Determination of alcohol compounds using corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry

Ion mobility spectrometry （IMS） is a very fast, highly sensitive, and inexpensive technique, it permits efficient monitoring of volatile organic compounds like alcohols. In this article, positive ion mobility spectra for six alcohol organic compounds have been systematically studied for the first time using a high-resolution IMS apparatus equipped with a discharge ionization source. Utilizing protonated water cluster ions （H2O）nH^＋ as the reactant ions and clean air as the drift gas, alcohol organic compounds, ethanol, 1- propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol and 2-octanol, all exhibit product ion characteristic peaks in their respective ion mobility spectrometry, that is a result of proton transfer reactions between the alcohols and reaction ions （H2O）nH^＋. The mixture of these alcohols, including two isomers, has been detected, and the results showed that they could be distinguished effectively in the ion mobility spectrum. The reduced mobility values have been determined, which are in very well agreement with the traditional ^63Ni-IMS experimental values. The exponential dilution method was used to calibrate the alcohol concentrations, and a detection limit available for the alcohols is in order of magnitude of a few ng/L.     

Set-aside management: How do succession, sowing patterns and landscape context affect biodiversity?

European Union (EU) member states set aside between 5 and 15% of arable land during the last two decades, but abolition of the set-aside scheme in 2008 caused a sudden loss in habitat availability and biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Management of set-aside has many facets and in this perspective paper we focus on the biodiversity effects of successional age, sowing strategies and landscape context. Young, 1-2-year-old set-asides have been initially considered to be too ephemeral to have any conservation value. However, when a rich seed and bud bank is available, a species-rich natural (secondary) succession can be observed. Arable (annual) weed communities in the first two years of succession can even include endangered plant species with associated rare insect consumers. Furthermore, many bird species benefit from early-successional habitats, whereas small mammal communities are richer in older habitats. If the local plant species pool is poor, sowings of diverse mixtures from regional seed collections can be recommended. Set-aside managers using species-rich sowings often experience that dominant weeds suppress the less competitive annual species. This trend to species-poor communities can be avoided by intraspecific aggregation of competitively weak species. Broadening the spatial scale from the plot to the landscape, efficiency of set-aside is highest in simple landscapes, where set-aside exhibits greatest effect in enhancement of biodiversity and associated services such as pollination and biological control. In complex landscapes, however, additional set-aside does not add much to the high level of biodiversity and ecological processes already present. Twenty percent of semi-natural, non-crop habitat appears to be a rough threshold for enhancing biodiversity and sustaining services such as pollination and biological control, but improved set-aside management should have the potential to reduce the percentage of semi-natural non-crop habitat needed. EU policy should tailor set-aside schemes for the maintenance of biodiversity and also consider that management efficiency is higher in simple than complex landscapes.     

A review on hybrid mixture explosions: Safety parameters,explosion regimes and criteria,flame characteristics

The hybrid mixture of combustible dusts and flammable gases/vapours widely exist in various industries, including mining, petrochemical, metallurgical, textile and pharmaceutical. It may pose a higher explosion risk than gas/vapor or dust/mist explosions since the hybrid explosions can still be initiated even though both the gas and the dust concentration are lower than their lower explosion limit (LEL) values. Understanding the explosion threat of hybrid mixtures not only contributes to the inherent safety and sustainability of industrial process design, but promotes the efficiency of loss prevention and mitigation. To date, however, there is no test standard with reliable explosion criteria available to determine the safety parameters of all types of hybrid mixture explosions, nor the flame propagation and quenching mechanism or theoretical explanation behind these parameters. This review presents a state-of-the-art overview of the comprehensive understanding of hybrid mixture explosions mainly in an experimental study level; thereby, the main limitations and challenges to be faced are explored. The discussed main contents include the experimental measurement for the safety parameters of hybrid mixtures (i.e., explosion sensitivity and severity parameters) via typical test apparatuses, explosion regime and criterion of hybrid mixtures, the detailed flame propagation/quenching characteristics behind the explosion severities/sensitivities of hybrid mixtures. This work aims to summarize the essential basics of experimental studies, and to provide the perspectives based on the current research gaps to understand the explosion hazards of hybrid mixtures in-depth.     

The effect of N2/CO2 blend ratios on the pyrolysis and combustion behaviors of coal particles: Kinetic and thermodynamic analyses

The aim of this work is to investigate the impact of various CO₂/N₂ ratios on coal pyrolysis and combustion properties and to provide theoretical guidance for better preventing and controlling coal spontaneous combustion in the goaf. The dynamic pyrolysis and combustion characteristics of DX coal were analyzed by using a thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA) in a constant oxygen atmosphere with different CO₂/N₂ blend ratios. The Málek method combining Coats-Redfern and Achar methods was used to determine the most probable mechanism functions. CO₂ containing atmospheres increased characteristic temperatures, burnout rate, maximum mass loss rate and comprehensive combustion performance index compared to O₂/N₂ atmospheres. In stages I-III, a lower apparent activation energy was observed in O₂/CO₂ atmospheres. Apparent activation energy and enthalpy changes showed upward trends in the reaction stage (I→III→IV), whereas Gibbs free energy change and entropy change decreased. The dynamic pyrolysis and combustion of DX coal necessitated increased energy in environment with a CO₂/N₂ ratio of 4:6, revealing the optimal inhibitory effect on DX coal with this particular ratio.     

4种环境雌激素对淡水鱼卵黄蛋白原诱导的混合物效应研究

在个体水平上阐明环境雌激素类化合物对易受影响生物的联合毒性作用,探讨混合污染物联合作用和环境风险评价的研究方法.通过对鲫鱼血清卵黄蛋白原含量的相对变化和暴露浓度的非线性回归分析得出17α-乙炔基雌二醇(EE2)、17β-雌二醇(E2)、双酚A(BPA)、辛基苯酚(OP)及其等毒性混合物产生雌激素效应的剂量-反应关系,应用联合作用指数和相加作用模型研究4种环境雌激素的联合作用.各化合物非线性回归分析结果均以Weibull函数拟合效果最好,决定系数R2≥0.92;效应浓度值及其95%置信限通过自举抽样法得出,其中半效应浓度值EC50及其95%置信区间分别为0.0079(0.0068～0.0100)、0.0987(0.0900～0.1110)、63.50(56.58～70.62)和250.59(228.46～271.99)μg·L-1.4种环境雌激素混合物效应通过相加作用模型预测在全剂量范围内与实验结果相一致,呈现相似联合作用.相加作用模型是在各个浓度反应水平上展示化合物联合作用的性质,是切实可行的联合作用研究方法,而混合物效应通过联合作用指数评价存在许多不确定性.     

基于热红外遥感数据和光谱混合分解模型的城市不透水面估算

不透水面的迅速增长是城市化的显著特征之一,针对大范围的城市监测,运用遥感技术迅速提取城市不透水面是当前国内外研究的热点。论文选用Landsat 7的ETM+影像,基于光谱混合分解模型,结合热红外遥感数据反演生成的地表温度,研究杭州市的不透水面分布信息的提取。通过高、低反照率、植被及土壤4类光谱端元的线性组合来表征不同城市土地类型,并利用地表温度和土壤分量分别剔除高、低反照率分量中的"噪声",综合修正后的高反照率分量和低反照率分量估算杭州市不透水面分布。结果显示,研究区中均方根误差的平均值为0.003 6,不透水面分布结果与同期Google earth上的高分辨率影像和SPOT 4影像的解译结果对比分析,绝大多数样本的估算值与解译值之差落在±0.15区间内,精度令人满意。研究表明,热红外遥感数据和光谱混合分解模型相结合,可以实现对不透水面进行快速、精确的估算。     

广东清远电子垃圾处理地沉积物对伸展摇蚊的慢性毒性效应

电子垃圾拆解引起的环境污染和生态风险已成为全球关注的热点问题,不适当的电子垃圾拆解过程造成处理区水体沉积物受到多类有机化合物和重金属污染,直接威胁生活在沉积物中的底栖动物。在典型电子垃圾处理地广东清远采集沉积物,测定样品中以烃类为主的色谱难分离混合物(unresolved complex mixture,UCM)的含量,开展伸展摇蚊全生命周期慢性毒性测试。结果表明,清远沉积物中的UCM浓度(0.08±0.01)%接近于这类污染物对伸展摇蚊的慢性半致死性效应浓度(0.073±0.022)%。同时发现清远沉积物对以摇蚊为代表的底栖无脊椎动物具有显著慢性毒性效应,且可通过测定UCM含量初步估算。这为开展以电子垃圾处理地沉积物为代表的,受到以麻醉作用为主要致毒机制的混合物污染的沉积物的毒性评价提供了一种有效方法。     

典型抗生素与群体感应抑制剂对费氏弧菌的三元慢性联合毒性

群体感应抑制剂(quorum sensing inhibitor,QSIs)广泛应用之后与环境中现有抗菌药物共存的趋势不可避免。为了评价QSIs和现有抗菌药物共存所引起的生态环境效应,本文以费氏弧菌(Vibrio fischeri)作为模式生物,磺胺类抗生素磺胺氯哒嗪(SCP)、磺胺类增效剂甲氧苄嘧啶(TMP)和群体感应抑制剂4-溴-5-溴亚甲基-2(5氢)-呋喃酮(FC-30)为研究对象,测定了以上3个化合物对Vibrio fischeri的单一/混合慢性毒性效应。单一慢性毒性结果表明,3个化合物的毒性大小如下:FC-30SCPTMP,混合慢性毒性结果表明三元混合体系联合效应为拮抗。进一步分析可知,SCP+FC-30和TMP+FC-30两个混合体系的拮抗作用是三元混合体系为拮抗效应的根本原因。最后指出,因为SCP、TMP和FC-30的三元混合体系是拮抗作用,所以从环境生态风险角度分析,三者联合用药对环境的影响小于单一用药。     

七氟丙烷对狭长受限空间油气爆炸抑制实验研究

为研究七氟丙烷对油气爆炸的抑制作用,研制了主动式油气爆炸抑制装置,搭建 了狭长受限空间油气爆炸抑制实验系统,进行了油气爆炸抑制实验,并与无抑爆介质条 件进行了对比,分析了爆炸超压值、火焰传播速度和火焰强度等特性参数变化情况。实 验结果表明:当以3、4和5 kg七氟丙烷作为抑爆介质时,最大超压值分别下降34.05%、 50.78%和55.87%,平均火焰传播速度分别下降72.15%、79.87%和89.23%,火焰持续时间 明显缩短,火焰强度减弱;随着七氟丙烷质量的增加,抑爆效果越显著。     

A wave change analysis (WCA) method for pipeline leak detection using Gaussian mixture model

This paper presents a novel pipeline leak detection scheme based on gradient and slope turns rejection (GSTR). Instead of monitoring the pipeline under constant working pressure, GSTR introduces a new testing method which obtains data during the transient periods of different working pressures. A novel pipeline leak detection method based on those transient data without failure history is proposed. Wavelet packet analysis (WPA) is applied to extract features which capture the dynamic characteristics from the non-stationary pressure data. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimension of the feature space. Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is utilized to approximate the density distribution of the lower-dimensional feature space which consists of the major principal components. Bayesian information criterion (BIC) is used to determine the number of mixtures for the GMM and a density boosting method is applied to achieve better accuracy of the distribution estimation. An experimental case study for oil pipeline system is used as an example to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.