Sohag University

Enormous quantities of sludge are produced in water purification plants during process of purifying surface water. These sludges are either disposed of directly in water bodies or require further treatment methods in order to be reused. Riverbank filtration (RBF) is a water extraction method utilizing production wells that draw water from a distance from a surface water source, allowing the water to travel through riverbed soil, which serves as a natural medium for purification. Implementation of Riverbank Filtration as a natural water purification process eliminates Water Treatment Sludge (WTS) quantities and enhances its quality to be reused and safely disposed of into water bodies. This study aims to analysis impacts of mixing Riverbank filtration water and Nile water as a supplemental water source in the Nedda surface water treatment on sludge amounts produced and its characterizations. The Plant involves four Riverbank wells which pumped raw water as inlet water integrated with raw Nile’s water. Results show that water treatment sludge quantity has been eliminated from 10% to 15%, and the enhancement of the removal ratio in some parameters such as COD, was enhanced from 4.7 mg/l to 3.1 mg/l and Manganese eliminated from 0.15 mg/l to 0.094 mg/l. The potential benefits of this innovative approach include improving removal of pollutants, increasing efficiency of water filtration, and reducing costs associated with water treatment and sludge disposal. Moreover, it presents an environmentally sustainable solution to the challenge of sludge management by repurposing it as a resource in water purification.

This study comprehensively investigates the temperature-dependent dielectric and electrical properties of lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3) ceramics synthesized via the Pechini method. FE-SEM analysis revealed a porous, foam-like morphology composed of aggregated, non-uniform particles, while EDX confirmed the presence of La, Al, and O with carbon impurities. This work provides a detailed analysis of impedance, while the synthesis and structural characteristics were previously reported [1], AC conductivity, dielectric constant, epsilon r, and dielectric loss, tan(S), across the temperature range from 20oC to 245oC range with 15oC for each increase step, were investigated. Results show clear thermally activated AC conductivity, consistent with a hopping conduction model mediated by localized charge carriers, likely oxygen vacancies. Crucially, the activation energy, Ea, derived from the AC conduction (0.40 eV) is nearly identical to the Ea obtained from the dielectric relaxation process (0.41 eV). This equivalence provides strong evidence that the observed loss mechanism is directly controlled by the hopping motion of the same localized charge carriers. Furthermore, strong low-frequency dispersion in epsilon r and tan(S) is attributed to Maxwell-Wagner interfacial polarization. Analysis of the dielectric modulus confirms a non-Debye relaxation with a distribution of relaxation times, underscoring the influence of the LaAlO3 microstructure. These findings demonstrate that the Pechini method yields a material with reproducible and thermally stable dielectric characteristics, positioning LaAlO3 as a promising candidate for demanding high-frequency electronic applications.

The therapeutic use of copper oxide nanoparticles for wound healing is limited by intrinsic cytotoxicity arising from uncontrolled Cu2+ release. This study reports a hierarchical nanocomposite design that decouples bioactivity from cytotoxicity via green sol–gel synthesis followed by polymer-mediated nanoconfinement. Green synthesis using Rhus coriaria (sumac) extract contributed to structural changes through two primary mechanisms: (i) phytochemicals adsorbed to growing crystal surfaces, limiting Ostwald ripening and restricting crystallite growth; (ii) incorporation of organic capping agents induced lattice distortions during nucleation. Williamson-Hall analysis revealed a 54

Three new transition metal complexes, MnABPB, CoABPB, and NiABPB, were synthesized using the bidentate ligands Albendazole (AB) and 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-benzimidazole (PB) and thoroughly characterized. The complexes are air-stable solids with high yields (80-85%) and thermal stability above 300 degrees C. Spectroscopic and analytical data confirm a 1:1:1 metal-to-ligand ratio. FT-IR and UV-Vis spectra, alongside magnetic moment measurements, reveal octahedral geometries for MnABPB and CoABPB, and a tetrahedral geometry for NiABPB. Molar conductivity distinguishes the ionic [Mn(AB)(PB)(H2O)2]Cl2 and [Ni(AB)(PB)]Cl2 species from the neutral [Co(AB)(PB)(Cl)2]. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations support the proposed geometries and provide deep insight into molecular reactivity. NiABPB exhibits the lowest HOMO energy (-11.11 eV), highest electron affinity (8.46 eV), electronegativity (9.79 eV), and electrophilicity index (36.15 eV), along with the most negative chemical potential (-9.79 eV), suggesting superior electron-accepting ability and biological reactivity. Biological evaluations reveal substantial enhancement of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities upon complexation. Among the complexes, NiABPB displays the highest performance, with inhibition zone of (30 mm vs. E. coli), strongest antifungal inhibition (20 mm vs. A. niger), and the lowest anti-inflammatory IC50 value (45.02 & micro;M). Activity indices exceed 90% for all metal complexes, with NiABPB achieving 100% activity against E. coli. Molecular docking against DNA gyrase B (PDB ID: 4DUH) confirms strong binding affinities for all metal complexes, particularly NiABPB (-8.10 kcal/mol) and MnABPB (-8.20 kcal/mol), forming multiple hydrogen bonds (2.22-2.76 & Aring;) with active site residues. These findings are consistent with the DFT reactivity descriptors and support the observed bioactivity trends.

The nickel-derived metal-organic framework (MOF), Ni-BTB, synthesized from 4,4 ',4 ''-benzene-1,3,5-tribenzoic acid (H3BTB), was investigated as a multifunctional platform for enhanced energy applications including production and storage. In catalytic hydrogen generation by NaBH4 hydrolysis, Ni-BTB attained a hydrogen generation rate (HGR) of 4640 mL H2/g center dot min with 1 mg of catalyst, with an activation energy of 76.44 kJ/mol. Under optimized reaction conditions (60 degrees C, 20 mg catalyst, and 1 g NaBH4), the HGR increased to 9542 mL H2/g center dot min, while exhibiting high recyclability throughout four successive cycles. As a supercapacitor electrode, Ni-BTB achieved a specific capacitance of 156 F/g at 1 A/g and showed remarkable cycling stability, maintaining its capacitance after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles. Furthermore, Ni-BTB exhibited exceptional electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), requiring only 106 mV overpotential to achieve 10 mA/cm2, offering a time-of-flight (TOF) of 0.0585 s-1 and demonstrating significant operational longevity of at least 12 h. These findings underscore Ni-BTB as a durable, reusable, and adaptable material for hydrogen production, energy storage, and electrocatalytic applications.