A water filtration membrane is provided, capable of removing heavy metal ions, filtering out particulates, filtering out bacteria, as well as removing herbicides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water. The membrane is composed of a mat of randomly oriented nanoparticle-coated nanofibers. The nanofibers are covalently bonded to a plurality of substantially uniformly-distributed ceramic nanoparticles embedded in or adhered on the surface of the polymer nanofibers through reactive functional groups. The ceramic nanoparticles have a pattern of deep grooves formed on the nanoparticle surfaces. The bonding of the nanoparticles to the nanofibers is sufficient to retain the nanoparticles on the nanofiber surfaces when water flows through the water filtration membrane. The diameter of the nanofibers is 50-200 nm. The size of the nanoparticles is <40 nm, with a zeta potential of −40 to −45 mV in a dispersion medium. The nanoparticle deep grooves have an average size of approximately 1.2 nm or less.

The present invention relates to a method for electrochemical purification of an aqueous solution comprising the steps of: providing a cathode and an anode to an aqueous solution, wherein said aqueous solution comprises soluble ions of at least one toxic heavy metal and wherein said cathode comprises an outer surface, which outer surface comprises a noble metal; applying an absolute potential to said cathode and wherein said absolute potential of said cathode drives the formation of an alloy comprising said noble metal and said at least one toxic heavy metal.

The present invention is directed to an electrochemical device for at least partially removing or reducing a target ionic species from an aqueous solution using faradic immobilization, the electrochemical device including at least one first electrode and at least one second electrode with different void fraction and surface area properties, due to differences in void fraction (also referred to as void ratio) of the at least one first and the at least one second electrode, water flows through an electrode with a high porosity, while the aqueous solution does not flow through an electrode with a low porosity. The asymmetry of the electrodes provides a desired voltage distribution across the device, which equates to a different voltage at each electrode, to control the speciation of the target ionic species at the anode and the cathode.

The instant invention, in one aspect, provides a process for decontaminating water to remove contaminants, said process comprising passing contaminated water through a filter comprising a plurality of filtering elements capable of lowering the contaminants by at least 70%. In another aspect is provides a filtering unit comprising a plurality of filtering elements arranged in individual layers, said individual layers independently selected from brick chips, hemp fibers, mixture of hemp fibers and charcoal, agave, jute fibers, sand, filter paper, and gravel.

A filter for a water purifier includes a filter housing that defines an inlet and an outlet, and a filter module disposed inside the filter housing and configured to purify water received through the inlet and supply purified water to the outlet. The filter module includes a carbon block that includes a mixture of: activated carbon having a weight corresponding to 40 to 50% of a weight of the mixture, a binder having a weight corresponding to 5 to 15% of the weight of the mixture, iron hydroxide having a weight corresponding to 10 to 20% of the weight of the mixture, and titanium oxide having a weight corresponding to 30 to 40% of the weight of the mixture.

Materials and methods for extracting metals from solutions, involving a polymer of Formula A are described: ##STR00001##
where each X is independently either S or O, and n is an integer greater than 1.

A graphene coated crushed glass particle adsorbent is provided for the removal of heavy metals and other contaminants in from solutions such as wastewaters, contaminated surface water and groundwater. The adsorbent comprises crushed (e.g. recycled) glass coated with graphene nano-sheets using a staged thermal binding process and the silicas in the glass as a catalyst. The adsorbent may be configured for use in both in-situ and ex-situ treatment systems and is capable of removing heavy metals and other inorganic and organic contaminants. The strong adsorptive bond between contaminants and the graphene coating on crushed glass particles can also lead to alternative applications of the end of life adsorbent, such as base material in road and pavement (e.g. cement-like) construction materials.

Crosslinked polymers made up of polymerized units of cyclic diaminoalkane, aldehyde and bisphenol-S or melamine. A method for removing heavy metals, such as Pb(II) from an aqueous solution or an industrial wastewater sample with these crosslinked polymers is introduced. A process of synthesizing the crosslinked polymers is also described.

A system for the disposal of liquid waste includes a portable container body having an open interior and a liquid waste inlet for receiving liquid waste containing solids. A liquid waste holding tank is provided within the open interior of the portable container body for receiving the liquid waste from the liquid waste inlet. A liquid-solid separator within the open interior of the portable container body produces a solid waste and a separated liquid waste. A conduit directs the liquid waste from the liquid waste holding tank to the liquid-solid separator. An evaporator within the open interior of the portable container body heats the separated liquid waste to evaporate and remove water from the separated liquid waste as water vapor and produces a concentrated liquid waste. A safety containment system prevents the liquid waste from escaping to the environment. A method for disposing of liquid waste is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a bismuth tungstate/bismuth sulfide/molybdenum disulfide heterojunction ternary composite material and a preparation method and application thereof. The composite material is composed of bismuth tungstate, bismuth sulfide and molybdenum disulfide in an ordered layered way, Bi.sub.2WO.sub.6 is an orthorhombic system, Bi.sub.2S.sub.3 is a p-type semiconductor located on a (130) crystal face, MoS.sub.2 is a layered transition metal sulfide located on a (002) crystal face, the whole composite material is of a spherical structure with an unsmooth surface, and a layer of nanosheets uniformly grow on an outer layer. The average particle size of composite materials is in the range of 2.4-2.6 μm. The spherical Bi.sub.2WO.sub.6/Bi.sub.2S.sub.3/MoS.sub.2 heterojunction ternary composite material prepared in the present invention has good adsorption of Cr(VI) and high catalytic reduction ability under visible light.