Classification of dispersibility for combustible dust based on Hausner ratio

Mixing of combustible dust and oxidant is one of five essential prerequisites in the dust explosion pentagon, requiring that particles originally in mutual contact within the deposits be separated and suspended in the air. However, dust dispersion never proceeds with 100% efficiency, with inevitable particle agglomeration, and an inherent trend toward settling out of suspension. Dispersibility is defined to describe the ease of dispersion of a dust and the tendency of the particulate matter to remain airborne once a dust cloud has been formed. Pioneers made contributions to classify dust dispersibility by introducing dustiness group (DG), dustability index (DI), NIOSH dispersion chamber and in-situ particle size analysis. Issues remained including the difficulty in comparing results from different methods, as well as the availability of some high-tech testing apparatus.This study aims to provide a quick and universal testing method to estimate the dispersion property of combustible dust. A new dispersibility classification was developed based on dimensionless numbers Hausner ratio and Archimedes number. Four dispersibility classes (DCs) were proposed from one to four, with a larger number meaning better dispersibility. Results for more than a dozen dust samples and mixtures thereof showed the new method is useful in dust explosion research. The consistency in classifying dust dispersion properties between the DC method and previous methods was good. Changes in DC well explained our earlier findings on suppressant enhanced explosion parameter (SEEP) phenomenon attributed to the improvement in dust dispersibility. Hausner ratio and Archimedes number, as easily measured parameters, can be quite advantageous to assess dust dispersibility, permitting a proper risk assessment for the formation of explosible dust clouds.     

Partial neutralization of rain by seaspray: the case of Recôncavo, Bahia-Brazil

In the Recôncavo of Bahia (located between 12°33′ and 13°10′S and 38°00′and 39°00′W), there are significant discharges of SO₂ and NO_x due to local, industrial and urban activities. The incoming air masses from the Atlantic Ocean are enriched with seaspray, which neutralizes part of the rain acidity. The extent of seaspray neutralization of rain acidity was quantified in four sites of the region, each with different loads of seaspray. Rain samples were obtained daily at the same time, integrating the precipitation of the previous 24 h, using wet-only collectors and analyzed for pH by potentiometry and for sodium by flame photometry. The amount of rain acidity in Recôncavo neutralized by seaspray ranged from <1% up to 88% and depended on the site. On average, neutralization ranged from 5% to 18%.     

南京秋冬季非难熔性亚微米颗粒物来源解析

利用Aerodyne高分辨率飞行时间气溶胶质谱仪（HR-ToF-AMS）对南京北郊秋冬季非难熔性亚微米气溶胶（NR-PM₁）的化学组分（包括有机物、硝酸盐、硫酸盐、铵盐和氯化物）和特征进行实时在线监测,并利用多元线性模型（ME-2）对其中复杂的有机物进行来源解析.观测期间,有机物、硝酸盐、硫酸盐、铵盐、氯化物对NR-PM₁的贡献分别为42%,28%,15%,13%和2%.有机物解析出6类有机气溶胶：烃类有机气溶胶（HOA）、烹饪类有机气溶胶（COA）、生物质燃烧有机气溶胶（BBOA）、高氧化有机气溶胶（MO-OOA）、低氧化有机气溶胶（LO-OOA）、液相反应生成氧化有机气溶胶（aq-OOA）,平均浓度分别占总有机气溶胶的18%,14%,19%,19%,11%和19%.通过不同污染事件的对比结果表明,本次观测期间二次气溶胶在污染时期占比会明显上升并且液相反应对二次组分的形成有显著的促进作用.     

Enhancing anoxic denitrification of low C/N ratio wastewater with novel ZVI composite carriers

External organic carbon sources are needed to provide electron donors for the denitrification of wastewater with a low COD/NO₃^--N（C/N） ratio, increasing the treatment cost. The economic strategy is to enhance the bioactivity and/or biodiversity of denitrifiers to efficiently utilize organic substances in wastewater. In this study, novel zero-valent iron（ZVI） composite carriers were prepared and implemented in a suspended carrier biofilm reactor to enhance the bioactivity an...     

Wall losses of oxygenated volatile organic compounds from oxidation of toluene: Effects of chamber volume and relative humidity

Vapor wall losses can affect the yields of secondary organic aerosol. The effects of surface-to-volume (S/V) ratio and relative humidity (RH) on the vapor-wall interactions were investigated in this study. The oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) were generated from toluene-H₂O₂ irradiations. The average gas to wall loss rate constant (k_gw) of OVOCs in a 400 L reactor (S/V = 7.5 m⁻¹) is 2.47 (2.41 under humid conditions) times higher than that in a 5000 L reactor (S/V = 3.6 m⁻¹) under dry conditions. In contrast, the average desorption rate constant (k_wg) of OVOCs in 400 L reactor is only 1.37 (1.20 under humid conditions) times higher than that in 5000 L reactor under dry conditions. It shows that increasing the S/V ratio can promote the wall losses of OVOCs. By contrast, the RH effect on k_gw is not prominent. The average k_gw value under humid conditions is almost the same as under dry conditions in the 400 L (5000 L) reactor. However, increasing RH can decrease the desorption rates. The average k_wg value under dry conditions is 1.45 (1.27) times higher than that under humid conditions in the 400 L (5000 L) reactor. The high RH can increase the partitioning equilibrium timescales and enhance the wall losses of OVOCs.     

复合污染条件下人为源VOCs的SOA生成研究进展

大气细颗粒物(PM_2.5)仍是我国空气质量持续改善的重大挑战.近年来,二次有机气溶胶(SOA)对PM_2.5的贡献日益凸显.因此,深入认识复合污染条件下SOA生成机制和影响因素可以为进一步降低PM_2.5提供重要理论依据.实验室模拟是深入认识SOA生成机制的关键途径,也是模式模拟参数化方案的可靠来源之一.主要综述了我国多污染物共存条件下典型人为源挥发性有机物(VOCs)的SOA生成研究进展,包括汽油蒸气VOCs、生物质燃烧VOCs和含氧VOCs形成SOA过程中,前体物浓度、芳香烃含量、无机气体、种子气溶胶和相对湿度(RH)等不同因素对SOA生成的影响;阐述了实际大气VOCs的SOA生成潜势及其影响因素,最后提出了目前在SOA机制研究方面存在的关键科学问题,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望.     

基于环境一号卫星的四川盆地气溶胶光学厚度精细化反演

四川盆地为中国灰霾形势较为严重的区域之一,对四川盆地大气灰霾的监测具有十分重要的意义。利用环境一号卫星数据,对能表征大气污染程度的气溶胶光学厚度进行了反演。提出了用EVI植被指数判定暗像元精细化反演气溶胶光学厚度的方法,该方法能较好地去除部分大气影响,气溶胶光学厚度反演结果与CE318的气溶胶光学厚度结果相关性较高,误差较小,具有较高的精度,反演结果满足精细化要求。反演结果表明,四川盆地内有德阳、成都、眉山和乐山4个气溶胶光学厚度高值区,该高值区呈带状分布且与四川盆地的地形密切相关。     

Effect of land management on soil microbial N supply to crop N uptake in a dry tropical cropland in Tanzania

In Sub-Saharan Africa, conservation of available soil N during early crop growth, when N loss by leaching generally occurs, is important to improve crop productivity. In a dry tropical cropland in Tanzania, we assessed the potential role of soil microbes as a temporal N sink-source to conserve the available soil N until later crop growth, which generally requires substantial crop N uptake. We evaluated the effect of land management [i.e., no input, plant residue application before planting (P plot) with or without fertilizer application, fertilizer application alone, and non-cultivated plots] on the relationship between soil N pool [microbial biomass N (MBN) and inorganic N] and crop N uptake throughout the ∼120-d crop growth period in two consecutive years. In the P plot, MBN clearly increased (∼14.6-29.6 kg N ha⁻¹) early in the crop growth period in both years because of immobilization of potentially leachable N, and it conserved a larger soil N pool (∼10.5-21.2 kg N ha⁻¹) than in the control plot. Especially in one year in which N leaching was critical, increased MBN maintained a larger soil N pool in the P plot throughout the experimental period, and a delay of increased MB C:N ratio and a substantial decrease in MBN was observed, indicating better soil microbial N supply for crop N uptake during later crop growth. Therefore, plant residue application before planting should enhance the role of soil microbes as a temporal N sink-source, leading to the conservation of potentially leachable N until later phase of crop growth, especially in years in which N leaching is relatively severe. Although further studies are necessary, our results suggest that plant residue application before planting is a promising option to achieve better N synchronization.