Effects of Different Nitrogen Applications on Soil Physical, Chemical Properties and Yield in Maize (<i>Zea mays</i>L.)

Application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer is one of the most important approaches on improving maize grain yield. However, as is known to all, overuse N fertilizer not only leads to decline of N use efficiency and maize yield, but also leads to potential risk to environment pollution. This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of N fertilizer applications with nine different treatments on soil physical-chemical characters and maize grain yield using hybrid variety Zhengdan 958 in 2011 and 2012. Results indicated that the soil bulk densities of T2 (CK) and T1 were the lowest compared to other treatments in 2011 and 2012, respectively, whereas the soil bulk density of T5 in 2011 and T3 in 2012 were higher than other treatments. The soil porosity and field capacity of T5 in 2011 and T3 in 2012 were lower than other treatments, but those of CK in 2011 and T1 in 2012 were higher than other treatments. The pH values of T3 to T7 were lower than other treatments. These results indicated that the soil bulk densities were increased, whereas the soil porosity, field capacity and values pH were decreased by N application at different stages. N application could increase the N contents of leaf and stem, whereas less or excess N application should not significant improve maize yield. Although the soil organic matter and total N contents of T3 were the highest in both 2011 and 2012, the yield of T4 is the highest in both 2011 and 2012. The application amount, period and times of N fertilizer were important to maize yield.

Electroactive species study in the electrochemical reduction of CO_2 in KHCO_3 solution at elevated temperature

Photoelectrochemical and electrochemical reduction of CO_2 into organic chemicals is promising for directly or indirectly transforming solar energy into chemical energy for further utilization. However,research on the electroactive species in these processes has been rather limited. In this work, we investigated possible electroactive species(CO_2 or HCO_3~– ) involved in the electrochemical reduction of KHCO_3 at elevated temperatures without CO_2 bubbling. The results showed that CO, CH_4, and C_2H_4 were produced after electrochemical reduction of 3.0 mol/L KHCO_3 at elevated temperature on a Cu electrode even without CO_2 bubbling, although their faradaic efficiencies were low(< 6 %). Measurements for CO_2 generation from the decomposition of HCO_3~– showed that elevated temperature and high HCO_3~– concentration strongly promoted this process. These results suggested that the in-situ produced CO_2 from the decomposition of HCO_3~– was probably the electroactive species in the electrochemical reduction of HCO_3~– without CO_2 bubbling. Changes of the Gibbs free energy, rate constant, and activation energy of the decomposition of HCO_3~– into CO_2 were also investigated and calculated from the experimental data.

Highly-efficient and autocatalytic reduction of NaHCO_3 into formate by in situ hydrogen from water splitting with metal/metal oxide redox cycle

The Earth’s sustainable development is threatened by the increasing atmospheric COlevel which can be attributed to the imbalance of COdue to the rapid consumption of fossil fuels caused by human activities and the slow absorption and conversion of COby nature. One of the efficient methods for reconstructing the balance of COshould involve the rapid conversion of COinto fuels and chemicals.The hydrogenation of COwith gaseous hydrogen is currently considered to be the most commercially feasible synthetic route, however, the supply of safe and economical hydrogen sources poses a significant challenge to up-scaling application. Direct utilization of hydrogen from dissociation of water, the most abundant, cheap and clean hydrogen resource, for the reduction of COwould be one of the most promising approaches for COutilization. This paper provides an overview of the current advances in research on highly efficient reduction of COor NaHCO, a representative compound of CO, into formic acid/formate by in situ hydrogen from water dissociation with a metal/metal oxide redox cycle under mild hydrothermal conditions.

Mechanism study of reduction of CO_2 into formic acid by in-situ hydrogen produced from water splitting with Zn: Zn/ZnO interface autocatalytic role

We have previously developed a new process of highly efficient conversion of COand water into formic acid with metallic Zn without the addition of catalyst, however, its mechanism is not clear, particularly in the catalytic role of Zn/ZnO interface. Herein, the autocatalytic role of Zn/ZnO interface formed in situ during the reduction of COinto formic acid with Zn in water was studied by combining high resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM）, X-ray diffraction（XRD） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） techniques and experimental data. The electron microscope results show that possible defects or dislocations formed on Zn/ZnO interface, in which plays a key role for Zn H-formation. Further XPS analyses indicate that oxygen vacancies on Zn/ZnO interface increased at short reaction times（less than 10 min）. These analyses and experimental results suggest that a highly efficient and rapid conversion of COand water into formic acid should involve an autocatalytic role of the Zn/ZnO interface formed in situ, particularly at the beginning of the reaction.

REEs recovery from molten salt electrolytic slag:Challenges and opportunities for environmentally friendly techniques

Due to the unique physical and chemical properties,rare earth elements(REEs)play a significant role in the high-tech field.In the past few decades,the rare earth reserve in China has been gradually decreasing and more pressure has been exerted on the global rare earth supply for the increasing demand of REEs,which indicates that it is essential to recycle secondary resources to meet the rare earth demand.As for rare earth molten salt electrolytic slag(REMES),although its high rare earth content has potential huge economic value,its high fluorine content of approximately 10 wt%-20 wt%can pollute the environment.Three methods are used to treat REMES.Hydro metallurgical and pyro-hydrometallurgical methods have gotten a big success for solving most of the hydrometallurgical problems,while some problems,like long route and waste water,need to be solved.Vacuum distillation is a new and promising method with a short process due to its harmlessness and high efficiency,but has shortcomings such as high energy consumption and material adaptability.This review presents these above three treatment methods,and the challenges and chances of using the recovery technique of REMES in an environmentally friendly way.

Revealing the GHG reduction potential of emerging biomass-based CO_(2) utilization with an iron cycle system

CO_(2) utilization becomes a promising solution for reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Biomass-based CO_(2) utilization (BCU) even has the potential to generate negative emissions, but the corresponding quantitative evaluation is limited. Herein, the biomass-based CO_(2) utilization with an iron cycle (BCU-Fe) system, which converts CO_(2) into formate by Fe under hydrothermal conditions and recovers Fe with biomass-derived glycerin, was investigated. The GHG reduction potential under various process designs was quantified by a multidisciplinary method, including experiments, simulations, and an ex-ante life-cycle assessment. The results reveal that the BCU-Fe system could bring considerable GHG emission reduction. Significantly, the lowest value is −34.03 kg CO_(2)-eq/kg absorbed CO_(2) (−2.44 kg CO_(2)-eq/kg circulated Fe) with the optimal yield of formate (66%) and Fe (80%). The proposed ex-ante evaluation approach not only reveals the benefits of mitigating climate change by applying the BCU-Fe system, but also serves as a generic tool to guide the industrialization of emerging carbon-neutral technologies.

Enhanced photocatalytic CO_(2) hydrogenation with wide-spectrum utilization over black TiO_(2) supported catalyst

Light-driven conversion of CO_(2)into chemicals/fuels is a desirable approach for achieving carbon neutral-ity using clean and sustainable energy.However,its scale-up application is restricted due to insufficient efficiency.Herein,we present a photothermal catalytic hydrogenation of CO_(2)into CH_(4)over Ru/black TiO_(2) catalysts,aiming to achieve the synergistic use of light and heat in solar energy during CO_(2)conversion.Owing to the desirable spectral response ability and photothermal conversion performance of black TiO_(2),an efficient combination of photocatalysis and thermocatalysis has been established.The CO_(2)hydrogena-tion was significantly accelerated because of the increased catalyst surface temperature enabled by the photothermal effect of black TiO_(2).Simultaneously,through the in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)observation,electron-rich Ru nanoparticles was achieved based on the photo-induced excitation,thereby providing more negative hydride to improve nucleophilic attack to the CO_(2),obtaining the CH_(4) yield of 93.8%.