Biodegradation and environmental behavior of biodiesel mixtures in the sea: An initial study

Biodiesel, a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) derived from animal fats or vegetable oils, is rapidly moving towards the mainstream as an alternative source of energy. However, the behavior of biodiesel, or blends of biodiesel with fossil diesel, in the marine environment have yet to be fully understood. Hence, we performed a series of initial laboratory experiments and simple calculations to evaluate the microbial and environmental fate of FAMEs. Aerobic seawater microcosms spiked with biodiesel or mixtures of biodiesel and fossil diesel revealed that the FAMEs were degraded at roughly the same rate as n-alkanes, and more rapidly than other hydrocarbon components. The residues extracted from these different microcosms became indistinguishable within weeks. Preliminary results from physical-chemical calculations suggest that FAMEs in biodiesel mixtures will not affect the evaporation rates of spilled petroleum hydrocarbons but may stabilize oil droplets in the water column and thereby facilitate transport.     

Rate and historical change of direct recharge from precipitation constrained by unsaturated zone profiles of chloride and oxygen‐18 in dry river bed of North China Plain

Quantifying of direct recharge derived from precipitation is crucial for assessing sustainability of well‐irrigated agriculture. In the North China Plain, the land use is dominated by groundwater‐irrigated farmland where the direct recharge derived from precipitation and irrigation. To characterize the mean rate and historical variance of direct recharge derived from precipitation, unsaturated zone profiles of chloride and δ¹⁸O in the dry river bed of the Beiyishui River were employed. The results show that archival time scale of the profile covers the duration from 1980 to 2002 (corresponding to depths from 5 to 2 m) which is indicated by matching the δ¹⁸O peaks in the isotope profile with the aridity indexes gained by instrumental records of annual precipitation and annual potential evaporation. Using the chloride mass balance method, the mean rate of the direct recharge corresponding to the archival time scale is estimated to be 3·8 ± 0·8 mm year^?1, which accounts for about 0·7% of the long‐term average annual precipitation. Further, the direct recharge rates vary from 2·1 to 6·8 mm year^?1 since 1980. Despite the subhumid climate, the estimate of recharge rates is in line with other findings in semiarid regions. The low rate of direct recharge is considered as a result of the relative dry climate in recent decades. In dry river bed, unsaturated zone profiles of chloride and δ¹⁸O combined with instrumental records could offer valuable information about the direct recharge derived from precipitation during droughts. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater recharge in an arid grassland as indicated by soil chloride profile and multiple tracers

Previous studies have shown that shallow groundwater in arid regions is often not in equilibrium with near‐surface boundary conditions due to human activities and climate change. This is especially the case where the unsaturated zone is thick and recharge rate is limited. Under this nonequilibrium condition, the unsaturated zone solute profile plays an important role in estimating recent diffuse recharge in arid environments. This paper combines evaluation of the thick unsaturated zone with the saturated zone to investigate the groundwater recharge of a grassland in the arid western Ordos Basin, NW China, using the soil chloride profiles and multiple tracers (²H, ¹⁸O, ¹³C, ¹⁴C, and water chemistry) of groundwater. Whereas conventional water balance and Darcy flux measurements usually involve large errors in recharge estimations for arid areas, chloride mass balance has been widely and generally successfully used. The results show that the present diffuse recharge beneath the grassland is 0.11–0.32 mm/year, based on the chloride mass balance of seven soil profiles. The chloride accumulation age is approximately 2,500 years at a depth of 13 m in the unsaturated zone. The average Cl content in soil moisture in the upper 13 m of the unsaturated zone ranges from 2,842 to 7,856 mg/L, whereas the shallow groundwater Cl content ranges from 95 to 351 mg/L. The corrected ¹⁴C age of shallow groundwater ranges from 4,327 to 29,708 years. Stable isotopes show that the shallow groundwater is unrelated to modern precipitation. The shallow groundwater was recharged during the cold and wet phases of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene humid phase based on palaeoclimate, and consequently, the groundwater resources are nonrenewable. Due to the limited recharge rate and thick unsaturated zone, the present shallow groundwater has not been in hydraulic equilibrium with near‐surface boundary conditions in the past 2,500 years.     

Bacteria‐removing and Bactericidal Efficiencies of PDADMAC Composite Coagulants in Enhanced Coagulation Treatment

Enhanced coagulation treatment of bacteria‐containing raw water was studied by using three series of composite coagulants, that were prepared by combining polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC) with different intrinsic viscosity values (0.55–2.47 dL/g) and mass percentages (5–20%) with polyaluminum chloride (PAC), aluminum sulfate (AS), and the composite of aluminum sulfate and ferric chloride (A‐F), respectively. The coagulants were tested by jar tests for the efficiencies to remove bacteria in raw water and to kill bacteria in settled sludge. It was found that when the residual turbidity of supernatant after sedimentation reached the control standard of 2 NTU in drinking water plant, the bacteria‐removing rates of PAC, AS, and A‐F were 92.22, 92.60, and 94.99%, respectively, and the bactericidal rates were 2.52, 1.22, and 2.94%, respectively. Contrastively, the bacteria‐removing rates of PAC/PDADMAC, AS/PDADMAC, and A‐F/PDADMAC could reach 95.45, 96.90, and 98.89%, respectively, and the bactericidal rates could reach 86.60, 91.81, and 96.98%, respectively. It could be deduced from the results that the bactericidal efficiencies of composite coagulants stemmed from the bactericidal action of PDADMAC, and the inorganic coagulants had little bactericidal function.     

光谱样品中银的测定

样品经酸溶后,加碘化钾,银以AgI方式存在,有机试剂萃取分离,用原子吸收分光光度计测定有机相中银的含量,测定范围(1~1 000)×10-9。     

离子色谱法测定五氧化二铌和五氧化二钽中痕量氟氯和硫酸根离子的前处理方法

采用马弗炉将样品与NaOH混合进行熔融煅烧，热去离子水提取、离心、稀释后过OnGuard Ⅱ H柱和过滤膜进行前处理，抑制型电导离子色谱法检测，测定了Ta2O5和Nb2O5的氟离子、氯离子和硫酸根离子。该方法对三种被测阴离子的检测限（s／N=3）在0．15～0．70μg／g（以固体样品实际浓度计）或0．136～0．623μg／L（以溶液浓度计），标准曲线线性范围均在两个数量级以上，方法的精密度（RSD，n=7）小于5．46％，回收率为88％～106％，具有灵敏度高、选择性好、重现性佳、对环境友好等特点，用于实际样品的检测，结果令人满意。     

硫氰酸盐比色法测定钨的改进

硫氰酸盐比色法测定钨是基于W5+与硫氰酸盐形成黄色络合物。为使钨完全还原为5价,通常单独使用三氯化钛或氯化亚锡作还原剂。此方法在应用过程中,由于Ti3+本身呈紫色,加多会掩盖络合物的黄色,加少则出现硫氰酸铁之红色丝状物影响比色的情况。通过大量的试验,采用氯化亚锡-三氯化钛作双还原剂,控制最佳酸度、温度和时间,从而获得稳定的络合物,提高了分析结果的稳定性。通过对国家一级标准物质进行分析验证,从而证实方法可行,能够保证样品的测试精密度和准确度。本方法尤其适用于低含量、大批量钨矿样品的测定。     

复方化学消毒剂中苯扎氯铵的高效液相色谱测定

建立了一种测定复方化学消毒剂中苯扎氯铵成分十二烷基二甲基苄基氯化铵、十四烷基二甲基苄基氯化铵和十六烷基二甲基苄基氯化铵的反相离子对高效液相色谱法。色谱柱为Platisil ODS(5μm,250 mm×4.6mm),流动相为甲醇-0.2 mol/L己烷磺酸钠(含1%三乙胺,V/V,用高氯酸调节至pH=6.0,体积比85∶15),紫外220 nm检测。用己烷磺酸钠作为离子对试剂,增强了苯扎氯铵成分的保留,三乙胺作为扫尾剂,通过抑制固定相表面残存的硅羟基对苯扎氯铵成分的吸附,减少了色谱峰拖尾。3种苯扎氯铵成分分离良好,标准曲线的线性范围分别为0.002～5 mg/mL、0.005～10 mg/mL和0.005～10 mg/mL,检测限分别为0.0005 mg/mL、0.001mg/mL和0.001 mg/mL。方法具有良好的准确度和精密度,在测定低浓度样品时优势明显。实际用于测定苯扎氯铵消毒液和医用消毒纸巾中3种苯扎氯铵成分的含量,回收率为99.3%～104.1%,日内和日间测定相对标准偏差(RSD)均小于2.0%。     

钨、锡流-熔分配实验结果及其矿床成因意义

本文用实验确定了钨、锡在成分不同的花岗质熔体相与共存水热流体相的流-熔分配系数(D_(Me)~(V/L))及其与介质溶液(NaF,KF,HF,NaCl等水溶液)摩尔浓度间的函数关系。实验结果表明,钨、锡的分配行为明显不同。在相同条件下,随体系的不同,D_W~(V/L)比D_(Sn)~(V/L)大几倍至二十倍。钠和钾对钨、锡的流-熔分配行为的影响基本相同,而氟和氯对钨、锡的分配行为的影响相差甚远,花岗质熔体的主成分对D_W~(V/L)和D_(Sn)~(V/L)有复杂的影响。利用这些结果探讨与花岗岩有关的钨、锡矿床的成矿机理,得出了一些与前人不同的新认识。     

Modelling the chloride signal at Plynlimon,Wales, using a modified dynamic TOPMODEL incorporating conservative chemical mixing (with uncertainty)

The application of a modified version of dynamic TOPMODEL for two subcatchments at Plynlimon, Wales is described. Conservative chemical mixing within mobile and immobile stores has been added to the hydrological model in an attempt to simulate observed stream chloride concentrations. The model was not fully able to simulate the observed behaviour, in particular the short‐ to medium‐term dynamics. One of the primary problems highlighted by the study was the representation of dry deposition and cloud‐droplet‐deposited chloride, which formed a significant part of the long‐term chloride mass budget. Equifinality of parameter sets inhibited the ability to determine the effective catchment mixing volumes and coefficients or the most likely partition between occult mass inputs and chloride mass inputs determined by catchment immobile‐store antecedent conditions. Some success was achieved, in as much as some aspects of the dynamic behaviour of the signal were satisfactorily simulated, although spectral analysis showed that the model could not fully reproduce the 1/f power spectra of observed stream chloride concentrations with its implications of a wide distribution of residence times for water in the catchment. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.