Plasma induced degradation of Indigo Carmine by bipolar pulsed dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) in the water-air mixture

Degradation of the Indigo Carmine (IC) by the bipolar pulsed DBD in water-air mixture was studied. Effects of vadous parameters such as gas flow rate, solution conductivity, pulse repetitive rate and ect., on color removal efficiency of dying wastewater were investigated. Concentrations of gas phase O3 and aqueous phase H2O2 under various conditions were measured. Experimental results showed that air bubbling facil~tates the breakdown of water and promotes generation of chemically active species. Color removal efficiency of IC solution can be greatly improved by the air aeration under various solution conductivities. Decolorization efficiency increases with the increase of the gas flow rate, and decreases with the increase of the initial solution conductivity. A higher pulse repetitive rate and a larger pulse capacitor Cp are favorable for the decolorization process. Ozone and hydrogen peroxide formed decreases with the increase of initial solution conductivity. In addition, preliminary analysis of the decolorization mechanisms is given.     

基于梅尔倒谱系数的矿山复杂微震信号自动识别分类方法

为了实现矿山复杂微震信号的自动高效识别与分类,保证后续微震分析的时效性和准确性,运用梅尔倒谱系数法,将原始的4种微震信号(岩体破裂、爆破振动、电磁干扰和钻机凿岩)转化为梅尔标度上的非线性频谱,再转换到倒谱域上,结合其在时域上的差分得到1组24维的特征参数向量,利用这些特征参数向量训练构建各类事件对应的混合高斯隐马尔可夫识别模型,进而实现对微震信号的自动识别分类。研究结果表明:运用基于梅尔倒谱系数的微震信号识别分类方法对矿山实际微震数据进行测试,微震事件的识别分类准确率达到92.46%,具有较高的准确性,为实现微震监测系统的实时性分析提供了技术支持。     

混合污染物联合毒性评价模型曲线和实际浓度效应曲线之间交叉现象的研究进展

许多研究在使用评价模型进行混合物联合作用模式判别时发现,混合污染物的评价模型曲线和浓度效应曲线之间存在交叉的现象,表现为联合作用模式随混合物浓度发生变化。虽然交叉现象不断被报道出来,但是该现象形成机制的研究却非常欠缺。本文系统分析了文献中出现的交叉现象,探讨了交叉现象可能的形成原因和机制,提出了化合物的hormesis效应是导致交叉现象的关键因素:混合组分中某些化合物在低浓度时会对受试生物的某些蛋白、基因等的表达量产生刺激作用,影响其他化合物对机体产生的效应,从而改变混合组分的联合作用模式。该研究不仅为交叉现象形成机制的进一步探索提供了理论依据,还为混合物的生态毒理评估和环境风险评价提供理论指导。     

Experimental evaluation of the catalytic efficiency of calcium based natural and modified catalyst for biodiesel synthesis

Transesterification of a mixture of vegetable oils with methanol using metal oxide catalysts derived from snail shell (SS) for biodiesel production was investigated. The metal oxides obtained from calcined snail shells in the temperature range of 650°–950 °C and modified by loading different potassium salts were used as a catalyst in the process. The catalysts were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM-EDS, XPS and TGA. Catalytic activities of developed catalysts were also tested by Hammet indicator method and ion exchange method. The best calcination conditions were observed at 850°C for 4 hours based on biodiesel yield. The KF loaded snail shell gave highest biodiesel yield of 98 ± 1% in a batch reactor with highest basicity (15.9 mmoles/g) and basic strength measured by Hammet method. The optimized reaction conditions were: reaction temperature 65°C, reaction time 3 hours, methanol to oil molar ratio 9:1 and catalyst concentration 3wt%. Leaching and reusability tests confirm the stability of the catalyst as it encounters only 3% of leaching and small changes in catalytic activity up to five runs in terms of biodiesel yield.     

An investigation of a heat pump system using CO2/propane mixture as a working fluid

In order to decrease the heat rejection pressure of heat pump using pure working fluid, CO₂ or R744, other natural component including hydrocarbons (R290, R600a, R600, R1270, R170, R601) and dimethyl ether (RE170) is added to CO₂, respectively, and then six binary mixtures are achieved. By environmental and thermodynamic comparisons, R290 is selected to be the most appropriate component candidate to mix with CO₂, and meanwhile to weaken the flammability and explosivity for pure R290. Then, the system performances of heat pump using mixture of CO₂ and R290 were experimentally studied when R290 is added to CO₂ with a small fraction, and compared with that of the pure CO₂. The experimental test rig is designed and set up for the transcritical heat pump system. When the refrigerant charge is variable, the heating coefficient performance, optimum heat rejection pressure, compressor power, mass flow rate of refrigerant, and total heat coefficient of gas cooler were researched. The variation ratios of heating coefficient performance and heating capacity with deviation from the optimum refrigerant charge were also investigated. The optimum refrigerant charge of CO₂/R290 is obtained and the research results show that the addition of R290 to CO₂ can efficiently reduce the heat rejection pressure and improve the system performance. The results in the present work could provide useful guidelines for the design and operation of heat pump system using CO₂-based mixture.     

Vertical distribution of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates in sedimentary core from the Beipaiming Channel, North China

The vertical profiles of nonylphenol （NP） and nonylphenol ethoxylates （NPEOs） were investigated in a sediment core from the Beipaiming Channel, North China using high sensitive LC-MS and GC-MS metthods In this core, relatively high concentrations of NP and NPEOs occurred in the surface sediment （≤40 cm）, with the maximum value of NP and NPEOs reaching 3539 and 12735 mg/g, respectively, whereas, no NP or NPEOs were detected in deeper sediments （〉40 cm）. The high concentrations of NP and NPEOs in the surface layers suggested recent inputs in this area. NPEOs with short ethoxy chains （NPnEO, n=0-3） were dominant in the NPEO mixture with percentages from 54% to 78%, which were similar to the distribution of homolog NPEO in effluents from nearby sewage treatment plants （STPs）, indicating that the channel received the effluents from these STPs. The sewage treatment ratio was quite similar to that found in North America before the 1980s. Finally, the concentrations of NP and NPEOs were related to the total organic carbon （TOC） （p〈0.001）, suggesting that TOC was an important factor for vertical distribution of NPEOs and NP from the Beipaiming Channel.     

Determination of alcohol compounds using corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry

Ion mobility spectrometry （IMS） is a very fast, highly sensitive, and inexpensive technique, it permits efficient monitoring of volatile organic compounds like alcohols. In this article, positive ion mobility spectra for six alcohol organic compounds have been systematically studied for the first time using a high-resolution IMS apparatus equipped with a discharge ionization source. Utilizing protonated water cluster ions （H2O）nH^＋ as the reactant ions and clean air as the drift gas, alcohol organic compounds, ethanol, 1- propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol and 2-octanol, all exhibit product ion characteristic peaks in their respective ion mobility spectrometry, that is a result of proton transfer reactions between the alcohols and reaction ions （H2O）nH^＋. The mixture of these alcohols, including two isomers, has been detected, and the results showed that they could be distinguished effectively in the ion mobility spectrum. The reduced mobility values have been determined, which are in very well agreement with the traditional ^63Ni-IMS experimental values. The exponential dilution method was used to calibrate the alcohol concentrations, and a detection limit available for the alcohols is in order of magnitude of a few ng/L.     

Effect of stocking density and food quality on the growth and fecundity of an epigeic earthworm (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Eisenia fetida</Emphasis>) during vermicomposting

Physico-chemical characteristics of the feed and optimum worm density are important parameters for the efficient working of a vermicomposting system. Overcrowding of worms can affect the efficiency of a vermicomposting system even if all other parameters have been optimized. This article reports the effect of stocking density and feed quality on the growth and fecundity of Eisenia fetida under laboratory conditions. The feed mixtures contained cow dung and textile mill wastewater sludge in different ratios. Three feed mixtures and five stocking rates (1, 2, 4, 8, and 12) were tested for 12 weeks. The results showed that E. fetida growth rate was faster at higher stocking densities; however, biomass gain per worm was faster at lower stocking densities. Sexual maturity was attained earlier at higher stocking densities. Growth rate was highest in 100% cow dung at all the stocking densities when compared to textile mill wastewater sludge containing feed mixtures. A worm population of 27–53 worms per kg of feed was found to be the most favorable stocking density.     

Computation of particles’ ascent from a cavity behind passing shock wave

We study numerically the dynamics of particles of dispersed phase in a turbulent gas flow in planar shock waves (SWs) sliding along a solid surface with a depression of trapezoid shape. The ascent of particles from the cavity walls has been computed in the approximation of a rarefied gas–particle mixture. A considerable influence of the passing SW strength and the initial location of particles on the characteristics of particles’ ascent, the non-monotonicity of the dependence of the particle-ascent height on the initial longitudinal coordinate, and the SW Mach number, and a possibility of the formation of particles’ accumulation and removal zones on the depression bottom are shown.     

Prediction of potential areas of species distributions based on presence-only data

We introduce a methodology to infer zones of high potential for the habitat of a species, useful for management of biodiversity, conservation, biogeography, ecology, or sustainable use. Inference is based on a set of sites where the presence of the species has been reported. Each site is associated with covariate values, measured on discrete scales. We compute the predictive probability that the species is present at each node of a regular grid. Possible spatial bias for sites of presence is accounted for. Since the resulting posterior distribution does not have a closed form, a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm is implemented. However, we also describe an approximation to the posterior distribution, which avoids MCMC. Relevant features of the approach are that specific notions of data acquisition such as sampling intensity and detectability are accounted for, and that available a priori information regarding areas of distribution of the species is incorporated in a clear-cut way. These concepts, arising in the presence-only context, are not addressed in alternative methods. We also consider an uncertainty map, which measures the variability for the predictive probability at each node on the grid. A simulation study is carried out to test and compare our approach with other standard methods. Two case studies are also presented.