1,720,956 research outputs found
Toxic elements at a disused mine district: Particle size distribution and total concentration in stream sediments and mine tailings
No full textHeavy metal and metalloid pollution at a disused pyrite mine was investigated. Five solid samples collected in the area (three stream sediments with different soil texture, a background soil sample and a mine tailing) were characterised by mineral and element composition, particle size distribution (by wet and dry sieving and laser diffraction) and total concentration by acid digestion (Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Hg, Cd, Sb and As). X-ray and element analyses denoted a common mineralogical and chemical composition of mainly quartz, clinochlore, muscovite, anorthite, and hematite. Particle size distributions of the five samples showed that stream sediments were characterised by larger percentage of sand range classes (2000-60 μm) while background sample and tailing are mainly characterised by gravel particles (>2000 μm). Wet and dry sieving procedures gave different particle size distributions, which can be interpreted by laser diffraction analysis and represented by Rosin-Rammler model. Concentrations of Zn, Cu and Cd were higher in the stream sediments than the tailing and background soil, while Mn, As, Sb and Hg are mainly concentrated in the tailing sample. Metal concentrations in the three stream sediment samples are correlated with both particle size dimensions (D63.2) and concentration of geochemical normalizers (iron and aluminium). These correlations are observed also for the pollutants that are mainly concentrated in tailing sample (Mn and As), denoting the importance of surface interactions also for the binding of these elements onto stream sediments. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Non-electrostatic surface complexation models for protons and lead(II) sorption onto single minerals and their mixture
No full textPotentiometric titrations and lead sorption tests were conducted using muscovite, clinochlore, hematite, goethite, quartz, and a mixture of these same minerals. Mechanistic models were developed to represent and interpret these data. The aim was isolating the specific contribution of each mineral in proton and lead binding. Acid-base properties of each single mineral as well as their mixture were represented by discrete models, which consider the dissociation of n monoprotic sites (n-site/n-K-H models). A one-site/one-K-H model (logK(H1) = 10.69) was chosen for quartz (dissociation of SiOH edge hydroxyl groups). Goethite and hematite (FeOH groups) were represented by the same one-site/one-K-H model (logK(H1) = 10.35). Three-site/three-K-H models were used for muscovite (logK(H1) = 4.18; logK(H2) = 6.65; log K-H3 = 9.67) and clinochlore (log K-H1 = 3.84; log K-H2 = 6.57; log K-H3 = 9.71) assuming that SiOH and AlOH of the alummosilicate matrix dissociate in the acid-neutral pH range while SiOH groups of quartz inclusions dissociate in the basic range. Similarly, the mixture of these minerals was represented by a three-site/three-K-H model (log K-H1= 3.39; log K-H2 = 6.72; log K-H3 10.82). According to crossed comparisons with single minerals, the first two sites of the mixture were associated with the aluminosilicate matrix (SiOH and AlOH respectively) and the third site with iron oxides (FeOH) and quartz groups. Additivity of proton binding in the mixture was demonstrated by simulating the mixture's titration curve. A unified model for the entire set of titration curves (single minerals and mixture) was also developed introducing a three-peak distribution function for proton affinity constants. Experimental data for lead sorption onto the mixture and individual minerals in 3-5 pH range denoted the competition between protons and metallic ions. The entire set of lead isotherms (individual mineral and mixture data) was represented adequately by a unified model taking into account both monodentate and bidentate complexes with the three active sites (additivity of lead binding). Experimental data of metal distribution in solid and liquid phases were successfully simulated by implementing the protonation and the surface complexation constants into the database of a dedicated software for chemical equilibria. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Mechanisms of heavy-metal removal by activated sludge
No full textThis paper investigates the chemical mechanisms operating in cadmium and lead removal by activated sludge in sequencing batch reactors. Selective extraction and acid digestion of sludge samples denoted that both Cd and Pb are mainly present as surface-bound metals. Characterisation of sludge samples by potentiometric titrations and IR spectra suggested that carboxylic and amino groups are the main active sites responsible for the binding proper-ties of the biomass. Simulation of metal speciation implemented with complexation constants determined in biosorption tests, showed that cadmium predominates as biosorbed species, while lead was mainly removed by precipitation. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Theoretical and experimental analysis of the role of sludge age on the removal of adsorbed micropollutants in activated sludge processes
No full textThis paper analyses how sludge age, the most important design parameter for activated sludge processes, affects effluent concentrations of those micropollutants which are removable only by adsorption on activated sludge floes. A mathematical model has been developed for sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) treating readily biodegradable substrates and micropollutants, in order to calculate the effect of sludge age on liquid- and solid-phase concentrations of micropollutants, both during the startup and at steady state. It was shown that the increase in sludge age, at fixed values of the other parameters, causes an increase of the concentration of micropollutants both in the liquid and in the solid phase. At any given sludge age, the effect of process parameters (e.g., biomass kinetic and stoichiometric parameters, influent concentration of readily biodegradable substrate) on the removal of the micropollutant was discussed. Experimental data were collected from two parallel laboratory-scale SBRs operated under identical conditions and feed composition, the only difference being sludge age (4 vs 26 days). Removal of cadmium and lead in the two reactors was compared. Effluent cadmium concentration was significantly higher at higher sludge age (25% of the influent concentration vs 12% at the lower sludge age). Lead removal, on the ther hand, was not significantly affected by sludge age and other removal mechanisms, as precipitation, likely occurred. Other literature data on removal of micropollutants in activated sludge processes were critically analyzed in light of the findings obtained in this study. © 2008 American Chemical Society
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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