Quantitative Estimation of the Changes in Soil CEC after the Removal of Organic Matter and Iron Oxides

The removal of organic matter and iron oxides could increase and decrease soil CEC in tropical and subtropical regions, but the quantitative information is insufficient so far about the change of soil CEC, the influence factors and their contribution. In this study, the subhorizon soils of 24 soil series in the tropical and subtropical China were used, pH, particle size composition, organic matter, iron oxides of these samples were measured, and also CECs were measured and compared for the original soils and after the removal of organic matter and iron oxides. The results showed that, compared with CEC of the original soil, the eliminating organic matter increased soil CEC significantly by 2.28% - 56.50% with a mean of 24.02%, but the further obliterating iron oxides decreased soil CEC significantly by 0.75% - 20.30% with a mean of 7.73%. CEC after the removal of organic matter and iron oxides had positive correlation with iron oxides (p < 0.01) and negative correlation with sand content (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05). CEC after organic matter eliminated was mainly decided by iron oxides (51.68%), followed by silt content (22.19%);while CEC after iron oxides obliterated was mainly determined by iron oxides (50.55%). The increase of CEC after organic matter eliminated was co-affected by the contents of clays, slits, iron oxides and pH (22.00% - 27.34%), while the decrease of CEC after iron oxides obliterated further was dominated by the content of organic matter (66.92%). More other soil parameters should be considered for higher predicting accuracy in the regression model of soil CEC after the removal of organic matter and iron oxides, and the recommended optimal models obtained in this study were as follows: for soil CEC after organic matter eliminated, CEC = 1.665 − 0.546pH − 0.024OM + 0.053FexOy − 0.001Silt + 0.007Clay + 0.972CECoriginal (R2 was 0.923, RSME was 1.55 cmol(+)∙kg−1, p < 0.01), while for soil CEC after iron oxides further obliterated, CEC = 1.665 − 0.546pH − 0.024OM + 0.053FexOy − 0.001Silt + 0.007Clay + 0.972CECoriginal (R2 was 0.923, RMSE was 1.55 cmol(+)∙kg−1, p < 0.01). Further research is needed in the future as for exploring internal functional mechanism in view of soil electrochemistry and mineralogy.

New Algorithm of Clay CEC for Soils in Tropical and Subtropical Regions of South China

Clay CEC is one of identification indexes of the LAC-ferric horizon which is the diagnostic horizon of ferrosols in Chinese Soil Taxonomy, and it is defined as soil CEC × 1000/clay content, rather than the measured CEC of the extracted clays;however, such a calculation method would definitely lead to an overestimation of clay CEC because it doesn’t remove the contribution to soil CEC from other soil parameters. In this study, the physiochemical data of the subhorizons from 82 soil series in the tropical and subtropical regions in south China were used, clay CEC was calculated according to the current formula and measured after clays being extracted, the measured and calculated clay CEC were compared, the influencing factors were analyzed for their difference, and the new algorithms were established for clay CEC. The results showed that the measured clay CEC was 21.86% - 99.53% with a mean of 66.88% of the calculated one (significantly lower at p < 0.01), and their difference was significantly correlated with the contents of clays, sand and OM, and mainly decided by the contents of clays and Fe2O3 (the contribution was 52.51% and 25.36%, respectively). By comparison of established regression models of clay CEC with other soil parameters, two new algorithms were recommended for clay CEC as follows: 1) Clay CEC = 10.32 − 0.14pH − 0.05OM − 0.11Fe2O3 + 0.01Silt − 0.01Clay + 1.17CECsoil, R2 = 0.705, P < 0.01;2) Clay CEC = −3.40 + 0.01Sand + 0.02Silt + 1.05CECsoil, R2 = 0.589, P < 0.01).

Comparison of Highly-Weathered Acid Soil CEC Determined by NH₄OAc (pH = 7.0) Exchange Method and BaCl₂-MgSO₄Forced-Exchange Method

Cation exchange capacity (CEC) is one of the most important properties of soils. The NH4OAc (pH = 7.0) exchange method is usually recommended to determine CEC (CEC1) of all soils with different pH values, particularly for studies on soil taxonomy. But comparatively the BaCl2-MgSO4 forced-exchange method is more authentic in determining CEC (CEC2) of tropical and subtropical highly-weathered acid soils. But so far little is known about the difference between CEC1 and CEC2. In this study, the physiochemical data of 114 acid B horizon soils from 112 soil series of tropical and subtropical China were used, CEC1 and CEC2 were determined and compared, the influencing factors were analyzed for the difference between CEC1 and CEC2, and then a regression model was established between CEC1 and CEC2. The results showed that CEC2 was significantly lower than CEC1 (p < 0.01), CEC2 was 14.76% - 63.31% with a mean of 36.32% of CEC1. In view of the contribution to CEC from other properties, CEC2 was mainly determined by pH (45.92%), followed by silt (21.05%), free Fe2O3 (17.35%) and clay contents (12.76%), CEC1 was mainly decided by free Fe2O3 content (40.38%), followed by pH (28.39%) and silt content (27.29%;and the difference between CEC1 and CEC2 was mainly affected by free Fe2O3 (50.92%), followed by silt content (26.46%) and pH (21.80%). The acceptable optimal regression model between CEC2 and CEC1 was established as CEC2 = 2.3114 × CEC11.1496 (R2 = 0.410, P < 0.001, RMSE = 0.15). For the studies on soil taxonomy, the BaCl2-MgSO4 forced-exchange method is recommended in determining CEC of the highly-weathered acid soils in the tropical and subtropical regions.

Immobilization of cobalt oxide nanoparticles on porous nitrogen-doped carbon as electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution

Highly efficient and robust electrocatalysts have been in urgent demand for oxygen evolution reaction(OER).For this purpose,high-cost carbon materials,such as graphene and carbon nanotubes,have been used as supports to metal oxides to enhance their catalytic activity.We report here a new Co_(3)O_(4)-based catalyst with nitrogen-doped porous carbon material as the support,prepared by pyrolysis of porous polyurea(PU) with Co(NO_(3))_(2)immobilized on its surface.To this end,PU was first synthesized,without any additive,through a very simple one-step precipitation polymerization of toluene diisocyanate in a binary mixture of H2O-acetone at room temperature.By immersing PU in an aqueous solution of Co(NO_(3))_(2)at room temperature,a cobalt coordinated polymer composite,Co(NO_(3))_(2)/PU,was obtained,which was heated at 500℃ in air for 2 h to get a hybrid,Co_(3)O_(4)/NC,consisting of Co_(3)O_(4)nanocrystals and sp2-hybridized N-doped carbon.Using this Co_(3)O_(4)/NC as a catalyst in OER,a current density of10 mA·cm^(-2)was readily achieved with a low overpotential of 293 mV with a Tafel slope of87 mV·dec^(-1),a high catalytic activity.This high performance was well retained after 1000 recycled uses,demonstrating its good durability.This work provides therefore a facile yet simple pathway to fabrication of a new transition metal oxides-based N-doped carbon catalyst for OER with high performance.

Minimizing the filtration loss of water-based drilling fluid with sustainable basil seed powder

Filtration control is important to ensure safe and high efficient drilling.The aim of the current research is to explore the feasibility of using basil seed powders(BSPs)to reduce filtration loss in water-based drilling fluid.The effect of BSP concentration,thermal aging temperature,inorganic salts(NaCl and CaCl_(2))on the filtration properties of bentonite/basil suspensions was investigated.The filtration control mechanism of BSP was probed via water absorbency test,zeta potential measurement,particle size distribution measurement,and filter cake morphologies observation by scanning electron microscope.The incorporation of BSPs into the bentonite suspension generated acceptable rheology below 1.0 w/v%.The BSPs exhibited effective filtration control after thermal aging at 120C,but less efficiency at 150C.After thermal aging at 120℃,the bentonite suspension containing 1.0 w/v%BSPs could resist NaCl and CaCl_(2) pollution of 5.0 w/v%and 0.3 w/v%respectively.Besides general filtration control behaviors,the exceptional water retaining capability formed by numerous nanoscale 3D networks in the basil seed gum and considerable insoluble small particles in BSPs might further contribute to the filtration control.The excellent filtration properties bring basil seed a suitable and green candidate for the establishment of high-performance drilling fluids.