Portugaliae
Electrochimica Acta

Conductance measurements were employed to determine the critical micellar concentration, CMC, limiting molar conductance at infinite dilution, degree of dissociation and dissociation constant of terbium caprylate and caprate in 60/40 benzene-methanol (v/v). The results have shown that these soaps behave as a weak electrolyte in dilute solutions and Debye-Hückel-Onsager’s equation is not applicable to these soap solutions. The thermodynamic parameters indicate that the micellization process is favoured over the dissociation process.

The adsorption of 4-amino-5-phenyl-4H-1, 2, 4-triazole-3-thiol (APTT) as a corrosion inhibitor on mild steel surface in hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution was studied using the weight loss technique. The surface coverage with the adsorbed APTT was used to calculate the free energy of adsorption, ΔG(0)ads, of APTT using Bockris–Swinkels isotherm. The dependence of free energy of adsorption, ΔG(0)ads, on the surface coverage, θ, is ascribed to the surface heterogeneity of the adsorbent. The effect of APTT was discussed from the adsorption model viewpoint. The adsorption of APTT molecules on the surface occurs without modifying the kinetic of corrosion process.

The adsorption capacity of hebba clay and activated carbon towards (Fe3+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, Cr3+, Cd2+) metal ions was studied. The adsorption capacity was investigated by batch experiment. The effect of weight of hebba was studied and the results showed that the removal percentages increased as the weight of sorbent increased. The effect of contact time was also studied and the results showed that the removal percentages increased as the contact time increased. The effect of pH of the solution was also studied and the removal percentages for (Cu2+, Zn2+and Cd2+) were affected slightly by changing the pH value, but for (Fe3+, Pb2+ and Cr3+) the effect was higher. Also, the effect of initial concentration of metal ions was studied at four different concentrations (5, 10, 30, 50 mg/L); in case of metal ions (Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+), the removal percentages increased by increasing initial concentration. But for the other metal ions it decreased. The order of increasing removal percentages of metal ions at pH=4.86, concentration of metal ions 30 mg/L, and after four hours of shaking, was (Pb2+ < Cu2+ < Cd2+ < Cr3+ < Zn2+ < Fe3+). But in the case of activated carbon, the order was Cd2+ < Zn2+ < Cu2+ < Pb2+ < Cr6+ < Fe3+.

This work aims to investigate the electro oxidation of methanol, in alkaline solution at a copper electrode modified with electrodeposited natural phosphate and nickel (Ni-NP/Cu), by cyclic voltammetry, impedance measurements and square wave voltammetry. Morphological characterizations were performed by SEM and XRD techniques. It was found that Ni dispersed on natural phosphate (NP) shows a catalytic activity towards methanol oxidation better than massive Ni. Ni and NP were fixed on copper electrode by electro deposition using potentiostatic and galvanostatic techniques.

The electro-bioremediation is a technique that is used for the remediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soils. The aim of this study is to explore the electro-bioremediation of an unsaturated soil, contaminated with hydrocarbon waste generated by the oil industry activity in the area and previously remediated by landfarming, to in order to increase the removal of polyaromatic hydrocarbons. The sample was put in a three-compartment electro-bioremediation glass cell of 58 cm long, the lateral compartments containing the electrolyte; we used bridges of ammonium phosphate to connect the electrolyte with the soil sample in the central compartment. A potential difference of 0.5 V/cm was applied to the electro-bioremediation cells for 60 days. A second cell was used for control and no current was applied to it. The monitoring was carried out by a counting cell and measuring of n-alkanes and polyaromatic hydrocarbons using GC mass. The results showed that this technology has good potential to increase the biodegradation of n-alkane hydrocarbons and polyaromatic hydrocarbons such as phenanthrene, 1-3-metilphenanthrene, chrysene, 3-methylchrysene, 6-methylchrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthrene and benzo(ghi)pyrene which, without the application of direct current, were not biodegraded by microorganisms in the soil. The use of salt bridges maintained the pH between values that are compatible with the degrading bacterial community.

The removal of pollutants from effluents by electrochemical degradation has become an attractive method in recent years. This paper deals with the removal of reactive textile dye Cibacron Navy W-B (CNWB) from an aqueous medium by the electrochemical method using graphite carbon electrodes. Electrochemical behavior of reactive azo dye CNWB was performed with cyclic voltammetry in sulphuric acid medium using glassy carbon as working electrode. The potential range selected for the dye was in the range +700 mV to –450 mV. The voltammetric curve of CNWB shows cathodic peaks at +50 mV, –155 mV and –317 mV and anodic peaks at +382 mV and +547 mV, respectively. The decolourisation efficiency was assessed through UV-Visible studies. The LC-MS of the dye were analyzed before and after electrochemical treatment and confirmed that the azo groups and aromatic rings were destroyed. The effect of pH and nature of supporting electrolytes on the electrochemical degradation of dye was also studied. The maximum Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiency was ~100% for the dye solutions at 5 g/L of NaCl concentration. The results revealed the suitability of the present process for the effective degradation of dye effluents.