Synthesis and scale inhibitor performance of polyaspartic acid

Polyaspartic acid (PASP) has been extensively studied in recent years as a green scale inhibitor. PASP was synthesized by thermal polycondensation of maleic anhydride and ammonium carbonate in this study. The optimal polycondensation reaction conditions were the raw material (maleic anhydride and ammonium carbonate) molar ratio of 1.0:1.2, the polymerization temperature of 180°C and reaction time of 2.0 hr. The results showed that PASP exhibits very good scale inhibiting performance. The inhibition rate was 95% for calcium carbonate and 90% for calcium sulfate by the application of 5 mg/L PASP.     

An inhibitor of urease activity effectively reduces ammonia emissions from soil treated with urea under Mediterranean conditions

Urea is an important source of ammonia (NH₃) emissions to the atmosphere from agricultural soils. Abatement strategies are necessary in order to achieve NH₃ emission targets by reducing those emissions. In this context, a field experiment was carried out on a sunflower crop in spring 2006 with the aim of evaluating the effect of the N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) in the mitigation of volatilized NH₃ from a urea-fertilised soil. Ammonia emission was quantified, using the integrated horizontal flux (IHF) method, following application of urea with and without the urease inhibitor NBPT. Urea and a mixture of urea and NBPT (0.14%, w/w) were surface-applied at a rate of 170 kg N ha⁻¹ to circular plots (diameter 40 m). The soil was irrigated with 10 mm of water just after the application of urea to dissolve and incorporate it into the upper layer of soil. Over the duration of the measurement period (36 days) three peaks of NH₃ were observed. The first peak was associated with hydrolysis of urea after irrigation and the others with the increase of ammonia in soil solution after changes in atmospheric variables such as wind speed and rainfall. The total NH₃ emission during the whole experiment was 17.3 ± 0.5 kg NH₃–N ha⁻¹ in the case of urea treated soils and 10.0 ± 2.2 kg NH₃–N ha⁻¹ where NBPT was included with the urea (10.1 and 5.9%, respectively, of the applied urea–N). The lower NH₃ emissions from plots fertilised with urea + NBPT, compared with urea alone, were associated with a reduction in urease activity during the first 9 days after inhibitor application. This reduction in enzymatic activity promoted a decrease in the exchangeable NH₄⁺ pool.     

溴代呋喃防污剂的合成与表征

在简述含呋喃结构的天然防污剂的基础上,根据这些防污剂的共同特点,将具有防污活性的呋喃结构与电负性溴原子结合,合成了多溴代呋喃产物,红外分析反应基本完全;抑菌环实验以及实海挂板检测表明:多溴代呋喃具有较优良的抑菌性能,使低表面能防污涂料的防污效果得到了明显提高.     

Inhibition and dispersion of polyepoxysuccinate as a scale inhibitor

The inhibition and dispersion of polyepoxysuccinate (PESA, self-manufactured) to inorganic scale was evaluated by scale static beaker test to CaC0₃ and Ca₃(P0₄)2, stability test to zinc salt, and dispersion test to ferric oxide. The experimental results demonstrated that PESA functioned excellent scale inhibition to CaC0₃ and Ca₃(P0₄)₂, good stability to zinc salt and special dispersion to ferric oxide. Under the water with hardness 500-1200 mg/L, alkalinity 1000 mg/L, and dosage of PESA 31.2 mg/L, PESA scale inhibition ratio reached more than 85.0%. At dosage of PESA 20.8 mg/L inhibition ratio on calcium phosphate reached 38.9%, at optimum dosage of PESA 9.1 mg/L, the stability ratio was up to 96.1%; while at dosage of PESA 3.6 mg/L, transmittance ratio reached 64.4%. Therefore, PESA can be considered a soluble, high effective and versatile inhibitor.     

Application of red mud as a basic catalyst for biodiesel production

Red mud was investigated in triglyceride transesterification with a view to determine its viability as a basic catalyst for use in biodiesel synthesis.The effect of calcination temperature on the structure and activity of red mud catalysts was investigated.It was found that highly active catalyst was obtained by simply drying red mud at 200°C.Utilization of red mud as a catalyst for biodiesel production not only provides a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of recycling this solid red mud waste,significantly reducing its environmental effects,but also reduces the price of biodiesel to make biodiesel competitive with petroleum diesel.     

Prenatal activity of a fetus with early-onset,severe spinal muscular atrophy

A case of early-onset, severe spinal muscular atrophy is reported. Normal fetal breathing movement patterns and heart rate accelerations were observed in spite of the severe hypotonia evident at birth.     

Biological activity of a red-tide alga-A. tamarense under co-cultured condition with bacteria

The relationship between Alexandrium tamarense （Lebour） Balech, one of red-tide alga, and two strains of marine bacteria, Bacillius megaterium（S7 ） and B. halmapulus（ S10 ） isolated from Xiamen Western Sea, was investigated by evaluating the growth state of A. tamarense and the variation of β-glucosidase activity in co-culture system. The results showed the growth and multiplication of the alga were related with the concentration, genus speciality of the bacteria, and growth stage of the alga itself. The growth of A. tamarense was obviously inhibited by S7 and S10 at high concentration. Either inhibition or promotion contributed much more clearly in earlier than in later stageof the growth of the alga. Furthermore, there was a roughly similar variation trend of the activity of extra-cellular enzyme, β- glucosidase, in the water of the separately co-cultured bacteria S7 and S10 with the alga. The β-glucosidase activity（β-GlcA） rapidly increased during the later algal growth accompanying the increase of the lysis of the alga cells. The obvious inhibition of A. tamarense by marine bacteria at high concentration and evident increase of β-GlcA in co-colture system would help us in better understanding the relationship between red-tide alga and bacteria, and also enlightened us the possible use of bacteria in the bio-control of red-tide.     

浮选—杀菌处理剂的合成及其应用

研制了一种浮选-杀菌多功能水处理剂,探索了该药剂主剂的合成条件,并对该药剂的浮选和杀菌性能进行了评价。该药剂主剂是用醇、环氧氯丙烷及胺类为原料合成的聚醚型季铵盐。实验结果表明:该药剂同时具有浮选和杀菌功效.当药剂用量为1～5 mg/L时,其除油率和固体悬浮物去除率均可达95%以上;对腐生菌、硫酸盐还原菌和铁细菌有很强的杀菌能力。该药剂可在pH为4～10的宽范围内使用。      

Synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles in different thermal conditions and modeling its photocatalytic activity with artificial neural network

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles were prepared by sol gel route. The preparation parameters were optimized in the removal of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). All catalysts were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An artificial neural network model (ANN) was developed to predict the photocatalytic removal of 4-NP in the presence of TiO₂ nanoparticles prepared under desired conditions. The comparison between the predicted results by designed ANN model and the experimental data proved that modeling of the removal process of 4-NP using artificial neural network was a precise method to predict the extent of 4-NP removal under different conditions.     

Biphasic activity of a jumping spider

Individual variation is a ubiquitous and important factor that affects ecological dynamics. This study examined individual variation in the nest-use pattern of the jumping spider Phidippus audax. Although the jumping spider is a diurnal species, field observations in this study revealed that the majority of individuals remained in their nests during the day. An accompanying examination of the hunger level of the spiders revealed that spiders that remained in nests were more starved than those observed outside nests. If spiders actively forage when they are starved, as has been suggested by previous studies, one would expect to see the opposite trend (i.e., spiders that remained in nests are more satiated). Thus, the pattern observed in the field contradicts the known behavioral pattern of the spiders. An individual-based model was used to investigate the behavioral mechanism of the spider and the discrepancy found in the observations. A basic assumption of the model is that spiders possess distinct inactive and active phases (biphasic activity pattern), and transitions between the two phases are regulated by the hunger level of the spider. Data from a laboratory experiment were used to examine the assumptions of the model partially. The model was able to capture patterns observed in the data, suggesting that the pattern of transitions in biphasic activity is an important trait of the foraging behavior of the jumping spider.     

Synthesis of polyaluminum chloride with a membrane reactor: Process characteristics and membrane fouling

Polyaluminum chloride was synthesized with a membrane reactor, and the process characteristics, membrane fouling and cleaning were investigated.     

“麻柳经验”对开创基层环保工作新思路的启示

1999年,位于重庆开县最边缘山区的麻柳乡发生了一场激烈的群体访事件,当地百姓把乡政府围攻起来讨说法,并用砖头把政府的门窗砸烂.这一事件促使麻柳乡政府深刻反思,多方查找原因,从而在实践中展开了对有效工作方式方法的探索,形成了具有基层民主特色的“八步工作法”.根据“八步工作法”的实践经验,基层环保工作是否也可以进行一场革命,创新思维,打开基层环保工作的瓶颈.