Abstract The release of industrial effluents into the environment causes widespread contamination of aquatic systems. Adsorption is seen as one of the most promising treatment processes, and lignocellulosic materials have gained prominence as adsorbents. This study investigates the potential of rice hulls, either in natura or treated with nitric acid, as adsorbents for removal of the dye. The adsorbents were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, solid state 13C-NMR, thermogravimetric analysis, and pH at point of zero charge. The dye adsorption experiments were carried out in batch mode, using different experimental conditions. The kinetic adsorption data could be fitted using the model of Elovich. The Freundlich model provided the best fit to the isothermal data. The thermodynamic parameters confirmed the spontaneity of the adsorption process. These adsorbents offer an alternative for dye removal, with advantages including biomass availability and low cost.

This paper describes a procedure based on multicommutation in flow analysis system for photometric determination of hydroquinone in pharmaceutical gel formulations. The procedure involves oxidation of hydroquinone by Fe (III) and subsequent reaction between the generated Fe (II) species with 1,10-phenanthroline, producing a complex detected at 510 nm. Under optimized conditions, the proposed system showed a linear response in the range between 5 to 120 µmol L-1 (r = 0.9995), a limit of detection (3σ) 0.52 µmol L-1 and a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.5% for a 80 µmol L-1 hydroquinone standard solution. Others profitable features such as an analytical frequency of 72 samples per hour; a reagent consumption of 0.432 and 0.117 mg 1-10-phenantroline and FeCl3.6H2O per determination, respectively; and a waste generation of 4.0 ml per determination were also achieved.

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) without external pumps or other ancillary devices for fuel and oxidant supply are known as passive DMFCs and are potential candidates to replace lithium-ion batteries in powering portable electronic devices. This paper presents the results obtained from a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) specifically designed for passive DMFCs. Appropriated electrocatalysts were prepared and the effect of their loadings was investigated. Two types of gas diffusion layers (GDL) were also tested. The influence of the methanol concentration was analyzed in each case. The best MEA performance presented a maximum power density of 11.94 mW cm-2.