A novel Z-scheme AgI/Bi2MoO6 hybrid photocatalyst was fabricated via a solvothermal-precipitation approach to disinfect bacteria in water. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopic (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), as well as photoluminescence spectra (PL) were employed to characterize the fabricated photocatalyst. Due to the stronger redox potential and better separation of charge carriers induced by the Z-scheme structure, the optimal synthesized AgI/Bi2MoO6 exhibited excellent disinfection activity towards both Gram-negative strain Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive strain Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) under visible light irradiation. 5.0 × 107 CFU mL−1 of E. coli and S. aureus cells were completely disinfected within 30 min and 90 min, respectively. Ag+ ions did not contribute to the disinfection activity, while active species including h+, ·O2−, e-, and H2O2 contributed to the cell inactivation. By changing the interaction force and being involved in the photocatalytic reactions, the common anions (Cl−, NO3−, SO42−, and H2PO4−) would affect the disinfection activity. Moreover, AgI/Bi2MoO6 exhibited effective disinfection activity in four consecutive reused cycles. Thus, AgI/Bi2MoO6 could be used as a promising photocatalyst for water disinfection.

The influence of Bisphenol A (BPA) on the transport and deposition behaviors of bacteria in quartz sand was examined in both NaCl (10 and 25 mM) and CaCl2 solutions (1.2 and 5 mM) by comparing the breakthrough curves and retained profiles of cell with BPA in suspensions versus those without BPA. Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis were employed as model cells in the present study. The extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek interaction energy calculation revealed that the presence of BPA in cell suspensions led to a lower repulsive interaction between the cells and the quartz sand. This suggests that, theoretically, increased cell deposition on quartz sand would be expected in the presence of BPA. However, under all examined solution conditions, the presence of BPA in cell suspensions increased transport and decreased deposition of bacteria in porous media regardless of cell type, ionic strength, ion valence, the presence or absence of extracellular polymeric substances. We found that competition by BPA through hydrophobicity for deposition sites on the quartz sand surfaces was the sole contributor to the enhanced transport and decreased deposition of bacteria in the presence of BPA. © 2017

The significance of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) on the transport and deposition behaviors of bacteria (Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis) in quartz sand is examined in both NaCl and CaCl2 solutions at pH 5.6 by comparing both breakthrough curves and retained profiles with PFOA in solutions versus those without PFOA. All test conditions are found to be highly unfavorable for cell deposition regardless of the presence of PFOA; however, 7%-46% cell deposition is observed depending on the conditions. The cell deposition may be attributed to micro- or nanoscale roughness and/or to chemical heterogeneity of the sand surface. The results show that, under all examined conditions, PFOA in suspensions increases cell transport and decreases cell deposition in porous media regardless of cell type, presence or absence of extracellular polymeric substances, ionic strength, and ion valence. We find that the additional repulsion between bacteria and quartz sand caused by both acid-base interaction and steric repulsion as well as the competition for deposition sites on quartz sand surfaces by PFOA are responsible for the enhanced transport and decreased deposition of bacteria with PFOA in solutions. © 2016 American Chemical Society.

This study investigated the influence of multiple colloids (hematite and humic acid) on the transport and deposition of bacteria (Escherichia coli) in packed porous media in both NaCl (5 mM) and CaCl2 (1 mM) solutions at pH 6. Due to the alteration of cell physicochemical properties, the presence of hematite and humic acid in cell suspensions significantly affected bacterial transport and deposition in quartz sand. Specifically, the presence of hematite (5 mg/L) decreased cell transport (increased cell deposition) in quartz sand in both NaCl and CaCl2 solutions, which could be attributed to the less negative overall zeta potentials of bacteria induced by the adsorption of positively charged hematite onto cell surfaces. The presence of a low concentration (0.1 mg/L) of humic acid in bacteria and hematite mixed suspensions reduced the adsorption of hematite onto cell surfaces, leading to increased cell transport in quartz sand in NaCl solutions, whereas, in CaCl2 solutions, the presence of 0.1 mg/L humic acid increased the formation of hematite-cell aggregates and thus decreased cell transport in quartz sand. When the concentration of humic acid was increased to 1 mg/L, enhanced cell transport was observed in both NaCl and CaCl2 solutions. The decreased adsorption of hematite onto cell surfaces as well as the competition of deposition sites on quartz sand with bacteria by the suspended humic acid contributed to the increased cell transport. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.

Fe3O4@SiO2 magnetic nanoparticles modified by grafting poly(1-vinylimidazole) oligomer (FSPV) was fabricated as a novel adsorbent to remove Hg(II) from water. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy confirmed the successful grafting of oligomer, and thermogravimetric analysis showed FSPV had a high grafting yield with organic content of 22.8%. Transmission electron microscopy image displayed that FSPV particles were polymer-coated spheres with size of 10–20 nm. With saturation magnetization of 44.7 emu/g, FSPV particles could be easily separated from water with a simple magnetic process in 5 min. The Hg(II) adsorption capacity of FSPV was found to be 346 mg/g at pH 7 and 25 °C in 10 mM NaCl. Moreover, the removal of Hg(II) by FSPV was not obviously affected by solution pH (from 4 to 10) or humic acid (up to 8 mg/L as TOC). The presence of seven common ions including Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, NO3−, and SO42− (up to 100 mM ionic strength) slightly increased the adsorption of Hg(II) by FSPV. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that the N atom of the imidazole ring was responsible for the bonding with Hg(II), whereas the bonding of Hg with N did not result in cleavage of Hg–Cl bond in HgCl2 and HgClOH. The regeneration of Hg(II)-loaded FSPV could be achieved with 0.5 M HCl rapidly in 10 min, and the removal of Hg(II) maintained above 94% in five consecutive adsorption–desorption cycles. Therefore, FSPV could serve as a promising adsorbent for Hg(II) removal from water.

This study investigated the influence of two representative suspended clay particles, bentonite and kaolinite, on the transport of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO2) in saturated quartz sand in both NaCl (1 and 10 mM ionic strength) and CaCl2 solutions (0.1 and 1 mM ionic strength) at pH 7. The breakthrough curves of nTiO2 with bentonite or kaolinite were higher than those without the presence of clay particles in NaCl solutions, indicating that both types of clay particles increased nTiO2 transport in NaCl solutions. Moreover, the enhancement of nTiO2 transport was more significant when bentonite was present in nTiO2 suspensions relative to kaolinite. Similar to NaCl solutions, in CaCl2 solutions, the breakthrough curves of nTiO2 with bentonite were also higher than those without clay particles, while the breakthrough curves of nTiO2 with kaolinite were lower than those without clay particles. Clearly, in CaCl2 solutions, the presence of bentonite in suspensions increased nTiO2 transport, whereas, kaolinite decreased nTiO2 transport in quartz sand. The attachment of nTiO2 onto clay particles (both bentonite and kaolinite) were observed under all experimental conditions. The increased transport of nTiO2 in most experimental conditions (except for kaolinite in CaCl2 solutions) was attributed mainly to the clay-facilitated nTiO2 transport. The straining of larger nTiO2-kaolinite clusters yet contributed to the decreased transport (enhanced retention) of nTiO2 in divalent CaCl2 solutions when kaolinite particles were copresent in suspensions.

Traditional chemical disinfectants are becoming increasingly defective due to the generation of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Functionalized magnetic nanoparticles yet have shown great application potentials in water treatment processes especially for bacterial removal. In this study, three types of amino acids (arginine, lysine, and poly-l-lysine) functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@Arg, Fe3O4@Lys, and Fe3O4@PLL) were prepared through a facile and inexpensive two-step process. The amino acid modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@AA) showed rapid and efficient capture and removal properties for both Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli 15597 (E. coli). For both strains, more than 97% of bacteria (initial concentration of 1.5 × 107 CFU mL−1) could be captured by all three types of magnetic nanoparticles within 20 min. With E. coli as a model strain, Fe3O4@AA could remove more than 94% of cells from solutions over a broad pH range (from 4 to 10). Solution ionic strength did not affect cell capture efficiency. The co-presence of sulfate and nitrate in solutions did not affect the capture efficiency, whereas, the presence of phosphate and silicate slightly decreased the removal rate. However, around 90% and 80% of cells could be captured by Fe3O4@AA even at 10 mM of silicate and phosphate, respectively. Bacterial capture efficiencies were over 90% and 82% even in the present of 10 mg L−1 of humic acid and alginate, respectively. Moreover, Fe3O4@AA nanoparticles exhibited good reusability, and greater than 90% of E. coli cells could be captured even in the fifth regeneration cycle. The results showed Fe3O4@AA fabricated in this study have great application potential for bacteria removal from water.

This study investigated the influence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the transport and retention behaviors of bacteria (E. coli) in packed porous media at both low and high ionic strength in NaCl and CaCl2 solutions. At low ionic strengths (5 mM NaCl and 0.3 mM CaCl2), both breakthrough curves and retained profiles of bacteria with CNTs (both 5 and 10 mg L-1) were equivalent to those without CNTs, indicating the presence of CNTs did not affect the transport and retention of E. coli at low ionic strengths. The results were supported by those from cell characterization tests (i.e., viability, surface properties, sizes), which showed no significant difference between with and without CNTs. In contrast, breakthrough curves of bacteria with CNTs were lower than those without CNTs at high ionic strengths (25 mM NaCl and 1.2 mM CaCl2), suggesting that the presence of CNTs decreased cell transport at high ionic strengths. The enhanced bacterial deposition in the presence of CNTs was mainly observed at segments near the column inlet, leading to much steeper retained profiles relative to those without CNTs. Additional transport experiments conducted with sand columns predeposited with CNTs revealed that the codeposition of bacteria with CNTs, as well as the deposition of the cell-CNTs cluster formed in cell suspension due to cell bridging effect, largely contributed to the increased deposition of bacteria at high ionic strengths in porous media.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) modified simultaneously with amorphous Fe and Mn oxides (Mag-Fe-Mn) were synthesized to remove arsenite [As(III)] from water. Mag-Fe-Mn particles were fabricated through heterogeneous nucleation technique by employing the maghemite as the magnetic core and Fe Mn binary oxide (FMBO) as the coating materials. Powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to characterize the hybrid material. With a saturation magnetization of 23.2 emu/g, Mag-Fe-Mn particles with size of 20 -50 nm could be easily separated from solutions with a simple magnetic process in short time (within 5 min). At pH 7.0, 200 mu g/L of As(III) could be easily decreased to below 10 mu g/L by Mag-Fe-Mn particles (0.1 g/L) within 20 min. As(III) could be effectively removed by Mag-Fe-Mn particles at initial pH range from 4 to 8 and the residual As was completely oxidized to less toxic arsenate [As(V)]. The co-occurring redox reactions between Mn oxide and As(III) was confirmed by XPS analysis. Chloride, sulfate, bicarbonate, and nitrate at common concentration range had negligible influence on As(III) removal, whereas, silicate and phosphate reduced the As(III) removal by competing with arsenic species for adsorption sites. As(M) removal was not obviously affected by natural organic matter (up to 8 mg/L as TOC). Mag-Fe-Mn could be regenerated with ternary solution of NaOH, NaCl, and NaClO. Throughout five consecutive cycles, the adsorption and desorption efficiencies maintained above 98% and 87%, respectively. Mag-Fe-Mn had a larger adsorption capacity for As(III) (47.76 mg/g) and could remove trace As(III) more thoroughly than MNPs modified solely with either Fe or Mn oxide due to the synergistic effect of the coating Fe and Mn oxides. This research extended the potential applicability of FMBO to a great extent and provided a convenient approach to efficiently remove trace As(III) from water. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This study investigated the cotransport of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO(2)) and fullerene nanoparticles (nC(60)), two of the most widely utilized nanoparticles, in saturated quartz sand under a series of ionic strengths in NaCl solutions (0.1-10 mM) at both pH 5 and 7. Under all examined ionic strengths at pH 5, both breakthrough h curves and retained profiles of nTiO(2) in the copresence of nC(60) were similar to those without nC(60), indicating that nC(60) nanoparticles copresent in suspensions did not significantly affect the transport and retention of nTiO(2) in quartz sand at pH 5. In contrast, under all examined ionic strengths at pH 7, the breakthrough curves of nTiO(2) in the copresence of nC(60) in suspensions were higher and the retained profiles were lower than those without nC(60), which demonstrated that the presence of nC(60) in suspensions increased the rate of transport (decreased retention) of nTiO(2) in quartz sand at pH 7 Competition of deposition sites on quartz sand surfaces by the copresence of nC(60) was found to contribute to the increased nTiO(2) transport at pH 7. Under all examined ionic strength conditions at both pH 5 and 7, the breakthrough curves of nC(60) were reduced in the copresence of nTiO(2), and the corresponding retained profiles were higher than those without nTiO(2), indicating that the presence of nTiO(2) decreased the transport of nC(60) in quartz sand. Co-deposition of nC(60) with nTiO(2) in the form of nTiO(2)-nC(60) clusters as well as the deposition of nC(60) onto previously deposited nTiO(2) were responsible for the increased nC(60) deposition in the presence of nTiO(2) at pH 5, whereas deposition of nC(60) onto surfaces of predeposited nTiO(2) was found to be responsible for the increased nC(60) deposition at pH 7.

Ag2O/TNBs were fabricated by depositing Ag2O nanoparticles on the surface of TiO2 nanobelts (TNBs). The disinfection activities of Ag2O/TNBs on two representative bacterial types: Gram-negative Escherichia coli ATCC15597 and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis, were examined under both dark and visible light conditions. Ag2O/TNBs exhibited stronger bactericidal activities than Ag2O nanoparticles and TNBs under both dark and light conditions. For both cell types, disinfection effects of Ag2O/TNBs were greater under light conditions relative to those under dark conditions. The bactericidal mechanisms of Ag2O/TNBs under both dark and light conditions were explored. Ag+ ions released from Ag2O/TNBs did not contribute to the bactericidal activity of Ag2O/TNBs under dark conditions, whereas the released Ag+ ions showed bactericidal activity under visible light irradiation conditions. Active species (H2O2, O-center dot(2)-, and e(-)) generated by Ag2O/TNBs played important roles in the disinfection processes under both dark and visible light irradiation conditions. Without the presence of active species, the direct contact of Ag2O/TNBs with bacterial cells had no bactericidal effect. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The significance of clay particles on the transport and deposition kinetics of bacteria in irregular quartz sand was examined by direct comparison of both breakthrough curves and retained profiles with clay particles in bacteria suspension versus those without clay particles. Two representative cell types, Gram-negative strain E. coli DH5 alpha and Gram-positive strain Bacillus subtilis were utilized to systematically determine the influence of clay particles (bentonite) on cell transport behavior. Packed column experiments for both cell types were conducted in both NaCl (5 and 25 mM ionic strengths) and CaCl2 (5 mM ionic strength) solutions at pH 6.0. The breakthrough plateaus with bentonite in solutions (30 mg L-1 and 50 mg L-1) were lower than those without bentonite for both cell types under all examined conditions, indicating that bentonite in solutions decreased cell transport in porous media regardless of cell types (Gram-negative or Gram-positive) and solution chemistry (ionic strength and ion valence). The enhanced cell deposition with bentonite particles was mainly observed at segments near to column inlet, retained profiles for both cell types with bentonite particles were therefore steeper relative to those without bentonite. The increased cell deposition with bentonite observed in NaCl solutions was attributed to the codeposition of bacteria with bentonite particles whereas, in addition to codeposition of bacteria with bentonite, the bacteria bentonite bacteria cluster formed in suspensions also contributed to the increased deposition of bacteria with bentonite in CaCl2 solution.