Filterability of oil sands tailings

In Canadian oil sands mining operations, bitumen is extracted from oil sands using the hot water extraction process, which produces tremendous amounts of tailings. Currently, these tailings are disposed of in large ponds, in which coarse particles settle out relatively quickly and fine particles remain suspended in water and settle very slowly. After years of settling, the fine particles form a stable suspension in water known as mature fine tailings (MFTs). Long-term storage of the MFT is costly and poses a major environmental liability.Oil sands companies are now actively investigating different approaches to replace or reduce the use of oil sands tailings ponds. Filtration of the tailings to produce “dry tailings” for stacking is now being investigated as an alternative by a number of companies. Fast water drainage is a critical step for the filtration process. In this paper, we use simple laboratory-scale filtration tests to evaluate the filterability of the oil sands tailings and to generate a parameter that can be used in filtration scale-up. It was found that the filterability of the original coarse oil sands tailings was relatively low. However, after the fines are flocculated with the coarse particles to form uniform flocs the filterability was improved by several orders of magnitude. The results demonstrate that filtration of the flocculated coarse tailings to produce the “dry” stackable tailings may be viable.     

化学需氧量在造纸废水中分布规律及采样点位的优化

目前对造纸废水的监测通常采取随机取样,很少考虑污染物在废水中的分布情况,所以取得的样品很难反映污染物的实际排放情况。为此,通过对某造纸厂排废废水中化学需氧量分布夫妻及采样点位的优化研究。     

pH、温度和水土比对酸性土壤溶液中铝离子形态分布的影响

溶液中Al3 、Al-F和有机络合态铝（Al-OM的浓度随pH降低而增加,Al3 在总单核铝中所占比例随pH的降低而增加,而Al-F络合物呈相反的变化趋势.土壤中铝的溶解度与土壤中铝氧化物的结晶形态有关,处于较高纬度地区的土壤,由于铝氧化物的结晶形态较差,在相同pH下,其铝的溶解度较大.土壤溶液中有机络合态铝的浓度随温度升高而增加,在pH不变的情况下,土壤中无机铝的溶解量随温度降低而增加.随水土比增加,土壤溶液中Al3 、Al-F络合物和Al-OM浓度减小,但按每kg土计算的铝溶解量随水土比的增加而增加.     

利用餐饮业废油脂制造生物柴油

世界的石油产量将会逐渐减少,石化柴油燃烧后所排放的废气是造成的城市空气污染的主要原因,生物柴油是石化柴油很好的替代能源,文章介绍了国外废油脂处理利用和甸餐饮业废油脂的概况,提出了利用餐饮业废油脂制造生物柴油的方法和工艺流程,并讨论了利用餐饮业废油脂制造生物柴油的几个问题。     

秸秆腐解剂在秸秆还田中的效果研究初报

在大田、微区和盆栽条件下,研究了秸秆腐解剂对小麦、水稻生长及产量的影响,同时研究了秸秆腐解剂对小麦、水稻秸秆腐解速率及对土壤肥力的影响。结果表明,稻、麦秸秆还田时施用秸秆腐解剂对提高稻、麦产量具有明显的增产效果,增产的原因是穗数和粒数增加;稻、麦秸秆还田量不同时,还田量大且配施秸秆腐解剂的效果较还田量小好;麦秸秆还田方式不同时,麦秸以栽稻前耕翻还田且配施秸秆腐解剂的效果较好,上水沤制的效果较差;秸秆腐解剂能促进稻、麦秸秆较快腐解,减轻和防止多量秸秆还田给作物生长带来不利影响,并可稳定和提高土壤养分含量。     

太湖蓝藻水华时空分布与预警监测响应的分析

选择2007和2008年200幅EOS/MODIS太湖蓝藻监测遥感影像,统计分析了梅梁湾、竺山湾宜兴段、贡湖湾、东太湖胥口湾和湖州方向湖体蓝藻水华爆发的空间和时间分布规律。并在得出全太湖蓝藻水华空间和时间分布规律的基础上,从环境监测部门蓝藻预警监测工作的实际出发,将蓝藻水华预警监测的响应划分为常规监测和应急监测,提出了具体的监测要求,为环太湖地区的相关部门更好地开展蓝藻预警监测工作提供了科学依据。     

EDTA-2Na/Fe(Ⅱ)对自养生物体系下硝酸盐还原过程的影响

采用厌氧序批式生物膜反应器(ASBBR),以固定浓度的硝酸盐和硫酸亚铁为基质,按不同梯度条件添加EDTA-2Na,进行长时间的培养驯化,研究铁盐脱氮的启动过程,同时探究不同EDTA-2Na/Fe(Ⅱ)对铁自养反硝化过程以及硝酸盐异化还原为铵(DNRA)的影响.结果表明:经过65d的培养驯化,反应器成功稳定运行.当EDTA-2Na/Fe(Ⅱ)<1.50时,反应器只进行铁自养反硝化过程,NO₃^--N去除率最高仅为71.70%;当EDTA-2Na/Fe(Ⅱ)≥1.50时,反应器同时进行铁自养反硝化与DNRA过程,NO₃^--N去除率最高为99.70%.值得注意的是,在EDTA-2Na/Fe(Ⅱ)=1.50时,铁自养反硝化速率达到最大值1.63mg/(L·h)的同时,DNRA的产氨量也达到最大值9.75mg/L.Visual MINTEQ模拟结果表明:EDTA-2Na与Fe(Ⅱ)的摩尔比会影响进水中EDTA-2Na与Fe(Ⅱ)的存在形态,物质的量比越大,FeEDTA^2-度越高,Fe...     

A comparative assessment of waste incinerators in the UK

The uptake in Europe of Energy from Waste (EfW) incinerator plants has increased rapidly in recent years. In the UK, 25 municipal waste incinerators with energy recovery are now in operation; however, their waste supply chains and business practices vary significantly. With over a hundred more plant developments being considered it is important to establish best business practices for ensuring efficient environmental and operational performance. By reviewing the 25 plants we identify four suitable case study plants to compare technologies (moving grate, fluidised bed and rotary kiln), plant economics and operations. Using data collected from annual reports and through interviews and site visits we provide recommendations for improving the supply chain for waste incinerators and highlight the current issues and challenges faced by the industry. We find that plants using moving grate have a high availability of 87–92%. However, compared to the fluidised bed and rotary kiln, quantities of bottom ash and emissions of hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide are high. The uptake of integrated recycling practices, combined heat and power, and post incineration non-ferrous metal collections needs to be increased among EfW incinerators in the UK. We conclude that one of the major difficulties encountered by waste facilities is the appropriate selection of technology, capacity, site, waste suppliers and heat consumers. This study will be of particular value to EfW plant developers, government authorities and researchers working within the sector of waste management.     

Virtual Garden Computer Program for use in Exploring the Elements of Biodiversity People Want in Cities

Urban ecology is emerging as an integrative science that explores the interactions of people and biodiversity in cities. Interdisciplinary research requires the creation of new tools that allow the investigation of relations between people and biodiversity. It has been established that access to green spaces or nature benefits city dwellers, but the role of species diversity in providing psychological benefits remains poorly studied. We developed a user‐friendly 3‐dimensional computer program (Virtual Garden [ www.tinyurl.com/3DVirtualGarden ]) that allows people to design their own public or private green spaces with 95 biotic and abiotic features. Virtual Garden allows researchers to explore what elements of biodiversity people would like to have in their nearby green spaces while accounting for other functions that people value in urban green spaces. In 2011, 732 participants used our Virtual Garden program to design their ideal small public garden. On average gardens contained 5 different animals, 8 flowers, and 5 woody plant species. Although the mathematical distribution of flower and woody plant richness (i.e., number of species per garden) appeared to be similar to what would be expected by random selection of features, 30% of participants did not place any animal species in their gardens. Among those who placed animals in their gardens, 94% selected colorful species (e.g., ladybug [Coccinella septempunctata], Great Tit [Parus major], and goldfish), 53% selected herptiles or large mammals, and 67% selected non‐native species. Older participants with a higher level of education and participants with a greater concern for nature designed gardens with relatively higher species richness and more native species. If cities are to be planned for the mutual benefit of people and biodiversity and to provide people meaningful experiences with urban nature, it is important to investigate people's relations with biodiversity further. Virtual Garden offers a standardized tool with which to explore these relations in different environments, cultures, and countries. It can also be used by stakeholders (e.g., city planners) to consider people's opinions of local design. Programa de Computadora de Jardín Virtual para Uso en la Exploración de los Elementos de Biodiversidad que la Gente Desea en las Ciudades     

Perceptions of the security and attractiveness of urban parking lots

This study concerns design features of urban parking lots which can increase the perception of such areas as both safe and attractive. College students evaluated the attractiveness and perceived security associated with 180 scenes of parking lots adjacent to commercial and multi-family residential structures in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, U.S.A. High intergroup correlations (r > 0·90) indicated the reliability of evaluations of both perceived features. Regressions of physical features on perceived security ratings and attractiveness ratings yielded highly predictive models (R² = 0·76 and 0·80, respectively). For both sets of ratings a Maintenance and Design factor accounted for the most variance. Although attractiveness ratings were higher as the total amount of vegetation increased in a scene, security was in general rated higher only when vegetation was well maintained and appeared to be installed as part of a landscape design. Attractiveness was generally higher for multi-family residential scenes than for commercial scenes. Perceived security was higher for frontal views of structures, especially when entrances were proximate to the viewer. Research implications are discussed in terms of the impact of natural features in urban areas for increasing attractiveness and reducing fear of crime.