L'utilisation croissante d'acides organiques dans l'industrie alimentaire, chimique et pharmaceutique entraîne le développement de nouvelles technologies pour leur isolement, séparation et concentration à partir de solutions complexes. Les procédés électro-membranaires constituent une voie prometteuse. Afin d'intensifier ces procédés, il est nécessaire de mieux comprendre les mécanismes de transport de la solution d'ampholytes dans le système électromembranaire souvent couplé à des réactions chimiques. La composition des formes ioniques peut en effet varier en fonction du pH de la solution. Les principaux objectifs de ce travail sont l'étude du comportement des systèmes membranaires contenant des solutions d'ampholytes dans un état d'équilibre (sans force de transfert ou sous très faible courant alternatif), et hors d'équilibre en régime d'électrodialyse (application d'un courant). Dans les deux cas, l'approche comprend une partie expérimentale et une partie théorique de caractérisation de transport de solution complexe. Dans la cadre de la modélisation associée, on a développé un modèle de système membranaire qui permet d'accéder à la distribution des formes d'ampholyte à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur de la membrane en fonction des paramètres externes.Les résultats de la comparaison des données expérimentales et de simulation de systèmes membranaires montre et explique les spécificités des mécanismes de transfert des ions d'ampholyte associés aux changements du pH de la solution au cours de l'électrodialyse. / The wide application of organic acids in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industry is responsible for the increased interest in the development of new technologies for their isolation, separation and concentration from the complex solutions. The electro-membrane processes are promising. The difficulty to understand the transport mechanisms of the amphoteric solution in the electromembrane system is the coupling of chemical reactions: the ionic forms composition can vary depending on the pH of the solution.The main objectives are the study of the behavior of membrane systems containing ampholyte solutions in a steady state (without transfer force or under very low AC) and in a non-equilibrium state such as in electrodialysis regime (applying a current). In both cases, a study includes the experimental and theoretical parts of characterization of the complex solution transport. In the context of modeling a model of the membrane system which can calculate the ampholyte form distribution inside and outside the membrane depending on the external parameters was developed.The comparison of experimental data and results obtained from the simulation of membrane systems containing ampholytes solutions, shows and explains the specific features in the transfer mechanism of ampholyte ions which associated with changes of the solution pH during electrodialysis and, as a consequence, with modification of ampholyte forms.

This research evaluates two different Biological Nitrogen Removal (BNR) systems for enhanced nitrogen removal in decentralized wastewater treatment. The first study evaluated the performance of Hybrid Adsorption and Biological Treatment Systems (HABiTS) at the pilot scale with and without stage 1 effluent recirculation. HABiTS is a system developed at the bench scale in our laboratory and was designed for enhanced BNR under transient loading conditions. It consists of two stages; an ion exchange (IX) onto clinoptilolite media coupled with biological nitrification in the aerobic nitrification stage 1 and a Tire-Sulfur Adsorption Denitrification (T-SHAD) system in the anoxic denitrification stage 2. The T-SHAD process incorporates NO3- adsorption onto tire chips and Sulfur Oxidizing Denitrification (SOD) using elemental sulfur as the electron donor for NO3- reduction. Previous bench scale studies evaluated HABiTS performance under transient loadings and found significantly higher removal of nitrogen with the incorporation of adsorptive media in stage 1 and 2 compared with controls (80% compared to 73%) under transient loading conditions. In this study, we hypothesize that a HABiTS system with effluent recirculation in nitrification stage 1 may enhance nitrogen removal performance compared to that without recirculation. The following were the expected advantages of Stage 1 effluent recirculation for enhanced nitrogen removal: 1) Pre-denitrification driven by the mixture of nitrified effluent from stage 1 with high concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) septic tank effluent. 2) Moisture maintenance in stage 1 for enhanced biofilm growth. 3) Increased mass transfer of substrates to the biofilm in stage 1. 4) Decreased ratio of BOD to Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) in the influent of stage 1. Two side-by-side systems were run with the same media composition and fed by the same septic tank. One had a nitrification stage 1 effluent recirculation component (R-system), which operated at a 7:1 stage 1 effluent recirculation ratio for the first 49 days of the study and at 3:1 beginning on day 50 and one was operated under forward flow only conditions (FF-system). The R system removed a higher percentage of TIN (35.4%) in nitrification stage 1 compared to FF (28.8%) and had an overall TIN removal efficiency of 88.8% compared to 54.6% in FF system. As complete denitrification was observed in stage 2 throughout the study, overall removal was dependent on nitrification efficiency, and R-1 had a significantly higher NH4+ removal (87%) compared to FF-1 (70%). Alkalinity concentrations remained constant from stage 1 to stage 2, indicating that some heterotrophic denitrification was occurring along with SOD, as high amounts of sCOD leached from the tire chips in the beginning of the study, reaching sCOD concentrations of 120-160 mg L-1 then decreasing after day 10 of operation of stage 2. Sulfate concentrations from stage 2 for each side were low until the last 10 days of the study, with an average of 16.43 ± 11.36 mg L-1 SO42--S from R-2 and an average of 16.80 ± 7.98 SO42--S for FF-2 for the duration of the study, however at the end of the study when forward flow rates increased, SO42--S concentrations increased to 32 mg L-1 for R-2 and 40 mg L-1 for FF-2. Similar performance was observed in the FF system as the bench scale reactor tests. The second part of the research focused on the findings from a study of a Particulate Pyrite Autotrophic Denitrification (PPAD) process that uses pyrite as the electron donor and nitrate as the terminal electron acceptor in upflow packed bed bioreactors. The advantages of using pyrite as an electron donor for denitrification include less sulfate production and lower alkalinity requirements compared with SOD. The low alkalinity consumption of the PPAD process led to comparison of PPAD performance with and without oyster shell addition. Two columns were operated side-by-side, one packed with pyrite and sand only (P+S), while another one was packed with pyrite, sand and oyster shell (P+S+OS). Sand was used as a nonreactive biofilm carrier in the columns. My contribution to this research was to carry out Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis to support the hypothesis that oyster shell contributes to nitrogen removal because it has a high capacity for biofilm attachment. SEM analysis showed that oyster shell has a rough surface, supported by its high specific surface area, and that there was more biofilm attached to oyster shell than pyrite or sand in the influent to the column. EDS results showed a decrease in atomic percentages for pyrite sulfur in the effluent of both columns (59.91% ± 0.10% to 53.94% ± 0.37% in P+S+OS column and to 57.61% ± 4.21% in P+S column). This finding indicated that sulfur was oxidized more than iron and/or the accumulation of iron species on the pyrite surface and supports the coupling of NO3- reduction with pyrite oxidation.

Le colmatage à la surface et dans la masse d’une membrane échangeuse d’ions est un obstacle majeur à son utilisation en électrodialyse. En bloquant les voies conductrices d’ions à travers la membrane, le dépôt réduit la surface active de la membrane et conduit à une résistance au transfert de matière supplémentaire.Trois membranes échangeuses de cations ont été utilisées lors de ce travail: une membrane commerciale hétérogène MK-40 et deux de ses modifications (une membrane MK-40/Nafion obtenue par revêtement de la surface de MK-40 avec un film de Nafion® homogène conducteur d’ions, et une membrane MK-40/PANI obtenue par synthèse de polyaniline sur la surface de la MK-40). Les solutions utilisées sont des solutions de CaCl2 et MgCl2 aux concentrations 0,02 et 0,04 mol/L, ainsi qu’une solution modélisant la composition minérale du lait, concentrée 3 fois. La visualisation de la surface de la membrane est réalisée par microscopie optique et microscopie électronique à balayage. L’analyse élémentaire des dépôts sur la surface de la membrane est réalisée par l’analyse aux rayons X. Le caractère hydrophobe-hydrophile de la surface de la membrane est estimé par la mesure de l’angle de contact. La chronopotentiométrie et la voltamétrie ont été utilisées pour caractériser la vitesse de transport des cations à travers les membranes et la dissociation d’eau à la surface ; la mesure du pH de la solution dessalée a été effectuée en parallèle.Il est démontré que l’hydrophobicité relativement élevée de la surface de la membrane, son hétérogénéité électrique et géométrique créent les conditions favorables au développement de l’électroconvection. L’intensité de l’électroconvection par rapport à la membrane non modifiée est significativement plus élevée dans le cas de la MK-40/Nafion mais plus faible dans le cas de la MK-40/PANI. L’électroconvection provoque le mélange de la solution à la surface de la membrane dans une couche d’environ 10 µm d’épaisseur. Cet effet augmente de manière significative le transfert de matière en mode de courant intensif, empêche ou réduit le colmatage et réduit aussi le taux de dissociation de l’eau sur la surface de la membrane. L’intensité de l’électroconvection dépend essentiellement du degré d’hydratation du contre-ion ; elle augmente avec son rayon de Stokes. Le taux de croissance des dépôts minéraux Mg(OH)2, Ca(OH)2 et CaCO3 sur la surface de la membrane échangeuse d’ions est déterminé par la pente du chronopotentiogramme. On établit expérimentalement que, par rapport à la vitesse de colmatage sur la membrane MK-40 non modifiée, celle sur la surface de MK-40/Nafion devient plus petite mais celle sur la surface de la MK-40/PANI, devient plus grande.Le taux du colmatage est considérablement réduit lorsqu’un mode de courant électrique pulsé est appliqué. Un tel mode permet de réduire de moitié la différence de potentiel et d’atteindre un état quasi-stable du fait que le précipité devient instable / Scaling on the surface and in the bulk of ion-exchange membranes is a considerable locker for electrodialysis. The scale reduces the effective surface area of the membrane and leads to additional resistance to the mass transfer and solution flow.Three cation-exchange membranes are used in this study: a heterogeneous commercial MK-40 membrane and two of its modifications. The MK-40/Nafion membrane is obtained by mechanical coating the MK-40 membrane surface with a homogeneous ion-conductive Nafion® film. Modification of the MK-40/PANI membrane is carried out by polyaniline synthesis on the membrane surface. The solutions used in the study are 0.02 and 0.04 mol/L CaCl2 and MgCl2 solutions, as well as the solution, imitating the mineral composition of milk, concentrated 3 times. The visualization of the membrane surface is made using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The elemental analysis of the scale on the membrane surface is made by X-ray analysis. The hydrophobic-hydrophilic balance of the membrane surface is estimated by the contact angle measurements. To characterize the cation transport through and the water splitting rate, chronopotentiometry and voltammetry methods are used, pH measurement of the diluate solution is conducted at the same time.It is shown that the relatively high hydrophobicity of the membrane surface, its electrical and geometric heterogeneity, create conditions for the development of electroconvection. The electroconvection intensity in the case of MK-40/Nafion is significantly higher, and in the case of MK-40/PANI is lower in comparison with that of the unmodified membrane. Electroconvection vortexes cause the mixing of the solution at the membrane surface in a 10 µm thick layer. This effect significantly increases mass transfer in intensive current modes and prevents or reduces the scaling process, as well as reduces the water splitting rate at the membrane surface. The rate of electroconvection essentially depends on the counterion hydration degree, it increases with increasing the counterion Stokes radius. The rate of the scale formation on the membrane surface is determined by the slope of the chronopotentiogramme. The formation of Mg(OH)2, Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3 scales is observed. It is experimentally established that the scaling rate on the surface of MK-40/Nafion is smaller, and on the surface of the MK-40/PANI is larger in comparison with the MK-40 membrane. The scaling rate is significantly reduced when the pulsed electric current mode is applied. Such mode allows the reduction of the potential drop more than twice and achievement of a quasi steady-state because an unstable periodically crumbling scale occurs

Non-point sources (NPS) of pollution are non-discernable, diffuse sources of pollution that are often difficult to localize and in turn mitigate. NPS can include stormwater runoff, agricultural/aquaculture wastes and wastes from small decentralized wastewater treatment systems, such as conventional septic systems. The mitigation of these NPS is imperative to reduce their potential detrimental effects on the water environment. This dissertation addresses novel treatment technologies for the mitigation of nutrients, particularly nitrogen, in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) and onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS). The removal of trace organics limiting RAS production and water reuse were also investigated. The first question this dissertation addressed is: Can the application of a UV-TiO2 reactor reduce the concentration of off-flavor compounds in RAS? In the UV-TiO2 reactor, spray-coated TiO2 plates were placed in an aluminum reactor and exposed to UV light. The process was applied in both a full-scale sturgeon RAS and a bench-scale RAS for the degradation of Geosmin (GSM) and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB). Improved performance on the removal of GSM and MIB was observed when the UV-TiO2 was applied as a batch reactor since it allowed for a longer treatment time without the effect of constant production of the compounds in the biological treatment processes. Treatment performance of UV-TiO2 was affected by GSM and MIB concentrations and dissolved oxygen. No harmful effects were observed on other water quality parameters when the UV-TiO2 reactor was operated as a batch or side stream process. The second question this dissertation addressed is: Does the application of Tire-Sulfur Hybrid Adsorption Denitrification (T-SHAD) in RAS improve nutrient and off-flavor compound removal when compared to conventional heterotrophic denitrification? T-SHAD combines tire mulch as an adsorbent and sulfur oxidizing denitrification for the removal of NO3--N from the aquaculture waters. Adsorption studies showed the tire has significant adsorption capacity for the off-flavor compounds GSM and MIB but can be limited by contact time and, possibly, the presence of competing organic matter in RAS. The application of T-SHAD as an effluent polishing step in RAS with a high empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 720 min removed 96.6% of NO3--N and 69.6% of GSM. The application of T-SHAD within RAS as denitrification side treatment for NO3--N removal resulted in lower EBCT (185 min) that limited NO3--N removal to 21% and showed no significant removal of off-flavor compounds. The comparison between T-SHAD and a molasses fed heterotrophic upflow packed bed reactor (UPBR), showed no significant differences in N species concentrations as well as off-flavor compound removal. However, high production of SO42- resulted from sulfur oxidizing denitrification (SOD) processes was noted. Hybrid Adsorption and Biological Treatment Systems (HABiTS), is composed of two biofilters in series employing ion exchange (IX) and nitrification for removal of NH4+ and tire scrap coupled with sulfur chips and oyster shells for both adsorption and SOD of NO3-. The third question addressed in this dissertation is: What IX/adsorption media best balances both ammonium removal and cost effectiveness for application in OWTS? Adsorption isotherms performed with different media materials showed that the zeolite material, clinoptilolite, was the best medium for the nitrification stage of HABiTS due to its high IX capacity for NH4+and cost. An adsorption capacity of 11.69 mg g-1 NH4+-N when in competition with other cations present in septic tank effluents was determined by the IX model fit to the data. The cost of clinoptilolite is significantly higher than the other media materials tested. However, the high adsorption capacity would allow for low dosages that can be combined with non-adsorptive material reducing overall costs. The fourth question this dissertation addressed is: How is the BNR process within HABiTS affected by IX? Results from side-by-side biofilter studies with HABiTS and a conventional nitrification/denitrification biofilter showed that the combined IX and nitrification in HABiTS can allow for faster startup, sustain variable loading, and achieve over 80% removal of NH4+ at a hydraulic loading rate of 0.34 m3 m-2-d-1 when compared to the conventional biofilter with 73% removal. Under lower loading rates the biological treatment was enhanced and dominated the NH4+ removal processes in both columns. The addition of a denitrification stage decreased Total Inorganic Nitrogen (TIN) by 53.54% and 40.97%, for the HABiTS treatment and the control treatment, respectively, under loading rates of 0.21 m3 m-2-d-1. Further decrease of NH4+-N loading rates results in high desorption of exchanged NH4+ in the clinoptilolite, resulting in lower TIN removal efficiencies (28.7%) when compared to the conventional control treatment (62%). The final question addressed in this dissertation is: Does the proposed hybrid system enhance the removal of TIN in OWTS under transient loading conditions? Further studies with HABiTS and the conventional biofilter were performed to determine N removal performance on an hourly basis. It was found that the performance of HABiTS varies with daily and hourly loads, particularly when recovering from periods of very low loading to high loadings and vice versa. If recovering from low loading periods, IX is observed for HABiTS and the biofilter outperforms the conventional treatment in overall TIN removal. However, recovery from a high loading period results in release of NH4+-N stored in the clinoptilolite and increased production of NO3--N that could affect the performance of the denitrification stage.

Abstract Water-related problems are increasing globally, and new, low-cost technologies are needed to resolve them. Lignocellulosic waste materials contain reactive functional groups that can be used to provide a bio-based platform for the production of water treatment chemicals. Research on bio-based ion exchange materials in the treatment of real wastewaters is needed. In this thesis, anion exchange materials were prepared through chemical modification (epichlorohydrin, ethylenediamine and triethylamine) using five Finnish lignocellulosic materials as bio-based platforms. Scots pine sawdust and bark (Pinus sylvestris), Norway spruce bark (Picea abies), birch bark (Betula pendula/pubescens) and peat were chosen due to their local availability and abundance. The focus was placed on NO3- removal, but uptake of heavy metals, such as nickel, was also observed and studied. Studies on maximum sorption capacity, mechanism, kinetics, and the effects of temperature, pH and co-existing anions were used to elucidate the sorption behaviour of the prepared materials in batch and column tests. All five materials removed over 70% of NO3- at pH 3–10 (initial conc. 30 mg N/l). Quaternized pine sawdust worked best (max. capacity 32.8 mg NO3-N/g), and also in a wide temperature range (5–70°C). Column studies on quaternized pine sawdust using mining wastewater and industrial wastewater from a chemical plant provided information about the regeneration of exhausted material and its suitability for industrial applications. Uptake of Ni, V, Co and U was observed. Column studies proved the easy regeneration and reusability of the material. For comparison, pine sawdust was also modified using N-(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride and utilized to remove NO3- from groundwater and industrial wastewater. A maximum sorption capacity of 15.3 mg NO3-N/g was achieved for the synthetic solution. Overall, this thesis provides valuable information about bio-based anion exchange materials and their use in real waters and industrial applications. / Tiivistelmä Edullisia ja kestäviä vedenkäsittelytekniikoita tarvitaan kasvavien vesiongelmien ratkaisemiseen. Lignoselluloosaa, kuten sahanpurua, syntyy suuria määriä teollisuuden sivutuotteena. Sen reaktiivisia funktionaalisia ryhmiä voidaan modifioida kemiallisesti ja valmistaa siten biopohjaisia vedenkäsittelykemikaaleja. Tutkimustietoa oikeiden jätevesien puhdistuksesta biopohjaisilla ioninvaihtomateriaaleilla tarvitaan lisää, jotta materiaalien käyttöä voidaan kehittää ja edistää. Tässä väitöstyössä valmistettiin anioninvaihtomateriaaleja modifioimalla kemiallisesti viittä suomalaista lignoselluloosamateriaalia: männyn sahanpurua ja kuorta (Pinus sylvestris), kuusen kuorta (Picea abies), koivun kuorta (Betula pendula/pubescens) ja turvetta. Menetelmässä käytettiin epikloorihydriiniä, etyleenidiamiinia ja trietyyliamiinia orgaanisessa liuotinfaasissa. Työssä keskityttiin erityisesti nitraatin poistoon sekä synteettisistä että oikeista jätevesistä. Materiaalien soveltuvuutta teollisiin sovelluksiin arvioitiin maksimisorptiokapasiteetin, sorptioisotermien, kinetiikka- ja kolonnikokeiden sekä pH:n, lämpötilan ja muiden anionien vaikutusta tutkivien kokeiden avulla. Kaikki viisi kationisoitua tuotetta poistivat yli 70 % nitraatista laajalla pH-alueella (3–10). Kationisoitu männyn sahanpuru osoittautui parhaaksi materiaaliksi (32,8 mg NO3-N/g), ja se toimi laajalla lämpötila-alueella (5–70°C). Kolonnikokeet osoittivat sen olevan helposti regeneroitavissa ja uudelleenkäytettävissä. Tuotetta testattiin myös kaivos- ja kemiantehtaan jäteveden käsittelyyn, ja kokeissa havaittiin hyviä nikkeli-, uraani-, vanadiini- ja kobolttireduktioita. Männyn sahanpurua modifioitiin vertailun vuoksi myös kationisella monomeerilla, N-(3-kloro-2-hydroksipropyyli)trimetyyliammoniumkloridilla. Tuotteen maksimisorptiokapasiteetiksi saatiin 15,3 mg NO3-N/g ja se poisti nitraattia saastuneesta pohjavedestä. Kokonaisuudessaan väitöskirjatyö tarjoaa uutta tietoa biopohjaisten ioninvaihtomateriaalien valmistamisesta ja niiden soveltuvuudesta oikeiden teollisuusjätevesien käsittelyyn.

M.Sc. / The behaviour i.e. the distribution, bioavailability and toxicity of an element depends on the particular species in which it is present. That being said the prediction of the behaviour of species can therefore not be predicted by determination of the total concentration alone. Speciation analysis is thus an important process, which seeks to identify and quantify the species that occur in a sample. By identifying the species one is better equipped to predict the behaviour of the element if it were released into the ecosystem as well as if it were used in industrial processes. The speciation analysis of the dominant chromium species, Cr(III) and Cr(VI), has received much attention as these contradictory species are involved in many industrial processes such as plating and tanning for example. The species have opposing behaviour as Cr(III) is found to be a necessary micronutrient for mammals where as Cr(VI) is known to be toxic. Of the numerous methods developed for chromium speciation analysis, the on-line process of chromatographic preconcentration followed by simultaneous detection with a sensitive detector produces a synergistic effect for the successful speciation analysis of chromium. It was thus decided to study ion chromatography hyphenated with an ICP-OES as a means of studying chromium species. Anion chromatography coupled with ICP-OES was the basis for the development of the first method. Complexation of Cr(III) with EDTA to form a monovalent anion preceded its separation from Cr(VI) as the chromate anion. A carbonate-bicarbonate eluent was used to elute the species from a Dionex AG 9 guard column coupled with an AS 9 separation column. This method proved to be effective and fast, with each analysis taking less than two minutes. The second method was based on cation chromatography in the form of a Dionex CG12A guard column being coupled with an ICP-OES spectrometer as the detector. This method made use of a gradient elution program in which hexavalent chromium was eluted first with ammonium nitrate followed by trivalent chromium with nitric acid. This method was successfully applied to synthetic samples and was found to be effective.

M.Sc. / The strontium isotope ratio 87Sr/86Sr in the wine and soil of four wine-producing regions in South Africa has been determined using quadrupole ICP-MS. Isotope ratio measurements with fairly good precision had been obtained and 87Sr/86Sr ratio values in wine and soil samples were statistically evaluated to determine whether the regions investigated could be distinguished. Statistical interpretation of data revealed that the Robertson wine-producing region could be distinguished from Stellenbosch, Swartland and Walker Bay wine regions on the basis of their 87Sr/86Sr ratio. By using a combination of 87Sr/86Sr and multielement data, canonical discriminant functions with very good classification abilities could be obtained to correctly distinguish between wine and soil samples originating from a specific production region. Due to the isobaric overlap of strontium and rubidium at mass 87, a very good strontium-rubidium separation method had to be developed. The chelating properties of EDTA and DCTA in combination with ion exchange chromatography were explored in order to achieve such a separation. Due to the advanced rubidium separation ability of the developed DCTA elution method, it has been employed in all wine and soil sample preparations. Since chromatographic ion exchange procedures are not capable of removing all the rubidium from the sample matrices, 87Sr/86Sr ratio values were mathematically corrected for residual rubidium using an 88Sr correction. Since strontium isotope ratio measurements require very good precision, it is traditionally determined using TIMS. However, due to the ease of operation, shorter analysis time and widespread availability of quadrupole ICP-MS, the technique was evaluated for its merit for determining strontium isotope ratios. The optimization of acquisition parameters for the determination of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in wine and soil samples with good precision of below 0.1% RSD has been conducted. Furthermore, selected sample matrix components were assessed as possible matrix interferences as well as for their ability to affect the precision of measurements. It was concluded that with adequate optimization of acquisition parameters, proper sample preparation and reliable mathematical correction of data, 87Sr/86Sr ratio measurements with reasonable precision could be obtained using quadrupole ICP-MS.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / The current study investigated application of natural adsorbents in brine treatment. Brines are hypersaline waters generated in power stations and mining industries rich in Mg2+, K+, Ca2+, Na+, SO4 2- , Cl- and traces of heavy metals, thus there is a need for these brines to be treated to recover potable water and remove problematic elements. Natural adsorbents have been successfully used in waste water treatment because of their high surface area and high adsorptive properties when they are conditioned with acid or base. The investigation of pH showed that natural adsorbents did not perform well at low pH of 4 and 6. The adsorbents were able to work efficiently at the natural pH of 8.52 of the brine solution. These results show that natural adsorbents hold great potential to remove cationic major components and selected heavy metal species from industrial brine waste water. Heterogeneity of natural adsorbents samples, even when they have the same origin, could be a problem when wastewater treatment systems utilizing natural clinoptilolite and bentonite are planned to be developed. Therefore, it is very important to characterize the reserves fully in order to make them attractive in developing treatment technologies. / South Africa

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / 68Ge/68Ga generators rely on metal oxide, inorganic and organic sorbents in order to prepare radionuclides useful for clinical applications. The requirements for 68Ge/68Ga generators are that the 68Ga obtained from the 68Ge loaded column should be optimally suited for the routine synthesis of 68Ga-labelled radiopharmaceuticals, that the separation of the 68Ga daughter from the 68Ge parent should happen easily, with a high yield of separation, a low specific volume of 68Ga and should not contain trace elements owing to the solubility of the metal oxide sorbent. Beginning with a metal oxide preparation and continuing through recent developments, several approaches for processing generator derived 68Ga have altered the production of 68Ge/68Ga generators. Still, the effects of sorbent modification on the properties of 68Ge/68Ga radionuclide generator systems are not necessarily optimally designed for direct application in a medical context. The objective of this research was to analyze and document characteristics of Titanium Oxide (TiO2) sorbents relevant to processing of a 68Ge/68Ga generator that is able to produce 68Ga eluates that are adequate for clinical requirements. Interest was shown in TiO2 based 68Ge/68Ga generators by a number of overseas companies for tumour imaging using 68Ga-labelled 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-conjugated peptides. While a method involving production of the 68Ga radionuclide using TiO2 metal oxide had been published, problems with the production persisted. A method, using TiO2 metal oxide for ion exchange chromatography, was devised in this study to produce the 68Ga radionuclide, with the aim of being adopted for production purposes. The study focuses on the development of a dedicated procedure for the achievement of sufficient 68Ga yield along with low 68Ge breakthrough and low metallic impurities. Literature from 1970 to 2011 was reviewed to assess the radiochemical aspects of the 68Ga production and processing thereof. Various commercially available TiO2 metal oxides were characterized by subjecting the materials to x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Fluoride ion is an accompanying impurity in a wide variety of chemical gypsum throughout the world. In this study, the Ion Selective Electrode (ISE) method, the Ion Chromatography (IC) method and the standard Willard and Winter method of fluoride analysis were adapted and compared for use in the quantification of fluoride in South African chemical gypsum. During the use of ISE, the pH of sample solutions was found to be a critical parameter for the results to be meaningful. An operating pH of approximately 5 was suitable for consistency of results. It was important to ensure the existence of the ionised form of fluorine in solution, because the detection was based on the sensitivity of the membrane electrode to this species. In the case of the Willard and Winter method, the traditional visual indicator titration was replaced by a more sensitive spectrophotometric detection, because of low fluoride levels in the chemical gypsum. The parameter sensitive reaction rate approach was adapted, and the reaction allowed to go to completion to enable measurement with a bench top spectrophotometer. The IC method required a good separator since fluoride ions usually eluted too early for detection on common ion exchange columns. The data handling of the chromatographic software was thoroughly examined and consistent integration of the chromatograms maintained. Sample preparation of the chemical gypsum involved particle size reduction through grinding. No trend between fluoride impurity and the particle size of the sample was observed. <p. The quantity of fluoride in Kynoch and Omnia phosphogypsum were found to be 0.10% and 0.04% respectively. The Tioxide chemical gypsum, titangypsum, was found to contain in the region of 0.02% fluoride. Generally, the level of fluorine (F) has to be reduced to about 0.2% before phosphogypsum can be used as substitute for natural gypsum in the cement industry. The aim of this study is to critically evaluate three analytical methods, namely, the Willard and Winter standard method of fluoride analysis, the ISE method, and IC as applied in the quantification of fluoride in chemical gypsum. Secondly, the efficiency of treatment of the chemical gypsum with water, lime and sulphuric acid was investigated. The ISE method was found to be faster and relatively simpler versus both Willard and Winter and the IC methods. The IC method was quite superior for indicating general complexity of the sample and it was faster than the Willard and Winter method. The standard Willard and Winter method was generally found to be long and tedious. The three methods validated one another as percentages of fluoride in the chemical gypsum samples were the same. The study indicated that a sulphuric acid pretreatment of the chemical gypsum was the most effective (90%) in the removal of fluoride impurity compared to the lime treatment and water washing (9%). However, the water washing would be inexpensive for practical treatment of chemical gypsum at plant level. / Thesis (PhD(Chemistry))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Chemistry / unrestricted