Cost-effective synthesis of silica aerogels from fly ash via ambient pressure drying

Silica aerogels were synthesized from the industrial fly ash by ambient pressure drying method. The process consists of two stages, preparation of sodium silicate solution from fly ash by hydrothermal reaction with sodium hydroxide, and synthesis of porous silica aerogels from the obtained sodium silicate solution. Silica wet gels were formed by vitriol-catalysis or resin-exchange-alkali-catalysis of the obtained sodium silicate solution. The trimethylchlorosilane(TMCS)/ethanol(EtOH)/hexane mixed solution was used for solvent exchange/surface modification of the wet gel so as to obtain porous silica aerogels via ambient pressure drying. The results indicated that the synthesized silica aerogels were lightweight and hydrophobic. The BET specific surface area, pore volume and average pore diameter were 362.2-907.9 m² g^− 1, 0.738-4.875 cm³ g^− 1, and 7.69-24.09 nm respectively. Particularly, the synthesized silica aerogels by resin-exchange-alkali-catalysis method showed uniform mesoporous structure, and had much higher specific surface area (907.9 m² g^− 1) and pore volume (4.875 cm³ g^− 1) than that of by vitriol-catalysis process.     

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％.     

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。     

乙酸丁酯-聚乙二醇-罗丹明B萃取光度法测定粉煤灰中微量镓（Ⅲ）

在聚乙二醇存在下,用乙酸丁酯萃取镓（Ⅲ）与罗丹明B的红色化合物,静置分层后用吸光光度法直接测定上层萃取液中有色化合物。其最大吸收波长为555nm,表观摩尔吸光率为7.8×10^4L·mol^-1·cm^-1。镓（Ⅲ）质量浓度在0.086—1.5mg·L^-1范围内符合比耳定律,检出限为0.086mg·L^-1。回收率与相对误差分别为98.7%—102%和-1.0%—4.9%。     

Microstructural and magnetic characterization of fly ash from Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant in West Bengal, India

This paper reports on the physical nature of the fly ash sample of the Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant, India with an emphasis on its ultrafine nature. This paper also deals with the measurement of the magnetic properties of the fine particles of the fly ash sample. Particle sizes of this fly ash sample estimated from the SEM images lie within 0.16-5.50 μm, and the EDX spectral analysis indicates the presence of O, Al, Si, C, Fe, Mg, Na, K and Ti in this sample. From the XRD study, it is found that physical nature of conglomeration in the fly ash is crystalline and the major components are mullite (Al₆Si₂O₁₃) and quartz (SiO₂). Additionally, the presence of hematite, microcline, magnetite, maghemite and free iron in smaller fractions cannot be ruled out. A large magnetization observed at 5 K indicates the presence of magnetic components possibly due to superparamagnetism owing to very fine magnetic particles present. The hyperfine parameters obtained from the ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, in general, support the observations made from the XRD analysis and in particular, provides the quantitative estimation of the different iron ions present in the sample. Precisely, this report presents experimental data on physical aspects of the fly ash sample of a thermal power plant which consists of coarse, fine and ultrafine magnetic particulate materials (PMs) and deals with an in-depth analysis of it.     

Sonocatalytic removal of ibuprofen and sulfamethoxazole in the presence of different fly ash sources

We examined the feasibility of using two types of fly ash (an industrial waste from thermal power plants) as a low-cost catalyst to enhance the ultrasonic (US) degradation of ibuprofen (IBP) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX). Two fly ashes, Belews Creek fly ash (BFA), from a power station in North Carolina, and Wateree Station fly ash (WFA), from a power station in South Carolina, were used. The results showed that >99% removal of IBP and SMX was achieved within 30 and 60 min of sonication, respectively, at 580 kHz and pH 3.5. Furthermore, the removal of IBP and SMX achieved, in terms of frequency, was in the order 580 kHz > 1000 kHz > 28 kHz, and in terms of pH, was in the order of pH 3.5 > pH 7 > pH 9.5. WFA showed significant enhancement in the removal of IBP and SMX, which reached >99% removal within 20 and 50 min, respectively, at 580 kHz and pH 3.5. This was presumably because WFA contains more silicon dioxide than BFA, which can enhance the formation of OH radicals during sonication. Additionally, WFA has finer particles than BFA, which can increase the adsorption capacity in removing IBP and SMX. The sonocatalytic degradation of IBP and SMX fitted pseudo first-order rate kinetics and the synergistic indices of all the reactions were determined to compare the efficiency of the fly ashes. Overall, the findings have showed that WFA combined with US has potential for treating organic pollutants, such as IBP and SMX, in water and wastewater.     

Measurement uncertainty for total ash and acid-insoluble ash determination of Chinese materia medica

The total ash and acid-insoluble ash contents of Chinese materia medica (CMM) have been widely used as one of the indices to illustrate the quality as well as purity of herbal medicines. Such an approach has also been adopted by many official organizations in writing monographs for pharmacopoeia worldwide. In the present study, a full validation on the methodology was conducted with the inclusion of various commonly encountered matrices in herbs, namely, leaf, flower, fruit, stem and root. The practice ensures method suitability for a wider scope of matrix variation in CMM. Moreover, in order to comply with the technical requirement of International Organization of Standardization 17025 quality assurance system, the concept of measurement uncertainty has also been incorporated in the present study. Measurement uncertainties for total ash and acid-insoluble ash contents have been estimated.     

Pozzolanic reactivity of silico-aluminous fly ash

For some years it has been possible to control the particle size of fly ashes, by-products of thermal power stations. Incorporating these very fine particles (obtained by grinding and/or pneumatic selection) improves the physical-mechanical characteristics of mortars and concretes. In this study, we measured the lime consumption of the various fractions (granulometric and densimetric) and identified by X-ray diffraction the neoformed phases by the pozzolanic reaction, to show that it is not sufficient to simply define the pozzolanicity of products based on lime consumption since it does not take into account the nature of the phases formed. The size of the particles used in the test samples also has a determining effect on the quantity of lime consumed. Before comparing results, it is necessary to ensure that the size of the particles (of the global ash and its constituents) be the same. Two distinct neoformed phases appear: CSH in the largest granular fractions (d>40 μm) and C<3AH6 in the smaller fractions.     

Composition dependent model for the prediction of syngas ash deposition in turbine gas hotpath

An improved physical model to predict flyash deposition is developed and discussed in this paper. This model differs from its predecessor ( [Rozati et al., in press] and [Sreedharan and Tafti, 2009] by accounting for deposition of syngas ash particles below the ash softening temperature. The modified deposition model is based on the critical viscosity approach. To test this model, deposition of ash particles impacted on a flat, 45° wedge shape geometry is computed and the results obtained from the numerical model are compared to Crosby et al. (2007). Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is used to model the flow field and flyash particles are modeled using a discrete Lagrangian framework. Results quantify deposition for 4 μm particles of various ash composition samples. Most of the deposition occurs at the stagnation region of the target plate. At 1456 K, out of all the ash samples considered in this study, WY and ND ash sample show the highest capture efficiency (15%) and KL1 ash sample exhibits the lowest capture efficiency (0.02%). In general, capture efficiencies for all ash samples followed an exponential trend with temperature. Additionally, this model is also compared to results obtained from the flat plate deposition experiments conducted here at Virginia Tech using PVC particles (Wood et al., 2010). In the case of PVC particles, the sticking probability in the deposition model assumed an exponential increase in deposition rate with temperature and was calibrated with one experimental data point. The results obtained from this model for PVC particles showed excellent agreement with the experimental measurements over a range of temperatures.