Thermodynamics of solubility of Cu_2(OH)_2CO_3 in ammonia-ammonium chloride-ethylenediamine(En)-water system

In order to decrease the evaporating rate of ammonia and increase the solubility of copper in the solution,ethylenediamine was added into the ammonia-ammonium chloride system to leach the copper-containing oxide ores.The thermodynamic model was constructed and the solubility of malachite Cu2(OH)2CO3 in the ammonia-ammonium chloride-ethylenediamine(En)-water system was calculated using the exponential computation method based on both mass balance and charge balance.It is found that the solubility of copper can be increased and the free ammonia concentration can be decreased by submitting partial ammonia with ethylenediamine.The lower free ammonia concentration in the solution is a guarantee to the lower evaporating rate of ammonia.The conditions of malachite Cu2(OH)2CO3 converting to atacamite Cu(OH)1.5Cl0.5 were also studied.A group of experiments were designed to validate the veracity of the results of the thermodynamic calculation.It is found that the thermodynamic model is reliable and it can guide the leaching process.

Synthesis of dimethyl adipate from cyclopentanone and dimethyl carbonate over solid base catalysts

A facile route for the synthesis of dimethyl adipate （DAP） from cyclopentanone and dimethyl carbonate （DMC） in the pres- ence of solid base catalysts has been developed. It was found that the intermediate carbomethoxycyclopentanone （CMCP） was produced from cyclopentanone with DMC in the first step, and then CMCP was further converted to DAP by reacting with a methoxide group. The role of the basic catalysts can be mainly ascribed to the activation of cyclopentanone via the abstraction of a proton in the a-position by base sites, and solid bases with moderate strength, such as MgO, favor the formation of DAP.

Impact of a Phosphate Amendment on the Environmental Availability and Phytoavailability of Cd and Pb in Moderately and Highly Carbonated Kitchen Garden Soils

The behaviour of metals mainly depends on soil p H, carbonate contents and contamination level, which should be considered for the management of contaminated soils. In this study, kitchen garden topsoils(0–25 cm) were sampled from the area around three smelters in France, with different Cd and Pb contamination levels. Effect of a phosphate amendment(a mixture of diammonium phosphate and hydroxyapatite) on the environmental availability and phytoavailability of Cd and Pb was evaluated by different chemical extractions and cultivating lettuce(Lactuca sativa L.), respectively. Changes in the distribution of Cd and Pb were found in most contaminated soils after phosphate amendment. An increase of Cd and Pb in the residual phase was highlighted in almost all carbonated contaminated soils, whereas a decrease of Pb in the exchangeable, water and acid-soluble phase was observed in most contaminated soils with the lowest carbonate contents. The concentrations of extractable Cd and Pb using calcium chloride and acetic and citric acids generally decreased after the soil amendment. Lettuces grown on amended soils were acceptable for human consumption as regard to Pb concentration. In contrast, some lettuces were unacceptable for human consumption, since the concentrations of Cd in the leaves were higher than the European legislation limit. Surprisingly, in carbonated soils with very low concentration of Cd, the Cd concentrations in lettuce reached up to the European legislation limit, making the lettuce unacceptable for human consumption.Our study highlighted the fact that the total metal concentration in soils does not always allow to predict the metal accumulation in the edible parts of vegetables in order to make a judgement about their acceptability or unacceptability for human consumption.