Feasibility of honeycomb monolith supported sugar catalyst to produce biodiesel from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)

Carbon coated monolith was prepared by sucrose solution 65 wt.% via dip-coating method. Sulfonation of incomplete carbonized carbon coated monolith was carried out in order to synthesize solid acid catalyst. The textural structure characteristics of the solid acid catalyst demonstrated a low surface area and pore volume. Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), a by-product of palm oil refineries, was utilized as oil source in biodiesel production. The esterification reaction subjected to different reaction conditions was performed by using the sulfonated carbon coated monolith as heterogeneous catalyst. The sulfonation process had been performed by using vapour of concentrated H₂SO₄ that was much easier and efficient than liquid phase sulfonation. Total acidity value of carbon coated monolith was measured for unsulfonated sample (0.5 mmol/g) and sulfonated sample (4.2 mmol/g). The effect of methanol/oil ratio, catalyst amount and reaction time were examined. The maximum methyl ester content was 89% at the optimum condition, i.e. methanol/oil molar ratio (15:1), catalyst amount (2.5 wt.% with respect to PFAD), reaction time (240 min) and temperature 80 °C. The sugar catalyst supported on the honeycomb monolith showed comparable reactivity compared with the sugar catalyst powder. However, the catalyst reusability studies showed decrease in FFA% conversion from 95.3% to 68.8% after four cycles as well as the total acidity of catalyst dropped from the value 4.2 to 3.1 mmol/g during these cycles. This might be likely due to the leaching out of SO₃H group from the sulfonated carbon coated monolith surface. The leaching of active species reached a plateau state after fourth cycle.     

Hunting Increases Dispersal Limitation in the Tree Carapa procera, a Nontimber Forest Product

Abstract:  The sustainability of seed extraction from natural populations has been questioned recently. Increased recruitment failure under intense seed harvesting suggests that seed extraction intensifies source limitation. Nevertheless, areas where more seeds are collected tend to also have more intense hunting of seed-dispersing animals. We studied whether such hunting, by limiting disperser activity, could cause quantitative dispersal limitation, especially for large crops and for crops in years of high seed abundance. In each of four Carapa procera (Meliaceae) populations in French Guiana and Surinam, two with hunting and two without, we compared seed fate for individual trees varying in crop size in years of high and low population-level seed abundance. Carapa seeds are a nontimber forest product and depend on dispersal by scatter-hoarding rodents for survival and seedling establishment. Hunting negatively affected the proportion of seeds dispersed and caused greater numbers of seeds to germinate or be infested by moths below parent trees, where they would likely die. Hunting of seed-dispersing animals disproportionally affected large seed crops, but we found no additional effect of population-level seed abundance on dispersal rates. Consistently lower rates of seed dispersal, especially for large seed crops, may translate to lower levels of seedling recruitment under hunting. Our results therefore suggest that the subsistence hunting that usually accompanies seed collection is at the cost of seed dispersal and may contribute to recruitment failure of these nontimber forest products. Seed extraction from natural populations may affect seedling recruitment less if accompanied by measures adequately incorporating and protecting seed dispersers.     

NOx存在条件下相对湿度对甲苯氧化产物的影响

利用流动管反应器模拟甲苯与氧化剂×OH在NO_x存在条件下的反应,定量测定了不同相对湿度条件下（17.5%、35%、50%、70%）反应生成的部分气相产物和颗粒相产物,计算了不同相中产物产率,测量了不同相对湿度下的颗粒相有机碳（OC）产率,推导了相对湿度对甲苯氧化反应的影响机制.结果表明,相对湿度不仅对甲苯与×OH反应途径比例有影响,还对产物的产率及氧化程度有影响.     

联合改良剂对桉树吸收重金属的作用——以矿区土壤中Cd、Zn和Cu为例

通过5种矿区土壤的盆栽试验,研究了联合改良剂对桉树部分生理指标、根中Cd、Zn和Cu的含量、以及土壤中Cd、Zn和Cu的BCR提取形态的影响,探讨了其对矿区土壤还林的作用.结果表明,与对照相比,施用改良剂后桉树的生物量和叶绿素含量的增幅分别为-7.6%~158.8%和-0.7%~23.1%,丙二醛含量的降幅为2.6%~37.9%,其中部分处理的生物量和丙二醛含量的变化达到显著水平（P<0.05）;土壤中有效态Cd、Zn和Cu的含量分别下降12.5%~63.8%、1.6%~54.7%和16.2%~57.6%,桉树根中Cd、Zn和Cu的含量分别下降3.1%~56.6%、-1.5%~21.3%和9.3%~50.1%.土壤对桉树根中Cd、Zn和Cu的含量有显著影响（P<0.05）,改良剂的配比或施用量无显著影响（P>0.05）,但在5种矿区土壤中G3降低桉树根中Cu含量的效果优于G1和G2;在重金属含量最高的2种土壤中,G1降低桉树根中Cd和Zn含量的效果优于G2和G3.研究表明施用联合改良剂能降低桉树对重金属的吸收,有利于矿区土壤的还林.     

基于高分1号影像的森林植被信息提取

实时最新森林植被信息的提取是林业航空植保作业的必要前提。论文以安徽省蚌埠市为研究区域,探讨了基于高分1号卫星遥感数据在亚热带农林植被混合地区的森林植被信息提取。根据植被物候信息差异选择了提取森林植被信息的5个关键时期高分影像,采用分区决策树方法监测森林植被的空间分布和面积信息,并与未分区决策树法的提取结果进行比较。结果表明：采用分区决策树法和未分区决策树法对于大中尺度森林植被信息提取的总体精度均优于85%。但分区决策树森林植被提取总体精度达到90.72%,较未分区决策树法提高3.80%、4.65%,Kappa系数达到0.81,较未分区决策树法提高约0.07~0.10,结合植被物候信息的分区决策树森林植被提取法好于未分区决策树法,能够满足林业航空植保作业的精度需求。具有较高空间分辨率、宽覆盖、短重访周期的高分1号影像,对于大区域的林业航空植保当年最新森林植被信息的提取表现出较大的潜力。     

Nanoencapsulation of hexavalent chromium with nanoscale zero-valent iron: High resolution chemical mapping of the passivation layer

Solid phase reactions of Cr(Ⅵ) with Fe(0) were investigated with spherical-aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy(Cs-STEM) integrated with X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy(XEDS). Near-atomic resolution elemental mappings of Cr(Ⅵ)–Fe(0) reactions were acquired. Experimental results show that rate and extent of Cr(Ⅵ) encapsulation are strongly dependent on the initial concentration of Cr(Ⅵ) in solution. Low Cr loading in nZⅥ(1.0 wt%) promotes the electrochemical oxidation and continuous corrosion of n ZⅥ while high Cr loading(1.0 wt%) can quickly shut down the Cr uptake. With the progress of iron oxidation and dissolution, elements of Cr and O counter-diffuse into the nanoparticles and accumulate in the core region at low levels of Cr(Ⅵ)(e.g., 10 mg/L). Whereas the reacted n ZⅥ is quickly coated with a newly-formed layer of 2–4 nm in the presence of concentrated Cr(Ⅵ)(e.g., 100 mg/L). The passivation structure is stable over a wide range of pH unless pH is low enough to dissolve the passivation layer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) depth profiling reconfirms that the composition of the newly-formed surface layer consists of Fe(Ⅲ)–Cr(Ⅲ)(oxy)hydroxides with Cr(Ⅵ) adsorbed on the outside surface. The insoluble and insulating Fe(Ⅲ)–Cr(Ⅲ)(oxy)hydroxide layer can completely cover the n ZⅥ surface above the critical Cr loading and shield the electron transfer. Thus, the fast passivation of nZⅥ in high Cr(Ⅵ) solution is detrimental to the performance of nZⅥ for Cr(Ⅵ) treatment and remediation.     

铝合金的实验室盐雾试验腐蚀行为图像特征提取

目的提取铝合金材料在盐雾箱试验中可以表征腐蚀程度的表面形貌图像特征量。方法首先,对采集于表面化学清洗过的试样原始图像进行图像增强等预处理,突出腐蚀部位;其次,基于数字图像处理的分形和小波分解方法提取出分形维数和小波能量特征值。结果与以质量损失量为基础的腐蚀深度特征值进行相关性对比,基于图像分析的特征提取法的准确度和精度比较高。结论该方法可以应用于对试样的腐蚀程度进行定性和定量分析,判断并预测试样的腐蚀速度。     

Determination of organophosphorus pesticides and related compounds in water samples by membrane extraction and gas chromatography

A membrane extraction-gas chromatography method was developed fordetermination of organophosphorus pesticides and related compounds including methamidophos, DDVP, dimethoate, methyl parathion, parathion, thiophosphoric acid trimethyl ester, and thiophosphoramidic acid dimethyl ester in water samples. In thismethod, surface-modified acetic cellulose membranes were used to extract the target analytes in water samples, the extracted analytes were back-extracted into a small amount of methanol, andgas chromatography with pulsed flame photometric detector (GC-PFPD) was used to determine the concentrations of targetanalytes in the extracts. The recoveries obtained for thetarget analytes spiked into the water samples ranged from 66to 94%. The method detection limit for each target analyte was 0.05 g L^-1. The method developed in this study had shown the advantages of being cheap, simple, fast, and reliable. It had been used successfully to determine the concentrations of target analytes in river water samples.     

HNO_3─KI─MIBK萃取／原子吸收光谱法测定固体废物浸提液中的微量银

采用选择性较好的ＨＮＯ３—ＫＩ—ＭＩＢＫ萃取体系对铋渣和尾矿渣浸出液中的痕量银进行预分离富集后，用火焰原子吸收法（ＡＡＳ）进行测定。此法不仅变异系数小（约为３．１％），而且检出限比直接火焰ＡＡＳ法降低两个数量级，达０．５ｎｇ／ｍｌ．另外，还就作品细度对银测定结果的影响原因做了初步探讨。     

Fractionation of Cu, Pb and Zn in certified reference soils SRM 2710 and SRM 2711 using the optimized BCR sequential extraction procedure

Sequential extraction of metals from solid media is a common analytical tool used in environmental and exploration geochemistry. A number of procedures exist, but without harmonization and standardization, meaningful comparisons are tenuous without baseline data. A newly developed, standardized sequential extraction procedure (optimized BCR) was applied to two contaminated certified reference soils from Montana, US (SRM 2710 and SRM 2711) for Cu, Pb and Zn. Four operationally defined fractions were isolated, acid extractable, reducible, oxidizable, and residual (by aqua regia). Fraction-specific concentrations, percentages and recoveries for Cu, Pb and Zn were used to explore differences between the optimized BCR procedure and three other sequential extraction schemes with published data for SRM 2710 and 2711 (i.e. Tessier scheme, Geological Survey of Canada scheme and the original BCR scheme). Results indicate significant differences between the four schemes, even for schemes that are closely associated (i.e. the original and optimized BCR schemes). Order-of-magnitude fraction-specific concentration differences were observed, especially for Pb in the reducible fraction. Differences between schemes are worrisome because trends varied between metals, between fractions and between reference soils. These data reinforce the need for increased adoption of standardized sequential extraction procedures and further examination of different solid media.