Outdoor Weathering Evaluation of Carbon-Black-Filled, Biodegradable Copolyester as Substitute for Traditionally Used, Carbon-Black-Filled, Nonbiodegradable, High-Density Polyethylene Mulch Films

Carbon-black-filled, biodegradable, copolyester mulch film (Eastar®, or EA, Tennessee Eastman, Kingsport, TN) and commercial carbon-black-filled, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) mulch film were exposed for 12 weeks to commercial vegetable crop growing conditions by being placed directly on irrigated soil in the field of the University of Tennessee Alcoa Highway State Agriculture Experiment Station (Knoxville, TN) and by being placed on a plywood exposure rack as described by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard Test Method 1435: Outdoor Weathering of Plastics. Mechanical properties and weather information were collected in order to evaluate the feasibility of using the newly developed biodegradable EA mulch film to replace the nonbiodegradable HDPE mulch film. Results indicate that the EA mulch film exhibited favorable tensile strength and elongation-at-break during outdoor exposure rack testing and outdoor, in-field, placed directly on the soil, exposure testing, suggesting biodegradable EA could be a substitute for the HDPE nonbiodegradable material.     

Large-scale risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in shoreline sediments from Saudi Arabia: Environmental legacy after twelve years of the Gulf war oil spill

A large-scale assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the 1991 Gulf War oil spill was performed for 2002-2003 sediment samples (n = 1679) collected from habitats along the shoreline of Saudi Arabia. Benthic sediment toxicity was characterized using the Equilibrium Partitioning Sediment Benchmark Toxic Unit approach for 43 PAHs (ESBTU_FCV,43). Samples were assigned to risk categories according to ESBTU_FCV,43 values: no-risk (≤1), low (>1-≤2), low-medium (>2-≤3), medium (>3-≤5) and high-risk (>5). Sixty seven percent of samples had ESBTU_FCV,43 > 1 indicating potential adverse ecological effects. Sediments from the 0-30 cm layer from tidal flats, and the >30-<60 cm layer from heavily oiled halophytes and mangroves had high frequency of high-risk samples. No-risk samples were characterized by chrysene enrichment and depletion of lighter molecular weight PAHs, while high-risk samples showed little oil weathering and PAH patterns similar to 1993 samples. North of Safaniya sediments were not likely to pose adverse ecological effects contrary to sediments south of Tanaqib. Landscape and geomorphology has played a role on the distribution and persistence in sediments of oil from the Gulf War.     

Watershed factors affecting stream acidification in the White Mountains of New Hampshire,USA

The streams tributary to acidic Cone Pond, pH 4.5–4.8, and circumneutral Black Pond, pH 5.3–6.4, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA, were monitored for a year. The watersheds of these two ponds were characterized in terms of geology and stream hydrology. Chemical gradients and patterns in rock weathering and groundwater discharge explain many of the differences in mineral content and acidity of the streams. The rocks of Black watershed produced an average of ten times the equivalent of basic cations as rocks from Cone watershed. This is on the same order as the difference in acidity of the two streams. Down-stream changes in stream chemistry follow differing patterns, but reflect the same principle of residence time and water path length controlling chemical evolution of streamwater. Watershed and aquatic managers may use these parameters in an inexpensive and simple assessment of the susceptibility of individual streams and ponds to acidification. A method is recommended to determine quickly the potential influence of bedrock type to aquatic chemistry.     

ACID PRECIPITATION AND WEATHERING BY ORGANIC ACIDS IN LABRAI)OR LAKE BASINS1

ABSTRACT: Thirty-five lakes in southern Labrador sampled in 1981 were resampled in 1989 and water chemistry values were compared between visits. Results showed higher pH, specific conductance, acid neutralization capacity, color, and base cations values in 1989, though sulfate, the ion most likely to reflect acid precipitation impacts, did not vary. The major ion changes measured were probably due to natural hydrological variations and not to changes in acid inputs. Results from the 1989 data showed a slight, but significant, decrease in water sulfate concentration trend from western to eastern Labrador, though most values, even in the western portion of the study area, fell close to the values considered “background” by Brakke et at. (1989). Base cation concentrations exceeded those which could be predicted from weathering by carbonic and bicarbonic acid. Assuming that little weathering is generated by acid precipitation in this region, the excess cations measured are probably a result of bedrock dissolution from organic acids generated by plant decomposition. Calculations showed that organic acid effect could be responsible for 9 to 52 percent of total weathering in the study basins.     

我国废钢铁资源的可持续利用政策

本文概述了我国废钢铁资源回收利用的现状以及钢铁工业对废钢铁资源的需求现状，用三种不同的模型预测了未来钢铁工业的发展对废钢铁资源的需求，提出了废钢铁资源可持续利用存在的问题和政策建议。     

Exposure Programme on Atmospheric Corrosion Effects of Acidifying Pollutants in Tropical and Subtropical Climates

Many national exposure programmes have been performed in tropical and subtropical climates during the last 50 years. However, ambitious programmes involving more than a few countries are scarce. In this paper a recently formed network of test sites is described involving 12 test sites in Asia (India, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and China including Hong Kong) and four test sites in Africa (South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe). This effort is part of the 2001–2004 Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) funded Programme on Regional Air Pollution in Developing Countries (RAPIDC). Corrosion attack after one (2002–2003) year of exposure (carbon steel, zinc, copper, limestone and paint coated steel) are presented together with environmental data (SO₂, NO₂, HNO₃, O₃, particles, amount and pH of precipitation, temperature and relative humidity) for all the test sites. The obtained corrosion values are substantially higher than expected for limestone, higher than expected for carbon steel and lower than expected for zinc compared to values calculated using the best available dose–response functions.     

耐候钢中微量元素的测定

本文分别用化学法和电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法(ICP-AES)测定了Corten-B和Sten3两种耐候钢中Cr、Cu、Mn、Sb、Si、V、P、Ti等8种微量元素的含量,并与传统的化学法进行了对比.试验证明ICP-AES光谱法不但技术简便、快速、易于推广应用,而且ICP-AES光谱法和微波消解技术联用在微量元素测量上有更准确、安全等方面的优点.另外,ICP-AES仅通过对少量样屑的一次溶样即可得到全部元素的分析结果,节省了钢样,这对于难以取样的情况尤为有利.     

节能减排 实现钢铁企业可持续发展

通过对钢铁行业消耗水资源及产生污染情况进行分析，阐述了目前钢铁行业为节能减排而采取的管理、技术、污染治理措施，以达到减少废水外排量、降低污染物浓度、降低新水消耗的目的，对钢铁行业废水回用中尚存和潜在的工艺、设计问题进行了讨论，同时提出了通过清洁生产、优化工艺结构来解决问题的措施和建议，确立了企业近期和长期的节能减排任务目标。     

日本钢铁工业发展循环经济简介

介绍日本钢铁工业发展循环经济的实践经验和主要做法，与之相比，指出我国钢铁工业发展循环经济存在的差距，并提出我国钢铁工业依法率先发展循环经济应采取的主要措施。     

SRHSC梁主要设计参数损伤敏感度分析

以型钢高强混凝土(SRHSC)梁为研究对象,结合SRHSC梁受力机理及承载能力的试验研究成果,提出了极限状态下的承载能力是评价梁力学性能的关键指标,将损伤前后梁正截面抗弯承载力之比和斜截面抗剪承载力之比的均值作为自变量,给出了SRHSC梁损伤表征函数,并借助"预定损伤法",揭示了主要设计参数对SRHSC梁损伤演化的影响规律。研究成果将为建立地震激励下SRHSC框架结构楼层损伤模型提供理论和数据支持。