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International Journal of Molecular... Nov 2022Numerous benefits have been attributed to alkaline-electrolyzed-reduced water (ERW). Sometimes these claims are associated with easily debunked concepts. The observed... (Review)
Review
Numerous benefits have been attributed to alkaline-electrolyzed-reduced water (ERW). Sometimes these claims are associated with easily debunked concepts. The observed benefits have been conjectured to be due to the intrinsic properties of ERW (e.g., negative oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), alkaline pH, H gas), as well enigmatic characteristics (e.g., altered water structure, microclusters, free electrons, active hydrogen, mineral hydrides). The associated pseudoscientific marketing has contributed to the reluctance of mainstream science to accept ERW as having biological effects. Finally, through many in vitro and in vivo studies, each one of these propositions was examined and refuted one-by-one until it was conclusively demonstrated that H was the exclusive agent responsible for both the negative ORP and the observed therapeutic effects of ERW. This article briefly apprised the history of ERW and comprehensively reviewed the sequential research demonstrating the importance of H. We illustrated that the effects of ERW could be readily explained by the known biological effects of H and by utilizing conventional chemistry without requiring any metaphysical conjecture (e.g., microclustering, free electrons, etc.) or reliance on implausible notions (e.g., alkaline water neutralizes acidic waste). The H concentration of ERW should be measured to ensure it is comparable to those used in clinical studies.
Topics: Electrolysis; Water; Hydrogen; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
PubMed: 36499079
DOI: 10.3390/ijms232314750 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Aug 2022Traditional sulfide metallurgy produces harmful sulfur dioxide and is energy intensive. To this end, we develop an anode electrolysis approach in molten salt by which...
Traditional sulfide metallurgy produces harmful sulfur dioxide and is energy intensive. To this end, we develop an anode electrolysis approach in molten salt by which sulfide is electrochemically split into sulfur gas at a graphite inert anode while releasing metal ions that diffuse toward and are deposited at the cathode. The anodic splitting dictates the "sulfide-to-metal ion and sulfur gas" conversion that makes the reaction recur continuously. Using this approach, CuS is converted to sulfur gas and Cu in molten LiCl-KCl at 500 °C with a current efficiency of 99% and energy consumption of 0.420 kWh/kg (only considering the electricity for electrolysis). Besides CuS, the anode electrolysis can extract Cu from Cu matte that is an intermediate product from the traditional sulfide smelting process. More broadly, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Sb are extracted from FeS, CuFeS, NiS, PbS, and SbS, providing a general electrochemical method for sulfide metallurgy.
Topics: Electrodes; Electrolysis; Graphite; Metals; Sulfides; Sulfur
PubMed: 35878036
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202884119 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2022Electrolyzed water (EW) is a new type of cleaning and disinfecting agent obtained by means of electrolysis with a dilute sodium chloride solution. It has low cost and... (Review)
Review
Electrolyzed water (EW) is a new type of cleaning and disinfecting agent obtained by means of electrolysis with a dilute sodium chloride solution. It has low cost and harm to the human body and is also friendly to the environment. The anode produces acidic electrolyzed water (AEW), which is mainly used to inhibit bacterial growth and disinfect. The cathode provides basic electrolyzed water (BEW), which is implemented to promote human health. EW is a powerful multifunctional antibacterial agent with a wide range of applications in the medicine, agriculture, and food industry. Studies in vitro and in vivo show that it has an inhibitory effect on pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Therefore, EW is used to prevent chronic diseases, while it has been found to be effective against various kinds of infectious viruses. Animal experiments and clinical trials clearly showed that it accelerates wound healing, and has positive effects in oral health care, anti-obesity, lowering blood sugar, anti-cancer and anti-infectious viral diseases. This review article summarizes the application of EW in treating bacteria and viruses, the prevention of chronic diseases, and health promotion.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Infective Agents; Disease Management; Disinfectants; Disinfection; Electrolysis; Food Microbiology; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Water; Water Microbiology
PubMed: 35209015
DOI: 10.3390/molecules27041222 -
PloS One 2023This is an exploratory study on the effect of electrolysis, delivered during the thawing stage of a cryoablation protocol, on tissue ablation. This treatment protocol,...
This is an exploratory study on the effect of electrolysis, delivered during the thawing stage of a cryoablation protocol, on tissue ablation. This treatment protocol, that combines freezing and electrolysis, is named "cryoelectrolysis". In cryoelectrolysis the cryoablation probe is also used as the electrolysis delivering electrode. The study was performed on the liver of Landrace pigs and the tissues were examined 24 hours after treatment (two pigs) and 48 hours after treatment (one pig). The cryoelectrolysis device and different cryoelectrolysis ablation configurations tested are described. This exploratory, non-statistical study shows that the addition of electrolysis expands the ablated area in comparison to cryoablation alone and that there is a substantial difference between the histological appearance of tissue treated by cryoablation alone, tissue treated by cryoablation and electrolysis at the anode and tissue treated by cryoablation and electrolysis at the cathode.
Topics: Swine; Animals; Cryosurgery; Liver; Freezing; Electrolysis; Catheter Ablation
PubMed: 37018351
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283793 -
Chemical Society Reviews Jun 2022Replacing fossil fuels with energy sources and carriers that are sustainable, environmentally benign, and affordable is amongst the most pressing challenges for future... (Review)
Review
Replacing fossil fuels with energy sources and carriers that are sustainable, environmentally benign, and affordable is amongst the most pressing challenges for future socio-economic development. To that goal, hydrogen is presumed to be the most promising energy carrier. Electrocatalytic water splitting, if driven by green electricity, would provide hydrogen with minimal CO footprint. The viability of water electrolysis still hinges on the availability of durable earth-abundant electrocatalyst materials and the overall process efficiency. This review spans from the fundamentals of electrocatalytically initiated water splitting to the very latest scientific findings from university and institutional research, also covering specifications and special features of the current industrial processes and those processes currently being tested in large-scale applications. Recently developed strategies are described for the optimisation and discovery of active and durable materials for electrodes that ever-increasingly harness first-principles calculations and machine learning. In addition, a technoeconomic analysis of water electrolysis is included that allows an assessment of the extent to which a large-scale implementation of water splitting can help to combat climate change. This review article is intended to cross-pollinate and strengthen efforts from fundamental understanding to technical implementation and to improve the 'junctions' between the field's physical chemists, materials scientists and engineers, as well as stimulate much-needed exchange among these groups on challenges encountered in the different domains.
Topics: Electricity; Electrolysis; Humans; Hydrogen; Industrial Development; Water
PubMed: 35575644
DOI: 10.1039/d0cs01079k -
Environmental Science & Technology Aug 2022Securing decarbonized economies for energy and commodities will require abundant and widely available green H. Ubiquitous wastewaters and nontraditional water sources... (Review)
Review
Securing decarbonized economies for energy and commodities will require abundant and widely available green H. Ubiquitous wastewaters and nontraditional water sources could potentially feed water electrolyzers to produce this green hydrogen without competing with drinking water sources. Herein, we show that the energy and costs of treating nontraditional water sources such as municipal wastewater, industrial and resource extraction wastewater, and seawater are negligible with respect to those for water electrolysis. We also illustrate that the potential hydrogen energy that could be mined from these sources is vast. Based on these findings, we evaluate the implications of small-scale, distributed water electrolysis using disperse nontraditional water sources. Techno-economic analysis and life cycle analysis reveal that the significant contribution of H transportation to costs and CO emissions results in an optimal levelized cost of hydrogen at small- to moderate-scale water electrolyzer size. The implications of utilizing nontraditional water sources and decentralized or stranded renewable energy for distributed water electrolysis are highlighted for several hydrogen energy storage and chemical feedstock applications. Finally, we discuss challenges and opportunities for mining H from nontraditional water sources to achieve resilient and sustainable economies for water and energy.
Topics: Electrolysis; Hydrogen; Renewable Energy; Wastewater; Water
PubMed: 35829620
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02439 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2023As a clean and renewable energy source for sustainable development, hydrogen energy has gained a lot of attention from the general public and researchers. Hydrogen... (Review)
Review
As a clean and renewable energy source for sustainable development, hydrogen energy has gained a lot of attention from the general public and researchers. Hydrogen production by electrolysis of water is the most important approach to producing hydrogen, and it is also the main way to realize carbon neutrality. In this paper, the main technologies of hydrogen production by electrolysis of water are discussed in detail; their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages are analyzed; and the selection criteria and design criteria of catalysts are presented. The catalysts used in various hydrogen production technologies and their characteristics are emphatically expounded, aiming at optimizing the existing catalyst system and developing new high-performance, high-stability, and low-cost catalysts. Finally, the problems and solutions in the practical design of catalysts are discussed and explored.
Topics: Water; Electrolysis; Renewable Energy; Hydrogen; Technology
PubMed: 37446672
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28135010 -
Colloids and Surfaces. B, Biointerfaces May 2023The main goal of this work is to open new perspectives in the field of electrodeposition and provide green alternatives to the electroplating industry. The effect of...
The main goal of this work is to open new perspectives in the field of electrodeposition and provide green alternatives to the electroplating industry. The effect of different anions (SO, ClO, NO, ClO, BF, PF) in solution on the electrodeposition of copper was investigated. The solutions, containing only the copper precursor and the background electrolyte, were tailored to minimize the environmental impact and reduce the use of organic additives and surfactants. The study is based on electrochemical measurements carried out to verify that no metal complexation takes place. We assessed the nucleation and growth mechanism, we performed a morphological characterization through scanning electron microscopy and deposition efficiency by measuring the film thickness through X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Significant differences in the growth mechanism and in the morphology of the electrodeposited films, were observed as a function of the background electrolyte.
Topics: Copper; Electroplating; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Anions; Electrolytes
PubMed: 37004387
DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2023.113287 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2023Hydrogel materials have been used extensively in microbial electrochemical technology (MET) and sensor development due to their high biocompatibility and low toxicity.... (Review)
Review
Hydrogel materials have been used extensively in microbial electrochemical technology (MET) and sensor development due to their high biocompatibility and low toxicity. With an increasing demand for sensors across different sectors, it is crucial to understand the current state within the sectors of hydrogel METs and sensors. Surprisingly, a systematic review examining the application of hydrogel-based METs to sensor technologies has not yet been conducted. This review aimed to identify the current research progress surrounding the incorporation of hydrogels within METs and sensors development, with a specific focus on microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). The manufacturing process/cost, operational performance, analysis accuracy and stability of typical hydrogel materials in METs and sensors were summarised and analysed. The current challenges facing the technology as well as potential direction for future research were also discussed. This review will substantially promote the understanding of hydrogel materials used in METs and benefit the development of electrochemical biosensors using hydrogel-based METs.
Topics: Hydrogels; Electrolysis; Technology; Bioelectric Energy Sources; Biosensing Techniques
PubMed: 36679438
DOI: 10.3390/s23020641 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2022In this work, an electrochemical method for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN, including ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite) removal from wastewater using a...
In this work, an electrochemical method for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN, including ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite) removal from wastewater using a divided electrolysis cell was developed, and its process optimization was investigated. This process could effectively relieve the common issue of NO/NO over-reduction or NH over-oxidation by combining cathodic NO/NO reduction with anodic COD/NH oxidation. The activity and selectivity performances toward pollutant removal of the electrode materials were investigated by electrochemical measurements and constant potential electrolysis, suggesting that Ti electrode exhibited the best NO/NO reduction and N production efficiencies. In-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to study the in-situ electrochemical information of pollutants conversion on electrode surfaces and propose their reaction pathways. The effects of main operating parameters (i.e., initial pH value, Cl concentration, and current density) on the removal efficiencies of COD and TN were studied. Under optimal conditions, COD and TN removal efficiencies from simulated wastewater reached 92.7% and 82.0%, respectively. Additionally, reaction kinetics were investigated to describe the COD and TN removal. Results indicated that COD removal followed pseudo-first-order model; meanwhile, TN removal followed zero-order kinetics with a presence of NH and then followed pseudo-first-order kinetics when NH was completely removed. For actual pharmaceutical wastewater treatment, 79.1% COD and 87.0% TN were removed after 120 min electrolysis; and no NH or NO was detected.
Topics: Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; Electrolysis; Nitrogen; Oxidation-Reduction; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Wastewater; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Purification
PubMed: 35055672
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19020850