Functionalized silica nanoparticles (SiO ₂ NPs) have attracted great attention due to their promising distinctive, versatile, and privileged physiochemical characteristics.

Acid leaching for different types of mixed spent Li-ion mobile batteries is carried out after alkali decomposition using NH4OH followed by H2SO4+H2O2 leaching. In the alkali decomposition step, the effects of reaction time, NH4OH concentration, liquid/solid mass ratio and reaction temperature on the decomposition process are investigated to remove Al, Cu, Mn, Ni, Co, and Li. After alkaline treatment, the alkali paste is treated to leach the remaining metals using H2SO4+H2O2. The significant effects of reaction time, acid concentration, H2O2 concentration, liquid/solid mass ratios and reaction temperature on the leaching rate are studied. More than 97% of Al, Mn, Ni, Co, and Li and about 65% Cu are leached in two stages. Kinetic analysis shows that, the data fit with chemical reaction control mechanism and the activation energies for the investigated metals using the Arrhenius equation ranged from 30.1 to 41.4kJ/mol. Recovered metals are precipitated from the leaching liquor at varying pH values using NaOH solution and Na2CO3. Firstly, Mn is precipitated as MnCO3 at pH=7.5. Secondly, at pH=9.0, nickel is precipitated as NiCO3. Thirdly, as the pH of the leaching liquor reaches 11–12, Co(OH)2 is precipitated and the remaining Li is readily precipitated as Li2CO3 using a saturated Na2CO3 solution. Based on the experimental data, a flow sheet is developed and tested for the recovery process

Leaching and recovery processes for zinc and copper from brass slag by sulfuric acid were carried out and iron and aluminum were also precipitated as hydroxides in addition to silica gel. The factors affecting the performance and efficiency of the leaching processsuch as agitation rate, leaching time, acid concentration and temperature were separately investigated. The results obtained revealed that zinc and copper are successfully recovered from these secondary resources, where the percent recovery amounts to 95% and 99% for zinc and copper, respectively. The experimental data of this leaching process were well interpreted with the shrinking core model under chemically controlled processes. The apparent activation energy for the leaching of zinc has been evaluated using the Arrhenius expression. Based on the experimental results, a separation method and a flow sheet were developed and tested to separate zinc, copper, iron, aluminum and silica gel from the brass slag

Recently, nanofibers have come to be considered one of the sustainable routes with enormous applicability in different fields, such as wastewater treatment. Electrospun nanofibers can be fabricated from various materials, such as synthetic and natural polymers, and contribute to the synthesis of novel nanomaterials and nanocomposites. Therefore, they have promising properties, such as an interconnected porous structure, light weight, high porosity, and large surface area, and are easily modified with other polymeric materials or nanomaterials to enhance their suitability for specific applications. As such, this review surveys recent progress made in the use of electrospun nanofibers to purify polluted water, wherein the distinctive characteristics of this type of nanofiber are essential when using them to remove organic and inorganic pollutants from wastewater, as well as for oil/water (O/W) separation.