GENESIS OF SOIL ALKALIZATION WITH SODIUM CARBONATE IN HOHHOT PLAIN

Hohhot Plain, lying in the front of the Yingshan Mountains in inner Mongolia, isbounded by the mountain north, the Yellow River south, the Manhan Mountain east andloess hills southeast. Being 986 to 1100 meters above ses level, the plain generally slopesdown to the southwest, just in accordance with the flowing direction of the Great Heihe Riv-er and the Small Heihe River.

Ion Exchange Softening and Alkalization Treatment for Zerodischarge of Circulating Cooling Water

In order to solve the problems including pipe corrosion, scaling and microbial growth, which severely threat safe op-eration of circulating cooling water system, this paper proposes ion exchange softening and alkalization process to solve these problems and carries out a series of studies to study the feasibility of ion exchange softening and alkaliza-tion process in the simulation process of circulating cooling water system. The studies include product water quality of ion exchange softening and alkalization process, effect on the performance of carbon steel and brass, and the inhibition that suppresses microbial growth. The results indicate that ion exchange softening and alkalization process is feasible to prevent the circulating cooling water system from scaling, pipe corrosion, and microbial growth without any other chemicals. Thus circulating cooling water system can achieve zerodischarge of wastewater.

The Photocatalytic Oxidation of As（Ⅲ） Enhanced by Surface Alkalinized g-C3N4

A new,facile,and efficient way to prepare alkalinized g-C3N4 is presented.We calcined a mixture of KCl and melamine to obtain g-C3N4,whose in-plane structure was K+doped so that alkalinized samples could be obtained by treatment with different concentrations of KOH.The different samples were used to oxidize As(Ⅲ)in both visible light and natural light.The sample treated with 10 mol/L KOH showed the highest efficiency,converting all As(Ⅲ)into As(Ⅴ)within 120 min in both visible light and natural light,as the oxidative capacity of the As(Ⅲ)in the alkalinized samples was significantly higher than that of the original samples.K+doping improved the electron transport capacity of the samples,while the alkalinized samples could destroy their edge structures,so as to improve the separation efficiency of the photogenerated carrier.The experiment confirmed that alkalinized g-C3N4 significantly improves the oxidation ability of As(Ⅲ)and plays an important role in the photocatalytic treatment of refractory nonmetallic ions.

Properties of Natural Rubber Biocomposities Filled with Alkaline Modified Oat Straw

Novel elastomer biocomposites based on straw fibers (raw or chemically modified) as reinforcing elements ofnatural rubber (NR) were reported and studied. Oat straw fibres with different average lengths were used.Lignocellulose materials were incorporated into the elastomer, before and after chemical surface modificationinvolving sodium hydroxide. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and microscopy techniques wereemployed for characterization of fillers. The kinetics of rubber mixtures, as well as rheometric properties ofcompounds were determined. The cross-linking density was executed on the basis of equilibrium solventswellingmeasurements applying the modified Flory–Rehner equation. The morphology of biocompositessamples was analyzed by a scanning electron microscopy. Mechanical characteristic: the values of hardness,tensile strength and attenuation coefficient were also determined. The physical and chemical investigations haveproved the reinforcing effect of treated oat straw on natural rubber vulcanizates.

Research Progress on Harmless Treatment of Dead Livestock and Poultry with Alkaline Hydrolysis in China

China＇s animal husbandry industry has developed rapidly and the inventory of swine, poultry, and sheep has been in the first place in the world of late years. For several consecutive years, the annual slaughter swine has reached to more than 700 million head, 70 million head of carcasses, about 2 million tons. The number will be even more if cattle, sheep and poultry had been considered. If handled improperly, the large number of carcasses of livestock and poultry will seriously pollute environment and even bring food safety issues and harm to public health security. More and more concern has been attracted on harmless disposal of dead animals. Of all the harmless disposal methods on carcasses of livestock and poultry, the application and research of alkalizalion hydrolysisar （ AH ） are less and only restricted in the higher-level security laboratory field in China. The method of alkalization hydrolysis has the advantages of completely inactivating pathogenic microorganisms （including prions）, no harmful gas, simple operation, low cost, etc, which has the value of research and application. This paper summarized the characteristics and the sterilization effect of alkaline hydrolysis, and discussed the processing and application of AH products of animal carcasses ,meanwhile, introduced the types, research and application state of AH in China, finally, briefly discussed the application prospect of AH in China.

Rock-forming mechanism of Fenghuangshan rockbody in Tongling area

Based on the detailed geological investigation and record of galleries and drill holes, a new idea has beenadvanced that granodiorite is earlier than quartz monzodiorite porphyry. Both of them are products of two differentmagmatic intrusive activities. The analysis results of trace elements show that the Sr content is beyond any othercrustal rock and the Th content is beyond that of Ta. The whole-rock analysis indicates that rockbody is rich in CaOand poor in K2O. In the composition of Pb istope of rockbody, the ratio of 207Pb to 204Pb is less than 15.60. Allthese show that the magma mainly comes from the upper mantle. Ti,Zr,Cr,Nb trace elements and the relation be-tween the Gardini index(τ) and the Rittmann index(σ) indicate that the rockbodies are formed in the orogenic beltand island arc tectonic setting. The summation (∑REE) and the characteristic value (m (La)/m (Yb)) of the rareearth elements show that the original rock is alkalic basalt. The analysis of the characteristic values of REE and thequantitative modeling calculation indicate that the rock-forming process is dominated by mixed crystallization. Ac-cording to the analysis on the rock-forming order, magmatic source, tectonic setting and rock-forming process, com-bined with the achievements of regional rock-controlling structures and division of sublayer of crust, it is believedthat Fenghuangshan rock body derives from the deep-seated alkalic basalt magma. The rock-forming process has un-dertaken sialic and calcareous assimilation and contamination of two different degrees. The rock-forming model be-longs to the typical assimilation and fractional cryatalization mechanism.

Abaca Fiber as a Potential Reinforcer for Acoustic Absorption Material at Middle-High Frequencies

Recently,abacafibers have become the focus of specialized research due to their intriguing characteristics,with their outstanding mechanical properties being a particularly notable.In the conducted study,the abacafibers underwent a preliminary treatment process involving an alkaline solution,which was composed of 0.5%sodium hydroxide(NaOH)and 50%acetic acid(CH3COOH).This process entailed immersing eachfiber in the solution for a period of one hour.This treatment led to a 52.36%reduction in lignin content compared to the levels before treatment,resulting in a dramatic decrease in the full width at half maximum(FWHM)in the XRD spectra from 1.13 to 0.13.This change indicates that thefibers became more crystalline following the treatment.The abacafibers were also characterized using BET(Brunauer Emmett Teller)measurements,which revealed that the aver-age pore length ranged from 33–49 nm and the surface area was between 13–28 m^(2)·g^(-1).The morphology of the abacafiber after alkali an hydrolisis treatment(AFAH)appeared rougher and more uniform.DMA measurements revealed a significant rise in the storage modulus of the singlefiber post-treatment,with dependencies on both frequency and temperature.AFAH exhibited an optimal absorption coefficient ofα=0.9 for frequencies above 2500 Hz.The combined effect of alkalization and hydrolyzation treatments,while resulting in an enhancement in the mechanical properties of thefibers,also reduced high-intensity noise produced by sources such as machin-ery,aircraft takeoffs and landings,etc.,across a broader working frequency range.

Slow degrading Mg-based materials induce tumor cell dormancy on an osteosarcoma-fibroblast coculture model

Osteosarcoma is one of the most common cancers in young adults and is commonly treated using surgery and chemotherapy.During the past years,these therapy approaches improved but failed to ameliorate the outcomes.Therefore,novel,targeted therapeutic approaches should be established to enhance treatment success while preserving patient’s quality of life.Recent studies suggest the application of degradable magnesium(Mg)alloys as orthopedic implants bearing a potential antitumor activity.Here,we examined the influence of Mg-based materials on an osteosarcoma-fibroblast coculture.Both,Mg and Mg-6Ag did not lead to tumor cell apoptosis at low degradation rates.Instead,the Mg-based materials induced cellular dormancy in the cancer cells indicated by a lower number of Ki-67 positive cancer cells and a higher p38 expression.This dormancy-like state could be reversed by reseeding on non-degrading glass slides but could not be provoked by inhibition of the protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase.By investigating the influence of the disjunct surface-near effects of the Mg degradation on cell proliferation,an increased pH was found to be a main initiator of Mg degradation-dependent tumor cell proliferation inhibition.

Synthesis and Thermodynamic Properties of M2L[M=Li, Na; L=3,6-Bis（1H-1,2,3,4-tetrazol-5-yl-amino）-1,2,4,5-tetrazine]

Two novel energetic alkalic metal salts of 3,6-bis（1H-1,2,3,4-tetrazol-5-yl-amino）-l,2,4,5-tetrazine （BTATz）, Li2（BTATz）. 6H20（compound 1） and Na2（BTATz）. 2H20（compound 2）, have been synthesized by the reac- tion of BTATz with lithinnl hydroxide or sodium hydroxide in dimethylsulfoxide（DMSO） solution, respectively, and their structures were characterized by means of elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry（FTIR） Moreover, the single-crystal structure of compound 1 was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. It crystal- lizes in the monoclinic space group P1/c. Furthermore, their thermal decomposition behaviors were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry（DSC） and thermogravimetry-differential thermal gravimetry（TG-DTG）. The results show that the exothermic decomposition peak temperatures for compounds 1 and 2 were 642.65 and 644.46 K, respectively, and the kinetic equations of the main exothermic decomposition were also derived from non-isothermal method. Additionally, the thermal safety of the two compounds was evaluated by calculating self-accelerating decomposition temperature（TSADT） and critical temperature of thermal explosion（Tb）. The results（the TSADT and Tb values are 605.43 and 635.69 K for compound 1; 607.38 and 638.96 K for compound 2） reveal that the two compounds exhibit better thermal safety than BTATz.

In situ conversion builds MIL-101@NiFe-LDH heterojunction structures to enhance the oxygen evolution reaction

The construction of rich phase interfaces to increase active reaction area in hybrid materials is an excellent strategy to improve electrochemical performance.Under this guideline,MIL-101@OX-metal organic framework(MOF)is constructed by the"MOF on MOF"method,then converts to MIL-101@NiFe-layered double hydroxides(LDH)by in situ transformation in alkaline solution.MIL-101@NiFe-LDH shows excellent electrochemical water oxidation performance.It needs only an overpotential of 215 m V to drive10 m A/cm^(2)of oxygen evolution reaction(OER),which is less than that of NiFe-LDH,MIL-101.In addition,MIL-101@NiFe-LDH has the smallest Tafel slope(55.1 mV/dec)compared with Ni Fe-LDH(61.1 m V/dec),MIL-101(150.8 m V/dec).The excellent water oxidation activity is due to the high phase interfaces derived from high specific surface area of MOF.This work offers an alternative method for making MOF/LDH heterostructures with an optimized phase interfaces and provides new insights for OER.

China Speeds up Elimination of Outdated Caustic Soda Production Processes

Chlor-alkali industry is a high energy-consuming,low value-added industry andmay bring negative impacts on theenvironment.Among all caustic soda pro-duction processes,the mercury cell methodfeatures highest energy consumption,se-verest pollution,and has been phased outlong ago in China.Among the diaphragmprocesses,those use graphite anode andordinary DSA(dimensionally stable anode)plates also have shortcomings like high en-

Zhonggu Breaks Ground 600 000 T/A Chlor-Alkali Project

Inner Mongolia Zhonggu Mining IndustryCompany Limited (Zhonggu) held in earlyJuly a groundbreaking ceremony for a chloralkaliproject at Mengxi Industry Zone, Erdos,Inner Mongolia.Zhonggu was a joint venturebetween Guangdong Hongdaxingye Group andits controlling subsidiary Inner MongoliaWuhai Chemical Company Limited.The constructionwill proceed in two phases.

Implantable Nanofiber Membranes with Synergistic Photothermal and Autophagy Inhibition Effects for Enhanced Tumor Therapy Efficacy

Photothermal therapy(PTT)has been proposed as an advanced patient-centered strategy for tumor treatment.Nevertheless,the uncertain safety of conventional photothermal conversion agents and the presence of intracellular self-protective autophagy mechanisms pose obstacles to the clinical application and efficacy of PTT.As we are deeply aware of the seriousness of these problems,we herein proposed an efficacy-enhancing strategy based on an implantable membrane platform(PPG@PB-HCQ)constructed from poly(lactic acid)(PLA),poly(ɛ-caprolactone)(PCL)and gelatin(Gel)electrospun nanofibers(PPG)and loaded with the biodegradable high-efficiency photothermal conversion agent Prussian blue(PB)and the autophagy inhibitor hydroxychloroquine sulfate(HCQ).Cellular experiments confirmed that the PPG@PB-HCQ nanofiber membrane exhibited a significantly stronger tumor cell-killing effect compared with the PTT alone.This enhancement features by of blocking the fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes.The intracellular overexpression of the proteins microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3)-II and p62 and the low expression of the proteins LC3-I and Rab7(members of the RAS oncogene family)further demonstrated autophagic flux blockade.Importantly,the potent antitumor effect of the PPG@PB-HCQ therapeutic platform in B16 tumor-bearing model mice verified the efficacy-enhancing strategy of synergistic PTT and protective autophagy blockade.The present study provides a promising strategy for solving the difficulties of tumor treatment,as well as a new perspective for designing novel treatment platforms.