Feasibility of honeycomb monolith supported sugar catalyst to produce biodiesel from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)

Carbon coated monolith was prepared by sucrose solution 65 wt.% via dip-coating method. Sulfonation of incomplete carbonized carbon coated monolith was carried out in order to synthesize solid acid catalyst. The textural structure characteristics of the solid acid catalyst demonstrated a low surface area and pore volume. Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), a by-product of palm oil refineries, was utilized as oil source in biodiesel production. The esterification reaction subjected to different reaction conditions was performed by using the sulfonated carbon coated monolith as heterogeneous catalyst. The sulfonation process had been performed by using vapour of concentrated H₂SO₄ that was much easier and efficient than liquid phase sulfonation. Total acidity value of carbon coated monolith was measured for unsulfonated sample (0.5 mmol/g) and sulfonated sample (4.2 mmol/g). The effect of methanol/oil ratio, catalyst amount and reaction time were examined. The maximum methyl ester content was 89% at the optimum condition, i.e. methanol/oil molar ratio (15:1), catalyst amount (2.5 wt.% with respect to PFAD), reaction time (240 min) and temperature 80 °C. The sugar catalyst supported on the honeycomb monolith showed comparable reactivity compared with the sugar catalyst powder. However, the catalyst reusability studies showed decrease in FFA% conversion from 95.3% to 68.8% after four cycles as well as the total acidity of catalyst dropped from the value 4.2 to 3.1 mmol/g during these cycles. This might be likely due to the leaching out of SO₃H group from the sulfonated carbon coated monolith surface. The leaching of active species reached a plateau state after fourth cycle.     

Evolution of environmental impact assessment as applied to watershed modification projects in Canada

This article reviews the application of environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures and practices to three watershed modification projects situaled in western Canada. These ventures were justified for accelerating regional economic development, and cover the period during which public concerns for protecting the environment rapidly made their way into the national political agenda. An historical account and analysis of the situation, therefore, seems desirable in order to understand the development of EIA processes, practices, and methodologies since the start of construction of the first project in 1961. This study concludes that there has been good progress in predicting and evaluating environmental and related social impacts of watershed modification proposals. However, a number of obstacles need to be overcome before EIA can firmly establish itself as an effective planning tool. These difficulties include jurisdictional confusions and conflicts, division of authority and responsibility in designing and implementing appropriate mitigative and monitoring measures, lack of tested EIA methodologies, and limited availability of qualified human resources. A number of conclusions and suggestions are offered so that future watershed modification proposals may be planned and implemented in a more environmentally sustainable fashion. These include: (1) EIA processes must be completed before irrevocable decisions are made. (2) Any major intrusion into a watershed is likely to impact on some major components of the ecosystem(s). (3) Mitigation costs must form part of the benefit-cost analysis of any project proposal. (4) Interjurisdictional cooperation is imperative where watersheds cross political boundaries. (5) The EIA process is a public process, hence public concerns must be dealt with fairly. (6) The role of science in the EIA process must be at arms length from project proponents and regulators, and allowed to function in the interest of the protection of the environment and public health and safety. The views expressed here are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of FEARO and/or other government agencies and officials involved in the review of these projects.     

金属改性对SAPO-34低温还原NO性能的影响

采用浸渍法制备金属改性SAPO-34分子筛催化剂,分析比较了不同单金属（Cu或Co）及不同比例双金属（Cu：Co=1：1、3：1、5：1,质量比）改性催化剂对NO的催化还原性能,评价了不同催化剂的N₂选择性,并采用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、比表面积测试、X射线衍射分析（XRD）、NH₃-程序升温脱附（NH₃-TPD）等表征手段对催化剂的物化性能进行了分析.结果表明,单金属Cu改性催化剂具有较宽的温度区间,在250~450℃范围内NO的转化率始终保持在100%;双金属改性使NO转化率保持为100%的最低温度下降了25~50℃,显著拓宽了低温段窗口,其中,Cu₃Co₁/SAPO-34催化剂的低温催化还原性能最好,200℃即可实现100%的NO转化率,175℃下的转化率也高达80%以上.Cu-Co双金属改性SAPO-34分子筛催化剂具有优异的低温催化还原NO性能,具有在机动车尾气、工业废气的低温脱硝治理领域应用的潜力.     

卤氧化铋光催化剂改性的研究进展及应用

随着全球环境问题与能源问题的不断加剧,人们迫切需要开发一些高效、环保、稳定的光催化剂。卤氧化铋(BiOX,X=Cl、Br、I)因其独特的层状结构,优异的光学、电学性能,在光催化领域受到了越来越多的关注。虽然BiOX光催化剂在光催化反应中展现出了优异性能,但其光催化效率仍有待提高。简要叙述了BiOX的结构与性能以及当前主流的制备方法,主要概述了最近几年卤氧化铋光催化剂改性的研究进展。改性方法主要有微结构调控、晶面与缺陷调控、掺杂、构造异质结等,这些方法主要是通过提高卤氧化铋或卤氧化铋复合物的光吸收能力、光生载流子的分离和运输效率、以及活性位点的暴露量来实现改性。介绍了其在环境、能源和生物等领域的应用,同时对BiOX的发展提出了问题和展望。     

石墨烯在防腐涂料中的研究进展及应用

简要叙述了石墨烯结构性能以及当前主流制备石墨烯的方法。概述了最近几年来石墨烯在防腐涂料中的研究进展情况,包括石墨烯在涂料中的添加量、分散技术、原位改性等对涂料性能的影响。研究表明,在涂层中分散均匀添加量适中的石墨烯可以对防腐涂料性能有较大的提升,探讨了石墨烯在防腐涂层中的应用机理,同时对石墨烯防腐涂料的应用发展进行了展望。     

Improvement of the antifouling characteristics in a bioreactor of polypropylene microporous membrane by the adsorption of Tween 20

Surface modification by physical adsorption of Tween 20 was accomplished on polypropylene microporous membranes (PPMMs). Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the chemical and morphological changes on the membrane surfaces. Water contact angles and relative pure water fluxes were measured. The data showed that the hydrophilic performance for the modified membranes increased with the increase in the adsorption amount of Tween 20 onto the surface or into the pores of polypropylene microporous membranes. To test the antifouling property of the membranes by the adsorption of Tween 20 in a membrane bioreactor (MBR), filtration for active sludge was performed using synthetic wastewater. With the help of the data of water fluxes and the FE-SEM photos of the modified PPMMs before or after operating in a MBR for about 12 d, the PPMMs with monolayer adsorption of Tween 20 showed higher remained flux and stronger antifouling ability than unmodified membrane and other modification membranes studied.     

PHBV表面疏水改性用作吸油材料的研究

利用多种表面改性剂对生物可降解材料PHBV进行了表面改性实验研究，测定了不同改性剂改性后PHBV的吸油率以及温度对其吸油效果的影响，并探讨了改性机理，研究结果表明：不同改性剂对PHBV的改性效果有所差异，从疏水和吸油的共同效果来看，最佳疏水改性剂为添加量5％时的硅油，温度对未改性PHBV和改性PHBV的吸油率及吸油速度均有影响。     

中国臭氧短期暴露与人群死亡之间关系的Meta分析研究

为探讨中国臭氧短期暴露与死亡率之间的关系，更新适用于中国本地化的暴露-反应系数，本研究全面检索了1990年1月1日-2020年1月1日在Web of Science数据库、PubMed、中国期刊全文数据库（CNKI）、万方医学数据库和维普数据库上发表的文献，以"O₃/臭氧（ozone）"、"空气污染（air pollution）"、"死亡率（mortality）"、"时间序列（time-series）"，"病例交叉（case-crossover）"、"中国（China）"为关键词，对符合纳入标准的文献进行质量评价后提取相关数据，通过Meta分析方法合并估计值.结果显示，大气中臭氧浓度每增加10 μg·m^-3，人群总死亡率、心血管系统疾病和呼吸系统疾病死亡率分别增加0.40%（95% CI：0.28%~0.52%）、0.67%（95% CI：0.46%~0.88%）、0.23%（95% CI：-0.20%~0.66%）.亚组分析结果表明，除季节外，温度、年龄、性别均不存在显著的修饰作用.本文结论可为开展城市大气污染健康风险精细化评估提供依据.     

FAO生产潜力模型中基本参数的修正

用美国Licor -6200便携式光合作用测定仪对黄淮海主要作物叶片光合进行了测定 ,建立了较强机理的冠层光合模型 ,模型时间积分为瞬时尺度并充分考虑了株型对冠层光合的影响 ,验证结果表明模型具有较高的准确度。在此基础上 ,对deWit在1965年用数值模式计算出的、目前仍在国内大量使用的FAO生产力模型中最基本的参数进行了重新计算 ,发现FAO生产力模型中基本参数对黄淮海地区而言存在较大偏差。文中重新给出了冬小麦、夏玉米两种作物冠层CO2 日总同化量随纬度分布表 ,为以后更准确地计算中国不同作物生产潜力提供了最基本的模型参数 ,同时文中也阐明了作者对国内生产潜力研究的一些观点和看法。     

活性炭性质对其吸附水中硝基苯性能的影响

通过对活性炭进行HNO3氧化及热处理改性,研究了活性炭性质对其吸附硝基苯性能的影响.以低温液氮(N2/77 K)吸附测定活性炭的比表面积和孔容、孔径分布;以Boehm滴定、零电荷点pHPZC的测定及元素分析定量表征活性发表面含氧官能团变化.结果表明:经改性后,活性炭比表面积及总孔容略有减小,表面性质发生较大变化.改性活性炭对硝基苯的吸附容量明显改变,吸附容量大小依次为:AC1′＞AC0′＞AC0＞AC1.经硝酸氧化后,比表面积下降、存在过多表面含氧官能团是导致AC1吸附硝基苯能力降低的主要原因;而AC1'表面适量酚羟基所提供的氢键吸附是其对硝基苯吸附量增加的主要原因.