Browsing by Author "Jiang, Ying"
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Item Open Access Ag/Ag2O confined visible-light driven catalyst for highly efficient selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes in pure water medium at room temperature(Elsevier, 2020-04-10) Yin, Zhengliang; Xie, Liangxu; Cao, Shunsheng; Xiao, Yingguan; Chen, Gang; Jiang, Ying; Wei, Wenxian; Wu, LiminAlthough photocatalysis has attracted tremendous research interest, there still remains critical challenges (e.g., low visible-light quantum efficiency, organic media, etc.), especially for selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes. Herein, we design and synthesize the first confined photocatalyst by introducing the nanospace of double-shelled hollow silica sphere as a photocatalytic nanoreactor to promote the hydrogenation reaction with the fast reaction kinetics. This photocatalyst exhibits excellent activity, selectivity, and recyclability. Especially, superior selectivity (>99%) is achieved when used for the hydrogenation of nitroarenes under visible-light irradiation in pure water medium. Both experimental and theoretical simulation results indicate that the Ag/Ag2O structure and confined nanospace of the photocatalyst greatly increase the contact probability between photogenerated atomic hydrogen and nitroarenes. Additionally, corresponding anilines are obtained almost quantitatively towards the hydrogenation of nitroarenes in pure water medium at room temperature. Therefore, this work provides a rational design concept of highly efficient visible-light photocatalyst for green chemistry industry.Item Open Access The behaviour of metal(oid)s contaminants in woody biomass during advanced thermal conversion processes.(Cranfield University, 2019-05) Al-Badri, Shurooq Badri; Wagland, Stuart; Jiang, YingA remarkable proportion (about 64%) of renewable biomass energy is produced from woody biomass (wood and its wastes). However, waste wood (WW) often exhibits a high level of chemical contaminants, likely due to the presence of metal(loid) elements in preservatives, paintings, coatings, and other related activities. By thermally treating WW, the metal(loid)s will end up in the bottom ash and/or be emitted into the atmosphere, causing severe environmental concerns and technical damages (e.g. slagging and corrosion). Thus, it is necessary to understand the behaviour of metal(loid)s during the woody biomass thermal conversion process, specifically gasification and pyrolysis. While a great deal of knowledge is available on this matter, there is still uncertainty surrounding the identification and characterisation of metal(loid) elements in relation to woody biomass utilisation, as well as the influences of reaction atmosphere composition in terms of interactions and interferences. In addition to that, knowledge is needed on partitioning profiles of the key metal(loid) elements during the gasification and pyrolysis of WW in order to evaluate the emission potential of these elements. This thesis firstly provides a highly informative dataset that contains comprehensive details about the characterisation and elemental composition of key metal(loid) elements (As, B, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Mn, Hg and Ti) that are regularly present in woody biomass. Moreover, chemical equilibrium calculations were performed to predict elemental phase transformation and speciation formation under given gasification and pyrolysis operation conditions. Among the results, it was found that Ni-As interactions form the dominant species As₂Ni₅ and As₈Ni₁₁, which increase the solid-gaseous phase transformation of As. In addition, the Ca-Cr interaction forms C₃Cr₇; meanwhile, the absence of Ca creates instability in the Cr phase transformation due to the generation of the species Cr₂Na₂O₄. Subsequently, a set of experiments were conducted using a TGA analyser with different heating rates to understand the thermal behaviour of woody biomass and define the operational conditions of the pyrolysis process. Tube furnace experiments were also conducted to investigate the distributions of Al, As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Na, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Si, Ti, V, and, Zn during the operation of pyrolysis. Experimental results indicated that Cd and Hg are exceedingly volatile elements, whereas Al, Co, Cr, Cu Fe, Mo, Ni, Si, Ti, and V are non-volatile elements. The elements As, Mn, Pb, and Zn exhibited differences in partitioning across all experiments. Importantly, this study provides unique insight into the behaviour of As in terms of As-Ni interaction. That is, the presence of Ni should be regarded in combination with its associated concentration profile. Finally, the experimental data and the calculation results are complementary rather than competitive. Overall, the experimental results are within acceptable validation limits.Item Open Access China's soil and groundwater management challenges: Lessons from the UK's experience and opportunities for China(Elseveir, 2016-03-10) Coulon, Frederic; Jones, Kevin; Li, Hong; Hu, Qing; Gao, Jingyang; Li, Fasheng; Chen, Mengfang; Zhu, Yong-Guan; Liu, Rongxia; Liu, Ming; Canning, Kate; Harries, Nicola; Bardos, Paul; Nathanail, C. Paul; Sweeney, Rob; Middleton, David; Charnley, Maggie; Randall, Jeremy; Richell, Martin; Howard, Trevor; Martin, Ian; Spooner, Simon; Weeks, Jason; Cave, Mark; Yu, Fang; Zhang, Fang; Jiang, Ying; Longhurst, Philip J.; Prpich, George; Bewley, Richard; Abra, Jonathan; Pollard, Simon J. T.There are a number of specific opportunities for UK and China to work together on contaminated land management issues as China lacks comprehensive and systematic planning for sustainable risk based land management, encompassing both contaminated soil and groundwater and recycling and reuse of soil. It also lacks comprehensive risk assessment systems, structures to support risk management decision making, processes for verification of remediation outcome, systems for record keeping and preservation and integration of contamination issues into land use planning, along with procedures for ensuring effective health and safety considerations during remediation projects, and effective evaluation of costs versus benefits and overall sustainability. A consequence of the absence of these overarching frameworks has been that remediation takes place on an ad hoc basis. At a specific site management level, China lacks capabilities in site investigation and consequent risk assessment systems, in particular related to conceptual modelling and risk evaluation. There is also a lack of shared experience of practical deployment of remediation technologies in China, analogous to the situation before the establishment of the independent, non-profit organisation CL:AIRE (Contaminated Land: Applications In Real Environments) in 1999 in the UK. Many local technology developments are at lab-scale or pilot-scale stage without being widely put into use. Therefore, a shared endeavour is needed to promote the development of technically and scientifically sound land management as well as soil and human health protection to improve the sustainability of the rapid urbanisation in China.Item Open Access Chlorine removal from the pyrolysis of urban polyolefinic waste in a semi-batch reactor(Elsevier, 2020-12-11) Torres, Daniel; Jiang, Ying; Sanchez Monsalve, D. A.; Leeke, GaryThe pyrolysis of urban chlorine-containing polyolefinic plastic waste with simultaneous retention of HCl is investigated. Different chemical removers based on sodium, calcium and zinc bases, and different adsorbents based on alumina or zeolites were used inside the reactor or in downstream hot filters, respectively, for chlorine removal and upgrading of pyrolysis oils. Initially, polyolefin waste (POW, containing a 98.5 wt% polyolefins) was thermogravimetrically pyrolyzed to determine its thermal behaviour. Subsequently, chemical removers were mixed with the POW which was pyrolyzed at 480 °C in a semi-batch reactor. The adsorbents were tested separately in hot filters (300 ± 20 °C) downstream of the pyrolysis reactor. After the pyrolysis, the resulting char containing the chemical removers and the absorbents in the hot filters were analysed by FTIR, CHN elemental analysis and ESEM-EDS to determine their respective chlorine contents. The highest chlorine retention was 23.8 wt% for chemical remover when used in direct contact with POW, while a zeolite used in the hot filter (gas streams) gave a chlorine retention of 65.6 wt%. The pyrolytic liquids consisted of mixtures of C7-C40 hydrocarbons made up of olefinic and aliphatic hydrocarbons with a very low presence of aromatics (estimated to be below 3 wt% by HPLC). In most cases, the chlorine removal processes resulted in waxier pyrolytic oils and with a higher degree of branchingItem Open Access Data supporting: 'Evaluating Different Soil Amendments as Bioremediation Strategy for Wetland Soil Contaminated by Crude Oil'(Cranfield University, 2023-02-01 17:33) Jumbo, Raphael; Coulon, Frederic; Cowley, Tamazon; ndubuisi Azuazu, Ikeabiama; Atai, Emmanuel; Bortone, Imma; Jiang, YingThis study evaluated the efficacy of using Tween 80 surfactant (TW80) and food-waste anaerobic digestate fibre (FWAD) as soil amendments for the remediation of wetlands contaminated by crude oil. A 112-day mesocosms experiment was carried out to simulate hydrocarbon degradation under typical acidified wetland conditions. Soil was spiked with 50,000 mg kgˆ’1 crude oil and TW80 and FWAD were added to mesocosms at 10%, 20% and 30% w/w. The soil basal respiration, microbial community dynamics, environmental stress, alkanes, and PAHs degradation were monitored throughout the mesocosm experiment. Amending the mesocosms with FWAD and TW80 enabled the recovery of the soil microbial activities. This was evidenced by soil basal respiration which was the highest in the 30% FWAD and 30% TW80 mesocosms and translated into increased degradation rate of 32% and 23% for alkanes, and 33% and 26% for PAHs compared to natural attenuation, respectively. Efficient total hydrocarbon degradation was achieved in soil mesocosms with 30% FWAD and 30% TW80 at 90% and 86.8%, respectively after 49 days. Maize seed germination results showed significant improvement from 29% to over 90% following the FWAD and TW80 treatment.Item Embargo Diagnostic features emerging in near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy for low petroleum hydrocarbon pollution after spectral subtraction(Elsevier, 2024-04-19) Lou, Qijia; Lei, Mei; Wang, Yu; Wang, Shaobin; Guo, Guanghui; Xiong, Wencheng; Jiang, Ying; Ju, Tienan; Zhao, Xiaofeng; Coulon, FredericDiagnostic features in near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) are the foundation of knowledge-based approach of petroleum hydrocarbon determination. However, a significant challenge arises when analyzing samples with low levels of petroleum hydrocarbon pollution, as they often lack distinctive diagnostic features in their sample NIRS spectra, limiting the effectiveness of this approach. To address this issue, we have developed a technical workflow for diagnostic spectrum construction and parameterization based on spectral subtraction. This method was applied on a set of NIRS spectra from soil samples that were contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons (ranged between 178 and 1716 mg/kg of total petroleum hydrocarbon). Then two diagnostic features for low-level petroleum hydrocarbon pollution were found: (1) An overall downward concave emerged on diagnostic spectrum within both 2290–2370 nm and 1700–1780 nm for all low pollution levels even below 200 mg/kg; (2) An indicative pattern of asymmetric “W-shaped” double absorption valley occurred for those exceeding 1000 mg/kg, and its valleys located near 2310 nm, 2348 nm or 1727 nm, 1762 nm stably. These two features on diagnostic spectrum could be parameterized to detect, and the detection limit was at least about 10–50 times lower than that based on sample spectrum. These findings update our understanding on the detectability of spectral response from low petroleum hydrocarbon pollution, and widely extend the application of knowledge-based NIRS approach in either field detection or remote sensing identification for environmental management.Item Open Access Enhancing bioremediation efficiency of acidic wetlands contaminated with crude oil.(Cranfield University, 2023-03) Jumbo, Raphael Butler; Jiang, Ying; Bortone, Imma; Coulon, FredericCrude oil exploration and exploitation has significantly impacted the Niger Delta, Nigeria wetlands and its ecosystems. Studies suggest that acidification is ongoing with several acid forming and acid tolerant microbes identified in the Niger Delta wetlands. The efficient remediation of the crude oil contaminants in the acidified wetlands is the only alternative left to the Niger Delta for effective ecological restoration of the environment. In this research, different combinations of bioremediation strategies were investigated to enhance the remediation of simulated crude oil contaminated acidic wetlands similar to the Nigeria Niger Delta wetlands contamination conditions. A series of mesocosm experiments subjected to wetland condition and a combination of treatments were evaluated as follows: for biostimulation experiment, Food waste anaerobic digestate (FWAD), and Tween 80 surfactant were individually added to the mesocosms at 10%, 20% and 30% w/w respectively with soil in the mesocosm experiments. For bioaugmentation experiments, mesocosms were enriched with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, or microbes indigenous to the crude oil spiked soil. Sequel to the results of these experiments, an optimised combination of FWAD (30% w/w) plus Tween 80 (30% w/w), Tween 80 (30% w/w) plus indigenous microbes, and digestate (30% w/w) plus Tween 80 (30% w/w) plus indigenous microbes were investigated. For each set of the experiments, pristine soil, acidified soil, and crude oil spiked acidified soil were maintained as controls. Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) contents, soil basal respiration, and soil microbial communities’ dynamics were measured over 112 days of the experiments. For the biostimulation experiment, the FWAD and Tween 80 each at 30% (w/w) resulted in the highest petroleum hydrocarbons degradation (> 87% removal in 49 days). Augmentation with indigenous microbes enhanced the extent of degradation of the petroleum hydrocarbons (up to 80% in 49 days). For the optimised combined strategies, digestate (30% w/w) plus Tween 80 (30% w/w) plus indigenous microbes resulted in degradation of the hydrocarbons by > 98%. The correlation between basal respiration, microbial community and hydrocarbons showed that the more the biogenic CO₂ produced by the relevant microbial community, the faster the rate of the hydrocarbons degradation. Gram positive bacteria were the dominant microbial group in the FWAD, Tween 80 surfactant, indigenous microbes, and combined digestate (30% w/w) plus Tween 80 (30% w/w) plus indigenous microbe mesocosms. This research has demonstrated that acidified wetlands contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons can be effectively remediated using low carbon biomaterials and indigenous microbial consortia. This conclusion was further confirmed by the more than 90% maize germination and undetectable bioavailable hydrocarbons recorded at the end of the experiment in these mesocosms. Potential exists for further studies in low carbon remediation of weathered hydrocarbons contaminants in various types of wetlands and sediments using FWAD, Tween 80 surfactant, and indigenous microbes.Item Open Access Evaluating different soil amendments as bioremediation strategy for wetland soil contaminated by crude oil(MDPI, 2022-12-10) Jumbo, Raphael Butler; Coulon, Frederic; Cowley, Tamazon; Azuazu, Ikeabiama; Atai, Emmanuel; Bortone, Imma; Jiang, YingThis study evaluated the efficacy of using Tween 80 surfactant (TW80) and food-waste anaerobic digestate fibre (FWAD) as soil amendments for the remediation of wetlands contaminated by crude oil. A 112-day mesocosms experiment was carried out to simulate hydrocarbon degradation under typical acidified wetland conditions. Soil was spiked with 50,000 mg kg−1 crude oil and TW80 and FWAD were added to mesocosms at 10%, 20% and 30% w/w. The soil basal respiration, microbial community dynamics, environmental stress, alkanes, and PAHs degradation were monitored throughout the mesocosm experiment. Amending the mesocosms with FWAD and TW80 enabled the recovery of the soil microbial activities. This was evidenced by soil basal respiration which was the highest in the 30% FWAD and 30% TW80 mesocosms and translated into increased degradation rate of 32% and 23% for alkanes, and 33% and 26% for PAHs compared to natural attenuation, respectively. Efficient total hydrocarbon degradation was achieved in soil mesocosms with 30% FWAD and 30% TW80 at 90% and 86.8%, respectively after 49 days. Maize seed germination results showed significant improvement from 29% to over 90% following the FWAD and TW80 treatment.Item Open Access Experimental and kinetic study of thermal decomposition behaviour of phytoremediation derived Pteris vittata(Springer, 2016-12-20) Duan, Lunbo; Chen, Jian; Jiang, Ying; Li, Xiaole; Longhurst, Philip J.; Lei, MeiCombustion and gasification for biomass to energy conversion is often suggested for the management of residual Pteris vittata from phytoremediation. In this study, the thermal behaviour of P. vittata was studied on a thermogravimetric analyser, and the kinetic triplet of biomass sample was further determined for different stages of the thermochemical processes using the Ozawa and KAS methods, subsequently modified by an iterative procedure. Results show that thermal decomposition under combustion condition was complete at a lower temperature of ~500 °C compared to ~700 °C for gasification, indicating the both easily complete conversion of P. vittata by combustion and gasification. Kinetic study shows that although activation energy for each stage under combustion condition is mostly larger than that under gasification, the reaction rate of thermal decomposition of P. vittata under combustion condition is still great larger than that under gasification condition. These findings strongly suggest that thermochemical processes offer suitable methods for the volume reduction and energy production of P. vittata.Item Open Access Faeces - Urine separation via settling and displacement: Prototype tests for a novel non-sewered sanitation system(Elsevier, 2020-08-23) Hennigs, Jan; Ravndal, Kristin T.; Parker, Alison; Collins, Matt; Jiang, Ying; Kolios, Athanasios J.; McAdam, Ewan; Williams, Leon; Tyrrel, Sean F.The development of novel, non-sewered sanitation systems like the Nano Membrane Toilet requires thorough investigation of processes that may seem well-understood. For example, unlike the settling of primary sludge, the separation of solids from liquids in a small-volume container at the scale of a household toilet has not been studied before. In two sets of experiments, the settling of real faeces and toilet paper in settling columns and the settling of synthetic faeces in a conical tank are investigated to understand the factors affecting the liquid quality for downstream treatment processes. Toilet paper is found to be a major inhibitor to settling of solids. While a lower overflow point results in better phase separation through displacement of liquid, a higher overflow point and frequent removal of solids may be more advantageous for the liquid qualityItem Open Access Figures and tables from "Hybrid membrane distillation reverse electrodialysis configuration for water and energy recovery from human urine: An opportunity for off-grid decentralised sanitation."(Cranfield University, 2019-05-15 14:12) Mercer, Edwina; McAdam, Ewan; Davey, Chris; Pidou, Marc; Tyrrel, Sean; Williams, Leon; Jiang, Ying; Parker, Alison; Tierney, Ross; Azzini, Daniele; Eusebi, AnnaThis data compiles the dataset required to generate the tables and figures for the paper - "Hybrid membrane distillation reverse electrodialysis configuration for water and energy recovery from human urine: An opportunity for off-grid decentralised sanitation."Item Open Access High photocatalytic activity of Cu2O embedded in hierarchically hollow SiO2 for efficient chemoselective hydrogenation of nitroarenes(Springer, 2020-10-20) Yin, Zhengliang; Xiao, Yingguan; Wan, Xiong; Jiang, Ying; Chen, Gang; Shi, Qingye; Cao, ShunshengPhotocatalytic organic conversion is a crucial process in the hydrogenation of nitroarenes, but harsh reaction conditions such as long reaction time, high hydrogen pressure, and organic medium still need to be considerably overcome under visible-light irradiation. Here, we have constructed a transition metal oxide photocatalyst by embedding low-cost Cu2O with strong visible-light absorption into hierarchically hollow SiO2 sphere (SiO2-Cu2O@SiO2) that can suppress the escape of photogenerated atomic hydrogen and promote the contact probability between hydrogen atom and nitroarene molecules due to confinement effect. Remarkably, the SiO2-Cu2O@SiO2 photocatalyst can exhibit efficient chemoselectivity toward the hydrogenation of various nitroarenes in an aqueous system at ambient conditions, successfully working out the requirement of strict hydrogenation conditions, especially for organic medium over almost all of the reported photocatalysts. Notably, quantitative aniline can be produced for the visible-light catalytic reduction of nitroarenes, suggesting a considerable potential for industrial applicationItem Open Access Hybrid membrane distillation reverse electrodialysis configuration for water and energy recovery from human urine: an opportunity for off-grid decentralised sanitation(Elsevier, 2019-05-06) Mercer, Edwina; Davey, Christopher; Azzini, D.; Eusebi, Anna L.; Tierney, Ross; Williams, Leon; Jiang, Ying; Parker, Alison; Tyrrel, Sean; Pidou, Marc; McAdam, EwanThe integration of membrane distillation with reverse electrodialysis has been investigated as a sustainable sanitation solution to provide clean water and electrical power from urine and waste heat. Reverse electrodialysis was integrated to provide the partial remixing of the concentrate (urine) and diluate (permeate) produced from the membrane distillation of urine. Broadly comparable power densities to those of a model salt solution (sodium chloride) were determined during evaluation of the individual and combined contribution of the various monovalent and multivalent inorganic and organic salt constituents in urine. Power densities were improved through raising feed-side temperature and increasing concentration in the concentrate, without observation of limiting behaviour imposed by non-ideal salt and water transport. A further unique contribution of this application is the limited volume of salt concentrate available, which demanded brine recycling to maximise energy recovery analogous to a battery, operating in a ‘state of charge’. During recycle, around 47% of the Gibbs free energy was recoverable with up to 80% of the energy extractable before the concentration difference between the two solutions was halfway towards equilibrium which implies that energy recovery can be optimised with limited effect on permeate quality. This study has provided the first successful demonstration of an integrated MD-RED system for energy recovery from a limited resource, and evidences that the recovered power is sufficient to operate a range of low current fluid pumping technologies that could help deliver off-grid sanitation and clean water recovery at single household scale.Item Open Access Hydrochloric acid removal from the thermogravimetric pyrolysis of PVC(Elsevier, 2020-05-04) Torres, Daniel; Jiang, Ying; Sanchez-Monsalve, D. A.; Leeke, Gary A.A powder characterization method was developed to screen the ability of a range of chemicals and absorbents to retain chlorine from chlorinated plastic pyrolysis. The behaviour of adsorbents such as Al2O3 and zeolites, and chemical removers based on NaHCO3, CaO and Na2CO3-ZnO were studied for the removal of HCl released during PVC pyrolysis. First, chlorine removers are mixed with PVC and tested in a thermobalance under pyrolysis conditions for the complete PVC dehydrochlorination (550 °C). Subsequently, after the release of HCl, CO2 and H2O, the chars are analysed by FTIR, CHN elemental analysis and ESEM-EDS to determine the retention of chlorine on the chlorine removers. According to FTIR and CHN, PVC pyrolysis occurs through dehydrochlorination and the formation of aromatics. FTIR and EDS were used to follow the consumption of the bases present in the chemical removers and the suppression of the CCl absorption bands of the PVC CHCl groups during pyrolysis, as well as the formation of the resulting salts (NaCl, CaCl2 and ZnCl2). The chemical removers exhibited chlorine retentions of up to 71 wt. % (using Na2CO3-ZnO), while the adsorbents presented a maximum of 19 % of retention at 550 °C and heating rate of 200 °C/min.Item Open Access Improving plastic pyrolysis oil quality via an electrochemical process for polymer recycling: a review(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2023-12-20) Catizane, César; Jiang, Ying; Sumner, JoyElectrochemical hydrogenation (ECH) is a novel route for the upgradation of pyrolysis oil from both biomass and plastic feedstocks. Compared with conventional routes, including thermal cracking, ECH can be performed under mild conditions (o80 1C and 1 atm) and without the requirement of additional H2 supply. The successful demonstration of this application can be a critical step to enabling a circular plastic economy and low-carbon fuel production. In this review we provide a critical overview of the recent advancements in understanding the variables that influence the ECH process. In addition, we debate how this technology could be optimized and applied to plastic waste pyrolysis oil, assessing concerns such as the selection of cathode material, which needs to be resilient enough to address the complex nature of bio-oil. In addition, we present ideas on how to circumvent the challenge where the commonly used water-based electrolytes are unlikely to be suitable for pyrolysis oil treatment. Finally, we discuss the possible utilization of this product and scalability of this process.Item Open Access Insights into the biodegradation of weathered hydrocarbons in contaminated soils by bioaugmentation and nutrient stimulation(Elsevier, 2016-07-18) Jiang, Ying; Brassington, Kirsty J.; Prpich, George; Paton, Graeme; Semple, Kirk T.; Pollard, Simon J. T.; Coulon, FredericThe potential for biotransformation of weathered hydrocarbon residues in soils collected from two commercial oil refinery sites (Soil A and B) was studied in microcosm experiments. Soil A has previously been subjected to on-site bioremediation and it was believed that no further degradation was possible while soil B has not been subjected to any treatment. A number of amendment strategies including bioaugmentation with hydrocarbon degrader, biostimulation with nutrients and soil grinding, were applied to the microcosms as putative biodegradation improvement strategies. The hydrocarbon concentrations in each amendment group were monitored throughout 112 days incubation. Microcosms treated with biostimulation (BS) and biostimulation/bioaugmentation (BS + BA) showed the most significant reductions in the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon fractions. However, soil grinding was shown to reduce the effectiveness of a nutrient treatment on the extent of biotransformation by up to 25% and 20% for the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon fractions, respectively. This is likely due to the disruption to the indigenous microbial community in the soil caused by grinding. Further, ecotoxicological responses (mustard seed germination and Microtox assays) showed that a reduction of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration in soil was not directly correlable to reduction in toxicity; thus monitoring TPH alone is not sufficient for assessing the environmental risk of a contaminated site after remediation.Item Open Access Integrating phytoremediation with biomass valorisation and critical element recovery: A UK contaminated land perspective(Elsevier, 2015-10-24) Jiang, Ying; Lei, Mei; Duan, Lunbo; Longhurst, Philip J.In the UK, the widespread presence of elemental contaminants such as arsenic and nickel in contaminated sites and more widely release of platinum group metals into the biosphere are growing concerns. Phytoremediation has the potential to treat land contaminated with these elements at low cost. An integrated approach combining land remediation with post-process biomass to energy conversion and high value element recovery is proposed to enhance the financial viability of phytoremediation. An analytical review of plant species suitable for the phytoremediation of nickel, Arsenic and platinum group metals is reported. Additionally, a preliminary model is developed to assess the viability of the proposed approach. A feasibility appraisal using Monte Carlo simulation to analyse project risk suggests high biomass yield plant species can significantly increase the confidence of achieving financial return from the project. The order of financial return from recovering elements was found to be: Ni > Pt > As.Item Open Access Interactions and interferences of Cu, Cr and As during contaminated waste wood gasification: A thermodynamic equilibrium study(2018-05-24) Al-Badri, Shurooq; Jiang, Ying; Wagland, Stuart T.Waste wood (WW) is one of the major sources of renewable energy. However, it often contaminated with metal(loid) elements at concentrations leading to toxicity emissions and damages to facilities during thermal conversion. Thence, procedures for preventing and/or reducing the negative impacts of these elements require further understanding, specifically their phase transformations during thermal conversion processes. Although it is well known that phase transformation depends on different factors such as vaporization characteristics of elements, operational conditions and process configuration, influences of atmosphere composition of the reaction are rarely investigated. Based on thermodynamic equilibrium principles, this study investigates the behaviors of most regulated elements (Cu, Cr and As) in contaminated WW in relation to the presence/absence of Ca, Na, S, Cl, Fe and Ni during gasification. Thermodynamic calculations were performed across gasification temperature range of 0-1800°C, under the atmospheric pressure. Refinement of possible interactions and interferences reveals that Ni-As interactions generate dominant species As 2 Ni 5 and As 8 Ni 11 , which increase the solid-gaseous transformation temperature of As. Furthermore, interactions between Ca and Cr predominantly forms C 3 Cr 7 ; whereas absence of Ca leads to form CnNa 2 O 4 which causes instability in Cr phase formation. The findings of this study indicate that the evaluation of speciation due to interactions and interferences can provide quantitative and qualitative assessments of the metal(loid) behavior in gasification.Item Open Access Investigation of the impact of trace elements on anaerobic volatile fatty acid degradation using a fractional factorial experimental design(Elsevier, 2017-09-05) Jiang, Ying; Zhang, Yue; Banks, Charles; Heaven, Sonia; Longhurst, PhilipThe requirement of trace elements (TE) in anaerobic digestion process is widely documented. However, little is understood regarding the specific requirement of elements and their critical concentrations under different operating conditions such as substrate characterisation and temperature. In this study, a flask batch trial using fractional factorial design is conducted to investigate volatile fatty acids (VFA) anaerobic degradation rate under the influence of the individual and combined effect of six TEs (Co, Ni, Mo, Se, Fe and W). The experiment inoculated with food waste digestate, spiked with sodium acetate and sodium propionate both to 10 g/l. This is followed by the addition of a selection of the six elements in accordance with a 26−2 fractional factorial principle. The experiment is conducted in duplicate and the degradation of VFA is regularly monitored. Factorial effect analysis on the experimental results reveals that within these experimental conditions, Se has a key role in promoting the degradation rates of both acetic and propionic acids; Mo and Co are found to have a modest effect on increasing propionic acid degradation rate. It is also revealed that Ni shows some inhibitory effects on VFA degradation, possibly due to its toxicity. Additionally, regression coefficients for the main and second order effects are calculated to establish regression models for VFA degradation.Item Open Access Managing power dissipation in closed-loop reverse electrodialysis to maximise energy recovery during thermal-to-electric conversion(Cranfield University, 2020-07-14 11:05) Hulme, Anna; Davey, Chris; Parker, Alison; Williams, Leon; Tyrrel, Sean; Jiang, Ying; Pidou, Marc; McAdam, EwanUnderlying data for the manuscript: Managing power dissipation in closed-loop reverse electrodialysis to maximise energy recovery during thermal-to-electric conversion