Adsorption characteristics of Cu and Ni on Irish peat moss

Peat has been widely used as a low cost adsorbent to remove a variety of materials including organic compounds and heavy metals from water. Various functional groups in lignin allow such compounds to bind on active sites of peat. The adsorption of Cu(2+) and Ni(2+) from aqueous solutions on Irish peat moss was studied both as a pure ion and from their binary mixtures under both equilibrium and dynamic conditions in the concentration range of 5-100mg/L. The pH of the solutions containing either Cu(2+) or Ni(2+) was varied over a range of 2-8. The adsorption of Cu(2+) and Ni(+2) on peat was found to be pH dependent. The adsorption data could be fitted to a two-site Langmuir adsorption isotherm and the maximum adsorption capacity of peat was determined to be 17.6 mg/g for Cu(2+) and 14.5mg/g for Ni(2+) at 298 K when the initial concentration for both Cu(2+) and Ni(2+) was 100mg/L, and the pH of the solution was 4.0 and 4.5, respectively. Column studies were conducted to generate breakthrough data for both pure component and binary mixtures of copper and nickel. Desorption experiments showed that 2mM EDTA solution could be used to remove all of the adsorbed copper and nickel from the bed.     

Ni/Fe/Al2O3·PVDF催化还原剂的表征及制备过程优化

在PVDF基体改性的基础上,采用浸渍法制备出Ni/Fe/Al₂O₃·PVDF催化还原剂。通过对一氯乙酸的脱氯效果研究,对交联液配比及交联时间、不同浓度硫酸镍浸渍时间、镍铁比等因素进行优化,实验优化结果表明,Ni/Fe/Al₂O₃·PVDF催化还原剂对一氯乙酸脱氯60 min脱氯率达到64%。经SEM表征,制备出的双金属在膜载体表面及断面分布均匀,呈球状和片状结构且双金属未发生团聚。     

Rapid shoreline retreat along the Esmeraldas coast, Ecuador: natural and man-induced processes

Along the coast facing the Pacific Ocean in the province of Esmeraldas (Ecuador) one can observe some stretches where a process of rapid erosion is currently in progress. If it is not prevented, it seriously risks compromising the development of any form of utilization. In this paper, which summarizes the observations carried out in three different periods (1989, 1992 and 1999), we express the opinion that this process is the product of two distinct main causes. Along the Atacames bay, which may be considered as the main seaside resort of Quito, the capital of Ecuador, progressive cliff retreat is not only very dangerous for the existing tourist settlements, but also hinders their further development. The shoreline dynamics that seems to be due only to ‘natural’ causes (sea level rising, or the lastEl Niño event) are so active that defence works are not recommended. At Camarones the erosion of the coast is clearly due to the systematic destruction of mangroves by man. Also as a result of the lastEl Niño event, the situation has become alarming and it could rapidly get worse. By means of the present contribution, the Authors intend to attract the attention of the international scientific community upon the processes, not surveyed so far, affecting the ‘weakest’ stretches of the Ecuadorian coast.     

CS-Fe和CS-Fe/Ni的制备及其用于去除钴离子

以氯化铁为铁源，硼氢化钠为还原剂，壳聚糖为稳定剂，采用液相还原法制备壳聚糖稳定纳米铁（CS-Fe）；并以氯化铁为铁源，硫酸镍为镍源，硼氢化钠为还原剂，壳聚糖为稳定剂，采用液相还原共沉淀法制备壳聚糖稳定纳米铁镍（CS-Fe/Ni）。通过SEM、EDS、XRD、FT-IR等表征手段，对所制备的CS-Fe和CS-Fe/Ni的形貌及微观结构进行表征，并以Co²⁺为目标去除物评价CS-Fe和CS-Fe/Ni的反应活性。初步研究表明，制成的CS-Fe含有单质纳米铁，颗粒多数以30~90 nm球形颗粒为主；而CS-Fe/Ni材料中含有纳米铁镍，颗粒多数以30~60 nm球形颗粒为主；在相同的实验条件下，反应60 min，CS-Fe/Ni对Co²⁺的去除率高达100%，但是CS-Fe仅为88%，即CS-Fe/Ni对Co²⁺的去除率比CS-Fe高。     

Ni2＋对活性污泥活性及群落多样性的影响

通过检测活性污泥的电子传递体系活性以及生物多样性，研究Ni2＋对活性污泥微生物活性及群落多样性的影响。结果表明：与对照系统相比，5mg／L的Ni2＋对2，3，5-lriphenylteItrazoliumchloride（TTC．ETS）活性未产生显著的影响；但当Ni2＋的浓度进一步增大到10、20和40mg／L后，其对序批式反应器内活性污泥TTC—ETS活性的抑制率分别达到（36．794-11．14）％、（55．88±13．90）％和（70．97±6．78）％。低浓度Ni2＋．能增强活性污泥微生物对碳源的利用，但高于10mg／L的Ni2＋则显著抑制了活性污泥微生物对碳源的利用。各个SBR系统中微生物群落最常见的物种相近，物种丰富度和均一性则均有所不同，其中群落物种丰富度随着Ni2＋浓度的增加而逐渐减小。TTC—ETS活性、平均每孔颜色变化率、Shan—liOn指数和Simpson指数，与Ni2＋的胁迫浓度之间的显著相关性表明，它们均可有效地表征Ni2＋胁迫对活性污泥微生物活性及群落多样性的影响程度。     

纳米零价铁及其双金属体系对菲的降解研究

以实验室合成的纳米零价铁(n ZVI)及其双金属(n ZVI/Cu和n ZVI/Ni)为反应材料,对菲(Phenanthrene)的去除进行研究.表征结果表明:纳米颗粒平均粒径均为80~100 nm,主要以α-Fe0的形式存在.批实验结果表明,5 g·L-1的n ZVI,n ZVI/Cu和n ZVI/Ni对菲溶液均有去除效果,其去除效率依次为n ZVI/Nin ZVI/Cun ZVI.溶液初始p H为7.5时,5 g·L-1的n ZVI/Ni去除88%0.5 mg·L-1的菲只需3 h,而n ZVI/Cu和n ZVI分别需要29 h和40 h.3种纳米铁对菲的去除率均随着n ZVI投加量的增加而升高,随着菲溶液初始浓度的增加而降低.反应温度的升高可提高n ZVI/Ni对菲的去除效率,高温时(≥30℃)菲的降解遵循一级反应动力学模型.p H对反应影响不大.GC-MS结果表明,n ZVI/Ni降解菲溶液主要为催化加氢反应,而n ZVI/Cu和n ZVI对菲溶液的去除主要为吸附作用.     

Reuse of nickel recovered from spent Ni–Cd batteries for the preparation of C/Ni and C/Ni/Pd layered electrodes for energy sources

Nickel recovered in the recycling process of Ni–Cd batteries was used as a main component of bath for electrodeposition of nickel onto carbon fabric in order to obtain C/Ni composite. A part of the obtained composite was additionally coated with a thin layer of palladium (C/Ni/Pd composite). All the materials were investigated to assess the possibility of their use in the processes of electrochemical storage (sorption/desorption) of hydrogen and electrochemical oxidation of methanol. The obtained results showed the composites to be active electrode materials in these processes. The electrodes exhibited high activity and cyclability, especially in the process of methanol oxidation due to electrocatalytic activity of both nickel deposited onto carbon fabric and the outer layer of porous palladium coating nickel substrate.     

外源Ni在干旱区绿洲土壤-小麦系统中的迁移及其生物有效性

以西北干旱区绿洲灌淤土为供试土壤,采用盆栽模拟试验和室内分析研究了Ni对小麦的生物效应及其在土壤-小麦系统中的迁移规律.结果表明:Ni在低添加质量分数下能促进小麦生长,但达到临界值240 mg·kg-1后,就会出现明显的毒害作用.随着Ni添加质量分数的增加,各器官中Ni含量也呈增长趋势.小麦根对Ni的富集能力最强,籽粒对Ni的富集能力最弱.随着Ni添加质量分数的增加,土壤中可交换态Ni和碳酸盐结合态Ni所占比例呈增加趋势.对小麦而言,可交换态Ni是生物有效态.     

Remediation of Ni2+-contaminated water using iron powder and steel manufacturing byproducts

Steel manufacturing byproducts and commercial iron powders were tested in the treatment of Ni^2＋-contaminated water. Ni^2＋ is a priority pollutant of some soils and groundwater. The use of zero-valent iron, which can reduce Ni^2＋ to its neural form appears to be an alternative approach for the remediation of Ni^2＋-contaminated sites. Our experimental data show that the removal efficiencies of Ni^2＋ were 95.15% and 94.68% at a metal to solution ratio of 20 g/L for commercial iron powders and the steel manufacturing byproducts in 60 min at room temperature, respectively. The removal efficiency reached 98.20% when the metal to solution ratio was 40 g/L for commercial iron powders. Furthermore, we found that the removal efficiency was also largely affected by other factors such as the pHs of the treated water, the length of time for the metal to be in contact with the Ni^2＋-contaminated water, initial concentrations of metal solutions, particle sizes and the amount of iron powders. Surprisingly, the reaction temperature appeared to have little effect on the removal efficiency. Our study opens the way to further optimize the reaction conditions of in situ remediation of Ni^2＋ or other heavy metals on contaminated sites.     

Climate Change and Climate Variability: Adaptations to Reduce Adverse Health Impacts

Global climate change is likely to have a range of consequences for human health as a result of disturbance or weakening of the biosphere's natural or human-managed life support systems. The full range of potential human health impacts of global climate change is diverse and would be distributed differentially spatially and over time. Changes in the mortality toll of heatwaves and changes in the distribution of vector-borne infectious diseases may occur early. The public health consequences of sea level rise and of regional changes in agricultural productivity may not occur (or become apparent) for several decades. Vulnerability is a measure of both sensitivity to climate change and the ability to adapt in anticipation of, or in response to, its impacts. The basic modes of adaptation to climate-induced health hazards are biological, behavioural and social. Adaptation can be undertaken at the individual, community and whole-population levels. Adaptive strategies should not introduce new health hazards. Enhancement of the acknowledged public health infrastructure and intervention programmes is essential to reduce vulnerability to the health impacts of climate change. In the longer-term, fundamental improvements in the social and material conditions of life and in the reduction of inequalities within and between populations are required for sustained reduction in vulnerability to environmental health hazards.