Solar driven nitrous acid formation on building material surfaces containing titanium dioxide: A concern for air quality in urban areas?

The photoenhanced uptake of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) to the surface of commercially available self-cleaning window glass has been studied under controlled laboratory conditions. This material is one of an array of modern building products which incorporate titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles and are finding increasing use in populated urban areas. Amongst the principal drivers for the use of these materials is that they are thought to facilitate the irreversible removal of pollutants such as NO₂ and organic molecules from the atmosphere and thus act to remediate air quality. While it appears that TiO₂ materials do indeed remove organic molecules from built environments, in this study we show that the photoenhanced uptake of NO₂ to one example material, self-cleaning window glass, is in fact accompanied by the substantial formation (50–70%) of gaseous nitrous acid (HONO). This finding has direct and serious implications for the use of these materials in urban areas. Not only is HONO a harmful respiratory irritant, it is also readily photolysed by solar radiation leading to the formation of hydroxyl radicals (OH) together with the re-release of NO_x as NO. The net effect of subsequent OH initiated chemistry can then be the further degradation of air quality through the formation of secondary pollutants such as ozone and VOC oxidation products. In summary, we suggest that a scientifically conceived technical strategy for air quality remediation based on this technology, while widely perceived as universally beneficial, could in fact have effects precisely opposite to those intended.     

火灾中双层窗玻璃破裂机理的研究

把单层窗玻璃破裂的模型作为研究基础,基于原有的单层窗玻璃破裂的计算软件开发设计了双层窗玻璃破裂的模型,并对双层玻璃的内表面及其空隙的热传递过程和连续发生的玻璃破裂机理进行了研究。     

Ecotect在建筑玻璃幕墙光反射影响评价中的应用研究

将Ecotect软件应用到建筑玻璃幕墙光反射影响评价中,应用结果表明,Ecotect软件能准确地确定建筑玻璃幕墙反射光的影响范围,且能准确地确定幕墙遮阳设施或周围建筑的遮挡效果,这可大大加强建筑玻璃幕墙光反射影响评价的准确性.另外,Ecotect软件还可准确地分析出受影响的敏感目标或敏感目标受照反射光的来源,这可使幕墙设计者有针对性对受影响敏感目标或对敏感目标产生反射光影响的建筑玻璃幕墙立面采取预防控制措施,来降低或者消除光反射,从而从源头上减少或消除幕墙反射光对周围环境敏感目标的影响.     

Evaluating the potential of biodiesel (via recycled cooking oil) use in Singapore,an urban city

Singapore has pledged to attain 7–11% Business-As-Usual carbon emissions reduction by 2020. About 19% of CO₂ contribution stemmed from road transport in 2005. Commercial vehicles, which uses mainly diesel, consumed 695 million litres diesel in 2012. An estimated 115,585 tonnes or 127 million litres cooking oils (derived from seeds/fruits) were consumed in 2010, in which the bulk of used cooking oil is re-incorporated into the food preparation process while only a small amount is being recycled into biodiesel or disposed into the sewerage. Nevertheless, the present research reveals that biodiesel derived from spent cooking oil has potential to be a viable fuel supplement. Surveys were carried out involving three market segments – suppliers, processors and end-users – to identify the barriers and obstacles in mass production of biodiesel. A key enabler of biodiesel as a fuel supplement towards a greener environment lies in government mandate/policies in promoting greater biodiesel usage.     

Mechanical recycling of EOL concrete into high-grade aggregates

Recycling End of Life (EOL) concrete into high-grade aggregate for new concrete is a challenging prospect for the building sector because of the competing constraints of low recycling process cost and high aggregate product quality. A further complicating factor is that, from the perspective of the environment, there is a strong societal drive to reduce bulk transport of building materials in urban environments, and to apply more in situ recycling technologies for Construction & Demolition Waste. The European C2CA project investigates a combination of smart demolition, grinding of the crushed concrete in an autogenous mill to increase the liberation of cement mortar from the surface of aggregates and a novel dry classification technology called ADR to remove the fines. The feasibility of this recycling process was examined in a demonstration project involving 20,000 tons of EOL concrete from two office towers in Groningen, the Netherlands. Results show that the +4 mm recycled aggregate compares favorably with natural aggregate in terms of workability and the compressive strength of the new concrete, showing 30% higher strength after 7 days.     

Real time alteration of a nuclear waste glass and remobilization of lanthanide into an interphase

The development of predictive models for the long term evolution of nuclear waste glass requires the complete knowledge of the glass dissolution at the laboratory scale. A new approach was developed to determine the initial reaction during the first steps of experience, a new concept was developed, based on the combination of dynamic leaching test and the characterization of the altered materials. With this experimental set-up it is possible to follow in real time the glass alteration process at a fine temporal scale. The results put in evidence a singular behaviour of the lanthanide, shown by a concentration peak of La, Nd and Ce after 2 h and a quick decrease of their concentration measured on line in the solution during the leaching test. This fact is directly linked to the development of an interphase (altered layer which differs from the initial solid by its texture, structure and chemical composition) at the interface of the glass surface and the leaching solution. This work is an attempt to integrate the formation of the alteration products (here the interphase) during leaching into the dissolution mechanisms of a nuclear waste glass. A model is proposed and discussed.     

VEGF鳞片胶泥在烟气脱硫装置中的应用

本文介绍了高度耐腐蚀VEGF鳞片胶泥在烟气脱硫装置中的应用情况、耐蚀机理和特点。     

玻璃熔窑烟气脱硝技术探讨

结合玻璃熔窑烟气排放的特点,阐述了国内外玻璃熔窑烟气脱硝技术,湿法脱硝、选择性催化还原法(SCR)、选择性非催化还原法(SNCR)及其优缺点。探讨了SCR脱硝技术在玻璃熔窑烟气脱硝的运用,并给出了工程实例,最后提出了一些建议。     

Properties of concrete paving blocks made with waste marble

Marble industry produces large amounts of waste marble - what causes environmental problems. In paving blocks based on two cement types we have partly replaced aggregate with waste marble. Physical and mechanical tests were performed on blocks so produced. The cement type turns out to be an important factor. Mechanical strength decreases with increasing marble content while freeze-thaw durability and abrasive wear resistance increase. Waste marble is well usable instead of the usual aggregate in the concrete paving block production.     

PH玻璃电极对比观测及误差研究

经过对PH玻璃电极对比观测实验，总结其在日常观测中衰减变化规律，以及PH电极失效前所具有的特征；讨论了对现有PH观测数据进行修正的方法，并编著相关修正程序；分析日常存在的测量误差，提出提高观测精度的措施。