Showing papers by "Scott A. Bradford published in 2018"

Can nanoscale surface charge heterogeneity really explain colloid detachment from primary minima upon reduction of solution ionic strength

Abstract: This study theoretically examined colloid detachment from primary minima with ionic strength (IS) reduction on heterogeneous collector surfaces. The chemically and physically heterogeneous collector surfaces were modeled as a planar surface carrying nanoscale patches of different zeta potentials and nanoscale pillars/hemispheroids, respectively. The surface element integration technique was used to calculate interaction energies between colloid and collector surfaces. Two boundary conditions for the double-layer interaction energy were considered, namely constant surface potential (CSP), and linear superposition approximation (LSA). In contrast to prevailing opinions in the literature, our results show that colloids attached on the chemically heterogeneous surface cannot be detached by IS reduction under CSP condition due to an increase of the adhesive force/torque with decreasing IS. Detachment from chemically heterogeneous surfaces by IS reduction can occur under LSA condition only when the flow velocity is very high. In contrast, the presence of nanoscale physical heterogeneity can cause colloid detachment from primary minima by IS reduction under both CSP and LSA conditions at flow velocities commonly used in experimental studies because of a significant reduction in the adhesive forces/torques.

Comparison of Types and Amounts of Nanoscale Heterogeneity on Bacteria Retention

Abstract: Interaction energy calculations that assume smooth and chemically homogeneous surfaces are commonly conducted to explain bacteria retention on solid surfaces, but experiments frequently exhibit signification deviations from these predictions. A potential explanation for these inconsistencies is the ubiquitous presence of nanoscale roughness (NR) and chemical heterogeneity (CH) arising from spatial variability in charge (CH1), Hamaker constant (CH2), and contact angles (CH3) on these surfaces. We present a method to determine the mean interaction energy between a colloid and a solid-water-interface (SWI) when both surfaces contained binary NR and CH. This approach accounts for double layer, van der Waals, Lewis acid-base, and Born interactions. We investigate the influence of NR and CH parameters and solution ionic strength (IS) on interaction energy profiles between hydrophilic and hydrophobic bacteria and the SWI. Increases in CH1 and CH3 reduce the energy barrier and create deeper primary minima on net electrostatically unfavorable surfaces, whereas increasing CH2 diminishes the contribution of the van der Waals interaction in comparison to quartz and makes a more repulsive surface. However, these roles of CH are always greatest on smooth surfaces with larger fractions of CH. In general, increasing CH1 and CH3 have a larger influence on bacteria retention under lower IS conditions, whereas the influence of increasing CH2 is more apparent under higher IS conditions. However, interaction energy profiles are mainly dominated by small fractions of NR, which dramatically lower the energy barrier height and the depths of both the secondary and primary minima. This significantly increases the relative importance of primary to secondary minima interactions on net electrostatically unfavorable surfaces, especially for conditions that produce small energy barriers on smooth surfaces. Energy balance calculations indicate that this primary minimum is sometimes susceptible to diffusive removal depending on the NR and CH parameters.

Physicochemical Factors That Favor Conjugation of an Antibiotic Resistant Plasmid in Non-growing Bacterial Cultures in the Absence and Presence of Antibiotics.

Abstract: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of antibiotic resistance genes has received increased scrutiny from the scientific community in recent years owing to the public health threat associated with antibiotic resistant bacteria. Most studies have examined HGT in growing cultures. We examined conjugation in growing and non-growing cultures of E. coli using a conjugative multi antibiotic and metal resistant plasmid to determine physiochemical parameters that favor horizontal gene transfer. The conjugation frequency in growing and non-growing cultures was generally greater under shaken than non-shaken conditions, presumably due to increased frequency of cell collisions. Non-growing cultures in 9.1 mM NaCl had a similar conjugation frequency to that of growing cultures in Luria-Bertaini broth, whereas those in 1 mM or 90.1 mM NaCl were much lower. This salinity effect on conjugation was attributed to differences in cell-cell interactions and conformational changes in cell surface macromolecules. In the presence of antibiotics, the conjugation frequencies of growing cultures did not increase, but in non-growing cultures of 9.1 mM NaCl supplemented with Cefotaxime the conjugation frequency was as much as nine times greater than that of growing cultures. The mechanism responsible for the increased conjugation in non-growing bacteria was attributed to the likely lack of penicillin-binding protein 3 (the target of Cefotaxime), in non-growing cells that enabled Cefotaxime to interact with the plasmid and induce conjugation. Our results suggests that more attention may be owed to HGT in non-growing bacteria as most bacteria in the environment are likely not growing and the proposed mechanism for increased conjugation may not be unique to the bacteria/plasmid system we studied.

DLVO Interaction Energies for Hollow Particles: The Filling Matters

Abstract: A thorough knowledge of the interaction energy between a hollow particle (HP) and a surface or between two HPs is critical to the optimization of HP-based products and assessing the environmental risks of HPs and HP-associated pollutants. The van der Waals (vdW) energy between a HP and a surface is often calculated by subtracting the vdW energies of the inner and outer HP geometries. In this study, we show that this subtraction method is only valid when the interior and exterior fluids are the same, for example, for water-filled HPs (WHPs) dispersed in an aqueous solution. Expressions were developed to calculate the vdW energies for HPs whose interiors were filled with air (AHPs). The vdW energies were then calculated between a planar surface and a spherical or cylindrical WHP and AHP, and between WHPs or AHPs. The vdW attraction between a surface and a WHP was decreased at large separation distances compared to solid particles, and this reduced the depth of the secondary minimum. In contrast, the vdW att...

Minimizing Virus Transport in Porous Media by Optimizing Solid Phase Inactivation

Abstract: The influence of virus type (PRD1 and ΦX174), temperature (flow at 4 and 20°C), a no-flow storage duration (0, 36, 46, and 70 d), and temperature cycling (flow at 20°C and storage at 4°C) on virus transport and fate were investigated in saturated sand-packed columns. The vast majority (84-99.5%) of viruses were irreversibly retained on the sand, even in the presence of deionized water and beef extract at pH = 11. The reversibly retained virus fraction () was small (1.6 × 10 to 0.047) but poses a risk of long-term virus contamination. The value of and associated transport risk was lower at a higher temperature and for increases in the no-flow storage period due to the temperature dependency of the solid phase inactivation. A model that considered advective-dispersive transport, attachment (), detachment (), solid phase inactivation (μ), and liquid phase inactivation (μ) coefficients, and a Langmuirian blocking function provided a good description of the early portion of the breakthrough curve. The removal parameters were found to be in the order of > μ >> μ. Furthermore, μ was an order of magnitude higher than μ for PRD1, whereas μ was two and three orders of magnitude higher than μ for ΦX174 at 4 and 20°C, respectively. Transport modeling with two retention, release, and inactivation sites demonstrated that a small fraction of viruses exhibited a much slower release and solid phase inactivation rate, presumably because variations in the sand and virus surface roughness caused differences in the strength of adhesion. These findings demonstrate the importance of solid phase inactivation, temperature, and storage periods in eliminating virus transport in porous media. This research has potential implications for managed aquifer recharge applications and guidelines to enhance the virus removal by controlling the temperature and aquifer residence time.

Application of Depletion Attraction in Mineral Flotation: II. Effects of Depletant Concentration

Abstract: Along with the accompanying theory article, we experimentally investigate the effect of the depletion attraction force on the flotation of malachite. While varying the concentration of the depletion agent (polyethylene glycol), three different systems are studied: pure malachite, pure silica and a 1:1 mass ratio of malachite and silica binary system. We find that the recovery increases significantly as the concentration of the depletion reagents increases for all three systems. However, the recovery suddenly decreases in a certain concentration range, which corresponds to the onset of the decreased surface tension when high concentrations of the depletion agent are used. The decreased surface tension of the air/water interface suggests that the recovery rate is lowered due to the adsorption of the depletion agent to the bubble surface, acting as a polymer brush. We also perform experiments in the presence of a small amount of a collector, sodium oleate. An extremely small amount of the collector (10−10–10−5 M) leads to the increase in the overall recovery, which eventually reaches nearly 100 percent. Nevertheless, the grade worsens as the depletant provides the force to silica particles as well as target malachite particles.

Application of Depletion Attraction in Mineral Flotation: I. Theory

Abstract: We investigate the role of depletion interactions in the particle–bubble interactions that determine the attachment capability of particles on the bubble surface in flotation. In this article, we propose a theoretical model that explains how this attractive interaction could enhance flotation efficiency. Two optimum conditions are determined for the concentration and molecular weight of the depletion agent. The optimum concentration can be determined through the extent of surface activity of the depletion agents. The magnitude of the depletion attraction increases as the concentration increases; however, an increase in the concentration simultaneously enhances its surface concentration. The bubble surface adsorption of the depletion agent results in polymer brushes on the bubble surface that produce a large repulsive interaction. In contrast, the optimal molecular weight of the depletion agents is given by the interaction between the depletion agent sizes, which is determined by its molecular weight and Debye length which is determined by the solution ionic strength. We demonstrate that exploiting this depletion interaction could significantly enhance the flotation efficiency and in principal could be used for any particle system.