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.     

Removal of Cu(II) from acidic electroplating effluent by biochars generated from crop straws

The removal efficiency of copper(Cu(Ⅱ)) from an actual acidic electroplating effluent by biochars generated from canola,rice,soybean and peanut straws was investigated.The biochars simultaneously removed Cu(Ⅱ) from the effluent,mainly through the mechanisms of adsorption and precipitation,and neutralized its acidity.The removal efficiency of Cu(Ⅱ) by the biochars followed the order:peanut straw char > soybean straw char > canola straw char > rice straw char a commercial activated carbonaceous material,which is consistent with the alkalinity of the biochars.The pH of the effluent was a key factor determining the removal efficiency of Cu(Ⅱ) by biochars.Raising the initial pH of the effluent enhanced the removal of Cu(Ⅱ) from it.The optimum pyrolysis temperature was 400°C for producing biochar from crop straws for acidic wastewater treatment,and the optimum reaction time was 8 hr.     

天津近岸表层沉积物重金属和放射性核素分布特征

对渤海湾天津海域14个表层沉积物样品进行粒度、重金属和核素放射性活度测量,结果显示,沉积物组成以粉砂为主,其粒径在研究区横纵向上分别呈由南至北、由东至西逐渐变粗的分布特征.重金属元素含量为Cu:25.6~35.1mg/kg、Pb:44.1~67.7mg/kg、Zn:60~73.5mg/kg;210Pb活度为13.2~35.3Bq/kg,137Cs活度为0.05~1.28Bq/kg,重金属含量和放射性活度随粒径减小而增大,总体上呈由北至南逐渐增大的分布特征,在中部和南部分别呈由西北至东南和由西至东逐渐增大的分布特征.这主要是因为细颗粒组分对Cu、Pb、Zn、210Pb和137Cs的吸附作用大于粗颗粒组分,因此,其分布受渤海湾水流及其所导致的粒径变化所影响.     

闽南城市区域空气中挥发性有机物的污染特征

采用美国EPA TO-15的方法,研究了2011年3月份闽南城市区域空气中VOCs的含量及其污染特征。结果表明:1)漳州工业区空气的VOCs浓度为200.5μg/m3,污染较为严重;厦门交通干道VOCs浓度为74.0μg/m3,泉州商住区的VOCs浓度77.1μg/m3,污染较轻。2)漳州工业区采样点TOP5占TVOCs的比例最高,达77.3%;厦门交通干道与泉州商住区两采样点的TOP5占TVOCs的比例相近,分别为64.1%和62.0%。在所有的采样点中出现的TOP5组分比较集中,主要包括甲苯、苯、二氯甲烷、异丙醇、乙酸乙酯、1,1-二氯乙烯、萘等。3)机动车尾气的排放、工业溶剂的挥发和废气排放可能是厦漳泉三地大气VOCs的主要排放源。4)厦漳泉的BTEX主要来源于汽车尾气和汽油挥发;其中厦门和泉州BTEX浓度相比较处在较低污染水平,漳州处在中等水平。     

我国工业固体废物的产生特征及控制对策

工业固体废物是固体废物的重要组成部分。根据我国最近10年发布的工业固体废物统计数据,全面分析了我国工业固体废物的产生特点,研究了工业固体废物产生量、利用量和处置量、工业固体废物区域和行业分布特点以及与工业产值的关系,并针对我国工业固体废物管理存在的问题,提出了相应的对策和建议。     

Competitive sorption between 17α-ethinyl estradiol and bisphenol A/4-n-nonylphenol by soils

The sorption of 17α-ethinyl estradiol(EE2),bisphenol A(BPA),and 4-n-nonylphenol(NP) in single systems and the sorption of EE2 with different initial aqueous concentrations of BPA or NP were examined using three soils.Results showed that all sorption isotherms were nonlinear and fit the Freundlich model.The degree of nonlinearity was in the order BPA(0.537-0.686) > EE2(0.705-0.858) > NP(0.875-0.0.951) in single systems.The isotherm linearity index of EE2 sorption calculated by the Freundlich model for Loam,Silt Loam and Silt increased from 0.758,0.705 and 0.858,to 0.889,0.910 and 0.969,respectively,when BPA concentration increased from 0 to 1000 μg/L,but the effect of NP was comparably minimal.Additionally,EE2 significantly suppressed the sorption of BPA,but insignificantly suppressed that of NP.These findings can be attributed to the difference of sorption affinity of EE2,NP and BPA on the hard carbon(e.g.,black carbon) of soil organic matter that dominated the sorption in the low equilibrium aqueous concentration range of endocrine-disrupting chemicals(EDCs).Competitive sorption among EDCs presents new challenges for predicting the transport and fate of EDCs under the influence of co-solutes.     

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of quantum-dot-sensitized one-dimensionally-ordered ZnO nanorod photocatalyst

An efficient photocatalyst was fabricated by assembling quantum dots （QDs） onto one-dimensionally-ordered ZnO nanorods, and the photocatalytic properties for Methyl Orange degradation were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The results indicate that the catalyst with assembled QDs is more favorable for the degradation than the pristine ZnO nanorods. The QDs with core-shell structure lower the photocatalytic ability due to the higher carder transport barrier of the ZnS shell layer. Besides its degradation efficiency, the photocatalyst has several advantages given that the one-dimensionally-ordered ZnO nanorods have been grown directly on indium tin oxide substrates. The article provides a new method to design an effective and easily recyclable photocatalyst.     

Research on the evolvement of morphology of coking coal during the coking process

The evolvement of morphology and structure of the coal with different metamorphic degrees during coking process in the vertical furnace was investigated by infrared Image detector. Moreover, the temperature distribution in the radial direction and the crack formation were also studied in heating process. The results show that the amount of crack and the shrinkage level of char decrease with the coal rank rising. In addition, the initial temperature of crack formation for char increases with the coal rank rising.     

Interface-mediated synthesis of monodisperse ZnS nanoparticles with sulfate-reducing bacterium culture

We have created a new method of ZnS nanospheres synthesis. By interface-mediated precipitation method (IMPM), monodisperse ZnS nanoparticles was synthesized on the particle surface of sulfate-reducing bacterium nutritious agar culture. Sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB) was used as a sulfide producer because of its dissimilatory sulfate reduction capability, meanwhile produced a variety of amino acids acting as templates for nanomaterials synthesis. Then zinc acetate was dispersed into nutritious agar plate. Subsequently agar plate was broken into particles bearing much external surface, which successfully mediated the synthesis of monodisperse ZnS nanoparticles. The morphology of monodisperse ZnS nanospheres and SRB were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the microstructure was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The thermostability of ZnS nanoparticles was determined by thermo gravimetric-differential thermo gravimetric (TG-DTG). The maximum absorption wavelengh was analysed with an ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer within a range of 199–700 nm. As a result, monodisperse ZnS nanoparticles were successfully synthesized, with an average diameter of 80 nm. Maximum absorption wavelengh was 228 nm, and heat decomposed temperature of monodisperse ZnS nanoparticles was 596°C.     

Simultaneous preconcentration of cadmium and lead in water samples with silica gel and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A new method that utilizes pretreated silica gel as an adsorbent has been developed for simultaneous preconcentration of trace Cd(II) and Pb(II) prior to the measurement by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The effects of pH, the shaking time, the elution condition and the coexisting ions on the separation/preconcentration conditions of analytes were investigated. Under optimized conditions, the static adsorption capacity of Cd(II) and Pb(II) were 45.5 and 27.1mg/g, the relative standard deviations were 3.2% and 1.7% (for n = 11), and the limits of detection obtained were 4.25 and 0.60 ng/mL, respectively. The method was validated by analyzing the certified reference materials GBW 07304a (stream sediment) and successfully applied to the analysis of various treated wastewater samples with satisfactory results.