The present invention relates to a filter medium (10) for air and/or water cleaning, comprising a semiconductor photocatalytic material (14) and a light energy source (15) for radiating light provided to activate photocatalytic reactions of the semiconductor photocatalytic material (14). The light energy source (15) is configured as a support (16) for the semiconductor photocatalytic material (14). The filter medium (10) can be incorporated into a filter unit (100).

The present application relates to a novel method for reductive degradation of perfluoroalkyl-containing compounds, such as perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, by activated carbon (AC) supported zero valent iron-nickle nanoparticles (nNi.sup.0Fe.sup.0).

The present disclosure pertains to a system configured to prepare and use prediction models for controlling contaminants of a liquid. Some embodiments may: sense, via a sensor, a magnified image of a sample of the liquid; identify at least one shape in the image; determine a relative predominance of microscopic life forms within at least a portion of the image; and generate a report indicating any required corrective action based on the identification and the determination.

A system and a method for separation of ions from ions-containing medium is disclosed herein, that utilizes capacitive-faradaic fuel cells (CFFC) particles coated at least partially with catalysts capable of catalyzing redox reactions provided a reductant (fuel) and/or an oxidant, thereby polarizing the particles to more effectively absorb charged species (ions) from the water upon introducing, e.g., H.sub.2 gas or O.sub.2 gas, in the medium during the adsorption or regeneration. The same concept is utilized in a hybrid electrochemical cell for providing a system and a method for generating and converting electrochemical energy.

One compound (100) according to the present invention contains silicon fine particles having a capability of generating hydrogen or aggregates of the silicon fine particles. The compound that contains the silicon fine particles or the aggregates having a capability of generating hydrogen is capable of generating hydrogen in the body of, for example, an animal that has ingested the compound. For a plant, the compound can be disposed or charged into, for example, moisture (water-containing liquid) or fertilizer to be provided to the plant, to supply the plant with hydrogen generated from the compound.

To provide a sterilizing liquid and a method of producing the same that have no restrictions on application methods and usage and can be widely used for sterilization, a sterilizing liquid including water containing reactive oxygen species and a nanoparticle catalyst in a stationary state is produced by causing cavitation in water having a conductivity of 2000 μS/cm or less and COD of 2000 ppm or less while causing the water to flow by a stirrer 2, and causing generation of plasma by a plasma generation mechanism 3 in which a pulse voltage is applied across electrodes 31 in the water including air bubbles mainly containing water vapor generated by the cavitation.

In order to solve the problem in the existing conventional water treatment process of low removal efficiency of heavy metal in water, especially lower efficiency for simultaneous removal of heavy metal pollutants during coexisting, a method is provided for removing heavy metal pollutants in water with divalent manganese strengthened ferrate: preparing a ferrate mother liquor having the concentration of 20-10,000 mmol/L; preparing a divalent manganese salt mother liquor having the concentration of 30-10,000 mmol/L; adding the divalent manganese salt mother liquor into water of the heavy metal pollutants; then adding the ferrate mother liquor, and reacting; and then adding a flocculant and precipitating, so that the removal rate of arsenate, chromium, thallium, antimony, chromium and molybdate in water is 90% or more, and the removal rate of heavy metal such as lead and cadmium is 85% or more.

An ion removal device based on electrochemical and photoelectrochemical methods, and the application of energy conversion and storage are provided. In the ion removal process based on the electrochemical and photoelectrochemical fluidization battery device, the positive active material in the flow battery is the positive pole of device, the negative active material in the fluid battery is the negative pole of the device, and the salt solution is the electrolyte in the middle stream. The positive and negative active materials include organic materials such as 4-hydroxy-piperidinol oxide, riboflavin sodium phosphate or methyl viologen, which have the advantages of low raw material cost, environmental friendliness, high sustainability, excellent electrochemical performance, high specific capacity and good cycle stability etc. The electrolyte can be separated from the positive and negative active liquid flow materials according to the fixed sequence of self-assembly of fluid battery mold.

A novel solar-powered desalination and water purification system is disclosed herein. The system includes a nanofiber-impregnated graphene aerogel, an untreated water source, a water collection surface, and a purified water storage container. A novel photocatalytic nanofiber-impregnated graphene aerogel for desalination and photodegradation of contaminants for use in the disclosed system is also disclosed herein. The nanofiber-impregnated graphene aerogel exhibits excellent hydrophilicity, thermal insulation, and photodegradation capability, and allows for efficient solar-powered evaporation of water. The introduction of photocatalytic nanofibers into the graphene aerogel allows effective interfacial evaporation and in situ photodegradation of contaminants. The rate of water evaporation is preferably greater than 1.3 gal/ft.sup.2 per day, and the contaminant removal is preferably greater than 90%. A method of desalinating and purifying water using the disclosed system is also disclosed herein.

An iron-carbon composite material and a preparation method thereof are disclosed. The iron-carbon composite material includes a three-layer core-shell structure, which successively includes a porous graphite carbon outer layer, an iron carbide intermediate layer and a nano zero-valent iron core from outside to inside. The present invention wraps nano zero-valent iron in porous graphite carbon and iron carbide, which can prevent the oxidation of nano zero-valent iron, while iron carbide effectively improves the ability to fix arsenic, realizing high efficiency and long-term use of nano zero-valent iron. Iron carbide may effectively adsorb and fix arsenic, and especially efficiently oxidize As(III) to relatively low-toxic As(V).