Thin-film composite forward osmosis membranes with substrate layer composed of polysulfone blended with PEG or polysulfone grafted PEG methyl ether methacrylate

To advance commercial application of forward osmosis (FO), we investigated the effects of two additives on the performance of polysulfone (PSf) based FO membranes: one is poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and another is PSf grafted with PEG methyl ether methacrylate (PSf-g-PEGMA). PSf blended with PEG or PSf-g-PEGMA was used to form a substrate layer, and then polyamide was formed on a support layer by interfacial polymerization. In this study, NaCl (1 mol?L^–1) and deionized water were used as the draw solution and the feed solution, respectively. With the increase of PEG content from 0 to 15 wt-%, FO water flux declined by 23.4% to 59.3% compared to a PSf TFC FO membrane. With the increase of PSf-g-PEGMA from 0 to 15 wt-%, the membrane flux showed almost no change at first and then declined by about 52.0% and 50.4%. The PSf with 5 wt-% PSf-g-PEGMA FO membrane showed a higher pure water flux of 8.74 L?m^–2?h^–1 than the commercial HTI membranes (6–8 L?m^–2?h^–1) under the FO mode. Our study suggests that hydrophobic interface is very important for the formation of polyamide, and a small amount of PSfg-PEGMA can maintain a good condition for the formation of polyamide and reduce internal concentration polarization.

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Comprehensive evaluation of the stability of the left-bank slope at the Baihetan hydropower station in southwest China

The stability of the left-bank slope is a crucial geological engineering problem at the Baihetan hydropower station, China. Due to continuous excavations on the rock slope, different regions of the surrounding rock mass undergo varying degrees of unloading deformation. It is important to assess the stability of the rock slope from a macroscopic viewpoint by investigating its deformation characteristics and mechanisms. Therefore, in this work, microseismic (MS) monitoring was first employed to detect the progressive rock mass damage in the rock slope subjected to excavation, including the initiation, propagation, coalescence, and interaction of rock microfractures. Numerical modeling was subsequently performed to understand the deformation and failure mechanism of the rock slope. Moreover, traditional surveying approaches (i.e., multiple-point extensometers and inclinometers) and field observations were also used to analyze the deformation and failure characteristics of the rock slope. The MS monitoring results showed that spatiotemporal regularities in the evolution of seismic source locations were indicators of deformation failure and potential sliding surfaces. MS event clustering can be used to delineate activated pre-existing geological structures (i.e., LS331 and LS337). The simulation results show that the deformation and failure characteristics of the rock slope are mainly controlled by pre-existing weak structural planes (i.e., the intraformational faulted zones LS3319, LS331, and LS337 and fault F17). These results agree well with the results of geological data and conventional monitoring data. Our study reveals that an integrated approach combining MS monitoring, numerical modeling, traditional surveying, and field observations leads to a better understanding of the behavior of the rock slope under the influence of excavation as well as greater control of the working faces, ensuring safety under complex geological and excavation conditions.     

Lake Turkana,major Omo River developments,associated hydrological cycle change and consequent lake physical and ecological change

This study aimed to explore Lake Turkana's ecological reliance on hydrology and to determine the hydrological changes and consequences arising from the major hydropower and irrigation developments in the lake's basin. The major developments on Ethiopia's Omo River are especially significant as this river provides over 80% of the lake's annual freshwater influx and associated nutrients. The cascade of hydropower dams permanently dampens the natural hydrological cycles and lake level variability. The driving force of the flood influx to the lake is curtailed and the pattern of lake currents will adjust. Ultimately 80% of the river inflow to the lake will be regulated. Large volumes of water are required to initially fill the hydropower dam reservoirs. During 2015–16 when the huge Gibe III reservoir was filled, Lake Turkana's water level declined 2?m.The study has shown that large-scale irrigation schemes in the Lower Omo can potentially abstract 50% of the Omo River water, and that this would cause the lake level to shrink permanently to the detriment of the lake ecology. Possible lake level drops of over 15?m are demonstrated. The basin's natural capital is being replaced by large-scale plantation developments. The hydrological changes are drastic and the ecological consequences on Lake Turkana have not been fully understood. Without serious mitigation measures, Lake Turkana is a potential African Aral Sea disaster in the making, emulating what has happened to other great lakes such as Lake Chad.     

Progress in Technology and Catalysts for Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor Type Slurry Phase Polyethylene Processes

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) have been widely used as materials of hollow molded articles, extrusion molded articles, films and sheets. The properties of HDPE vary depending on its application fields and processing methods thereof. Approximately 50 million tons of HDPE are produced annually around the worldwide by slurry phase processes. In this paper, the status of slurry phase polyethylene processes in China is briefly introduced. Two of the most important licensers of continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) type slurry phase polyethylene processes, namely, Hostalen (Licensed by Basell), CX (Licensed by Mitsui), with a dual- or three-reactor are reviewed. The merits and demerits of the examined polyethylene production technologies are discussed in detail. Catalyst is a key of polyolefin technology. It does have an extremely close relationship with the performance of polyethylene. The characteristics and disadvantages of different catalysts for the two processes are summarized for comparison, including the PZ and RZ catalysts of Mitsui, the BCH and BCE catalysts of Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, the TH series catalysts of Basell. Some advices on the development and application of HDPE catalysts for the slurry process are proposed.     

Decomposition of electricity consumption in China by primary component analysis

The empirical relationship between electricity consumption and gross domestic product, population, the product of primary industry, second industry, and tertiary industry are investigated. The strong multicollinearity among EC’s affecting factors does not meet the criteria of the ordinary least square regression (OLS) regression model. Principle component analysis is used to eliminate multicollinearity. Three principle components with no multicollinearity can explain 99.34 % of affecting factors’ variance. The three principle components seemed as independent, and EC seemed as dependent variables when OLS regression is employed. The results show that: gross domestic product, primary industrial production value, second industrial production value, and tertiary industrial production value codetermined the trend of electricity consumption, while the proportion of primary industrial production value, second industrial production value, and tertiary industrial production value and population codetermined the starting point and fluctuation of electricity consumption; the economic scale is the mainly affecting factors on electricity consumption; as some parts of electricity consumed by primary industry are not included in the state grid, there is an illusion that the primary industry can produce electricity.     

RESEARCH NOTE: Ozone Degradation Of Selected Non-Agricultural Herbicides

This research note investigates the efficiency of ozone for the degradation of threeherbicides, imazapyr[2-(4-isopropyl-4-methyl-S-oxo-2-imidazolin-2-yl)-nicotinic acid], triclopyr (3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinyloxyacetic acid) and diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea] under controlled laboratory conditions. Experiments were conducted at pH 7.5, in a bubble contactor column, with a raw lowland surface water spiked with initial active ingredient concentrations of 2 μgL⁻¹. The ozone doses applied and consumed were 4.79 and 2.9 mg O₃L⁻¹ respectively, and resulted in removals of 53%, 48% and 90% of imazapyr, triclopyr and diuron, respectively.     

Calcinable Polymer Membrane with Revivability for Efficient Oily‐Water Remediation

Fouling of polymeric membranes remains a major challenge for long‐term operation of oily‐water remediation. The common reclamation methods to recycle fouled membranes have the issues of either incomplete degradation of organic pollutants or damage to filter membranes. Here, a calcinable polymer membrane with effective reclamation after fouling is reported, which shows full recovery of the original oil/water separation efficiency. The membrane is made of polysulfonamide/polyacrylonitrile fibers by emulsion electrospinning, followed by hydrothermal decoration of TiO₂ nanoparticles. The bonding structured fibrous membrane displays outstanding thermal stability in air (400 °C), strong acid/alkali resistance (at the pH range from 1 to 13), and robust tensile strength. As a result, the chemically fouled polymeric membrane can be easily reclaimed without decreasing in separation performance and mechanical properties by annealing treatment. As a proof‐of‐concept, the as‐prepared membrane is integrated into a wastewater separation tank, which achieves a high water flux over 3000 L m^?2 h^?1 and oil rejection efficiency of 99.6% for various oil‐in‐water emulsions. The presented strategy on membrane fabrication is believed to be an effective remedy for membrane fouling, and should apply in a wider field of filtration industry.     

氨基糖苷类抗生素混合物对蛋白核小球藻的时间依赖性毒性

越来越多的研究表明,污染物在不同暴露时间具有不同的毒性变化规律。以4种氨基糖苷类抗生素,硫酸安普霉素(APR)、双氢链霉素(DIH)、硫酸新霉素(NEO)和硫酸链霉素(STS)为混合物组分,应用直接均分射线法和均匀射线法对4类抗生素设计出6组二元混合体系和4组三元混合体系,每个混合物体系设计5条射线共50条射线,采用时间毒性微板分析法(T-MAT)测定这些抗生素混合物射线在6个暴露时间点(即0、12、24、48、72和96 h)对蛋白核小球藻(C.pyrenoidosa)的生长抑制毒性。结果表明,抗生素二元和三元混合物系的50条射线对C.pyrenoidosa毒性均具有明显的时间依赖性,即混合物射线的毒性随着暴露时间的延长而增强;以半数效应浓度(EC50)的负对数p EC50为毒性指标,不同混合物体系的时间毒性变化规律不同,有的混合物从0 h开始,毒性随时间延长逐渐增强,有的从12 h或24h,甚至48 h后,毒性开始迅速增加;同一混合物体系中不同射线的毒性因组分浓度比的变化而变化,即混合物射线的毒性随毒性大的组分比例增加而增强。     

浅埋薄基岩煤层快速推进工作面矿压显现规律研究

基于神东矿区1-2#煤层的赋存条件和开采技术条件,采用FLAC3D数值模拟方法,研究浅埋薄基岩回采工作面快速推进过程中的矿压显现规律,为工作面支架阻力确定和岩层控制提供依据。结果表明,随着推进速度的增加,顶板压力呈现减小趋势;推进速度越快,工作面前方应力集中程度越高,峰值应力距工作面距离越小,应力集中影响范围呈减小趋势;推进速度不同时煤层上部的薄基岩和厚松散层破断都直接波及地表,地表下沉量明显高于相同条件下的正常采深煤层工作面;浅埋采场上覆松散层变形移动过程中难以形成承载结构,荷载估算时不能采用传统的普氏压力拱理论。     

东太湖水源水臭氧氧化过程中溴酸盐控制技术

针对东太湖水中溴离子含量较高,采用臭氧-活性炭工艺很可能会导致出厂水中溴酸盐超标的问题,研究了加氨和高锰酸钾预氧化对东太湖水源水在臭氧氧化中溴酸盐生成的控制作用。结果表明,加氨可以有效抑制溴酸盐的生成,在加氨量低于0.04 mmol/L时,随着加氨量的增加,其抑制效果逐渐增强;当加氨量超过0.04 mmol/L时,加氨对溴酸盐抑制率不再继续增加。当水中溴离子质量浓度为120~260μg/L,p H值为6.8~8.7,水温为8~40℃时,加氨可以有效抑制水中溴酸盐的生成,且对原水水质影响较小。当高锰酸钾投加量低于6μmol/L时,其对溴酸盐的生成具有一定的抑制作用;高猛酸钾投加量高于6μmol/L时,反而会提高溴酸盐的生成量;同时较高的p H值和水温均不利于高锰酸钾对溴酸盐的控制,反而会增加其生成量。通过比较可知,对于东太湖水源水,加氨控制溴酸盐生成的效果比高锰酸钾更稳定和有效,实际生产中可以选用加氨控制臭氧-活性炭工艺中溴酸盐的生成。