Chemical Engineering Journal最新文献

{"title":"Synchronous achievement of rapid self-induced anammox and advanced nitrogen removal from low C/N wastewater via gas-permeable membrane-mediated aeration system","authors":"Jia Li, Han Wang, Xiang Li, Tao Liu, Yayi Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.163062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163062","url":null,"abstract":"Anammox process is a promising biological nitrogen removal (BNR) technology that offers substantial energy and resource savings. Despite widespread application of anammox for low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio wastewater treatment, research on self-induced anammox under complex wastewater conditions remains limited, especially regarding its integration with the shortcut BNR process (partial nitrification (PN)/denitritation) in a single-stage system. Herein, we pioneer a strategy for achieving rapid, self-induced anammox via introducing gas-permeable membrane-mediated aeration in the treatment of mature landfill leachate (C/N ratio = 0.92 ± 0.05). The nitrogen removal efficiency reached 82.1 ± 3.3 %, with PN/anammox and PN/denitritation pathways contributing to approximately 75 % and 25 %, respectively, based on ¹⁵N-stable isotope tracing and mass balance analysis. Notably, the self-induced anammox process rapidly occurred within 34 days, and the absolute and relative abundances of <em>Candidatus_Kuenenia</em> increased by 65.8-fold and 9.2-fold, respectively, compared to the inoculum, by day 160. The rapid onset of self-induced anammox and efficient nitrogen removal was driven by two key mechanisms: (i) the stable nitritation controlled by sequencing batch operational pattern and (ii) the optimized biofilm stratification induced by membrane aeration. Specifically, <em>Nitrosomonas</em> and <em>Candidatus_Kuenenia</em> individually occupied the inner layer and outer layer of biofilms, respectively, effectively alleviating oxygen inhibition on anammox metabolism. Further, the biofilm provided dual protective benefits for <em>Candidatus_Kuenenia</em> via enhanced biomass retention and sequestration of toxic organics (e.g., humic acid), greatly improving the resilience of this single-stage anammox system. This study provides a efficient and sustainable approach for accelerating self-induced anammox and deciphers mechanisms of the robust cooperation between anammox and the shortcut BNR process in counter-diffusional biofilm, paving the way for large-scale implementation of this sustainable technology in complex, ammonium-rich wastewater treatment.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"73 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation and degradation performance using a novel design of dual Co and W single metal atom oxides on the interstitial atomic line of TiO2–g-C3N4–rGO","authors":"Annamalai Raja, Rama Krishna Chava, Misook Kang","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.163000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163000","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, a TiO₂–g-C₃N₄–ethylene diamine-reduced graphene oxide photocatalyst incorporating dissolved heteropolyacid-cobalt (HPA-Co) was successfully synthesized using the hydrothermal method. The surface-dispersed CoW single atom molecules were generated as co-catalysts utilizing the HPA-Co in the presence of ethylene diamine and ethylene glycol. Notably, the use of HPA-Co as a molecular precursor enables the controlled formation of well-dispersed single CoW atoms on the hybrid, offering a unique approach not commonly reported in previous studies. The developed atomic-level engineering photocatalyst achieved a high H₂ generation rate of 27.40 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ and a sulfathiazole (STZ) degradation efficiency of 99.7 %. Furthermore, it demonstrated excellent stability and reusability over five successive cycles of H₂ production and STZ photodegradation. The synthesized hybrid catalyst exhibits high photocatalytic effectiveness, enabling the purification of strongly contaminated (30 L of 50 mg/L Rhodamine B) saltwater using a specially designed wastewater treatment apparatus within about 5 h of direct sunlight radiation. Mass spectrometry was employed to identify photodegradation intermediates. The composite exhibits enhanced photocatalytic performance, attributed to synergistic effects among the components, improved charge separation, and extended light absorption. This atomic-level engineering introduces abundant active sites and facilitates interfacial charge transfer, resulting in a significantly higher hydrogen evolution rate. A potential Z-scheme approach was suggested for photocatalytic hydrogen generation efficiency. These findings contribute to the development of cost-effective, durable photocatalysts with rapid reaction kinetics and high H₂ generation and photodegradation efficiency.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"52 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tomographic strain indicator of chiral liquid crystalline elastomer","authors":"Hye Joo Lee, Se-Um Kim, Hyo Seok Oh, Soon Mo Park, Jaeyub Hyun, Young-Seok Kim, Dae Seok Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.163040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163040","url":null,"abstract":"Measurement of deformation is vital for designing shape-morphing devices in soft electronics, wearables, and robotics. However, existing strain sensors often face limitations due to their inability to detect internal deformations within objects. To address this challenge, we propose a thin film of deformable photonic crystals made from highly stretchable and conformable chiral liquid crystalline elastomer (CLCE). This film enables real-time visualization of 3-dimensional strain distribution when embedded in host objects. The CLCE films exhibit a strain-dependent color shift caused by changes in their helical structure, allowing accurate strain measurement without interfering with the object’s deformation. The fidelity of strain visualization is studied through a comparison of the numerical simulations and experimental results. Furthermore, we demonstrate the application of CLCE films in mechanochromic displays and camouflage devices, which display different color patterns depending on the types of deformation.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Novel pH-responsive and CD44-targeting silica nanoparticles for inflammatory bowel disease therapy","authors":"Wenxuan Li, Jingshu Cai, Yuanfeng Gu, Xingwang Li, Wenjun He, Yanyan Chen, Zhuyun Wang, Kemeng Li, Guangcheng Qin, Xiaojie Gu, Jiaoni Zheng, Jiayu Li, Li Ma, Xiaoqiu Xiao, Yi Hou","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.163017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163017","url":null,"abstract":"The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is on the rise, with current therapeutic options offering limited efficacy, which significantly affects patients’ quality of life. IBD is a multifaceted disorder characterized by dysfunction of mucosal immune system dysfunction, genetic mutations, and environmental influences. To address these challenges, we developed chondroitin sulfate (CS)-modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) loaded with carnosic acid (CA), following coated with an enteric material to get the controlled-release formulations (CA@MS-E) with the characters of pH stability and dual targeting. Oral administration of CA@MS-E effectively protects the drug from degradation by gastric acid and ensures targeted delivery to the colon, where it scavenges overexpressed reactive oxygen species (ROS) and exerts therapeutic effects. In a mouse model of acute colitis, the therapeutic effect of CA@MS-E was markedly superior to that of the clinical control drug sulfasalazine with the properties in mitochondrial protection, apoptosis reduction, and intestinal flora regulatio. In conclusion, oral nanomedicine presents a promising strategy to enhance the therapeutic potential of small molecule drugs for IBD treatment.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"91 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Boosting selectivity in glucose hydrogenation to sorbitol by optimizing Fe distribution in alloys and supports","authors":"Yixin Luo, Jingnan Yang, Fu Li, Xiaomei Zhou, Tongyan Yu, Qingxin Guan, Mo Qiu, Wei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.162968","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.162968","url":null,"abstract":"The hydrogenation of glucose to sorbitol using Raney-Ni is a well-established process in industry, but it faces challenges such as high mannitol content, nickel leaching, and catalyst pyrophoricity. Here, Ni₆Fe₁/Al₂O₃ nanoflower with high sorbitol selectivity and stability was synthesized from Ni_xFe_y/Al-LDH precursors, where the distribution of iron in the alloy phase and support can be well-regulated. XANES and FT-EXAFS spectra verified the presence of Fe in the catalyst as NiFe alloy and FeO_x. Multiple evidences unveiled that the NiFe alloy phase significantly improving the yield of sorbitol and the iron oxide species can regulate the acidity of the support, thus effectively reducing the byproduct mannitol. Delightfully, the optimal Ni₆Fe₁/Al₂O₃ catalyst achieved a sorbitol yield of 99% and a mannitol yield of 0.45%, showing a significant advantage over Ni/Al₂O₃ (77% and 1.3%) and Raney-Ni (57% and 1.3%) catalysts. Theoretical calculations indicate that the NiFe alloy surface is more conducive to glucose adsorption and sorbitol desorption, and the intrinsic high activity of NiFe alloy phase is due to the downshift of d-band center, which facilitates H* dissociation from the anti-bonding orbital. This study provides significant insights for designing catalysts with high activity and selectivity in converting lignocellulosic biomass.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A multifunctional theranostic agent based on rhodamine-modified copper-gallic acid nanoparticles targeting Alzheimer’s β‑amyloid species","authors":"Luqi Liu, Wei Liu, Xiaoyan Dong, Yan Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.163063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163063","url":null,"abstract":"β-Amyloid protein (Aβ) fibrillogenesis accompanied by the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and neuroinflammation is an imperative cascade event during Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression. However, effective diagnosis and therapy for AD remain a major challenge due to low detection sensitivity, weak Aβ inhibitory potency, and lack of multi-target intervention modality. To address these, a multifunctional theranostic agent that targets Aβ species is proposed by coordinating copper-gallic acid nanoparticles (Cu-GA NPs) with rhodamine derivative (Rho4). Such elaborately constructed Rho4-modified nanoparticles (Rho4@Cu-GA NPs) show excellent fluorescent detection capabilities toward Aβ species, with a detection limit of 59 nM toward Aβ oligomers. Rho4@Cu-GA NPs effectively inhibit Aβ fibrillogenesis via multivalent interactions and alleviate Aβ-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis. Meanwhile, Rho4@Cu-GA NPs exhibit superior ROS scavenging capabilities, thus mitigating neuronal oxidative stress triggered by Aβ and ROS and downregulating neuroinflammatory cytokines secreted by microglial cells. In vivo assays with transgenic AD mice demonstrate that Rho4@Cu-GA NPs can penetrate the blood–brain barrier, illuminate Aβ deposits, reduce Aβ plaque deposition, and improve cognition deficits. Therefore, this protocol triggered the combination of early diagnosis and multi-target therapy of AD, which would give deep insight into the development of potent AD theranostic agents.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"71 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reaction kinetic and application of methane reforming with CO2/H2O in flue gas for heat recovery and carbon conversion","authors":"Guinan He, Haigang Zhang, Wencai Zhou, Hongjie Zeng, Zhongjie Shen, Haifeng Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.162996","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.162996","url":null,"abstract":"Methane reforming with the flue gas rich in carbon dioxide and steam emitted from industry is an effective method to achieve heat recovery and reduce carbon emission. This study investigated the reaction kinetic and mechanism of methane reforming with CO₂/H₂O in flue gas under various conditions of temperatures, mixing gas ratios, and flow rates. The results show that methane and flue gas can react sufficiently above 1200 °C with a conversion rate exceeding 90 %. Raising methane levels by 16 % boosts hydrogen production by 12 %, while increasing CO₂ by 7 % enhances CO yield by 10 %. The average activation energy for the methane flue gas reforming reaction can be obtained by fitting to the power-law kinetics model, which is 202.8 kJ/mol. Concurrently, by integrating density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the mechanism model for the reforming of methane/flue gas has been derived, which also demonstrates that the carbon black produced from methane pyrolysis can act as a catalyst for the methane reforming reaction. This study aims to a theoretical foundation and process parameters for the design of carbon capture, utilization, and heat recovery from industrial waste flue gas.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mixing of pH indicators and ninhydrin to fabricate artificial tasting devices for discrimination of amino acids: A comparison between liquid- and solid-supported analytical devices and application to identification of bladder cancer","authors":"Farshad Ardakani, Ali Ariafar, Bahram Hemmateenejad","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.163041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163041","url":null,"abstract":"Amino acids (AAs) are essential elements for protein formation and are associated with various health conditions. Therefore, identifying and determining AAs in biological fluids can facilitate the development of straightforward methods for disease detection. This paper discusses a novel colorimetric sensor array platform that utilizes mixtures of pH indicators and ninhydrin. Identification and discrimination of AAs in biological fluids, following by rapid detection of bladder cancer was achieved by this simple sensing system. The sensor array, mimicking the gustatory systems of mammalians, was fabricated using both liquid- and solid-supports. Consequently, the effect of support on the selectivity of the sensor array was investigated. Statistical analyses of the data by linear discriminate analysis (LDA) and random forest (RF) resulted in discriminant models with accuracies of 96% and 100% for the classification of all 20 natural AAs. Additionally, the sensitivity and specificity for liquid-supports were 96% and 99.8%, while for solid-supports, they were 93% and 99.7%, respectively. As a proof of concept, the sensor arrays were used as untargeted metabolomics tools to identify bladder cancer using urine samples. Both liquid- and solid-supported optical tongue devices successfully discriminated the urine samples of cancerous individuals from the healthy ones.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"140 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Shining a light on pyroptosis in cancer chemotherapy by multi-modal imaging with a dual-channel nanoreporter","authors":"Yanhong Chen, Huanhuan Liu, Xue Dong, Xiaohua Jia, Yuelin Huang, Weixi Huang, Ling Zhan, Hui Hui, Defan Yao, Dengbin Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.163018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163018","url":null,"abstract":"Pyroptosis is an inflammatory programmed cell death pathway and associated with anti-tumor effects of chemotherapy. In vivo monitoring of pyroptosis is critical for evaluating the therapeutic efficacy and understanding the pyroptosis dynamics within tumors. However, the pyroptosis involves different pathways and there have been no reported methods to monitor the different pyroptosis pathways <em>in vivo</em>. To fill this gap, we designed a dual-activable and multi-modal nanoreporter (CRP) to monitor the intratumoral activation of different pyroptosis pathways during cancer chemotherapy, including caspase-1/gasdermin D and caspase-3/gasdermin E signal axes. Upon activated by caspase-1 and 3, CRP emits two variable near-infrared fluorescent (NIRF) signals, respectively. The changes in dual-channel NIRF signals of CRP are well correlated with intratumoral caspase-1/3 activation levels during cancer chemotherapy, which non-invasively reveals the pyroptosis status <em>in vivo</em>. Concurrently, the stationary magnetic resonance (MR) and magnetic particle (MP) signals offer an efficient self-calibrating method for the determination of pyroptosis. Thus, this study presents the first dual-activable and multi-modal probes for <em>in vivo</em> imaging of pyroptosis by tracking enzyme dynamics, thereby bridging pyroptosis monitoring from experimental research to clinical translation toward immunogenic death-guided precision oncology, and also provides a novel design strategy for molecular imaging of other biomarkers.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mechanistic insights into mercury removal by FeCl3-modified ZnS: Role of oxidation and sulfur activation","authors":"Mingguang Zhang, Jianping Yang, Lijian Leng, Hongxiao Zu, Jiefeng Chen, Zequn Yang, Wenqi Qu, Zhengyong Xu, Yan Liu, Hailong Li","doi":"10.1016/j.cej.2025.163054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.163054","url":null,"abstract":"ZnS has attracted considerable attention for its superior Hg⁰ adsorption in flue gas purification, though further performance enhancement remains challenging. This study proposes an efficient FeCl₃ impregnation strategy combined with high-surface-area ZnS to significantly improve Hg⁰ adsorption. Through liquid-phase impregnation, Fe³⁺ and Cl⁻ were introduced onto the surface of high surface area ZnS. Fe³⁺ oxidizes the surface S^2- of ZnS to the more active S₂^2- species, which subsequently reacts with Hg⁰ to form HgS. Meanwhile, Fe³⁺ can also promote Hg⁰ oxidation to Hg²⁺, enhancing the overall Hg⁰ adsorption performance. Cl⁻ enhances the adsorption capacity by adjusting the electronic environment and increasing active site activity. The FeCl₃-modified ZnS achieved an Hg⁰ adsorption capacity of 40.54 mg·g⁻¹, 34 times higher than unmodified ZnS, with improved adsorption rates and strong resistance to flue gas interference. This modification strategy enables stable operation in harsh industrial environments like cement kilns while reducing adsorbent dosage and operational costs. The FeCl₃ impregnation strategy is not only applicable to ZnS but also extendable to a variety of sulfide materials with well-developed porous structures, thereby offering a novel technological pathway for the development of highly efficient and cost-effective adsorbents.","PeriodicalId":270,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering Journal","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143872406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}