Removal of Cu(Ⅱ) from Wastewater Using Acidified Sewage Sludge Ash

Sewage sludge ash (SSA), the waste generated in sewage sludge incineration, was obtained from Wuhan Sewage Treatment Plant and used as a low-cost sorbent for removing Cu(Ⅱ) from wastewaters. The sorbent was first modified with 5 % sulfuric acid to increase its sorption capacity. The specific surface area, porosity, cation-exchange capacity (CEC) and pHZPC of the sorbent were measured. Batch experiments were made to study the effect of contact time, solution pH value and temperature on sorption. Both Langmuir and Freundlich models well described the Cu(Ⅱ) sorption process, with correlation coefficient (R2) values of 0.993 4 and 0.989 9 respectively. And the sorption process follows the Lagergren first order kinetic model. The equilibrium sorption capacity of acidified SSA to Cu(Ⅱ) is estimated to be 7.78 mg/g under optimal conditions.     

Genesis of Kanggur Gold Deposit in Eastern Tianshan Orogenic Belt, NW China: Fluid Inclusion and Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotope Constraints

Abstract. Primary fluid inclusions in quartz and carbonates from the Kanggur gold deposit are dominated by aqueous inclusions, with subsidiary CO₂-H₂O inclusions that have a constant range in CO₂ content (10–20 vol %). Microthermometric results indicate that total homogenization temperatures have a wide but similar range for both aqueous inclusions (120 to 310C) and CO₂-H₂O inclusions (140 to 340C). Estimates of fluid salinity for CO₂-H₂O inclusions are quite restricted (5.9∼10.3 equiv. wt% NaCl), whereas aqueous inclusions show much wider salinity ranging from 2.2 to 15.6 equivalent wt %NaCl.
The 6D values of fluid inclusions in carbonates vary from -45 to -61 %, in well accord with the published δD values of fluid inclusions in quartz (-46 to -66 %). Most of the δ¹⁸O and δD values of the ore-forming fluids can be achieved by exchanged meteoric water after isotopic equilibration with wall rock by fluid/rock interaction at a low water/rock ratio. However, the exchanged meteoric water alone cannot explain the full range of δ¹⁸O and δD values, magmatic and/or meta-morphic water should also be involved. The wide salinity in aqueous inclusions may also result from mixing of meteoric water and magmatic and/or metamorphic water.     

Methane-rich fluid inclusions in skarn near the giant REE–Nb–Fe deposit at Bayan Obo, Northern China

We report fluid inclusion data for skarn, formed at the contact between Hercynian granitoids and dolomite of the Proterozoic Bayan Obo Group, in the vicinity of Bayan Obo REE–Nb–Fe deposit, Inner Mongolia, China. Three types of fluid inclusions are identified: two-phase CH₄-rich, three-phase liquid–vapour–solid and two-phase aqueous inclusions. Using microthermometry and laser Raman microprobe analysis to calculate isochores for CH₄-bearing inclusions, we estimate fluid trapping conditions at T=280 to 344 °C and P<1 to 2.3 kbar. Such conditions are compatible with formation of CH₄ inclusions as a result of reaction between graphite in the country rocks (black slate sequence) and fluids derived from magma. The lack of carbonaceous material in the inclusions supports the hypothesis that CH₄ was generated during fluid migration rather than by in situ reaction. In contrast to the skarn, and despite the fact that similar graphite-bearing slates are found in the host rocks, no CH₄-bearing inclusions have been so far reported from Bayan Obo REE ores. We therefore conclude that the skarn-forming fluids in the contact aureole of the Hercynian granitoids were not involved at any stage in the formation of the Bayan Obo deposit.     

Continental crustal growth and the supercontinental cycle: evidence from the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

Studies of supercontinental cycle are mainly concentrated on the assembly, breakup and dispersal of supercontinents, and studies of continental crustal growth largely on the growth and loss (recycling) of the crust. These two problems have long been studied separately from each other. The Paleozoic–Mesozoic granites in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt have commonly positive Nd values, implying large-scale continental crustal growth in the Phanerozoic. They coincided temporally and spatially with the Phanerozoic Pangea supercontinental cycle, and overlapped in space with the P-wave high-V anomalies and calculated positions of subducted slabs for the last 180 Ma, all this suggests that the Phanerozoic Laurasia supercontinental assembly was accompanied by large-scale continental crustal growth in central Asia. Based on these observations, this paper proposes that there may be close and original correlations between a supercontinental cycle, continental crustal growth and catastrophic slab avalanches in the mantle. In this model we suggest that rapid continental crustal growth occurred during supercontinent assembly, whereas during supercontinental breakup and dispersal new additions of the crust were balanced by losses, resulting in a steady state system. Supercontinental cycle and continental crustal growth are both governed by changing patterns of mantle convection.     

Pressure State in Deep Crust and Formation Depth of UHP Metamorphic Rocks

INTRODUCTIONSincethediscoveryofeclogiteswithcoesiteanddia mondinclusionsrelatedtothecontinent continentcollision orogenyenvironment,theultrahigh pressuremetamorphism(UHPM )intheDabie Suluhasarousedgreatinterestinmanygeologists (Liouetal .,1994 ;Xuetal.,1992 ) .Experimentalstudieshaveprovedthatsuchmineralsasdia mond ,coesiteandomphaciteoccurredat 2 - 5GPa (andatthecorrespondingtemperatures) (Stevenetal.,1982 ;MirwaldandMasonne ,1980 ) .However,itdoesnotmeanthatthemetamorphicrockscanbe…     

Time-Frequency Variations of Plio-Pleistocene Foraminiferal Isotopes： A Case Study from Southern South China Sea

The continuous wavelet transform (CWT) analysis reveals the instantaneous variability of the foraminiferal δ18O and δ13C of Site 1143 for the past 5 Ma at the eccentricity, obliquity and precession bands. The cross CWT analysis further demonstrates nonstationary phases of the benthic -δ18O relative to ETP at the three primary Milankovitch bands in the last 5 Ma. The instantaneous phases between benthic -δ18O and δ13C at the precession band display a prominent 128 ka period, probably the cyclicity of the nonstationary climate close to the eccentricity. To explain these nonstationary phases, it is desirable to introduce a nonlinear response model to the global climate system, in which the output has a prominent cycle around 100 ka to match the 128 ka cycle of the instantaneous phase of the δ13C and -δ18O on the precession band.     

Late Quaternary downcutting rates of the Qianyou River from U/Th speleothem dates, Qinling mountains, China

Dating deposits in caves formed by rivers may yield insight into rates and processes of bedrock incision. Three cave passages at different levels have developed in the walls of the Qianyou River valley in the Qinling mountains, south of the city of Xian, China. Twelve speleothem samples near the position of palaeowater tables in three cave passages are dated by the ²³⁰Th dating method. The results show that the river cut down at the rate of 0.23 ± 0.02 mm/yr from 358,000 ± 38,000 to 247,000 ± 28,000 yr ago, 0.19 ± 0.03 mm/yr from 247,000 ± 28,000 to 118,000 ± 19,000 yr ago, and 0.51 ± 0.08 mm/yr from 118,000 ± 19,000 yr ago until today. These fall very close to the glacial-interglacial transition following marine oxygen isotope stages 10, 8, and 6, respectively. The increase in downcutting rates during the interglacial period is consistent with warm, wet weather, increasing rates of erosion. This may lead us toward an underlying mechanism for modulating incision that is not in a direct response to the presence of headwater glaciers.     

Acidification and Trace Metals of Lakes in Taiwan

One hundred and eighty lakes, ponds and reservoirs in Taiwan, and the offshore islands have been investigated since 1985. Effects such as warming/cooling, mixing, photosynthesis and respiration on pH have been identified. These effects were found to be less profound than those resulting from the geology. Since there is little rain or lake water pH data available prior to 1970, it was necessary to use proxy data in order to ascertain the history of lake acidification. In this study, we present data based on diatoms in a sediment core collected from a lake in the remote subalpine region of southern Taiwan. The acidity of this lake water was found to have increased since 1900. We measured the concentrations of 55 chemical species in lake water samples. In addition, concentrations of 26 chemical species were obtained from sediments. Conductivity, alkalinity (HCO₃ ^?), most other major and minor chemical species, as well as the non sea-salt SO₄/Na ratio in lake water clearly decrease with elevation. Distribution of pH is similar, although the trend is less clear. Distribution of trace metals, however, shows a different trend as anthropogenic pollution, diagenetic reduction and lake acidification are at play.     

Thermo-mechanical structure beneath the young orogenic belt of Taiwan

We investigate the thermo-mechanical properties beneath the young orogenic belt of Taiwan by constructing a shear strength profile from a vertical stratified rheological structure. The stratified rheological structure is estimated based on the recently developed thermal structure and its likely composition. Subduction–collision in the young orogenic belts and the thick accretionary wedge make a significant contribution to the growth of sialic crust in the hinterland. The sialic bulk crust not only results in a low seismic velocity but also produces weak crust in the hinterland. The earthquake depth–frequency distribution in the foreland and hinterland correlates very well with the regimes of the brittle/ductile transition revealed in the strength profile. Our results show that the observed two-layer seismicity in the foreland is due to a moderate geotherm and an intermediate mafic bulk composition; while single-layer seismicity in the hinterland is due to its felsic bulk composition. In the foreland, the mechanically strong crust (MSC) and the mechanically strong lithosphere (MSL) coincide with frequent seismicity. The shallow MSC in the hinterland is consistent with the 20- to 25-km seismicity occurring there. The total lithospheric integrated strength (LIS) in the hinterland is only about half of that in the foreland, suggesting a weak lower crust and lithosphere mantle in the hinterland. The results confirm that the earthquake cutoff depth is a proxy for temperature. The calculated decrease of effective elastic thickness (EET) from the orogenic margin (foreland) to the center (hinterland) is consistent with the results of flexure modeling in most orogenic belts. Due to the weak LIS in the hinterland, crustal thinning and rifting may occur in the future. Our results, thus, suggest that the mechanical structure is also closely related to the composition and is not directly reflected in the thermal structure.