Browsing by Author "Nafie, Ghada Hamdy"
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- ItemOpen AccessCustomizing Nanoparticles for Environmental Applications - Wastewater Treatment and Valuable Metals Extraction(2020-10-06) Nafie, Ghada Hamdy; Pereira-Almao, Pedro; Maini, Brij; Moore, Robert Gorden; De Visscher, Alex; Shimizu, George; De Lasa, HugoThis thesis focuses on two related objectives: the remediation of the environmental footprint of oil sands mining and increasing the efficiency of new energy technologies. Both aim to design and develop nanoparticles for energy and environment applications in order to ensure the sustainability of the global energy resources. Canada produces large volumes of wastewater as a result of mining and other industrial operations. This water contains significant amounts of oil and fines consisting of silt and clays that form a stable colloidal suspension, which presents a challenge to settling. Classical flocculants were proven to be ineffective or costly in the treatment of this water. Tailor-made grafted acrylamide monomer pyroxene nanoparticles (GAM) were prepared and characterized using FTIR, TGA, BET, XRD and SEM. The prepared nanoparticles were then employed as efficient environmentally friendly flocculants for enhanced particle settling. After settling, the turbidity of the supernatant and the capillary suction time of the subnatent were measured. GAM was compared to the commonly used flocculants and were found to enhance particle settling and solid dewaterability. Thus, presenting one material that serves as a practical wastewater treatment solution.The second part of this thesis focuses on the selective recovery of metals present in water sources. Advances in lithium extraction technologies are creating alternative energy possibilities with the goal to exploit the various natural resources, while lowering the carbon and other environmental footprints. However, efficiency and effective extraction remains an ongoing challenge. A lithium titanate nanomaterial was designed and prepared to recover lithium from water sources. Lithium titanate was prepared in the nano range using a hydrothermal method followed by thermal treatment. The material was characterized using XRD, TGA and BET. Experiments were conducted to test the ability of lithium to exit the prepared selective nanostructure. After exposing the nanomaterial to acids for ionic exchange, the supernatant was recovered and tested using an inductively coupled plasma-atomic spectroscopy (ICP). The solids were dried and tested using the XRD to confirm their crystalline structure. This research presents promising applications for the past and future energy market that ensures the sustainability of our natural resources while reducing environmental impacts.
- ItemOpen AccessPreparation and Application of Polymer Grafted Nanopyroxene for the Removal of Naphthenic Acids from Wastewater(2017) Nafie, Ghada Hamdy; Nassar, Nashaat N.; De Visscher, Alex; Natale, GiovanniantonioPyroxene nanoparticles were prepared and grafted with an environmentally friendly monomer for the removal of naphthenic acids from oil sand process-affected water (OSPW) which contributes to its toxicity. Grafting was utilized to achieve high affinity towards the removal of naphthenic acids (NA) in the OSPW. The prepared grafted nanopyroxenes were fully characterized using FTIR, TGA, BET, XRD, HRTEM and AFM to study and confirm their textural surface properties and morphology. Computational modeling was conducted to provide deep insight on the grafting technique as well as the NA removal mechanism. An OSPW sample was characterized using FTIR, NMR, TGA, XRD, SimDist and GC-MS to understand the nature of the contaminants in the wastewater. This was followed by the preparation of a synthetic wastewater solution by dissolving two model molecules and commercial NA in water. Macroscopic batch adsorption experiments were conducted to carefully study the removal mechanism analyzed using GC-MS and compare it with the computational modeling study. The prepared grafted nanopyroxenes were found to interact with the contaminants in the water removing essentially all the two model molecules and about 50% of the commercial NA. The size, shape and structure of the contaminant played a key role in the interaction. The bigger molecules were found to have a stronger interaction with the grafted nanopyroxenes over the smaller ones. The present work holds great promise for the OSPW remediation and the thesis falls within our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the oil and gas industry in Alberta.