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Mitra Gholami

    Mitra Gholami

    Background and purpose: Nowadays, amoxicillin is one of the most important and most frequently used antibiotics that has received especial attention as it causes resistance in bacteria. This compound enters the aquatic environment through... more
    Background and purpose: Nowadays, amoxicillin is one of the most important and most frequently used antibiotics that has received especial attention as it causes resistance in bacteria. This compound enters the aquatic environment through different routes including sewage and waste disposal of medical centers, veterinary centers and industries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of graphene-cobalt nano-catalyst for activation of peroxymonosulfate and amoxicillin removal from aqueous solutions. Materials and methods: In this experiment, graphene oxide was prepared by Hummers method from natural graphite. Then, magnetic graphene-cobalt nanocatalyst was made in several steps. The structural order and textural properties of the magnetic graphene-cobalt nanocatalyst were studied by EDS, SEM, TEM, and XRD. Several operational parameters were examined including the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) dosage, solution pH, reaction time, catalyst dosage, and initial concentration of a...
    Background and purpose: Over the last few years, phthalic acid esters (PAEs) have attracted great attention due to their extensive production and use. These compounds are not only associated with endocrine disruption and cancer, but also... more
    Background and purpose: Over the last few years, phthalic acid esters (PAEs) have attracted great attention due to their extensive production and use. These compounds are not only associated with endocrine disruption and cancer, but also considered as emerging and hazardous pollutants. Large amounts of PAEs are detected in industrial wastewaters. Due to the widespread use of adsorption method in industrial wastewater treatment, this study aimed to synthesize chitosane-graphene oxide composite and use it in diethyl phthalate (DEP) and diallyle phthalate (DAP) removal from industrial wastewater. Materials and methods: For the purpose of the study, Hummer’s method was used with some modifications to prepare graphene oxide synthesis. Adsorbent characteristics were analyzed using SEM and XRD techniques. The effect of pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, and concentrations of DEP and DAP was determined. Subsequently, the isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic equations of adsorption were inves...
    Contamination of water with bacteria is one of the main causes of waterborne diseases. The photocatalytic method on the basis of bacterial inactivation seems to be a suitable disinfectant due to the lack of by-products formation. Herein,... more
    Contamination of water with bacteria is one of the main causes of waterborne diseases. The photocatalytic method on the basis of bacterial inactivation seems to be a suitable disinfectant due to the lack of by-products formation. Herein, g-C3N4/Fe3O4/Ag nanocomposite combined with UV-light irradiation was applied for the inactivation two well-known bacteria namely, E. coli and B. subtilis. The nanocomposite was prepared by a hydrothermal method, and subsequently it was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, EDX and PL analyses. The optimum conditions established for the inactivation of both bacteria were as follows: nanocomposite dosage 3 g/L and bacterial density of 103 CFU/mL. In the meantime, the efficient inactivation of E. coli and B. subtilis took 30 and 150 min, respectively. The results also revealed that inactivation rate dropped with an increase in the bacterial density. It is also pointed out that OH˚ was found out to be the main radical species involved in the inactivation pr...
    Phthalic acid esters, including diethyl phthalate (DEP), which are considered as top-priority and hazardous pollutants, have received significant attention over the last decades. It is vital for industries to select the best treatment... more
    Phthalic acid esters, including diethyl phthalate (DEP), which are considered as top-priority and hazardous pollutants, have received significant attention over the last decades. It is vital for industries to select the best treatment technology, especially when the DEP concentration in wastewater is high. Meanwhile, anaerobic biofilm-based reactors are considered as a promising option. Therefore, in the present study, for the biological removal of DEP from synthetic wastewater, two different anaerobic biofilm-based reactors, including anaerobic fixed film baffled reactor (AnFFBR) and up-flow anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor (UAnFFFBR), were compared from kinetic and performance standpoints. As in the previous studies, only the kinetic coefficients have been calculated and the relationship between kinetic coefficients and their interpretation has not been evaluated, the other aim of the present study was to fill this research gap. In optimum conditions, 90.31 and 86.91% of COD...
    Emerging and hazardous environmental pollutants like phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are one of the recent concerns worldwide. PAEs are considered to have diverse endocrine disrupting effects on human health. Industrial wastewater has been... more
    Emerging and hazardous environmental pollutants like phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are one of the recent concerns worldwide. PAEs are considered to have diverse endocrine disrupting effects on human health. Industrial wastewater has been reported as an important environment with high concentrations of PAEs. In the present study, four short-chain PAEs including diallyl phthalate (DAP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and phthalic acid (PA) were selected as a substrate for anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor (AnFFFBR). The process performances of AnFFFBR, and also its kinetic behavior, were evaluated to find the best eco-friendly phthalate from the biodegradability point of view. According to the results and kinetic coefficients, removing and mineralizing of DMP occurred at a higher rate than other phthalates. In optimum conditions 92.5, 84.41, and 80.39% of DMP, COD, and TOC were removed. DAP was found as the most bio-refractory phthalate. The second-order (Grau) ...
    Presence of antibiotics in the environment may cause potential risk for aquatic environment and organisms. In this research, Fenton oxidation process was offered as an effective method for removal of antibiotic sulfamethoxazole from... more
    Presence of antibiotics in the environment may cause potential risk for aquatic environment and organisms. In this research, Fenton oxidation process was offered as an effective method for removal of antibiotic sulfamethoxazole from aqueous solutions. The experiments were performed on laboratory-scale study under complete mixing at 25±2°C. The effects of initial antibiotic concentration, molar ratio of H2O2/Fe+2, solution pH, concentration of H2O2, Fe+2 and reaction time was studied on the oxidation of sulfamethoxazole in three level. The results indicated that the optimal parameters for Fenton process were as follows: molar ratio of [H2O2]/[Fe+2] = 1.5, pH= 4.5, and contact time= 15 min. In this situation, the antibiotic removal and COD reduction were achieved 99.99% and 64.7-70.67%, respectively. Although, Fenton reaction could effectively degrade antibiotic sulfamethoxazole under optimum experimental conditions, however, the rate of mineralization was not completed. This process ...
    In this study, a new strategy in catalytic ozonation removal method for degradation of phenol from industrial wastewater was investigated. Magnetic carbon nano composite as a novel catalyst was synthesized, characterized and then used in... more
    In this study, a new strategy in catalytic ozonation removal method for degradation of phenol from industrial wastewater was investigated. Magnetic carbon nano composite as a novel catalyst was synthesized, characterized and then used in the catalytic ozonation process (COP) and compared with the single ozonation process (SOP). The influential parameters were all investigated. The results showed that the removal efficiency of phenol and COD (chemical oxygen demand) in COP (98.5%, 69.8%) was higher than those of SOP (78.7%, 50.5%) and the highest catalytic potential was achieved at optimal neutral pH. First order modeling demonstrated that the reactions were dependent on the concentration of catalyst, with kinetic constants varying from 0.023 1/min (catalyst = 0 g/L) to 0.071 1/min (catalyst = 4 g/L), whereby the optimum dosage of catalyst was found to be 2 g/L. Furthermore, the catalytic properties of the catalyst remained almost unchanged after 5-time reuse. The results regarding t...
    The phenolic compounds are known by their carcinogenicity and high toxicity as well as creating unpleasant taste and odor in water resources. The present study develops a cost-effective technology for the treatment of water contaminated... more
    The phenolic compounds are known by their carcinogenicity and high toxicity as well as creating unpleasant taste and odor in water resources. The present study develops a cost-effective technology for the treatment of water contaminated with phenolic compounds, including Phenol (Ph), 2-chlorophenol (2-CP), and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP). So, two sorbents, rice bran ash (RBA) and biomass of brown algae, Cystoseiraindica, were used and results were compared with the commercially granular activated carbon (GAC). The phenolic compounds were determined using a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) under batch equilibrium conditions. The effects of contact time, pH, initial adsorbate concentration, and adsorbent dosages on the removal efficiency were studied. The adsorption data were simulated by isotherm and kinetic models. Results indicated that RBA and GAC had the lowest efficiency for the removal of 2-CP, while the order of removal efficiency for C. indica biomass was as follows: 2...
    A new strategy in catalytic ozonation removal method for degradation and detoxification of phenol from industrial wastewater was investigated. Magnetic carbon nanocomposite, as a novel catalyst, was synthesized and then used in the... more
    A new strategy in catalytic ozonation removal method for degradation and detoxification of phenol from industrial wastewater was investigated. Magnetic carbon nanocomposite, as a novel catalyst, was synthesized and then used in the catalytic ozonation process (COP) and the effects of operational conditions such as initial pH, reaction time, and initial concentration of phenol on the degradation efficiency and the toxicity assay have been investigated. The results showed that the highest catalytic potential was achieved at optimal neutral pH and the removal efficiency of phenol and COD is 98.5% and 69.8%, respectively. First-order modeling demonstrated that the reactions were dependent on the initial concentration of phenol, with kinetic constants varying from 0.038 min−1  ([phenol]o= 1500 mg/L) to 1.273 min−1([phenol]o= 50 mg/L). Bioassay analysis showed that phenol was highly toxic toDaphnia magna(LC5096 h=5.6 mg/L). Comparison of toxicity units (TU) of row wastewater (36.01) and t...
    Biodegradation of azo dyes is difficult due to their complex structures and low BOD to COD ratios. In the present study, the efficiency of using Fenton’s reagent (H2O2 + Fe2+) as a pretreatment process to enhance microbial transformation... more
    Biodegradation of azo dyes is difficult due to their complex structures and low BOD to COD ratios. In the present study, the efficiency of using Fenton’s reagent (H2O2 + Fe2+) as a pretreatment process to enhance microbial transformation of reactive black 5 (RB5) in an aqueous system was evaluated. The RB5 with an initial concentration of 250 mg/L was decolorized up to 90% in 60 h by using a bacterial consortium. Fenton’s reagent at a Fe2+ concentration of 0.5 mM and H2O2 concentration of 2.9 mM (molar ratio, 1:5.8) was most effective for decolorization at pH = 3.0. The extent of RB5 removal by the combined Fenton–biotreatment was about 2 times higher than that of biotreatment alone. The production of some aromatic amines intermediates implied partial mineralization of the RB5 in Fenton treatment alone; in addition, decreasing of GC-MS peaks suggested that dearomatization occurred in Fenton-biological process. Fenton pretreatment seems to be a cost–effective option for the biotreatm...
    In this study, degradation of Basic Violet 16 (BV16) by ultraviolet radiation (UV), ultrasonic irradiation (US), UV/H2O2 and US/H2O2 processes was investigated in a laboratory-scale batch photoreactor equipped with a 55W immersed-type... more
    In this study, degradation of Basic Violet 16 (BV16) by ultraviolet radiation (UV), ultrasonic irradiation (US), UV/H2O2 and US/H2O2 processes was investigated in a laboratory-scale batch photoreactor equipped with a 55W immersed-type low-pressure mercury vapor lamp and a sonoreactor with high frequency (130kHz) plate type transducer at 100W of acoustic power. The effects of initial dye concentration, concentration of H2O2 and solution pH and presence of Na2SO4 was studied on the sonochemical and photochemical destruction of BV16 in aqueous phase. The results indicated that in the UV/H2O2 and US/H2O2 systems, a sufficient amount of H2O2 was necessary, but a very high H2O2 concentration would inhibit the reaction rate. The optimum H2O2 concentration was achieved in the range of 17 mmol/L at dye concentration of 30 mg/L. A degradation of 99% was obtained with UV/H2O2 within 8 minutes while decolorization efficiency by using UV (23%), US (<6%) and US/H2O2(<15%) processes were neg...
    Abstract: Natural Organic Matter (NOM), which can be broadly divided into two fractions of hydrophobic and hydrophilic, is abundant in natural water resources and in many ways may affect the unit operations in water treatment. It plays an... more
    Abstract: Natural Organic Matter (NOM), which can be broadly divided into two fractions of hydrophobic and hydrophilic, is abundant in natural water resources and in many ways may affect the unit operations in water treatment. It plays an important role in membrane fouling in the water treatment process. Fouling of membranes decreases the applicability of the membrane process and thus a deeper understanding of membrane fouling is needed. The aims of this study were to investigate rejection NaCl and humic acid as hydrophobic ...
    Abstract: The objectives of this research were to investigate the rejection efficiency of salt and hydrophobic fraction of natural organic matter, to study the flux decline behavior with a spiral wound nanofiltration membrane, and also to... more
    Abstract: The objectives of this research were to investigate the rejection efficiency of salt and hydrophobic fraction of natural organic matter, to study the flux decline behavior with a spiral wound nanofiltration membrane, and also to survey the influence of water chemistry on membrane performance. Experiments were conducted using a cross flow pilot-scale membrane unit with a full circulation mode. Humic acid was used as hydrophobic organic matter and NaCl as background electrolyte. Results showed that flux reduction increased ...
    The partition of human antibodies in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and phosphate was systematically studied using first pure proteins systems and then an artificial mixture of proteins containing 1mg/ml... more
    The partition of human antibodies in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and phosphate was systematically studied using first pure proteins systems and then an artificial mixture of proteins containing 1mg/ml human immunoglobulin G (IgG), 10mg/ml serum albumin and 2mg/ml myoglobin. Preliminary results obtained using pure proteins systems indicated that the PEG molecular weight and concentration, the pH value and the salts concentration had a pronounced effect on the partitioning behaviour of all proteins. For high ionic strengths and pH values higher than the isoelectric point (pI) of the contaminant proteins, IgG could be selectively recovered on the top phase. According to these results, a face centred composite design was performed in order to optimise the purification of IgG from the mixture of proteins. The optimal conditions for the isolation of IgG were observed for high concentrations of NaCl and low concentrations of both phase forming components. The best purification was achieved using an ATPS containing 8% (w/w) PEG 3350, 10% (w/w) phosphate pH 6 and 15% (w/w) NaCl. A recovery yield of 101+/-7%, a purity of 99+/-0% and a yield of native IgG of 97+/-4% were obtained. Back extraction studies of IgG to a new phosphate phase were performed and higher yields were obtained using 10% phosphate buffer at pH 6. The total extraction yield was 76% and the purity 100%.
    ... com Textile Dye Removal by Membrane Technology and Biological Oxidation MITRA GHOLAMI, 1* SIMMIN NASSERI, 2 MOHAMMAD-REZA ALIZADEHFARD 3 ... separation of fibers from the effluent was not economi-cally feasible in a biological reactor... more
    ... com Textile Dye Removal by Membrane Technology and Biological Oxidation MITRA GHOLAMI, 1* SIMMIN NASSERI, 2 MOHAMMAD-REZA ALIZADEHFARD 3 ... separation of fibers from the effluent was not economi-cally feasible in a biological reactor (Karimi and Amirshahi ...
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