Effects of humic acid coatings on phenanthrene sorption to black carbon

Black carbon (BC) can strongly adsorb hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs).The HOC sorption to coated BC could be attenuated in soil and sediment compared with that of the parent BC.To study the potential causes of the sorption attenuation,humic acid (HA) and BC were isolated.Phenanthrene (PHE) was selected as the representative of HOCs.BC was coated with the precipitated HA.The PHE sorption to the HA-coated BC was determined.The HA coatings on BC could result in the significant sorption attenuation of PHE to BC.The attenuation varied in different HA origin and was positively correlated to the aromaticity of HA.The attenuation could be explained by the direct competition between HA and PHE for the available sorption sites on BC and the reduction of the available sorption sites as a result of the pore blockage of BC caused by the HA coatings.Therefore,the HA coatings on BC was one potential cause of the attenuation of HOC sorption to BC in soil and sediment.     

Conceptualizing Discourses on Ecological City and Its Planning

Abstract

Ecological city (eco-city) and its planning approach are emerging concepts in urban study, urban planning, ecological economics, environmental policy and corporate environmental management. However, opinions remain divided over the connotation and denotation of the term “ecological city”, what key issues ecocity planning can solve, and its specific contents. In this study, we present 10 basic propositions that define the eco-city and clarify its key parameters, thereby providing the basis for discussing the assumptions and principles underlying different approaches to sustainable urban development. We then summarize the concept and principles of an eco-city, and define the main requirements for ecocity planning. We conclude that an eco-city is a city in which the urban population, scale of land use and intensity of human activities are limited to the regional resource and environmental carrying capacity, which does not cause increasing or irreversible damage to the regional ecosystem’s structure, functions and processes.     

Effects of vacuum levels,carbon dioxide,and structural sizes of linked vessels on dump vessel vented

The method of explosion venting is widely used in industrial explosion-proof design due to its simple operation, economical and practical features. A dump vessel vented platform was built. By changing the vacuum level and the gas in the dump vessels and the structural size of linked vessels, the pressure in the explosion vessel and the dump vessel was compared, and the influencing factors of explosion venting investigated. The main conclusions are as follows: In the explosion venting process, the higher the vacuum in the dump vessel, the smaller the pressure peak of the explosion vessel and the dump vessel, and the faster the explosion pressure is lowered. When the dump vessel is under the same vacuum level and the gas in the dump vessel is CO₂, the maximum pressure of the explosion vessel and the dump vessel is less than the maximum pressure when the containment medium is air. Under the same vacuum condition, the larger the volume ratio of the dump vessel and the explosion vessel, the smaller the pressure peak of the explosion vessel, the faster the explosion pressure drops, and the volume of the dump vessel reaches or exceeds the explosion vessel. Increasing the volume ratio of the containment vessel to the explosion vessel facilitates protection of the explosion vessel and the containment vessel. Under the same vacuum condition, when the gas explosion in 113 L vessel vents into 22 L vessel, the longer the length of the pipe, the greater the maximum pressure in the spherical vessel. When the gas explosion in 22 L vessel vents into 113 L dump vessel, as the pipeline grows, the maximum pressure in the two vessels decreases, but the reduction is not significant. In practical application, it is recommended to use a vacuum of 0.08Mpa or more for the dump vessel vented, and the containment medium is CO_2.In terms of the structural size of the container, it is recommended that the ratio of the receiving container to the explosion container be as large as possible, and the pipe length be as long.     

Kinetic free mathematical model for the prediction of Kst values for organic dusts with arbitrary particle size distribution

Risk mitigation in production facilities has been an issue of great interest for decades, especially in activities which represent a serious hazard to human health, environment and industrial plants. Dust explosions are a major hazard in many industrial processes: only in the first part of 2019 (January–June) 34 dust explosions, mainly due to organic powders, occurred worldwide. An explosion may take place whenever there is the presence of combustible dusts, which are frequently generated by activities such as grinding, crushing, conveying and storage. Currently, a relatively expensive experimental test, carried out into a 20-L Siwek apparatus, is used to address the order of magnitude (class) of explosive dust: this piece of information is referred to as the deflagration index, K_st. At the current state, only a few pioneering models have been developed in order to predict the value of the K_st as a function of some relevant properties of the dust: e.g. particle size distribution (PSD), humidity, thermal conductivity, etc‥ Most of these models condense the information about the PSD of a given dust into an average value, referred to as D₅₀. In this work, a kinetic free mathematical model aimed at predicting the deflagration index for organic dusts is presented. This model, unlike the older ones, considers the whole particle size distribution for the computation of the deflagration index. In order to be implemented, only a single experimental K_st value (which works as a reference) and a particle size analysis on the dust are required. The model was validated using the whole granulometric distribution of three different organic powders (fosfomycin, sugar and niacin). In addition, the same estimations were done by considering only the D₅₀ data. It was noticed that, for highly polydispersed dusts, results were less accurate with respect to those obtained using the complete PSD, highlighting the importance of considering a complete granulometric distribution for process safety purposes.     

A methodology for calculating sample size to assess localized corrosion of process components

This paper proposes a methodology to estimate the required sample size to assess, with a specified precision, the localized corrosion of process components. The proposed methodology uses the extreme value and bootstrap methods. The results of estimated sample size ensure that the predicted maximum localized corrosion with the extreme value method is within an acceptable margin of error at a specified confidence level. Using the results of the proposed methodology, an equation is introduced to calculate sample size as a function of the acceptable margin of error, the population size, the standard deviation of corrosion data and the required confidence level. The probability of exceedance of critical limit of localized corrosion is also estimated. The methodology is explained through a case study of localized corrosion in process piping.     

The Relative Efficiency of Ranked Set Sampling in Ordinary Least Squares Regression

Ranked set sampling was developed for situations where measurement cost is expensive compared with unit acquisition. This paper presents results of simulations and theory examining the impact of balanced ranked set sampling on the relative efficiencies of the slope and intercept estimators of an ordinary least squares regression. Perfect ranking of either the independent or the dependent variable is assumed throughout. In contradistinction to most of the published ranked set sampling work, it is demonstrated that balanced ranked set sampling offers at most little improvement in the relative efficiencies of the slope estimator at any sample size.     

粉土动力特性研究综述

粉土是一种具有特殊工程性质的土,粉土中砂粒、粉粒、粘粒都存在,这3种粒种分别具有不同的性质。总结这3种粒种对粉土动模量和阻尼的影响,得到了粉土模量阻尼的表达式以及粉土动力特性符合土体非线性和滞后性的一般规律。液化是一种特殊的强度问题,国内外预测液化可能性的方法主要有经验法、剪切波速法、Seed法、有限元法等。室内研究主要集中在粉土动力特性试验研究上,研究了各种因素影响下粉土液化特性,包括3种不同的粒种对粉土液化特性的影响,尤其是粘粒含量影响下粉土液化特性。粉土的动孔压响应与砂土有很大区别,这也可以用粉土特殊的颗粒结构组成来分析。最后,分析了粉土液化机理,并对粉土进一步研究提出了几点看法。     

关于水体沉积物质量基准问题

本文综述了沉积物质量基准的最新进展。从底栖生物对沉积物中结合的污染物的敏感性讨论了沉积物质量基准的意义、数值型和响应型基准,以及建立沉积物质量基准的可能途径。重点讨论了沉积物/间隙水平衡分配法,并引入了基于该法建立的沉积物质量基准的初步值。     

城市植物叶面尘粒径和几种重金属(Cu、Zn、Cr、Cd、Pb、Ni)的分布特征

为研究城市植物叶面尘粒径及重金属元素(Cu、Zn、Cr、Cd、Pb、Ni)的分布规律和污染特征,以西安市不同功能区大叶女贞(Ligus-trum lucidum)和小叶女贞(Ligustrum quihoui)叶面尘为研究对象,用激光粒度分析仪测定叶面尘的粒径分布,用原子吸收分光光度计测定叶面尘重金属质量比,并探讨了叶面尘重金属的可能来源。结果表明,大叶女贞和小叶女贞叶面尘粒径小于50μm。前者叶面尘粒径累积曲线呈双峰分布,平均粒径和粒径峰值从大到小为相对清洁区、工业区、居住文教区、交通枢纽区、商业区;后者呈单峰分布,平均粒径和粒径峰值由大到小为工业区、居住文教区、交通枢纽区、商业区和相对清洁区。不同功能区叶面尘中Cu、Zn、Cr、Cd、Pb、Ni有明显的富集,其质量比分别为(325.5±72.6)mg/kg、(3 965.6±1 112.9)mg/kg、(349.2±149.3)mg/kg、(35.3±6.8)mg/kg、(1 182.0±355.1)mg/kg、(324.1±129.5)mg/kg,为陕西省土壤背景值的7.9～20.8、29.7～77.9、2.6～11.1、262.8～489.4、26.4～71.8和6.9～18.9倍。不同功能区2物种叶面尘各重金属质量比差异显著(p<0.001),物种间差异不显著(p>0.05)。叶面尘中Zn、Pb、Ni、Cr的质量比以工业区最高,Cu、Cd以交通枢纽区最高,其次为商业区,居住文教区和相对清洁区负荷最低。研究认为,叶面降尘中的重金属可能来自外源输入。     

Mediation of area and edge effects in forest fragments by adjacent land use

Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation have pervasive detrimental effects on tropical forest biodiversity, but the role of the surrounding land use (i.e., matrix) in determining the severity of these impacts remains poorly understood. We surveyed bird species across an interior-edge-matrix gradient to assess the effects of matrix type on biodiversity at 49 different sites with varying levels of landscape fragmentation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest—a highly threatened biodiversity hotspot. Both area and edge effects were more pronounced in forest patches bordering pasture matrix, whereas patches bordering Eucalyptus plantation maintained compositionally similar bird communities between the edge and the interior and exhibited reduced effects of patch size. These results suggest the type of matrix in which forest fragments are situated can explain a substantial amount of the widely reported variability in biodiversity responses to forest loss and fragmentation.