Continuous Measurement of Number Concentrations and Elemental Composition of Aerosol Particles for a Dust Storm Event in Beijing

A continuous measurement of number size distributions and chemical composition of aerosol particles was conducted in Beijing in a dust storm event during 21-26 March 2001. The number concentration of coarse particles （ 〉2μm） increased more significantly than fine particles （ 〈2μm） during the dust storm due to dust weather, while the anthropogenic aerosols collected during the non-dust-storm period tended to be associated with fine particles. Elemental compositions were analyzed by using proton-induced X-ray emission （PIXE）. The results show that 20 elements in the dust storm were much higher than in the non-dust-storm period. The calculated soil dust concentration during the dust storm was, on average, 251.8μg m^-3, while it was only 52.1μg m^-3 on non-dust-storm days. The enrichment factors for Mg, A1, P, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, C1, Cu, Pb, and Zn show small variations between the dust storm and the non-dust-storm period, while those for Ca, Ni and Cr in the dust storm were much lower than those in the non-dust-storm period due to significant local emission sources. A high concentration and enrichment factor for S were observed during the dust storm, which implies that the dust particles were contaminated by aerosol particles from anthropogenic emissions during the long-range transport. A statistical analysis shows that the elemental composition of particles collected during the dust storm in Beijing were better correlated with those of desert soil colleted from desert regions in Inner Mongolia. Air mass back-trajectory analysis further confirmed that this dust storm event could be identified as streaks of dust plumes originating from Inner Mongolia.

Valuations of Elemental Concentrations of Particle Matter in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

This study focused on the contents of the air particulate matter pollution in two districts of Ulaanbaatar and determined the chemical composition of air borne samples and the source of those particles. Samples of fine and coarse fractions of PM were collected using a “Gent” stacked filter unit in two fractions of 0 - 2.2 μm and 2.2 - 10 μm sizes in two semi-residential areas from September 2012 to August 2013. This paper points out that fine and coarse concentration varied seasonally with meteorological changes. In sampling site 3, Zuun Ail (Figure 1) combustion generators generate the majority of pollution around 50.6% of household waste furnace to create high-temperature combustion of 21.6%. However, this net contributes to soil contamination near the lower value (5%) that arises around the vacuum environment in substantial amounts (14%), where is open around the buildings and residential areas, and the soil is considered to be due to the construction. But the data point to the highway in the distance, where is 9% of contamination of all vehicles’ smoke, and exhaust is similar to the data collected in Ulaanbaatar. According to analysis of samples of Nuclear Research Center (NRC) sampling site 2, it shows burning source of Particulate Matter 2.5 pollution in the air is around 25.5% of household waste furnace to create high-temperature product of combustion. But here the very high net contribution to the pollution of soil, is 31.6%. Today’s emerging dust is around 15.2%, showing that motor vehicle pollution causes 19.7%. Since the analysis was done on a sample-by-sample basis, it is possible to estimate the daily contributions of pollution sources and provide useful information based on a limited number of samples in order to address air quality management issues in Ulaanbaatar.

Elemental variations in glacier cryoconites of Indian Himalaya and Spitsbergen,Arctic

Cryoconite samples were collected from two different climatic domains i.e.,the Sutri Dhaka glacier,western Himalaya India and Svalbard glaciers,the Spitsbergen,Arctic,to understand the elemental source and elemental deposition patterns.The data of geochemical analysis suggest that the Himalayan cryoconite samples accumulate higher concentrations as compared to the cryoconite samples of the Arctic glaciers.The concentration of lithophile elements(Cs,Li,Rb and U)was recorded higher in the cryoconite holes of the Himalayas,especially,in the lower to the higher parts of the glacier,whereas,lower concentrations were recorded in the Arctic samples.Chalcophile elements in the Himalayan cryoconites are enriched in As and Bi while the Arctic cryoconite samples show a higher concentration of Bi,Pb and As.The higher concentrations are responsible for influencing the ecosystem and in human health related issues.Siderophile elements(Co,Fe,Mn and Ni)show high concentrations in the Himalayan samples,whereas,the Arctic samples show minor variations and low elemental concentration in these elements,respectively.In addition,a few elements,such as Ag,Mg,and Ca show higher concentration in the Himalayan glacier samples.Ca also occurs in high concentrations in Arctic glacier samples.R-mode factor analysis of the Himalayas(Arctic)samples indicate that the elements are distributed in four(three)factors,explaining 89%(90%)of the variance in their elemental distribution.The Factor 1 suggests statistically significant positive loadings for most of the lithophile,chalcophile and siderophile elements of the "Himalayan" and the Arctic cryoconite samples.The sample-wise factor score distribution shows a considerable variation in the sampling locations along the glaciers of both the regions.Factors 2 and 3,demonstrate insignificant loading for most of the elements,except statistically significant positive loading in some of the elements of the both,Himalayan and Arctic "cryoconites".The higher elemental concentration in the cryoconites of the Himalayan region may be an indicator of the natural processes and/or attributed to the rapid industrialization in the Asian countries.

Separation and enrichment of elemental sulfur and mercury from hydrometallurgical zinc residue using sodium sulfide

The separation and enrichment of mercury and the recovery of elemental sulfur from flotation sulfur concentrate in zinc pressure leaching process were carried out by sodium sulfide leaching and carbon dioxide precipitating. The results show that the leaching rate of elemental sulfur is more than 98%, and 98.13% of mercury is enriched in the residue, under the optimized conditions of sodium sulfide concentration 1.5 mol/L, liquid/solid ratio 6：1 and leaching time 30 min at room temperature. In addition, the content of mercury is enriched 5.23 times that in the leaching residue. The elemental sulfur is precipitated from leaching solution under conditions of carbon dioxide flow rate 200 mL/min and blowing time 150 min, while solution is stirred adequately. The recovery efficiency of elemental sulfur reaches 97.67%, and the purity of elemental sulfur is 99.75%, meeting the requirements of industrial first-rate product standard according to the national standard of GB/T 2449-2006 （PRC）.

Effects of Ca^(2+)concentrations on accumulations of mineral elements in the components of Pteroceltis tatarinowii

The bark of Pteroce/tis tatarinowii is a raw material for manufacturing XuanPaper. The effects of Ca^(2+) concentrations on the accumulation of mineral elements in the bark,leaf and root of Pteroceltis tatarinowii were studied under controlled conditions. The types ofHoagland nutrient solution with three Ca^(2+) concentrations levels (200, 400 and 600 μg·g^(-1))and a control (without Ca^(2+)) were designed to culture Pteroceltis tatarinowii. After 6 months,contents of seven mineral elements including Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Zn, Cu and Na in the root, leaf and barkwere analyzed. The results indicated that Ca accumulations content in the root, leaf and bark hadpositively relation with Ca^(2+) concentrations (200, 400, 600 μg · g^(-1)), and the order of theCa content in the three components was root>leaf>bark. Ca content in the root treated with 600 μg·g^(-1) Ca^(2+) concentrations was 5.5 times as high as that of the control, and about 1.4 times ashigh as that of the root treated in 200 and 400 μg/g Ca^(2+) concentrations respectively. On thecontrary, K and Mg contents in the root, leaf and bark were negatively related to Ca^(2+)concentrations, especially in the bark, and their accumulation trend followed the order ofleaf>root>bark. K content in the bark treated with 600 μg ·g^(-1) Ca^(2+) concentrations was 39.3%of that of the control, and was 79.0% and 91.8% of that of the bark treated with 200 μg ·g^(-1)and 400 μg ·g^(-1) Ca^(2+) concentrations respectively; Mg content in the bark treated with 600μg ·g^(-1) Ca^(2+) concentrations was 23.4% of that of the control, and was 27.1% and 35.4% ofthat of the bark treated with 200 and 400 μg·g^(-1) Ca^(2+) concentrations respectively. Comparedwith the control, the general tendency of Mn, Zn and Cu content decreased with increasing of Ca^(2+)concentrations and their contents were in the order: root>leaf>bark. Based on the results of thisstudy, the experiment has been useful for providing academic bases in improving the bark quality ofPteroceltis tatarinowii on non-limestone soil.

Effects of Ca2+concentrations on accumulations of mineral elements in the components of Pteroceltis tatarinowii

The bark of Pteroceltis tatarinowii is a raw material for manufacturing Xuan Paper. The effects of Ca2+ concentrations on the accumulation of mineral elements in the bark, leaf and root of Pteroceltis tatarinowii were studied under controlled condi-tions. The types of Hoagland nutrient solution with three Ca2+ concentrations levels (200, 400 and 600 靏g-1) and a control (without Ca2+) were designed to culture Pteroceltis tatarinowii. After 6 months, contents of seven mineral elements including Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Zn, Cu and Na in the root, leaf and bark were analyzed. The results indicated that Ca accumulations content in the root, leaf and bark had positively relation with Ca2+ concentrations (200, 400, 600 靏g-1), and the order of the Ca content in the three components was root】leaf】bark. Ca content in the root treated with 600 靏g-1 Ca2+ concentrations was 5.5 times as high as that of the control, and about 1.4 times as high as that of the root treated in 200 and 400 靏/g Ca2+ concentrations respectively. On the contrary, K and Mg contents in the root, leaf and bark were negatively related to Ca2+ concentrations, especially in the bark, and their accumulation trend followed the order of leaf】root】bark. K content in the bark treated with 600 靏g-1 Ca2+ con-centrations was 39.3% of that of the control, and was 79.0% and 91.8% of that of the bark treated with 200 靏g-1 and 400靏g-1 Ca2+ concentrations respectively; Mg content in the bark treated with 600 靏g-1 Ca2+ concentrations was 23.4% of that of the control, and was 27.1% and 35.4% of that of the bark treated with 200 and 400 靏g-1 Ca2+ concentrations respectively. Com-pared with the control, the general tendency of Mn, Zn and Cu content decreased with increasing of Ca2+ concentrations and their contents were in the order: root】leaf】bark. Based on the results of this study, the experiment has been useful for providing academic bases in improving the bark quality of Pteroceltis tatarinowii on non-limestone soil.

Characteristics of Elemental Composition of PM_(2.5) in the Spring Period at Tongyu in the Semi-arid Region of Northeast China

Continuous observations of mass concentration and elemental composition of aerosol particles （PM2.5） were conducted at Tongyu, a semi-arid site in Northeast China in the spring of 2006. The average mass concentration of PM2.5 at Tongyu station was 260.9±274.4 μg m^-3 during the observation period. Nine dust events were monitored with a mean concentration of 528.0±302.7 μgm^-3. The PM2.5 level during non- dust storm （NDS） period was 111.65±63.37 μg m^-3. High mass concentration shows that fine-size particles pollution was very serious in the semi-arid area in Northeast China. The enrichment factor values for crust elements during the dust storm （DS） period are close to those in the NDS period, while the enrichment factor values for pollution elements during the NDS period are much higher than those in the DS period, showing these elements were from anthropogenic sources. The ratios of dust elements to Fe were relative constant during the DS period. The Ca/Fe ratio in dust aerosols at Tongyu is remarkably different from that observed in other source regions and downwind regions. Meteorological analysis shows that dust events at Tongyu are usually associated with dry, low pressure and high wind speed weather conditions. Air mass back-trajectory analysis identified three kinds of general pathways were associated with the aerosol particle transport to Tongyu, and the northwest direction pathway was the main transport route.

Multi-Elemental Analysis and 2D Image Mapping within Roots, Leaves and Seeds from O. glaberrima Rice Plants Using Micro-PIXE Technique

Understanding metal accumulation at organ level in roots, leaves and seeds in O. glaberrima (OG) is crucial for improving physiological and metabolic aspects in growing Asian and African rice in salted areas. The micro-analytical imaging techniques are required to reveal its accumulation and distribution within plant tissues. PIXE studies have been performed to determine different elements in rice plants. The existing microbeam analytical technique at the iThemba LABS will be applied for the 2D image mapping of fresh rice tissues to perform a concentration of low atomic mass elements (such as Al, Si, P, S, Cl, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Br, Zn and K) with detection limits of typically 1-10 μg/g. Comparison of the distribution of the elements between leaves, root and seed samples using uptake and distribution of elements in particular environmental conditions with potential amount of salt in water have been performed. We are also expecting to indicate metal exclusion as salt tolerance strategies from leaves, root, and seed compartments using matrix correlation between samples and between elements on rice species.

Elemental Composition of Atmospheric Particles in Winter at Datong City, Shanxi Province, China, and Its Impact on Beijing

Atmospheric particle samples were collected at an urban site of Datong, Shanxi Province, during December 2004 and their element concentrations at different sizes were analyzed by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). Analysis of the observation data showed that particle pollution was heavy in winter at Datong and that concentrations of most elements were high in the coarse range. Factor analysis (FA) results indicated that the soil and dust, coal combustion dust, and industry dust are main sources for atmospheric particles in winter at Datong. The enrichment factors of element concentrations showed that particle pollution at Datong impacts the down-wind region-Beijing-in the dust season.

DISTRIBUTIVE TENDENCY OF ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS IN LIMESTONE SOILS IN EASTERN CHINA

Twenty-eight soil profiles studied were collected from the eastern China. They belong to brown soil, drab soil, yellow brown soil, brown limestone soil and red limestone soil. The concentrations of Ca and Mg in soils decrease and the concentrations of Fe, Al,Zn,Pb,Cd,and Hg increase from north to south. There is no significant correlation between the element concentrations and soil organic matter contents. Statistically there is a most significant positive correlation between the concentrations of Ca and Mg, and pH, while there is a most significant negative correlation between the concentrations of Fe, Zn and Cd, and pH, and a significant negative correlation between Al concentration and pH.There is a most significant negative correlation between concentrations of Ca and Mg, and clay content, and a most significant positive correlation between Fe,Al,pb, Cd, Hg and clay content. The concentrations of Ca and Mg decrease, and those of Fe, Al,Zn,Pb,Cd and Hg increase in the processes of acidification and clayization with the increase in temperature and rainfall.

BEM for Diffraction of Elastic Wave and Dynamic Stress Concentrations in Thin Plate with a Circular Hole

Boundary Element Method (BEM) is employed to run theoretical analsis and numerical calculation of dif-fraction of elastic wave and dynamic stress concentration in an infinite then plate with a cireular hole. Based on the work equivalent law of dynamics,boundary integral equation is established for flexural waves of thin plate. Calculation formulas of influence coefficients are derived using Mathematica software and numerical results are obtained for dynam-ic stress conoentration factors in a then plate with a circular hole.

Effect of Phosphatization on Element Concentration of Cobalt-Rich Ferromanganese Crusts

A detailed study on a small scale of the effect of phosphatization on the chemistry of marine cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts supplies useful information for the evaluation and comprehensive utilization of crust mineral resources. Sub-samples from top to bottom of a 10-cm thick sample from the NW Pacific Magellan seamount were taken at 5 mm intervals. The concentration profiles of ore-forming and rare earth elements show that obvious differences exist between young unphosphatized crusts and old phosphatized crusts. In the old crusts Fe, Mn, Si, Al, Zn, Mg, Co, Ni and Cu elements are depleted and Ca, P, Sr, Ba and Pb elements are enriched. The order of depletion is Co > Ni > Mg > Al > Mn > Si> Cu > Zn > Fe, while the order of enrichment is P > Ca > Ba > Pb > Sr. The phosphate mineral controls the concentration variation of the ore-forming elements in crusts and causes loss of the main ore-forming elements such as Co and Ni. The phosphatization also affects the abundance of REEs in the crusts. REEs are more abundant and the content of Ce in old crusts is higher than that in young crusts, however, the pattern of REEs and their fractionation characteristics in new and old crusts are not fundamentally changed. A Y-positive anomaly in old crusts has no relationship to the phosphatization.

Scheme for entanglement concentration of unknown W class states via linear optics

This paper proposes a scheme for entanglement concentration of unknown triparticle W class states with a certain probability. This protocol is mainly based on the coincidences of single-photon detectors and requires single-photon detectors and linear optical elements. The scheme is feasible within current technology.

Seasonal and spatial variation in species diversity, abundance, and element accumulation capacities of macroalgae in mangrove forests of Zhanjiang, China

The objective of this study was to investigate whether there was distinctive seasonal and zonal variation in the species diversity, biomass, and element accumulation capacities of macroalgae in two major intertidal mangrove stand types （Avicennia marina assemblage andSonneratia apetala assemblage） in the Zhanjiang region of southern China. Over a year, 31 species in 15 genera were identified in both mangrove assem-blages, of which the dominant species wereCladophoropsis zollingeriand Enteromorpha clathrat.Macroal-gal species were significantly most abundant in spring （p〈0.05）, followed by summer, winter, and autumn. Variation in the zonal distribution of macroalgal species was conspicuous in both intertidal mangrove as-semblages, with the greatest abundance in the middle zone, and the least in the front zone. Patterns in the seasonal and zonal variation in macroalgal biomass in theS. apetalaassemblage were similar to those of macroalgal species diversity in both mangrove assemblages. The seasonal patterns in tissue concentrations of 15 analyzed elements were not uniform among the macroalgaeC. zollingeri,E. clathrata, andGracilaria salicornia in theA. marina assemblage. All three species exhibited variation in their responses to ambient concentrations of different elements, implying their differential ability to absorb and selectively accumulate certain elements.

Numerical simulation of low-concentration CO_(2) adsorption on fixed bed using finite element analysis

Accurately predicting distributions of concentration and temperature field in fixed-bed column is essential for designing adsorption processes.In this study,a two-dimensional(2D),axisymmetric,nonisothermal,dynamic adsorption model was established by coupling equations of mass,momentum and energy balance,and solved by finite element analysis.The simulation breakthrough curves fit well with the low-concentration CO_(2) adsorption experimental data,indicating the reliability of the established model.The distributions of concentration and temperature field in the column for CO_(2) adsorption and separation from CO_(2)/N_(2) were obtained.The sensitivity analysis of the adsorption conditions shows that the operation parameters such as feed flow rate,feed concentration,pellet size,and column height-to-diameter ratio produce a significant effect on the dynamic adsorption performance.The multi-physics coupled 2D axisymmetric model could provide a theoretical foundation and guidance for designing CO_(2) fixed-bed adsorption and separation processes,which could be extended to other mixed gases as well.

Concentration, Distribution, and Occurrence of REEs in Coals from Chongqing,Southwest China

The concentration, distribution, and occurrence of rare earth elements (REEs) in coals as well as stone coalsin different geological periods from Chongqing were studied. The results show that the REE content in coals fromChongqing is much higher than that of the ordinary Chinese coals, the Late Paleozoic coals from North China, UScoals, and the world coals. Although the concentration of light rare earth elements (LREE) is higher than that of heavyrare earth elements (HREE), the ratio of LREE to HREE is as low as 5.11. The REE content decreases with thecoal-formation periods from old to new. The REE content in the Sinian stone coal is the highest, but it is the lowest inEarly Jurassic coals. The similar REE contents in bituminous coals and anthracite show that the metamorphism has alittle influence on REE content in coal. In addition, silicate association dominates the occurrence mode of REEs incoals from Chongqing.

Simple and universal method in designs of high-efficiency diffractive optical elements for spectrum separation and beam concentration

Diffractive optical elements（DOEs） with spectrum separation and beam concentration（SSBC） functions have important applications in solar cell systems. With the SSBC DOEs, the sunlight radiation is divided into several wave bands so as to be effectively absorbed by photovoltaic materials with different band gaps. A new method is proposed for designing high-efficiency SSBC DOEs, which is physically simple, numerically fast, and universally applicable. The SSBC DOEs are designed by the new design method, and their performances are analyzed by the Fresnel diffraction integral method.The new design method takes two advantages over the previous design method. Firstly, the optical focusing efficiency is heightened by up to 10%. Secondly, focal positions of all the designed wavelengths can be designated arbitrarily and independently. It is believed that the designed SSBC DOEs should have practical applications to solar cell systems.

Research on stress concentration factor of tube joints under pure bending and torsion loading

For fatigue strength design and evaluation as well as for multiaxial fatigue tests analysis of welded structures, the stress concentration factor(SCF) at the weld must be known. In the present study, two common models of multiaxial fatigue tests, tube-plate(TP) model and tube-tube(TT) model are selected as the research objects. SCFs of the two models with various geometric parameters under pure bending and pure torsion loading have been investigated by conducting a series of three-dimensional(3 D) finite element models based on linear elasticity theory. The effect of weld width(w), plate thickness(t), weld toe notch radius(r), and reinforcement angle(θ) on SCF is assessed. The quadratic parametric equations based on t/r are proposed to predict SCFs of the two models, which reveal satisfactory accuracy.

Effect of Surface Topography on Stress Concentration Factor

Neuber rule and Arola-Ramulu model are widely used to predict the stress concentration factor of rough specimens. However, the height parameters and effective valley radius used in these two models depend strongly on the resolution of the roughness-measuring instruments and are easily introduce measuring errors. Besides, it is difficult to find a suitable parameter to characterize surface topography to quantitatively describe its effect on stress concentration factor. In order to overcome these disadvantages, profile moments are carried out to characterize surface topography, surface topography is simulated by superposing series of cosine components, the stress concentration factors of different micro cosine-shaped surface topographies are investigated by finite element analysis. In terms of micro cosine-shaped surface topography, an equation using the second profile moment to estimate the stress concentration factor is proposed, predictions for the stress concentration factor using the proposed expression are within 10% error compared with the results of finite element analysis, which are more accurate than other models. Moreover, the proposed equation is applied to the real surface topography machined by turning. Predictions for the stress concentration factor using the proposed expression are within 10% of the maximum stress concentration factors and about 5% of the effective stress concentration factors estimated from the finite element analysis for three levels of turning surface topographies under different simulated scales. The proposed model is feasible in predicting the stress concentration factors of real machined surface topographies.

Numerical Analysis of Stress Concentration in Non-uniformly Corroded Small-Scale Specimens

A numerical evaluation of stress concentrations of corroded plate surfaces of small-scale corroded steel specimens is compared with the experimentally estimated ones.Eleven specimens were cut from a steel box girder,which was initially corroded in real seawater conditions.The surface of all corroded specimens was analysed applying photogrammetry techniques,and a statistical description of an idealised corroded surface of each specimen was established.Fatigue lives of specimens are determined from the fatigue tests.Based on experimentally obtained fatigue lives,the stress concentration factors are calculated concerning the ideally smooth specimens.The correlation between the statistical parameters of the corroded specimen surfaces and the estimated stress concentration factors is analysed.Idealised corroded surfaces,converted in graphical format,are then used for the finite element modelling in ABAQUS software,and stress concentration factors are estimated from the finite element results.A convergence study is performed to determine the appropriate finite element mesh density.Comparison between experimentally obtained and numerically estimated stress concentration factors is performed as well as correlation analysis between actual and finite element predicted crack locations.