Treatment of backwater in bauxite flotation plant and optimization by using Box-Behnken design

Flotation indexes gradually decrease with the increase of cycle time of the backwater in bauxite floatation,and discharge of backwater brings environmental risk.In this study,methods such as Fenton-oxidation,adsorption and coagulation were used in the treatment of backwater,the flotation indexes were checked after backwater treatments,and Box-Behnken design(BBD)was used in the optimization of the main operating parameters.The results reveal that flotation indexes are effectively improved after coagulation treatment by polyaluminum ferric chloride(PAFC).The optimum parameters predicted by BBD are pH 7.55,1.09 g/L PAFC dosage and temperature of 25℃.Under these optimum conditions,a maximum recovery of Al2O3 of 82.83%and a minimum A/S of 1.30 of tailings are gained,while the deviations are less than 3%from the predicted values.These findings encourage the application of BBD for the optimization of critical parameters in backwater treatment.

Impact of backwater on water surface profile in curved channels

Owing to extensive construction of dams, the impact of backwater on flow may lead to navigation or flood control issues in curved channels. To date, the impact of backwater on the water surface profile in curved channels remains unknown and requires investigation. In this study, experiments were conducted in a glass-walled recirculating flume with a length of 19.4 m, a width of 0.6 m, and a depth of 0.8 m, and the impact of backwater on the water surface profile in a 90° channel bend was investigated. The experimental results showed that the backwater degree had a significant impact on the transverse and longitudinal flow depth distributions in the bend. The transverse slope of the flow (Jr) increased linearly with an increase in the Froude number of the approach flow upstream of the bend. Jr increased with the longitudinal location parameter ξ when −0.2 < ξ < 0.5, and decreased with ξ when 0.5 < ξ < 1.2. Furthermore, the results showed that Jr asymptotically decreased to zero with an increase in the degree of backwater. An equation was formulated to estimate the transverse slope of the flow in a 90° bend in backwater zones.

Application of 2-D sediment model to fluctuating backwater area of Yangtze River

Based on the characteristics of backflow, a two-dimensional mathematical model of sediment movement was established. The complexity of the watercourse boundary at the confluence of the main stream and the tributary was dealt with using a boundary-fitting orthogonal coordinate system. The basic equation of the two-dimensional total sediment load model, the numerical calculation format, and key problems associated with using the orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system were discussed. Water and sediment flow in the Chongqing reach of the Yangtze River were simulated. The calculated water level, flow velocity distribution, amount of silting and scouring, and alluvial distribution are found to be in agreement with the measured data, which indicates that the numerical model and calculation method are reasonable. The model can be used for calculation of flow in a relatively complicated river network.

Study of bedload transport in backwater flow

This paper studies the flow structure and the bedload transport regime in backwater flows, to provide a theoretical support for solving the sediment transport and bed scour problems in rivers or reservoirs with backwater. The bedload transport rates under different conditions are analyzed first on the basis of theoretical analysis, measurement comparison and flume experiment, and it is pointed out that the existing formulas for the bedload transport rate are not applicable for the bedload transport rate in backwater flows. Next, the flow structure in a non-uniform flow is observed by flume experiments, and by introducing the backwater degree index, the quantitative relation between the relative bed shear stress and the backwater degree is obtained. Finally, the formula for the bedload transport rate applicable for the reservoir channel segment with backwater flows is obtained through measurements and flume experiments.

Research and Application of an Environmental-Friendly Low-Damage and High Salt-Resistance Slick Water Fracturing Fluid System

The Sulige gas field is a typical low-pressure low-permeability tight sandstone gas reservoir. The reservoir has poor seepage capacity, strong heterogeneity, high mineralization of formation water and extremely scarce water resources on the site. These unfavorable factors have brought great difficulties to the on-site mining process. Now, a nano-composite green environmental protection slick water fracturing fluid system CQFR can be quickly dissolved because of the larger specific surface area, and the small molecular size makes the damage to the reservoir less than 5%, and the average drag reduction effect can reach more than 73%. It can quickly and well dissolve and maintain performance under high salinity conditions and fracturing flowback fluids. It responds well to the complex reservoir conditions on the construction site and makes the flowback fluid recyable, which greatly reduces the consumption of water resources on the construction site and effectively improves the construction efficiency and economic benefits.

FLOOD ROUTING MODELS IN CONFLUENT AND DIVIDING CHANNELS

By introducing a water depth connecting formula, the hydraulic equations in the dividing channel system were coupled and the relation of discharge distribution between the branches of the dividing channels can be yielded. In this manner, a numerical model for the confluent channels was established to study the variation of backwater effects with the parameters in the channel junction. The meeting of flood peaks in the mainstream and tributary can be analyzed with this model.The flood peak meeting is found to be a major factor for the extremely high water level in the mainstream during the 1998 Yangtze River flood. Subsequently the variations of discharge distribution and water level with channel parameters between each branch in this system were studied as well. As a result, flood evolution caused by Jingjiang River shortcut and sediment deposition in the entrance of dividing channels of the Yangtze River may be qualitatively elucidated.It is suggested to be an effective measure for flood mitigation to enhance regulation capability of reservoirs available upstream of the tributaries and harness branch entrance channels.

Assessment of hydraulic performance changes of Dongting Lake after the Three Gorges Reservoir impoundment by a novel semi-empirical approach

Floodplain lakes are important water storage areas in lowland regions that often undergo geomorphologic evolution,and timely topographic data are generally unavailable.In this study,to assess the impacts of lakebed deformation on hydraulic performance in Dongting Lake,a set of semi-empirical methods was proposed to establish performance graphs(PGs)using only hydrological data.These methods were used to evaluate the changes in water level,storage capacity,and flood detention ability in Dongting Lake caused by topographic adjustment after the Three Gorges Reservoir impoundment.These methods showed that PGs can effectively simulate the water level and outflow processes of Dongting Lake with Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficients(NSEs)above 0.9.A comparison of the estimated water level and discharge using PGs from different periods suggested that bed erosion in Dongting Lake caused water level decreases of 0.18 m and 0.32 m during the flood and dry seasons,respectively.Because the magnitude of erosion at high elevations in the lake is small,the impacts of bed adjustment on the storage capacity and flood detention ability are not currently significant.This study showed that the hydraulic performance of a floodplain lake can be evaluated independently of topographic data under the condition of no reverse flows or negative watersurface slopes.

Effect of backward-facing step heights in vegetation-step model on reducing the velocity of a tsunami inundation and increasing the energy dissipation efficiency

A coastal forest combined with a backward-facing step is an efficient facility to reduce tsunami damage to residential areas behind sea embankments.This study establishes a generalized model,and experimentally explores the water level changes upstream of the vegetation-step mitigation model as well as its energy dissipation effect under different initial Froude numbers,step heights,and vegetation conditions.The results show that the relative backwater rise increases with the growth of vegetation density,patch length and initial Froude number,representing a slowing down of the tsunami inundation.As for energy dissipation,it is mainly caused by the additional resistance of the vegetation and the hydraulic jump.And the vegetation condition not only affects the energy dissipation due to stem-scale turbulence within the patch,but also changes the hydraulic jump process of water falling from the step in cooperation with the step height.As a result,the energy dissipation efficiency always increases with the growth of vegetation density,vegetation patch length and step height.With the criterion that the energy dissipation efficiency and its growth rate can hardly change with vegetation parameters,this study innovatively defines the threshold slope and gives the principle of judging the most cost-effective vegetation conditions at different step heights.These results are expected to provide an important reference for the design of composite tsunami mitigation facilities.