Mechanical and Barrier Properties of Biodegradable Films Made from Chitosan and Poly (Lactic Acid) Blends

Biodegradable film blends of chitosan with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were prepared by solution mixing and film casting. The main goal of these blends is to improve the water vapor barrier of chitosan by blending it with a hydrophobic biodegradable polymer from renewable resources. Mechanical properties of obtained films were assessed by tensile test. Thermal properties, water barrier properties, and water sensitivity were studied by differential scanning calorimeter analysis, water vapor permeability measurements, and surface-angle contact tests, respectively. The incorporation of PLA to chitosan improved the water barrier properties and decreased the water sensitivity of chitosan film. However, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of chitosan decreased with the addition of PLA. Mechanical and thermal properties revealed that chitosan and PLA blends are incompatible, consistent with the results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis that showed the absence of specific interaction between chitosan and PLA.     

Assessment of Soil Erodibility Indices for Conservation Reserve Program Lands in Southwestern Kansas Using Satellite Imagery and GIS Techniques

The soil erodibility index (EI) of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands, which was the major criterion for CRP enrollment, was assessed for six counties in southwestern Kansas using USGS seamless digital elevation model data and Geographical Informational System techniques. The proportion of land areas with EI values of 8 or lower was less than 1% of the entire study area and most of the land areas (72.5%) were concentrated on EI values between 8 and 24. Although land acreage with EI values of 24 or higher decreased dramatically, the proportion of CRP lands to the other land-use types did not change much from low to high EI levels. The soil EI and physical soil characteristics of the CRP lands were compared to those of other land-use types. In general, the mean EI values of the land-use types were strongly correlated with physical soil properties, including organic matter content, clay content, available water capacity, permeability, and texture. CRP lands were compared in detail with cropland in terms of their soil characteristics to infer the pivotal cause of the land transformation. Although there was no significant statistical difference in EI between cropland and CRP soils, soil texture, soil family, and permeability were statistically different between the two. Statistical analyses of these three variables showed that CRP soils had coarser texture and higher permeability on average than cropland soils, indicating that CRP lands in the study area are drier than cropland soils. Therefore, soil moisture characteristics, not necessarily soil erosion potential, might have been the key factor for CRP enrollment in the study area.     

The effect of Na and Ca salts on MSWI bottom ash activation for reuse as a pozzolanic admixture

In this study the possibility of both chemical and combined chemical + thermal activation of municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash was investigated. A number of chemical activators including Na₂SiO₃·9H₂O, NaOH, Na₂SO₄ and CaCl₂·2H₂O were individually added at varying concentrations to bottom ash/Portland cement mixtures having different bottom ash contents. The effect of the selected compounds was evaluated in terms of macroscopic properties including mechanical strength and composition of cementitious materials/water slurries. The results showed that Na-based activators were not capable of improving the characteristics of the cementitious products if compared to Portland cement under both normal and accelerated curing. Conversely, the use of calcium chloride at 40 °C-curing did promote the pozzolanic properties of bottom ash, leading to UCS values of 45.5 and 60.0 MPa after 10 and 20 days, respectively, as opposed to a value of 43.6 MPa obtained after 28 days for Portland cement under normal curing conditions.     

Chemical composition and properties of ashes from combustion plants using Miscanthus as fuel

Miscanthus giganteus is one of the energy crops considered to show potential for a substantial contribution to sustainable energy production. In the literature there is little data available about the chemical composition of ashes from the combustion of Miscanthus and practically no data about their physical properties. However, for handling, treatment and utilization of the ashes this information is important. In this study ashes from two biomass combustion plants using Miscanthus as fuel were investigated. The density of the ashes was 2230 ± 35 kg/m~3, which was similar to the density of ashes from straw combustion. Also the bulk densities were close to those reported for straw ashes. The flowability of the ashes was a little worse than the flowability of ashes from wood combustion. The measured heavy metal concentrations were below the usual limits for utilization of the ashes as soil conditioner. The concentrations in the bottom ash were similar to those reported for ash from forest residue combustion plants. In comparison with cyclone fly ashes from forest residue combustion the measured heavy metal concentrations in the cyclone fly ash were considerably lower. Cl-, S and Zn were enriched in the cyclone fly ash which is also known for ashes from wood combustion. In comparison with literature data obtained from Miscanthus plant material the concentrations of K, Cl-and S were lower.This can be attributed to the fact that the finest fly ash is not collected by the cyclone de-dusting system of the Miscanthus combustion plants.     

基于环境因子和邻近信息的土壤属性空间分布预测

为探索乡镇尺度上土壤属性空间分布预测的最佳方法,以江西省万年县齐埠镇为例,借助四方位搜索法、地统计学和遥感影像分析技术提取环境因子（地形因子和植被覆盖指数）和邻近信息[w（有机质）与w（速效钾）],构建OK法（普通克里金法）、RK1法（仅基于环境因子的回归克里金法）以及RK2法（基于环境因子和邻近信息的回归克里金法）对齐埠镇耕地表层（0~20 cm）土壤w（有机质）、w（速效钾）空间分布进行预测.结果表明:齐埠镇土壤w（有机质）平均值为35.03 g/kg,w（速效钾）平均值为96.73 mg/kg,均为中等空间变异性.对62个样点进行建模,16个测试样点进行独立验证的误差分析表明,RK2法对土壤w（有机质）、w（速效钾）预测结果的均方根误差、平均绝对误差和平均相对误差较OK法分别降低了18.05%、18.01%、21.77%和7.25%、9.49%、9.84%;较RK1法分别降低了22.48%、20.91%、22.02%和9.27%、12.61%、13.52%.研究显示,RK2法明显提高了土壤w（有机质）、w（速效钾）空间分布模拟精度,并且存在改进和提高的空间.      

外源Ca2+对SBR启动期活性污泥胞外多聚物的动态影响

利用无机物如Ca~(2+),加快活性污泥反应器启动,强化活性污泥絮体性能和结构稳定性,受到越来越多的重视.采用序批式反应器,研究进水中添加Ca~(2+)对反应器启动期活性污泥沉降性能和胞外多聚物的影响.结果表明运行至28 d,与进水中不添加Ca~(2+)的反应器(对照反应器)相比,进水中添加150 mg·L~(-1)外源Ca~(2+)的反应器中活性污泥MLSS和MLVSS值分别高出了89.6%和75.6%,SVI值则降低了47.9%;活性污泥胞外多聚物总量增加了76.4%,多糖增加了28.8%,蛋白质减少了31.6%,添加150 mg·L~(-1)外源Ca~(2+)的反应器中污泥胞外多聚物中多糖/蛋白质值为68.8,对照反应器的活性污泥胞外多聚物多糖/蛋白质值仅为36.6.三维荧光光谱和红外光谱分析表明外源Ca~(2+)导致活性污泥胞外多聚物组分发生了变化.实验结果为进水中添加外源Ca~(2+)改善活性污泥沉降性能提供了基础数据.     

改性壳聚糖CAD与微生物絮凝剂MBF8复配絮凝研究

采用水溶液自由基聚合反应,将丙烯酰胺(AM)、二甲基二烯丙基氯化铵(DMDAAC)接枝到壳聚糖分子上制成了阳离子改性壳聚糖(CAD).经FT-IR、XRD、zeta(ξ)电位、凝胶色谱等分析确定,CAD为淡黄色透明液体,pH值为3.7,相对分子质量为2.88×10⁶,阳离子度为16.7,等电点(0.1%溶液)约为pH值10.5,有效成分2.6%,主要特征官能团有羟基、氨基、季铵基和酰胺基, 呈不规则晶体结构.将CAD与相对分子质量3.67×10⁵的多糖类电负性微生物絮凝剂MBF8复配,对浊度12~460 NTU、离子强度3.0 mmol·L^-1的高岭土悬浊液进行烧杯实验.结果表明,MBF8与CAD的最佳使用方式为先投加MBF8后投加CAD,复配比5:3时效果最好,适用的pH范围为6.0~10.0.采用PAC(3.0 mg·L^-1)+MBF8+CAD(1.0 mg·L^-1)复配絮凝,pH=8.0下,对浊度为110 NTU的高岭土悬浊液,浊度去除率>97%,残余铝<0.08 mg·L^-1,絮体大、沉降快,絮凝效果优于PAC+分子量800万、1200万的阴离子PAM及分子量1500万的阳离子PAM.     

Application of CGP-cross route process for microstructure refinement and mechanical properties improvement in steel sheets

A modified method of severe plastic deformation (SPD) entitled constrained groove pressing-cross route (CGP-CR) was introduced for imposing a high magnitude of equivalent strain of about 2.32 per pass on the sheet form samples. The major benefit of this improved route compared to previous common route was the more homogeneity of strain in the rolling (RD) and transverse (TD) directions of sheets. In this study, low carbon steel samples were used for examination of evolutions in microstructure and mechanical properties during SPD via CGP-CR process. Mechanical properties improvement were measured by tensile and macro hardness tests. The results indicate that CGP-CR process can effectively improve tensile strength; and also, yield stress and hardness of as-received low carbon steel samples were improved up to about 100% after two deformation passes. Also, high magnitude of inhomogeneity can be observed in hardness distribution through first pass of the process which diminishes in the subsequent passes. Microstructural evolutions during process were monitored by optical microscopy observations and X-ray diffraction analysis. The results demonstrate that initial ferritic microstructure with grain size of about 30 μm was refined to a 225 nm cell structure after two passes of CGP-CR process.     

几种牺牲阳极在干湿交替条件下的自放电行为比较

模拟海水与空气的干湿交替条件,对四种海船常用牺牲阳极的自放电行为进行了研究。通过测定工作电位、发生电流、溶解性能、溶解产物成分,分析了四种牺牲阳极在经历不同间浸工作周期后的电化学性能,特别是再活化性能。结果表明:在干湿交替条件下,Zn-Al-Cd阳极的电化学性能降低幅度最大,Al-Zn-In-Cd阳极次之,它们均不适合在此环境中使用;Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ti的电化学性能比前两者好,Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ga-Mn则最适合作为干湿交替环境中的牺牲阳极。     

锂电池正极材料Li2FeS2的充放电机理与热稳定性

随着移动电子设备的飞速发展,锂电池作为新型的能源载体也取得了巨大的进步。与嵌入式氧化物正极材料相比,Li2FeS2不仅具有理想的循环性能,而且其理论容量达到400mAh／g,约为嵌入式氧化物正极材料的2倍。因此,本文从晶体结构、电化学性能、充放电机制、充放电过程中的离子电导率变化以及热稳定性等方面对Li2FeS2正极材料进行了详细的阐述。