One-step synthesis of t-ZrO2 from Zircon using magnesium-calcium minerals as stabilizers

Stabling crystal structure at room temperature is a classic problem in the study of Zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂). However, there are few investigations on making tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO₂) in one step at a low cost. In this research, t-ZrO₂ is synthesized using a one-step high-temperature solid-state sintering technique with magnesite, dolomite, and limestone as stabilizers and zircon as the raw material. The most suitable stabilizers and reaction conditions are determined, and the mechanism of zirconia structure stabilization is explored. The findings suggest that magnesite has the lowest effect as a crystal structure stabilizer, whereas dolomite and limestone are pretty close, but dolomite introduces more impurities. The ideal reaction conditions were 60% mol limestone at 1500 °C. The stabilization mechanism is zirconia gap correction, according to XRD and EPR data. The characterization of the SEM demonstrates that the heat treatment temperature and stabilizer had little effect on the morphology of t-ZrO₂. When limestone was introduced throughout the process, EDS data revealed that some amorphous silicon-calcium compounds occurred in the product. The focus of follow-up work will be on how to lessen the impact in this area. This research offers vital reference value for reducing the cost of the synthetic t-ZrO₂ process.     

Effects of andalusite and kyanite addition on the microstructure,thermo-mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of ultralow-cement bauxite-corundum castables

Ultralow-cement bauxite-corundum refractory castables are increasingly attracting attention because of the advantages in performance and cost. To improve its volume stability and high-temperature performance, andalusite and kyanite were incorporated into this type of refractory, respectively, and a comparative investigation of their effects on microstructure, thermo-mechanical properties, and slag corrosion resistance was carried out in this work. The expansion effects induced by the mullitization of these additives not only suppressed the sintering shrinkage but also made the matrix structure more compact and uniform, mainly owing to the generation of many new and strong mullite bonds. This improvement resulted in a significant increase in the refractoriness under load and creep resistance. This effect was far more pronounced for the andalusite-added castables, for which the RUL increased by 62 °C and the creep rate at the stationary stage decreased by 26%. Besides, adverse effects on microstructure and properties appeared when adding a higher amount of kyanite due to the excessive expansion. Moreover, the corrosion mechanisms of these refractory castables by refining slag were discussed, and the active role of andalusite addition in the corrosion resistance was also proposed.     

Impact of pre-treatment (soaking or germination) on nutrient and anti-nutrient contents,cooking time and acceptability of cooked red dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) grown in Ethiopia

Pulses are processed in diverse ways prior to consumption. Soaking and germination are among the most common traditional, household-level food processing strategies. This study was carried out to determine the effects of soaking, germination, cooking and their combinations on the contents of selected nutrients and anti-nutrients of red dry bean and chickpea. In addition, the effects of pre-treatment on cooking time and the acceptability of dishes prepared from red dry bean and chickpea were determined. The nutrient compositions (zinc, iron and calcium) of most soaked-cooked and germinated-cooked red dry bean and chickpea samples were not significantly different than those of respective controls. However, soaking and germination pre-treatments significantly lowered the phytate and tannin contents of the red dry bean and chickpea samples, with a few exceptions, and overall, polyphenol contents were lower after soaking-cooking than after germination-cooking. Most scores for sensory attributes of bean-based and chickpea-based dishes prepared from soaked or germinated samples were not significantly different than those of the controls. For most red dry bean and chickpea samples, longer germination times yielded superior results in terms of reductions in cooking time, tannin content, and phytate:zinc and phytate:iron molar ratio.     

白云鄂博矿区富钾板岩中稀土铌矿物特征研究*

采用主要化学成分分析、自动矿物分析系统、偏反光显微镜、场发射扫描电镜、能谱仪等手段对白云鄂博矿区内富钾板岩化学成分、矿物组成以及稀土铌矿物特征等方面进行研究。结果显示，白云鄂博矿区内富钾板岩K2O含量高达13.15%，高SiO2富Al2O3，岩石主要由微斜长石与黑云母组成；富钾板岩中REO与Nb2O5含量分别为0.076%、0.012%，稀土、铌矿物含量低且粒度细小，形态产状多种多样，矿物共生组合与接触关系复杂，指示富钾板岩遭受了后期热液的蚀变改造作用。     

Discrimination the geographical origin of Yanchi Tan Lamb with different muscle sections by stable isotopic ratios and elemental profiles

In the study, lamb, feed and soil samples were collected from three regions of China in the year 2017 and 2018. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in lamb (defatted dry mass and lipids) and grass and the contents of nine elements in lamb, grass and soil were determined. The results indicated that except for Fe, Zn and Rb, most variables of lamb showed significant differences among two or three regions, and the contents of Fe, Sr and Cs showed significant differences between two years, and the contents of Cu and Zn showed significant differences among different muscle sections. Besides, significant correlations were found for δ¹³C between defatted lamb and lipid (r² = 0.973, P < 0.05) and for the element contents between lamb and soil. Finally, four key variables δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, Sr and Mo were selected through stepwise canonical discriminant analysis with the cross-validation correct classification rate of 99.1%.     

四川某稀土矿选矿试验研究

针对四川某稀土矿选矿工艺存在的稀土回收率低的问题，开展了一系列选矿试验研究。试验结果表明，在矿浆质量浓度为30%，粗选NaOH用量为600g/t，水玻璃用量为3000g/t，EF1106用量为3500g/t，起泡剂用量为60g/t情况下，采用一粗、三精、两扫、中矿按顺序返回的选矿流程，可获得稀土REO的品位和回收率分别为66.32%和79.88%的稀土浮选精矿。与该选厂的生产指标相比，稀土回收率提高了13.93%。     

Cyanidation of Gold Associated with Silver Minerals in Sulfide Mineral Matrices

Lead salt stimulated the dissolution of gold when gold associated with silver minerals was interspersed in the silica or in the pyrite‐silica layer. Gold dissolution was likewise promoted through lead addition for chalcopyrite‐silica and the sphalerite‐silica systems. Lead addition did not boost gold dissolution and a recovery of 6.9 % was achieved for gold and silver minerals dispersed in stibnite. Lead pretreatment also enhanced gold recovery except for the stibnite‐silica system. Gold surface‐passivating films were observed for gold associated with silver minerals and stibnite.     

软岩与水相互作用研究综述

软岩是一类松散、破碎、软弱及风化膨胀性的强度较低的岩石,在水环境作用下软岩易产生大变形失稳破坏。大多数岩土工程事故都涉及到软岩与水的相互作用,研究软岩与水相互作用对于分析某些由软岩失稳引起的工程事故具有重要的理论和现实意义。针对软岩与水相互作用这一问题,从软岩与水相互作用的分类、软岩吸水特性的影响因素及其软岩吸水失稳机理等方面,对国内外具有代表性的研究成果进行了梳理。结果表明:软岩与水相互作用可分为力学作用、物理作用和化学作用。在各种影响软岩吸水特性的因素中,主要因素是黏土矿物的含量和种类、孔隙结构,其他影响因素有水压变化、软岩的干湿循环次数、软岩的块体尺度(尺度效应)和吸水时间等。软岩吸水失稳的根本原因是吸水后黏土矿物微观结构发生变化,而是否含蒙脱石等吸水性极强的黏土矿物并非直接原因;后者只是对软岩吸水过程起到促进作用。