Recent trends in rock dust modifications for improved dispersion and coal dust explosion mitigation

Underground coal mine explosions is perhaps the most hazardous danger in the coal mining industries. Efforts have been made to abate the coal dust explosion by applying rock dust either dry or wet. Dry dust has the best lift characteristic which efficiently quenches the flame propagation of a potential explosion. As a trade-off, undesired respirable dust particles are thereby generated imposing a severe health hazard on coal miners. Wet dusting is an alternative to dry dusting which significantly reduces the exposure to respirable dust particles. However, wet dust is subject to adverse caking issues which lead to a drastic reduction in the dispersibility of the particles. The present work summarizes the studies conducted to date regarding the surface modification of rock dust particles for the purpose of eliminating or alleviating the problems accompanying coal mine dusting applications, meanwhile improving the dispersive properties of dust particles and the ability to suppress the coal dust explosion.     

EFFECTS OF LAKE MICHIGAN DIVERSION ON THE WATER CHEMISTRY OF THE ILLINOIS WATERWAY1

: Chemical quality characteristics of the Illinois waterway covering a stretch of 270 river miles were monitored at approximately 10 mile intervals, during the period June to September of 1978 and 1979. A statistical method was used to define the interstation relationships for the chemical parameters. These mathematical models were used to predict the effects of Lake Michigan diversion. The mineral content of the mixed flow resulting from increased diversions are not likely to be altered drastically.     

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOIL IN EVALUATING POTENTIAL WASTE WATER DISPOSAL SITES IN THE MISSOURI OZARKS1

ABSTRACT: A number of criteria can be used in the selection of an area for the irrigation disposal of secondary treated waste water. The inherent capacity of the surface soil to retain, or at least detain, the various nutrient ions passing through the profile in the percolating waters becomes the prime consideration in regions with shallow water tables or in Karst areas such as the Missouri Ozarks where the risk of ground water supply contamination is high. A comprehensive study of the nutrient renovation potential of several soils was undertaken at a proposed effluent irrigation site along the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in south central Missouri. The surface soil hydrology was evaluated employing selected soil water parameters. Exchange equilibria studies determined the retention capacity for Ca and Mg while the concentrations of other selected ions were analyzed in the soil water to measure their retention time and net removal. The movement of a bromine tracer was monitored as an index of the renovation capacity of these soils for the more mobile anions such as nitrate. Neutron activation analysis proved to be a useful tool in the water quality analyses. All surface soil profiles demonstrated some degree of nutrient renovation for the various nutrients studied.     

室内环境中化学污染物质测定法研究

室内环境中化学污染物质的测定是研究和解决室内环境问题的基础。本文以甲醛和挥发性有机化合物两种室内环境中的主要化学污染物质为例,介绍了目前世界各国采用的各种测定法及其动向,并探讨了测定时期、测定时间、采样点布置等有关问题,提出了一些看法供参考。     

SYL-01破乳剂的合成及性能测试

在国内外研究的基础上通过实验以MAA、AA、BuAc、MMAc为原料，采用乳液聚合的方法合成了一种新型的不含烷氧基的水溶性W／O原油破乳剂SYL-01。反应条件与反应物的用量研究表明：反应物最佳配比为AA：MAA：BuAc：MMAC＝0．75：0．25：10：4。对原油乳液的破乳实验说明：SYL－01与目前使用的9901破乳剂性能相当，脱水率较高。SYL－01原料价廉易得，不使用易燃易爆的气体原料，工艺简单，有较好的开发应用前景。     

ESTIMATION OF EPISODIC STREAM ACIDIFICATION BASED ON MONTHLY OR ANNUAL SAMPLING1

ABSTRACT: Programs of monthly or annual stream water sampling will rarely observe the episodic extremes of acidification chemistry that occur during brief, unpredictable runoff events. When viewed in the context of data from several streams, however, baseflow measurements of variables such as acid neutralizing capacity, pH and NO₃· are likely to be highly correlated with the episodic extremes of those variables from the same stream and runoff season. We illustrate these correlations for a water chemistry record, nearly two years in length, obtained from intensive sampling of 13 small Northeastern U.S. streams studied during USEPA's Episodic Response Project. For these streams, simple regression models estimate episodic extremes of acid neutralizing capacity, pH, NO₃·, Ca²⁺, SO₄^2?, and total dissolved Al with good relative accuracy from statistics of monthly or annual index samples. Model performances remain generally stable when episodic extremes in the second year of sampling are predicted from first-year models. Monthly or annual sampling designs, in conjunction with simple empirical models calibrated and maintained through intensive sampling every few years, may estimate episodic extremes of acidification chemistry with economy and reasonable accuracy. Such designs would facilitate sampling a large number of streams, thereby yielding estimates of the prevalence of episodic acidification at regional scales.     

WATER CHEMISTRY OF NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS STRIP MINE AND LIVESTOCK WATER IMPOUNDMENTS1

The water from 34 strip mine and 9 livestock water impoundments on the Northern Great Plains was analyzed. In all areas the water was classified as slightly brackish or saline. The dominant ion sequence for the study ponds was Na>Ca>Mg>K and SO₄HCO₃CO₃Cl, which differs from most freshwater by the transposition of Na and SO₄. Even though mean concentrations of total filterable residue were consistently greater in strip mine ponds, statistically significant differences were not found at the p ≤ 0.05 level between strip ponds and livestock ponds. The macronutrients of nitrogen and phosphorus found in the ponds were neither limiting to primary productivity nor excessive for fresh water. Many ponds contain turbid water. Turbidity restricts light penetration and limits photosynthesis besides making the ponds visually unattractive. The source of water for the pond, whether surface runoff or groundwater, seems to have important bearing on turbidity. The most appropriate use of these strip mine ponds is for waterfowl, warm-water fisheries, and other wildlife associated with prairie wetlands. However, even these uses are jeopardized by detrimental concentrations of trace elements in the water (Anderson and Hawkes, 1984).     

GROUND WATER QUALITY PREDICTION USING CLIMATIC INDICES1

ABSTRACT: Drought affects the quality of ground water in certain aquifers used by municipalities in Kansas. Water quality changes occur as a function of the amount of water available for recharge and hence to dilute more mineralized ground waters. Several measures of meteorological drought, including the Palmer Index and Eagleman Aridity Index, were correlated with water quality data to determine the degree of association. Several locations showed sharp delinces in water quality as the drought progressed. These relationships can be used to predict possible variations in present and future well-water supplies in locations subject to drought induced water quality deterioration.     

A STATISTICAL APPROACH TO ASSESS FACTORS AFFECTING WATER CHEMISTRY USING MONITORING DATA1

ABSTRACT: A method to partition the variation in concentrations of water chemistry parameters in a river is described. The approach consists of fitting a family of curves for each chemical parameter. Each curve indicates the response of the parameter to river flow for a particular time period or location. An analysis of covariance is then used to identify statistically significant differences between curves. Such differences result largely from two factors: (1) the discharge of effluents and (2) river flow-concentration relationships. The deviations from the fitted curves indicate month-to-month variations unrelated to river flow that are controlled by factors such as temperature-related seasonal patterns. Underlying statistical assumptions are discussed with respect to water chemistry data. The technique is applied to a data set consisting of monthly samples of 22 water chemistry parameters from the Sulphur River of Texas and Arkansas. Several patterns of response to river flow and to two effluent discharges were revealed.     

Synchronous variation in water chemistry for 80 lakes in Southern Sweden

Variation in water chemistry was studied in 80 lakes in southern Sweden. The lakes had forest dominated catchments. The length of the time series was 14 years. Synchrony was calculated as Pearsons product moment correlation coefficients for all combinations of lakes, i.e. 3160 lake-pairs. The chemical variables studied were non-marine sulphate (SO₄ ^*), non-marine calcium (Ca^*), absorbance and acid neutralising capacity (ANC). Statistically significant synchrony occurred in 93% of all lake-pairs for SO₄ ^*, and between 58 and 67% for absorbance, Ca^* and ANC. In 70% of all lake-pairs, the synchrony was \s>0.71 for SO₄ ^*, which means that more than half of the variation in one lake could be explained by the variation in the other lake. For absorbance, Ca^* and ANC, about 25% of the lake-pairs had a synchrony \s>0.71. The relatively high synchrony for SO₄ ^* occurred during an overall downward trend in SO₄ ^* concentration.The degree of synchrony in our study was at a level comparable to other studies in northern America and England. However, our study included lakes in a much larger area, with distances of up to 500 km between the lakes, while earlier studies were made on small lake districts with lakes located within approximately 50 km. In contrast to these earlier studies, there was no correlation between synchrony and distance, lake characteristics or catchment characteristics. However, when a small subset of 15 lakes in the southeast of Sweden was selected, such relations were found.