Experimental study on mitigating wind erosion of calcareous desert sand using spray method for microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation

Wind erosion is one of the significant natural calamities worldwide, which degrades around one-third of global land. The eroded and suspended soil particles in the environment may cause health hazards, i.e. allergies and respiratory diseases, due to the presence of harmful contaminants, bacteria, and pollens. The present study evaluates the feasibility of microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) technique to mitigate wind-induced erosion of calcareous desert sand (Thar desert of Rajasthan province in India). The temperature during biotreatment was kept at 36 °C to stimulate the average temperature of the Thar desert. The spray method was used for bioaugmentation of Sporosarcina (S.) pasteurii and further treatment using chemical solutions. The chemical solution of 0.25 pore volume was sprayed continuously up to 5 d, 10 d, 15 d, and 20 d, using two different concentration ratios of urea and calcium chloride dihydrate viz 2:1 and 1:1. The biotreated samples were subjected to erosion testing (in the wind tunnel) at different wind speeds of 10 m/s, 20 m/s, and 30 m/s. The unconfined compressive strength of the biocemented crust was measured using a pocket penetrometer. The variation in calcite precipitation and microstructure (including the presence of crystalline minerals) of untreated as well as biotreated sand samples were determined through calcimeter, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDX). The results demonstrated that the erosion of untreated sand increases with an increase in wind speeds. When compared to untreated sand, a lower erosion was observed in all biocemented sand samples, irrespective of treatment condition and wind speed. It was observed that the sample treated with 1:1 cementation solution for up to 5 d, was found to effectively resist erosion at a wind speed of 10 m/s. Moreover, a significant erosion resistance was ascertained in 15 d and 20 d treated samples at higher wind speeds. The calcite content percentage, thickness of crust, bulk density, and surface strength of biocemented sand were enhanced with the increase in treatment duration. The 1:1 concentration ratio of cementation solution was found effective in improving crust thickness and surface strength as compared to 2:1 concentration ratio of cementation solution. The calcite crystals formation was observed in SEM analysis and calcium peaks were observed in EDX analysis for biotreated sand.     

Model of reactive precipitation process of preparation nano-ZnO in rotating packed bed: Contribution ratio

With excellent micromixing characteristic of rotating packed bed (RPB), many nanoparticles with small average size, narrower distribution and good morphology had been successfully and continuously prepared. To reveal complex crystal process, an empirical model were developed to simulate nano-ZnO by considering mass changed, population balance equation, growth rate G, nucleation rate B, drop sizes D_i, and resident time t. The predicted particle sizes were shown good agreement with experimental data with error of ±10%. Therefore, it was further adopted to predict the effects of rotating speed, liquid flow rate and reactant concentration on the mean particle size. To look more deeply insight in this process, their contribution ratios were further analyzed. The proposed empirical models were of great helpful to obtain suitable operation conditions for preparing much better properties of nanoparticles with fewer experiments. It was also beneficial to produce other nanoparticles in RPB.     

Thermodynamic analysis of ethanol synthesis from hydration of ethylene coupled with a sequential reaction

Coal-based ethanol production by hydration of ethylene is limited by the low equilibrium ethylene conversion at elevated temperature. To improve ethylene conversion, coupling hydration of ethylene with a potential ethanol consumption reaction was analyzed thermodynamically. Five reactions have been attempted and compared: (1) dehydration of ethanol to ethyl ether ({\mathrm{2C}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}\mathrm{OH}\iff{\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}{\mathrm{OC}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}{\mathrm{+H}}_{\mathrm{2}}\mathrm{O}), (2) dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde ({\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}\mathrm{OH}\iff {\mathrm{CH}}_{\mathrm{3}}{\mathrm{CHO+H}}_{\mathrm{2}}), (3) esterification of acetic acid with ethanol ({\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}{\mathrm{OH+CH}}_{\mathrm{3}}\mathrm{COOH}\iff {\mathrm{CH}}_{\mathrm{3}}{\mathrm{COOC}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}{\mathrm{+H}}_{\mathrm{2}}\mathrm{O}), (4) dehydrogenation of ethanol to ethyl acetate ({\mathrm{2C}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}\mathrm{OH}\iff {\mathrm{CH}}_{\mathrm{3}}{\mathrm{COOC}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}{\mathrm{+2H}}_{\mathrm{2}}), and (5) oxidative dehydrogenation of ethanol to ethyl acetate ({\mathrm{2C}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}{\mathrm{OH+O}}_{\mathrm{2}}\iff {\mathrm{CH}}_{\mathrm{3}}{\mathrm{COOC}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{H}}_{\mathrm{5}}{\mathrm{+2H}}_{\mathrm{2}}\mathrm{O}). The equilibrium constants and equilibrium distributions of the coupled reactions were calculated and the effects of feed composition, temperature and pressure upon the ethylene equilibrium conversion were examined. The results show that dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde has little effect on ethylene conversion, whereas for dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate, ethylene conversion can be improved from 8% to 12.8% and 18.5%, respectively, under conditions of H₂O/C₂H₄ = 2, 10 atm and 300°C. The esterification of acetic acid with ethanol can greatly enhance the ethylene conversion to 22.5%; in particular, ethylene can be actually completely converted to ethyl acetate by coupling oxidative dehydrogenation of ethanol.     

Study on wax precipitation characteristics of wax deposit in pipes

Wax deposit properties are a significant concern in pipeline pigging during waxy crude oil transportation. In the present work, the impacts of flow conditions and oil properties on the wax precipitation characteristics of wax deposits are investigated. A flow loop apparatus was developed to conduct wax deposition experiments using four crude oils collected from different field pipes. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique was employed to observe the wax precipitation characteristics of crude oil and wax deposit. The results show that the wax content and the wax appearance temperature (WAT) of the deposits increase with shear stress and radial temperature gradient, and decrease with radial wax molecule concentration gradient near the pipe wall. The DSC tests on the wax deposits revealed that the deposit wax content is strongly correlated to the oil wax content. Furthermore, an empirical correlation was developed to predict the wax content and the WAT of the wax deposit. Verification of the empirical correlation using the different oils indicated that the average relative error of the wax content prediction and average absolute error of WAT prediction were 13.2% and 3.6°C, respectively.     

酸性废水中As(Ⅲ)、Cu(Ⅱ)与铁粉的反应行为

在Fe-As(Ⅲ)-Cu(Ⅱ)-H₂O体系中, 研究了酸性废水中As(Ⅲ)、Cu(Ⅱ)与金属铁粉的反应行为, 考察了反应过程中As在气、液、固三相中的分配比。结果表明, As(Ⅲ)和Cu(Ⅱ)离子被Fe还原为单质As和Cu后, As、Cu进一步结合成Cu₅As₂等金属间化合物, 从而促进As(Ⅲ)沉淀反应的发生, 且无AsH3生成。在反应时间40min、铁粉过量系数1.2、溶液初始pH=0.0、温度40 ℃、Cu/As摩尔比1.0条件下, As在气、液、固三相中的分配比分别为0、20.7%和79.3%, 沉砷率为79.3%。     

Influence of Mg concentration on structural,morphological and optical properties of nanoceria

Nano crystalline pure and Mg doped ceriaparticles were synthesized by simple chemical co-precipitation method using cerium nitrate hexahydrate as a source material and magnesium nitrate as doping precursor at room temperature. The effect of doping were investigated by X-ray diffraction pattern(XRD), FT-Raman,fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), Ultraviolet spectroscopy(UV), photoluminescence spectroscopy(PL), field emission scanning electron microscope(FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (HRTEM &EDS). The X-ray diffraction pattern and FT-Raman studies showed that the prepared samples were nano particulates with cubic fluorite structure. The XRD pattern analysis showed that the size of the particles ranged from 13 to 20?nm, however 4?wt% Mg doping results in reduction of particle size compared with other doping concentrations. The effects of Mg concentration on various structural parameters of the prepared samples were also determined. The slight blue shift observed upon doping in UV–Vis absorption region around 330–360nmrecorded for reduction in particle size. The FTIR unveils the presence of Metal oxygen bonds below 700?cm^?1in the prepared samples. All samples showed a broad emission band at 430?nm with linearly increasing intensity with respect to dopant concentrations. The Spherical morphology with weak agglomeration was identified through FESEM and HRTEM analysis. The elemental analysis of Ce, O and Mg were confirmed through EDS analysis.     

Preparation of molecularly imprinted fluorescence sensor based on carbon quantum dots via precipitation polymerization for fluorescence detection of tetracycline

A facile and effective method was proposed to prepare the molecularly imprinted fluorescence sensor with carbon quantum dots, which were modified vinyl groups by acrylic acid on the surface. The obtained fluorescence composite material was investigated by transmission electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectra. After the experimental conditions were optimized, a linear range of 1.0–60 μmol L⁻¹ was obtained and the detection limit was 0.17 μmol L⁻¹. The novel fluorescence sensor can be successfully used to detect tetracycline in real samples. This study provides a convenient strategy for selective recognition and rapid detection of tetracycline in the complex environment.