Temperature-dependent sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on natural and treated sediments

In aqueous environment temperature is considered to play a significant role in the sorption process of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and its influence on the sorption equilibrium is indicative of sorption energies and mechanisms. In this study, sorptions of five PAHs on three heterogeneous sorbents including one river sediment (YHR), one estuary sediment (YRD) and one treated sediment with organic matter removed (IM) were carried out at a range of temperature from 5 °C to 35 °C. Stronger sorptions were observed at lower temperatures, with the equilibrium sorption coefficient K_d increasing 2-5 times as the temperature decreases 30 °C. The increase of K_d value was attributed primarily to the change of PAH water solubility, which predicted 40-75% of the increase of K_d in the sorption process. To provide insight into the sorption mechanism, enthalpy change (ΔH_S) for the sorption process was calculated and the values were observed to be negative for all of the interactions, suggesting that the exothermal sorption of PAHs inversely dependents on temperature. Based on the values of ΔH_S, van der Waals forces were inferred as the main sorption mechanism for the PAHs, especially on the YHR sediment which contained more organic matter. For sorption of larger size PAHs on the sorbents with low organic matter, specific interactions were deduced to contribute to the overall sorption.     

The relationships between air pollutants, meteorological parameters and concentration of airborne fungal spores

Fungal spores are an important component of bioaerosol and also considered to act as indicator of the level of atmospheric bio-pollution. Therefore, better understanding of these phenomena demands a detailed survey of airborne particles.The objective of this study was to examine the dependence of two the most important allergenic taxa of airborne fungi - Alternaria and Cladosporium - on meteorological parameters and air pollutant concentrations during three consecutive years (2006-2008). This study is also an attempt to create artificial neural network (ANN) forecasting models useful in the prediction of aeroallergen abundance.There were statistically significant relationships between spore concentration and environmental parameters as well as pollutants, confirmed by the Spearman’s correlation rank analysis and high performance of the ANN models obtained. The concentrations of Cladosporium and Alternaria spores can be predicted with quite good accuracy from meteorological conditions and air pollution recorded three days earlier.     

The implementation of a measurement system for brushless DC motor parameters

Most of the energy conversion in industrial devices and equipment is completed by the motor. The acquirement of motor parameters becomes very important for designing the motor drives. The aim of this paper is to design and implement a motor measurement system. Through the processing of an Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) microcontroller, the various parameters of motors such as input voltage, input current, input power, motor speed, and motor torque can be obtained. Consequently, the torque constant, load torque, viscous friction, and the inertia of the motor are calculated and achieved. The motor parameters can be commanded and displayed in the designed human interface of a PC via USB communication. The hardware system designed in this system includes an ARM microcontroller, an inverter, a voltage sensor, a current sensor, a torque sensor, and power supply. The software programming is developed under the Visual Studio 2012 environment development platform using the C language. Finally, the prototype of the motor measurement system is completed and verified. The experimental results for the motor parameters and torque/speed characteristic are demonstrated and show the feasibility of the complete designed system.     

Application of biomarkers to assess the condition of European Marine Sites

A series of European Marine Sites has been designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) in England. The aim of this study was to develop a practical methodology to assess the condition of SACs by applying a suite of biomarkers. Biomarkers were applied to the blue mussel Mytilus edulis and the shore crab Carcinus maenas from the Fal and Helford SAC (Cornwall). Individual biomarkers provided useful diagnostic information on the activity of certain classes of contaminants and an integrated Biomarker Response Index (BRI) was used to achieve a more holistic understanding of the condition of the SAC. The BRI indicated that the general health of both organisms was impacted in the upper part of the SAC (Fal Estuary) which correlated well with known chemical hotspots and sources of contamination. The BRI allows a pragmatic way to prioritise SAC sites that may require further investigative studies.     

Platinum (IV) recovery from chloride solution by functionalized acrylic copolymers

Two acrylic adsorbents with different morphological structures and bearing amidoethylenamine and thiol groups were obtained and used for platinum sorption from chloride solution by the batch method. Physico-chemical parameters that influence adsorption such as initial Pt(IV) concentration, stirring time, pH, and adsorbent amount were investigated. The thermodynamic parameters of Pt(IV) sorption on the synthesized adsorbent were also evaluated based on Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Thermodynamic parameters estimated from Langmuir constants indicated that the adsorption is spontaneous, exothermic and there is a disordered state at the molecular level. The models used to analyze the sorption rate led to the conclusion that the most important step in the sorption of Pt(IV) could be both particle diffusion and chemical reaction of [PtCl₆]⁻ with amine functional groups. Thus, both the ion exchange and complex formation mechanisms can occur via nitrogen atoms in the recovery of Pt(IV) on the studied adsorbent.     

Reproductive parameters and disturbances of embryonic development in the fieldfare (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Turdus pilaris</Emphasis> L.) in the zone of impact from the nuclear fuel industry

The impact of emissions from the Siberian Chemical Plant (Tomsk oblast) on reproduction and embryonic development of the fieldfare was studied. Bird abundance, clutch size, and egg volume in the impact and background (control) zones were similar, but partial brood mortality in the impact zone proved to be significantly higher, and the frequency of embryonic pathologies (including developmental abnormalities) was also several times higher than in the control.     

Monte Carlo analysis of field water flow comparing uni- and bimodal effective hydraulic parameters for structured soil

Soil structure critically affects the hydrological behaviour of soils. In this paper, we examined the impact of areal heterogeneity of hydraulic properties of a structured soil on soil ensemble behaviour for various soil water flow processes with different top boundary conditions (redistribution and drainage plus evaporation and infiltration). Using a numerical solution of the Richards' equation in a stochastic framework, the ensemble characteristics and flow dynamics were studied for drying and wetting processes observed during a time interval of ten days when a series of relatively intense rainfall events occurred. The effects of using unimodal and bimodal interpretative models of hydraulic properties on the ensemble hydrological behaviour of the soil were illustrated by comparing predictions to mean water contents measured over time in several sites at field scale. Although the differences between unimodal and bimodal fitting are not significant in terms of goodness of fit, the differences in process predictions are considerable with the bimodal soil simulating water content measurements much better than unimodal soil. We also investigated the relative contribution of the soil variability of each parameter on the variance of the water contents obtained as the main output of the stochastic simulations. The variability of the structural parameter, weighting the two pore space fractions in the bimodal interpretative model, has the largest contribution to water content variance. The contribution of each parameter depends only partly on the coefficient of variation, much more on the sensitivity of the model to the parameters and on the flow process being observed. We observed that the contribution of the retention parameters to uncertainty increases during drainage processes; the opposite occurs with the hydraulic conductivity parameters.     

贯通巷道风流流场数值模拟若干关键问题研究

根据计算流体力学基本理论,利用计算流体动力学(CFD)软件Fluent,运用三维k-ε湍流模型对贯通型巷道风流流场数值模拟中风流入口、出口位置对巷道风流流场分布的影响、湍动能k及湍动能耗散率ε的取值对模拟结果的影响等进行考察。通过研究确定模拟巷道的流体力学入口长度,确定模拟巷道出口位置;湍动能k及湍动能耗散率ε的取值对入口附近流动还没有充分发展区域拟解算的结果影响较大,而对流动充分发展的区域影响较小。将数值模拟风速值与理论计算风速值进行对比,模拟结果与计算结果非常一致,验证了数值模拟方法的正确性,为研究贯通型巷道风流传质过程、瓦斯运移规律及通风排污效率等提供了理论基础。     

基于正交试验响应面法的烟气层概率分布计算

为计算随机参数下火灾烟气层温度和厚度的概率分布,该文提出了基于正交试验响应面的可靠度计算方法。通过正交试验表确定分析计算参数组,并借助火灾动力学分析软件计算不同参数组下烟气层的温度和厚度响应,进一步拟合出输入参数和输出参数的响应面函数,在此基础上结合验算点法计算烟气层温度和厚度的概率分布,算例分析表明该方法具有计算精度高、计算量小的特点。