Investigation on Fe,Mn,Zn,Cu,Pb and Cd fractions in the natural surface coating samples and surficial sediments in the Songhua River,China

Natural surface coating samples （NSCSs） from the surface of shingles and surficial sediments （SSs） in the Songhua River, China were employed to investigate the relationship between NSCSs and SSs in fractions of heavy metals （Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd） using the modified sequential extraction procedure （MSEP）. The results show that the differences between NSCSs and SSs in Fe fi＇actions were insignificant and Fe was dominantly present as residual phase （76.22% for NSCSs and 80.88% for SSs） and Fe-oxides phase （20.33% for NSCSs and 16.15% for SSs）. Significant variation of Mn distribution patterns between NSCSs and SSs was observed with Mn in NSCSs mainly present in Mn-oxides phase （48.27%） and that in SSs present as residual phase （45.44%）. Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd were found dominantly in residual fractions （〉48%）, and next in solid oxides/hydroxides for Zn, Pb and Cd and in easily oxidizable solids/compounds form for Cu, respectively. The heavy metal distribution patterns implied that Fe/Mn oxides both in NSCSs and SSs were more important sinks for binding and adsorption of Zn, Pb and Cd than organic matter （OM）, and inversely, higher affinity of Cu to OM than Fe/Mn oxides in NSCSs and SSs was obtained. Meanwhile, it was found that the distributions of heavy metals in NSCSs and SSs were similar to each other and the pseudo-total concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd in NSCSs were greater than those in SSs, highlighting the more importance for NSCSs than SSs in controlling behaviours of heavy metals in aquatic environments.

Measurement of Atrazine Adsorption onto Surficial Sediments(Natural Surface Coatings)——New Evidence for the Importance of Fe Oxides

To reveal the relative contribution of the components, Fe, Mn oxides or organic materials（OMs） in the surficial sediments（SSs）, and the natural surface coating samples（NSCSs） to adsorbing atrazine（AT）, a selective chemical extraction technique was employed, to remove the different components, and the adsorption characteristics of AT on the SSs and the NSCSs were investigated. The observed adsorptions of AT on the original and extracted SSs and NSCSs were analyzed by nonlinear least squares fitting（NLSF） to estimate the relative contribution of the components. The results showed that the maximum adsorption of AT on the NSCSs was greater than that in the SSs, before and after extraction treatments, implying that the NSCSs were more dominant than the SSs for organic pollutant adsorption. It was also found that the Fe oxides, OMs, and residues in SSs（NSCSs） facilitated the adsorption of AT, but Mn oxides directly or indirectly restrained the interaction of AT with SSs（NSCSs） particles. The contribution of the Fe oxides to AT adsorption was more than that of OMs; the greatest contribution to AT adsorption on a molar basis was from the Fe oxides in the nonresidual fractions, indicating that the Fe oxides played an important role in controlling the environmental behavior of AT in an aquatic environment.

Scavenging of Cd through Fe/Mn oxides within natural surface coatings

The dynamics of Cd scavenging from solutions by Fe/Mn oxides in natural surface coatings （NSCs） was investigated under laboratory conditions. Selective extraction methods were employed to estimate the contributions of Fe/Mn oxides, where hydroxylamine hydrochloride （0.01 mol/L NH2OH-HCl ＋ 0.01 mol/L HNO3）, sodium dithionite （0.4 mol/L Na2S2O4） and nitric acid （10% HNO3） were used as extraction reagents. The Cd scavenging was accomplished with developing periods of the NSCs （totally 21 data sets）. The resulting process dynamics fitted well to the Elovich equation, demonstrating that the amount of Cd scavenged was proportional to the increments of Fe/Mn oxides that were accumulated in the NSCs. The amount of Cd bound to Fe oxides （MCdFe） and Mn oxides （MCdMn） could be quantified by solving two equations based on the properties of two extraction reagents. The amount of Cd scavenged by Fe/Mn oxides could also be estimated using MCdFe and MCdMn divided by the total amounts of Fe and Mn oxides in the NSCs, respectively. The results indicated that the Cd scavenging by Fe/Mn oxides was dominated by Fe oxides, with less roles attributed to Mn oxides. The estimated levels of Cd scavenging through Fe and Mn oxides agreed well with those predicted through additive-adsorption and linear-regression models.

Forms of phosphorus and silicon in the natural grain size surface sediments of the southern Bohai Sea

The forms of phosphorus and silicon in the natural grain sizes surface sediments of the southern Bohai Sea were studied. In sediments, the organic matter bound form of phosphorus was the main form of transferable phosphorus and ranged from 0.37 μmol/g to 1.57 μmol/g, accounting for 10.7% of the total phosphorus, others were the carbonate bound form, iron manganese oxide bound form and ion exchange able form; the transferable form of phosphorus accounted for 19.2% of the total phosphorus. Silicon’s carbonate bound form was predominant over others among its transferable forms, and content ranged from 1.55 μmol/g to 8.94 μmol/g, accounting for 0.05% of the total silicon; the total amount of transferable silicon forms accounted for only 0.12% of the total silicon. Therefore, 19.2% of the total phosphorus and 0.12% of the total silicon contained in the surface sediments of the southern Bohai Sea could participate in the biogeochemical cycling.

Removal of Cd(Ⅱ) from Aqueous Solutions by Natural Freshwater Surface Coatings

Natural freshwater surface coatings(biofilms and associated minerals), which were developed in the Nanhu Lake, Changchun, P. R. China, were used as an efficient biosorbent for the removal of Cd(Ⅱ) from aqueous solutions. The batch experiments were carried out to determine the adsorption properties of Cd(Ⅱ) onto the natural surface coatings. The classical Langmuir adsorption isotherm was applied to estimating the equilibrium coefficients of Cd(Ⅱ) adsorbed on the surface coatings. The results show that the maximum adsorption capacity of the surface coatings is 434.78 μmol Cd/m2(being equal to 0.17 mmol Cd/g of surface coatings or 10.38 mmol Cd/g Fe) and the Cd(Ⅱ) removal from solution media by the natural surface coatings was shown to be strongly affected by solution pH and ion strength. The resulted information also indicates that the maximum Cd removal efficiency(CRE) was determined to be approximately 90% at initial Cd mass concentration of 0.1 mg/L(the concentration limit of Cd (Ⅱ) in wastewaters for discharge in aquatic media in Chinese legislation), and the kinetic adsorption of Cd(Ⅱ) onto the surface coatings is fast with around 70% of the total adsorption-taking place in 150 min in solution under the controlled laboratory conditions (mineral salts solution with defined speciation, ionic strength 0.05 mol/L, and 25 ℃). With the advantage of high Cd adsorption capacity, the natural surface coatings appear to be a potentially effective biosorbent for the removal and recovery of Cd (Ⅱ) from polluted water.

Sequential Extraction of Natural Surface Coatings: Comparison with Single Stage Extraction and Its Application in Investigating Adsorption Characteristics of Surface Coating Components for Metals

Multistage sequential extraction with different sequences was applied to extracting natural surface coa tings（NSCs）, and the results were compared with those by single stage extraction technique. The optimal sequential extraction scheme with the best performance was selected and incorporated into the method of selective extraction followed by adsorption and statistic analyses to study the adsorption parameters of Fe oxides, Mn oxides and organic matters in NSCs for Pb and Cd, to validate the applicability of the sequential extraction scheme. The Langmuir ad sorption parameters of each component of surface coating estimated according to the adsorption data of single stage extraction of NSCs were all similar to those of sequential extraction of NSCs, and the maximum difference between the metal adsorption abilities of the components estimated via the two extraction techniques was only about 20%, in dicating that either extraction techniques could be used. The optimal sequential extraction scheme obtained was first extracted with NH2OH·HCl, then with Na2S2O4, and finally with oxalic acid.

Investigation of Adsorption Rates of Pb, Cd, Cu, Co and Ni to Fresh-water Surface Coatings Developed in Nanhu Lake

The adsorption kinetics of five heavy metals onto the natural surface coatings, which were collected in the Nanhu Lake in Changchun, Jilin Province, China, were investigated for the purpose of giving some explanations for the mechanisms of heavy metal adsorption onto the surface coatings with initial metal ions of 5 μmol/L. The results show that firstly, the adsorption of heavy metals onto the surface coatings follows the first order kinetics; secondly, the double-constant rate equation is suitable to describing the adsorption of heavy metals selected onto the natural aquatic surface coatings, following the order K_ Cu>K_ Pb>K_ Co>K_ Ni>K_ Cd; thirdly, there is a significant correlation between the adsorption rate and the physical and chemical characteristics of heavy metals, such as E 0, Δ_fH 0_m, and Δ_fG 0_m based on the linear regression analysis.

Effect of Natural Surface Secretes of Some Common Ornamental Plants Leaves on Pathogenic Micro-organisms

This study presents the antimicrobial effect of natural surface secretes of some common ornamental plants leaves （Ficus elastica, Philodendrom bipinnatifidum and Aglonema） against some pathogenic bacteria （ Escherichia coli, P. aeruginosa and Staph. Aureus）, and fungi （Microsporum gypseum and Aspergillus flavus）. It was concluded that all tested washing water of the plants leaves secretes exhibited various inhibitory effects, both Philodendrom more antibacterial activity than Ficus elastica. While both E. coli and P bipinnatifidum and Aglonema commutatum had exhibited aeruginosa were being more sensitive than Staph. aureus. The same inhibitory effects were observed when the plants leaves inoculated in their surface with pathogenic bacteria. In contrast to bacterial inhibitory effects, the washing water of natural surface secretes of tested ornamental plants leaves induced mycelium growth of both tested fungi. Microsporum gypseum mycelium growth induced more than Aspergillusflavus especially in case of the washing water of Ficus elastic that have highest effects at 7.5/500 mL of medium. This study concluded the uses of ornamental plants for the indoors and outdoors to control the growth of pathogenic microbes and problems associated with hospital.

Conventional processes and membrane technology for carbon dioxide removal from natural gas:A review

Membrane technology is becoming more important for CO,_ separation from natural gas in the new era due to its process simplicity, relative ease of operation and control, compact, and easy to scale up as compared with conventional processes. Conventional processes such as absorption and adsorption for CO2 separation from natural gas are generally more energy demanding and costly for both operation and maintenance. Polymeric membranes are the current commercial membranes used for CO2 separation from natural gas. However, polymeric membranes possess drawbacks such as low permeability and selectivity, plasticization at high temperatures, as well as insufficient thermal and chemical stability. The shortcomings of commercial polymeric membranes have motivated researchers to opt for other alternatives, especially inorganic membranes due to their higher thermal stability, good chemical resistance to solvents, high mechanical strength and long lifetime. Surface modifications can be utilized in inorganic membranes to further enhance the selectivity, permeability or catalytic activities of the membrane. This paper is to provide a comprehensive review on gas separation, comparing membrane technology with other conventional methods of recovering CO2 from natural gas, challenges of current commercial polymeric membranes and inorganic membranes for CO2 removal and membrane surface modification for improved selectivity.

Comparison of surface water chemistry and weathering effects of two lake basins in the Changtang Nature Reserve,China

The geochemistry of natural waters in the Changtang Nature Reserve,northern Tibet,can help us understand the geology of catchments,and provide additional insight in surface processes that influence water chemistry such as rock weathering on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.However,severe natural conditions are responsible for a lack of scientific data for this area.This study represents the first investigation of the chemical composition of surface waters and weathering effects in two lake basins in the reserve（Lake Dogaicoring Qiangco and Lake Longwei Co）.The results indicate that total dissolved solids（TDS）in the two lakes are significantly higher than in other gauged lakes on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau,reaching 20–40 g/L,and that TDS of the tectonic lake（Lake Dogaicoring Qiangco）is significantly higher than that of the barrier lake（Lake Longwei Co）.Na＋and Cl-are the dominant ions in the lake waters as well as in the glacier-fed lake inflows,with chemical compositions mainly affected by halite weathering.In contrast,ion contents of inflowing rivers fed by nearby runoff are lower and concentrations of dominant ions are not significant.Evaporite,silicate,and carbonate weathering has relatively equal effects on these rivers.Due to their limited scope,small streams near the lakes are less affected by carbonate than by silicate weathering.

Replication of natural surface topographies to generate advanced cell culture substrates

Surface topographies of cell culture substrates can be used to generate in vitro cell culture environments similar to the in vivo cell niches. In vivo, the physical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM), such as its topography, provide physical cues that play an important role in modulating cell function. Mimicking these properties remains a challenge to provide in vitro realistic environments for cells. Artificially generated substrates’ topographies were used extensively to explore this important surface cue. More recently, the replication of natural surface topographies has been enabling to exploration of characteristics such as hierarchy and size scales relevant for cells as advanced biomimetic substrates. These substrates offer more realistic and mimetic environments regarding the topographies found in vivo. This review will highlight the use of natural surface topographies as a template to generate substrates for in-vitro cell culture. This review starts with an analysis of the main cell functions that can be regulated by the substrate’s surface topography through cell-substrate interactions. Then, we will discuss research works wherein substrates for cell biology decorated with natural surface topographies were used and investigated regarding their influence on cellular performance. At the end of this review, we will highlight the advantages and challenges of the use of natural surface topographies as a template for the generation of advanced substrates for cell culture.

EMISSIVITIES OF NATURAL SURFACES AND SURFACE TEMPERATURE

A simple method of determining emissivity of surface using Eppley pyrgeometer in situ is presented to evaluate surface temperature exactly.The indicated temperature of radiometer needs corrections for actual sky thermal radiance and for true surface emissivities.Comparisons between radiation temperature and surface mercury-thermometer temperature at Nagqu,northern Tibet during December 1985—January 1986 have shown that their differences are mostly within 2—4℃