Conversion of waste plastics into value-added carbon materials

Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue worldwide, calling for advanced methods to recycle waste plastics in the context of the circular economy. Here we review methods and strategies to convert waste plastics into value-added carbon materials, with focus on sources, properties, pretreatment of waste plastics, and on preparation of carbon materials. Pretreatment techniques include mechanical crushing, plastic stabilization and electrospinning. Carbon materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon nanosheets, carbon spheres and porous carbon are prepared by oxygen-limited carbonization, catalytic carbonization, the template-based method, and pressure carbonization. We emphasize the conversion of polyethene terephthalate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, halogenated plastics, polyurethane and mixed plastics.

     

Mechanism of complexation of toxic arsenate,selenate, and molybdate with hydrotalcites

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Wastewater from the uranium mining industry contains toxic arsenate (AsO43–), selenate (SeO42–), and molybdate (MoO42–) that can be removed by...     

Temporal variation in total phosphorus concentrations revealed from a multidecadal monitoring program on Big Platte Lake,Michigan

Effective water quality management depends on enactment of appropriately designed monitoring programs to reveal current and forecasted conditions. Because water quality conditions are influenced by numerous factors, commonly measured attributes such as total phosphorus (TP) can be highly temporally varying. For highly varying processes, monitoring programs should be long-term and periodic quantitative analyses are needed so that temporal trends can be distinguished from stochastic variation, which can yield insights into potential modifications to the program. Using generalized additive mixed modeling, we assessed temporal (yearly and monthly) trends and quantified other sources of variation (daily and subsampling) in TP concentrations from a multidecadal depth-specific monitoring program on Big Platte Lake, Michigan. Yearly TP concentrations decreased from the late 1980s to late 1990s before rebounding through the early 2000s. At depths of 2.29 to 13.72 m, TP concentrations have cycled around stationary points since the early 2000s, while at the surface and depths ≥?18.29 concentrations have continued declining. Summer and fall peaks in TP concentrations were observed at most depths, with the fall peak at deeper depths occurring 1 month earlier than shallower depths. Daily sampling variation (i.e., variation within a given month and year) was greatest at shallowest and deepest depths. Variation in subsamples collected from depth-specific water samples constituted a small fraction of total variation. Based on model results, cost-saving measures to consider for the monitoring program include reducing subsampling of depth-specific concentrations and reducing the number of sampling depths given observed consistencies across the program period.     

Investigating the oil curse in OECD and Non-OECD oil-exporting economies using green measures of income

Empirical studies investigating the natural resource curse theory mostly employ cross-country and panel regression techniques subject to endogeneity bias. Also, most of these studies employ GDP in its aggregate or per-capita terms as the outcome variable in their analyses. However, the use of GDP measures of income for resource curse investigations may not portray the true incomes of resource-intensive economies. Standard national accounts treat natural resource rents as a positive contribution to income without adjusting for the value of depleted natural resource stock. This treatment often leads to a positive bias in the national income computations of resource-rich economies. Unlike previous studies, we test the robustness of the curse in the predominantly used measures of national income, GDP, by investigating the theme in genuine income measures of economic output as well. Also, the paper deviates from most empirical studies in the literature by using the Arellano–Bond difference GMM method in investigating the oil curse in OECD and Non-OECD oil-exporting economies. Additionally, we employ two alternative measures of resource intensity in our explorations; the share of oil rents in GDP and per-capita oil reserves. Our results provide evidence of the curse in Non-OECD countries employing aggregate and per-capita measures of genuine income.     

Preparation and Characterization of Collagens from the Skin of Northern Snakehead (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Channa argus)</Emphasis>

Channa argus, a type of snakehead fish native to China, is a popular food fish in certain Asian countries but is a known destructive invasive species in the US. In this study, the two collagens, i.e. acid-soluble collagen (ASC) and pepsin-solubilized collagen (PSC), were obtained from C. argus skin. The yield of ASC was 28.0% and that of PSC was 16.8% on the dry bases. The collagens were identified as the collagen of type I by SDS–PAGE patterns. The Tds were approximately 27.0?°C. Similar ultraviolet spectra of both collagens were observed. Fourier Transform infrared spectra indicated PSC structure had a little change due to the loss of terminal domains by pepsin digestion. The results of XRD proved that the two collagens retained their helical structures. The results suggest that the collagens isolated from C. argus can potentially be alternative sources of vertebrate collagens for use in the food and other industries.     

Degradation of polyacrylamide (PAM) and methane production by mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion: Effect of temperature and concentration

• PAM degradation in thermophilic AD in comparison with mesophilic AD. • PAM degradation and its impact on thermophilic and mesophilic AD. • Enhanced methane yield in presence of PAM during thermophilic and mesophilic AD. • PAM degradation and microbial community analysis in thermophilic and mesophilic AD. Polyacrylamide (PAM) is generally employed in wastewater treatment processes such as sludge dewatering and therefore exists in the sludge. Furthermore, it degrades slowly and can deteriorate methane yield during anaerobic digestion (AD). The impact or fate of PAM in AD under thermophilic conditions is still unclear. This study mainly focuses on PAM degradation and enhanced methane production from PAM-added sludge during 15 days of thermophilic (55°C) AD compared to mesophilic (35°C) AD. Sludge and PAM dose from 10 to 50 g/kg TSS were used. The results showed that PAM degraded by 76% to 78% with acrylamide (AM) content of 0.2 to 3.3 mg/L in thermophilic AD. However, it degraded only 27% to 30% with AM content of 0.5 to 7.2 mg/L in mesophilic AD. The methane yield was almost 230 to 238.4 mL/g VSS on the 8th day in thermophilic AD but was 115.2 to 128.6 mL/g VSS in mesophilic AD. Mechanism investigation revealed that thermophilic AD with continuous stirring not only enhanced PAM degradation but also boosted the organics release from the sludge with added PAM and gave higher methane yield than mesophilic AD.     

屏蔽服冷却系统对人体表面温度影响的研究*

为科学有效地论证多种方式组合的冷却屏蔽服在不同环境条件下对人体表面温度控制的效果，需要对冷却系统及人体敏感部位发热量进行客观评估。通过对5名健康男性的高温测试，探究人体在不同环境温度下体表温度的变化，得出胸部、背部及额头为热量最高部位，并构建以“人体-降温屏蔽服-外界环境”为主体的冷却系统数值模型，对不同环境中的屏蔽服冷却效果展开研究，分析穿戴冷却屏蔽服时人体躯干部分的温度分布及影响。结果表明:在屏蔽服中靠近胸部、背部部位引入相变材料和风扇，均可帮助人体降低体温，提高舒适度。     

基于复合治理理论的基层应急管理模式优化*

为弥补传统基层应急管理模式的短板，解决信息壁垒、协调困难、公众参与不足等问题。从复合性视角出发，阐述复合治理理论内涵，探讨复合治理与应急管理在主体、思维、过程、空间、目标上的契合性，并进一步分析基层应急管理的现实背景和困境，进而构建基于复合治理理论的基层应急管理模式，阐明模式基本结构和工作流程，最终提出理念树立、平台搭建、机制保障、队伍建设、制度安排、文化营造、技术支撑方面的优化路径。结果表明:复合治理理论的应用可以加强基层应急管理能力，促进多元主体协同共治。     

PEMFC电堆简易模拟器

当针对PEMFC电堆的能量转换及热特性,立足于PEMFC测试应用。采用电力电子技术实现动态电能及膜片电压生成;跟随物料平衡算法,可实时调节水、温及信号参量拟合,简述了一种PEMFC电堆简易模拟器实现。     

光伏组件可调节式夹具设计及试验研究

机械载荷试验作为考查光伏组件可靠性的重要手段之一,新版IEC标准中对于该项测试的要求也变得更加细致。本文介绍了一种光伏组件机械载荷测试的可调节式安装夹具设计,并根据标准IEC 61215-2:2016中静态机械载荷试验的要求,利用该夹具测试了两块不同版型的光伏组件。本设计夹具表现出良好的普适性与测试可靠性,测试结果表明破损程度直接导致光伏组件发电性能的降低,而其内在原因可能在于内部电阻的变化。