigated to indicate that the kinetics and equilibrium adsorptions were well-described by pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm model, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters suggested that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The inherent advantages of the nano-structured adsorbent, such as adsorption capacity, easy, handy operation, rapid extraction, and regeneration, may pave a new, efficient and sustainable way towards highly-efficient dye pollutant removal in water and wastewater treatment., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents a novel process of extracting lead oxide nanoparticles from cathode-ray tube (CRT) funnel glass using self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) method. The impacts of added amount of funnel glass on the extraction ratio of lead, the lead extraction velocity and the micromorphology, as well as particle size of extracted nanoparticles were investigated. We found that self-propagating reaction in the presence of Mg and Fe(2)O(3) could separate lead preferentially and superfine lead oxide nanoparticles were obtained from a collecting chamber. The separation ratio was related closely to the amount of funnel glass added in the original mixture. At funnel glass addition of no more than 40wt.%, over 90wt.% of lead was recovered from funnel glass. High extraction yield reveals that the network structure of funnel glass was fractured due to the dramatic energy generated during the SHS melting process. The PbO nanoparticles collected show good dispersion and morphology with a mean grain size of 40-50nm., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A mild hydro-chemical process to extract Al(2)O(3) in red mud to produce sodium aluminate hydrate was investigated, and the optimum conditions of Al(2)O(3) extraction were verified by experiments as leaching in 45% NaOH solution with CaO-to-red mud mass ratio of 0.25 and liquid-to-solid ratio of 0.9, under 0.8 MPa at 200 degrees C for 3.5h. Subsequent process of extracting Na(2)O from the residue of Al(2)O(3) extraction was carried out in 7% NaOH solution with liquid-to-solid ratio of 3.8 under 0.9 MPa at 170 degrees C for 2h. Overall, 87.8% of Al(2)O(3) and 96.4% of Na(2)O were extracted from red mud. The final residues with less than 1% Na(2)O could be utilized as feedstock in construction materials. The chemical reactions taking place in both Al(2)O(3) and Na(2)O extractions from red mud are proposed.

The thermal stability and desorption of arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) adsorbed on activated carbon (AC) was investigated as this phenomenon is expected to influence the arsenic release during low temperature pyrolysis of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) wood waste. Firstly, a thermogravimetric (TG) experiment with arsenolite, an allotropic form of As(2)O(3), was performed. The sample starts to sublime at temperatures lower than 200 degrees C with a sublimation peak temperature of 271 degrees C. Subsequently, TG experiments with samples of As(2)O(3) adsorbed on AC revealed that only very little (max. 6+/-3 wt%) As(2)O(3) was volatilized at temperatures below 280 degrees C, while still 41.6 (+/-5)wt% of the original arsenic concentration was retained at 440 degrees C and 28.5 (+/-3)wt% at 600 degrees C. The major arsenic volatilization occurred between 300 degrees C and 500 degrees C. The kinetic parameters of desorption, activation energy of desorption (E(d)) and pre-exponential factor (A), were determined by fitting an Arrhenius model to the experimental data, resulting in E(d)=69 kJ/mol, A=1.21 x 10(4)s(-1). It can be concluded that the adsorption of As(2)O(3) on AC can contribute to the thermal stabilisation of As(2)O(3). Consequently, during low temperature pyrolysis of CCA wood arsenic release may be prevented by adsorption of As(2)O(3) on the coal-type product formed during the thermal decomposition of the wood.

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of removing silica particles and reducing turbidity from oxide chemical mechanical polishing (oxide-CMP) wastewater. Based on the dynamic characteristics of batch electrocoagulation, three operating stages (lag, reactive, and stabilizing) are proposed to identify the relationships among the zeta potential of the silica particles, solution turbidity, and the corresponding mean particle size of the silica. Experimental results show that the silica particles were destabilized and settled at the critical mean particle size, which was estimated to be above 520nm after 10min, and the corresponding turbidity removal mostly occurred during the reactive stage. Furthermore, the corresponding mean particle size varied from 520 to 1900nm as the treatment time progressed from 10 to 20min, which also occurred during the reactive stage. Several parameters, including different electrode pairs, electrolyte concentration, applied voltage, and the optimum condition of power input were investigated. Experimental results indicate that a Fe/Al electrode pair is the most efficient choice of the four electrode pair combinations in terms of energy consumption. The optimum electrolyte concentration and applied voltage were found to be 200ppm NaCl and 30V, respectively.

Two new epimeric isopavine N-oxides, amuresinine N-oxide A (1) and B (2), were isolated from Meconopsis horridula var. racemosa. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.

An analytical method of improved sensitivity has enabled measurements to be made of N-oxide as well as pyrrolic metabolites formed from a range of unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids in hepatic microsome preparations. Using microsomes from livers of phenobarbitone-pretreated male Fischer rats, all 13 alkaloids tested were metabolised to both N-oxides and pyrroles. The most lipophilic alkaloids gave enhanced rates of metabolism. No consistent relationship existed between rates of N-oxide and of pyrrole formation. The two pathways appeared to be independent. The ratio of N-oxide to pyrrolic metabolites varied, depending on the type of ester: it was highest for 'open' diester alkaloids, lowest for 12 membered macrocyclic diesters and for monoesters. Steric hindrance by the acid moiety could account for these differences, by affecting the balance between microsomal oxidation of the amino alcohol moiety at the nitrogen and C8 positions respectively and could explain the high pyrrole yields given by some macrocyclic diesters. The levels of pyrrolic metabolites bound to liver tissues and responsible for hepatotoxicity in rats given pyrrolizidine alkaloids, did not necessarily reflect the rates of formation of such metabolites measured in vitro. In the animal additional factors could influence the formation and tissue binding of pyrrolic metabolites, including the detoxication of alkaloids by hydrolysis and the chemical reactivity and stability of the toxic metabolites. A comparison of heliotridine esters with retronecine esters showed that the 7-hydroxyl or -ester configuration had a relatively small influence on the balance between formation of pyrrolic metabolites and detoxication by N-oxidation. The results did not support any hypothesis that heliotridine esters should generally be more hepatotoxic than analogous retronecine esters. The structure of the acid moiety was likely to have at least as much influence on toxicity as the base configuration.