Hydrophobic Cross-Linked Poly(dimethylsiloxane)-Based Sorbents for Oil Spill Applications

With the increase of industrialization and urbanization, humankind faces massive oil-based pollution due to tanker accidents, human error, and natural disasters. For this, hydrophobic sorbents are fabricated and their applications for the removal of oil from polluted water sources are investigated. These hydrophobic sorbents are prepared by the condensation reaction of poly(dimethylsiloxane) and tris[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]isocyanurate cross-linker via bulk polymerization. The obtained sorbents exhibit high oil sorption capacity, fast absorption–desorption kinetics, and great reusability. Moreover, they can selectively absorb oil from the water surface, thus making them practical for water clean-up applications.     

离子型稀土矿山淋洗及尾水富集试验研究

对浸矿后离子型稀土原地浸矿场采用清水进行淋洗，在184天的清水淋洗过程中，尾水氨氮值从最开始的507mg/L，降低至140mg/L，淋洗尾水pH4.52~3.10。淋洗尾水采用两级反渗透膜分离，既回收有价资源稀土，又能使出水氨氮达标。结果表明，产水氨氮浓度稳定低于15mg/L，对稀土的截留率高于98.25%，浓水中稀土离子平均浓度313.4mg/L，可进一步回收稀土资源。     

机械活化对粉煤灰提铝影响研究

为提高粉煤灰中铝提取率, 采用机械活化对粉煤灰进行预处理, 探讨了机械活化对粉煤灰焙烧-酸浸效果的影响。结果表明: 机械活化能提高粉煤灰比表面积、增加反应活性点, 促进活化反应的进行; 通过机械活化, 在Na₂CO₃与Al₂O₃物质的量比1.6、850 ℃下焙烧50 min后酸浸, 铝浸出率达到91.58%。     

Understanding δ-Bi2O3 fluorite degradation mechanism and related solutions for promising applications in distributed multigeneration

Oxygen selective membrane on the base of cermet δ-Bi₂O₃/Ag with an interpenetrating structure has the maximum potential efficiency of air separation. However, the degradation processes, including the phase degradation of fluorite δ-Bi₂O₃, do not make it possible to create a membrane with the required perfection and durability. In this work, the ordering of oxygen vacancies with the transformation of fluorite into the rhombohedral phase (S.G. R-3) was studied by powder HT XRD in situ at 600 °C on dense Bi_0.78Er_0.2Hf_0.02O_1.51 ceramics. Fast regeneration of disordered fluorite occurs at T = 640–700 °C. The phase degradation of fluorite due to the segregation of dopants at the second stage leads into stable phases - sillenite, tetragonal or rhombohedral phase (S.G. R-3m), depending on the composition of δ-Bi₂O₃. Fast regeneration of fluorite occurs when heated to 820 °C, which is unacceptable for membranes. Analysis of all available data allows us to propose approaches to optimize the composition of δ-Bi₂O₃ and technical solutions for creating durable oxygen selective membranes with promising use in distributed multigeneration. As a result of the analysis, a new solid electrolyte with better parameters was obtained.     

水酶法加工花生过程中酸浸工艺的研究

花生是一种重要的植物油脂和蛋白资源,水酶法处理花生能够同时得到油脂和具有特定功能的水解蛋白。为提高花生水解蛋白的纯度,在酶解前设计了酸浸过程,以除去花生体系中的可溶性糖和盐类等杂质。在单因素试验的基础上,通过正交试验优化酸浸工艺条件。结果表明,料液比和温度对蛋白质损失率及可溶性糖脱除率都有极显著或显著影响。酸浸工艺的最佳条件为料液比1∶6,处理时间30 min,pH 5,温度50℃。在最佳条件下,可溶性糖脱除率为(83. 11±0. 33)%,蛋白质损失率为(6. 19±0. 13)%。酸浸处理花生后可显著减少花生蛋白中糖的含量,但同时也伴有少量蛋白质损失。     

Upgrading of low-grade manganese ore based on reduction roasting and magnetic separation technique

The selective reduction of low-grade manganese ore followed by magnetic separation was proposed to produce rich-manganese ore. The optimized parameters include a roasting temperature of 1050°C, a roasting time of 6 h, a manganese ore size of 8–13 mm, and an FC/O ratio of 2.5. The reduction roasting products of low-grade manganese ore, mainly comprising of MnO, metallic iron, and residual gangue, could be separated effectively to obtain rich-manganese ore and magnetic product. The RMn, RFe, and TMn can reach the peak values of 71.00%, 93.60%, and 56.20wt%, respectively, at a rational magnetic field strength of 100 mT. In particular, the Mn/Fe ratio is up to 10.85, which meets the requirements of ferromanganese alloy smelting.     

Drug release kinetics of pH-responsive microgels of different glass-transition temperatures

The pH-responsive microgels (MGs) consisting of methacrylic acid-ethyl acrylate (MAA-EA), methacrylic acid-butyl methacrylate (MAA-BMA) or methacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate (MAA-MMA) crosslinked with di-allyl phthalate (DAP) were synthesized via emulsion polymerization. It was found that the energy required to extract a proton from MGs with higher glass-transition temperature (T_g) was greater than at a lower T_g. Procaine hydrochloride (PrHy) was used to study the release of a model hydrophobic drug from MGs with different T_gs. A drug selective electrode (DSE) was used to monitor the release as a function of pHs and T_gs. With increasing pH or decreasing T_g, the swelling of MGs was enhanced, leading to greater release of the drug. From the Berens and Hopfenberg model, the contributions of chain relaxation and diffusion processes during a release process were determined. The drug release from lower T_g MGs and at high pH is dominated by diffusion rather than chain relaxation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47284.     

Remarkable Antibacterial Activity of Reduced Graphene Oxide Functionalized by Copper Ions

Despite long-term efforts for exploring antibacterial agents or drugs, potentiating antibacterial activity and meanwhile minimizing toxicity to the environment remains a challenge. Here, it is experimentally shown that the functionality of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) through copper ions displays selective antibacterial activity that is significantly stronger than that of rGO itself and no toxicity to mammalian cells. Remarkably, this antibacterial activity is two-orders-of-magnitude greater than the activity of its surrounding copper ions. It is demonstrated that rGO is functionalized through the cation–π interaction to massively adsorb copper ions to form a rGO–copper composite and result in an extremely low concentration level of surrounding copper ions (less than ≈0.5 µm ). These copper ions on rGO are positively charged and strongly interact with negatively charged bacterial cells to selectively achieve antibacterial activity, while rGO exhibits the functionality to not only actuate rapid delivery of copper ions and massive assembly onto bacterial cells but also result in the valence shift in the copper ions from Cu²⁺ into Cu⁺, which greatly enhances the antibacterial activity. Notably, this rGO functionality through cation–π interaction with copper ions can similarly achieve algaecidal activity but does not exert cytotoxicity against neutrally charged mammalian cells.     

Design of switchable band‐notched frequency selective absorber

An active band‐notched frequency selective absorber (BNFSA) with switchable notch band is proposed in this article. The BNFSA is a two‐layer structure composed of a lossy layer at the top and a ground plane at the bottom, separated by an air spacer. The element of the lossy layer is a lumped‐resistor‐loaded metallic dipole with a parallel LC resonance structure, which is realized by complementary n‐shaped resonator (CnR) inserted in the center, and PIN diode is welded at two arms of CnR. The bias circuit printed on the back of the substrate of the lossy layer connects to anode and cathode of the diode by via hole and isolates by the inductor. Simulation results show that the notch bands are located at 4.50 and 6.81 GHz when the diode sets to ON and OFF, respectively. To validate the performance of switchable BNFSA, the prototypes are fabricated and measured, reasonable agreement between simulated and measured results is obtained.