Effect of substrate concentration on stability of anammox biofilm reactors

Ammonium and nitrite are two substrates of anammox bacteria, but they are also inhibitors under high concentrations. The performance of two anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) upflow biofilm (UBF) reactors was investigated. The results show that anammox UBFs become unstable under nitrogen loading rate (NLR) applied higher than 1.0 g/(L·d). The consumptions of acidity in the anammox reaction lead to the increase of pH, which is as high as 8.70-9.05. Free nitrous acid concentration is accompanied to be lower than the affinity constant of anammox bacteria, and then starvation effect appears. Moreover, free ammonia concentration increases to 57-178 mg/L, resulting in inhibitory effect on the anammox bacteria. Both negative effects contribute to the instability of the anammox bioreactors.

Investigations of mechanical, electronic, and magnetic properties of non-magnetic MgTe and ferro-magnetic Mg_(0.75)T M_(0.25)Te (TM = Fe, Co, Ni): An ab-initio calculation

The mechanical, electronic and magnetic properties of non-magnetic MgTe and ferro-magnetic （FM） Mgo.75 TM025 Te （TM = Fe, Co, Ni） in the zinc-blende phase are studied by ab-initio calculations for the first time. We use the generalized gradient approximation functional for computing the structural stability, and mechanical properties, while the modified Becke and Johnson local （spin） density approximation （mBJLDA） is utilized for determining the electronic and magnetic properties. By comparing the energies of non-magnetic and FM calculations, we find that the compounds are stable in the FM phase, which is confirmed by their structural stabilities in terms of enthalpy of formation. Detailed descriptions of elastic properties of Mgo.75TMo.25Te alloys in the FM phase are also presented. For electronic properties, the spin- polarized electronic band structures and density of states are computed, showing that these compounds are direct bandgap materials with strong hybridizations of TM 3d states and Te p states. Further, the ferromagnetism is discussed in terms of the Zener free electron model, RKKY model and double exchange model. The charge density contours in the （110） plane are calculated to study bonding properties. The spin exchange splitting and crystal field splitting energies are also calculated. The distribution of electron spin density is employed in computing the magnetic moments appearing at the magnetic sites （Fe, Co, Ni）, as well as at the non-magnetic sites （Mg, Te）. It is found that the p-d hybridization causes not only magnetic moments on the magnetic sites but also induces negligibly small magnetic moments at the non-magnetic sites.

Ab-initio calculations of bandgap tuning of In1-xGaxY(Y=N,P)alloys for optoelectronic applications

The III–V alloys and doping to tune the bandgap for solar cells and other optoelectronic devices has remained a hot topic of research for the last few decades.In the present article,the bandgap tuning and its influence on optical properties of In1-xGaxN/P,where(x=0.0,0.25,0.50,0.75,and 1.0)alloys are comprehensively analyzed by density functional theory based on full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method(FP-LAPW)and modified Becke and Johnson potentials(TB-mBJ).The direct bandgaps turn from 0.7 eV to 3.44 eV,and 1.41 eV to 2.32 eV for In1-xGaxN/P alloys,which increases their potentials for optoelectronic devices.The optical properties are discussed such as dielectric constants,refraction,absorption,optical conductivity,and reflection.The light is polarized in the low energy region with minimum reflection.The absorption and optical conduction are maxima in the visible region,and they are shifted into the ultraviolet region by Ga doping.Moreover,static dielectric constant e1(0)is in line with the bandgap from Penn’s model.