Bauxite residue (red mud) increases phosphorus retention in sandy soil catchments in Western Australia

The Peel-Harvey estuary on the Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia has become eutrophic partly because of the leaching of fertiliser phosphorus from sandy soils. The acid, coarse textured sandy soils are predominantly quartz, have a low iron and aluminium content and do not retain phosphorus. Red mud, derived from bauxite, is a by-product of the alumina industry and has the ability to retain phosphorus. Retention of phosphorus is enhanced when the red mud is neutralised with gypsum. Red mud has been suggested as a soil amendment to reduce phosphorus leaching.To investigate the reduction in the leaching of phosphorus from soils amended with red mud, weirs were constructed at the outlets from a pair of catchments to quantify the amount of phosphorus in the streamflow. Both catchments were deep grey Bassendean sand. One of the catchments was treated with 80 t/ha of red mud which had been neutralised with waste gypsum from the phosphate industry. The red mud was applied to the soil surface using conventional fertiliser spreading equipment. The other catchment was untreated.The red mud reduced phosphorus loss by 70% from 13.8 kg/ha on the untreated catchment, to 4.2 kg/ha on the treated catchment. Both catchments were treated with 20.4 kg/ha of phosphorus as superphosphate. The catchment treated with red mud also received a further 41.5 kg/ha of phosphorus from the phosphogypsum that was used to neutralise the red mud.Our results show that red mud reduces phosphorus leaching and is potentially a nutrient management option in sandy soils. Red mud has the potential to reduce the impact of agriculture on the estuarine environment and has implications for the continued expansion and intensification of agriculture in the Peel-Harvey catchment.     

Unusual swelling behavior of polymer-clay nanocomposite hydrogels

The swelling behavior and the elastic properties of nanocomposite hydrogels have been investigated. The hydrogels were prepared by free-radical polymerization of the monomers acrylamide (AAm), N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA), and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) in aqueous clay suspensions at 21 °C. Laponite with a radius of gyration in distilled water of 20 nm was used as clay particles in the hydrogel preparation. The reactions with AAm monomer were carried out in the presence of the chemical crosslinker N,N′-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BAAm). It was found that the volume of nanocomposite hydrogels immersed in water rapidly increases and attains a maximum value after about one day. Surprisingly, further increase in the swelling time results in the deswelling of the gels until they reach a limiting swelling ratio after about 5 days. This unusual swelling behavior is observable only when the clay concentration in the hydrogel is above the overlap threshold c^∗. Swelling measurements combined with the elasticity tests show that the effective crosslink density first decreases, but then increases with increasing time of swelling of the hydrogels. The results were explained in terms of the rearrangements of the highly entangled polymer chains and clay particles during the gel volume change.     

染料及中间体生产中的治理方法三废(Ⅰ)

由于我国染料及中间体行业近三十年来发展迅猛,而染料企业大多数是小型厂,染料品种繁多,在化工系统中,这一行业目前几乎是污染最严重、污染面最大、治理最差的。同时,一些发达国家把污染重、难治理的产品关停,转向发展中国家生产,染料中间体便是其中之一。所以我国大量的小型乡镇企业治理难度就更大了。不同染料生产原料、工艺过程不同,所排“三废”即有共同的特性,又有各自特点,因此需要针对各自的不同分别处理。本文从废气、有机废液和废渣、废水三方面详细叙述了工业上常用的治理方法及适用条件。并例举了几类排放量较大的废水的治理方法。     

渣油加氢催化剂孔结构对反应活性的影响

在3L中型加氢试验装置上考察了渣油加氢脱硫催化剂孔结构对反应活性的影响，试验结果表明，当孔结构发生变化时，催化剂的脱硫、脱氮、脱残炭及脱金属反应活性呈现不同的变化规律。     

熔融插层法制备聚合物复合材料的研究进展

对近年来熔融插层法制备聚合物复合材料的研究进展进行了综述。从动力学、热力学方面对插层结果进行了分析，总结了影响插层效果的因索；并归纳出插层以后复合材料性质的改善，最后展望了熔融插层法制备聚合物／粘土纳米复合材料。     

高效液相色谱法在农药残留分析中的应用

介绍了高效液相色谱法在农药残留分析中的应用,列举了一些杀虫剂、除草剂、杀菌剂的分析方法,指出了高效液相色谱法在农药残留分析中发展方向。     

灭多威在棉花及土壤中降解动态及残留量研究

按生产上常规用量，每亩喷施２０％灭多威乳油６０毫升防治二代棉铃虫，施药后７天在棉叶上及１４天在土壤中其降解率分别为９８．８１％及８８．０９％；半衰期分别的１．５６天及４．９８天。防治二、三、四代棉铃虫，按有效剂量施药６次，有效成分７２克／亩，棉籽和土壤中的最大残留量分别为０．０２３及０．０８４微克／克；再加大５０％用量，有效成分１０８克／亩，最大残留量仅为０．０３４及０．２１４微克／克。结果表明，灭多威在棉叶上及土壤中降解较迅速，常规用量下，对棉籽及土壤污染较轻。     

Comparatively electrochemical studies at different operational temperatures for the effect of nanoclay platelets on the anticorrosion efficiency of DBSA-doped polyaniline/Na-MMT clay nanocomposite coatings

In this paper, DBSA-doped polyaniline (PANI)/Na⁺-montmorillonite (MMT) clay nanocomposite (PCN) materials have been successfully prepared with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA) as emulsifier and dopant for the emulsion polymerization of aniline. The as-prepared DBSA-doped samples were subsequently characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, WAXRD patterns and TEM. It should be noted that the nanocomposite coating containing 1 wt.% of clay loading was found to exhibit an observable enhanced corrosion protection on cold-rolled steel (CRS) electrode at higher operational temperature of 50 °C, which was even better than that of uncoated and electrode-coated with PANI alone at room temperature of 30 °C based on the electrochemical parameter evaluations (e.g., E_corr, R_p, I_corr, R_corr and impedance). In this work, all electrochemical measurements were performed at a double-wall jacketed cell, covered with a glass plate, through which water was circulated from a thermostat to maintain a constant operational temperature of 30, 40 and 50 ± 0.5 °C. Moreover, a series of electrochemical parameters shown in Tafel, Nyquist and Bode plots were all used to evaluate PCN coatings at three different operational temperatures in 5 wt.% aqueous NaCl electrolyte. Effect of material composition on the molecular weight and optical properties of neat PANI and PCN materials, in the form of solution, were studied by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and UV-vis spectra, respectively. Finally, electrical conductivity at three different operational temperatures of PANI and PCN powder-pressed pellets doped with different inorganic acids such as HCl, HNO₃ and H₂SO₄ was also investigated through the measurements of standard four-point-probe technique.     

Poly(l-lactide) comb polymer brushes on the surface of clay layers

Poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) comb polymers on poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) backbone were prepared on the surface of clay layers by a combination of in situ atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and ring-opening polymerization. An ATRP initiator with a quaternary ammonium salt end group was intercalated into the interlayer spacing of clay. PHEMA polymer brushes on the surface of clay layers were prepared by in situ ATRP. PLLA comb polymers on PHEMA backbone were prepared by ring-opening polymerization. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that with the increase of comb chain length more and more exfoliated structure was created. Aggregation of wormlike comb polymer brushes on the surface of clay layers was observed by TEM. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) results indicated that both the melting points and glass transition temperatures of the comb polymer brushes increase with the increase of comb chain length. The equilibrium melting temperature of the comb polymer brush on the surface of clay layers is lower than cleaved polymer. An atomic force microscopy (AFM) image proves the formation of wormlike structure by cleaved comb polymers.     

Preparation, characterization and mechanical properties of epoxidized soybean oil/clay nanocomposites

New epoxidized soybean oil (ESO)/clay nanocomposites have been prepared with triethylenetetramine (TETA) as a curing agent. The dispersion of the clay layers is investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD and TEM data reveal the intercalated structure of ESO/clay nanocomposites has been developed. The thermogravimetric analysis exhibits that the ESO/clay nanocomposites are thermally stable at temperatures lower than 180 °C, with the maximum weight loss rate after 325 °C. The glass transition temperature, T_g, about 7.5 °C measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and T_g about 20 °C measured by dynamic mechanical study have been obtained. The difference in the T_g between DSC and dynamic measurements may be caused by different heating rate. The nanocomposites with 5-10 wt% clay content possess storage modulus ranging from 2.0×10⁶ to 2.70×10⁶ Pa at 30 °C. The Young's modulus (E) of these materials varies from 1.20 to 3.64 MPa with clay content ranging from 0 to 10 wt%. The ratio of epoxy (ESO) to hydrogen (amino group of TETA) greatly affects dynamic and tensile mechanical properties. At higher amount of TETA, the nanocomposites exhibit stronger tensile and dynamic properties.