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---
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title:
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"Investigation of Hydronium Diffusion in Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogels: A
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Critical First Step to Describe Acid Transport for Encapsulated Bioremediation"
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date: 2022-09-02
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featured: false
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keywords:
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- diffusion
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- hydrogels
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- ionic strength
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- polymers
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- transport properties
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medium: paper
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authors:
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- Carson J. Silsby
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- Jonathan R. Counts
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- Thomas A. Christensen II
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- Mark F. Roll
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- Kristopher V. Waynant
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- James G. Moberly
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link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.2c00107
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journal: "ACS ES&T Engineering"
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---
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Bioremediation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifers can be
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hindered by high contaminant concentrations and acids generated during
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remediation. Encapsulating microbes in hydrogels may provide a protective,
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tunable environment from inhibiting compounds; however, current approaches to
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formulate successful encapsulated systems rely on trial and error rather than
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engineering approaches because fundamental information on mass-transfer
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coefficients is lacking. To address this knowledge gap, hydronium ion
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mass-transfer rates through two commonly used hydrogel materials, poly(vinyl
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alcohol) and alginic acid, under two solidification methods (chemical and
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cryogenic) were measured. Variations in hydrogel crosslinking conditions,
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polymer composition, and solvent ionic strength were investigated to understand
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how each influenced hydronium ion diffusivity. A three-way ANOVA indicated that
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the ionic strength, membrane type, and crosslinking method significantly (_p_ <
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0.001) contributed to changes in hydronium ion mass transfer. Hydronium ion
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diffusion increased with ionic strength, counter to what is observed in
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aqueous-only (no polymer) solutions. Co-occurring mechanisms correlated to
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increased hydronium ion diffusion with ionic strength included an increased
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water fraction within hydrogel matrices and hydrogel contraction. Measured
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diffusion rates determined in this study provide first principal design
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information to further optimize encapsulating hydrogels for bioremediation.
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