An intrinsic kinetics model to predict complex ash effects (ash film,dilution, and vaporization) on pulverized coal char burnout in air (O2/N2) and oxy-fuel (O2/CO2) atmospheres

During coal combustion, char chemical reaction is the slowest step, particularly in the last burnout stage, where the char consists of small amounts of carbon in a predominant ash framework. Existing kinetics models tend to deviate from experimental measurements of late char burnout due to the incomplete treatment of ash effects. Ash can improve pore evolution through vaporization, hinder oxygen transport by forming an ash film, and reduce active carbon sites and available surface per unit volume by penetrating into the char matrix. In this work, a sophisticated kinetics model, focusing on these three ash evolution mechanisms (ash vaporization, ash film, and ash dilution) during pulverized coal (PC) char combustion, is developed by integrating them into a thorough mechanistic picture. Further, a detailed comparison of the three distinct ash effects on PC char conversion during air (O₂/N₂) and oxy-fuel (O₂/CO₂) combustion is performed. For the modeled coal, the mass of ash vaporization is approximate 3 orders less than the mass of ash remaining, which participates in ash dilution and ash film formation, both in O₂/N₂ and O₂/CO₂ atmospheres. The influence of these phenomena on burnout time follows the order: ash dilution > ash film > ash vaporization. The influence of ash vaporization on burnout time is minor, but through interactions with the ash dilution and ash film forming processes it can have an impact at high extents of burnout, particularly in O₂/CO₂ atmospheres. In O₂/N₂ atmospheres the residual ash predominately exists as an ash film, whereas it mainly exists as diluted ash in the char matrix in O₂/CO₂ atmospheres. The residual ash particle is encased by a thick film when the ash film forming fraction is high (low ash dilution fraction). These results provide in-depth insights into the conversion of PC char and further utilization of the residual ash.     

Chemical Profile,Cytotoxic Activity and Oxidative Stress Reduction of Different Syringa vulgaris L. Extracts

Syringa vulgaris L. (common lilac) is one of the most popular ornamental species, but also a promising not comprehensively studied source of bioactive compounds with important therapeutic potential. Our study was designed to characterize the chemical composition and to assess the antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of ethanolic extracts obtained from S. vulgaris L. flowers, leaves, bark, and fruit. The chemical profile of the ethanolic extracts was investigated using chromatographic (HPLC-DAD-ESI⁺, GC-MS) and spectral (UV-Vis, FT-IR) methods, while the protective effect against free radicals was evaluated in vitro by different chemical assays (DPPH, FRAP, CUPRAC). The cytotoxic activity was tested on two tumoral cell lines, HeLa, B16F10, using the MTT assay. Significant amounts of free or glycosylated chemical components belonging to various therapeutically important structural classes, such as phenyl-propanoids (syringin, acteoside, echinacoside), flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol derivatives) and secoiridoids (secologanoside, oleuropein, 10-hydroxy oleuropein, demethyloleuropein, syringalactone A, nuzhenide, lingstroside) were obtained for the flowers, leaves and bark extracts, respectively. Furthermore, MTT tests pointed out a significant cytotoxic potential expressed in a non-dose-dependent manner toward the tumoral lines. The performed methods underlined that S. vulgaris extracts, in particular belonging to flowers and leaves, represent valuable sources of compounds with antioxidant and antitumoral potential.     

Sustainable natural adsorbents for heavy metal removal from wastewater: lead sorption on pine bark (Pinus radiata D.Don)

Aqueous Pb(II) adsorption on pine bark (Pinus Radiata D.Don), an inexpensive and sustainable natural sorbent material, has been evaluated and the mechanism of metal retention characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Bark pulp densities >1.5 g l^?1 achieve near 100% Pb(II) removal from aqueous solutions containing 100 mg l^?1 Pb(II). Adsorption rates increased with pulp density, although adsorption capacity diminished at high densities because of blockage of adsorption sites. The effects of washing and sulfuric acid activation were assessed and found to be less important than in previous metal sorption studies. Pb(II) sorption takes place mainly at the lignocellulosic C―O groups, with adsorption at phenolic sites appearing to be most significant. © 2016 The Authors. Surface and Interface Analysis published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An ultrasound-assisted digestion method for the determination of toxic element concentrations in ash samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

A method of ultrasound-assisted digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) used for the determination of toxic element concentrations (arsenic, barium, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel, strontium, vanadium and zinc) in ash samples was developed. All the measurements were performed in robust plasma conditions which were tested by measuring the Mg(II) 280.270 nm/Mg(I) 285.213 nm line intensity ratios. The highest line intensity ratios were observed when a nebulizer gas flow of 0.6 L min⁻¹, auxiliary gas flow of 0.2 L min⁻¹ and plasma power of 1400 W were used for radially viewed plasma. The analysis of SRM 1633b showed that the ultrasound-assisted method developed is highly comparable with the microwave digestion method standardized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-3052). The ultrasound-assisted digestion with a digestion solution of aqua regia and hydrofluoric acid (HF) resulted in recovery rates of over 81%. One exception is arsenic which resulted in recoveries of about 60% only; however, it could be digested with good recovery (>90%) using a digestion solution of 5 mL of water and 5 mL of aqua regia. The major advantage of the ultrasound-assisted digestion over microwave digestion is the high treatment rate (30 samples simultaneously with a sonication time of 18 min).     

Mild Organosolv Delignification of Residual Aspen Bark after Extractives Isolation as a Step in Biorefinery Processing Schemes

European aspen (Populus tremula (L.) (Salicaceae)) bark is a promising raw material in multi-step biorefinery schemes due to its wide availability and higher content of secondary metabolites in comparison to stem wood biomass. The main objective of this study was to investigate the major cell wall component-enriched fractions that were obtained from aspen bark residue after extractives isolation, primarily focusing on integration of separated lignin fractions and cellulose-enriched bark residue into complex valorization pathways. The “lignin first” biorefinery approach was applied using mild organosolv delignification. The varying solvent systems and process conditions for optimal delignification of residual aspen bark biomass were studied using a response surface methodology approach. The conditions for maximum process desirability at which the highest amount of lignin-enriched fraction was separated were as follows: 20-h treatment time at 117 °C, butanol/water 4:1 (v/v) solvent system with solid to liquid ratio of 1 to 10. At optimal separation conditions, lignin-enriched fraction exhibited a higher content of β–O–4 linkages vs. C–C linkages content in its structure as well as a high amount of hydroxyl groups, being attractive for its further valorization. At the same time, the content of glucose in products of cellulose-enriched residue hydrolysis was 52.1%, increased from 10.3% in untreated aspen bark. This indicates that this fraction is a promising raw material for obtaining cellulose and fermentable glucose. These results show that mild organosolv delignification of extracted tree bark can be proposed as a novel biorefinery approach for isolation of renewable value-added products with various application potentials.     

Retention dynamics of multi-metal contaminants from pond ash slurry onto fine grained soil

The coal fly ashes contain high concentration of toxic metals. The sorption plays crucial part to retard the movement of contaminants through the liner. In the present investigation to examine the potential of fine-grained soil as liner material, obtained from bank of River Ganga, was assessed in terms of its adsorption capability. Batch adsorption of Pb(II) and Cr(VI) were performed. Maximum adsorption of Cr(VI) (65.76%) at pH 3 for adsorbate and adsorbent dose of 5 ​mg/L and 2 ​g/L and maximum adsorption of Pb(II) (96.84%) at pH 5 for adsorbate and adsorbent dose of 5 ​mg/L and 1.5 ​g/L, respectively, were observed. Adsorption of Pb(II) and Cr(VI) follow Freundlich isotherm equation. The soil column studies were performed at various bed heights (2, 3 and 5 ​cm) in down flow mode. The tracer studies were conducted using NaCl to estimate the hydrodynamic parameters and they were considered as input parameters for modelling of fate and transport of contaminants in soil using HYDRUS 1D software for assessing the potential use of soil as liner material in ash pond structures.     

原子吸收光谱法测定粉煤灰中氧化钾、氧化钠

采用火焰原子吸收光谱法测定粉煤灰中氧化钾、氧化钠含量。采用氢氟酸-高氯酸混合酸分解样品,以氯化锶消除其他元素的干扰。本方法操作简便、再现性好、灵敏度高,适用于粉煤灰中氧化钾、氧化钠含量的测定。     

分光光度法研究粉煤灰对亚甲基蓝的吸附及其机理研究

以龙岩雁石火电厂粉煤灰对亚甲基蓝进行吸附实验,探讨了改性粉煤灰、粉煤灰用量、吸附时间、温度对亚甲基蓝吸附的影响。当粉煤灰投加量为4g/L,亚甲基蓝浓度15mg/L,常温条件下,在60min左右,亚甲基蓝降解率达到了98%以上。结果表明,利用粉煤灰处理亚甲基蓝,具有处理效果好、简单,经济等特点。利用Freundlich等温式和Langmuir等温式对其吸附行为进行描述,表明粉煤灰易于吸附亚甲基蓝,吸附属于化学吸附;用颗粒内扩散方程和准二级吸附动力学方程对实验数据进行回归分析,更好地描述亚甲基蓝在粉煤灰上的吸附。准二级吸附动力学方程能够反映亚甲基蓝在粉煤灰上的吸附机理,准二级吸附速率常数k2=0.5758g/(mg.min)。本研究为粉煤灰处理印染废水提供了理论依据和实践依据。     

微波消解与ICP-OES/ICP-MS测定飞灰中的多种元素

研究了不同温度以及HNO3、HNO3/H2O2、HNO3/HF和HNO3/HF+H3BO34种酸对飞灰微波消解效果和元素分析的影响.以NIST-1633b为飞灰标准物质.建立了用HNO3/HF (9mL+ 1mL)分解0.05g飞灰,再加入10mL 4％(ρ)的H3BO3中和过量HF及氟化物沉淀的两步微波消解方法.并利用ICP-OES检测了Al、Ca、Fe、Mg、K、Na、S、Si和Ti等9种矿物元素,元素回收率在92％-105％之间;利用ICP-MS检测了V、Cr、Mn、Co、Ni、Cu、Zn、As、Se、Sr、Cs、Ba、Eu和Pb等14种重金属元素,元素回收率在83％-109％之间.各元素检测的RSD均小于3％.     

Anti-inflammatory effects of mulberry (Morus alba L.) root bark and its active compounds

Abstract

Mulberry (Morus alba L.) root bark (MRB) was extracted using methanol and the extracts were subjected to tests of anti-inflammatory effects. The ethyl acetate fraction demonstrated the best anti-inflammatory effects. Purified compounds, sanggenon B, albanol B and sanggenon D, showed inhibitory effects on NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells and albanol B demonstrated the best anti-inflammatory effects. Regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms, further investigations showed that treatments with Albanol B reduced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and decreased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). These results would contribute to development of novel anti-inflammatory drugs from MRB.