Plant uptake of radiocaesium from artificially contaminated soil monoliths covering major European soil types

Uptake of ¹³⁷Cs was measured in different agricultural plant species (beans, lettuce, barley and ryegrass) grown in 5 undisturbed soil monoliths covering major European soil types. The first cultivation was made three years after soil contamination and plants were grown during 3 successive years. The plant–soil ¹³⁷Cs transfer factors varied maximally 12-fold among soils and 35-fold among species when grown on the same soil. Single correlations between transfer factors and soil properties were found, but they varied widely with plant type and can hardly be used as a predictive tool because of the few soils used. The variation of ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in plants among soils was related to differences in soil solution ¹³⁷Cs and K concentrations, consistent with previous observations in hydroponics and pot trials. Absolute values of transfer factors could not be predicted based on a model validated for pot trials. The ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration in soil solution decreased significantly (11- to 250-fold) for most soils in the 1997–1999 period and is partly explained by decreasing K in soil solution. Transfer factors of lettuce showed both increasing and decreasing trends between 2 consecutive years depending on soil type. The trends could be explained by the variation in ¹³⁷Cs and K concentrations in soil solution. It is concluded that differences in ¹³⁷Cs transfer factors among soils and trends in transfer factors as a function of time can be explained from soil solution composition, as shown previously for pot trials, although absolute values of transfer factors could not be predicted.     

Radionuclide content of building materials and associated gamma dose rates in Egyptian dwellings

Studies have been carried out to determine the natural radioactivity in some building materials (bricks, tiles, marble and ceramics) and their associated radiation hazard. The radioactivity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were measured using a gamma spectrometer with a Hp–Ge detector. The activities of ²³⁸U and ²³⁴U were measured using an alpha-spectrometer with a surface barrier detector after applying a radiochemical procedure. The ²³⁴U/²³⁸U isotopic ratios were calculated. The radium equivalent activities and the radiation hazard index associated with the natural radionuclides were calculated. A computer program was developed and applied to calculate the dose rate a person will receive from the walls of a room constructed from the studied building materials.     

臭氧/高锰酸盐预氧化对生物过滤净水效能的影响

比较了臭氧(O3)和高锰酸盐复合药剂(PPC)对水源水预氧化的助凝效果及其对后续陶粒生物过滤净水效能的影响.结果表明,两种预氧化剂投加量均为2 mg/L时,PPC的助凝效果较为明显,浊度和溶解性有机碳(DOC)的去除率分别由未投加氧化剂时的85.7%和24.2%提高到88.3Z和35.2%;O3能够增加沉淀后水的可生化性,使特征紫外吸光度(SUVA)由0.97L/(m·mg)降至0.89 L/(m·mg).PPC预氧化有助于生物过滤对浊度的稳定去除,而O3预氧化则有助于生物过滤对DOC的去除.与O3预氧化相比,PPC预氧化有利于后续生物过滤运行初期对NH4 -N的去除,二者后续生物过滤在前3个月对NH4 -N的平均去除率分别为26.6%和73.1%,运行后期二者NH4 -N去除率接近.当进水NH4 -N大于2.0 mg/L时,DO是其去除的主要限制因素.     

高铁酸钾降解苯酚的机制研究

借助高效液相色谱(HPLC),通过标准物比对法和添加标准物法,研究了高铁酸钾降解苯酚的开环产物.结果表明,高铁酸钾降解苯酚的主要稳定的中间产物有顺丁烯二酸、反丁烯二酸、草酸和甲酸.并据此推导出苯酚被高铁酸钾氧化降解的可能途径.     

原子吸收法测定降水中的钾、钠、钙、镁的改进

对标准分析方法中的K、Na、Ca、Mg分开测定改进为混合测定。改进法与标准法的校准曲线、精密度与准确度均较为一致。改进法简化了操作程序，提高了工作效率。     

PPH (potassium polyacrylate & hectorite) composite materials – A new fire accident emergency method for thermal protection of adjacent tanks

When a chemical tank fire happens in a storage area, it is very important to protect adjacent tanks so as to decrease fire accident losses. In this paper, a new thermal protection method was put forward based on a PPH (potassium polyacrylate & hectorite) thermal insulation composite material spraying on an adjacent tank under fire. Firstly, the PPH material was prepared successfully by a polymerization reaction of potassium acrylate, hectorite, NaHSO₃ and (NH₄)₂S₂O₈. Secondly, thermal insulation performance of the PPH material was characterized by heat transfer process at high incident heat flux using cone calorimeter. The results show that thermal insulation performance of the PPH material is affected by a content change of (NH₄)₂S₂O₈, NaHSO₃ and hectorite in formulations. The content of (NH₄)₂S₂O₈ 0.14 wt%, NaHSO₃ 1.38 wt% and hectorite 1.4 wt% was an optimum formulation ratio to obtain best thermal insulation performance. Finally, possible thermal insulation mechanisms of the PPH material were presented using SEM, TG and TG-IR techniques. One of the thermal insulation mechanisms is the incident heat flux absorbed by water evaporation from the PPH material. Another is the thermal protection of the char formed from the PPH material at high incident thermal radiation, which can prevent heat and mass transfer.     

Impact of the 1998 Central American fires on PM2.5 mass and composition in the southeastern United States

The impact of the Central American fires on PM_2.5 mass concentration and composition in the Tennessee Valley region during portions of May, 1998, has been quantified. Elevated concentrations of smoke aerosol tracers—fine potassium, (and to a lesser extent, calcium and silicon) and, where available, organic and elemental carbon—were observed in the region during times in which satellite imagery (TOMS and GOES-8) showed regional transport of hazy, smoky airmasses from southern Mexico and adjacent areas of Central America. Back-trajectories from network sites in the Tennessee Valley network were consistent with this regional transport. The extent of transport of extra-regional fine particle mass during May, 1998, is discussed relative to the new US fine particle mass-based standards for fine particulate matter.     

Potential Use of Olive-Waste Ash from Cogeneration Plants as a Soil Amendment

A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate the potential use of olive-cake ash as a soil amendment, using pepper (Capsicum annuum, L. cv Italian sweet). Three soils of different pH (acidic, neutral and calcareous) were used. Treatments included a control (no fertilizer application), NPK fertilizer, and two ash-application rates that provided a complete dose (equivalent to the K₂O amount in the fertilizer) and a half dose (equivalent to half the K₂O amount in the fertilizer), respectively. The ash was effective in raising soil pH. Ash treatments increased the pepper (stems and leaves) dry matter yield over control; although these increases were lower than treatment including NPK. Application of ash significantly increased leaf P concentration and AB-DTPA extractable P in soil, especially in the acidic and neutral soils. Leaf K concentrations and readily and slowly available K forms in soils were affected positively by the addition of the ash. These results demonstrate that ash from the combustion of wet olive cake can be used as a beneficial organic soil amendment.     

Synthesis and characterisation of potassium polytitanate for photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet

Potassium titanate nanostructures were synthesised by hydrothermal treatment of TiO2 （P25） in KOH and H2O2. As-produced powders were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption methods. Longitudinally-oriented-wire-like structures with a length up to several micrometres and diameters ranging from 10 to 30 nm were obtained. Larger size fibrous nanowires resulting from the hydrotherrnal treatment showed high affinity in adsorbing crystal violet （CV）, which was mainly due to their high surface area. The photocatalytic bleaching of CV solution revealed that the wires are photoactive under ultraviolet light irradiation. Macroporous nanowires are considered as effective adsorbents of CV, capable of photocatalvtic degradation, and they can be easily separated from the solution by settling.     

Drinking water treatment using a submerged internal-circulation membrane coagulation reactor coupled with permanganate oxidation

A submerged internal circulating membrane coagulation reactor(MCR) was used to treat surface water to produce drinking water. Polyaluminum chloride(PACl) was used as coagulant,and a hydrophilic polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) submerged hollow fiber microfiltration membrane was employed. The influences of trans-membrane pressure(TMP), zeta potential(ZP) of the suspended particles in raw water, and KMnO_4 dosing on water flux and the removal of turbidity and organic matter were systematically investigated. Continuous bench-scale experiments showed that the permeate quality of the MCR satisfied the requirement for a centralized water supply, according to the Standards for Drinking Water Quality of China(GB 5749-2006), as evaluated by turbidity(1 NTU) and total organic carbon(TOC)(5 mg/L)measurements. Besides water flux, the removal of turbidity, TOC and dissolved organic carbon(DOC) in the raw water also increased with increasing TMP in the range of 0.01–0.05 MPa. High ZP induced by PACl, such as 5–9 mV, led to an increase in the number of fine and total particles in the MCR, and consequently caused serious membrane fouling and high permeate turbidity.However, the removal of TOC and DOC increased with increasing ZP. A slightly positive ZP, such as 1–2 mV, corresponding to charge neutralization coagulation, was favorable for membrane fouling control. Moreover, dosing with KMnO_4 could further improve the removal of turbidity and DOC, thereby mitigating membrane fouling. The results are helpful for the application of the MCR in producing drinking water and also beneficial to the research and application of other coagulation and membrane separation hybrid processes.