Simultaneous oxidation of EDTA and reduction of metal ions in mixed Cu(II)/Fe(III)-EDTA system by TiO2 photocatalysis

Both the photooxidation of EDTA and the photoreduction of metal ions in metal-EDTA systems were investigated. EDTA oxidation by TiO(2) photocatalysis occurred sequentially as Cu(II)-EDTA>Cu(II)/Fe(III)-EDTA>Fe(III)-EDTA. For Cu(II)-EDTA, EDTA was completely decomposed after only 60min of irradiation. The rate of EDTA decomposition was directly correlated with the initial Cu(II) concentration in the case of a mixed Cu(II)/Fe(III)-EDTA system. The metal ions in a single metal-EDTA complex were removed following significant decomposition of EDTA. For a mixed Cu(II)/Fe(III)-EDTA system, however, no copper was removed whereas almost all of the iron was removed. The iron and copper species deposited on the TiO(2) surface were identified via EPR and XPS as mixed FeO/Fe(3)O(4) and Cu(0)/Cu(2)O, respectively.     

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DROUGHT PREDICTION TECHNIQUES FOR RESERVOIR OPERATION1

ABSTRACT: Predicting the likelihood of a drought markedly enhances the efficiency of reservoir operations. This study applies the kriging method and time series analysis to predict inflows to Shihmen Reservoir in northern Taiwan. A subsequent reservoir operation simulation is employed to determine the drought lead time (DLT), the time before the onset of a drought. A more efficient reservoir operational strategy can be established with the aid of DLT and the probability of successful drought prediction (P s). Simulation results of reservoir operation over a period of three decades demonstrate that, at one month DLT, the kriging approach achieves 0.86 of P s for moderate droughts and 0.94 of P s for severe droughts. The kriging approach generally outperformed the time series approach in terms of DLT, P s of drought prediction, and the number of correctly predicted drought events.