Adsorption is considered a cost-effective procedure, safer to handle with high removal efficiency. Activated alumina is the most commonly used adsorbent for the removal of arsenic from aqueous solutions. However, activated alumina has a low adsorption capacity and acts kinetically in a slow manner. An ideal adsorbent should have a high surface area, physical and/or chemical stability and be ine...

Human activities and natural processes release arsenic into ground and surface waters creating potentially serious environmental problems for humans and other living organisms [1]. In recognition of this threat, a new arsenic limit of 10lg/l, lowered from the current 50g/l, will become effective in 2006 for drinking water systems in the United States. Consequently, there is an urgent demand for...

This paper aims to investigate the initiation and distribution of dislocations and twins in the subsurface of alumina subjected to single-point scratching and to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of ductile-regime grinding of alumina. It found that there generally exist three regions of dislocation and twin systems in the scratched alumina. The first region contains five independent...

Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing industry that has elicited much concern because of the lack of available toxicity data. Exposure to ultrafine particles may be a risk for the development of vascular diseases due to dysfunction of the vascular endothelium. Increased endothelial adhesiveness is a critical first step in the development of vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis. The hypothes...

The present study shows that alumina nanotopography affects monocyte/macrophage behavior. Human mononuclear cells cultured on alumina membranes with pore diameters of 20 and 200 nm were evaluated in terms of cell adhesion, viability, morphology, and release of proinflammatory cytokines. After 24 hours, cell adhesion was assessed by means of light microscopy and cell viability by measuring LDH r...