A method for treating biomass to manufacture biomass beads adapted to an implementation in a gasification method, the method comprising the following steps: a) providing a biomass powder, for example a wood bark powder, the particle size of the biomass powder preferably being less than 200 μm, b) providing an alginate solution comprising water and alginate, for example potassium alginate or sodium alginate, c) adding the biomass powder to the alginate solution and mixing, whereby a colloidal suspension is formed, d) dropwise adding the colloidal suspension to an ionotropic coagulation bath comprising multivalent ions, whereby biomass beads are formed.

Fresh water contamination by heavy metals results from a variety of sources and can be damaging to wildlife, alter landscapes, and impact human health. metals removal form water sources is desirable for improving water quality and preventing adverse effects, but also for metals collection and recycling. Adsorption is a desirable metals extraction technique due to economic feasibility. Nanoscale materials exhibit high surface-area-to-volume ratio that lends to high adsorption and reactivity, making them ideal candidates for adsorptive metals extraction processes. Despite these properties, nanomaterials have elicited safety concerns. The extraordinarily small dimensions of these materials allow them to maneuver biological systems, tissues, and even cells, and combined with high reactivity, this translocation can result in toxic effects. It is therefore imperative that safety of nanomaterials for metals extraction be evaluated in addition to adsorptive properties. The current invention describes nanoparticles composed of magnetite, coated in hydroxyapatite, and functionalized for adsorption with titanium dioxide (TiHAMNPs). This material is safe, provides significant adsorption of metals, and allows efficient collection in magnetic systems.

Beads of materials such as activated alumina, zeolite and silica gel, are used as chloride salt absorbers. The beads are mixed with high-salt gypsum. After mixing for a short time, the mixtures are dried, and the beads and the powder are separated by using a sieve or other physical separation device resulting in a low-salt gypsum which can be used as a gypsum source to make gypsum wallboard.

A system for capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide includes nanoparticles formed from alkali or alkali metal oxides or hydroxides, such as lithium oxide. Carbon-dioxide containing effluent gasses are exposed to the nanoparticles in fixed beds or fluidized beds, or in a co-flow configuration. The nanoparticle metal oxides are converted to metal carbonates. The nanoparticles can be recovered and the carbon dioxide release by exposing the nanoparticles to an oxygen containing atmosphere at high temperatures.

The production method includes: a gel-crushing step of grinding a crosslinked hydrogel polymer to obtain a particulate crosslinked hydrogel polymer; a heating drying step of obtaining dried particles from the particulate crosslinked hydrogel polymer by using a continuous stirring drying machine; a post-crosslinking step of post-crosslinking the particulate crosslinked hydrogel polymer or the dried particles; and a sizing step of adjusting a particle size of the dried particles or the post-crosslinked dried particles to obtain water-absorbent resin powder. The particulate crosslinked hydrogel polymer contains a gel fluidizer. A gel temperature of the particulate crosslinked hydrogel polymer containing the gel fluidizer, the gel temperature being measured by a contact thermometer, is not lower than 50° C. In the production method, the dried particles or the post-crosslinked dried particles is forcedly cooled before the sizing step.

A fluid filter, filtering medium composition, and associated process for removing contaminants from feed and exhaust fluids used in fuel cell electricity generation, laboratories, the semiconductor and other industries to improve performance and extend useful equipment lifetimes and to clean fluids of sulfur compound contaminants, as well as to remove noxious NOx and halogen contaminants from feed and exhaust gases.

An adsorbent composition for capturing pollutants includes a porous composition that includes a plurality of ferric oxyhydroxide particles and an additional component in the porous composition. The additional component includes one of copper chloride (CuCl.sub.2), zinc chloride (ZnCl.sub.2), polyvinylpolypyrrolidone, silicon carbide, silicon dioxide, activated carbon or other carbonaceous material, and a combination thereof.

The present disclosure relates to biodegradable materials and methods of removing using the biodegradable materials to remove phosphorus from water. Additionally, the biodegradable materials may be used as a fertilizer.

A method of forming one or more composite structures is provided wherein one or more carbon structures is formed from a carbon source via a hydrothermal process. Said carbon source is a biomass material including glucose and glucosamine hydrochloride. In particular, the method further comprises introducing a seeding additive of potassium or phosphate salt, preferably monopotassium phosphate to the carbon source. The method includes introducing iron onto the carbon structures to form the one or more composite structures including carbon and iron.

Described are filter materials including a polyol ligand, such as n-methylglucamine, and/or a polyphosphonic acid ligand, which are highly effective for filtering metals or metal ions from fluids. The filter materials can be particularly useful to filter basic and acidic fluid compositions, such as those used for wet etching, removing photoresist, and cleaning steps in microelectronic device manufacturing.