Valorization of sodium sulfate waste to potassium sulfate fertilizer: experimental studies,process modeling,and optimization

ABSTRACT

Sodium sulfate is a common low-value industrial by-product but can be managed using the Glaserite process to convert it into high-value potassium sulfate. The aim of the study is to investigate the potential for implementing this process in an industrial application. Experimental studies were completed to determine the yield and purity of both glaserite and potassium sulfate. Process simulation using SysCAD was utilized to optimize a two-stage glaserite process to produce potassium sulfate. Comparison of experimental and simulated data was made to validate the simulator’s results, finding the AAD in solid and liquid phase for glaserite production to be 6.9% and 5.7%, respectively, and for potassium sulfate to be 5.7% and 2.3%, respectively. For a process treating seven MT/hr of Na₂SO₄, a KCl feed strategy of 3.0 MT/hr to the glaserite reactor and 4.5 MT/hr to the K₂SO₄ reactor was found to maximize yield and minimize water demand. It was also found that ambient temperatures were preferred for the K₂SO₄ reactor and that K₂SO₄ yield suffered significantly under certain conditions when the glaserite reactor operated at 50°C or above.     

Greenhouse evaluation and environmental impact assessment of different urine-derived struvite fertilizers as phosphorus sources for plants

A selection of six urine-derived struvite fertilizers generated by innovative precipitation technologies was assessed for their quality and their effectiveness as phosphorus sources for crops. Struvite purity was influenced by drying techniques and magnesium dosage. In a greenhouse experiment, the urine fertilizers led to biomass yields and phosphorus uptakes comparable to or higher than those induced by a commercial mineral fertilizer. Heavy metal concentrations of the different struvite fertilizers were below the threshold limits specified by the German Fertilizer and Sewage Sludge Regulations. The computed loading rates of heavy metals to agricultural land were also below the threshold limits decreed by the Federal Soil Protection Act. Urine-derived struvite contributed less to heavy metal inputs to farmland than other recycling products or commercial mineral and organic fertilizers. When combined with other soil conditioners, urine-derived struvite is an efficient fertilizer which covers the magnesium and more than half of the phosphorus demand of crops.     

Relative costs of conserving threatened species across taxonomic groups

Bias toward legally protecting and prioritizing charismatic taxonomic groups, such as mammals and birds, and against others, such as insects and plants, is well documented. However, the relative costs of conserving various taxonomic groups and the potential of these costs to interact with existing biases have been much less explored. We analyzed conservation programs across more than 2,000 species in 3 countries to investigate the costs of conserving species within taxonomic groups and how these costs might affect conservation planning. For each data set, we tested for differences in mean annual cost among taxonomic groups. For the data set from the United States, recovery plans differed in duration, so we also tested for differences in total costs among taxonomic groups. Although the costs for individual species varied widely, there were strong international consistencies. For example, mammals cost 8–26 times more on average to conserve than plants and 13–19 times more to conserve than aquatic invertebrates. On average, bird species cost 5–30 times more to conserve than plants and 6–14 times more to conserve than aquatic invertebrates. These cost differences could exacerbate unequal resource allocation among taxonomic groups such that more charismatic groups both receive more attention and require more resources, leading to neglect of other taxonomic groups.     

我国新时期生态保护修复总体战略与重大任务

生态保护修复是美丽中国建设的重大任务，是加快推进生态文明建设的优先行动，是推动生态产品价值实现的重要基础。近年来，我国生态保护修复取得显著进展，但生态系统本底脆弱、保护修复基础薄弱、管理机制不协调等问题依然突出。在大力推进生态文明建设的新的历史时期，面对百年未有之大变局，我国生态保护修复工作所面临的形势更加严峻，与实现国家生态治理体系和治理能力现代化的要求依然存在较大差距，尚难以满足人民日益增长的优质生态产品需要。本文在总结近年来我国生态保护修复主要进展基础上，分析了未来一段时期生态保护修复面临的问题与挑战，提出新时期生态保护修复应以习近平生态文明思想为统领，以提升生态系统服务功能、协同改善生态环境质量、维护国家生态安全为核心，探索构建生态保护修复与污染防治统筹推进机制，强化监管制度设计、示范样板引领、体制机制创新，加快实现山水林田湖草整体保护、系统修复、综合治理，筑牢美丽中国生态根基。     

Adsorption and membrane separation for removal and recovery of volatile organic compounds

Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) are a crucial kind of pollutants in the environment due to their obvious features of severe toxicity, high volatility, and poor degradability. It is particularly urgent to control the emission of VOCs due to the persistent increase of concentration and the stringent regulations. In China, clear directions and requirements for reduction of VOCs have been given in the “national plan on environmental improvement for the 13th Five-Year Plan period”. Therefore, the de...     

污泥臭氧原位减量工艺中抗生素的去除

建立了两套小试规模的序批式反应器,一套作为污泥臭氧原位减量系统,另一套作为控制系统.通过两系统的长期运行（90 d）考察了污泥臭氧原位减量工艺对9种典型抗生素（四环素、土霉素、强力霉素、诺氟沙星、氧氟沙星、环丙沙星、洛美沙星、恩诺沙星和阿奇霉素）的去除效果.结果表明,进水中目标抗生素的存在（9种抗生素各100 μg·L^-1）并未对活性污泥去除COD、总氮、氨氮和总磷的效果产生显著影响.污泥臭氧原位减量系统出水中目标抗生素浓度在运行期间保持相对稳定,且与控制系统接近;但污泥中目标抗生素浓度则显著低于控制系统.质量衡算表明目标抗生素在两系统内的输入和输出逐渐达到平衡,臭氧降解和剩余污泥排放分别为减量和控制系统中目标抗生素的主要去除途径.污泥臭氧处理单元可以降解减量系统入水中83%的目标抗生素,而控制系统入水中82%的目标抗生素则随剩余污泥排放.因此,污泥臭氧原位减量工艺可以明显削减活性污泥系统中抗生素的排放,具有重要的实际意义.     

Silver recovery as Ag0 nanoparticles from ion-exchange regenerant solution using electrolysis

Many silver(Ag)containing consumer-products(e.g.textiles)release Ag into the environment,posing ecotoxicological risks.Ag recovery mitigates environmental hazards,recycles Ag,and leads to sustainability.In the present work,Ag has been recovered as Ag~0nanoparticles from the spent solution(thiourea(TU)～0.5 mol/L pH～1.1–1.2,and Ag～550 mg/L)obtained from the regeneration of an Ag-loaded resin using a simple undivided electrolytic cell.The reclaimed regenerant solution has been recycled and reused in a closed-loop scheme over multiple cycles.The process parameters,i.e.,current(0.05 A)and stirring speed(600 r/min),have been optimized for Ag recovery of～94%and TU loss of～2%.The reclaimed regenerant solution has been shown to regenerate Ag-loaded resin samples with90%regeneration efficiency over 4 cycles of consecutive extraction and regeneration.The recovered Ag~0nanoparticles are monodisperse,consistently spherical in shape,and have a mean diameter of～6 nm with standard deviation of the Gaussian fit as～2.66 nm.     

中国农产品贸易格局变化及海外农业资源利用对策

2017年中国大宗农产品虚拟耕地净进口量达到6784万hm²,对外依存度为33.4%,其中巴西和美国是主要的进口来源国。以大豆为重点的土地密集型农产品的大量进口,在一定程度上保证了中国粮食供给,但要从根本上保障中国粮食安全也应实施农业“走出去”战略。尽管近年中国海外农业投资逐年增加,但由于缺乏长远的投资战略指导,海外农产品资源的控制能力差,生产风险高。为此,为保障中国粮食安全,应从构建人类命运共同体、提高全球农产品供给能力的战略高度,选择最佳海外投资区域,优先开发中国进口量大、对外依存度高的国际大豆和棕榈油等油脂油料资源;扶持多类型企业主体参与海外农业资源开发;在农业投资目的国通过“订单+农户”模式进行深度合作,并融入全球农产品贸易体系。     

地下水DNAPLs污染修复多相流模拟的替代模型

应用克里格法、支持向量回归法、核极限学习机法建立多相流模拟模型的替代模型,并应用集对分析法建立组合替代模型,通过将多种替代模型进行对比,分析不同替代模型在地下水DNAPLs污染修复多相流模拟问题中的适用性.结果表明,3种单一替代模型中,克里格模型的精度最高,其次是核极限学习机模型,最后是支持向量回归模型;应用集对分析原理建立集对权组合替代模型,与单一替代模型相比,其模拟模型的逼近精度更高,且提升效果十分显著,平均残差和平均相对误差分别为0.4009%和0.5373%;集对权组合替代模型运行一次仅需1.5s,选择组合替代模型代替多相流模拟模型进行地下水DNAPLs污染的修复方案优选分析,能够大幅减小模拟-优化过程的计算负荷,并保持较高的计算精度.     

不同铁源对剩余污泥厌氧系统中蓝铁石生成的影响

以污水处理厂剩余污泥为研究对象,污泥经酸/碱预处理（pH=3.0/pH=10.0）后,分别以FeOOH、FeCl₃及Fe₂O₃为外加铁源,进行厌氧发酵,探究铁源对厌氧系统中蓝铁石晶体生成的影响.结果表明：FeCl₃和FeOOH可以高效地被还原为Fe²⁺,其铁还原效率（E_Fe）最高为56.24%~80.10%,且酸处理效果优于碱处理（3.00%~13.31%）,而Fe₂O₃的E_Fe相对较低,最高分别为31.94%（pH=3.0）和50.1%（pH=10.0）.FeOOH和Fe₂O₃的投加,可促进胞外聚合物（EPS）中蛋白质含量的提升,增强胞外电子传递能力,但Fe₂O₃因其结晶度高,阻碍了铁还原微生物对铁源的利用,导致铁还原效率低.上清液PO₄^3-浓度、污泥Fe-P比例与E_Fe呈负相关,E_Fe越高则PO₄^3-浓度、Fe-P比例越低.FeOOH组上清液PO₄^3-浓度下降幅度最大,反应第9 d PO₄^3-浓度最低,仅为对照组的10.30%（pH=3.0）和17.20%（pH=10.0）,其次是FeCl₃组（22.83%/27.87%）,Fe₂O₃组最终剩余较多PO₄^3-（65.02%/56.33%）;FeOOH、FeCl₃和Fe₂O₃酸/碱组的Fe-P比例分别为32.19%/21.20%、34.41%/23.09%和20.92%/11.99%.铁源的添加提高了污泥的磷回收率（R_p）,并且酸预处理效果优于碱处理,其中FeCl₃组R_p最高,是对照组的2.91倍,其次是FeOOH组（2.63倍）和Fe₂O₃组（2.12倍）.XRD分析表明,FeOOH和FeCl₃酸/碱预处理组均生成了蓝铁石晶体.