How Brittany and Florida coasts cope with green tides

Although the direct involvement of nitrogen and phosphorus has been shown, eutrophication remains poorly managed to this day. The excessive growth of some opportunist seaweeds is the consequence in coastal ecosystems close to agricultural or strongly urbanized and industrialized zones. In Brittany, a leading tourist region of France, green tides set down on the beaches big quantities of Ulva, of which some 100,000 m³ are harvested annually, with significant ecological and economic consequences. In Florida, although the macroalgae (notably Codium) drift about with the currents, they are of sufficient mass and spread over such areal extent to inhibit penetration of sunlight through the water column to the coral reef surface. They strand also on the beaches. Stabilization of algae by composting and methanization of hydrolyzed and pressed algae juice are two methods which have been studied in Brittany and can be used to enhance the value of the harvested seaweed, depending on local conditions and on evolution of needs in energy, basic materials or organic products. But the parallel made here between two very different ecosystems, both disturbed, leads above all to the question of what course to follow now to avoid a worldwide disaster.

Bien que le rôle de l’azote et du phosphore dans les processus d’eutrophication ait été montré, celle‐ci reste mal contrôlée à ce jour. La croissance excessive d’algues opportunistes en est la conséquence dans des écosystèmes côtiers proches de zones agricoles ou fortement urbanisées et industrialisées. En Bretagne, région touristique de France, des marées vertes déversent sur les plages de grandes quantités d’ulves, dont environ 100,000 m³ sont récoltés annuellement, avec d’importantes conséquences écologiques et économiques. En Floride, bien que les macroalgues (notamment Codium) dérivent avec les courants, elles sont en masse suffisante et suffisamment réparties pour empêcher la pénétration de la lumière dans la colonne d’eau jusqu’au récif de corail. Elles s’échouent également sur les plages. La stabilisation par compostage et la méthanisation de jus d’algues hydrolysées et pressées sont deux méthodes qui ont été étudiées en Bretagne afin de valoriser l’algue récoltée, en fonction des conditions locales et de l’évolution des besoins en énergie, matières premières ou produits organiques. Mais le parallèle fait ici entre deux écosystèmes très différents, tous deux perturbés, mène surtout à se demander quelle voie suivre maintenant pour éviter un désastre mondial.     

A randomized double‐blind crossover study of indoor air filtration and acute changes in cardiorespiratory health in a First Nations community

Few studies have examined indoor air quality in First Nations communities and its impact on cardiorespiratory health. To address this need, we conducted a crossover study on a First Nations reserve in Manitoba, Canada, including 37 residents in 20 homes. Each home received an electrostatic air filter and a placebo filter for 1 week in random order, and lung function, blood pressure, and endothelial function measures were collected at the beginning and end of each week. Indoor air pollutants were monitored throughout the study period. Indoor PM_2.5 decreased substantially during air filter weeks relative to placebo (mean difference: 37 μg/m³, 95% CI: 10, 64) but remained approximately five times greater than outdoor concentrations owing to a high prevalence of indoor smoking. On average, air filter use was associated with a 217‐ml (95% CI: 23, 410) increase in forced expiratory volume in 1 s, a 7.9‐mm Hg (95% CI: ?17, 0.82) decrease in systolic blood pressure, and a 4.5‐mm Hg (95% CI: ?11, 2.4) decrease in diastolic blood pressure. Consistent inverse associations were also observed between indoor PM_2.5 and lung function. In general, our findings suggest that reducing indoor PM_2.5 may contribute to improved lung function in First Nations communities.     

酸性镀锌溶液中氯化锌的分析方法

制定了测定酸性镀锌溶液中氯化锌的新方法。在pH=5.4的条件下用抗坏血酸掩蔽镀液中的亚铁离子,用氟化铵掩蔽铝离子,用硫脲掩蔽铜离子,以二甲酚橙作指示剂,用EDTA标准滴定溶液滴定锌。实验表明,本法的相对平均偏差为0.09%,回收率为99.24%,精密度和回收率都较高。     

吖啶橙共振散射光谱法快速测定水中痕量亚氯酸根

在盐酸介质条件下,I-被亚氯酸根氧化成I2,I2再与过量的I-形成阴离子I3-。体系中带正电荷的吖啶橙(AO)与I3-在静电力的作用下形成缔合物微粒,导致体系的共振散射强度增强,据此建立了一种用共振散射光谱法测定水中亚氯酸根的新方法。研究了碘化钾和AO用量等因素对体系的影响,优化了实验条件。在最佳实验条件下,亚氯酸根质量浓度在7.18×10-4~0.114 mg/L范围内与ΔIRS呈良好的线性关系。该方法的线性方程为ΔIRS=870.39ρ+9.273 9,相关系数(R2)为0.992 7,检出限(3σ)为1.8×10-4 mg/L。     

活化氧化石墨烯的制备及对甲基橙的吸附

为了提高氧化石墨烯(GO)的比表面积和吸附性能,采用氢氧化钾对GO进行高温固相活化,制备出活化氧化石墨烯(GOKOH),并将其用于对水中阴离子染料甲基橙(MO)的吸附研究。结果表明,GOKOH的比表面积可达672.48 m2/g。GOKOH能在较宽的p H范围内实现对MO的高效去除,去除率高达94.87%,吸附平衡时间约为150 min。准一级和准二级动力学拟合的理论平衡吸附容量分别为549.87 mg/g和549.45 mg/g,Langmuir模型的饱和吸附容量为632.91 mg/g。该吸附过程受边界层扩散与颗粒内扩散两个步骤控制,符合二级动力学模型和Langmuir模型,并主要以化学吸附为主。     

纳米TiO_2/电气石光催化性能的影响研究

本研究系统分析了纳米TiO2/电气石复合光催化材料脱色甲基橙(MO)的主要影响因素,实验研究发现:制备条件为烧结温度550℃、烧结时间2.5h时,制得的复合样品具有最佳的光催化效果。催化剂用量和溶液pH值的最佳值分别为3g·L-1和7,此时MO脱色率达到最大值。随着反应时间的增加和MO初始浓度的降低,MO脱色率均呈增加的趋势。     

尖晶石型铁氧体Cu_xZn_(1-x)Fe_2O_4(x=0~0.5)的制备及光催化性能的研究

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了尖晶石型铁氧体Cu x Zn1-x Fe2O4。利用XRD,SEM对纳米颗粒的结构、形貌进行了表征。结果表明,所合成的样品为尖晶石型铁氧体,形貌呈规则颗粒,随着Cu掺杂量的增加可使样品粒径减小。通过对甲基橙的降解情况对其光催化活性进行了研究。结果表明,经过Cu2+掺杂可加快甲基橙降解速率,少量掺杂的Cu x Zn1-x Fe2O4样品,光催化活性可以提高。     

Lemon juice clarification using fungal pectinolytic enzymes coupled to membrane ultrafiltration

Lemon juice was treated with Penicillium occitanis pectinase at various enzyme concentrations (0–1200 U/L), temperatures (25–50 °C) and times (0–90 min). The effect of these enzymatic treatments on the viscosity of the juice was evaluated. The optimum treatment conditions were: enzyme concentration 600 U/L, time 45 min and temperature 30 °C. Their application led to a 77% and 47% reduction of viscosity and turbidity, respectively. The enzymatic treatment was followed by ultrafiltration (cutoff value = 15 kDa). Analysis of the clarified juice indicated that enzyme depectinization permitted a higher permeate flux and a higher juice quality. The lemon juice obtained was clear, stable and characterized by viscosity = 0.7 mPa s, turbidity = 0.17 NTU, clarity (A_650nm) = 0.063 and color (A_420nm) = 0.232. Microbiological study showed that lemon juice was free from aerobes, molds, enterobacteriaceae and coliforms and was microbiologically stable during 3 months storage. Results suggested that enzymatic treatment coupled to ultrafiltration could be used for production of lemon juice with high commercial value.     

Two industrial examples of coupling experiments and simulations for increasing quality and yield of distilled beverages

The aim of this study was to check the ability of ProSim^® software to model both continuous and batch distillations of two specific industrial units in order to obtain both a better understanding of the behaviour of aroma volatile components and a tool to optimise the still's operation. Simulations of multistage continuous distillation to produce neutral spirit from raw alcohol and of batch distillation to produce bitter orange distillate from bitter orange peels macerate were carried out with ProSimPlus and BatchColumn software. Simulations were compared with distillations performed in two industrial plants. For each case, the industrial plants were studied to determine all the operating parameters and the behaviour of certain compounds selected for their high concentration or quality impact. Then, the NRTL and Henry's law thermodynamic models were chosen. Simulation results of particular compositions of the selected compounds in the different extractions were analysed and compared with experimental measurements. Simulations represented faithfully the behaviour of compounds in the industrial plants. Therefore, it was possible for two totally separated cases to illustrate the interest of simulation software; for neutral spirit production to determine new operation set points in order to maximise productivity and improve quality for neutral spirit production and for bitter orange distillate production, to explain the choice of different cuts and the role of the presence of peels during distillation.