This paper discusses the results of studies on the transport of Ag(I) across polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs), derivatives of calixpyrroles with methyl (KP1) and carboxyl (KP2) groups, as ion carriers, o-nitrophenyl pentyl ether (o-NPPE) as a plasticizer and cellulose triacetate (CTA) as support. The influence of the pH of the source phase, metal concentration, stripping phase as well as carrier and plasticizer concentration on the efficiency of Ag(I) transport through PIM is presented. Long-term experiments with a supported liquid membrane and a plasticizer membrane demonstrate the durability of the studied PIMs. The obtained results indicate that the competitive transport of Cu(II), Zn(II), Ag(I) and Cd(II) from the aqueous nitrate source phase through KP1 and KP2 is an effective separation method for Ag(I) ions. The prepared PIMs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques.

In this paper, polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) were created using poly(vinyl chloride)-based alkyl sulfonic acid derivatives as ion carriers and dioctyl terephthalate as a plasticizer for the selective separation of Pb(II), Cu(II), and Cd(II) ions from aqueous nitrate solutions. The ion carriers were dinonylnaphthalenesulfonic acid (DNNSA) and nonylbenzenesulfonic acid (NBSA). The influence of the carrier and the plasticizer concentration in the membrane on the transport efficiency was investigated. For the PIM system, 15% wt. of carrier (DNNSA, NBSA), 20% wt. of plasticizer, and 65% wt. of polymer poly(vinyl chloride) PVC were the optimal proportions, with which the process was the most effective. Research on the transport kinetics has shown that the transport of Pb(II) ions through PIMs containing acidic carriers adheres to a first-order kinetics equation, which is characteristic of a facilitated transport mechanism. The activation parameter for these processes suggests that the high performance of these ion carriers is associated with the immobilization of the carrier within the membrane. It was found that PIMs based on DNNSA facilitate the selective separation of Pb(II)/Cu(II) and Pb(II)/Cd(II) mixtures, achieving high separation factors.

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) represents a toxic waste generated during olive oil production (30 million m³/year). Its phytotoxicity and resistance to biodegradation are mainly due to the presence of polyphenols. Methodologies able to remove these organic compounds from this waste to allow the safe dispose of OMW have been developed, and among them, the most effective are oxidation procedures. In this context, we propose an alternative chemical treatment based on the oxidation of OMW using diluted hydrogen peroxide and seleno-organic compounds (diphenyl diselenide and diseleno-bis-benzoic acid) selected as eco-friendly bioinspired catalysts. The effectiveness of the protocol was monitored by Folin–Ciocalteu (F-C) quantification and NMR quantification. The results demonstrated that the greatest reduction in the total phenols content—up to 96%—was achieved using the highest concentrations of catalyst (0.6% _w/w) and oxidant (10% _v/v). Moreover, a toxicological evaluation was carried out using the marine bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri, revealing a significant decrease in toxicity. The EC₅₀ value increased from 0.089 mg/L in the untreated OMW to 18.740 mg/L in the treated sample after removal of the residual catalyst and peroxides.

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and computational methods has transformed the landscape of modeling, simulation, and optimization, particularly for complex, interdisciplinary systems

The work aimed to investigate the possibility of selective separation of Co(II), Ni(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) ions from chloride solution with variable chloride ion concentration (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 M) using polymer inclusion membranes. In the studies, polymer inclusion membranes were used, with cellulose triacetate as the matrix, o-nitrophenyl octyl ether as the plasticizer, and 1-decylimidazole as a metal ion carrier. The receiving phase was demineralized water. The results of the studies on the transport of metal ions through polymer inclusion membranes with 1-decylimidazole as an ion carrier indicate a strong influence of the chloride ion concentration in source phase on the transport rate, and their separation properties. The kinetic parameters such as the transport flux, the recovery factor, as well as the separation coefficients were determined for the experimental data. It was found that zinc(II) ions were the easiest to separate from the aqueous chloride solution. The recovery rates (%) of zinc ions, for chloride ion concentrations of 0.25 M, 0.5 M, and 1.0 M, were 71%, 88%, and 65%, respectively. The lowest recovery observed was for nickel(II) ions, which did not exceed 2%. In contrast, cadmium ions had removal recovery rates ranging from 5.5% to 6.5%, and for cobalt ions – from 2.5% to 14.5%, depending on chloride anion concentration in the source phase. The separation coefficient for zinc ions was the highest compared to the other ions. The results from studies on the transport of nickel(II), cobalt(II), cadmium(II), and zinc(II) ions through polymer inclusion membranes with 1-decylimidazole suggest that this process can be effectively used for the selective separation of Zn(II) ions from a multi-metal aqueous solution.