Dissolution kinetics of synthetic zeolite NaP1 and its implication to zeolite treatment of contaminated waters

The effect of pH on the dissolution kinetics of NaP1 zeolite, which was produced from the alkaline treatment of coal fly ash and may be used for decontamination of acid mine waters, is studied. The sample contains considerable amounts of accessory phases that partly dissolve during the experiment. Therefore, the dissolution rate was estimated during a stage in which the Al/Si ratio was equal to that of NaP1 (0.6). The release rate of these elements is controlled by the dissolution of the zeolite itself during this stage. The dissolution rate of NaP1 slows down with increasing pH in the acidic range, becomes constant at an intermediate pH, and increases with increasing pH in the basic range. The observed changes in rates were described using a rate law based on a surface speciation model. Using this rate law, we calculated the half-life of NaP1 to be about 2 years at near neutral pH and less than 10 days at pH below 3. For the utilization of NaP1 in the treatment of wastewaters or acid mine waters, these short half-lives bear two implications: (1) The treated waters must be kept at near neutral pH, and NaP1 should be added periodically to the treated waters in order to compensate for zeolite loss. (2) In water treatment applications that require a relatively short reaction time, the zeolite removed from the effluents should be kept dry in order to avoid its decomposition and the consequent release of the adsorbed metal to the environment.     

Unusual speciation and retention of Hg at a coal-fired power plant

An unusual and different speciation of Hg in the outgoing gaseous stream of the flue gas desulfurization (OUT-FGD) system was revealed at two Spanish power plants (PP1 and PP2) equipped with a forced oxidation wet FGD system with water recirculation to the scrubber. At PP1 and PP2, a high proportion of Hg escapes from the electrostatic precipitator in gaseous form, Hg(2+) (75-86%) being the species that enters the FGD. At PP1 Hg(0) (71%) was the prevalent Hg OUT-FGD species, whereas at PP2 Hg(2+) was the prevalent Hg OUT-FGD species in 2007 (66%) and 2008 (87%). The unusual speciation of gaseous Hg OUT-FGD and the different Hg retentions between 2007 and 2008 at PP2 were attributable to the evaporation of HgCl(2) particles from the aqueous phase of gypsum slurry in the OUT-FGD gas and the Al additive used at PP2, respectively. The Al additive induced the retention of Hg as HgS in the 2007 FGD gypsum, thus reducing gaseous emissions of Hg in the OUT-FGD gas.     

Utilization of zeolites synthesized from coal fly ash for the purification of acid mine waters

Two pilot plant products containing 65 and 45% NaP1 zeolite were obtained from two Spanish coal fly ashes (Narcea and Teruel Power Station, respectively). The zeolitic product obtained showed a cation exchange capacity (CEC) of 2.7 and 2.0 mequiv/g, respectively. Decontamination tests of three acid mine waters from southwestern Spain were carried out using the zeolite derived from fly ash and commercial synthetic zeolite. The results demonstrate that the zeolitic material could be employed for heavy metal uptake in the water purification process. Doses of 5-30 g of zeolite/L have been applied according on the zeolite species and the heavy metal levels. Moreover, the application of zeolites increases the pH. This causes metal-bearing solid phases to precipitate and enhances the efficiency of the decontamination process.     

A closed‐form equation approach to multi‐port/multi‐zone behavioral modeling of GaN FET Amplifiers

In this paper, a systematic method for the simulation of weakly and mildly nonlinear GaN FET amplifiers is reported. The core of the proposal is a third‐order Volterra‐based behavioral model with multi‐spectral and multi‐node capabilities that is formally derived from a circuit‐level representation. Starting with the equivalent circuit of a typical FET device with thermal power feedback and fading memory, described in terms of its large‐signal functions, closed‐form expressions for the kernels at the gate, drain and thermal nodes are developed up to the third order. The use of these kernels allows the calculation of the responses in the dc, first‐, second‐ and third‐harmonic zones, which are shown to be dependent on the frequency response of the amplifier circuit terminating impedances and thermal filter. The simulation approach has been applied to calculate the nonlinear response of a typical power amplifier circuit, showing the ability of the proposed approach to provide an accurate prediction of multi‐spectral, multi‐node, multi‐bias characteristics, including AM/AM‐AM/PM conversion, spectral regrowth, intermodulation, and temperature rise, under diverse input signal waveforms and bandwidths. These results have been successfully compared with commercial CAD tools based on harmonic balance or envelope simulation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

DisA Restrains the Processing and Cleavage of Reversed Replication Forks by the RuvAB-RecU Resolvasome

DNA lesions that impede fork progression cause replisome stalling and threaten genome stability. Bacillus subtilis RecA, at a lesion-containing gap, interacts with and facilitates DisA pausing at these branched intermediates. Paused DisA suppresses its synthesis of the essential c-di-AMP messenger. The RuvAB-RecU resolvasome branch migrates and resolves formed Holliday junctions (HJ). We show that DisA prevents DNA degradation. DisA, which interacts with RuvB, binds branched structures, and reduces the RuvAB DNA-dependent ATPase activity. DisA pre-bound to HJ DNA limits RuvAB and RecU activities, but such inhibition does not occur if the RuvAB- or RecU-HJ DNA complexes are pre-formed. RuvAB or RecU pre-bound to HJ DNA strongly inhibits DisA-mediated synthesis of c-di-AMP, and indirectly blocks cell proliferation. We propose that DisA limits RuvAB-mediated fork remodeling and RecU-mediated HJ cleavage to provide time for damage removal and replication restart in order to preserve genome integrity.     

Evaluation of municipal compost/limestone/iron mixtures as filling material for permeable reactive barriers for in‐situ acid mine drainage treatment

The aim of the present study was to assess the potential of municipal compost as a carbon source for sulfate‐reducing bacteria for acid mine drainage bioremediation for use in permeable reactive barriers at high flow rates (>0.1 m d^?1). Two different mixtures of municipal compost, limestone and zero‐valent iron were assessed in two column experiments. The effluent solution was systematically analysed throughout the experiments. At the end of the experiments precipitates from both columns were withdrawn for scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and X‐ray diffractometry examination and solid digestion and sequential extraction were carried out. Results showed that the effluent was free of metals and acidity. It seems that metal removal was not due to biogenic sulfide generation but to pH increase, ie metal (oxy)hydroxides precipitation. These precipitates can sorb other metals onto the surface. Sorption to organic matter could also contribute to metal removal. When zero‐valent iron was present, cementation of copper also occurred. It can be concluded that municipal compost was a poor carbon source to support continuous bacterial activity under high flow rates. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Metal Adsorption on Clays from Pyrite Contaminated Soil

A clayey soil contaminated with pyrite was treated with the addition of a base in laboratory experiments. The subsequent rise in pH is an efficient mechanism to retain the metals released by the sulfide weathering. Iron concentrations decrease as pH increases owing to the formation of secondary hydroxide phases, such as ferrihydrite. Aluminum and the aqueous divalent metals, such as Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Cd, and Mn also decrease in concentration as pH increases. The fall in concentration can be accounted for by the formation of complexes on the surface of illite, which forms about 20 wt?% of the soil. Given the proportion of illite and the thickness of clayey soils in the Aznalcóllar region, the addition of a base such as lime or lime-containing flying ash could be an efficient remediation process. By contrast, the addition of more efficient exchangers such as zeolite continues to be recommended for sandy soils and gravels from the area with low clay contents.     

Attentional requirements for the selection of words from different grammatical categories.

Two grammatical classes are commonly distinguished in psycholinguistic research. The open-class includes content words such as nouns, whereas the closed-class includes function words such as determiners. A standing issue is to identify whether these words are retrieved through similar or distinct selection mechanisms. We report a comparative investigation of the allocation of attentional resources during the retrieval of words from these 2 classes. Previous studies used a psychological-refractory-period paradigm to establish that open-class word retrieval is supported by central attention mechanisms. We applied the same logic to closed-class word retrieval. French native speakers named pictures with determiner noun phrases while they concurrently identified the pitch of an auditory tone. The ease of noun and determiner retrieval was manipulated independently. Results showed that both manipulations affected picture naming and tone discrimination responses in similar ways. This suggests the involvement of central attentional resources in word production, irrespective of word class. These results argue against the commonly held hypothesis that closed-class retrieval is an automatic consequence of syntactic specific processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)