Reductive debromination of nonabrominated diphenyl ethers by sodium borohydride and identification of octabrominated diphenyl ether products

A method was developed to study reductive transformation of highly brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs). The method development is a part of a broader project where it will be used to determine the susceptibility of environmental pollutants to reductive conditions, in an attempt to create a scheme for determination of chemical’s persistence. This paper focuses on identification of octabrominated diphenyl ether transformation products from reductive debromination of the three nonabrominated diphenyl congeners (nonaBDE), BDE-206, -207 and -208. Sodium borohydride was used to explore the reductive debromination of the nonaBDEs. The transformation products were collected at two time-points and identified products were quantified by GC-MS. The reduction of the nonaBDEs lead primarily to debrominated products, mainly octaBDEs. The three nonabrominated DEs gave isomer-related transformation product patterns. BDE-207 and BDE-208 showed a propensity for ortho-debromination in the initial reaction step, while no discrimination between initial debromination positions was seen for BDE-206. All three nonabrominated DEs displayed a preferred initial debromination on the fully brominated DE ring.     

Polymer hydrogels with enhanced stability and heterogeneous Fenton activity in organic pollutant removal

Polymer hydrogel-based materials have been shown to act as novel Fenton catalysts for water treatment, but the rational design of hydrogel-based catalysts with good stability has been a great challenge. To increase the stability and activity of polymer-based Fenton catalysts, uniform urchin-like α-Fe_2O_3 was grown in situ in a PVA carrier matrix here. PVA molecules promoted the growth of urchin-like α-Fe_2O_3, and then the PVA hydrogel acted as a barrier and carrier to reduce agglomeration. Through coordination by hydroxyl groups,PVA had good combination with Fe ions and α-Fe_2O_3. The formation of Fe–O–C bonds between iron oxides and polymers was reported for the first time, enhancing the material stability during catalysis. Under higher PVA concentrations, the resulting composite hydrogel could generate more ˙OH due to the increase in the number of active sites because of the hairy urchin-like structure. In tetracycline degradation through a heterogeneous Fenton reaction, the resulting material had good catalytic activity from pH 2 to pH 10 with low iron leaching, good reusability and remained at a level of nearly 90%after five consecutive cycles. Density functional theory calculations were used to further prove the mechanism of structural change of the iron oxides. The HOMO and LUMO energies of the iron oxides changed from 5.428 and 4.899 eV to 5.926 and 5.310 eV,indicating that the presence of PVA could influence the charge of the iron atom. The results provide new insights into the preparation of polymer hydrogel-based heterogeneous Fenton catalysts with enhanced stability for water treatment.     

Implications of a simple competition model for the stability of an intercropping system

It is a common view that intercropping systems of agricultural crops produce more stable yields than do systems in which the same crops are grown in monoculture. This paper discusses a modelling approach which has been used to support the notion that whether or not intercropping is more stable than monoculture depends on the mode of interaction among crops, i.e. whether two different crops suppress or enhance each other. It is shown here that this notion is not supported by the model used. We conclude that the relative merits of the two cropping systems depend on the proportion of land allocated to each crop rather than on the mode of interaction. The model suggests that if the optimum allocation of land is considered, both systems will be equally stable.     

Renewable biomass gel reinforced core-shell dry water material as novel fire extinguishing agent

This work explores the feasibility of using chitosan (CS)-sodium alginate (SA) crosslinking gel to reinforce dry water (DW) composites. The stability and fire extinguishing efficiency of the DW powder are investigated. Compared to ordinary DW material, water loss rate of the modified DW composite is decreased, and its pressure resistance and stability are significantly increased. Moreover, it possesses higher fire extinguishing efficiency than conventional dry powder. Fire extinguishing mechanism and gel formation mechanism are proposed. The improvement in stability has great significance for the storage and transportation of DW materials. These results demonstrate the ability to create a fully green and renewable crosslinking gel capable of endowing high stability to DW material. This work provides a novel solution to improve the stability of DW materials, which will have great application prospect in fire suppression of some flammable hazardous chemicals.     

Generation and stability of bentonite colloids at the bentonite/granite interface of a deep geological radioactive waste repository

The possible mechanisms of colloid generation at the near field/far field interface of a radioactive repository have been investigated by means of novel column experiments simulating the granite/bentonite boundary, both in dynamic and in quasi-static water flow conditions. It has been shown that solid particles and colloids can be detached from the bulk and mobilised by the water flow. The higher the flow rate, the higher the concentration of particles found in the water, according to an erosion process. However, the gel formation and the intrinsic tactoid structure of the clay play an important role in the submicron particle generation even in the compacted clay and in a confined system. In fact, once a bentonite gel is formed, in the regions where the clay is contacted with water, clay colloids can be formed even in quasi-static flow conditions. The potential relevance of these colloids in radionuclide transport has been studied by evaluating their stability in different chemical environments. The coagulation kinetics of natural bentonite colloids was experimentally studied as a function of the ionic strength and pH, by means of time-resolved light scattering techniques. It has been shown that these colloids are very stable in low saline (approximately 1 x 10(-3) M) and alkaline (pH > or = 8) waters.     

基于RS/GIS技术的南四湖流域典型市域生态敏感性评价——以济宁市为例

基于RS和GIS技术,利用多源数据,从土壤侵蚀、土壤盐渍化、景观以及采矿塌陷4个方面对研究区的生态敏感性进行了评价,研究了空间分布差异及规律。结果表明:土壤侵蚀敏感性以轻度和中度为主,由东北和西南向中心递减趋势;土壤盐渍化除西部平原区盐渍化高风险突出外,敏感性普遍较低,由西向东递减;景观稳定性主要表现为轻度敏感,由四周向中心递减;采矿塌陷敏感性指标由于受人类活动影响呈现极端分布,高敏感区主要分布在研究区中部地区;研究综合生态敏感性分布空间差异显著,以不敏感区为主,整体上呈由西向东递减的趋势。     

Experimental and numerical analysis of flow instabilities in rectangular shallow basins

Free surface flows in several shallow rectangular basins have been analyzed experimentally, numerically and theoretically. Different geometries, characterized by different widths and lengths, are considered as well as different hydraulic conditions. First, the results of a series of experimental tests are briefly depicted. They reveal that, under clearly identified hydraulic and geometrical conditions, the flow pattern is found to become non-symmetric, in spite of the symmetrical inflow conditions, outflow conditions and geometry of the basin. This non-symmetric motion results from the growth of small disturbances actually present in the experimental initial and boundary conditions. Second, numerical simulations are conducted based on a depth-averaged approach and a finite volume scheme. The simulation results reproduce the global pattern of the flow observed experimentally and succeed in predicting the stability or instability of a symmetric flow pattern for all tested configurations. Finally, an analytical study provides mathematical insights into the conditions under which the symmetric flow pattern becomes unstable and clarifies the governing physical processes.     

CO2对砷酸钙稳定性影响的热力学分析

通过沉淀和溶解两方面的实验数据,应用PHREEQC程序模拟了砷酸钙在不同CO2分压条件下溶解度的变化情况,发现环境中的CO2可使砷酸钙盐在酸度较高(pH大于8.3)的条件下发生不一致溶解,使其溶解度升高;CO2分压越大,砷酸钙盐发生不一致溶解的酸度越低;CO2主要影响3∶2和5∶3的砷酸钙盐,而对4∶2砷酸钙盐的影响较小。这对不同类型砷酸钙盐废物的处置是否应考虑CO2的因素提供了依据。     

The Interactive Effects of Fire and Diversity on Short-Term Responses of Ecosystem Processes in Experimental Mediterranean Grasslands

We conducted a field experiment using constructed communities to test whether species richness contributed to the maintenance of ecosystem processes under fire disturbance. We studied the effects of diversity components (i.e., species richness and species composition) upon productivity, structural traits of vegetation, decomposition rates, and soil nutrients between burnt and unburnt experimental Mediterranean grassland communities. Our results demonstrated that fire and species richness had interactive effects on aboveground biomass production and canopy structure components. Fire increased biomass production of the highest-richness communities. The effects of fire on aboveground biomass production at different levels of species richness were derived from changes in both vertical and horizontal canopy structure of the communities. The most species-rich communities appeared to be more resistant to fire in relation to species-poor ones, due to both compositional and richness effects. Interactive effects of fire and species richness were not important for belowground processes. Decomposition rates increased with species richness, related in part to increased levels of canopy structure traits. Fire increased soil nutrients and long-term decomposition rate. Our results provide evidence that composition within richness levels had often larger effects on the stability of aboveground ecosystem processes in the face of fire disturbance than species richness per se.