Optimization of extraction of oil and biodiesel from Thespesia populnea seed oil by alkali catalyst in India

Thespesia populnea oil was new source of biodiesel. Crude Thespesia populnea oil was used as feedstock for biodiesel production by alkali-catalyzed methanolysis. The reaction in the presence of NaOH as catalyst was carried out to investigate the optimum conditions and to study the effects of variables on the reaction. A methanol to oil ratio of 6:1, sodium methoxide catalyst concentration of 1.5%, mixing intensity of 250 rpm and reaction temperature of 60°C offered the best Thespesia populnea seed oil methyl esters (biodiesel) yield (92.6%). The methyl ester content under these optimum conditions was 92.6% w/w, and all of the measured properties of the Thespesia populnea biodiesel (TPME) met the international standards ASTM D 6751-02. The results reveal that all of the reaction variables in this study had positive effects on the reaction. The results of the present study indicated that TPME could be a potential alternative to petrodiesel     

Optimizing mixture properties of biodiesel production using genetic algorithm-based evolutionary support vector machine

Nowadays, biodiesel is used as one of the alternative renewable energy due to the increasing energy demand. However, optimum production of biodiesel still requires a huge number of expensive and time-consuming laboratory tests. To address the problem, this research develops a novel Genetic Algorithm-based Evolutionary Support Vector Machine (GA-ESIM). The GA-ESIM is an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based tool that combines K-means Chaotic Genetic Algorithm (KCGA) and Evolutionary Support Vector Machine Inference Model (ESIM). The ESIM is utilized as a supervised learning technique to establish a highly accurate prediction model between the input--output of biodiesel mixture properties; and the KCGA is used to perform the simulation to obtain the optimum mixture properties based on the prediction model. A real biodiesel experimental data is provided to validate the GA-ESIM performance. Our simulation results demonstrate that the GA-ESIM establishes a prediction model with better accuracy than other AI-based tool and thus obtains the mixture properties with the biodiesel yield of 99.9%, higher than the best experimental data record, 97.4%.     

Ecological citizenship and democracy: Communitarian versus agonistic perspectives

Grassroots environmental movements have recently started to question the focus on sustainable consumption as a main strategy to tackle climate change. They prefer to address individuals as citizens rather than as consumers, and focus on collective rather than individual change. Two prominent movements in this regard are Transition Towns and Climate Justice Action. While both movements criticise conventional approaches, they put forward entirely different strategies for what has to happen instead. Based on extensive qualitative research, this article analyses how these movements manifest themselves in Flanders (Belgium). The focus is on their different accounts of how and why collective practices have to be built, and the place they attribute to ‘the political’ in this. The analysis reveals the existence of two different forms of ecological citizenship: one communitarian, the other agonistic.     

金沙江上游赠曲的鱼类与裸腹叶须鱼的食性

2013年5月和9月对金沙江上游支流赠曲的鱼类资源和裸腹叶须鱼的食性特征进行了调查研究。结果表明,赠曲现有鱼类10种,隶属2目3科5属,其中鲤科鱼类7种,占70%;鮡科2种,占20%;鳅科1种,占10%。赠曲裸腹叶须鱼的食物组成包括53种(属)的浮游藻类、原生动物和节肢动物等。硅藻门是出现率百分比、相对重要性指数和数量百分比最高的饵料生物;水生昆虫是质量百分比最大的饵料生物。裸腹叶须鱼的摄食强度存在较明显的季节差异,雨季末期的摄食强度较低。食物中植物性饵料相对重要性随着裸腹叶须鱼体长的增长而增加。综合而言,赠曲的鱼类组成较为简单,鲤科鱼类是优势类群;裸腹叶须鱼属杂食性鱼类,且摄食强度存在季节性差异。为保护赠曲鱼类,建议在赠曲梯级水力开发过程中做好鱼类栖息地保护或再造等生态补偿措施。     

基于GEV干旱指数和DFA方法的苏北地区季节性干旱研究

为分析近年来江苏省苏北地区季节性干旱灾害特征,利用苏北五市1989~2013年的逐月降水量资料,建立月降水量的广义极值分布函数,通过分析广义极值干旱指数(GEVI),研究苏北五市近25a的季节性干旱分布和干旱等级的时空变化特点。在此基础上,利用去趋势波动分析方法(DFA)对苏北五市月平均降水量的周期性规律进行研究。结果表明,苏北五市的月降水量均服从广义极值Fréchet概率分布,且具有从西北(徐州)地区向东南沿海(盐城)地区递增的空间分布特征,整体上属于干旱灾害频发的地区,且以轻旱为主且季节性特征明显。苏北五市的月降水量存在幂律相关性,即降水量具有较强的正长程相关性,因此,未来苏北地区干旱的总体趋势将与过去特征正相关。     

GC/MS法测定润滑油基础油中多环芳烃

对润滑油基础油中多环芳烃的气相色谱/质谱(GC/MS)测定方法进行了研究,探讨了样品的提取,固相萃取柱净化等前处理方法,同时也对仪器测定条件进行了优化.结果表明,在检测润滑油基础油中多环芳烃时,经优化的GC/MS法的加标回收率和精密度均达到较满意的水平.     

我国城乡环保一体化的制度建构:理念、原则与路径

近年来,我国"城市环境趋向好转,农村环境不断恶化"这种城乡环境二元趋势的凸现,提出了城乡环保一体化的客观要求."城市中心主义"环境法制以及我国农民实质自由的严重匮乏是我国产生城乡环境二元趋势的根本原因.一些地方所采取的仅仅局限于环保领域的城乡环保一体化措施,并不能从根本上扭转城乡环境二元趋势.城乡环保一体化实践需要以更为全面的制度建构为基础.城乡环保一体化的制度建构应树立理性、人本、自由等基本理念,应坚持整体推进、科学建构、多元参与等基本原则.城乡环保一体化的制度建构路径,首先是消除对农民的各种制度性歧视,实现城乡居民的权利平等;其次,在推动地方民主与法治建设,推进司法体制改革、建立司法审查制度的基础上,健全与完善农民权利实现的保障机制,保证农民的各项权利最终成为"可实际行使"的权利.最后,还要建立适应农村环境保护要求的环境法制.     

Evolution Rules of Urban-rural Development and Inspiration for China’s Agriculture

Based on urban-rural contrast coefficient,this article designs the agriculture relative development index(ARDI) as indicators measuring the intensity of urban-rural dual structure which is comparable among the countries of the world.This article calculates ARDI of 40 countries from 1980 to 2004.The result shows that ARDI in the developed countries and most of the middle-income countries are rising and yet there are declines in most of the low-income countries.The result also showed that most countries’ ARDI...     

Structural-functional organization of lower vegetation layers in tree communities of the upper timberline ecotone in the Polar Urals

Typologically identical (dwarf birch-herb-dwarf shrub-moss) open and closed larch forests growing on the same altitudinal transect have proved to differ in the structural-functional organization of lower vegetation layers. Coverage, general species composition, and species richness of the herb-dwarf shrub layer are higher in the open forest than in the closed forest. Correlations between individual species of vascular plants weaken upon transition from the open to the closed forest. Conversely, the coverage of the lichen-moss layer increases in the closed forest, which contributes to its role as a factor of selection of vascular plant species against the background of the prevailing influence of the tree layer.     

低压稳流过滤器的研制及在油田污水处理中的应用

为了解决大庆油田现有核桃壳、石英砂过滤器反冲洗憋压、跑料和滤料再生困难等问题,在对原有过滤装置分析的基础上,根据反冲洗特性,对过滤器进行了改造,开发出低压稳流核桃壳过滤器和低压稳流石英砂过滤器。经现场测试,核桃壳过滤器反冲洗压力由原来的0.15～0.5 MPa降低到0.03～0.08 MPa,石英砂过滤器反冲洗压力由原来的0.27～0.46 MPa降低到0.17～0.20 MPa,且均能实现罐群水反冲洗。改造后核桃壳过滤器出水油平均含量13.4 mg/L,平均去除率为78.1%;出水悬浮物平均含量20.5 mg/L,平均去除率为55%。改造后石英砂过滤器出水油平均含量5 mg/L以下,平均去除率达到75%以上;出水悬浮物平均含量为9.8 mg/L,去除率达到80%以上。为了进一步提高过滤效果,在二级滤前投加絮凝剂形成微絮凝过滤工艺,出水悬浮物可达到3 mg/L,通过两级过滤达到特低渗透地层回注水标准。