The present invention provides systems and methods for concentrating and recovering phosphate from samples. The method comprises using immobilized PBP for binding phosphate and a desorption solution having a pH of 11 or greater to recover phosphate from a sample when the phosphate is found at very low detection levels. Further systems and method for removing arsenate for water sources is also provided.

Extraction of platinum-group elements, e.g. Pd, by adsorption from acidic aqueous solutions, using chelating acrylic fibers having amidoxime substituents followed by recovery by elution with an HCl-thiourea solution. From about 10% to 100% of the acrylic fiber CN are converted to amidoxime by reaction with NH.sub.2OH (hydroxylamine) in H.sub.2O/MeOH solution in the range of 30° C.-90° C. for from 15 min to 72 hrs. The adsorptive loading of elements onto the fiber and the efficiency of elution therefrom is substantially 100%, in multiple cycles of adsorption/elution. The novel fiber/extraction process is rapid, lending it to a continuous recovery operation. A portion of the CN groups of may be converted to carboxylate groups by reaction with NaOH. Short lengths of fiber are loaded into a vertical column and the pregnant solution introduced. Upon breakthrough, the fibers may be eluted, washed and recycled hundreds of times without removal from the column.

The invention, belonging to the field of biological treatment of pollutants and functional materials, presents a method for the preparation of biofilm carrier with biochar fixed by thermoplastic resin. Extrusion grade polyethylene/polypropylene particles are used as the basic material. One or some combination of plant biochar, straw biochar, rice husk biochar, shell biochar, excess sludge and animal waste biochar are used as the functional material. The biofilm carrier with biochar fixed by thermoplastic resin is prepared by the screw extrusion process, which is a simple, flexible and controllable method, and possesses strong adaptability. The reactor with these biofilm carriers has high removal efficiency of refractory organic pollutants.

Systems and processes for producing potassium sulfate that include providing an industrial waste material that includes at least sodium sulfate, reacting the sodium sulfate with potassium chloride to produce a byproduct comprising potassium sulfate and a chloride-containing brine, and reacting the chloride-containing brine with barium chloride to produce barium sulfate and sodium chloride.

Implementations herein relate to a method for preparing organic-pollution-resistant ion exchange resins and application thereof. The method includes adding modified inorganic particles to prepare novel ion exchange resins containing inorganic particles modified by a parcel modifier. A weight ratio between the monomer of the ion exchange resins and the modified inorganic particles is about 0.1% to 30%. The method may increase moisture content of the resins 3 to 30% such as to improve the structures of the resins, and therefore increase the regeneration efficiency 0.4 to 70%, as compared to conventions resins. The method improves resistance of resins to organic pollution, increases regeneration efficiency, and extends service life of the resins. In the process of water treatment, the ion exchange resin of the implementations may be regenerated with long-term stability. In addition to securing the water treatment efficiency, the method may avoid frequent replacement operations and lower the costs.

A nucleophilic substitution reaction to crosslink cyclodextrin (CD) polymer with rigid aromatic groups, providing a high surface area, mesoporous CD-containing polymers (P-CDPs). The P-CDPs can be used for removing organic contaminants from water. By encapsulating pollutants to form well-defined host-guest complexes with complementary selectivities to activated carbon (AC) sorbents. The P-CDPs can rapidly sequester pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and other organic micropollutants, achieving equilibrium binding capacity in seconds with adsorption rate constants 15-200 times greater than ACs and nonporous CD sorbents. The CD polymer can be regenerated several times, through a room temperature washing procedure, with no loss in performance.

The invention discloses a method for treating wastewater generated in the spherical nickel hydroxide production process. The invention uses a combined membrane treatment process to systematically and specifically treat process wastewater produced at all stages of the spherical nickel hydroxide preparation process. The concentration of crude wastewater greatly reduces the treatment burden and energy consumption in the evaporation process with obvious environmental protection benefits. In addition, the membrane treatment system has the characteristics of easy control and simple operation. By virtue of the treatment method of the invention, the quality of some produced water can meet the standard of purified water.

The present invention relates to a fluorescently-tagged (co)polymer useful as a scale inhibitor in industrial water systems. Said (co)polymer comprises a (i) reactive fluorescent compound selected from a diazole compound (ii) at least one monoethylenically unsaturated acid monomer, and (iii) optionally, at least one monoethylenically unsaturated acid-free monomer.

Disclosed are methods to convert nitrogen in a wastewater stream to an arginine-enriched polypeptide, which includes supplying a nitrogen-enriched wastewater stream; culturing an organism in the waste stream that produces an arginine-enriched polypeptide to produce the arginine-enriched polypeptide; and removing the produced arginine-enriched polypeptide from the wastewater stream to create a processed wastewater stream. The methods also include a method to make an arginine-enriched polypeptide enriched fertilizer by flowing the effluent from the culturing step over a cation exchange material to allow binding of the arginine enriched polypeptide to the cation exchange material; and collecting arginine-enriched polypeptide to form the arginine-enriched polypeptide enriched fertilizer. The method also includes enhancing the growth or production of a plant using the fertilizer containing the arginine-enriched polypeptide.

There is provided a method of hydrothermal carbonization of a sludge, comprising the steps of: preheating the sludge to obtain a preheated sludge; mixing the preheated sludge with a wet-oxidized fraction to obtain a reaction mixture; subjecting the reaction mixture to hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) in a reactor to obtain a HTC-treated sludge; separating a fraction from the HTC-treated sludge; and mixing the fraction with an oxidizing agent, such as oxygen gas, to obtain the wet-oxidized fraction, wherein the temperature of the fraction before the wet oxidation is at least 15 C. higher than the temperature of the preheated sludge. A corresponding system is also provided.