Low-pressure dewatering kinetics of incompressible filter cakes,II. Constant total pressure loss or high capacity systems

The dynamic dewatering model is extended to systems where the total pressure loss across the cake is constant (that is dewatering is effected by a pump which is able to maintain the vacuum). Using the model, prediction of dewatering characteristics is facilitated when a representative value is assigned to the pore size distribution index. The effects of altering process variables on the decreasing cake saturation and increasing air flow rate are quantified and discussed. The methods presented may be a useful tool for assessing changes in process variables or in the initial sizing of filters.     

Vacuum dewatering and residual saturation of incompressible filter cakes

Fundamental data on the residual saturation of incompressible filter cakes which have been drained by vacuum have been measured. The effects of varying particle size, shape and distribution, type of wetting fluid and cake size have been assessed. A modified ‘threshold pressure’, below which dewatering will not occur, has been defined and an index reflecting the nature of the particles and their packing has been used to represent reduced saturation data. Irreducible saturation levels have been correlated against a capillary number, and by careful definition of the driving force term data scatter have been substantially reduced.     

Experimental deformation of a synthetic dunite at high temperature and pressure. I. Mechanical behavior, optical microstructure and deformation mechanism

We have performed a series of 27 deformation experiments on a very dry synthetic dunite, using the Griggs solid medium apparatus. Strain rates ranged from 1 × 10 ⁴ to 1 × 10 ⁷ sec ¹, temperatures varied from 1100° to 1300 °C, and the confining pressure was maintained at 10 or (more usually) 15 kbar. MACOR^IM, a commercially available, anhydrous, machinable glass ceramic with a low melting point, was used in many of the experiments. We find that strength measurements performed using macor as a confining medium are similar to results obtained using sodium chloride as the confining solid. Tests performed in undried sample assemblies using air-dried dunite specimens resulted in creep strengths greater than those found in any earlier studies except those of Post (1973. 1977). A single test on a sample for which both sample and assembly were dried at a temperature sufficiently high to drive off any adsorbed water resulted in a creep strength comparable to that determined by Post (1973, 1977) for very dry Mt. Burnett dunite. Despite our experimental difficulties, we are led to believe that our synthetic dunite exhibits mechanical behavior consistent with that determined in other experimental studies in which natural dunites and peridotites were used. Furthermore, we conclude that dry dunite is very probably as strong as the oft-disputed results of Post earlier indicated. Finally, we show that the optical textures of our highly recrystallized experimental specimens are essentially identical to naturally produced porphyroclastic textures and that the deformation mechanism in both the experimental and natural specimens is probably dislocation creep with recovery by dynamic recrystallization.     

Spatial and temporal variations of meiofaunal communities from the Western Sector of the Gulf of Batabanó, Cuba. I. Mangrove systems

The spatial and temporal variations of meiofaunal communities in mangrove systems were examined. Replicated cores were taken in mudflats between prop roots ofRhizophora mangle at five locations within the Gulf of Batabanó, Cuba, during 3 mo. There was a clear seasonality in the water column, but measured abiotic variables did not show obvious relations with meiofaunal patterns. The magnitude of change in salinity for each location appears to influence the meiofauna more than absolute values per se. The meiofauna from southern Pinar del Rio showed a higher variation in community structure, suggesting higher levels of stress in comparison with locations in eastern Isla, possibly due to the presence of human settlements, runoff from land, and apparent deterioration of mangroves. The considerable variation in the density and community structure estimates on global (geographical regions) and local (locations in the Gulf of Batabanó) scales could be caused by the high spatial variability in the mangrove microenvironment, coupled with associated methodological differences in the sampling. There was a low density of meiofauna (mean: 101 animals 10 cm⁻²) compared to other shallow tropical habitats. Mangroves from subtropical and temperate regions showed consistently higher meiofaunal densities than tropical mangroves, but causes of this putatively latitudinal pattern require further study. Future strategies for meiofaunal studies in mangrove systems should increase the temporal and spatial replication, include designed field experiments to test ecological hypotheses, and apply a species level approach with regards to nematode assemblages.     

The effects of pH, ionic strength, and iron-fulvic acid interactions on the kinetics of non-photochemical iron transformations. I. Iron(II) oxidation and iron(III) colloid formation

Flow injection analysis was used to study the effect of a fulvic acid on the kinetics of iron(II) oxidation and iron colloid formation under conditions approximating fresh natural waters. While iron(II) oxidation in high-carbonate inorganic solutions is predicted well by a recently proposed homogeneous model, it overestimates the oxidation rate in low-carbonate solutions, possibly due to the formation of an intermediate iron(II) colloid or surface species. Results in fulvic acid solutions are consistent with the formation of an iron(II)-fulvic acid complex at both pH 6.0 and 8.0 which accelerates the overall oxidation rate relative to inorganic solutions. However, iron(III) complexation by fulvic acid greatly slows the formation of iron colloids, stabilizing dissolved iron(III). Decreased pH and increased ionic strength slow and decrease iron colloid formation. Evidence of a kinetic control on the distribution of iron(III) between organically complexed and colloidal forms is presented.     

Experimental hydrogen isotope studies—I. Systematics of hydrogen isotope fractionation in the systems epidote-H2O,zoisite-H2O and AlO(OH)-H2O

$\text{H}\text{D}$ Fractionation factors between epidote minerals and water, and between the AlO(OH) dimorphs boehmite and diaspore and water, have been determined between 150 and 650°C. Small water mineral ratios were used to minimise the effect of incongruent dissolution of epidote minerals. Waters were extracted and analysed directly by puncturing capsules under vacuum. Hydrogen diffusion effects were eliminated by using thick-walled capsules.$\text{H}\text{D}$ Exchange rates are very fast between epidote and water (and between boehmite and water), complete exchange taking only minutes above 450°C but several months at 250°C. Exchange between zoisite and water (and between diaspore and water) is very much slower, and an interpolation method was necessary to determine fractionation factors at 450 and below.For the temperature range 300–650°C, the $\text{H}\text{D}$ equilibrium fractionation factor (α^e) between epidote and water is independent of temperature and Fe content of the epidote, and is given by 1000 In α_epidote-H2O^e = ?35.9 ± 2.5, while below 300°C 1000 In , with a ‘cross-over’ estimated to occur at around 185°C. By contrast, zoisite-water fractionations fit the relationship 1000 In .All studied minerals have hydrogen bonding. Fractionations are consistent with the general relationship: the shorter the O-H -- O bridge, the more depleted is the mineral in D.On account of rapid exchange rates, natural epidotes probably acquired their H-isotope compositions at or below 200°C, where fractionations are near or above 0%.; this is in accord with the observation that natural epidotes tend to concentrate D relative to other coexisting hydrous minerals.