Transformation of hazardous lead into aluminosilicate ceramics: structure evolution and lead leaching

This study investigated crystallization mechanisms for the formation of lead aluminosilicate by sintering lead stabilization with kaolin-based precursors. PbAl2Si2O8 was found to be the only stable lead aluminosilicate in low-PbO system and demonstrates its highly intrinsic resistance to acid attack in leaching test. A three-stage PbAl2Si2O8 formation mechanism was supported by the results of the changing temperature in the system. Amorphization of sintered products was observed in both PbO/kaolinite and PbO/mullite systems at 600–700°C. When the temperature was increased to 750–900°C, the crystallochemical formation of lead aluminosilicates (i.e., Pb4Al4Si3O16, Pb6Al6Si2O21, and PbAl2Si2O8) was observed. Pb4Al4Si3O16 and Pb6Al6Si2O21 were found to be the intermediate phases at 700–900°C. Finally, PbAl2Si2O8 was found to be the only crystallite phase to host Pb at above 950°C. A maximum of 80% and 96.7% Pb can be incorporated into PbAl2Si2O8 in PbO/kaolinite and PbO/mullite systems, respectively, but the final products exhibited different microstructures. To reduce environmental hazard of lead, this strategy demonstrated a preferred mechanism of immobilizing lead into PbAl2Si2O8 structure via kaolin-based precursors.     

Evaluating provincial eco-efficiency in China: an improved network data envelopment analysis model with undesirable output

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, an improved matrix-type network data envelopment analysis (NDEA) model with undesirable output was developed to evaluate the...     

Removal of trace Cr(VI) from aqueous solution by porous activated carbon balls supported by nanoscale zero-valent iron composites

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, porous activated carbon balls supported by nanoscale zero-valent iron composites (Fe@PACB-700) were used for the first time for the...     

Assessment on the effectiveness of environmental regulation in China—evidence from a panel data analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the context of global warming and environmental deterioration, the environment impact assessment is a crucial institutional guaranty to assure less...     

NOx attenuation in flue gas by •OH/SO4•--based advanced oxidation processes

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The combustion of fossil fuels has resulted in rapidly increasing emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), which has caused serious human health and...     

Functional wastepaper-montmorillonite composite aerogel for Cd2+ adsorption

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, a composite aerogel (WP-MMT) composed of wastepaper (WP) and montmorillonite (MMT) was prepared by ambient pressure drying technology...     

电厂屏式过热器弯头开裂原因失效分析

通过外观检查、硬度、金相等检测方法,从金属管壁超温运行、蒸汽侧氧化行为、析出相及冷弯变形对组织性能影响等方面分析了某电厂1 000 MW超超临界机组屏式过热器弯头开裂原因,得出TP347HFG弯头开裂的主要原因是弯头组织富含较多的σ相、NbC等硬脆析出相,同时冷弯加工导致管子内部产生残余应力,加剧了弯头脆性开裂的倾向。     

A comparative study of vocational education and occupational safety and health training in China and the UK

In order to enhance Chinese workers’ occupational safety awareness, it is essential to learn from developed countries’ experiences. This article investigates thoroughly occupational safety and health (OSH) in China and the UK; moreover, the article performs a comparison of Chinese and British OSH training-related laws, regulations and education system. The following conclusions are drawn: China’s work safety continues to improve, but there is still a large gap compared with the UK. In China a relatively complete vocational education and training (VET) system has been established. However, there exist some defects in OSH. In the UK, the employer will not only pay attention to employees’ physiological health, but also to their mental health. The UK’s VET is characterized by classification and grading management, which helps integrate OSH into the whole education system. China can learn from the UK in the development of policies, VET and OSH training.     

Are older drivers’ driving patterns during an on-road driving task representative of their real-world driving patterns?

Abstract

Objective: The current study investigated whether older drivers’ driving patterns during a customized on-road driving task were representative of their real-world driving patterns.

Methods: Two hundred and eight participants (male: 68.80%; mean age?=?81.52 years, SD?=?3.37 years, range?=?76.00–96.00 years) completed a customized on-road driving task that commenced from their home and was conducted in their own vehicle. Participants’ real-world driving patterns for the preceding 4-month period were also collected via an in-car recording device (ICRD) that was installed in each participant’s vehicle.

Results: During the 4-month period prior to completing the on-road driving task, participants’ median real-world driving trip distance was 2.66?km (interquartile range [IQR]?=?1.14–5.79?km) and their median on-road driving task trip distance was 4.41?km (IQR?=?2.83–6.35?km). Most participants’ on-road driving task trip distances were classified as representative of their real-world driving trip distances (95.2%, n?=?198).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that most older drivers were able to devise a driving route that was representative of their real-world driving trip distance. Future research will examine whether additional aspects of the on-road driving task (e.g., average speed, proportion of trips in different speed zones) are representative of participants’ real-world driving patterns.     

A new approach to spatial source apportionment of haze pollution in large scale and its application in China

Long-lasting expansion of haze pollution in China has already presented a stern challenge to regional joint prevention and control. There is an urgent need to enlarge and reconstruct the coverage of joint prevention and control of air pollution in key area. Air quality models can identify and quantify the regional contribution of haze pollution and its key components with the help of numerical simulation, but it is difficult to be applied to larger spatial scale due to the complexity of model parameters. The time series analysis can recognize the existence of spatial interaction of haze pollution between cities, but it has not yet been used to further identify the spatial sources of haze pollution in large scale. Using econometric framework of time series analysis, this paper developed a new approach to perform spatial source apportionment. We applied this approach to calculate the contribution from spatial sources of haze pollution in China, using the monitoring data of particulate matter (PM_2.5) across 161 Chinese cities. This approach overcame the limitation of numerical simulation that the model complexity increases at excess with the expansion of sample range, and could effectively deal with severe large-scale haze episodes.