Influence of sulfur addition/solids content ratio on removal of heavy metals from mine tailings by bioleaching

The effect of sulfur addition/solids content(SA/SC)ratio on heavy metals(e.g.copper,zinc and lead)obtained from mine tailings by indigenous sulfur-oxidizing bacteria was studied,and the changes in the chemical forms of heavy metals after bioleaching were explored.The results show that the solubilization of metals is significantly influenced by SA/SC ratio,and SA/SC ratio of 2.50 is found to be the best for bacterial activity and metal solubilization among six SA/SC ratios tested(such as 1.00,1.33,1.50,1.67,2.00 and 2.50)under the chosen experimental conditions.The pH decreases fast and the maximum solubilizations of copper and zinc are respectively 81.76% and 84.35% while that of lead only reaches 40.36%.After bioleaching,the chemical forms of heavy metals have changed.The metals remained in mine tailings are mainly found in residual fractions,which is harmless to the surrounding environment.

Application Fourier transform near infrared spectrometer in rapid estimation of soluble solids content of intact citrus fruits

Nondestructive method of measuring soluble solids content (SSC) of citrus fruits was developed using Fourier transform near infrared reflectance (FT-NIR) measurements collected through optics fiber. The models describing the relationship between SSC and the NIR spectra of citrus fruits were developed and evaluated. Different spectra correction algorithms (standard normal variate (SNV), multiplicative signal correction (MSC)) were used in this study. The relationship between laboratory SSC and FT-NIR spectra of citrus fruits was analyzed via principle component regression (PCR) and partial least squares (PLS) re- gression method. Models based on the different spectral ranges were compared in this research. The first derivative and second derivative were applied to all spectra to reduce the effects of sample size, light scattering, instrument noise, etc. Different baseline correction methods were applied to improve the spectral data quality. Among them the second derivative method after baseline correction produced best noise removing capability and yielded optimal calibration models. A total of 170 NIR spectra were acquired; 135 NIR spectra were used to develop the calibration model; the remaining spectra were used to validate the model. The developed PLS model describing the relationship between SSC and NIR reflectance spectra could predict SSC of 35 samples with correlation coefficient of 0.995 and RMSEP of 0.79 °Brix.

Measurement of soluble solids content in watermelon by Vis/NIR diffuse transmittance technique

Watermelon is a popular fruit in the world with soluble solids content （SSC） being one of the major characteristics used for assessing its quality. This study was aimed at obtaining a method for nondestructive SSC detection of watermelons by means of visible/near infrared （Vis/NIR） diffuse transmittance technique. Vis/NIR transmittance spectra of intact watermelons were acquired using a low-cost commercially available spectrometer operating over the range 350-1000 nm. Spectra data were analyzed by two multivariate calibration techniques： partial least squares （PLS） and principal component regression （PCR） methods. Two experiments were designed for two varieties of watermelons [Qilin （QL）, Zaochunhongyu （ZC）], which have different skin thickness range and shape dimensions. The influences of different data preprocessing and spectra treatments were also investigated. Performance of different models was assessed in terms of root mean square errors of calibration （RMSEC）, root mean square errors of prediction （RMSEP） and correlation coefficient （r） between the predicted and measured parameter values. Results showed that spectra data preprocessing influenced the performance of the calibration models. The first derivative spectra showed the best results with high correlation coefficient of determination [r=0.918 （QL）; r=0.954 （ZC）], low RMSEP [0.65 °Brix （QL）; 0.58 °Brix （ZC）], low RMSEC [0.48 °Brix （QL）; 0.34°Brix （ZC）] and small difference between the＇RMSEP and the RMSEC by PLS method. The nondestructive Vis/NIR measurements provided good estimates of SSC index of watermelon, and the predicted values were highly correlated with destructively measured values for SSC. The models based on smoothing spectra （Savitzky-Golay filter smoothing method） did not enhance the performance of calibration models obviously. The results indicated the feasibility of Vis/NIR diffuse transmittance spectral analysis for predicting watermelon SSC in a nondestructive way.

Online quantitative analysis of soluble solids content in navel oranges using visible-nearinfrared spectroscopy and variable selection methods

Variable selection is applied widely for visible-near infrared(Vis-NIR)spectroscopy analysis of internal quality in fruits.Different spectral variable selection methods were compared for online quantitative analysis of soluble solids content(SSC)in navel oranges.Moving window partial least squares(MW-PLS),Monte Carlo uninformative variables elimination(MC-UVE)and wavelet transform(WT)combined with the MC-UVE method were used to select the spectral variables and develop the calibration models of online analysis of SSC in navel oranges.The performances of these methods were compared for modeling the Vis NIR data sets of navel orange samples.Results show that the WT-MC-UVE methods gave better calibration models with the higher correlation cofficient(r)of 0.89 and lower root mean square error of prediction(RMSEP)of 0.54 at 5 fruits per second.It concluded that Vis NIR spectroscopy coupled with WT-MC-UVE may be a fast and efective tool for online quantitative analysis of SSC in navel oranges.

Preparation of Thermal Insulation Ceramics Using Felsic Tailings as Main Raw Material and Soda-ash Dregs as Flux

Low-cost thermal insulation porous ceramics with uniform pore diameter and low bulk density were prepared with soda-ash dregs and felsic tailings.We investigated the effect of temperature,foaming agent,fluxing agent,Al_(2)O_(3)and CaO content on the pore structure and crystal phase of porous ceramics.The effect of Ca^(2+)in soda-ash dregs on the preparation of quartz-feldspar based porous ceramics was studied.The results showed that the contribution of Ca^(2+)to the preparation of porous ceramics in this system was mainly to accelerate the Si-O bond fracture and reduce the sintering temperature at the initial stage of sintering,which destroyed the needle-like feldspar in the high temperature melt and reduced the melt viscosity,thus reduced the foaming resistance and promoted the porous products with uniform pore size distribution.The Ca^(2+)content on the high side can participate in the formation of crystals in sintering.The generated needle-like diopside and augite,which have small length-diameter ratio,will negligibly change in the viscosity of melt at high temperatures,and their inhibition effect on pores is not as good as that of feldspar with large length-diameter ratio,resulting in the merger and collapse of pores.But the increase of diopside and augite can improve the compressive strength of porous products to some extent.Porous ceramic products containing needle-like feldspar phase can be prepared by using two kinds of solid waste,which can improve the compressive strength of the products and reduce the raw material cost and energy consumption while comprehensively utilizing the double solid waste.The optimal product has a bulk density of 0.45 g/cm^(3),a compressive strength of 3.17 MPa,and a thermal conductivity of 0.11 W/(m·K).

Comparison of Fe^(2+) oxidation by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in rotating-drum and stirred-tank reactors

Fe2＋ oxidation by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans（At.ferrooxidans） under different solid contents by adding inert Al2O3 powder was examined in rotating-drum and stirred-tank reactors.The results show that the bioactivity of At.ferrooxidans in the stirred-tank is higher than that in the rotating-drum in the absence of Al2O3 powder,but the biooxidation rate of Fe2＋ decreases markedly from 0.23 g/（L·h） to 0.025 g/（L·h） with increasing the content of Al2O3 powder from 0 to 50%（mass fraction） in the stirred-tank probably due to the deactivation of At.ferrooxidans resulting from the collision and friction of solid particles.The increase in Al2O3 content has a little adverse effect on the bioactivity of At.ferrooxidans in the rotating-drum due to different mixing mechanisms of the two reactors.The biooxidation rate of Fe2＋ in the rotating-drum is higher than that in the stirred-tank at the same content of Al2O3 powder,especially at high solid content.The higher bioactivity of At.ferrooxidans can be maintained for allowing high solid content in the rotating-drum reactor,but its application potential still needs to be verified further by the sulfide bioleaching for the property differences of Al2O3 powder and sulfide minerals.

Changes in underflow solid fraction and yield stress in paste thickeners by circulation

The trouble-free and efficient operation of paste thickeners requires an optimal design and the cooperation of each component.When underflow discharging is suspended,alleviating the vast torque that the remaining solids within the thickeners may place on rakes mainly lies in the circulation unit.The mechanism of this unit was analyzed,and a mathematical model was developed to describe the changes in underflow solid content and yield stress.The key parameters of the circulation unit,namely,the height and flow rate,were varied to test its performance in the experiments with a self-designed laboratorial thickening system.Results show that the circulation unit is valid in reducing underflow solid fraction and yield stress to a reasonable extent,and the model could be used to describe its efficiency at different heights and flow rates.A suitable design and application of the circulation unit contributes to a cost-effective operation of paste thickeners.

Review on Effects of Nitrogen on the Internal Quality of Peach Fruit

On the basis of referring plenty of literatures, we summarized the research advance in effects of nitrogen on the internal quality of peach fruit. Most studies have shown that proper nitrogen application can improve internal quality of fruit, and excessive nitrogen application can reduce soluble solid and sugar contents of fruit, increase organic acid content, reduce fruit aroma, increase protein and amino acid contents, and increase or reduce vitamin C content. Relevant issues were discussed.

Review on Effects of Sunlight on the Internal Quality of Peach Fruit

On the basis of referring plenty of literatures, we summed up the research advance in effects of sun light on the internal quality of peach fruit. This paper discussed the effect of light on the internal quality of peach fruit under the conditions of open cultivation, protected cultivation, bagging and surface covering with reflective film, the mechanism of occurrence and the technical measures to improve the utilization rate of light and light energy, and prospected the future research work.

Destabilization of bitumen-coated fine solids in oil through water-assisted flocculation using biomolecules extracted from guar beans

Non-aqueous extraction(NAE)of bitumen from oil sands has been gaining great attention from both the industry and academia as an alternative to the water-based extraction.A fine solids removal step is important for a NAE process in order to obtain high-quality bitumen product,which,however,remains a great challenge to reduce the fine solids content to the desired level.Here,we introduce a strategy of destabilizing the bitumen-coated silica particles in toluene with the addition of water and biomolecules extracted from Cyamopsiste tragonolobuosr L.Taup.,i.e.,high molecular weight guar gum(HGG)and low molecular weight guar gum(LGG),respectively.By virtue of sedimentation tests and focused beam reflectance measurement analysis,we demonstrate that the introduced water droplets modified with these biomolecules can facilitate the settling of the solid particles in toluene although the underlying mechanisms differ between these two biomolecule cases.Specifically,in the case of LGG,the added water droplets with the interfacial amphiphilic LGG can strengthen the attachment of solid particles from bulk toluene to the LGG surface.This research work provides useful insight into the development of effective approaches for destabilization and removal of bitumen-coated fine solids from NAE bitumen.

Nondestructive determination of soluble solids and firmness in mix-cultivar melon using near-infrared CCD spectroscopy

Nondestructive evaluation of melon quality is in great need of comprehensive study.Soluble solids content(SSC)and firmness are the two indicators of melon internal quality that mostly a®ect consumer acceptance.To provide guidance for fruit classification,internal quality standards was preliminarily established through sensory test,as:Melon with SSC over 12
Brix,firmness 4–5.5 kgf·cm^(-2)2 were considered as satisfactory class sample;and SSC over 10
Brix,¯rmness 3.5–6.5 kgf·cm^(-2) as average class sample.The near infrared(NIR)nondestructive detection program was set as spectra collected from the stylar-end,Brix expressed by the average SSC of inner and outer mesocarp,each cultivar of melon was detected with its own optimum integration time,and the second derivative algorithm was used to equalize them.Using wavelength selected by genetic algorithms(GA),a robust SSC model of mix-cultivar melon was established,the root mean standard error of cross-validation(RMSECV)was 0.99 and the ratio performance deviation(RPD)nearly reached 3.0,which almost could meet the accuracy requirement of 1.5
Brix.Firmness model of mix-cultivar melon was acceptable but inferior.

Research Progress of Soybean Protein Adhesive:A Review

Traditional formaldehyde-based adhesives rely excessively on petrochemical resources,release toxic gases,and pollute the environment.Plant-derived soybean protein adhesives are eco-friendly materials that have the potential to replace the formaldehyde-based adhesives used to fabricate wood-based panels.However,the poor water resistance,high brittleness,and poor mildew resistance of soybean protein adhesives limit their industrial applications.This article reviews recent research progress in the modification of soybean protein adhesives for improving the bonding performance of adhesives used for wood-based panel fabrication.Modification methods were summarized in terms of water resistance,solid content,and mildew resistance.The modification mechanisms and remaining problems were also discussed.Finally,the current industrial applications and the future research direction of soybean protein adhesives are discussed.

Achieving robustness to temperature change of a NIR model for apple soluble solids content

The temperature difference of fruit itself will affect its near infrared spectrum and the accuracy of its soluble solids content(SSC)prediction model.To eliminate the influence of apple temperature difference on the SSC model,a diffuse transmission dynamic online detection device was used to collect the spectral data of apples at different temperatures,and four methods were used to establish partial least squares correction models:global correction,orthogonal signal processing,generalized least squares weighting and external parameter orthogonal(EPO).The results show that the temperature has a strong influence on the diffuse transmission spectrum of apples.The 20ºC model can get a satisfactory prediction result when the temperature is constant,and there will be great errors when detecting samples at other temperatures.The effect of temperature must be corrected to establish a more general model.These methods all improve the accuracy of the model,with the EPO method giving the best results;the prediction set correlation coefficient is 0.947,the root mean square error of prediction is 0.489%,and the prediction bias is 0.009%.The research results are of great significance to the practical application of SSC prediction of fruits in sorting workshops or orchards.

Effect of solid contents on the controlled shear stress rheological properties of different types of sludge

Controlled shear stress （CSS） test was used to study the effect of solid contents on the corresponding rheological parameters for sludge. Three types of sludge with or without conditioning, including activated sludge （AS）, anaerobic digested sludge （ADS）, and water treatment residuals （WTRs）, were collected for the CSS test. Results showed that the yield stress and the cohesion energy of the sludge networks were improved with increased total suspending solid （TSS） contents in most cases. For the conditioned AS/ADS and the raw WTRs, exponential law was observed in the relationships between cohesion energy of material networks or yield stress and the TSS contents, whereas for the conditioned WTRs, only exponential law dependence was found between the parameters of shear modulus or critical strain and the TSS contents.

High-gravity-assisted emulsification for continuous preparation of waterborne polyurethane nanodispersion with high solids content

In this work,we developed a continuous preparation strategy for the production of high-solidscontent waterborne polyurethane(WPU)emulsions via high-gravity-assisted emulsification in a rotating packed bed(RPB)reactor.By adjusting the experimental parameters and formula,WPU emulsions with a high solids content of 55%and alow viscosity were prepared.Preliminary applications of the high-solids-content WPU as a thermally insulating material were demonstrated.RPB emulsification is an economical and environmentally friendly production strategy because of the low energy consumption,short emulsification time,and effective devolatilization.This study demonstrated an effective method for preparation of high-solids-content WPU,moving toward commercialization and industrialization.

Neural network and principal component regression in non-destructive soluble solids content assessment:a comparison

Visible and near infrared spectroscopy is a non-destructive,green,and rapid technology that can be utilized to estimate the components of interest without conditioning it,as compared with classical analytical methods.The objective of this paper is to compare the performance of artificial neural network(ANN)(a nonlinear model)and principal component regression(PCR)(a linear model)based on visible and shortwave near infrared(VIS-SWNIR)(400-1000 nm)spectra in the non-destructive soluble solids content measurement of an apple.First,we used multiplicative scattering correction to pre-process the spectral data.Second,PCR was applied to estimate the optimal number of input variables.Third,the input variables with an optimal amount were used as the inputs of both multiple linear regression and ANN models.The initial weights and the number of hidden neurons were adjusted to optimize the performance of ANN.Findings suggest that the predictive performance of ANN with two hidden neurons outperforms that of PCR.

Determination of soluble solid content and acidity of loquats based on FT-NIR spectroscopy

The near infrared （NIR） spectroscopy technique has been applied in many fields because of its advantages of simple preparation, fast response, and non-destructiveness. We investigated the potential of NIR spectroscopy in diffuse reflectance mode for determining the soluble solid content （SSC） and acidity （pH） of intact loquats. Two cultivars of loquats （Dahongpao and Jiajiaozhong） harvested from two orchards （Tangxi and Chun＇an, Zhejiang, China） were used for the measurement of NIR spectra between 800 and 2500 nm. A total of 400 loquats （100 samples of each cultivar from each orchard） were used in this study. Relationships between NIR spectra and SSC and acidity of loquats were evaluated using partial least square （PLS） method. Spectra preprocessing options included the first and second derivatives, multiple scatter correction （MSC）, and the standard normal variate （SNV）. Three separate spectral windows identified as full NIR （800-2500 nm）, short NIR （800-1100 rim）, and long NIR （1100-2500 nm） were studied in factorial combination with the preprocessing options. The models gave relatively good predictions of the SSC of loquats, with root mean square error of prediction （RMSEP） values of 1.21, 1.00, 0.965, and 1.16 °Brix for Tangxi-Dahongpao, Tangxi-Jiajiaozhong, Chun＇an-Dahongpao, and Chun＇an-Jiajiaozhong, respectively. The acidity prediction was not satisfactory, with the RMSEP of 0.382, 0.194, 0.388, and 0.361 for the above four loquats, respectively. The results indicate that NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy can be used to predict the SSC and acidity of loquat fruit.

Ruminal bacterial community is associated with the variations of total milk solid content in Holstein lactating cows

Total milk solid(TMS)content directly reflects the quality of milk.Rumen bacteria ferment dietary components,the process of which generates the precursors for the synthesis of milk solid,therefore,the variation in rumen bacterial community could be associated with milk solid in dairy cows.In this study,45 healthy mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows with the similar body weight,lactation stage,and milk yield were initially used for the selection of 10 cows with high TMS(HS)and 10 cows with low TMS(LS).All those animals were under the same feeding management,and the individual milk yield was recorded for 14 consecutive days before milk and rumen fluid were sampled.Rumen fluid was used to determine bacterial community by 16S rRNA gene sequencing technique.The HS cows had significantly greater feed intake and milk TMS,fat,protein content than LS cows(P<0.05).Among the volatile fatty acids(VFA),propionic acid and valeric acid concentrations were significantly greater in HS cows than those in LS cows(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the concentrations of acetate,butyrate,isobutyrate,valerate,and the total VFA(P>0.05),nor was the acetate-to-propionate ratio,pH value,ammonia nitrogen and microbial crude protein concentrations(P>0.05).Significant differences in the relative abundances of some bacterial genera were found between HS and LS cows.Spearman’s rank correlation analysis revealed that TMS content was correlated positively with the abundances of Ruminococcaceae UCG-014,Ruminococcaceae NK4A214 group,Prevotellaceae UCG-001,Butyrivibrio 2,Prevotellaceae UCG-003,Candidatus Saccharimonas,Ruminococcus 2,Lachnospiraceae XPB1014 group,probable genus 10,Eubacterium ventriosum group,but negatively correlated with Pyramidobacte.In addition,Ruminococcaceae UCG-014,Ruminococcus 2,Ruminococcaceae UCG001,probable genus 10 and Eubacterium ventriosum group might boost the total VFA production in the rumen.In conclusion,the dry matter intake of dairy cows and some special bacteria in rumen were significantly associated with TMS content,which suggests the potential function of rumen bacteria contributing to TMS content in dairy cows.

Cationic CO_(2)-based Waterborne Polyurethane with High Solid Content and Excellent Ageing Resistance

High solid content CO_(2)-based cationic waterborne polyurethanes(CWPUs)were prepared using CO_(2)-polyols as soft segment and Nmethyl diethanolamine(MDEA)as hydrophilic group.The resulting stable aqueous dispersion displayed a high solid content of 52%with a low MDEA loading of 3.52 wt%.This novel structural CWPU can provide excellent adhesive strength,whose T-peel strength could reach 173.48N/5cm,20%higher than that of ester-based cationic waterborne polyurethane(87.55 N/5cm).The CO_(2)-based CWPU film showed only 2 wt%swelling percentage after 240 min immersion in water,and no change was observed during its immersion in 5 wt%sodium hydroxide solution.The tensile strength of CO_(2)-WPUs dropped slowly to 91.2%after 480 min immersion in a 5 wt%sodium hydroxide solution,whereas that of esterbased CWPUs dropped quickly to 32%after 240 min and their mechanical properties were lost after 360 min immersion.Meanwhile,the retention of the tensile strength of the CO_(2)-CWPUs was 81.5%even after 720 min immersion in 10 wt%H_(2)O_(2) solution,while it was only ca.38%for the ester-based CWPUs.These results indicated that the cationic CO_(2)-based CWPU may be promising waterborne adhesive with outstanding ageing resistance due to its synergistic effect from carbonate and ether groups of CO_(2)-polyol structure.

Nondestructive determining the soluble solids content of citrus using near infrared transmittance technology combined with the variable selection algorithm

Nondestructive determination the internal quality of thick-skin fruits has always been a challenge.In order to investigate the prediction ability of full transmittance mode on the soluble solid content(SSC)in thick-skin fruits,the full transmittance spectra of citrus were collected using a visible/near infrared(Vis/NIR)portable spectrograph(550–1100 nm).Three obvious absorption peakswere found at 710,810 and 915 nmin the original spectra curve.Four spectral preprocessing methods including Smoothing,multiplicative scatter correction(MSC),standard normal variate(SNV)and first derivativewere employed to improve the quality of the original spectra.Subsequently,the effective wavelengths of SSC were selected from the original and pretreated spectra with the algorithms of successive projections algorithm(SPA),competitive adaptive reweighted sampling(CARS)and genetic algorithm(GA).Finally,the prediction models of SSC were established based on the full wavelengths and effectivewavelengths.Results showed that SPA performed the best performance on eliminating the useless information variable and optimizing the number of effective variables.The optimal predictionmodel was established based on 10 characteristic variables selected from the spectra pretreated by SNV with the algorithmof SPA,with the correlation coefficient,root mean square error,and residual predictive deviation for prediction set being 0.9165,0.5684°Brix and 2.5120,respectively.Overall,the full transmittance mode was feasible to predict the internal quality of thick-skin fruits,like citrus.Additionally,the combination of spectral preprocessing with a variable selection algorithmwas effective for developing the reliable predictionmodel.The conclusions of this study also provide an alternative method for fast and real-time detection of the internal quality of thick-skin fruits using Vis/NIR spectroscopy.