Thermal and hydrometallurgical recovery methods of heavy metals from municipal solid waste fly ash

Heavy metals in fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators are present in high concentrations. Therefore fly ash must be treated as a hazardous material. On the other hand, it may be a potential source of heavy metals. Zinc, lead, cadmium, and copper can be relatively easily removed during the thermal treatment of fly ash, e.g. in the form of chlorides. In return, wet extraction methods could provide promising results for these elements including chromium and nickel. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare thermal and hydrometallurgical treatment of municipal solid waste fly ash. Thermal treatment of fly ash was performed in a rotary reactor at temperatures between 950 and 1050 °C and in a muffle oven at temperatures from 500 to 1200 °C. The removal more than 90% was reached by easy volatile heavy metals such as cadmium and lead and also by copper, however at higher temperature in the muffle oven. The alkaline (sodium hydroxide) and acid (sulphuric acid) leaching of the fly ash was carried out while the influence of temperature, time, concentration, and liquid/solid ratio were investigated. The combination of alkaline-acidic leaching enhanced the removal of, namely, zinc, chromium and nickel.     

Emissions associated with meeting the future global wheat demand: A case study of UK production under climate change constraints

Climate change, population growth and socio-structural changes will make meeting future food demands extremely challenging. As wheat is a globally traded food commodity central to the food security of many nations, this paper uses it as an example to explore the impact of climate change on global food supply and quantify the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. Published data on projected wheat production is used to analyse how global production can be increased to match projected demand. The results show that the largest projected wheat demand increases are in areas most likely to suffer severe climate change impacts, but that global demand could be met if northern hemisphere producers exploit climate change benefits to increase production and narrow their yield gaps. Life cycle assessment of different climate change scenarios shows that in the case of one of the most important wheat producers (the UK) it may be possible to improve yields with an increase of only 0.6% in the emission intensity per unit of wheat produced in a 2 °C scenario. However, UK production would need to rise substantially, increasing total UK wheat production emissions by 26%. This demonstrates how national emission inventories and associated targets do not incentivise minimisation of global greenhouse gas emissions while meeting increased food demands, highlighting a triad of challenges: meeting the rising demand for food, adapting to climate change and reducing emissions.     

北美自由贸易区和欧盟的环境政策：趋向,启示与对策

以北美自由贸易区和欧盟为代表的区域性经济集团已在经济利益与环境保护挂钩的制度性安排方面取得诸多进展，它们不同程度地在机构设置、协定条款、资金安排等方面强化了环境要求，并在国际环境公约的执行上表现出积极、灵活的特点。这一切都将为未来多边经济体系中环境问题的协商和解决开辟了新的途径， 也为我国在实施可持续发展过程中的环境制度化建设提供可鉴之处。     

Using Sound to Reduce Visual Distraction from In-vehicle Human–Machine Interfaces

Objective: Driver distraction and inattention are the main causes of accidents. The fact that devices such as navigation displays and media players are part of the distraction problem has led to the formulation of guidelines advocating various means for minimizing the visual distraction from such interfaces. However, although design guidelines and recommendations are followed, certain interface interactions, such as menu browsing, still require off-road visual attention that increases crash risk. In this article, we investigate whether adding sound to an in-vehicle user interface can provide the support necessary to create a significant reduction in glances toward a visual display when browsing menus.

Methods: Two sound concepts were developed and studied; spearcons (time-compressed speech sounds) and earcons (musical sounds). A simulator study was conducted in which 14 participants between the ages of 36 and 59 took part. Participants performed 6 different interface tasks while driving along a highway route. A 3 × 6 within-group factorial design was employed with sound (no sound /earcons/spearcons) and task (6 different task types) as factors. Eye glances and corresponding measures were recorded using a head-mounted eye tracker. Participants’ self-assessed driving performance was also collected after each task with a 10-point scale ranging from 1 = very bad to 10 = very good. Separate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted for different eye glance measures and self-rated driving performance.

Results: It was found that the added spearcon sounds significantly reduced total glance time as well as number of glances while retaining task time as compared to the baseline (= no sound) condition (total glance time M = 4.15 for spearcons vs. M = 7.56 for baseline, p =.03). The earcon sounds did not result in such distraction-reducing effects. Furthermore, participants ratings of their driving performance were statistically significantly higher in the spearcon conditions compared to the baseline and earcon conditions (M = 7.08 vs. M = 6.05 and M = 5.99 respectively, p =.035 and p =.002).

Conclusions: The spearcon sounds seem to efficiently reduce visual distraction, whereas the earcon sounds did not reduce distraction measures or increase subjective driving performance. An aspect that must be further investigated is how well spearcons and other types of auditory displays are accepted by drivers in general and how they work in real traffic.     

空气氧化解吸NO络合吸收产物试验研究

Fe(Ⅱ) EDTA易被氧化为对NO无吸收能力的Fe(Ⅲ)EDTA,为实现Fe(Ⅱ)EDTA的循环使用,提出了Fe(Ⅱ)EDTA络合吸收-空气氧化解吸-铁屑还原再生组合脱除NO新工艺.采用空气氧化解吸络合吸收产物Fe(Ⅱ) EDTA (NO)中NO的方法,研究了温度及压力对Fe(Ⅱ)EDTA(NO)空气氧化解吸过程的影响.结果表明,0.4 MPa、333K为较优的解吸条件.该工艺可循环脱除NO,成本低、效率高,能有效回收NO2资源.     

Numerical simulation of premixed methane–air deflagration in a semi-confined obstructed chamber

In this paper, large eddy simulation coupled with a turbulent flame speed cloure (TFC) subgrid combustion model has been utilized to simulate premixed methane–air deflagration in a semi-confined chamber with three obstacles mounted inside.The computational results are in good agreement with published experimental data, including flame structures, pressure time history and flame speed. The attention is focused on the flame flow field interaction, pressure dynamics, as well as the mechanism of obstacle-induced deflagration. It is found that there is a positive feedback mechanism established between the flame propagation and the flow field. The pressure time history can be divided into four stages and the pseudo-combustion concept is proposed to explain the pressure oscillation phenomenon. The obstacle-induction mechanism includes direct effect and indirect effect, but do not always occur at the same time.     

The Effect of Local Biomass Projects on Energy Balance and GHG Emission: A Life Cycle Approach

Emerging attention has been given to the use of biomass in local areas for its contribution to reducing fossil fuel dependence and mitigating global warming. The objective of the present study is to develop a method that quantitatively assesses the effects of local biomass projects on fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. A practical method based on a life cycle approach is proposed and applied to a case of bioethanol project in Miyako Islands of Japan. The project is aiming to produce bioethanol from molasses within the islands, and to replace the entire gasoline consumed in the islands to E3 fuel (i.e., a mixture of 3% ethanol and 97% gasoline by volume). The assessment using the developed method revealed that, first, the complete shift from gasoline to E3 fuel allows for decreases in fossil fuel consumption and GHG emission. Second, the performance of the project is improved by the integration of the ethanol plant and the sugar factory. Moreover, the assessment found that, in small-scale bioethanol projects, the contribution of capital goods to life cycle fuel consumption and GHG emission is not negligible.     

反应气氛对绿色合成纳米铁的组分及其活性的影响

成本低廉和无二次污染的"绿色"合成纳米材料是发展原位纳米环境修复技术的前沿研究课题之一.本文以绿茶提取液为还原剂和稳定剂进行"绿色"合成纳米铁,探讨在不同的气氛下"绿色"合成的纳米铁颗粒的主要成分,以期为调控合成纳米铁系材料提供基础研究.首先,利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线能谱(EDS)、X射线光电子能谱分析(XPS)和傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)等表征手段对不同反应气氛下合成的纳米铁颗粒的表面微观形貌、尺寸和价态结构进行分析.结果发现,在通入N2情况下,合成的纳米铁颗粒粒径为(84.7±11.5)nm,其主要成分以纳米零价铁为主;在通入空气情况下,合成的纳米铁粒径为(117.8±26.2)nm,其主要成分是纳米零价铁、氧化铁和四氧化三铁的混合物;通入O2时,合成的纳米铁粒径为(141.2±26.3)nm,其主要成分以四氧化三铁为主.其次,评价在不同气氛条件下合成纳米铁颗粒对去除亚甲基蓝(MB)的反应活性.结果表明,在反应温度313 K下降解初始浓度为50 mg·L-1的MB溶液,反应5 min时已达到平衡,通入N2合成的纳米铁降解MB,去除率高达98.7%,而通入O2合成的纳米铁反应效率低,对MB的去除率仅为65.3%.最后,从以上发现提出不同气氛下可以调控"绿色"合成的铁系纳米材料成分,从而导致不同的纳米修复环境中污染物的能力.     

中和-络合萃取-双极膜电渗析处理金刚烷胺制药废水

采用中和沉淀-络合萃取-双极膜电渗析组合工艺协同处理金刚烷胺制药胺化废水与溴化废水.结果表明,通过胺化废水与溴化废水的中和反应,可以大幅消减废水中溶解性固体和有机污染物,避免后续萃取过程中的乳化现象.在pH值为8.0、油/水相比为1∶1的条件下,P204∶正辛醇=3∶2的复配萃取剂对废水中TOC和TN的萃取效率分别为56.9%和20.6%,金刚烷胺及其衍生物几乎被完全萃取.以2.0 mol·L-1的HCl溶液为反萃取剂,可以将47.5%的金刚烷胺从负载有机相中反萃分离,再生后的萃取剂可以多次重复使用.对萃余液采用双极膜电渗析进行处理,可以去除64.2%的无机盐和部分有机物,同时还能回收到较高浓度的酸,但由于氢离子的渗漏难以回收高浓度的碱.     

铜及其与四环素的联合暴露对斑马鱼胚胎的毒性效应

近年来工业和养殖业中铜和四环素的滥用,导致了一定程度的水环境污染问题。为探究铜与四环素对水生生物的毒害作用,选择斑马鱼作为受试生物,研究了铜及其与四环素的联合暴露对斑马鱼胚胎的毒性效应,并进一步探索了其中可能的致毒机制。结果表明:铜在低浓度下(10%致死浓度LC10=2.5μg·L~(-1),10%效应浓度EC_(10)=0.1μg·L~(-1))明显延迟了斑马鱼胚胎的孵化、卵黄囊吸收、头部、鱼鳔和体长等生长指标的发育,同时在心脏区域引起了明显的细胞凋亡效应。幼鱼体内总铜含量检测结果显示低浓度下铜的生物利用度相对更高。基因表达结果显示环境浓度的铜可能通过影响神经和心脏相关基因的表达引起斑马鱼胚胎的神经发育和心脏发育异常。铜和四环素的联合暴露实验结果表明二者的复合污染类型为拮抗作用,且两者相互作用可以形成络合物。综合以上结论,说明环境浓度的铜可能通过细胞凋亡、分子水平的变化等方式对水生生物的早期生长发育产生危害,如延迟生长发育、神经及心脏发育异常,另外铜可通过和四环素等环境中其他污染物的结合改变铜的生物有效性和毒性。