Photooxidation Degradation of Reactive Brilliant Red K‐2BP in Aqueous Solution by Ultraviolet Radiation/Sodium Hypochlorite

Photooxidation degradation of Reactive Brilliant Red K‐2BP (K‐2BP) aqueous solution by ultraviolet irradiation/sodium hypochlorite (UV/NaClO) was investigated. The effects of NaClO dosage, pH, temperature and initial dye concentrations were studied. A possible degradation pathway of K‐2BP was investigated. Acidic or neutral conditions were beneficial to the decolorization of K‐2BP aqueous solution. However, alkaline conditions facilitated chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. Increasing the solution temperature from 20 to 50°C increased the removal of color and COD. However, at 60°C, the final percentage color and COD removal decreased by approximately 17 and 10%, respectively. Based on the products indentified and theoretical analysis, N=N cleavage and C‐N cleavage were possible initial steps in the degradation of K‐2BP. From the results of this work, we conclude that treatment of UV/NaClO is an efficient method to degrade K‐2BP in aqueous solution.     

Degradation of Monoazo Pigments Red 53:1 and Red 48:2 by Fenton,Photo‐Fenton and UV/Peroxide Reactions

The degradation reactions of two monoazo pigments, namely, Red 53:1 and Red 48:2, by Fenton, photo‐Fenton and UV/H₂O₂ systems have been studied. The efficiencies of the Fenton reactions increased with temperature, but the formation of solid agglomerates was observed when the reactions were carried out above 50°C indicating a coagulant action of Fe⁺² or Fe⁺³. Photo‐Fenton reactions irradiated by sunlight presented the best rate constants for cleavage of the azo bond and the naphthalene rings. The UV/H₂O₂ system exhibited the highest efficiency with respect to the consumption of H₂O₂. The presence of a carbonyl group in the ortho position of the naphthol ring hampered the oxidation of pigment Red 48:2 by hydroxyl radicals. This finding may be explained in terms of the acceptor character of the COOH group, and suggests the formation of a complex containing two six‐membered rings between Fe⁺³ and the pigment molecule.     

Degradation of Rhodamine B and Safranin‐T by MoO3:CeO2 Nanofibers and Air Using a Continuous Mode

One‐dimensional MoO₃ nanofibers doped with Ce (MoO₃ : CeO₂) are synthesized by a method combining a sol‐gel process and an electrospinning technique. The resulting MoO₃ : CeO₂ is characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The catalytic degradation of rhodamine B and safranin‐T with MoO₃ : CeO₂ nanofiber catalyst is investigated in a continuous flowing mode using air (O₂) as an oxidant. The results show that rhodamine B and safranin‐T are degraded effectively and the removal efficiencies are 98.3%, and 98.5%, respectively. In addition, the organic dyes are totally mineralized to simple inorganic species such as CO₃^–, Cl^– and NO₃^–.     

Electro‐Catalytic Degradation of Phenol Organics with SnO2‐Sb2O3/Ti Electrodes

The effect of extraordinary degradation of phenol organics on the SnO₂‐Sb₂O₃/Ti electrode is investigated through experimental research and theoretical analysis. The phenol organics contained 4‐chloro‐phenol, 4‐bromo‐phenol, and 2‐iodo‐phenol. At a current density of 4 mA cm^–2 and an electrolysis time of 12 h, the degradation efficiency of the phenols was over 98% with a relatively short degradation time, whereas the degradation time of the PbO₂/Ti electrode surpassed 40 h while delivering 100% disposal efficiency. Therefore, the effectiveness of electrochemical (EC) oxidation by the SnO₂‐Sb₂O₃/Ti was superior to that of the PbO₂/Ti electrode. At the same time, the SnO₂‐Sb₂O₃/Ti had higher oxygen generation potential and lower electron consumption than the other electrodes. This was mainly due to the effect of the middle Sb₂O₃ layer, which due to its high porosity and good catalytic effect, contributed to a better catalysis than the SnO₂ part.     

Influence of Culture Conditions on Poly‐3‐Hydroxybutyrate Production by a Newly Isolated Bacillus cereus Y23

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), environmental friendly polyesters, can be produced by a wide range of microorganisms in nutrient‐limiting conditions. In the present study a new bacterial strain, able to produce high quantities of poly‐3‐hydroxybutyrate (PHB), is isolated from contaminated soil. The isolate is characterized and identified as Bacillus cereus Y23, based on morphological, physiological characteristics, and 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences. PHB production is evaluated using different carbon and nitrogen sources and nutritional and culture conditions are optimized. The highest PHB production of 5.12 g L^?1 was obtained in growth medium containing fructose and ammonium sulfate at a C/N ratio of 30, 0.3% yeast extract, 4.5 g L^?1 phosphate solution, pH 7, inoculum size of 0.3%, and agitation rate of 150 rpm after 48 h of incubation at 32 °C. The PHB production decrement can be attributed to the intracellular utilization of the polymer during the stationary phase of the cellular growth and to the sporulation process. The presence of the main functional groups of PHB polymer is verified by Fourier‐transform infrared analysis. At optimum conditions, B. cereus Y23 turned out to be a good candidate for industrial production of PHB since it accumulates up to 67.9% of its dry weight.     

Exploring the effect of data assimilation by WRF‐3DVar for numerical rainfall prediction with different types of storm events

The mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model is gaining popularity among the hydrometeorological community in providing high‐resolution rainfall forecasts at the catchment scale. Although the performance of the model has been verified in capturing the physical processes of severe storm events, the modelling accuracy is negatively affected by significant errors in the initial conditions used to drive the model. Several meteorological investigations have shown that the assimilation of real‐time observations, especially the radar data can help improve the accuracy of the rainfall predictions given by mesoscale NWP models. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of data assimilation for hydrological applications at the catchment scale. Radar reflectivity together with surface and upper‐air meteorological observations is assimilated into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model using the three‐dimensional variational data‐assimilation technique. Improvement of the rainfall accumulation and its temporal variation after data assimilation is examined for four storm events in the Brue catchment (135.2 km²) located in southwest England. The storm events are selected with different rainfall distributions in space and time. It is found that the rainfall improvement is most obvious for the events with one‐dimensional evenness in either space or time. The effect of data assimilation is even more significant in the innermost domain which has the finest spatial resolution. However, for the events with two‐dimensional unevenness of rainfall, i.e. the rainfall is concentrated in a small area and in a short time period, the effect of data assimilation is not ideal. WRF fails in capturing the whole process of the highly convective storm with densely concentrated rainfall in a small area and a short time period. A shortened assimilation time interval together with more efficient utilisation of the weather radar data might help improve the effectiveness of data assimilation in such cases. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.