Kinetics and Mechanism of Adsorption of Phosphate on Fluorine-containing Calcium Silicate

The nanowires-reticulated calcium silicate with a specific surface area more than 100 m^2/g was prepared by a hydrothermalprocess using hydrated lime（Ca（OH）_2,HL）and silica containing soluble fluoride,which was a by-product of fluorine industry,and the soluble fluoride in raw silica was fixed as CaSiF_6 at the same time.The kinetic characteristics and mechanism of adsorbing phosphate by fluorine-containing calcium silicate were investigated in the experiments of phosphorus（P）removalfrom aqueous solution.The results show that the prepared fluorine-containing calcium silicate has excellent performance for adsorbing phosphate,the adsorption process appears to follow pseudo-second-order reaction kinetics and the process is mainly controlled by chemisorption.The product resulted from P adsorption is mainly composed of hydroxyapatite（HAP）and fluorapatite（FAP）,which are further used as adsorbents of heavy metalion Cd^（2＋） in aqueous solution and display excellent performance.

Enhanced thermoelectric performance enabled by compositing ZrO_(2)in n-type SiGe alloy with low thermal conductivity

SiGe-based thermoelectric(TE)materials have gained increasing interests due to their low maintenance costs,environmental friendliness and long lifespan.However,the intrinsically high thermal conductivity of Si-based materials also results in poor TE properties.In this investigation,a zirconia(ZrO_(2))composite strategy was applied to an n-type SiGe alloy,tremendously elevating its TE performance.After mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering(SPS)processes,the ZrO_(2)induced the formation of nanopores in the SiGe matrix via phosphorus adsorption.Moreover,such increase in porosity enhanced the phonon scattering and dramatically suppressed lattice thermal conductivity,from 2.83 to 1.59 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)at 873 K.Additionally,reduced phosphorus doping led to an increase in Seebeck coefficients and a relatively minor decrease in electrical conductivity,The power factor didn't deteriorate significantly,either,as its maximum of~3.43 mW·m^(-1-)K^(-2)was achieved at 873 K with(Si_(0.8)Ge_(0.2))_(0.097)P_(0.03)(ZrO_(2))_(0.003).In short,a peak figure of merit(ZT)of~1.27 at 873 K and an average ZT~0.7 from 323 to 873 K were obtained.This study demonstrates that the electrical and thermal transportation of SiGe material can be synergistically tuned by compositing ZrO_(2),illustrating a novel strategy to optimize the TE properties of bulk materials.

Phosphorus accumulation and leaching risk of greenhouse vegetable soils in Southeast China

Over-fertilization has caused significant phosphorus(P)accumulation in Chinese greenhouse vegetable production(GVP)soils.This study,for the first time,quantified profile P accumulation directly from soil P measurements,as well as subsoil P immobilization,in three alkaline coarse-textured GVP soil profiles with 5(S5),15(S15),and 30(S30)years of cultivation in Tongshan,Southeast China.For each profile,soil samples were collected at depths of 0-10(topsoil),10-20,20-40,40-60,60-80,and 80-100 cm.Phosphorus accumulation was estimated from the difference in P contents between topsoil and parent material(60-100 cm subsoil).Phosphorus mobility was assessed from measurements of water-soluble P concentration(P_(Sol)).Finally,P sorption isotherms were produced using a batch sorption experiment and fitted using a modified Langmuir model.High total P contents of 1980(S5),3190(S15),and 2330(S30)mg kg^(-1) were measured in the topsoils versus lower total P content of approximately 600 mg kg^(-1) in the 80-100 cm subsoils.Likewise,topsoil PSol values were very high,varying from 6.4 to 17.0 mg L^(-1).The estimated annual P accumulations in the topsoils were 397(S5),212(S15),and 78(S30)kg ha^(-1) year^(-1).Sorption isotherms demonstrated the dominance of P desorption in highly P-saturated topsoils,whereas the amount of adsorbed P increased in the 80-100 cm subsoils with slightly larger P adsorption capacity.The total P adsorption capacity of the 80-100 cm subsoils at a solution P concentration of0.5 mg L^(-1) was 15.7(S5),8.7(S15),and 6.5(S30)kg ha^(-1),demonstrating that subsoils were unable to secure P concentrations in leaching water below 0.5 mg L^(-1) because of their insufficient P-binding capacity.

Kinetics of Soil Potassium Release Under Long-Term Imbalanced Fertilization in Calcareous Soils

Knowledge on potassium ion(K^+) release from soils makes K fertilizer recommendation more efficient and profitable.Kinetics of K^+release under continuous fertilization of no fertilizer(CK), urea(N), triple superphosphate(P), and urea + triple superphosphate(NP) without K fertilizer was investigated in calcareous(chloritic and kaolinitic) soils on the Miandarband Plain in Kermanshah Province of Iran.The results showed that the kinetics of K^+release included an initial reaction and a slow reaction.The phosphateand NH_4^+-induced K^+release followed the same rate process during the rapid(2–192 h) and slow release periods(192–1 090 h).There were no significant differences in the cumulative K^+released from the chloritic and kaolinitic soils among all the treatments.The cumulative K^+released was positively correlated with P adsorption capacity for the chloritic(r = 0.461, P < 0.05) and kaolinitic soils(r = 0.625, P < 0.01), and negatively correlated with K fixation potential for the chloritic(r = 0.720, P < 0.01) and kaolinitic soils(r =-0.513, P < 0.01).There was a significant(P < 0.001) interactive effect of K fixation potential × P adsorption capacity on the cumulative K^+released for both soil groups.The initial release rate(IRR) index(a·b, where a and b are the rate coefficients of the power function equation) for the chloritic soils was significantly(P < 0.05) higher under applications of P and NP than N and CK.The IRR index values among different fertilization treatments were in the order of NP = P > N = CK for the chloritic soils, and N =P > NP > CK for the kaolinitic soils.This study showed that K fixation potential and P adsorption capacities controlled K^+release from soils.This information will be helpful for precise fertilizer recommendations for the studied soils.