Environmental consideration water absorption

The elucidation of actinide chemistry in solution is important for understanding actinide separation and for predicting actinide transport in the environment, particularly with respect to the safety of nuclear waste disposal.72,73 The uranyl CO + ion, for example, has received considerable interest because of its importance for environmental issues and its role as a computational benchmark system for higher actinides. Direct structural information on the coordination of uranyl in aqueous solution has been obtained mainly by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements,74-76 whereas X-ray scattering studies of uranium and actinide solutions are more rare.77 Various ab initio studies of uranyl and related molecules, with a polarizable continuum model to mimic the solvent environment and/or a number of explicit water molecules, have been performed.78-82 We have performed a structural investigation of the carbonate system of dioxouranyl (VI) and (V), [U02(C03)3]4- and [U02(C03)3]5- in water.83 This study showed that only minor geometrical rearrangements occur upon the one-electron reduction of [U02(C03)3]4- to [U02(C03)3]5-, which supports the reversibility of this reduction. 

Anionic surfactants are present in surface water, resulting in serious environmental pollution. Therefore, adsorption of surfactants, such as sodium dodecylsulfate [155,156], on Mg/Al LDHs has received considerable attention. Ulibarri et al. also published the results of sorption of an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate) from water by LDHs and calcined samples (773 K), focusing both on their potential application as a sorbent and on the possibility of their recycling [154,157]. They found that anionic exchange was complete when the interlayer anion in the LDH precursor was Cl", reaching 100 % of AEG, and calcined LDH-carbonates were better adsorbents than those derived from LDH-chloride samples, however. It was also claimed that an increase in the crystallinity of the LDH samples probably leads to better ordered calcined mixed oxides, facilitating reconstruction of the layers and enlarging the absorption capacity. 

The measurement of very low levels of environmental pollutants is becoming increasingly important. The determination of lead, a cumulative toxin, is a good example. The current maximum allowable concentration of lead in British drinking water, before it enters the distribution network, is SO ng ml [29]. Although electrothermal atomization atomic-absorption spectrometry (AAS) can be used to measure this and lower concentrations, it is slow and requires considerable effort to ensure accurate results. Flames can provide simple and effective atom sources, but, if samples are aspirated directly, do not provide sufficient sensitivity. Thus, if a flame is to be used as the atom source, a preconcentration step is required. 

In environmental terms, nanocomposites can be used as adsorbent materials or photocatalytics in the process of removing metallic ions and/or organic compounds in the treatment of residual water. Nanocomposites have received considerable attention in the scientific community in the last few years because they present properties comparable to other conventional materials and low-cost treatment processes. In the case of photocatalysis, nanocomposites present photocatalytic properties, improved because of the extension of the ultraviolet absorption band and fomented by the inherent properties of each of the materials present. 

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