Xiangxin Xue

Mechanical properties of UHMWPE/Sm2O3 composite shielding material

UHMWPE have good effect to slow down fast neutrons and Sm2O3 can absorb the thermal neutrons. A new style UHMWPE/ Sm2O3 composite shielding material was manufractured by hot-press moulding method. The microstructure and mechanical properties were characterized by IR and SEM. The results indicate that Sm2O3 distributed continuously, evenly in UHMWPE, and the interface was combined closely. Hardness of UHMWPE/Sm2O3 composites increased at first and decreased and tensile strength decreased with the increasing of Sm2O3 mass fraction.

Removal kinetics of phosphorus from synthetic wastewater using basic oxygen furnace slag.

Removal kinetics of phosphorus through use of basic oxygen furnace slag (BOF-slag) was investigated through batch experiments. Effects of several parameters such as initial phosphorus concentration, temperature, BOF-slag size, initial pH, and BOF-slag dosage on phosphorus removal kinetics were measured in detail. It was demonstrated that the removal process of phosphorus through BOF-slag followed pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics. The apparent rate constant (kobs) significantly decreased with increasing initial phosphorus concentration, BOF-slag size, and initial pH, whereas it exhibited an opposite trend with increasing reaction temperature and BOF-slag dosage. A linear dependence of kobs on total removed phosphorus (TRP) was established with kobs=(3.51±0.11)×10(-4)×TRP. Finally, it was suggested that the Langmuir-Rideal (L-R) or Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism may be used to describe the removal process of phosphorus using BOF-slag.

Photocatalytic activity of Fe-doped CaTiO3 under UV-visible light

The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) over Fe-doped CaTiO₃ under UV-visible light was investigated. The as-prepared samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) system, Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The results show that the doping with Fe significantly promoted the light absorption ability of CaTiO₃ in the visible light region. The Fe-doped CaTiO₃ exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than CaTiO₃ for the degradation of MB. However, the photocatalytic activity of the Fe-doped CaTiO₃ was greatly influenced by the calcination temperature during the preparation process. The Fe-doped CaTiO₃ prepared at 500°C exhibited the best photocatalytic activity, with degradation of almost 100% MB (10ppm) under UV-visible light for 180 min.

Preparation of UV-visible light responsive photocatalyst from titania-bearing blast furnace slag modified with (NH4)2SO4

Abstract Sulfate-modified titanium dioxide-bearing blast furnace slag (STBBFS) photocatalysts were prepared by the high energy ball milling method with (NH4)2SO4 and titanium dioxide-bearing blast furnace slag (TBBFS) as raw materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV-visible diffuse reflectance absorption spectra (UV-Vis), adsorption experiment and photocatalytic degradation measurement were conducted to characterize the structure, surface status, light absorption capacity, adsorption capacity and photocatalytic activity of the obtained photocatalysts. The adsorption equilibrium was described by the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 8.25 mg/g of Cr(VI) ions onto the STBBFS photocatalysts. As a result, sulfation of TBBFS improved the photocatalytic activities of STBBFSx photocatalysts. At a low calcination temperature, the photocatalytic activity of STBBFS300 photocatalyst was markedly higher compared with TBBFSx prepared at high calcination temperature, indicating that the photocatalytic activity of STBBFSx photocatalyst was determined by the balanced result between adsorption capacity and perovskite content.

Effect of basicity on sintering behavior of low-titanium vanadium–titanium magnetite

Abstract Basicity has an important effect on the sinter quality, especially for low-titanium vanadium–titanium sinter. The effect of basicity on sintering behavior of low-titanium vanadium–titanium mixture, and the transference and distribution of element in sintering process were researched by sinter pot test, mineralogical analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The results show that CaO preferentially reacts with TiO2, generating pervoskite, so that the total liquid phase content of the sinter is low. There is an increase in the perovskite concentration of the sinter with the basicity ranging from 1.9:1 to 2.7:1. With increasing the basicity, the calcium ferrite content increases slightly and then rises rapidly, while the silicate content decreases and the metallurgical property of the sinter is improved. As for the distribution of these elements in the sinter, Ti occurs mainly in perovskite, V occurs mainly in silicate, and Fe occurs mainly in magnetite and hematite. The most abundant occurrence of Ca and Si occurs in silicate and perovskite. With increasing the basicity, the contents of Al and Mg increase in calcium ferrite, while they decrease in other minerals.

Effect of Tb2O3 additive on structure of anatase and photocatalytic activity of TiO2/(O′ +β′)-Sialon multi-phase ceramics

Effect of rare earth oxide Tb2O3 additive on transformation behavior and grain growth of anatase and photocatalytic activity for TiO2/(O′ +β′)-Sialon multi-phase ceramic was investigated and the mechanism was discussed. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) was employed for the analysis of phase composition, grain size and lattice parameters of anatase. Photocatalytic activity of the composites was investigated through its photocatalytic degradation to methylene blue (MB) solution. The results showed that Tb2O3 significantly inhibited the transformation process, which displayed an appreciably intensified effect with increasing Tb2O3 content. It could be attributed to the coaction of the active and passive influence mechanisms. For Tb3+ entering TiO2 lattice, replacing Ti4+ accelerated the transformation, whereas the lattice distortion caused by it was unfavorable for the process. On the other hand, the redox reaction between Tb3+ and TiO2 as well as the Tb2O3 deposited on the surface of TiO2 inhibited the transformation. The addition of Tb2O3 effectively restrained the grain growth of TiO2 and the effect became significant with the increase of its content. With the increase of Tb2O3 addition, the photocatalytic activity of the catalysts increased and then dropped after reaching the maximum at about 2%. The action mechanism of Tb2O3 could be attributed to its optical properties and its effect on phase transformation, grain growth and crystal structure of TiO2.

Fungal diversity in major oil-shale mines in China

As an insufficiently utilized energy resource, oil shale is conducive to the formation of characteristic microbial communities due to its special geological origins. However, little is known about fungal diversity in oil shale. Polymerase chain reaction cloning was used to construct the fungal ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid internal transcribed spacer (rDNA ITS) clone libraries of Huadian Mine in Jilin Province, Maoming Mine in Guangdong Province, and Fushun Mine in Liaoning Province. Pure culture and molecular identification were applied for the isolation of cultivable fungi in fresh oil shale of each mine. Results of clone libraries indicated that each mine had over 50% Ascomycota (58.4%-98.9%) and 1.1%-13.5% unidentified fungi. Fushun Mine and Huadian Mine had 5.9% and 28.1% Basidiomycota, respectively. Huadian Mine showed the highest fungal diversity, followed by Fushun Mine and Maoming Mine. Jaccard indexes showed that the similarities between any two of three fungal communities at the genus level were very low, indicating that fungi in each mine developed independently during the long geological adaptation and formed a community composition fitting the environment. In the fresh oil-shale samples of the three mines, cultivable fungal phyla were consistent with the results of clone libraries. Fifteen genera and several unidentified fungi were identified as Ascomycota and Basidiomycota using pure culture. Penicillium was the only genus found in all three mines. These findings contributed to gaining a clear understanding of current fungal resources in major oil-shale mines in China and provided useful information for relevant studies on isolation of indigenous fungi carrying functional genes from oil shale.

Evaluation of the role of inherent Ca2+ in phosphorus removal from wastewater system

The role of inherent Ca(2+) in phosphorus removal from wastewater was evaluated by batch tests. Precipitates were characterized by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) system. Effects of inherent Ca(2+) on phosphorus removal through basic oxygen furnace slag (BOFS) were also analyzed. The results show that upon adjusting the pH to higher than 7.0, inherent Ca(2+) can remove phosphorus from wastewater and form Ca-P precipitates. Residual phosphorus exhibited a linear decreasing trend with increasing the pH from 7.0 to 10.0 and then remained unchanged at higher pH than 10.0. EDS determined that the precipitates contained the elements Ca, P and O. FT-IR spectra demonstrated that the functional groups of precipitates involved PO4(3-), OH(-) and CO3(2-). XRD indicated that the precipitates may consist of CaCO3 and some Ca-P phosphates such as CaHPO4, Ca4H(PO4)3, Ca3(PO4)2, and Ca5(PO4)3(OH). During the removal process of phosphorus by BOFS, due to the presence of inherent Ca(2+) in wastewater, the removal efficiency and rate of phosphorus increased by 15.5% and by a factor of about 3.0, respectively.

Investigation of the phosphorus removal capacities of basic oxygen furnace slag under variable conditions

ABSTRACT Effects of reaction time, initial phosphorus concentration, basic oxygen furnace slag (BOF-slag) dosage and size, and temperature on the phosphorus removal capacities (PRCs) of BOF-slag have been investigated in detail through batch tests. Weakly bound phosphorus, Fe- and Al-associated phosphorus, and Ca-associated phosphorus from fresh and reacted BOF-slag were analysed using sequential chemical extraction processes. It was determined that the PRCs of BOF-slag increased with the increase of initial phosphorus concentration and temperature while it decreased with the increase of BOF-slag dosage and size. The phosphorus removed by BOF-slag was primarily assigned to weakly bound phosphorus and Ca-associated phosphorus. Weakly bound phosphorus showed a significant decrease with the increase in all experimental parameter values. However, Ca-associated phosphorus exhibited a prominent increase with increasing reaction time, initial phosphorus concentration, and temperature. These demonstrate that experimental parameters can simultaneously affect the PRCs of BOF-slag and the ways of phosphorus removal by BOF-slag.

Photocatalytic activity of Fe-doped diopside

UV-visible light induced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) over Fe-doped diopside was investigated. The structure, composition, morphology and absorption property of UV-visible light of as-prepared samples were characterized using XRD, SEM, FTIR and UV-vis DRS. The experimental results show that doping Fe3+ induced the formation of some new species in diopside, and promoted light adsorption property of diopside in UV-visible region. Photochemical reactivity of Fe-doped diopside obviously depended on the content of doping Fe3+. The diopside with 1.848% Fe3+ exhibited the superior photocatalytic activity with 95% degradation of MB under UV-visible light for 3 h. The photocatalytic degradation kinetics of MB over all samples showed the first-order reaction nature.