改性淀粉絮凝剂处理含油废水的试验效果

通过将玉米淀粉与氢氧化钠、三氯化铝和无水碳酸钠在恒温磁力搅拌器上搅拌、加热,使得玉米淀粉改性,制得改性淀粉絮凝剂,并研究了改性淀粉絮凝剂对含油废水的处理效果.试验结果显示,在搅拌速度与时间分别为快搅速度200 r/min,快搅时间0.5 min;慢搅速度100 r/min,慢搅时间3 min的情况下,使用改性淀粉絮凝剂处理含油废水时,COD去除率为77.94%、石油类去除率为61.2%、透光率为62.7%、SS去除率为79.96%;最佳反应条件为:投药量为12 mg/L、温度为5~30℃、pH值为6-8.     

Performance of a diesel engine with water emulsified diesel prepared with optimized process parameters

An attempt has been made to produce stable water–diesel emulsion with optimal formulation and process parameters and to evaluate the performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine using this stable water–diesel emulsion. A total of 54 samples were prepared with varying water/diesel ratio, surfactant amount and stirring speed and water separation was recorded after 24 and 48 hr of emulsification. The recorded data were used in artificial neural network (ANN)-particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique to find the optimal parameters to produce water–diesel emulsion for engine testing. The predicted optimal parameters were found as 20% water to diesel ratio, 0.9% surfactant and 2200 rpm of stirrer for a water separation of 14.33% in one day with a variation of 6.54% against the actual value of water separation. Water–diesel emulsion fuel exhibited similar fuel properties as base fuel. The peak cylinder gas pressure, peak pressure rise rate and peak heat release rate for water–diesel were found higher as compared to diesel at medium to full engine loads. The improved air-fuel mixing in water–diesel emulsion enhanced brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of engine. The absorption of heat by water droplets present in water–diesel emulsion led to reduced exhaust gas temperature (EGT). With water–diesel emulsion fuel, the mean carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emissions reduced by 8.80, 39.60, and 26.11%, respectively as compared to diesel.     

Animal agency in wildlife conservation and management

Wildlife conservation and management (WCM) practices have been historically drawn from a wide variety of academic fields, yet practitioners have been slow to engage with emerging conversations about animals as complex beings, whose individuality and sociality influence their relationships with humans. We propose an explicit acknowledgement of wild, nonhuman animals as active participants in WCM. We examined 190 studies of WCM interventions and outcomes to highlight 3 common assumptions that underpin many present approaches to WCM: animal behaviors are rigid and homogeneous; wildlife exhibit idealized wild behavior and prefer pristine habitats; and human–wildlife relationships are of marginal or secondary importance relative to nonhuman interactions. We found that these management interventions insufficiently considered animal learning, decision-making, individuality, sociality, and relationships with humans and led to unanticipated detrimental outcomes. To address these shortcomings, we synthesized theoretical advances in animal behavioral sciences, animal geographies, and animal legal theory that may help conservation professionals reconceptualize animals and their relationships with humans. Based on advances in these fields, we constructed the concept of animal agency, which we define as the ability of animals to actively influence conservation and management outcomes through their adaptive, context-specific, and complex behaviors that are predicated on their sentience, individuality, lived experiences, cognition, sociality, and cultures in ways that shape and reshape shared human–wildlife cultures, spaces, and histories. Conservation practices, such as compassionate conservation, convivial conservation, and ecological justice, incorporate facets of animal agency. Animal agency can be incorporated in conservation problem-solving by assessing the ways in which agency contributes to species’ survival and by encouraging more adaptive and collaborative decision-making among human and nonhuman stakeholders.     

Thermodynamic and Diffusion Properties of Biodegradable Systems Based on Starch and Cellulose Derivatives

The interval sorption and diffusion of water vapor were studied for two systems: methylcellulose (MC)/starch and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)/starch. The diffusion coefficient of water vapor and the Gibbs free energy of swelling of these blends in water were estimated. The Gibbs free energy of mixing starch with the cellulose derivatives was determined using the thermodynamic cycle. CMC/starch was shown to be more compatible than MC/starch. Biodegradation of these systems in the water–soil environment was measured and found to increase with the concentration of starch in its blends with cellulose derivatives.     

淀粉废水生产微生物絮凝剂及发酵动力学特征

以淀粉生产废水为原料制备微生物絮凝剂,考察了外加磷酸盐、氮源对微生物絮凝剂产量和絮凝活性的影响,分析了絮凝菌的生长与代谢特征,检测了发酵过程中pH值、COD、氨氮、及总磷的变化规律,分别利用Logistic和Luedeking-Piret模型对絮凝菌生长和代谢产物生成的动力学过程进行了拟合,并探索了微生物絮凝剂对淀粉废水的絮凝沉降性能.结果表明,外加6g/L的磷酸盐（K2HPO4：KH2PO4=2：1,w/w）和2g/L的尿素,所制备微生物絮凝剂的产量和絮凝活性分别显著提高至0.96g/L和92.8%.在对数生长期,菌体干重、细胞浓度OD₆₀₀和菌落数分别迅速增加至1.58g/L、0.86和5.3×10⁷cfu/mL,淀粉废水培养基的COD、氨氮、总磷分别由7836、975、712mg/L迅速降低至1736、188、146mg/L. 絮凝菌发酵结束后,发酵培养基的pH值由6.8略降至6.5.絮凝菌代谢获得的微生物絮凝剂中多糖含量为96.2%,基本不含蛋白质.Logistic和Luedeking-Piret模型的拟合结果能够较好地描述絮凝菌生长和代谢产物生成的动力学过程.此外,本实验制备的微生物絮凝剂在投加量为30mg/L时,能够去除淀粉废水中48.6%的COD和71.9%的浊度.     

Preconcentration of cadmium and copper ions on magnetic core–shell nanoparticles for determination by flame atomic absorption

Magnetic core–shell nanoparticles modified by (3-aminopropyl) trimethoxy silane were prepared and used as adsorbent for the extraction and preconcentration of cadmium and copper ions. The ions were desorbed with nitric acid followed by determination with flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The extraction conditions were investigated systematically. The method was applied for the determination of Cd(II) and Cu(II) ions in different water samples. The accuracy was also evaluated through analysis of certified reference material.     

Exploration of spatial morphometry and socioeconomic variables in modelling urban land use change

The incorporation of land use (LU) data with socioeconomic data is a main issue in modelling. This is as a result of difference in data model and scale. This study proposed and tested the change–pattern approach, which allows the incorporation of these data sets in modelling LU change. Focusing on LU dynamics for a selected part of the Thames Gateway within the City of London, the approach tested two different methods of input selection for the modelling operations. Variables selected from these two methods serve as inputs into several neural networks tested in order to identify the direction of change for each of the LU types within the study area. The result shows that direction of LU change across the study area could be identified when spatial morphology of the area and socioeconomic variables are considered. Some classes of change could be identified fairly accurately using landscape metrics indicating level of fragmentation, extent of LU patches, shape complexity of LU patches in combination with some socioeconomic variables.     

Limiting explosible concentration of hydrogen–oxygen–helium mixtures related to the practical operational case

This paper presents data on the limiting (minimum) concentrations of hydrogen in oxygen, in the presence of added helium, at elevated temperature and pressure related to the practical operational case. A 5 L explosion vessel, an ignition sub-system and a transient pressure measurement sub-system were used. Through a series of experiments carried out using this system, the limiting concentrations of hydrogen in oxygen and helium at different initial pressures and temperatures for the practical operational case were studied, and the influence of ignition energy and initial temperature on the limiting concentration of hydrogen in oxygen and helium was analyzed and discussed. The variation of ignition energy within the studied range is found to have a significant effect on the limiting concentration of hydrogen in oxygen and helium at lower initial temperature. However, when the ignition energy is higher than 32 mJ, the limiting hydrogen concentration remains almost changeless as the initial temperature increases from 21 °C to 90 °C. The limiting explosible concentration of hydrogen–oxygen–helium mixture decreases as the ignition energy increases when the initial temperature is lower. When the initial temperature is higher, the ignition energy has little effect on the limiting hydrogen concentration of hydrogen–oxygen–helium mixtures. When the initial temperature reaches 90 °C, the limiting hydrogen concentration remains almost changeless with an increase in ignition energy. The limiting explosible concentration of hydrogen in the mixtures, at the initial temperature of 21 °C and the ignition energy of 0.5 mJ, is 8.5% and that of oxygen is 11.25%.