Diffusion Boundary Layer Research Articles

КВАЗИПЕРИОДИЧЕСКАЯ ЭМИССИЯ ПЫЛЕВОГО АЭРОЗОЛЯ НА ОПУСТЫНЕННОЙ ТЕРРИТОРИИ

Vertical turbulent and convective fluxes and corresponding velocities of the dust aerosol particle uplift under conditions of quasiperiodic emission have been determined by the measurements of the dust aerosol particle concentrations and the turbulent fluctuations of the wind speed components in a desertified area in the Astrakhan region. It is shown that convective fluxes are caused by the combined action of both regular upward motions (updrafts) in the convective coherent structure of the atmospheric boundary layer and turbulent diffusion. In the surface layer of the atmosphere at heights from 0.3 to 6.0 m, the vertical profiles of the dust aerosol concentration are approximated by power functions. It is demonstrated that the vertical turbulent and convective fluxes of dust aerosol can be estimated by the gradient method using the scales of turbulent and convective vertical motions in the atmospheric boundary layer.

Effects of Bubble Plumes on Lake Dynamics, Near‐Bottom Turbulence, and Transfer of Dissolved Oxygen at the Sediment‐Water Interface

AbstractWe quantify the lake dynamics, near‐bottom turbulence, flux of dissolved oxygen (DO) across the sediment‐water interface (SWI) and their interactions during oxygenation in two lakes. Field observations show that the lake dynamics were modified by the bubble plumes, showing enhanced mixing in the near‐field of the plumes. The interaction of the bubble‐induced flow with the internal density structure resulted in downwelling of warm water into the hypolimnion in the far‐field of the plumes. Within the bottom boundary layer (BBL), both lakes show weak oscillating flows primarily induced by seiching. The vertical profile of mean velocity within 0.4 m above the bed follows a logarithmic scaling. One lake shows a larger drag coefficient than those in stationary BBLs, where the classic law‐of‐the‐wall is valid. The injection of oxygen elevated the water column DO and hence, altered the DO flux across the SWI. The gas transfer velocity is driven by turbulence and is correlated with the bottom shear velocity. The thickness of the diffusive boundary layer was found to be consistent with the Batchelor length scale. The dynamics of the surface renewal time follow a log‐normal distribution, and the turbulent integral time scale is comparable to the surface renewal time. The analyses suggest that the effect of bubble plumes on the BBL turbulence is limited and that the canonical scales of turbulence emerge for the time‐average statistics, validating the turbulence scaling of gas transfer velocity in low‐energy lakes.

Experimental Characterization of a Novel Fluidized‐Bed Zn–Air Fuel Cell

AbstractZn–air fuel cells are promising energy storage devices for renewable energy and power sources, as they are cost‐effective and have high energy density. However, limited charge and discharge cycles and low round‐trip efficiency have long been obstacles to large‐scale market deployment. Herein, a new fluidized‐bed zinc–air fuel cell is designed, constructed, tested, and characterized. The integration of the fluidized bed in the zinc–air fuel cell leads to key advantages such as: erosion of the anode passivation layer, which plays a key role in the rapid voltage decay and keeping the products of reactions away from the proximity of the electrodes, reducing the concentration overpotential, due to the concentration gradient of electrode species in the diffusion boundary layer between the electrode–electrolyte interface and the electrolyte bulk.

Modeling microvoiding kinetics of rare‐earth disilicates in flowing atmospheres containing water vapor

AbstractRare‐earth disilicate (REDS, RE2Si2O7) layers that may be used as environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) on ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components in high‐temperature stages of turbine engines are subject to microvoiding to form porous rare‐earth monosilicate (REMS, RE2SiO5) layers in flowing atmospheres containing water vapor. A simple microvoiding kinetic model that incorporates both mass transfer of the reaction product Si(OH)4(g) through the external gas phase boundary layer and pore diffusion of Si(OH)4(g) through the microvoided layer has been developed. Model predictions are in good agreement with measured growth rates of microvoided layers under low‐flowrate steam furnace test and high‐flowrate burner rig conditions. Since pore diffusion is generally the rate‐limiting step for EBC microvoiding in turbine engines, furnace testing under conditions of kinetic control by gas phase mass transfer is not generally capable of predicting REDS microvoiding rates under engine conditions. The kinetic model can be extended to incorporate changes in pore size and distribution, cracking of the microvoided layer, and introduction and cracking of an additional REMS topcoat to the system. The model can be used to generate a reasonable prediction of the time required to fully microvoid a REDS EBC layer on a CMC component in the hot gas path of an aircraft engine or stationary gas turbine.

Non-Steady-State Fickian Diffusion Models Decrease the Estimated Gel Layer Diffusion Coefficient Uncertainty for Diffusive Gradients in Thin-Films Passive Samplers.

Mass transport in diffusive gradients in thin-film passive samplers is restricted to diffusion through a gel layer of agarose or agarose cross-linked polyacrylamide (APA). The gel layer diffusion coefficient, DGel, is typically determined using a standard analysis (SA) based on Fick's first law from two-compartment diffusion cell (D-Cell) tests. The SA assumes pseudo-steady-state flux, characterized by linear sink mass accumulation-time profiles with a typical threshold R2 ≥ 0.97. In 72 D-Cell tests with nitrate, 63 met this threshold, but the SA-determined DGel ranged from 10.1 to 15.8 × 10-6 cm2·s-1 (agarose) and 9.5 to 14.7 × 10-6 cm2·s-1 (APA). A regression model developed with the SA to account for the diffusive boundary layer had 95% confidence intervals (CIs) on DGel of 13 to 18 × 10-6 cm2·s-1 (agarose) and 12 to 19 × 10-6 cm2·s-1 (APA) at 500 rpm. A finite difference model (FDM) developed based on Fick's second law with non-steady-state (N-SS) flux decreased uncertainty in DGel tenfold. The FDM-captured decreasing source compartment concentrations and N-SS flux in the D-Cell tests and, at 500 rpm, the FDM-determined DGel ± 95% CIs were 14.5 ± 0.2 × 10-6 cm2·s-1 (agarose) and 14.0 ± 0.3 × 10-6 cm2·s-1 (APA), respectively.

Environmental factors strongly influence the leaching of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate from polyvinyl chloride microplastics

Phthalic acid esters (phthalates) are an important group of additives (plasticizers) to ensure the flexibility and stability especially of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and to enable its processing. However, phthalates like di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) are harmful for aquatic organisms due to their endocrine disrupting effects and toxicity. For the assessment of exposure concentrations, thorough understanding of leaching kinetics of phthalates from PVC (micro-) plastics into aqueous environments is necessary. This study investigates how environmental factors influence the leaching of phthalates from PVC microplastics into aquatic systems. The leaching of phthalates from PVC microplastics into aqueous media is limited by aqueous boundary layer diffusion (ABLD) and thus, process-specific parameters can be affected by environmental factors such as salinity and the flow conditions. We conducted batch leaching experiments to assess the influence of salinity and flow conditions (turbulence) on the leaching of DEHP from PVC microplastics into aqueous media. DEHP is salted out with increasing salinity of the solution and a salting-out coefficient for DEHP of 0.46 was determined. The partitioning coefficient of DEHP between PVC and water KPVC/W increased with increasing salinity from 108.52 L kg−1 in a 1 mM KCl solution to 108.75 L kg−1 in artificial seawater thereby slowing down leaching. Increasing flow velocities led to higher leaching rates because the ABL thickness decreased from 1315 µm at 0 rpm shaking speed (no-flow conditions) to 38.4 µm at 125 rpm (turbulent conditions). Compared to salinity, turbulence had a more pronounced effect on leaching. Increasing the flow velocity led to a 35-fold decrease in the leaching rate, while increasing salinity led to a 2-fold increase. By calculating specific leaching times, that is, leaching half-lives (t1/2), time frames for leaching in different aquatic systems such as rivers and the ocean were determined. Given ABLD-limited leaching, DEHP is leached faster from PVC microplastics in rivers (t1/2 > 49 years) than in the ocean (t1/2 > 398 years). In both systems, PVC microplastics are a long-term source of phthalates.

How do proton-transfer reactions affect current-voltage characteristics of anion-exchange membranes in salt solutions of a polybasic acid? Modeling and experiment

Insufficient understanding of transport mechanism of polybasic acid species (phosphoric, citric, malic, etc.) through anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) hinders the widespread use of electrodialysis for processing salt solutions of such acids, e.g. the recovery of phosphates from mixed solutions. In this paper, we present experimental current-voltage characteristics (CVC) and partial fluxes of H2PO4− and HPO42− across an AEM. These data are simulated using a mathematical model based on the Nernst-Planck-Poisson equations coupled with the kinetic equations for chemical reactions. The model describes the nonstationary transport of phosphate acid species through an AEM and adjacent solution diffusion boundary layers. It is shown that the proton-transfer reactions determine the occurrence of two limiting currents. The electric current sweep rate and the values of dissociation rate constants of acid anions largely affect the values of these limiting currents and generally the shape of the CVC. It is found that due to chemical reactions involving polybasic anions, the formation of their concentration profiles in the membrane occurs much slower than in the case of monobasic salts. Numerical simulation shows that a quasi-stationary CVC is possible only when the current sweep rate is such that measurements are carried out for at least 10 h.

Hydrodynamic Control of Sediment‐Water Fluxes: Consistent Parameterization and Impact in Coupled Benthic‐Pelagic Models

AbstractBenthic oxygen dynamics and the exchange of oxygen and other solutes across the sediment‐water interface play a key role for the oxygen budget of many limnic and shallow marine systems. The sediment‐water fluxes are largely determined by two factors: sediment biogeochemistry and the thickness of the diffusive boundary layer that is determined by near‐bottom turbulence. Here, we present a fully coupled benthic‐pelagic modeling system that takes these processes and their interaction into account, focusing especially on the modulation of the sediment‐water fluxes by the effects of near‐bottom turbulence and stratification. We discuss the special numerical methods required to guarantee positivity and mass conservation across the sediment‐water interface in the presence of rapid element transformation, and apply this modeling system to a number of idealized scenarios. Our process‐oriented simulations show that near‐bottom turbulence provides a crucial control on the sediment‐water fluxes, the oxygen penetration depth, and the re‐oxidation of reduced compounds diffusing upward from the deeper benthic layers especially on time scales of a few days, characterizing oceanic tides, internal seiching motions in lakes, and mesoscale atmospheric variability. Our results also show that the response of benthic‐pelagic fluxes to rapid changes in the forcing conditions (e.g., storm events) can only be understood with a fully coupled modeling approach.

A comparison study on the dissolution mechanism of Al2O3 inclusion on fluorine-bearing and fluorine-free molten mold fluxes

The dissolution mechanism of Al2O3 inclusions in molten slags was explored by in-situ single hot thermocouple technique combined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Result shows that it takes 2940 s to completely dissolve Al2O3 inclusions in the molten F-bearing mold flux, which is mainly controlled by boundary layer diffusion. Because the connected [AlO6] octahedra in the Al2O3 inclusion is gradually destroyed by the O2− ions in the melt. By comparison, the CaO–SiO2–B2O3 based F-free mold flux only takes 840 s to completely dissolve Al2O3 inclusions. Because the [AlO6] octahedra is destroyed and further transformed to [AlO4] tetrahedra and produce O2− ions, which greatly facilitates the dissociation of the Al2O3 particle. However, the formed [AlO4] tetrahedra will promote the precipitation of the dense 2CaO·SiO2·Al2O3 crystals, which tightly encases the Al2O3 particle and causes significant drop in the dissolution rate. Thus, the dissolution rate is controlled by chemical reaction and then by boundary layer diffusion.

Representing Eddy Diffusion in the Surface Boundary Layer of Ocean Models With General Vertical Coordinates

AbstractThe mixing of tracers by mesoscale eddies, parameterized in many ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) as a diffusive‐advective process, contributes significantly to the distribution of tracers in the ocean. In the ocean interior, diffusive contribution occurs mostly along the direction parallel to local neutral density surfaces. However, near the surface of the ocean, small‐scale turbulence and the presence of the boundary itself break this constraint and the mesoscale transport occurs mostly along a plane parallel to the ocean surface (horizontal). Although this process is easily represented in OGCMs with geopotential vertical coordinates, the representation is more challenging in OGCMs that use a general vertical coordinate, where surfaces can be tilted with respect to the horizontal. We propose a method for representing the diffusive horizontal mesoscale fluxes within the surface boundary layer of general vertical coordinate OGCMs. The method relies on regridding/remapping techniques to represent tracers in a geopotential grid. Horizontal fluxes are calculated on this grid and then remapped back to the native grid, where fluxes are applied. The algorithm is implemented in an ocean model and tested in idealized and realistic settings. Horizontal diffusion can account for up to 10% of the total northward heat transport in the Southern Ocean and Western boundary current regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It also reduces the vertical stratification of the upper ocean, which results in an overall deepening of the surface boundary layer depth. Finally, enabling horizontal diffusion leads to meaningful reductions in the near‐surface global bias of potential temperature and salinity.

Adsorptive performance and mechanism exploration of l-lysine functionalized celluloses for enhanced removal of Pb(II) from aqueous medium

In this study, two novel biosorbents of l-lysine grafted cellulose (L-PCM, L-TCF) were prepared for Pb(II) removal from aqueous solutions. Various adsorption parameters were surveyed, such as adsorbent dosages, initial concentration of Pb(II), temperature and pH, using adsorption techniques. At normal temperature, less adsorbent can achieve better adsorption capacity (89.71 ± 0.27 mg g−1 with 0.5 g L−1 of L-PCM, 16.84 ± 0.02 mg g−1 with 3.0 g L−1 of L-TCF). The pH range of application for L-PCM was 4–12 and that of L-TCF was 4–13. The adsorption of Pb(II) by biosorbents went through the boundary layer diffusion stage and void diffusion stage. The adsorption mechanism was chemisorption based on multilayer heterogeneous adsorption. The pseudo-second-order model fitted the adsorption kinetics perfectly. The Freundlich isotherm model adequately described Multimolecular equilibrium relationship between Pb(II) and biosorbents; the predicted maximum adsorption capacities of the two adsorbents were 904.12 and 46.74 mg g−1, respectively. The results showed that the adsorption mechanism was the electrostatic attraction between Pb(II) and -COOH and the complexation between Pb(II) and -NH2. This work demonstrated that l-lysine modified cellulose-based biosorbents have great potential in the field of Pb(II) removal from aqueous solutions.

Selenate removal via continuous fixed-bed column with nanoscale zero-valent iron supported on bentonite-zeolite pellets

Excessive levels of selenium in water are caused by discharging from fossil fuels combustion, coal-fired power plant activity, and mining operations. Selenium contamination poses considerable hazards to human health. Selenate (Se6+) is the most oxidized and common form of selenium in contaminated water. Zeolite-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (Z-NZVI) coated onto bentonite-zeolite pellets (BZ-NZVI) was prepared for the removal of Se6+. The BZ pellets were coated with Z-NZVI powder at a ratio of 1:5. The BZ-NZVI was characterized using X-ray diffraction, point of zero charge analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry techniques. The BZ-NZVI samples were tested in the batch reactor for kinetics and adsorption isotherm studies and subsequently in a continuous fixed-bed column. The kinetic models and adsorption isotherms were best described by the pseudo-first-order kinetics and Langmuir adsorption isotherm, respectively. Both boundary layer diffusion and intraparticle diffusion appeared to affect the intraparticle diffusion process. The efficiency of Se6+ removal in fixed-bed column of BZ-NZVI fitted well with Yoon-Nelson model. The adsorption rate decreased according to the Se6+ breakthrough proportion. The maximum Se6+ adsorption breakthrough capacity was 0.034 mg/g under the test run of 0.5 mg/L-Se6+ solution, pH 7, the flow rate of 5 mL/min, and the temperature of 303 K. Breakthrough times increased with decreasing flow rate and Se6+ initial concentration but decreased as the mass of BZ-NZVI increased. Se6+ contaminated in wastewater was removed by reduction and adsorption mechanisms over BZ-NZVI, which is a promising new area of research.

The role of irradiance in controlling coralline algal calcification

AbstractCoralline algae are an essential element of benthic ecosystems throughout the ocean's photic zone. Yet, the role of light in shaping the physiology of coralline algae from cold‐water, low‐light habitats is poorly understood. Here, we assess the calcification physiology of five cool temperate coralline algae in response to different irradiance levels over 3 months. We show that in contrast to current models focused on warmer water species, previously observed enhancement of calcification rates by photosynthesis is largely limited to lower irradiances, and that the removal of CO2 from the calcifying fluid is not the underlying mechanism of this enhancement. Instead, this most likely occurs via two processes: (1) increased ion pumping rates to elevate the calcium carbonate saturation state in the calcifying fluid; and (2) a higher daytime pH in the diffusion boundary layer that raises calcifying fluid pH. However, as irradiance increases, ion pumping becomes increasingly saturated limiting further enhancements. Our results also suggest the existence of two calcification strategies in coralline algae and indicate that magnesium incorporation is determined by the magnesium to calcium ratio in the calcifying fluid ([Mg]CF/[Ca]CF). This study adds to our mechanistic understanding of calcification in coralline algae and fills in much needed knowledge about the role of light in controlling their physiology.

Heat transfer efficacy and flow progress of tripartite diffusion in magneto-radiative Reiner-Philippoff nanofluid in porous Darcy-Forchheimer substance with heat source

When describing natural phenomena like the movement of pollutants, subterranean water, acidulent rain, and other phenomena, it is sometimes necessary to have more than one solute distributed in fluid mixes. The steadiness triple diffusive boundary layer natural convective flow along a vertical stretchable plate embedded in a Darcy-Forchheimer porous material filled with a salty Reiner-Philippoff nanofluid with two salts is examined in this research. The accompanying nanofluid is thought to convective heat the surface. Through a Buongiorno concept, the regulating equations additionally incorporate the contributions of Brownian motion and thermophoresis factors. A solver of the bvp4c approach is used to produce the numerically calculated after employing similar solutions in the MATLAB® program. On both salts and nanofluid parameters, the impacts of the electromagnetic, thermal radiative fluxing, and heat generating parameters on flowing and heat transference are assessed. It has been discovered that adding salts and nanoparticles accelerates the rate of heat transfer. The rate of heat transference of pseudo-plastic nanofluids is lower than that of dilatant nanofluids. Whilst the mass transition of nanofluid is quite the opposite. Darcy-Forchheimer porousness material and existence heat generating impact occurs the salts rates of mass transfers is diminished.

Removal of Lead from Wastewater Using Synthesized Polyethyleneimine-Grafted Graphene Oxide.

In this work, polyethyleneimine-grafted graphene oxide (PEI/GO) is synthesized using graphene, polyethyleneimine, and trimesoyl chloride. Both graphene oxide and PEI/GO are characterized by a Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Characterization results confirm that polyethyleneimine is uniformly grafted on the graphene oxide nanosheets and, thus, also confirm the successful synthesis of PEI/GO. PEI/GO adsorbent is then evaluated for the removal of lead (Pb2+) from aqueous solutions, and the optimum adsorption is attained at pH 6, contact time of 120 min, and PEI/GO dose of 0.1 g. While chemosorption is dominating at low Pb2+ concentrations, physisorption is dominating at high concentrations and the adsorption rate is controlled by the boundary-layer diffusion step. In addition, the isotherm study confirms the strong interaction between Pb2+ ions and PEI/GO and reveals that the adsorption process obeys well the Freundlich isotherm model (R2 = 0.9932) and the maximum adsorption capacity (qm) is 64.94 mg/g, which is quite high compared to some of the reported adsorbents. Furthermore, the thermodynamic study confirms the spontaneity (negative ΔG° and positive ΔS°) and the endothermic nature (ΔH° = 19.73 kJ/mol) of the adsorption process. The prepared adsorbent (PEI/GO) offers a potential promise for wastewater treatment because of its fast and high uptake removal capacity and could be used as an effective adsorbent for the removal of Pb2+-ions and other heavy metals from industrial wastewater.

Excitation of structures by partially correlated pressures: A review of diffuse acoustic field and turbulent boundary layer models

Structures are sometimes excited by pressure distributions which exhibit complex spatial correlation. This differs from common acoustic excitations since the pressure at one location is only partially correlated with the pressure at another location due to inherent spatial randomness within the forcing function. Two forcing functions which exhibit partially-correlated pressures are the diffuse acoustic field (DAF) and turbulent boundary layer (TBL) flow. A basic model for representing the spatial correlation for these two forcing functions will be reviewed in both the spatial and wavenumber domains. Recent approaches for computing the vibration of structures excited by DAF or TBL flow will then be summarized. Interesting physical effects, such as intermodal coupling, will be highlighted to illustrate the importance of properly modeling partial correlations when they exist.

Ion transmembrane behaviors in selective electrodialysis for acid recovery: Impact of ion categories

Selective electrodialysis (SED) was found to be a promising technology for acid recovery. This study systematically investigated the acid recovery performances using SED for six representative acid systems. The results indicated that SED has superior acid recovery performance for the HCl/AlCl3 system, in which the energy consumption was only 3.81 kWh/t (far lower than 17.46 kWh/t of H2SO4/FeSO4), the acid recovery ratio reached 80.72 %, and the treating cost was as low as 11.39 $/t. Among the various acid systems, the transmembrane rate of the H+ ions presented the order of HCl/AlCl3 > HNO3/Al(NO3)3 > HCl/FeCl2 > H2SO4/Al2(SO4)3 ≈ H2SO4/CuSO4 > H2SO4/FeSO4. Meanwhile, there was an obvious enhancement in the perm-selectivity of the Neosepta@CIMS membrane when treating high-valency species such as Al3+-containing acids. Under the action of the electric field, the large-sized metal ions aggregated near the diffusion boundary layer adjacent to the membrane, and the electrostatic repulsion force caused an increasing rejection for the metal ions compared with hydrogen ions. In addition, the physiochemical properties of the anions affected the purity of the recycled acid. Anions with a large hydration radius and large hydration energy aggravate the leakage of co-ions through the anion-exchange membrane and increase the treatment time.

Effects of tropical cyclones with different tracks on ozone pollution over the Pearl River Delta region

Tropical cyclone's activities can affect the ozone pollution characteristics to a certain extent over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region based on different track types of tropical cyclones. In this study, we utilize the Finite Mixture Model algorithm to classify tropical cyclones which land on the South China coastal area between 2009 and 2018 into 6 track's types, and those types are land on the PRD region directly (A1 type), the east of the PRD region (B1 and B2 types) and the west of the PRD region (C1, C2 and C3 types) respectively. Combined with observation data, the results indicate that the A1 type, B1 type and B2 type tropical cyclones can increase the ozone concentration about 44.9% ∼ 65.3% in the PRD region before landfall accompanied with stagnant meteorological conditions usually, such as high temperature (>27 °C), low humidity (<80%) or weak wind (<3 m/s). And it should be emphasized that, due to the northward or northeastward deflection of the tracks, the ozone concentration in the PRD region does not decrease obviously (<10%) on the landing-day under B1 and B2 types, and ozone pollution maybe persistent longer than other types. By simulating typical cases of each track's type within WRF-Chem model coupled with process analysis method, and the results indicate that tropical cyclone's peripheral subsidence airflow is more obvious over the PRD region under A1, B1 and B2 cases before landfall, and it maybe an external condition which can limit the development of boundary layer and vertical diffusion of ozone, rather than transporting ozone downward from the upper atmosphere to the near surface level. In addition, based on process analysis result, the chemical reaction with strong radiation condition maybe the essential cause of ozone production and pollution, and the physical process can cause the ozone consumption.

Glycine Dissolution Behavior under Forced Convection

The integration of a flow-through cell into a Mach–Zehnder interferometer offers the possibility to study the dissolution of crystals in detail. The influence of flow on the displacement velocity of a specific crystal facet and the distribution of the solute concentration around the crystal are measured simultaneously in a time-resolved manner. The disintegration from the crystal surface and the mass transfer into the solvent can be separated. We aim to establish an in vitro experiment that improves the quality of prediction for the bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients. In the presented feasibility study, glycine was used as a model substance. It was successfully demonstrated that the set-up is suitable for observing disintegration and mass transfer separately. The description of the dissolution rate in terms of the Sherwood number as a function of Reynolds, Schmidt and Grashof numbers clearly shows that with increasing flow rate there is a transition from natural to forced convection as the dominant mass transfer mechanism. Temporal and spatial resolved concentration fields visualize the convective mass transfer and also show the influence of convection on the diffusive boundary layer. No limitation of the dissolution by surface disintegration could be found in the examined range of flow rates.

Sorptive removal of phosphorus by flue gas desulfurization gypsum in batch and column systems

Phosphorus (P) over-loading is often a central topic due to its linkage to harmful algal blooms (HABs) and its importance in wastewater treatment that has fueled immediate remediation attempts to reduce P loading from point (e.g., wastewater) and nonpoint sources (e.g., fertilizers). Conventional remediation techniques (e.g., filtration) are often expensive, ineffective, and difficult to implement at large scales. The flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum produced as an energy plant waste byproduct has recently been advocated as a physiochemical remediation strategy for P through sorptive removal. However, limited research is available on the practical applications of FGD gypsum for P removal from water. Herein, batch sorption experiments were performed to investigate the sorptive removal efficiency of P by FGD gypsum under environmentally relevant P concentrations (0.01–0.25 mM). In parallel, fixed-bed column experiments packed with FGD gypsum were performed using elevated P concentrations (0.1–1.0 mM) to understand the scalability of FGD gypsum for large-scale practical applications. During batch experiments, P sorption equilibrium was reached within 24 h that includes an initially fast step (via boundary layer diffusion), followed by a slow rate-determining step (via intraparticle diffusion). P sorption kinetics followed the pseudo second-order kinetics, indicating chemisorption. P sorption at equilibrium can be simulated by both the Freundlich and Langmuir sorption isotherms. The Langmuir sorption isotherm yielded a maximum sorption capacity (Qmax) of 36.1 mM kg−1. The fixed-bed column experimental results showed that sorption rate depends on the applied flow rate, irrespective of the tested P concentrations. Our findings can be extrapolated to evaluate the feasibility and scalability of FGD gypsum in removing P to counteract P runoff and mitigate HABs and P-loaded wastewater.