Determination of the desiccation behavior of clay slurries

The main objective of this study was to determine the desiccation behavior of clay slurries. A clay slurry with high water adsorption capacity(W_L = 180%,W_P 60%,W_s = 20) was used to determine the soil water characteristic curve(SWCC), shrinkage curve, and hydraulic conductivity. The last parameter was determined similar to the Instantaneous Profile Method using evaporation tests. Results indicated that the clay slurry had an air entry value(AEV) of 1000 kPa and a residual suction of 5000 kPa that occurred at the plastic limit and the shrinkage limit, respectively. The discrepancy between theoretical and measured shrinkage limit was due to the gradual increase in clay particle contact. Unlike soils, the saturated hydraulic conductivity varied by two orders of magnitude(4×10 ~10 m/s at 20 kPa to 3 x 10 ~12 m/s at AEV). The unsaturated k further decreased to 10 ~14 m/s at 6 x 10~4 kPa beyond which vapor flow took place.

Determination of consolidation behaviour of clay slurries

The main objective of this study was to determine the consolidation behaviour of clay slurries.A finegrained clay with high consistency limits(W_L = 180%,w_P= 120%) was investigated using conventional oedometer and bench-top centrifuge tests.Results indicated that the slurry had an apparent preconsolidation(due to initial conditions,electrochemical interactions,tortuous drainage,and thixotropic strength) from e = 5.7 to e = 5.5 followed by virgin compression.Likewise,the low hydraulic conductivity(10^(-10)-10^(-12) m/s) was due to low porosity(small pore throats) and high tortuosity(long flow paths).Unlike consolidation of soils,the c_v and m_v decreased with increasing σ' but increased with increasing e and k.The data from the two tests correlated well in the range of σ' = 10-65 kPa,e = 5.5-3.86,k= 1.7 × 10^(-10)-5×10^(-11) m/s,F_c = 1-40 MN.New equations were developed to correlate the consolidation parameters(e,σ',k) with F_c.The deviation of k beyond 40 MN(e = 4.65) was due to deviation from the initial straight line portion of the settlement curve in the centrifuge test.

Geotechnical behavior of uranium mill tailings from Saskatchewan,Canada

This paper investigates the geotechnical behavior of uranium mill tailings from Saskatchewan, Canada.The 4% tailings were well-graded with 29% fines whereas the 5% and 6% tailings were gap-graded with 49% fines. All samples exhibited a negligible strength(0.4 k Pa) up to 60% solids, followed by a rapid increase. The 4% tailings exhibited a lower rate and amount of settlement than 5% and 6% tailings. The kidecreased from 10^(-2)to 10^(-4)m/s with a decrease in eifrom 16 to 4 and a decrease in ef from 8 to 4 such that 4% tailings showed one order of magnitude lower values than the 5% and 6%tailings. The settling potential decreased ten times(50%–5%) for 4% tailings and four times(60%–15%)for 5% and 6% tailings. The effective stress increased from 80 to 260 Pa in the settling tests. The 4%tailings were less prone to segregation when compared with 5% and 6% tailings. The average solids content after settling was 35% for 4% tailings, 40% for 5% tailings and 39% for 6% tailings with a solids content deviation of ±3%, ±8%, ±6%, respectively. All materials were essentially non-segregating at 40%initial solids.

Relative efficiency appraisal of discrete choice modeling algorithms using small-scale maximum likelihood estimator through empirically tailored computing environment

Discrete choice models are widely used in multiple sectors such as transportation, health, energy, and marketing, etc., where the model estimation is usually carried out by using commercial software. Nonetheless, tailored computer codes offer modellers greater flexibility and control of unique modelling situation. Aligned with empirically tailored computing environment, this research discusses the relative performance of six different algorithms of a discrete choice model using three key performance measures： convergence time, number of iterations, and iteration time. The computer codes are developed by using Visual Basic Application （VBA）. Maximum likelihood function （MLF） is formulated and the mathematical relationships of gradient and Hessian matrix are analytically derived to carry out the estimation process. The estimated parameter values clearly suggest that convergence criterion and initial guessing of parameters are the two critical factors in determining the overall estimation performance of a custom-built discrete choice model.

旅游城市的不确定性多目标环境规划优化模型框架研究

简要分析了旅游城市环境规划的特点 ,针对性地提出了一套不确定性模糊多目标旅游环境系统规划优化方法 ,这是首次将不确定性多目标规划方法应用于以旅游业发展为重点的城市环境规划领域。并相应地建立了旅游城市环境不确定性模糊多目标系统规划优化模型 (IF MOPOMTUE) ,既把各种环境要素和经济要素有机地整合入模型中 ,又充分考虑了旅游城市环境发展的不确定性 ,通过人机交互式方法 ,将专家和决策者的意见落实在模型参数上 ,从而最大可能地保证了规划结果的科学性和可操作性。

Long-term nitrogen and phosphorus removal,shifts of functional bacteria and fate of resistance genes in bioretention systems under sulfamethoxazole stress

To understand the long-term performance of bioretention systems under sulfamethoxazole (SMX) stress, an unplanted bioretention system (BRS) and two modified BRSs with coconut-shell activated carbon (CAC) and CAC/zero-valent-iron (Fe^(0)) granules (CAC-BRS and Fe/CAC-BRS) were established. Both CAC-BRS and Fe/CAC-BRS significantly outperformed BRS in removing total nitrogen (TN)(CAC-BRS:82.48%;Fe/CAC-BRS:78.08%;BRS:47.51%), total phosphorous (TP)(CAC-BRS:79.36%;Fe/CAC-BRS:98.26%;BRS:41.99%),and SMX (CAC-BRS:99.74%, Fe/CAC-BRS:99.80%;BRS:23.05%) under the long-term SMX exposure (0.8 mg/L, 205 days). High-throughput sequencing revealed that the microbial community structures of the three BRSs shifted greatly in upper zones after SMX exposure.Key functional genera, dominantly Nitrospira, Rhodoplanes, Desulfomicrobium, Geobacter,were identified by combining the functional prediction by the FAPROTAX database with the dominant genera. The higher abundance of nitrogen functional genes (nirK, nirS and nos Z) in CAC-BRS and Fe/CAC-BRS might explain the more efficient TN removal in these two systems. Furthermore, the relative abundance of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs)sul I and sulII increased in all BRSs along with SMX exposure, suggesting the selection of bacteria containing sul genes. Substrates tended to become reservoirs of sul genes. Also,co-occurrence network analysis revealed distinct potential host genera of ARGs between upper and lower zones. Notably, Fe/CAC-BRS succeeded to reduce the effluent sul genes by1-2 orders of magnitude, followed by CAC-BRS after 205-day exposure. This study demon-strated that substrate modification was crucial to maintain highly efficient nutrients and SMX removals, and ultimately extend the service life of BRSs in treating SMX wastewater.

Black titanium dioxide nanomaterials for photocatalytic removal of pollutants:A review

Semiconductor photocatalysis is one of the most widely used environment-friendly technologies for removing various contaminants.As a well-developed photocatalyst,titanium dioxide(TiO_(2))still has limits in its wide bandgap and rapid recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers.Recently,black TiO_(2)appears as a strong candidate in the improvement of sunlight harvesting,because of its excellent absorption capacity and utilization of solar radiation.Despite extensive applications in both environmental and energy fields,the use of black TiO_(2)as a photocatalyst in pollutant removal is ambiguous.The primary objective of the review is to comprehensively evaluate the applications of black TiO_(2)in photocatalytic removal of contaminants,including conventional organic contaminants,emerging contaminants,microbes,and heavy metals.The basic properties,photocatalytic mechanism,and synthesis of black TiO_(2)have been summarized and analyzed.Moreover,the stability and recoverability of black TiO_(2)have also been discussed.Finally,the perspectives of the application of black TiO_(2)in pollutant removal have been further discussed.

Functional flax fiber with UV-induced switchable wettability for multipurpose oil-water separation

The large number of oily wastewater discharges and oil spills are bringing about severe threats to environment and human health.Corresponding to this challenge,a functional PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber with UV-induced switchable wettability was developed for efficient oil-water separation in this study.The developed flax fiber was obtained through PAA grafted polymerization and then ZnO-HDTMS nanocomposite immobilization.The as-prepared PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber was hydrophobic initially and could be switched to hydrophilic through UV irradiation.Its hydrophobicity could be easily recovered through being stored in dark environment for several days.To optimize the performance of the PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber,the effects of ZnO and HDTMS concentrations on its switchable wettability were investigated.The optimized PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber had a large water contact angle(∼130°)in air and an extremely small oil contact angle(∼0°)underwater initially.After UV treatment,the water contact angle was decreased to 30°,while the underwater oil contact angle was increased to more than 150°.Based on this UV-induced switchable wettability,the developed PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber was applied to remove oil from immiscible oil-water mixtures and oil-in-water emulsion with great reusability for multiple cycles.Thus,the developed flax fiber could be further fabricated into oil barrier or oil sorbent for oil-water separation,which could be an environmentally-friendly alternative in oil spill response and oily wastewater treatment.

Superwetting polyethersulfone membrane functionalized with ZrO_(2) nanoparticles for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon removal

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)are persistent and widespread in the aquatic environment,causing potential hazards for human health.In this study,a superwetting and robust PES-PAA-ZrO_(2)nanofiltration membrane was proposed through surface modification for PAH removal with high efficiency.A ZrO_(2)coating was formed on polyethersulfone(PES)membrane surface through chemical bonding,thus the PES-PAA-ZrO_(2)membrane exhibited super-hydrophilicity,under-water oleophobicity,and excellent stability.In comparison with the original PES membrane,the water contact angle of the modified membrane was significantly decreased from about 50°to less than 10°,and quickly dropped to 0°within 1s.This provided a much lower energy barrier for water permeation due to its super-high water affinity.The wastewater treatment efficiency was increased by about 4 times after modification with more than 90%of PAH rejection rate.The excellent robustness of PES-PAA-ZrO_(2)membrane was verified under various conditions,which gave the membrane practical potential for long-term operation.