A method for degrading an organism includes steps as follows. A composite structure is provided, wherein the composite structure includes a degradation activity donor and a supporter. The degradation activity donor has a piezoelectric property. The supporter carries the degradation activity donor, wherein the degradation activity donor is completely or partially covered by the supporter. A contacting step is conducted, wherein the composite structure is contacted with a medium. The medium includes at least one organism and water. A degrading step is conducted, wherein a mechanical perturbation is generated in the medium to polarize the degradation activity donor, and a separation of an electron-hole pair is generated for degrading the organism.

Embodiments described herein generally relate to humidification-dehumidification desalination systems, including apparatuses that include a vessel comprising a humidification region (e.g., a bubble column humidification region) and a dehumidification region (e.g., a bubble column dehumidification region), mobile humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination systems (e.g., systems having a relatively low height and/or a relatively small footprint), and associated systems and methods. Certain embodiments generally relate to methods of operating, controlling, and/or cleaning desalination systems comprising a plurality of desalination units (e.g., HDH desalination units).

Polysaccharide agents for removing solids from an aqueous suspension and methods for using the polysaccharide agents to remove solids from an aqueous suspension.

The present invention provides improved methods for purifying and/or removing oily particles, and/or contaminants suspended or dissolved in water. In particular the process relates to an additive composition that has the appropriate surfactant characteristics for effectively removing an oil phase from an oil/aqueous mixed phase via foam fractionation. According to the invention, a hydrophobically modified polymer that acts as an associative thickener is combined with surfactant in appropriate ratios to facilitate oil removal for water purification in any of a number of commercial, environmental and industrial applications.

This invention discloses a method for preparing a catalyst for catalyzing the degradation of organic pollutants in printing and dyeing wastewater by ozone, wherein the catalyst comprises a porous carbon material as a substrate and metal oxide nanoparticles deposited on the surface of the substrate. The method comprises the steps of: allowing a mixture of resorcinol, formaldehyde, trimethylhexadecyl ammonium bromide, multi-walled carbon nanotubes and deionized water to react to form cured product, which is then calcinated and carbonized at high temperature to produce the porous carbon material; impregnating the resulting porous carbon material with nitrate solution, drying the porous carbon material, and calcinating it at high temperature, wherein the absorbed nitrate is decomposed into metal oxide and embedded into the porous carbon material. Depending on the requirement of applications, the raw material for preparation of the catalyst of the present invention can be pulverized to screen out the appropriate particle size to fit into practical engineering applications. With the optimization of catalytic oxidation process, the catalyst can be used to promote the rapid degradation of organic matter in printing and dyeing wastewater by ozonation, and the percentage of degradation can be greatly improved. As a result, indicators of wastewater, including the chromaticity and COD, can be significantly reduced.

The present invention relates to a method for removing dyes from textile effluents and other organic substances using nanocomposites based on zinc hydroxides and carboxylic acids capable of adsorbing and degrading. More specifically, the present invention consists of a method to generate new zinc hydroxide-based materials, which allows removal and degradation of methylene blue and other organic compounds from wastewater from industrial effluents, particularly those from textile industry.

The present invention provides phosphonium-crosslinked chitosan (PCC) and methods for using the same for removal of heavy metal-ion(s) from a solution as well as methods for producing said phosphonium-crosslinked chitosan.

The present disclosure provides a composite structure and a method for manufacturing the same. The composite structure includes a degradation activity donor and a supporter. The degradation activity donor has a piezoelectric property. The supporter carries the degradation activity donor, wherein the degradation activity donor is completely or partially covered by the supporter.

An electrochemical reactor for electrochemically treating water, including a shell structure defining an inner space. The shell structure further includes an inlet portion having an inlet for conducting a water flow to the inner space, and a reactor chamber in flow connection with the inlet portion, and preferably with an outlet portion. The inlet is arranged such that the water flow to the inner space is directed away from the reactor chamber so as to cause the water flow to mix by forcing the water flow to change direction before entering the reactor chamber. A water treatment apparatus having such a reactor, and the use of such a reactor are also disclosed.

The present invention provides a method for extracting polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), which comprises a pre-process step and an extraction step: removing water from waste sludge containing microorganisms in the pre-process step so that the waste sludge containing microorganisms has a water content of less than 40%; and applying a high-voltage pulsed electric field to the waste sludge during the extraction step to destroy the microorganisms and release the PHAs, wherein the high-voltage pulsed electric field is between 50 volts and 400 volts, an application time of the high-voltage pulsed electric field is between 5 seconds and 90 seconds, and an application frequency of the high-voltage pulsed electric field is between 500 Hz and 1000 Hz, thereby extracting the PHAs in the case of few chemicals.