Phase formation,structure and properties of light-weight aluminosilicate proppants based on clay-diabase and clay-granite binary mixes

One of the drawbacks of fusible clays is the narrow sintering interval due to a sharp increase in the amount of iron-silicate melt at a temperature of 1000–1100 °C, which hardens in the form of a glass phase upon cooling. This leads to a relatively low mechanical strength of the calcined samples and causes the danger of melting the granular material surface from such clays during the firing process. To increase the strength of samples of fusible clays, the influence of diabase and granitoid rocks was considered. It was found that the strengthening effect of diabase and granitoid rock additives in an amount of 20–50% in a mixture with fusible clay is due to an increase of total content of the crystalline phase (mullite, cristobalite and residual quartz) from 18–20% in clays without additives to 22–28 % - in mixtures with diabase and to 28–34% - with granitoid additives) at a temperature of 1050–1100 °C. This increase is due to the activation of synthesis processes of secondary mullite and crystallization from alkali-rich feldspar melt of amorphous silica, released from the structure of clay minerals. The established influence of the igneous rocks used made it possible to develop compositions and propose process flow sheet for producing aluminosilicate proppants based on fusible clays. The use of granitoid and diabase rocks in an amount of 20–70% with fusible clays produces lightweight aluminosilicate proppants with bulk density of 1.40–1.46 g/cm³ at temperature range of 1050–1100 °C, which can endure destructive pressures up to 34.5–52 MPa.     

Experimental evaluation of the luminescence performance of fired clay brick coated with SrAl2O4:Eu/Dy phosphor

This study evaluates the luminescence performance of fired clay bricks coated with SrAl₂O₄:Eu/Dy phosphor. To do so, SrAl₂O₄:Eu/Dy phosphor was first produced using the traditional solid-state reaction synthesis technique. The prepared phosphor was then used for coating fired clay bricks to analyze the luminescence performance via spectral analysis, decay characteristics, and microstructure of the bricks. The results reveal that excitation and emission spectra of the phosphor coated bricks range from 200 to 480 nm and 455 to 650 nm, respectively, suggesting that the phosphor coated bricks have the capacity of absorbing light with a wide range of wavelengths. The peak wavelength projected at 511 nm in the emission spectrum is achieved, which indicates 4f⁶5 d¹-4f⁷ transition of Europium (Eu²⁺). The repeated excitation and deexcitation of Eu²⁺ by using hole traps and trap levels offered by Dysprosium (Dy³⁺), exist between the ground and the excited state of Eu²⁺ leads to luminescent phenomenon. Moreover, the decay characteristics has revealed that phosphor coated bricks can emit light for a considerable amount of time (>8.5 min) upon the removal of the excitation source. The results reveal that phosphor coated bricks has the potential of increasing energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings.     

天然黏土矿物在靛蓝染色废水电絮凝中的应用

为提高靛蓝染色废水电絮凝处理效率,以天然黏土矿物为协同吸附剂,采用电絮凝-吸附联合工艺处理靛蓝染色废水。探究黏土类型对絮体沉降速率和Zeta电位的影响,通过废水色度、浊度、脱色率和化学需氧量(COD)去除率评价絮凝处理效果。确定最佳黏土矿物种类并结合絮体显微观察,进一步分析黏土矿物与电絮凝的协同作用机制。结果表明:黏土矿物加入可降低Zeta电位绝对值;硅藻土与电絮凝协同的主要絮凝机制为网捕卷扫,同时兼具一定的电荷中和与吸附架桥作用;电絮凝反应结束后,仅需加入1 g/L硅藻土反应3 min,Zeta电位绝对值可达到最低,为15.585 mV,废水脱色率提升至94.08%。     

Full scale investigation of GCL damage mechanisms in small earth dam retrofit applications under earthquake loading

This paper reports results of full scale testing to further explore potential GCL damage mechanisms in earth dam retrofit applications in seismically active areas; in particular, to a) investigate whether shear displacements could reduce the magnitude of GCL panel overlap during earthquake shaking; b) explore the influence of gravel particles on GCL thickness at localised point of contact; and c) observe the consequences of an accidental exposure of an uncovered GCL to short duration rainfall in terms of moisture content and effects during subsequent compaction. The results of these experiments indicate that even under severe shaking no movements were detected at the GCL panel overlap. Whereas gravel particles were observed to locally reduce the thickness of the GCL to 2.2 mm, no plowing of the particle into the GCL occurred due to a lack of shear displacement at the interface, resulting in no localised internal erosion through the barrier. Furthermore, hydration of GCL panels during construction due to surface wetting was observed to result in a state of hydration less than its post-construction state. These results indicate that although each of the three GCL damage mechanisms cannot be ruled out to ever be relevant in practice, the performance of the GCL retrofitted earth dam tested was satisfactory under even severe Level 2 earthquake shaking, and suggests that the retrofitting of small earth dams with GCLs is a promising strategy to improve their static and seismic resistance.     

Hysteresis of the water retention curves of geosynthetic clay liners in the high suction range

This paper examines two needle-punched geosynthetic clay liners' water retention behaviour at high suction ranges using the vapour equilibrium technique where super-saturated salt solutions controlled the relative humidity. This study shows that the bentonite form and its mineralogy affect the absorption/desorption of GCLs and their corresponding water retention curves. In particular, a granular bentonite-based GCL was found to absorb more and release less water than a powdered bentonite-based GCL due to its higher montmorillonite content and larger pores. The water retention curves of both GCLs exhibited very little hysteretic behaviour at high suction. Repeated wetting-drying cycles shifted the WRCs of both GCLs slightly downward with minimal impact on their degree of hysteresis.     

Comparative performance of carbon nanotube and nanoclay on thermal properties and flammability behavior of amorphous polyamide/SEBS blend

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) or montmorillonite clay (MMT-30B) were added to a poly(hexamethylene isophthalamide-co-terephthalamine) (an amorphous polyamide - aPA) and styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene graphitized with maleic anhydride (SEBS) blend, in different concentrations, in order to investigate the morphology, thermal properties and flammability behavior. Different nanoparticle localizations in the phase blend were observed through transmission electronic microscopy. CNT nanoparticles are localized in SEBS phase, and MMT-30B nanoparticles in aPA phase. No significant changes were observed on transition temperatures and thermal stability with both nanoparticle additions. However, a slight increase on storage modulus for clay nanocomposites and a slight reduction for carbon nanotube nanocomposites were observed, due to their different phase localizations. Regarding flammability, CNT nanocomposites showed better performance as a flame retardant when compared to samples with MMT-30B. Although the MMT-30B nanocomposites could not be classified according to the UL-94 criteria, no dripped flaming particles were observed, due to the a char barrier formation on the polymer surface. The CNT nanocomposites were classified according to the UL-94 criteria as V-2. The CNT's selective localization on the SEBS phase decreases its heat-release rate, but no interconnected network structure was formed in the matrix to suppress the dripping flaming particles.     

Solubility parameter estimation and phase inversion modeling of bentonite-doped polymeric membrane systems

Effects of bentonite concentration on morphology and permeation characteristics of bentonite-doped polysulfone membranes were investigated. Solubility sphere for bentonite was constructed to estimate its solubility parameter. Thermodynamic modeling of phase inversion of this system was carried out using Flory–Huggins theory. The trade-off between thermodynamic and kinetic parameters was used to predict the membrane morphology for bentonite concentration varying from 0 to 5 wt %. The porosity of bentonite-doped membranes decreased up to 3 wt % that increased thereafter. Morphological analysis showed dense cross section with finger-like macrovoids at 3 wt % beyond which it changed to honeycomb structure with large circular voids. Permeability of 3 wt % membrane was the lowest (5.6 × 10⁻¹² m/Pa s) with 95% bovine serum albumin rejection. Contact angle of the membranes decreased from 83 to 66° with bentonite addition making the membrane more hydrophilic. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48450.     

几种脱色剂对菜籽油脱色效果的研究

以菜籽油的色泽红值和叶绿素含量为考察指标,比较了凹凸棒土、活性白土、活性炭和双氧水4种脱色剂对菜籽油在中低温(40~80℃)下的脱色效果,同时考察了凹凸棒土与活性炭、活性白土与活性炭组成的复合吸附脱色剂对菜籽油的脱色效果。结果表明:活性炭在较低添加量条件下可以获得与凹凸棒土和活性白土较高添加量相当的脱色效果;活性白土-活性炭复合脱色效果优于凹凸棒土-活性炭,在添加量为2%时,80℃下可使菜籽油的叶绿素含量降低32. 5%、70℃下使菜籽油色泽红值降低30. 6%;双氧水对于去除菜籽油叶绿素和降低色泽红值效果明显,70℃下,0. 4%双氧水(10%)使菜籽油叶绿素含量降低9. 0%、0. 6%双氧水(10%)使菜籽油色泽红值降低25. 0%。活性白土-活性炭脱色和双氧水脱色后的菜籽油品质指标均达到国标四级菜籽油水平;就单位质量浓度脱色剂的脱色效果来说,双氧水的脱色效率更高。     

硫酸铵法利用中低品位锂瓷土矿制备碳酸锂技术研究

针对江西宜丰地区氧化锂质量分数<2.0%以下中低品位锂瓷土矿,研究了硫酸铵法提取碳酸锂技术路线。首先,利用二步焙烧工艺,有利于脱氟、提高锂浸出率,并且能够有效防止结窑现象发生。在浸出液除杂过程中,采用成矾除铝的方法将大量溶出的铝离子转变为KAl（SO₄）₂·12H₂O、NH₄Al（SO₄）₂·12H₂O等有价值复盐,规避了传统石膏法产生的大量固废,有70%的铝离子被转变为矾盐晶体,同时带出大量的结晶水,减轻后续浓缩压力,对比传统的石膏法产生大量固废而言,其优点是显而易见的。碳化反应产品的XRD以及氧化锂含量分析表明,碳酸锂的纯度达到99%以上,全程锂收率为50%~60%。作为提锂实验对比,采用宜春414矿锂质量分数为4.0%的锂云母,由于414矿样中铝的相对含量更低,导致相同的除杂难度下得到的414矿样中浸出液锂离子浓度更高,浓缩倍数更小,414矿样的锂回收率更高。实验结果表明,中低品位锂瓷土提锂的工艺规律,通过适当改变参数,能够应用于难度更低的高品位的锂云母提锂过程。