Sharif Digital Repository

A novel solid-phase microextraction(SPME) fiber was prepared using sol-gel technology with ethoxylated nonylphenol as a fiber coating material. The fiber was employed to develop a headspace SPME-GC-MS method suitable for quantification of 13 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water samples. Surface characteristics of the fibers were inspected by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy as well as by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM measurements showed the presence of highly porous nano-sized particles in the coating. Important parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as extraction temperature and time, desorption conditions as well as ionic strength have been... 

A high-temperature-resisant solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was prepared based on polyetherimide (PEI) by the electrospinning method. The PEI polymeric solution was converted to nanofibers using high voltages and directly coated on a stainless steel SPME needle. The scanning electron microscopy images of PEI coating showed fibers with diameter range of 500-650 nm with a homogeneous and smooth surface morphology. The SPME nanofibers coating was optimized for PEI percentage, electrospinning voltage, and time. The extraction efficiency of the coating was investigated for headspace SPME of some environmentally important polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous samples followed by... 

The present work deals with a novel approach for grafting a sol-gel based sorbent, using diazonium salts for preparation of an unbreakable capillary microextraction (CME) device in on-line combination with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The use of diazonium salts modifier allowed all types of metallic and non-metallic substrates to be used without any limitation. Substrates including copper, brass, stainless steel and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were chosen to be functionalized by chemical or electrochemical reduction of 4-amino phenyl acetic acid. Then, 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylamine (3TMSPA) was selected as the precursor and the only reagent for preparation of the... 

A novel high-throughput device based on 96-micro-solid phase extraction (96-μ-SPE) system was constructed for multiresidue determination of nine pesticides in aquatic samples. The extraction procedure was performed on a commercially available 96-well plate system. The extraction module consisted of 96 pieces of 1cm×3cm of cylindrically shaped stainless steel meshes. The prepared meshes were fixed in a home-made polytetrafluoroethylene-based constructed ninety-six holes block for possible simultaneous immersion of meshes into the center of individual wells. Dodecyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate was copolymerized as a monolithic polymer and placed in the cylindrically shaped... 

Magnetic Fe3O4@SiO2 starch-graft-poly(acrylic acid) (SPAA) nanocomposite hydrogels were prepared and used as absorbents for removal of crystal violet from aqueous solutions. Dynamic swelling, effect of contact time, absorption kinetics and nanocomposite hydrogel mass for removal of crystal violet dyes from aqueous solutions were studied. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer measurements were used for the characterization of the nanocomposite hydrogels. The nanocomposite hydrogels had high magnetic sensitivity under an external magnetic field, which allowed their magnetic separation from water, thus avoiding secondary... 

This paper presents a new method for spectrophotometirc detection of sulfide applying fungal peroxidase immobilized on sodium alginate. The sensing scheme was based on decrease of the absorbance of the orange compound, purpurogallin produced from pyrogallol and H2O2 as substrates, due to the inhibition of peroxidase by sulfide. Absorbance of purpurogallin was detected at 420nm by using a spectrophotometer. The proposed method could successfully detect the sulfide in the concentration range of 0.6-7.0μM with a detection limit of 0.4μM. The kinetic parameters of Michaelis-Menten with and without sulfide were also calculated. Possible inhibition mechanism of peroxidase by sulfide was deduced... 

This Regular evaluation and analysis of river quality helps accurate management to reach acceptable quality. In this study, water quality indices (WQI) method applied to evaluate quality of Jajrood River which is one of the main sources of Tehran drinking water. It helps to subsidize management actions in Jajrood watershed. Sampling carried out for 9 years during 2001-2010 in 10 stations along the river in wet and dry stations to identify water quality and the main source of pollution. Results show water quality in all stations classifies as medium according to National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and water quality index in wet season is better than the corresponding value in dry seasons.... 

This article investigates phenol removal from an aqueous solution by using enzymatic and photocatalytic methods and the efficiency of these methods has been compared. In enzymatic and photocatalytic methods, Coprinus cinereus, peroxidase enzyme and commercial TiO2 powders (Degussa P-25) in aqueous suspension were used, respectively, in ambient temperature. The effects of different operating parameters such as duration of process, catalyst dosage or enzyme concentration, pH of the solution, initial phenol concentration and H2O2 concentration on both processes were examined. In enzymatic method, efficiency of degradation reached 100% within 5min, while in the photocatalytic method, the... 

Wastewater of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) from a petrochemical plant was examined in a membrane-less single chamber microbial fuel cell for the first time. Time course of voltage during the cell operation cycle had two steady phases, which refers to the fact that metabolism of microorganisms was shifted from highly to less biodegradable carbon sources. The produced power density was 31.8 mW m-2 (normalized per cathode area) and the calculated coulombic efficiency was 2.05 % for a COD removal of 74 % during 21 days. The total removal rate of different pollutants in the PTA wastewater was observed in the following order: (acetic acid) > (benzoic acid) > (phthalic acid) > (terephthalic... 

The major source of energy is fossil fuels, known as hydrocarbon containing C and H as the main elements. The heat generated from combustion of these fuels is used in power generation cycles to generate electricity. Main products of a hydrocarbon combustion reaction are water and carbon dioxide, but due to some reasons such as excessive temperature and inappropriate air-fuel mixing, always some pollutants are formed. One of the major concerns of recent years are NOx pollutants, which is mostly generated in the high temperature combustions. According to the geographical and economic issues, most countries are using coal as fuel and many researches have been conducted about pollutant formation... 

A simple, rapid and sensitive method based on microextraction in packed syringe (MEPS), in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed. Polyaniline (PANI) nanowires network was synthesized and used as sorbent of MEPS for the multiresidue determination of selected analytes from triazine, organochlrorine and organophosphorous pesticides in aqueous samples. The PANI nanowires network was prepared using soft template technique and its characterization was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The presence of micelles in this methodology showed to be an important parameter in shaping the growing polymer. Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB) was used... 

A new unbreakable solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coating based on aniline-silica nanocomposite was electrodeposited on a stainless steel wire. The electropolymerization process was carried out at a constant deposition potential, applied to the corresponding aqueous electrolyte containing aniline and silica nanoparticles. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed the non-smooth and the porous surface structure of the prepared nanocomposite. The applicability of the new fiber coating was examined by headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) of some environmentally important polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as model compounds, from aqueous samples.... 

In the present work, an amperometric inhibition biosensor for the determination of sulfide has been fabricated by immobilizing Coprinus cinereus peroxidase (CIP) on the surface of screen printed electrode (SPE). Chitosan/acrylamide was applied for immobilization of peroxidase on the working electrode. The amperometric measurement was performed at an applied potential of -150. mV versus Ag/AgCl with a scan rate of 100. mV in the presence of hydroquinone as electron mediator and 0.1. M phosphate buffer solution of pH 6.5. The variables influencing the performance of sensor including the amount of substrate, mediator concentration and electrolyte pH were optimized. The determination of sulfide... 

The effects of leachate recycling and bed mixing on the removal rate of H 2S from waste gas stream were investigated. The experimental setup consisted of an epoxy-coated three-section biofilter with an ID of 8cm and effective bed height of 120cm. Bed material consisted of municipal solid waste compost and PVC bits with an overall porosity of 54% and dry bulk density of 0.456gcm -3. Leachate recycling had a positive effect of increasing elimination capacity (EC) up to 21gSm -3 bedh -1 at recycling rates of 75mld -1, but in the bed mixing period EC declined to 8g Sm -3bedh -1. Pressure drop had a range of zero to 18mm H 2Om -1 in the course of leachate recycling. Accumulation of sulfur reduced... 

A novel solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was fabricated by electrospinning method in which a polymeric solution was converted to nanofibers using high voltages. A thin stainless steel wire was coated by the network of polymeric nanofibers. The polymeric nanofiber coating on the wire was mechanically stable due to the fine and continuous nanofibers formation around the wire with a three dimensional structure. Polyamide (nylon 6), due to its suitable characteristics was used to prepare the unbreakable SPME nanofiber. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of this new coating showed a diameter range of 100-200nm for polyamide nanofibers with a homogeneous and porous surface... 

Reinforced polydiphenylamine (PDPA) nanocomposite was synthesized by oxidation of diphenylamine in 4molL-1 sulfuric acid solution containing a fixed amount of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The surface characteristic of PDPA and PDPA/CNT nanocomposites was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The prepared PDPA/CNT nanocomposite was used as an extraction medium for microextraction in packed syringe (MEPS) of selected pesticides from aquatic environment. The effect of CNT doping level and the presence of surfactant on the extraction capability of nanocomposite was investigated and it was revealed that when 4% (w/w) of CNT in... 

A novel method based on microextraction in packed syringe (MEPS) as sample preparation technique coupled off-line with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was developed using electrospun nanofibers as sorbent. For electrospinning of polypyrrole/polyamide-based nanofiber, a homogeneous solution containing nylon 6, ferric chloride and pyrrole monomer was prepared and then was drawn into a 2.5-mL syringe. By applying a voltage of 13akV between the needle of the syringe and an aluminum-foil collector, the nanofibers could be formed on the surface of the collector. The prepared sheet was used as the sorbent for MEPS to analyze some selected organophosphorous pesticides. Important parameters... 

A new technique for preparation of an unbreakable solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber, using sol-gel technology is developed. Primarily, an ultrathin two-dimensional intermediate film was prepared by hydrolysis of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-1-propanthiol self-assembled monolayer grafted onto gold, then a stationary phase by electrodeposition of 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propylmethacrylate as a precursor, tetramethyl orthosilicate and polyethylene glycol as a coating polymer was produced. The scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the new fiber exhibits a rather porous and homogenous surface. The thermal stability of the fabricated fiber was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. The... 

Petroleum monoaromatics including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) are among the notorious volatile organic compounds that contaminate water and soil. In this study, a surfactant- modified natural zeolite and its relevant granulated nanozeolites were evaluated as potential adsorbents for removal of petroleum monoaromatics from aqueous solutions. All experiments performed in batch mode at constant temperature of 20°C and pH of 6.8 for 48 h. The results revealed that the amount of BTEX uptake on granulated zeolites nanoparticles were remarkably higher than the parent micron size natural zeolite (in the order of four times). The isotherms data were analyzed using five models... 

Assessment of groundwater quality monitoring networks requires methods to determine the potential efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the current monitoring programs. To this end, the concept of entropy has been considered as a promising method in previous studies since it quantitatively measures the information produced by a network. In this study, the measure of transinformation in the discrete entropy theory and the transinformation- distance (T-D) curves, which are used frequently by other researchers, are used to quantify the efficiency of a monitoring network. This paper introduces a new approach to decrease dispersion in results by performing cluster analysis that uses fuzzy...