Recovery of silicon powder from kerf loss slurry waste using superconducting high gradient magnetic separation technology

A major challenge in recycling of silicon powder from kerf loss slurry waste is the complete removal of metal particles. The traditional acid leaching method is costly and not green. In this paper, a novel approach to recover high-purity Si from the kerf loss slurry waste of solar grade silicon was investigated. The metal impurities were removed with superconducting high gradient magnetic separation technology. The effects of process parameters such as magnetic flux density, slurry density, and slurry flow velocity on the removal efficiency were investigated, and the parameters were optimized. In one lot of control experiments, the silicon content was increased from 90.91 to 95.83%, iron content reduced from 3.24 to 0.57%, and aluminum content from 2.44 to 1.51% under the optimum conditions of magnetic flux density of 4.0 T, slurry density of 20 g/L, and slurry flow velocity of 500 mL/min. The result indicates that the superconducting high gradient magnetic separation technology is a feasible purifying method, and the magnetic separation concentrate could be used as an intermediate product for high-purity Si powder.

     

Heavy metal pollution in surface soils of Pearl River Delta,China

Heavy metal pollution is an increasing environmental problem in Chinese regions undergoing rapid economic and industrial development, such as the Pearl River Delta (PRD), southern China. We determined heavy metal concentrations in surface soils from the PRD. The soils were polluted with heavy metals, as defined by the Chinese soil quality standard grade II criteria. The degree of pollution decreased in the order Cd?>?Cu?>?Ni?>?Zn?>?As?>?Cr?>?Hg?>?Pb. The degree of heavy metal pollution by land use decreased in the order waste treatment plants (WP)?>?urban land (UL)?>?manufacturing industries (MI)?>?agricultural land (AL)?>?woodland (WL)?>?water sources (WS). Pollution with some of the metals, including Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn, was attributed to the recent rapid development of the electronics and electroplating industries. Cd, Hg, and Pb (especially Cd) pose high potential ecological risks in all of the zones studied. The soils posing significantly high and high potential ecological risks from Cd covered 73.3 % of UL, 50 % of MI and WP land, and 48.5 % of AL. The potential ecological risks from heavy metals by land use decreased in the order UL?>?MI?>?AL?>?WP?>?WL?>?WS. The control of Cd, Hg, and Pb should be prioritized in the PRD, and emissions in wastewater, residue, and gas discharges from the electronics and electroplating industry should be decreased urgently. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides should also be decreased.     

Recycling food and agriculture by-products to mitigate climate change: a review

Food loss and waste is a major issue affecting food security, environmental pollution, producer profitability, consumer prices, and climate change. About 1.3 billion tons of food products are yearly lost globally, with China producing approximately 20 million tons of soybean dregs annually. Here, we review food and agricultural byproducts with emphasis on the strategies to convert this waste into valuable materials. Byproducts can be used for animal and plant nutrition, biogas production, food, extraction of oils and bioactive substances, and production of vinegar, wine, edible coatings and organic fertilizers. For instance, bioactive compounds represent approximately 8–20% of apple pomace, 5–17% of orange peel, 10–25% of grape seeds, 3–15% of pomegranate peel, and 2–13% of date palm seeds. Similarly, the pharmaceutical industry uses approximately 6.5% of the total output of gelatin derived from fish bones and animal skin. Animals fed with pomegranate peel and olive pomace improved the concentration of deoxyribonucleic acid and protein, the litter size, the milk yield, and nest characteristics. Biogas production amounts to 57.1% using soybean residue, 53.7% using papaya peel, and 49.1% using sugarcane bagasse.

     

Metabolic uncoupler, 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide addition for sludge reduction and fouling control in a gravity-driven membrane bioreactor

• Effects of metabolic uncoupler TCS on the performances of GDMBR were evaluated. • Sludge EPS reduced and transformed into dissolved SMP when TCS was added. • Appropriate TCS increased the permeability and reduced cake layer fouling. • High dosage aggravated fouling due to compact cake layer with low bio-activity. The gravity-driven membrane bioreactor (MBR)system is promising for decentralized sewage treatment because of its low energy consumption and maintenance requirements. However, the growing sludge not only increases membrane fouling, but also augments operational complexities (sludge discharge). We added the metabolic uncoupler 3,3′,4′,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide (TCS) to the system to deal with the mentioned issues. Based on the results, TCS addition effectively decreased sludge ATP and sludge yield (reduced by 50%). Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS; proteins and polysaccharides) decreased with the addition of TCS and were transformed into dissolved soluble microbial products (SMPs) in the bulk solution, leading to the break of sludge flocs into small fragments. Permeability was increased by more than two times, reaching 60–70 L/m²/h bar when 10–30 mg/L TCS were added, because of the reduced suspended sludge and the formation of a thin cake layer with low EPS levels. Resistance analyses confirmed that appropriate dosages of TCS primarily decreased the cake layer and hydraulically reversible resistances. Permeability decreased at high dosage (50 mg/L) due to the release of excess sludge fragments and SMP into the supernatant, with a thin but more compact fouling layer with low bioactivity developing on the membrane surface, causing higher cake layer and pore blocking resistances. Our study provides a fundamental understanding of how a metabolic uncoupler affects the sludge and bio-fouling layers at different dosages, with practical relevance for in situ sludge reduction and membrane fouling alleviation in MBR systems.     

Manganese-modified biochar for highly efficient sorption of cadmium

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, corn stalk was modified by manganese (Mn) before (MBC1) and after (MBC2) pyrolysis at different temperatures (400~600 °C)...     

A comparative study of pre-aeration effects on hydraulic jump air–water flow properties at high Froude numbers

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - A hydraulic jump forming in the stilling basin at the base of a high-head dam spillway is often characterized by high Froude number and inflow pre-aeration...     

炼油废水污泥脱水工艺条件的优化

采用化学除油降黏—污泥调理—离心脱水工艺处理某炼油厂废水处理系统的混合污泥，并对工艺条件进行优化。实验结果表明，最佳的工艺条件为：化学除油降黏阶段处理体系的pH=4，反应温度35 ℃，H₂O₂加入量 2 g/L，m（H₂O₂）∶ m（Fe²⁺）=4，反应时间 60 min；污泥调理反应阶段的CaO加入量7.0 g/L；离心脱水阶段在分离因数为1 558时脱水5 min。在此条件下，得到的泥饼的含水率为70.0%~75.0%（w），含油率小于2%（w），污泥比阻约为3.0×10⁷ s²/g。     

用于石油污染土壤降解的高效降解菌的筛选及其降解条件优化

经过富集、分离优选出高效石油降解菌L-1,根据形态观察和生理生化特征初步鉴定为琼氏不动杆菌;采用单因素花盆实验模拟微生物原位修复并对其降解条件进行优化。结果表明,将高效石油降解菌应用于修复石油污染土壤,适宜接种量、表面活性剂浓度、CNP比、翻耕频率分别为15%、0.1%、100∶10∶1和1 d 1次;在该降解条件下修复28 d,可达到16.80%的石油降解率,远远高于土著微生物6.92%的降解率。     

温度对正渗透工艺性能的影响

正渗透技术是一种以渗透压差为驱动力的新型膜分离工艺。温度是影响正渗透过程的关键因素。为考察温度在工艺运行中的重要作用,研究了温度对正渗透膜特性及工艺性能的影响,探讨通量衰减机制。结果表明,温度影响汲取液动态稀释、浓差极化和膜污染等的效应程度,进而影响正渗透性能。高温能够明显增加水通量和回收率,且汲取液温度影响比原料液显著。因此,合理优化温度条件是降低能耗提高正渗透性能的有效途径。