Degradation of polystyrene using montmorillonite clay catalysts

Summary The performance of acid-treated montmorillonite catalysts in the degradation of polystyrene (PS) was investigated in this study. The degradation was carried out in a semi-batch reactor with a mixture of PS and catalyst at 400-450^oC. The commercial Süd Chemie acid-treated montmorillonite clays (K-series) showed good catalytic activity for the degradation of PS. The styrene monomer and ethylbenzene were major liquid products. The increase of surface acidity enhanced further cracking of styrene dimer and trimer to produce styrene monomer. Higher production of ethylbenzene for K30 may be related to its bigger pore volume and surface area compared to those of K5. High degradation temperature favored styrene monomer production.     

Colloidal forces between bitumen surfaces in aqueous solutions measured with atomic force microscope

Colloidal forces between bitumen surfaces in aqueous solutions were measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The results showed a significant impact of solution pH, salinity, calcium and montmorillonite clay addition on both long-range (non-contact) and adhesion (pull-off) forces. Weaker long-range repulsive forces were observed under conditions of lower solution pH, higher salinity and higher calcium concentration. Lower solution pH, salinity and calcium concentration resulted in a stronger adhesion forces. The addition of montmorillonite clays increased long-range repulsive forces and decreased adhesion forces, particularly when co-added with calcium ions. The measured force profiles were fitted with extended DLVO theory to show the repulsive electrostatic double layer and attractive hydrophobic forces being the dominant components in the long-range forces between the bitumen surfaces. At a very short separation distance (less than 4–6 nm), a strong repulsion of steric origin was observed. The findings provide a fundamental understanding of bitumen emulsion stability and a mechanism of bitumen “aeration” in bitumen recovery processes from oil sands.     

The investigation of ancient pottery

Summary Ancient ceramic samples (single fragments and different parts of pots, unbroken and repaired; total about 180 samples) dated from the transitional period of late Bronze to early Iron Age (VIII-VI centuries BC) and early Iron Age (VII-IV centuries BC) were investigated by thermal analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, petrography, and scanning electron microscopy equipped with the energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer. In addition to that, to identify the clay sources for the ceramic manufacturing, about 15 samples of clays and soils found near archeological digs and taken from the mineralogical museum were investigated. We found out that the calcite content of ceramics is a very informative parameter for the identification of the clay source for the pottery manufactured at low technological level (low-temperature firing).     

高压坩埚-草酸-盐酸羟胺法提取粘土中的游离氧化铁

为更准确地测定粘土中的游离氧化铁,提出一个提取游离氧化铁的新方法。该方法是：在高压坩埚中用草酸和盐酸羟胺混合液作为提取剂,于１３０℃的密封条件下提取粘土中的游离氧化铁,浸提时间为０．５ｈ。实验表明;本法较常用的连二亚硫酸钠－柠檬酸钠－重碳酸钠法能更有效地分解粘土中铁的氧化物,使游离氧化铁的浸出更完全。方法的ＲＳＤ小于２．５％。     

Local and non-local sources of airborne particulate pollution at Beijing--The ratio of Mg/Al as an element tracer for estimating the contributions of mineral aerosols from outside Beijing

A new element tracer technique has firstly been established to estimate the contributions of mineral aerosols from both inside and outside Beijing. The ratio of Mg/Al in aerosol is a feasible element tracer to distinguish between the sources of inside and outside Beijing. Mineral aerosol, inorganic pollution aerosol mainly as sulfate and nitrate, and organic aerosol are the major components of airborne particulates in Beijing, of which mineral aerosol accounted for 32%―67% of total suspended particles (TSP), 10%―70% of fine particles (PM2.5), and as high as 74% and 90% of TSP and PM2.5, respectively, in dust storm. The sources from outside Beijing contributed 62% (38%―86%) of the total mineral aerosols in TSP, 69% (52%―90%) in PM10, and 76% (59%―93%) in PM2.5 in spring, and 69% (52%―83%), 79% (52%―93%), and 45% (7%―79%) in TSP, PM10, and PM2.5, respectively, in winter, while only ～20% in summer and autumn. The sources from outside Beijing contributed as high as 97% during dust storm and were the dominant source of airborne particulates in Beijing. The contributions from outside Beijing in spring and winter are higher than those in summer, indicating clearly that it was related to the various meteorological factors.     

Dependence of Thermal Stability of an Engine Lubricating Oil on Usage Period

Mineral oil type lubricating oils have an important role in reducing engine wear. But after some period, depending on the oil quality, oil replacement is needed since the oil loses its properties. In this paper, an engine oil was tested in a 1300 cc engine car and the change of the thermal stability of the collected portions of oil at different usage periods were experimented by TG/DTG and DSC techniques. Results show that, as usage period increases lubricating oil contains more of the light components that distill at low temperatures. The increase in the peak maximum temperature, T_max, of the DTG, as usage period increases, proposes that the molecular mass of the oil increase, which presumably changes the viscosity characteristics. Moreover as the usage period increases some residue type components, which only can be destroyed at very high temperatures, are produced in oil phase. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Micro-CT参数对骨质疏松性椎体压缩性骨折术后复发的预测价值

本研究探讨Micro-CT参数对骨质疏松性椎体压缩性骨折(OVCF)患者术后复发的预测价值。选取OVCF患者127例,根据术后6个月骨折复发情况分为复发组(n=41)与未复发组(n=86)。患者均接受Micro-CT检查,对比两组Micro-CT参数,即骨体积分数(BV/TV)、骨小梁厚度(Tb.Th)、骨小梁间隙(Tb.Sp)、结构模型指数(SMI),以及骨密度(BMD)、骨矿含量(BMC),分析各参数与BMD、BMC及术后复发相关性,并评价各参数对术后复发的预测价值。结果显示,复发组骨体积分数(BV/TV)、骨小梁厚度(Tb.Th)低于未复发组,骨小梁间隙(Tb.Sp)、结构模型指数(SMI)高于未复发组(P<0.05);BV/TV、Tb.Th与骨密度(BMD)、骨矿含量(BMC)呈正相关,Tb.Sp、SMI与BMD、BMC呈负相关(P<0.05);将年龄、BMD、BMC等其他因素控制后,BV/TV、Tb.Sp、Tb.Th、SMI与OVCF术后骨折复发显著相关(P<0.05);BV/TV、Tb.Sp、Tb.Th、SMI联合预测OVCF术后骨折复发的曲线下面积(AUC)最大,为0.888(P<0.05)。提示Micro-CT参数在OVCF患者中呈异常表达,采用Micro-CT检查可为临床预测OVCF术后骨折复发提供科学指导。     

基于元素指纹的白术产地溯源及其与土壤的相关性研究

本研究主要采用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(ICP-MS)等手段测定5个产地白术41种矿质元素含量和土壤41种化学成分指标, 结合聚类分析法、偏最小二乘判别分析(PLS-DA)法和Pearson相关性分析研究了不同产区白术矿质元素特征以及不同产区土壤因子的差异, 并对它们的相关性进行了探讨. 结果表明, 采用无监督的聚类分析和有监督的PLS-DA均能正确判别不同产地的白术和土壤, 其中稀土元素在浙江白术与土壤间呈正相关. 另外, Li、V、Mn、Co、Cu、Rb、Cd、Cs、Ba等微量元素是白术产地溯源的关键因素. 研究发现在白术生产实践中可以通过适量控制种植地的土壤湿度、增施特定肥料等措施调控白术矿质元素含量. 本研究将为解释道地白术的品质形成机制, 保证白术药效质量的有效性提供一定帮助.     

Analytical Performance of Clay Paste Electrode and Graphene Paste Electrode-Comparative Study

The analytical performance of the clay paste electrode and graphene paste electrode was compared using square wave voltammetry (SWV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The comparison was made on the basis of a paracetamol (PA) determination on both working electrodes. The influence of pH and SWV parameters was investigated. The linear concentration ranges were found to be 6.0 × 10⁻⁷–3.0 × 10⁻⁵ and 2.0 × 10⁻⁶–8.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ for clay paste electrode (ClPE) and graphene paste electrode (GrPE), respectively. The detection and quantification limits were calculated as 1.4 × 10⁻⁷ and 4.7 ×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ for ClPE and 3.7 × 10⁻⁷ and 1.2 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ for GrPE, respectively. Developed methods were successfully applied to pharmaceutical formulations analyses. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to characterize ClPE and GrPE surfaces. Clay composition was examined with wavelength dispersive X-ray (WDXRF).     

Synthesis of attapulgite-MnO2 nanocomposite from manganese complex by ultrasound for hydrogen storage

The research included the synthesis of a new complex of manganese with 3,4,5-tri-methoxybenzoic acid in the presence of triethylamine as a base to which gives the complex with formula [Mn (TMB)₂].2H₂O. This complex was characterized by FTIR, CHN, magnetic susceptibility and thermal analysis. Furthermore, this complex was used as a novel precursor of manganese in preparing the attapulgite-MnO₂ nanocomposite by one-pot addition method using ultrasound. The resulting nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction and TEM and the results prove that this composite was found as nanochannel of the diameter 45 nm decorated with 26–41 nm of MnO₂ nanoparticles. The attapulgite-MnO₂ nanocomposite was used in the application of hydrogen storage, and the results proved that attapulgite-MnO₂ nanocomposite has the ability to store 3.55 wt% of hydrogen under a pressure of 90 bar and a temperature of 77 K. Furthermore, the measurement demonstrated that increasing the pressure increased the stored hydrogen, implying that the stored gas will be liberated by altering the pressure, implying that the storage will be of the physical kind.