Magnetic cleansing of weathered/tarry oiled feathers--the role of pre-conditioners

Iron powder has previously been demonstrated to be effective in the removal, via magnetic harvesting, of a wide variety of oil contaminants from feathers and plumage. This study investigates the efficacy of magnetic cleansing for the removal from feathers of tarry contamination that has been allowed to weather. Clusters of feathers from Mallard duck (Anas platyrhnchos) and Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor) were completely immersed in a tarry contaminant and allowed to weather from one to fourteen days. The contaminant was removed using a magnetic cleansing protocol and the removal efficacy assessed gravimetrically. For one, seven and fourteen days of weathering, a final removal (after fourteen treatments) of more than 99% and 97% was achieved for duck feathers and penguin feathers, respectively. Repeating the experiments (for a seven-day weathering period) for both duck and penguin feathers, with the judicious application of a pre-conditioner (olive oil), further improved removal efficacy. A convenient method to screen for improved pre-conditioning agents is suggested.     

高职测绘类专业动手能力培养方法探索与实践

本文结合工程测量技术专业的教学实践,从课程设置、集中实训环节安排、仪器操作训练、计算能力培养、技能竞赛、组织学术讲座、开放实训基地、对外技术服务等7个方面,对高职测绘类专业学生实践动手能力培养方法进行了探索。     

Economic Notes

Abstract

This article introduces the development and validation of the spatial thinking ability test (STAT). The STAT consists of sixteen multiple-choice questions of eight types. The STAT was validated by administering it to a sample of 532 junior high, high school, and university students. Factor analysis using principal components extraction was applied to identify underlying spatial thinking components and to evaluate the construct validity of the STAT. Spatial components identified through factor analysis only partly coincided with spatial concepts used to develop the questions that compose the STAT and with the components of spatial thinking hypothesized by other researchers.     

提高电视天气预报主持人综合素质的几点思考

电视天气预报作为天气预报的主要发布形式被广大观众所接受.摆在我们气象工作者面前的一项重要课题便是如何进一步丰富气象信息.为此,一是要增加天气预报的信息内容;二是要提高电视天气预报节目主持人的综合素质.文章重点探讨要提高主持人的综合素质,首先主持人的形象要立体化,其次主持人要善于应用形体语言,最后主持人要有创新能力.     

纳米铁去除饮用水中As(Ⅲ)和As(Ⅴ)

在好氧水体中,As(Ⅲ)比As(Ⅴ)更易迁移,而且在水处理过程中去除效率更低。在实验室合成制得BET比表面积为49.16 m2/g,直径范围为20~40 nm的纳米铁。通过批试验考察纳米铁对As(Ⅲ)和As(Ⅴ)去除能力及其反应动力学情况。结果表明,在pH为7,温度20℃时纳米铁能够快速地去除As(Ⅲ)和As(Ⅴ),在60 m in内,0.25 g纳米铁对起始浓度为968.6μg/L As(Ⅲ)和828.9μg/L As(Ⅴ)的去除率大于99.5%。反应遵循准一级反应动力学方程,标准化后的As(Ⅲ)和As(Ⅴ)比表面积速率常数kSA分别为1.30 mL/(m2.m in)和1.64 mL/(m2.m in)。由实验结果可知,具有高反应活性的纳米铁是用于含砷饮用水处理非常有效的吸附材料。     

11 Å tobermorite from cement bypass dust and waste container glass: A feasibility study

A novel one-step hydrothermal synthesis of 11 Å tobermorite, a cation exchanger, from a unique combination of waste materials is reported. 11 Å tobermorite was prepared from stoicheiometric quantities of cement bypass dust and waste container glass at 100 °C in water. The product also comprised 10 wt.% calcite and trace quartz as residual parent phases from the cement bypass dust. In a batch sorption study at 20 °C the uptakes of Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ by the waste-derived tobermorite product were found to be 171 mg g^− 1 and 467 mg g^− 1, respectively, and in both cases the removal process could be described using a simple pseudo-second-order rate model (k₂ = 2.30 × 10^− 5 g mg^− 1 min^− 1 and 5.09 × 10^− 5 g mg^− 1 min^− 1, respectively). The sorption characteristics of the 11 Å tobermorite are compared with those of other waste-derived sorbents and potential applications are discussed.     

Rejection of arsenic minerals in sulfide flotation — A literature review

Arsenic is one of the most dangerous inorganic pollutants and thus a penalty element in many base metal concentrates. Arsenic removal in sulphide flotation has been studied extensively with various approaches, including pre-oxidation of flotation pulp, E_h control during flotation and the use of selective depressants/collectors. Pre-oxidation of flotation pulp using oxidizing agents or aeration conditioning represents a simple approach in arsenic removal and was found effective in many cases. Selective flotation of arsenic minerals through E_h control has made significant advances in recent years with promising results achieved. In addition, various depressants and collectors have also been studied in arsenic removal. In this communication, the various approaches used in selective flotation of arsenic minerals are reviewed with emphasis on the development in recent years.     

Channel response to a dam-removal sediment pulse captured at high-temporal resolution using routine gage data

In this study, we captured how a river channel responds to a sediment pulse originating from a dam removal using multiple lines of evidence derived from streamflow gages along the Patapsco River, Maryland, USA. Gages captured characteristics of the sediment pulse, including travel times of its leading edge (~7.8 km yr⁻¹) and peak (~2.6 km yr⁻¹) and suggest both translation and increasing dispersion. The pulse also changed local hydraulics and energy conditions, increasing flow velocities and Froude number, due to bed fining, homogenization and/or slope adjustment. Immediately downstream of the dam, recovery to pre-pulse conditions occurred within the year, but farther downstream recovery was slower, with the tail of the sediment pulse working through the lower river by the end of the study 7 years later. The patterns and timing of channel change associated with the sediment pulse were not driven by large flow or suspended sediment-transporting events, with change mostly occurring during lower flows. This suggests pulse mobility was controlled by process-factors largely independent of high flow. In contrast, persistent changes occurred to out-of-channel flooding dynamics. Stage associated with flooding increased during the arrival of the sediment pulse, 1 to 2 years after dam removal, suggesting persistent sediment deposition at the channel margins and nearby floodplain. This resulted in National Weather Service-indicated flood stages being attained by 3–43% smaller discharges compared to earlier in the study period. This study captured a two-signal response from the sediment pulse: (1) short- to medium-term (weeks to months) translation and dispersion within the channel, resulting in aggradation and recovery of bed elevations and changing local hydraulics; and (2) dispersion and persistent longer-term (years) effects of sediment deposition on overbank surfaces. This study further demonstrated the utility of US Geological Survey gage data to quantify geomorphic change, increase temporal resolution, and provide insights into trajectories of change over varying spatial and temporal scales.     

Solid phase characterization and metal deportment in a mussel shell bioreactor for the treatment of AMD,Stockton Coal Mine,New Zealand

The Stockton Coal Mine, located on the West Coast of New Zealand, is evaluating the use of a mussel shell bioreactor (MSB) to treat acidic metalliferous runoff from acid forming overburden. This novel approach is similar in concept to vertical flow wetlands (VFWs) and successive alkalinity producing systems (SAPS). The MSB system is a trapezoidal pit 2 m deep, 35 m long, 3–10 m wide with 60° angle sides. During operation it contained 160 tonnes (240 m³) of mussel shell material and was saturated with a 100–200 mm water cap. Influent flowed through the reactor at a mean rate of 0.3 L s⁻¹ resulting in a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of ≈6 days. The prototype MSB was in operation for a total of 1027 days, from June 2009 through March 2012, and effectively sequestered 99.7% of Al, 99.3% of Fe, 98.8% of Ni, 98.4% Tl and 99.3% of Zn, as determined from a previous evaluation of MSB performance. The MSB also effectively neutralized acidity, which resulted in an increase in influent pH from 2.8 to 6.9 in the effluent. Based on an examination of several excavated pits, five distinct reaction zones developed within the MSB. The reaction zones consisted of an allochthonous sediment layer (0–330 mm), an oxidized iron-rich ocherous layer (at 330–350 mm depth), an aluminum layer (at 350–600 mm depth) with geochemical variations throughout (350–500 mm and 500–600 mm); and a chemically reduced bottom shell layer (at 600–1100 mm). Representative samples were collected from each layer and analyzed using a combination of geochemical and physical methods to assess the stability of the secondary minerals and trace metal deportment within the MSB. Major elements Fe, Al, Ni, Tl, and Zn where preferentially associated with particular layers within the MSB. Elevated concentrations of Fe (110,000 mg kg⁻¹) were observed in the allochthonous sediment and ocherous precipitate layers, while Al (27,816 mg kg⁻¹), Ni (55 mg kg⁻¹), and Zn (655 mg kg⁻¹) were elevated within the aluminum and lower reduced depths within the MSB. Trace Tl (21 mg kg⁻¹) showed varying concentrations throughout the MSB, but was strongly correlated to lower layers of the system. Microbial biofilms were observed within the reduced portions of the shell layers often proximal to bacterial shaped sulfides. The geochemical assessment of the MSB presented in this study is the first of its kind for a MSB, and supports the argument that this system is another viable option for passive treatment of AMD.     

Preliminary Study of the Ability of Large-scale Deformation Observed by Lunar Based InSAR—Taking Vertical Displacement of Solid Earth Tide as an Example

Based on the principle of InSAR (Interferometirc Synthetic Aperture Radar) characterized by large-scale, continuity, permanency and dynamic, we took vertical displacement of solid Earth tide as an example to simulate the large-scale deformation observed by lunar based InSAR for the first time in the study and the observation ability was analyzed. Solid Earth tide has a feature of a large-space distribution range and the lunar based InSAR exhibits a feature of an ultra-wide swath imaging. According to these features, a simplified observation geometry model was established and a mid-low latitudes area with 50 degrees span in both longitude and latitude was selected as the simulation area. Then the revisit time intervals of the lunar based SAR for the selected area and the tidal vertical displacements at the points scanned by the radar were calculated. The time differentials were further computed to get the relative vertical deformation of the solid Earth tide. The simulation results show that the revisit period of the lunar based radar is about 24.8 hours and the maximum vertical displacement in 30 days is up to 30 cm. Since the designed accuracy of the lunar based InSAR reaches several centimeters, the observing of the vertical displacement of the solid Earth tide by using the lunar based InSAR is feasible in theory as the maximum magnitude of the vertical displacement is 1 order of magnitude larger than the designed accuracy. Theoretically ,solid Earth tide is observable by using lunar based InSAR in a sizable area.We can also use the observation data to study the temporal and spatial variation characteristics when observation time lasts two revisit periods or more. On the other hand,the result of the study also provides references for the parameter designing of other observations using the lunar based InSAR, especially for observing large-scale geodynamic phenomena.