Preconcentration of cadmium and copper ions on magnetic core–shell nanoparticles for determination by flame atomic absorption

Magnetic core–shell nanoparticles modified by (3-aminopropyl) trimethoxy silane were prepared and used as adsorbent for the extraction and preconcentration of cadmium and copper ions. The ions were desorbed with nitric acid followed by determination with flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The extraction conditions were investigated systematically. The method was applied for the determination of Cd(II) and Cu(II) ions in different water samples. The accuracy was also evaluated through analysis of certified reference material.     

Exploration of spatial morphometry and socioeconomic variables in modelling urban land use change

The incorporation of land use (LU) data with socioeconomic data is a main issue in modelling. This is as a result of difference in data model and scale. This study proposed and tested the change–pattern approach, which allows the incorporation of these data sets in modelling LU change. Focusing on LU dynamics for a selected part of the Thames Gateway within the City of London, the approach tested two different methods of input selection for the modelling operations. Variables selected from these two methods serve as inputs into several neural networks tested in order to identify the direction of change for each of the LU types within the study area. The result shows that direction of LU change across the study area could be identified when spatial morphology of the area and socioeconomic variables are considered. Some classes of change could be identified fairly accurately using landscape metrics indicating level of fragmentation, extent of LU patches, shape complexity of LU patches in combination with some socioeconomic variables.     

冬季不同污水处理工艺对溶解性有机物的去除

以东北地区4个城市污水处理厂为研究对象,考察冬季不同污水处理工艺对溶解性有机物(DOM)组分的去除效果,以及对DOM组分的光谱学特性和卤代活性的影响.利用XAD树脂将DOM分为5个部分:疏水性有机酸(HPO-A)、疏水性中性有机物(HPO-N)、过渡亲水性有机酸(TPI-A)、过渡亲水性中性有机物(TPI-N)和亲水性有机物(HPI).结果表明,A/O法、曝气生物滤池、浮动填料法和A2/O法对DOM都具有较高的去除能力,其中曝气生物滤池对DOM的处理效果最好.经4种污水处理工艺处理后,5种组分的芳香性和三卤甲烷生成活性(STHMFP)均升高.A2/O法对HPO-A和TPI-A的芳香性增强程度最高,而曝气生物滤池对HPO-N,TPI-N和HPI的芳香性增强程度最高.浮动填料法对HPO-A,TPI-A和HPI的STHMFP升高最显著,A2/O法对HPO-N的STHMFP增加最显著,曝气生物滤池对TPI-N的STHMFP升高最显著.4种污水处理工艺对HPI中荧光物质的去除率高于非荧光物质.而对于其他4种DOM组分来说,不同的污水处理工艺对不同荧光峰的改变不相同.     

不同灌溉方式冬小麦农田生态系统碳平衡研究

全球气候变暖趋势明显,陆地生态系统碳循环的研究成为目前的研究热点,而农田生态系统是陆地生态系统的重要组成部分,由于农田生态系统是受人类强烈调节与控制的复合系统,其碳循环受各类农作措施的影响极大。新疆地处干旱区,水分条件是农田碳循环的最重要限制因子。为此,分析不同灌溉方式对冬小麦（Triticum aestivuml）农田生态系统碳平衡的影响,从而提出有利于新疆冬小麦生产的固碳减排的灌溉方式。试验于2012—2013年在伊宁县科技示范园冬小麦试验田进行,选择伊农18冬小麦品种为供试材料,确定滴灌和漫灌为两个试验主因子并设置小区。试验自冬小麦返青开始至完全成熟结束,期间平均每7天采1次样,其中用典型样株法采集小麦植株,分根、茎、叶等不同器官单独烘干测定植株固碳量;用静态钠石灰吸收法测定冬小麦土壤呼吸;收集整理已发表国内外文献中的各类碳排放参数确定本研究中所需参数;采用王小彬的碳平衡计算方法分析不同灌溉方式农田生态系统碳平衡,据此对滴灌和漫灌两种灌溉方式的冬麦农田作物生物量固碳、土壤碳排放量和作物生产过程中物质投入的间接碳排放量,以及两种灌溉方式下冬麦农田生态系统净碳值进行分析。试验结果表明：滴灌条件下冬麦农田生态系统小麦的固碳量、土壤碳排放总量分别比漫灌小麦的高出15.38%和11.43%,冬小麦穗是差异形成的主要原因;而农业生产资料排碳总量比漫灌少排3.88%;但无论是滴灌还是漫灌,耗电碳排放量均占农业生产资料碳排放总量的59%以上,是农业生产资料碳排放的第一大来源。两种灌溉方式下冬小麦田生态系统的净碳值均呈现出固碳并存在显著差异（p〈0.01）,且滴灌冬麦农田生态系统净碳值比漫灌高25.39%。因此,新疆冬小麦生产中采用滴灌方式更有利于农田生态系统的固碳,     

Limiting explosible concentration of hydrogen–oxygen–helium mixtures related to the practical operational case

This paper presents data on the limiting (minimum) concentrations of hydrogen in oxygen, in the presence of added helium, at elevated temperature and pressure related to the practical operational case. A 5 L explosion vessel, an ignition sub-system and a transient pressure measurement sub-system were used. Through a series of experiments carried out using this system, the limiting concentrations of hydrogen in oxygen and helium at different initial pressures and temperatures for the practical operational case were studied, and the influence of ignition energy and initial temperature on the limiting concentration of hydrogen in oxygen and helium was analyzed and discussed. The variation of ignition energy within the studied range is found to have a significant effect on the limiting concentration of hydrogen in oxygen and helium at lower initial temperature. However, when the ignition energy is higher than 32 mJ, the limiting hydrogen concentration remains almost changeless as the initial temperature increases from 21 °C to 90 °C. The limiting explosible concentration of hydrogen–oxygen–helium mixture decreases as the ignition energy increases when the initial temperature is lower. When the initial temperature is higher, the ignition energy has little effect on the limiting hydrogen concentration of hydrogen–oxygen–helium mixtures. When the initial temperature reaches 90 °C, the limiting hydrogen concentration remains almost changeless with an increase in ignition energy. The limiting explosible concentration of hydrogen in the mixtures, at the initial temperature of 21 °C and the ignition energy of 0.5 mJ, is 8.5% and that of oxygen is 11.25%.     

Thermodynamic method for the prediction of solid CO2 formation from multicomponent mixtures

The increase in GHG concentration has a direct effect on global climate conditions. Among the possible technologies to mitigate GHG emissions, CCS is being accepted to gain emission reduction. Such technology also involves cryogenic CO₂ capture processes based on CO₂ freeze-out or where the formation of solid CO₂ must be avoided. Captured CO₂ is usually transported in pipelines for the reinjection.The risk associated to the release of CO₂ is due to the changing temperatures and pressures the system may experience, which can lead to the deposition of solid CO₂ where it must be avoided. Prolonged exposure to dry ice can cause severe skin damage and its resublimation could pose a danger of hypercapnia. It is, thus, necessary to build up a tool able to predict the conditions in which CO₂ can freeze-out.A thermodynamic methodology based on cubic EoSs has been developed which is able to predict solid–liquid–vapor equilibrium of CO₂ mixtures with n-alkanes or H₂S which are usually found in equipment for acidic gas, mainly natural gas, treatment.The focus is a detailed analysis of the method performances when more than two components are present since, for such a case, literature does not provide significant modeling results.     

Major accident management in the process industry: An expert tool called CESMA for intelligent allocation of prevention investments

A tool (called CESMA) was developed to carry out cost–benefit analyses and cost-effectiveness analyses of prevention investments for avoiding major accidents. A wide variety of parameters necessary to calculate both the costs of the considered preventive measures and the benefits related with the avoidance of accidents were identified in the research. The benefits are determined by estimating the difference in (hypothetical) major accident costs without and with the implementation of a preventive measure. As many relevant costs and benefits as possible were included into the tool, based on literature and expert opinion, in order to be able to deliver an all-embracing cost–benefit analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis to assist in the investment decision process. Because major accidents are related to extremely low frequencies, the tool takes the uncertainty of the unwanted occurrence of a major accident into account through the usage of a so-called ‘disproportion factor’. Compared with existing software, the CESMA tool is innovative by striving for an as-accurate-as-possible picture of costs and benefits of major accident prevention, and taking the uncertainties accompanying disastrous events into consideration. Furthermore, an illustrative example of CESMA is presented in the paper.     

A review on application of flocculants in wastewater treatment

Flocculation is an essential phenomenon in industrial wastewater treatment. Inorganic coagulants (salts of multivalent metals) are being commonly used due to its low cost and ease of use. However, their application is constrained with low flocculating efficiency and the presence of residue metal concentration in the treated water. Organic polymeric flocculants are widely used nowadays due to its remarkable ability to flocculate efficiently with low dosage. However, its application is associated with lack of biodegradability and dispersion of monomers residue in water that may represent a health hazard. Therefore, biopolymers based flocculants have been attracting wide interest of researchers because they have the advantages of biodegradability and environmental friendly. But, natural flocculants are needed in large dosage due to its moderate flocculating efficiency and shorter shelf life. Thus, in order to combine the best properties of both, synthetic polymers are grafted onto the backbone of natural polymers to obtain tailor-made grafted flocculants. This paper gives an overview of the development of different types of flocculants that were being investigated for treatment of industrial wastewater. Furthermore, their flocculation performance will be reviewed and the flocculation mechanism will be discussed.     

Simulation-based fault propagation analysis—Application on hydrogen production plant

Recently production of hydrogen from water through the Cu–Cl thermochemical cycle is developed as a new technology. The main advantages of this technology over existing ones are higher efficiency, lower costs, lower environmental impact and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Considering these advantages, the usage of this technology in new industries such as nuclear and oil is increasingly developed. Due to hazards involved in hydrogen production, design and implementation of hydrogen plants require provisions for safety, reliability and risk assessment. However, very little research is done from safety point of view. This paper introduces fault semantic network (FSN) as a novel method for fault diagnosis and fault propagation analysis by using evolutionary techniques like genetic programming (GP) and neural networks (NN), to uncover process variables’ interactions. The effectiveness, feasibility and robustness of the proposed method are demonstrated on simulated data obtained from the simulation of hydrogen production process in Aspen HYSYS^®. The proposed method has successfully achieved reasonable detection and prediction of non-linear interaction patterns among process variables.