Feasibility of honeycomb monolith supported sugar catalyst to produce biodiesel from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)

Carbon coated monolith was prepared by sucrose solution 65 wt.% via dip-coating method. Sulfonation of incomplete carbonized carbon coated monolith was carried out in order to synthesize solid acid catalyst. The textural structure characteristics of the solid acid catalyst demonstrated a low surface area and pore volume. Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), a by-product of palm oil refineries, was utilized as oil source in biodiesel production. The esterification reaction subjected to different reaction conditions was performed by using the sulfonated carbon coated monolith as heterogeneous catalyst. The sulfonation process had been performed by using vapour of concentrated H₂SO₄ that was much easier and efficient than liquid phase sulfonation. Total acidity value of carbon coated monolith was measured for unsulfonated sample (0.5 mmol/g) and sulfonated sample (4.2 mmol/g). The effect of methanol/oil ratio, catalyst amount and reaction time were examined. The maximum methyl ester content was 89% at the optimum condition, i.e. methanol/oil molar ratio (15:1), catalyst amount (2.5 wt.% with respect to PFAD), reaction time (240 min) and temperature 80 °C. The sugar catalyst supported on the honeycomb monolith showed comparable reactivity compared with the sugar catalyst powder. However, the catalyst reusability studies showed decrease in FFA% conversion from 95.3% to 68.8% after four cycles as well as the total acidity of catalyst dropped from the value 4.2 to 3.1 mmol/g during these cycles. This might be likely due to the leaching out of SO₃H group from the sulfonated carbon coated monolith surface. The leaching of active species reached a plateau state after fourth cycle.     

红树林土壤解磷菌的分离鉴定及解磷特性

从罗源湾红树林根际土壤中分离解磷菌,筛选出洋葱伯克霍尔德菌（Burkholderia cepacia, NR 113645.1）和短小芽孢杆菌（Bacillus pumilus, NR 043242.1）,研究它们的解磷特性和动态解磷过程. HPLC结果表明, B. cepacia菌液上清中含葡萄糖酸、丙酮酸、乳酸、乙酸、丁二酸, 这些有机酸的产生导致磷酸盐溶解. B.pumilus菌液上清中仅检测到少量的葡萄糖酸, 因此该菌溶磷效果不佳. 在细菌动态溶磷过程中发现, 经B. cepacia菌处理的磷酸钙, 其X射线衍射（XRD）特征峰强度随时间的增长降低, 显微镜图像显示磷酸钙颗粒随时间增长变小, 甚至消失. 而经B.pumilus菌处理的结果表明, 在试验期间内磷酸钙峰强度和颗粒大小没有明显变化. 细菌产生有机酸是溶解磷酸盐的重要前提, 这是解决板结土壤中难溶性磷源转化为生物可利用磷源问题的关键.     

Preparation of hydrophobic hierarchical pore carbon–silica composite and its adsorption performance toward volatile organic compounds

Carbon–silica materials with hierarchical pores consisting of micropores and mesopores were prepared by introducing nanocarbon microspheres derived from biomass sugar into silica gel channels in a hydrothermal environment.The physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by nitrogen physical adsorption(BET),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and thermogravimetric(TG),and the adsorption properties of various organic waste gases were investigated.The results showed that microporous carbon materials were introduced successfully into the silica gel channels,thus showing the high adsorption capacity of activated carbon in high humidity organic waste gas,and the high stability and mechanical strength of the silica gel.The dynamic adsorption behavior confirmed that the carbon–silica material had excellent adsorption capacity for different volatile organic compounds(VOCs).Furthermore,the carbon–silica material exhibited excellent desorption characteristics:adsorbed toluene was completely desorbed at 150℃,thereby showing superior regeneration characteristics.Both features were attributed to the formation of hierarchical pores.     

Effect of struvite and organic acids on immobilization of copper and zinc in contaminated bio-retention filter media

Few studies have been carried out to connect nutrient recovery as struvite from wastewater and sustainable utilization of the recovered struvite for copper and zinc immobilization in contaminated soil. This study revealed the effect of struvite on Cu and Zn immobilization in contaminated bio-retention soil in the presence of commonly exuded plant organic acids. The research hypothesis was that the presence of both struvite and organic acids may influence the immobilization of Cu and Zn in soil. The outcome of this research confirmed that more than 99% of Cu and Zn was immobilized in bio-retention filter media by struvite application. Water-soluble Cu and Zn concentrations of struvite treated soil were less than 1.83 and 0.86 mg/kg respectively, and these concentrations were significantly lower compared to the total Cu and Zn content of 747.05 mg/kg in the contaminated soil. Application of struvite to Cu- and Zn-contaminated soil resulted in formation of compounds similar to zinc phosphate tetrahydrate (Zn₃(PO₄)₂?4H₂O) and amorphous Cu and Zn phases. Struvite was effective in heavy metal remediation in acidic soil regardless of the presence of Ca impurities in struvite and the presence of plant organic acids in soil. Overall, this study revealed that struvite recovered from wastewater treatment plants has potential for use as an amendment for heavy metal remediation in contaminated bio-retention soil.     

Formation and Emission of N2O and CH4 from Compost Heaps of Organic Household Waster

Composting can be a source of N₂O andCH₄ production. In this investigation, differentcompost heaps of organic household waste weremonitored with the focus on potential formation ofCH₄ and N₂O in the heaps and emission ofthese gases from the heaps. The studied compost heapshad different compost ages, turning intervals andcompost sizes. The analysed compost gases containedbetween 1–3421 L of N₂O-N L^-1 and 0–470 mL of CH₄ L^-1. The emission rates ofN₂O and CH₄ from the compost heaps werebetween 1–1464 mg N₂O m^-2 day^-1 and0–119 000 mg CH₄ m^-2 day^-1. These verylarge differences in compost gas composition andemission indicate the importance of compostmanagement. The results also give an understanding ofwhere in the composting process an increasing emissionof N₂O and CH₄ can occur.     

A Global Overview of Atmospheric Acid Deposition Fluxes

This paper presents a summary of globalacid deposition flux data taken from a globalassessment report on acid deposition prepared forUNEP/WMO (Whelpdale and Kaiser, 1996). There is a largevariation in the spacial coverage and reliability ofmonitoring around the world. Many more stationsmeasure wet deposition than collect appropriate datafor estimating dry deposition. The widespread regionswith highest precipitation concentrations anddeposition fluxes of sulphate and nitrate coincideclosely with the regions of highest density ofSO₂ and NO_x precursor emissions occurringprimarily in the mid-latitude, northern hemispherebelt where a large fraction of the worlds fossilfuels is consumed. Organic acids in precipitation makea minor contribution to acidity (<20%) inindustrial regions, but in the rest of the world theyare of same order, or even exceed, inorganic acids.Less is known about dry deposition, but it appears topredominate near strong emission sources with wetdeposition predominating farther downwind. The molarratio of the N/S contribution to acidic deposition isclose to 1.0 over large areas of Europe and NorthAmerica, but is highly variable elsewhere, beinghighest in equatorial regions due to biomass burningand lowest near smelters and other large sources of SO₂.     

建立土壤硫释放过程的人工神经网络模型

以温度、土壤含水率、胱氨酸添加量和土壤pH值作为土壤释放挥发性含硫化合物的主要影响因素,采用正交实验方法分析这些因素与土壤硫释速率的关系,利用BP神经网络算法对实验结果建模,并用模型对不同影响因素下的土壤硫释放情况进行预测。结果表明,网络模型对学习过的样本有较高预测精度,预测结果相对误差在2％以下,对未学生过的样本,误差为10％左右,表明人工神经网络方法建立的模型适用于土壤硫释放预测。     

取代苯甲酸在天然河流中的生物降解及其定量结构--生物降解性相关研究

以天然河流水作为微生物源 ,采用碘量法测定了 2 0种苯甲酸类化合物的 5日生化需氧量 ,并以其占理论需氧量的百分数作为表征生物降解性的参数 ,得出各类取代苯甲酸类化合物的生物降解能力为 :羟基 >氨基 >羧基 >甲氧基 >氯基 >硝基 ;对于同一种取代基 ,对位取代基化合物生物降解能力最大 ,而邻位、间位取代基化合物生物降解能力大体相同。计算了苯甲酸类化合物的分子连接性指数 ,并以 5日生化需氧量占理论需氧量的百分数为参数建立了 QSBR模型。分析结果表明 ,分子连接性指数5Xvpc、5Xp- 5Xvp 能较好地反映取代苯甲酸的生物降解性     

一个填埋场的气体排放控制系统的建立及其从中得到的几点启示

介绍位于纽约州北汉姆斯特城的ＰｏｒｔＷａｓｈｉｎｇｔｏｎ城市固体废弃物填埋场填埋气体的排放、监测和处理系统及其有关测试数据和从中得到的启示．     

含硫化合物的气相色谱检测响应特性研究

利用气相色谱（配炎焰光度检测器）对二硫化碳（ＣＳ２）、甲硫醇（ＣＨ３ＣＨ）、甲硫醚（ＤＭＳ）和二甲二硫醚（ＤＭＤＳ）４种含硫物质进行了分析检测，着重讨论了气相色谱仪的各项参数对几种含硫物质响应和分离效果的影响。结果表明：该分析对含硫气体的最小检测浓度达到ｐｐｂ级。在各项参数中，色谱柱温度在Ｎ２压力对各含硫物质响应和分离度影响最大，汽化室和检测器温度及空气压力对它们的影响相对较小。