Investigation of influence of tungsten mine wastes on the elemental composition of some alpine and subalpine plants on Mount Uludağ, Bursa,Turkey

In this study, the effect of mine work wastes on elemental composition (N, P, Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn) of some alpine and subalpine plant species and in soils were investigated in the surroundings of the Etibank Wolfram Mine Work in Uludag mountain. Soils and plant parts belonging to Thymus praecox Opiz., Acinos alpinus (L.) Moench, Plantago holosteum Scop and Festuca punctoria Sm species collected from three directions around Wolfram Mine Work were used for our investigations. All samples were analysed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS) for Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu. The significant differences among sample sites were in terms of pH, % CaCO3, % C, % N and % P contents of soil. The changes of Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu contents in soil were determined to be due to mining activity. Of the four species examined, an important change was determined in concentrations of Mg, Mn, Fe and Zn although P. holosteum and F. punctoria were different in above- and below-ground parts, showing that plant element content is specific to species.     

粤东花岗岩及锡、钨矿床的地球化学研究

粤东燕山期与成矿有关的火成岩主要有早、晚两期,分别由火山岩与二长花岗岩及火山岩与黑云母花岗岩组成,两期的火山岩与花岗岩之间均为部分熔融关系,早期火成岩的源岩以沉积岩为主,晚期火成岩以火成物质占优势。锡矿化可划分为锡石—石英期次、锡石—硫化物期次及硫化物—银、金—碳酸盐期次;钨矿化可分为黑钨—石英期次,白钨—硫化物期次及碳酸盐期次。据系统的矿物包裹体,成矿热力学、成因矿物学、微量元素及同位素地球化学研究表明其成矿流体及成矿物质主要来自花岗岩,锡的矿化与早期二长花岗岩有关,钨矿化与晚期黑云母花岗岩关系密切。矿床成因类型应属岩浆—热液矿床。     

Surface modification of die steel materials by EDM method using tungsten powder-mixed dielectric

Surface modification by material transfer during electrical discharge machining (EDM) has emerged as a key research area in the last decade. Material may be provided to the machined surface of the workpiece by the eroding tool electrode or by using powder-mixed dielectric. Breakdown of the hydrocarbon dielectric contributes carbon to the plasma channel which may also cause surface modification. The present work has investigated the response of three die steel materials to surface modification by EDM method with tungsten powder mixed in the dielectric medium. Taguchi experimental design technique was used to conduct the experiments on each work material independently. Peak current, pulse on-time and pulse off-time were taken as variable factors and micro-hardness of the machined surface was taken as the response parameter. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and spectrometric analysis show substantial transfer of tungsten and carbon to the workpiece surface and an improvement of more than 100% in micro-hardness for all the three die steels. Presence of tungsten carbide (WC and W₂C) indicates that its formation is taking place in the plasma channel. Machining parameters for the best value of micro-hardness for each work material were found to be the same.     

Evaluation of PCDD/F oxidation catalysts: confronting studies on model molecules with tests on PCDD/F-containing gas stream

Titania supported vanadium oxide is a renowned catalyst for the abatement of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) from gas effluents. To develop more active formulations, researchers mainly rely on lab-scale experiments on “PCDD/Fs-mimicking substances”, like (chloro)-benzene. Using such model compounds is convenient whereas handling PCDD/Fs in the laboratory is potentially hazardous and complicated. Recent studies, however, challenged some foremost conclusions of model compound based studies, starting from the observation that different model compounds gave contrasted results. Thus the present work aims at confronting some of these dubious conclusions with direct experimental tests on PCDD/Fs. One reference V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst and three modified formulations (V₂O₅/TiO₂-SO₄, V₂O₅-MoO₃/TiO₂, and V₂O₅-WO₃/TiO₂) have been evaluated. A dedicated apparatus was used which allows safe and reliable tests on a mixture of PCDD/Fs congeners. Some of the previously proposed catalyst improvement strategies actually prove to be disadvantageous in the removal of PCDD/Fs. In particular, MoO₃- and WO₃-modified catalysts were significantly less active than the reference catalyst. These observations show that conclusions from model compound based studies must be drawn with care and should ideally be confronted with tests on the actual target pollutants.