Lithium extraction from salt lake brines with high magnesium/lithium ratio: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The demand for lithium is growing rapidly with the increase in electric vehicles, batteries and electronic equipments. Lithium can be extracted from brines, yet...     

金属加工过程中应力状态的分析方法

分析简单地拉伸、压缩和扭转的情况时,应力状态能容易地被确定.但是,实际上在金属加工过程中材料是承受复杂的应力状态,在模具——工件接触面上增加有摩擦力.而且,这些应力和摩擦力一般地沿着接触面变化.准确的计算或预测载荷、力、应力和温度,不但对设计适宜的设备是重要的,而且对研究工艺期间材料的变化过程也是重要的.本文将讨论材料变形过程中所运用的主要分析方法及其优缺点.     

Preparation of hydrophobic hierarchical pore carbon–silica composite and its adsorption performance toward volatile organic compounds

Carbon–silica materials with hierarchical pores consisting of micropores and mesopores were prepared by introducing nanocarbon microspheres derived from biomass sugar into silica gel channels in a hydrothermal environment.The physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by nitrogen physical adsorption(BET),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and thermogravimetric(TG),and the adsorption properties of various organic waste gases were investigated.The results showed that microporous carbon materials were introduced successfully into the silica gel channels,thus showing the high adsorption capacity of activated carbon in high humidity organic waste gas,and the high stability and mechanical strength of the silica gel.The dynamic adsorption behavior confirmed that the carbon–silica material had excellent adsorption capacity for different volatile organic compounds(VOCs).Furthermore,the carbon–silica material exhibited excellent desorption characteristics:adsorbed toluene was completely desorbed at 150℃,thereby showing superior regeneration characteristics.Both features were attributed to the formation of hierarchical pores.     

Phosphate recovery with granular acid-activated neutralized red mud: Fixed-bed column performance and breakthrough curve modelling

Granular acid-activated neutralized red mud (AaN-RM) has been successfully prepared with good chemical stability and physical strength. However, its potential for industrial application remains unknown. Therefore, the performance of granular AaN-RM for phosphate recovery in a fixed-bed column was investigated. The results demonstrated that the phosphate adsorption performance of granular AaN-RM in a fixed-bed column was affected by various operational parameters, such as the bed depth, flow rate, initial solution pH and initial phosphate concentration. With the optimal empty-bed contact time (EBCT) of 24.27 min, the number of processed bed volumes and the phosphate adsorption capacity reached 496.95 and 84.80 mg/g, respectively. Then, the saturated fixed-bed column could be effectively regenerated with a 0.5 mol/L HCl solution. The desorption efficiency remained as high as 83.45% with a low weight loss of 3.57% in the fifth regeneration cycle. In addition, breakthrough curve modelling showed that a 5-9-1 feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN) could be effectively applied for the optimization of the fixed-bed adsorption system; the coefficient of determination (R²) and the root mean square error (RMSE) evaluated on the validation-testing data were 0.9987 and 0.0183, respectively. Therefore, granular AaN-RM fixed-bed adsorption exhibits promising potential for phosphate removal and recovery from polluted water.     

Performance of different macrophytes in the decontamination of and electricity generation from swine wastewater via an integrated constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell process

Plants constitute a major element of constructed wetlands(CWs).In this study,a coupled system comprising an integrated vertical flow CW(IVCW) and a microbial fuel cell(MFC) for swine wastewater tre atment was developed to research the effects of macrophytes commonly employed in CWs,Canna indica,Acorus calamus,and Ipomoea aquatica,on decontamination and electricity production in the system.Because of the different root types and amounts of oxygen released by the roots,the rates of chemical oxygen demand(COD) and ammonium nitrogen(NH_4~+-N) removal from the swine wastewater differed as well.In the unplanted,Canna indica,Acorus calamus,and Ipomoea aquatica systems,the COD removal rates were 80.20%,88.07%,84.70%,and 82.20%,respectively,and the NH_4~+-N removal rates were 49.96%,75.02%,70.25%,and 68.47%,respectively.The decontamination capability of the Canna indica system was better than those of the other systems.The average output voltages were 520±42,715±20,660±27,and 752±26 mV for the unplanted,Canna indica,Acorus calamus,and Ipomoea aquatica systems,respectively,and the maximum power densities were 0.2230,0.4136,0.3614,and0.4964 W/m~3,respectively.Ipomoea aquatica had the largest effect on bioelectricity generation promotion.In addition,electrochemically active bacteria,Geobacter and Desulfuromonas,were detected in the anodic biofilm by high-throughput sequencing analysis,and Comamonas(Proteobacteria),which is widely found in MFCs,was also detected in the anodic biofilm.These results confirmed the important role of plants in IVCW-MFCs.     

Cytotoxicity of the soluble and insoluble fractions of atmospheric fine particulate matter

Inhaled atmospheric fine particulate matter(PM_(2.5)) includes soluble and insoluble fractions,and each fraction can interact with cells and cause adverse effects.PM_(2.5) samples were collected in Jinan,China,and the soluble and insoluble fractions were separated.According to physiochemical characterization,the soluble fraction mainly contains watersoluble ions and organic acids,and the insoluble fraction mainly contains kaolinite,calcium carbonate and some organic carbon.The interaction between PM_(2.5) and model cell membranes was examined with a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation(QCM-D) to quantify PM_(2.5) attachment on membranes and membrane disruption.The cytotoxicity of the total PM_(2.5) and the soluble and insoluble fractions,was investigated.Negatively charged PM_(2.5) can adhere to the positively charged membranes and disrupt them.PM_(2.5)also adheres to negatively charged membranes but does not cause membrane rupture.Therefore,electrostatic repulsion does not prevent PM_(2.5) attachment,but electrostatic attraction induces remarkable membrane rupture.The human lung epithelial cell line A549 was used for cytotoxicity assessment.The detected membrane leakage,cellular swelling and blebbing indicated a cell necrosis process.Moreover,the insoluble PM_(2.5) fraction caused a higher cell mortality and more serious cell membrane damage than the soluble fraction.The levels of reactive oxygen species(ROS) enhanced by the two fractions were not significantly different.The findings provide more information to better understand the mechanism of PM_(2.5) cytotoxicity and the effect of PM_(2.5) solubility on cytotoxicity.     

Metabolomic modulations in a freshwater microbial community exposed to the fungicide azoxystrobin

An effective broad-spectrum fungicide, azoxystrobin (AZ), has been widely detected in aquatic ecosystems, potentially affecting the growth of aquatic microorganisms. In the present study, the eukaryotic alga Monoraphidium sp. and the cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena sp. were exposed to AZ for 7 days. Our results showed that 0.2–0.5 mg/L concentrations of AZ slightly inhibited the growth of Monoraphidium sp. but stimulated Pseudanabaena sp. growth. Meanwhile, AZ treatment effectively increased the secretion of total organic carbon (TOC) in the culture media of the two species, and this phenomenon was also found in a freshwater microcosm experiment (containing the natural microbial community). We attempted to assess the effect of AZ on the function of aquatic microbial communities through metabolomic analysis and further explore the potential risks of this compound. The metabonomic profiles of the microcosm indicated that the most varied metabolites after AZ treatment were related to the citrate cycle (TCA), fatty acid biosynthesis and purine metabolism. We thereby inferred that the microbial community increased extracellular secretions by adjusting metabolic pathways, which might be a stress response to reduce AZ toxicity. Our results provide an important theoretical basis for further study of fungicide stress responses in aquatic microcosm microbial communities, as well as a good start for further explorations of AZ detoxification mechanisms, which will be valuable for the evaluation of AZ environmental risk.     

深圳市龙岗区大气颗粒物中多溴联苯醚的污染特征研究

为了解深圳市龙岗区大气颗粒物中多溴联苯醚的污染状况,于2017年1月、4月、8月和11月分别采集龙岗区大气颗粒物样品.利用气相色谱-质谱联用仪（GC/MS）对深圳市龙岗区4个功能区（工业区、商业区、居民区和生态区）的80个大气颗粒物样品进行检测,得到PBDEs（多溴联苯醚）8种单体（BDE-28、BDE-47、BDE-99、BDE-100、BDE-153、BDE-154、BDE-183、BDE-209）的质量浓度,同时研究了大气颗粒物中PBDEs质量浓度的时空分布特征.结果表明:①深圳市龙岗区大气颗粒物中ρ（∑₈PBDEs）（∑₈PBDEs为PBDEs 8种单体的加和）范围为0.07~77.80 pg/m3,ρ（∑₈PBDEs）年均值为（6.86±14.17）pg/m3.ρ（BDE-209）范围为0.01~76.23 pg/m3,年均值为（5.10±13.58）pg/m3,BDE-209为主要污染单体.② 4个功能区的ρ（∑₈PBDEs）平均值大小顺序依次为工业区（13.65 pg/m3）>商业区（7.75 pg/m3）>生态区（3.95 pg/m3）>居民区（2.19 pg/m3）,工业区是环境空气颗粒物中PBDEs的主要污染区.③ ρ（∑₈PBDEs）平均值的季节性变化规律为春季（13.32 pg/m3）>冬季（9.18 pg/m3）>秋季（2.17 pg/m3）>夏季（1.51 pg/m3）,符合深圳市亚热带海洋季风气温和气候对环境空气中颗粒物质量浓度的影响规律.研究显示,深圳市龙岗区大气颗粒物中PBDEs质量浓度处于较高水平,污染严重,建议减少含PBDEs产品的生产、使用和运输等活动,或找到更利于环境安全和人体健康的替代品,降低PBDEs对该地区的污染.      

长江流域2000—2015年生态系统质量及服务变化特征

分析生态系统质量与服务现状及变化特征,有助于准确了解流域生态系统状况与趋势,为流域生态保护与修复的高效管理提供参考依据.采用相对生物量密度与相对植被覆盖度指数以及生态系统服务（土壤保持、防风固沙、洪水调蓄、粮食生产）评估模型,评估2000—2015年长江流域生态系统质量及服务变化特征.结果表明:①2000—2015年,长江流域森林、灌丛以及草地生态系统质量提升显著,56.56%的森林、45.65%的灌丛以及19.26%的草地生态系统质量得到不同程度的提高.②研究期间,长江流域粮食生产、洪水调蓄、土壤保持、防风固沙均呈显著上升趋势,其中粮食生产能力增加13.7%,洪水调蓄功能提升10.1%,土壤保持服务提高19.5%,防风固沙总量增加30.0%.③长江流域生态系统质量不高,处于低与差质量等级的生态系统面积比例在25%~35%之间;受不同类型的自然和人类活动影响,长江流域生态系统质量与服务均存在局部退化现象.研究显示,在生态质量与服务评估的基础上,分区域、分类型实施不同的生态系统保护与恢复途径,是今后长江流域加强生态系统管理的重要途径.