Regeneration and Reuse of a Seaweed‐Based Biosorbent in Single and Multi‐Metal Systems

A seaweed‐waste material resulting from the processing of Ascophyllum nodosum was previously shown to be very efficient at removing Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III) both in single and multi‐metal waste streams. In this study, the regeneration of the biosorbent using an acid wash resulted in the release of high metal concentrations during multiple desorption cycles. Maximum desorption efficiencies (DE) of 183, 122 and 91% were achieved for Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III), respectively, for subsequent metal loading cycles, significantly exceeding the desorption rates observed for conventional sorbents. The regeneration of the sorbent was accomplished with very little loss in metal removal efficiency (RE) for both single and multi‐metal systems. Values of 92, 96 and 94% RE were achieved for Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III), respectively, for the 5^th sorption cycle in single metal aqueous solutions. A slight decrease was observed for the same metals in multi‐metal systems with maximum REs of 85, 82 and 82% for Zn(II), Ni(II) and Al(III), respectively. This study showed that the novel sorbent derived from a seaweed industrial waste would be suitable for multiple metal sorption cycles without any significant loss in RE.     

Bio‐based Ester Oils for Use as Lubricants in Metal Working

The potential application of bio‐based ester oils for use as lubricants in metal working has been investigated for sustainable production processes in the future. When waste edible and animal fats came into focus as starting materials, it was already proven, that ester oils produced from plant fats performed very well as cooling lubricants. Waste fats were first characterized by analyzing and monitoring samples for one complete year. Inorganic and organic contaminations were found to be low and without seasonal variations. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were produced by transesterification of the waste fats and they were separated into fractions with saturated FAME or unsaturated FAME by fractional crystallisation (winterisation). Further transesterification with 2‐ethylhexanol led to products that could be successfully tested as lubricants. The development of an extraction process aimed at the recycling of oil containing grinding mud by enabling the recirculation of lubricating oil and reutilization of oil‐free metal chips.     

Coupling of a Column System with ICP‐MS for the Characterisation of Colloid‐mediated Metal(loid) Transport in Porous Media

In this work a coupling method for the characterisation of colloid‐mediated transport of the metal(loid) species in porous media was developed. For this transport experiments quartz sand was used as column packing material and the synthetic three‐layer clay mineral laponite as model colloid. The determination of colloids was conducted by means of UV detection. The quantification of the metal(loid) ions was carried out in two different ways: (1) The fractions collected at the column outlet were analysed with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP‐MS) (offline measurements); (2) the column system was directly coupled with ICP‐MS (online measurements). In the column experiments the influence of laponite colloids on the transport of Cu, Pb, Zn, Pt and As species was investigated. In the offline experiments as a consequence of dilution during sample preparation no metal(loid) species at the column outlet could be found. Unlike this the breakthrough of all metal(loid)s could be detected under the same experimental column conditions in the coupling experiments. This coupling technique offers the online detection of the metal species and colloidal particles with high resolution even at low concentrations and without any time‐consuming preparation. The coupling experiments have shown that the laponite particles accelerate the transport of the cationic metals. For anionic metal(loid) species no influence of laponite on their transport behaviour was found.     

Metal Retention Experiments for the Design of Soil‐Mix Technology Permeable Reactive Barriers

Soil‐mix technology is effective for the construction of permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) for in situ groundwater treatment. The objective of this study was to perform initial experiments for the design of soil‐mix technology PRBs according to (i) sorption isotherm, (ii) reaction kinetics and (iii) mass balance of the contaminants. The four tested reactive systems were: (i) a granular zeolite (clinoptilolite–GZ), (ii) a granular organoclay (GO), (iii) a 1:1‐mixture GZ and model sandy clayey soil and (iv) a 1:1:1‐mixture of GZ, GO and model soil. The laboratory experiments consisted of batch tests (volume 900 mL and sorbent mass 18 g) with a multimetal solution of Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd and Ni. For the adsorption experiment, the initial concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 0.5 mM (2.5 to 30 mg/L). The maximum metal retention was measured in a batch test (300 mg/L for each metal, volume 900 mL, sorbent mass 90–4.5 g). The reactive material efficiency order was found to be GZ > GZ‐soil mix > GZ‐soil‐GO mix > GO. Langmuir isotherms modelled the adsorption, even in presence of a mixed cations solution. Adsorption was energetically favourable and spontaneous in all cases. Metals were removed according to the second order reaction kinetics; GZ and the 1:1‐mix were very similar. The maximum retention capacity was 0.1–0.2 mmol/g for Pb in the presence of clinoptilolite; for Cu, Zn, Cd and Ni, it was below 0.05 mmol/g for the four reactive systems. Mixing granular zeolite, organoclay and model soil increased the chemisorption. Providing that GZ is reactive enough for the specific conditions, GZ can be mixed to obtain the required sorption. Granular clinoptilolite addition to soil is recommended for PRBs for metal contaminated groundwater.     

Assessment of Clam Ruditapes philippinarum as Heavy Metal Bioindicators Using NMR‐Based Metabolomics

There are mainly distributed three pedigrees (White, Liangdao Red, and Zebra) of Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum in Yantai population along the Bohai marine and coast. However, the biological differences to environmental stressors have been ignored in toxicology studies, which could lead to the distortion of biological interpretations of toxicological effects induced by environmental contaminants. In this study, we applied a system biology approach, metabolomics to compare the metabolic profiles in digestive gland from three pedigrees of clam and characterize and compare the metabolic responses induced by mercury in clam digestive gland tissues to determine a sensitive pedigree of clam as a preferable bioindicator for metal pollution monitoring and toxicology research. The most abundant metabolites, respectively, included branched‐chain amino acids, alanine, and arginine in White samples, glutamate, dimethylglycine, and glycine in Zebra clams and acetylcholine, betaine, glucose, and glycogen in Liangdao Red clams. After 48 h exposure of 20 µg L^?1 Hg²⁺, the metabolic profiles from the three pedigrees of clams showed differentially significant changes in alanine, glutamate, succinate, taurine, hypotaurine, glycine, arginine, glucose, etc. Our findings indicate the toxicological effects of mercury exposure in Manila clams including the neurotoxicity, disturbances in energetic metabolisms and osmoregulation in the digestive glands and suggest that Liangdao Red pedigree of clam could be a preferable bioindicator for the metal pollution monitoring based on the more sensitive classes of metabolic changes from digestive glands compared with other two (White and Zebra) pedigrees of clams.     

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Dust‐Bound Trace Metal Elements around Kuhdasht Watershed Area in Iran

Dust, as a source of trace metal elements, affects the health of society. The spatial and temporal concentrations of dust‐bound trace metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, Zn, Cu, and Mn) in Kuhdasht watershed (456 km²), Lorestan Province, Iran, is investigated. Dust is collected using glass traps placed in ten research stations in the region. The spatial and temporal distribution of dust trace metals are plotted using ARC‐GIS. The highest and the lowest concentrations of Zn (9751150 mg kg^?1), Pb (46.352.9 mg kg^?1), and Cd (2.443.30 mg kg^?1) are obtained in winter, of Ni (98110 mg kg^?1) and Cu in autumn (16.053.5 mg kg^?1), and of Mn in summer (385505 mg kg^?1). The spatial concentrations of dust‐bound trace metals indicate all, except Cu, show a decreasing trend from the mountains toward the plains, similar to that of soil and of dust, except for Zn, which shows higher concentrations in dust than in soil. The potential sources of dust‐bound trace metals and their rate of contamination are also investigated using the enrichment and contamination factors. The major sources of Cd and Zn in the dust of watershed are due to anthropogenic activities or from activities outside the borders.     

Post‐Synthesis of Ti‐SBA‐15 in Supercritical CO2‐Ethanol Solution

Ti‐SBA‐15 materials with Ti incorporated into the framework of SBA‐15 and controllable Ti contents were successfully prepared via a post‐treatment route in supercritical CO₂‐ethanol solution, followed by calcination. The resultant Ti‐SBA‐15 materials were characterized by means of different techniques including X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, IR analysis, and N₂ sorption analysis. It was demonstrated that the resultant materials retained a structure similar to that of the parent SBA‐15, and Ti was incorporated into the framework of SBA‐15. At high Ti content, i.e, Si/Ti = 5:1, a TiO₂ phase formed and was coated onto the inner surface of SBA‐15 in addition to the incorporation of the Ti in the framework. The BET surface areas of the Ti‐SBA‐15 samples decreased with increasing Ti content. The presence of small amounts of H₂O in the reaction medium may have resulted in some TiO₂ nanoparticles being uniformly distributed in the pores of the SBA‐15 accompanying the incorporation of Ti in the SBA‐15 framework.     

Non‐linear‐Maxwell‐element‐type hysteretic control force

A simple non‐linear control law is proposed for reducing structural responses against seismic excitations. This law defines control force dynamics by one differential equation involving a non‐linear term that restrains the control force amplitude. If non‐linearity is neglected, the control force becomes the force in a Maxwell element, so it is called the non‐linear‐Maxwell‐element‐type (NMW) control force. The NMW control force vs. deformation relation plots hysteretic curves. The basic performance of an SDOF model with the NMW control force is examined for various conditions by numerical analyses. Furthermore, the control law is extended to fit an MDOF structural model, and an application example is shown. The computational results show that the NMW control force efficiently reduces structural responses. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Least‐squares reverse‐time migration in a matrix‐based formulation

This paper describes least‐squares reverse‐time migration. The method provides the exact adjoint operator pair for solving the linear inverse problem, thereby enhancing the convergence of gradient‐based iterative linear inversion methods. In this formulation, modified source wavelets are used to correct the source signature imprint in the predicted data. Moreover, a roughness constraint is applied to stabilise the inversion and reduce high‐wavenumber artefacts. It is also shown that least‐squares migration implicitly applies a deconvolution imaging condition. Three numerical experiments illustrate that this method is able to produce seismic reflectivity images with higher resolution, more accurate amplitudes, and fewer artefacts than conventional reverse‐time migration. The methodology is currently feasible in 2‐D and can naturally be extended to 3‐D when computational resources become more powerful.     

Preparation of Nano‐Lepidocrocite and an Investigation of Its Ability to Remove a Metal Complex Dye

Lepidocrocite (γ‐FeOOH) nanoparticles were synthesized from iron(II) sulfate solution and characterized using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform‐IR (FT‐IR), nitrogen adsorption, and point of zero charge pH (pH_PZC) analyses. TEM, XRD, and FT‐IR analyses proved the synthesis of nano‐lepidocrocite. Surface area and pH_PZC of the synthesized lepidocrocite were 68.1 m² g^?1 and 4.8, respectively. Utilization of the synthesized lepidocrocite in the adsorption of Lanacron brown S‐GL (LBS‐GL) from aqueous solutions was investigated, and the effect of lepidocrocite dosage, pH, temperature, and contact time on this process were optimized and modeled using response surface methodology approach. The lepidocrocite dosage of 0.015 g, pH 3.5, temperature of 38°C, and contact time of 100 min were determined as optimum adsorption conditions. Isotherm and kinetics of the adsorption process were analyzed at the optimum conditions. The equilibrium data were fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was 528.21 mg g^?1. The adsorption process was described by the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model. Furthermore, the effect of pH on the desorption of LBS‐GL was investigated. High LBS‐GL desorption efficiency was achieved at a high pH value.     

Out‐of‐plane effects in 2D borehole‐to‐surface resistivity tomography and applications in mineral exploration

In this paper, we discuss the effects of anomalous out‐of‐plane bodies in two‐dimensional (2D) borehole‐to‐surface electrical resistivity tomography with numerical resistivity modelling and synthetic inversion tests. The results of the two groups of synthetic resistivity model tests illustrate that anomalous bodies out of the plane of interest have an effect on two‐dimensional inversion and that the degree of influence of out‐of‐plane body on inverted images varies. The different influences are derived from two cases. One case is different resistivity models with the same electrode array, and the other case is the same resistivity model with different electrode arrays. Qualitative interpretation based on the inversion tests shows that we cannot find a reasonable electrode array to determine the best inverse solution and reveal the subsurface resistivity distribution for all types of geoelectrical models. Because of the three‐dimensional effect arising from neighbouring anomalous bodies, the qualitative interpretation of inverted images from the two‐dimensional inversion of electrical resistivity tomography data without prior information can be misleading. Two‐dimensional inversion with drilling data can decrease the three‐dimensional effect. We employed two‐ and three‐dimensional borehole‐to‐surface electrical resistivity tomography methods with a pole–pole array and a bipole–bipole array for mineral exploration at Abag Banner and Hexigten Banner in Inner Mongolia, China. Different inverse schemes were carried out for different cases. The subsurface resistivity distribution obtained from the two‐dimensional inversion of the field electrical resistivity tomography data with sufficient prior information, such as drilling data and other non‐electrical data, can better describe the actual geological situation. When there is not enough prior information to carry out constrained two‐dimensional inversion, the three‐dimensional electrical resistivity tomography survey is the better choice.     

Nested‐Scale Nutrient Flux in a Mixed‐Land‐Use Urbanizing Watershed

To improve quantitative understanding of mixed‐land‐use impacts on nutrient yields, a nested‐scale experimental watershed study design (n = 5) was applied in a 303(d), clean water act impaired urbanizing watershed of the lower Missouri River Basin, USA. From 2010 to 2013, water samples (n = 858 sample days per site) were analysed for total inorganic nitrogen (TIN‐N), nitrite (NO₂–N) nitrate (NO₃–N), ammonia (NH₃–N), and total phosphorus (TP‐P). Annual, seasonal, and monthly flow‐weighted concentrations (FWCs) and nutrient yields were estimated. Mean nutrient concentrations were highest where agricultural land use comprised 58% of the drainage area (NH₃ = 0.111 mg/l; NO₂ = 0.045 mg/l; NO₃ = 0.684 mg/l, TIN = 0.840 mg/l; TP = 0.127 mg/l). Average TP‐P increased by 15% with 20% increased urban land use area. Highly variable annual precipitation was observed during the study with highest nutrient yields during 2010 (record setting wet year) and lowest nutrient yields during 2012 (extreme drought year). Annual TIN‐N and TP‐P yields exceeded 10.3 and 2.04 kg ha^?1 yr^?1 from the agricultural dominated headwaters. Mean annual NH₃–N, NO₂–N, NO₃–N, TIN‐N, and TP‐P yields were 0.742, 0.400, 4.24, 5.38, and 0.979 kg ha^?1 yr^?1, respectively near the watershed outlet. Precipitation accounted for the majority of the explained variance in nutrient yields (R² values from 0.68 to 0.85). Nutrient yields were also dependent on annual precipitation of the preceding year (R² values from 0.87 to 0.91) thus enforcing the great complexity of variable mixed‐land‐use mediated source‐sink nutrient yield relationships. Study results better inform land managers and best management practices designed to mitigate nutrient pollution issues in mixed‐land‐use freshwater ecosystems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multipathing in three‐parameter common‐image gathers from reverse‐time migration

Reverse‐time migration gives high‐quality, complete images by using full‐wave extrapolations. It is thus not subject to important limitations of other migrations that are based on high‐frequency or one‐way approximations. The cross‐correlation imaging condition in two‐dimensional pre‐stack reverse‐time migration of common‐source data explicitly sums the product of the (forward‐propagating) source and (backward‐propagating) receiver wavefields over all image times. The primary contribution at any image point travels a minimum‐time path that has only one (specular) reflection, and it usually corresponds to a local maximum amplitude. All other contributions at the same image point are various types of multipaths, including prismatic multi‐arrivals, free‐surface and internal multiples, converted waves, and all crosstalk noise, which are imaged at later times, and potentially create migration artefacts. A solution that facilitates inclusion of correctly imaged, non‐primary arrivals and removal of the related artefacts, is to save the depth versus incident angle slice at each image time (rather than automatically summing them). This results in a three‐parameter (incident angle, depth, and image time) common‐image volume that integrates, into a single unified representation, attributes that were previously computed by separate processes. The volume can be post‐processed by selecting any desired combination of primary and/or multipath data before stacking over image time. Separate images (with or without artifacts) and various projections can then be produced without having to remigrate the data, providing an efficient tool for optimization of migration images. A numerical example for a simple model shows how primary and prismatic multipath contributions merge into a single incident angle versus image time trajectory. A second example, using synthetic data from the Sigsbee2 model, shows that the contributions to subsalt images of primary and multipath (in this case, turning wave) reflections are different. The primary reflections contain most of the information in regions away from the salt, but both primary and multipath data contribute in the subsalt region.     

Evaluation of out‐of‐plane seismic performance of column‐to‐column precast concrete cladding panels in one‐storey industrial buildings

Recent earthquakes in Italy (L'Aquila 2009 and Emilia 2012) highlighted the vulnerability of precast cladding panels, typically associated with a connection system not designed to account for displacement and rotation compatibility between the panels and the supporting structure. Experimental investigations were performed in the past to investigate the in‐plane performance of cladding panels and design recommendations have been made accordingly; however, in the case of out‐of‐plane seismic loads, the load demand is commonly evaluated in the design practice by means of formulations for nonstructural components. This paper summarizes the results obtained from parametric analyses conducted to estimate the out‐of‐plane load demand in column‐to‐column cladding panels typical of one‐storey commercial and industrial buildings. Empirical equations suitable for both new and existing panels are proposed and compared with the design equations given in Eurocode 8 and ASCE 7. The paper also considers the effects of the development of plastic hinges at the column base and of the roof flexibility on the load demand in panel‐to‐column connections. The roof flexibility may generate the torsion of the panels; consequently, an analytical procedure to account for such effects is proposed. Finally, general design recommendations are made.     

Closed‐form aftershock reliability of damage‐cumulating elastic‐perfectly‐plastic systems

Major earthquakes (i.e., mainshocks) typically trigger a sequence of lower magnitude events clustered both in time and space. Recent advances of seismic hazard analysis stochastically model aftershock occurrence (given the main event) as a nonhomogeneous Poisson process with rate that decays in time as a negative power law. Risk management in the post‐event emergency phase has to deal with this short‐term seismicity. In fact, because the structural systems of interest might have suffered some damage in the mainshock, possibly worsened by damaging aftershocks, the failure risk may be large until the intensity of the sequence reduces or the structure is repaired. At the state‐of‐the‐art, the quantitative assessment of aftershock risk is aimed at building tagging, that is, to regulate occupancy. The study, on the basis of age‐dependent stochastic processes, derived closed‐form approximations for the aftershock reliability of simple nonevolutionary elastic‐perfectly‐plastic damage‐cumulating systems, conditional on different information about the structure. Results show that, in the case hypotheses apply, the developed models may represent a basis for handy tools enabling risk‐informed tagging by stakeholders and decision makers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.