Gunshot residue (GSR) analysis and their interpretation provide crucial information on a criminal investigation involving the use of firearms. To date, several approaches have been proposed for the implementation of a combined sampling and analysis of inorganic (IGSR) and organic GSR (OGSR). However, it is not clear at this stage if concurrent analyses of both types of residue might be detrimental to the analysis of IGSR currently applied in forensic laboratories. Thus, this work aims to compare and evaluate three different protocols for the combined collection and analysis of IGSR and OGSR. These methods, respectively, involve the use of a modified stub (with two halves, one for the detection of IGSR and the other for the analysis of OGSR); the sequential recovery of GSR with two stubs mounted with different adhesives (double‐sided carbon tape and Tesa® TACK) and the sequential analysis of IGSR and OGSR from a single carbon stub following carbon deposition. The detection of IGSR was carried out using SEM‐EDX, while OGSR analysis was performed using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐MS/MS). Obtained results for experiments performed using Geco Sinoxid® ammunition indicated that sequential analysis was the most suitable protocol for the combined collection and analysis of both IGSR and OGSR. A higher number of inorganic (characteristic and consistent) particles and higher concentrations of ethylcentralite, N‐nitrosodiphenylamine, diphenylamine, and nitroglycerin were recovered with this method.
This work evaluated the performance of an electrochemical oxidation process (EOP), using boron-doped diamond on niobium substrate (Nb/BDD), for the treatment of a reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) produced from a petrochemical wastewater. The effects of applied current density (5, 10, or 20 mA·cm−2) and oxidation time (0 to 5 h) were evaluated following changes in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC). Current efficiency and specific energy consumption were also evaluated. Besides, the organic byproducts generated by EOP were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The results show that current densities and oxidation time lead to a COD and TOC reduction. For the 20 mA·cm−2, changes in the kinetic regime were found at 3 h and associated to the oxidation of inorganic ions by chlorinated species. After 3 h, the oxidants act in the organic oxidation, leading to a TOC removal of 71%. Although, due to the evolution of parallel reactions (O2, H2O2, and O3), the specific energy consumption also increased, the resulting consumption value of 66.5 kW·h·kg−1 of COD is considered a low energy requirement representing lower treatment costs. These results encourage the applicability of EOP equipped with Nb/BDD as a treatment process for the ROC.
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