Potential control flotation of galena in strong alkaline media

The electrochemical oxidation of galena in collectorless and collector flotation systems, particularly in strong alkaline media, was studied. The results show that, with pH value higher than 12.5 and potentials below 0.17 V, the oxidation products of galena are elemental sulfur and HPbO - 2. Elemental sulfur was present on the mineral surface in excess of oxidized lead species due to dissolution of HPbO - 2, which is beneficial to the flotation of galena. Under the same conditions, sphalerite and pyrite were depressed as a result of significant surface oxidation. Diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) was found to be the most suitable collector for galena flotation in strongly alkaline media. The very potential produced hydrophobic PbD 2-the surface reaction product of DDTC with galena, is 0 to 0.2 V. Meantime DDTC can depress the surface over oxidation of galena. Investigations also indicate that, in the range of -0.9 V to 0.6 V, hydrophobic PbD 2 can be firmly adsorbed on galena.

A novel SVPWM strategy considering neutral-point potential balancing for three-level NPC inverter

This paper proposes a novel SVPWM （space vector pulse width modulation） strategy for the three-level neutral-point-clamped voltage source inverter, based on the particular disposition of all the redundant voltage vectors. The new modulation approach shows superior performance for harmonic voltage and balancing control of neutral-point potential compared to the popular eight-stage centered SVPWM. It realizes suppression of inverter neutral-point potential variation by accurately modifying redundant factor of small vectors pairs, only requiring information of DC-link capacitor voltages and three-phase load currents. This is convenient to apply and is compatible of digital computer realization. Feasibility of the proposed control approach is verified by simulation and experimental results.

Surface Charging Controlling of the Chinese Space Station with Hollow Cathode Plasma Contactor

A highly charged manned spacecraft threatens the life of an astronaut and extravehicular activity, which can be effectively reduced by controlling the spacecraft surface charging. In this article, the controlling of surface charging on Chinese Space Station （CSS） is investigated, and a method to reduce the negative potential to the CSS is the emission electron with a hollow cathode plasma eontactor. The analysis is obtained that the high voltage （HV） solar array of the CSS collecting electron current can reach 4.5 A, which can be eliminated by emitting an adequate electron current on the CSS. The theoretical analysis and experimental results are addressed, when the minimum xenon flow rate of the hollow cathode is 4.0 sccm, the emission electron current can neutralize the collected electron current, which ensures that the potential of the CSS can be controlled in a range of less than 21 V, satisfied with safety voltage. The results can provide a significant reference value to define a flow rate to the potential controlling programme for CSS.

Pyrite oxidation in column at controlled redox potential of 900 mV with and without bacteria

Comparisons on the bioleaching and sterile oxidation of pyrite were performed at controlled redox potential of 900 mV(vs.SHE) and different temperatures of 30 and 60℃.For sterile experiments,the redox potential of irrigation solution was controlled by adding hydrogen peroxide solution(15 wt%),while the redox potential of irrigation solution for bioleaching was elevated by flowing through the packed bed in which bacteria were activated and colonized.The rate of pyrite bioleaching is faster than that of sterile oxidation at temperature of 30℃.The reason is that the potential gradient of leaching solution in bioleaching column is much smaller than that in sterile column.The redox potentials of irrigation solution and leaching solution are similar for bioleaching;however,the redox potential difference of irrigation solution and leaching solution for sterile oxidation is about 150 mV.When temperature increases to 60℃ for sterile oxidation,the rate of pyrite leaching is faster than that of bioleaching at temperature of 30℃,even though the redox potential gradient of leaching solution is great.The mineralogy analyses of pyrite residue were performed by scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive spectroscopy(SEM-EDS),X-ray diffraction(XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) analyses.The results confirm that pyrite oxidation might only occur at specific sites with high surface energy on surface and obeys the "indirect mechanism" whether there are bacteria or not.The pyrite oxidation rate is not inhibited by inert sulfur on residue surface at elevated redox potential.According to the conclusions,the way to accelerate pyrite oxidation is proposed.

Galvanically induced potentials to enable minimal tribochemical wear of stainless steel lubricated with sodium chloride and ionic liquid aqueous solution

The effect of galvanically induced potentials on the friction and wear behavior of a 1 RK91 stainless steel regarding to tribocorrosion was investigated using an oscillating ball-on-disk tribometer equipped with an electrochemical cell. The aim of this investigation is to develop a water-based lubricant. Therefore 1 molar sodium chloride(NaCl) and 1% 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [C_2 mim][Cl] water solutions were used. Tribological performance at two galvanically induced potentials was compared with the non-polarized state: cathodic potential-coupling with pure aluminum- and anodic potential-coupling with pure copper. Frictional and electrochemical response was recorded during the tests. In addition, wear morphology and chemical composition of the steel were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), respectively. The galvanically induced cathodic polarization of the stainless steel surface results in electrochemical corrosion protection and the formation of a tribolayer. Cations from the electrolyte(sodium Na^+ and 1-ethyl- 3-methylimidazolium [C_2 mim]^+) interact and adhere on the surface. These chemical interactions lead to considerably reduced wear using 1 NaC l(86%) and 1% 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [C_2 mim][Cl](74%) compared to the nonpolarized system. In addition, mechanical and corrosive part of wear was identified using this electrochemical technique. Therefore this method describes a promising method to develop water-based lubricants for technical applications.

Capacity of soil loss control in the Loess Plateau based on soil erosion control degree

The capacity of soil and water conservation measures, defined as the maximum quantity of suitable soil and water conservation measures contained in a region, were determined for the Loess Plateau based on zones suitable for establishing terraced fields, forestland and grassland with the support of geographic information system(GIS) software. The minimum possible soil erosion modulus and actual soil erosion modulus in 2010 were calculated using the revised universal soil loss equation(RUSLE), and the ratio of the minimum possible soil erosion modulus under the capacity of soil and water conservation measures to the actual soil erosion modulus was defined as the soil erosion control degree. The control potential of soil erosion and water loss in the Loess Plateau was studied using this concept. Results showed that the actual soil erosion modulus was 3355 t·km^(–2)·a^(–1), the minimum possible soil erosion modulus was 1921 t·km^(–2)·a^(–1), and the soil erosion control degree was 0.57(medium level) in the Loess Plateau in 2010. In terms of zoning, the control degree was relatively high in the river valley-plain area, soil-rocky mountainous area, and windy-sandy area, but relatively low in the soil-rocky hilly-forested area, hilly-gully area and plateau-gully area. The rate of erosion areas with a soil erosion modulus of less than 1000 t·km^(–2)·a^(–1) increased from 50.48% to 57.71%, forest and grass coverage rose from 56.74% to 69.15%, rate of terraced fields increased from 4.36% to 19.03%, and per capita grain available rose from 418 kg·a^(–1) to 459 kg·a^(–1) under the capacity of soil and water conservation measures compared with actual conditions. These research results are of some guiding significance for soil and water loss control in the Loess Plateau.