1,721,009 research outputs found
Use of iron-based technologies in contaminated land and groundwater remediation: a review
No full textReactions involving iron play a major role in the environmental cycling of a wide range of important organic, inorganic and radioactive contaminants. Consequently, a range of environmental clean-up technologies have been proposed or developed which utilise iron chemistry to remediate contaminated land and surface and subsurface waters, e.g. the use of injected zero zero-valent iron nanoparticles to remediate organic contaminant plumes; the generation of iron oxyhydroxide-based substrates for arsenic removal from contaminated waters; etc. This paper reviews some of the latest iron-based technologies in contaminated land and groundwater remediation, their current state of development, and their potential applications and limitations
Creation of spherical carbon nanoparticles and clusters from carbon dioxide via UV dissociation at the critical point
No full textCarbon nanomaterials have become increasingly important for many applications, including sensors, electronics, biomedical materials and functional composites. Currently their production is based on hydrocarbons or graphite and requires very high temperatures. Here we present a method for the synthesis of carbon nanomaterials from carbon dioxide. Unlike previously described methods, our synthesis method works near room temperature. Carbon dioxide is irradiated at its critical point, producing spherical carbon nanoparticles even without the use of a catalyst. We examine the influence of irradiation parameters and different metals and catalysts on the nanocarbon production. Together with analysis of the fluid phase, this allows us to draw some conclusions on the carbon dioxide dissociation mechanism
Real-time imaging of complex nanoscale mechanical responses of carbon nanotubes in highly compressible porous monoliths
No full textA facile and rapid assembly of powdered carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into compressible, porous, macroscale monoliths is reported. Despite a Poisson’s ratio just above zero, we found that the sample under compression inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed CNT regions behaving in auxetic and vortex-like rotational modes as well as standard collapse responses. This method is crucial in understanding the macroscale behaviour based on the accumulation of nanoscale responses to an applied force
Effect of undensified silica fume on the dispersion of carbon nanotubes within a cementitious composite
No full textThe synergistic effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and Undensified Silica Fume (USF) on the microstructure of cementitious composites has been studied. In the current work, USF was used to enhance the dispersion of nanotubes throughout the composite and prevent the re-agglomeration of nanotubes by providing a physical barrier of particles of small size. Ultrasonication was employed to disperse MWCNTs in water in the presence of polycarboxylate-based superplasticizer (PCE) as a dispersion agent. The results indicate that incorporation of USF considerably improves the dispersion of nanotubes in the composites, with subsequent enhancement of composite packing density. This enhancement can be attributed to the synergistic effect of MWCNTs and USF in reducing the volume of pores through the cementitious composites
Synthesis and application of hydride silica composites for rapid and facile removal of aqueous mercury
No full textThe adsorption of ionic mercury(II) from aqueous solution on functionalized hydride silicon materials was investigated. The adsorbents were prepared by modification of mesoporous silica C-120 with triethoxysilane or by converting alkoxysilane into siloxanes by reaction with acetic acid. Mercury adsorption isotherms at 20?°C are reported, and maximum mercury loadings were determined by Langmuir fitting. Adsorbents exhibited efficient and rapid removal of ionic mercury from aqueous solution, with a maximum mercury loading of approximately 0.22 and 0.43 mmol of Hg g?1 of silica C-120 and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) xerogel, respectively. Adsorption efficiency remained almost constant from pH 2.7 to 7. These inexpensive adsorbents exhibiting rapid assembly, low pH sensitivity, and high reactivity and capacity, are potential candidates as effective materials for mercury decontamination in natural waters and industrial effluents
Effect of high-intensity sonication on the dispersion of carbon-based nanofilaments in cementitious composites, and its impact on mechanical performance
Full text linkCarbon-based nanofilaments are promising materials for improving the mechanical performance of cementitious composites. To date, the main challenge in their effective use has been controlling the dispersion of these additives in water and in the resulting mixed composites due to their strong van der Waals self-attraction and hydrophobic surfaces. This study uses high-intensity sonication to disperse different nanofilament types in water, and assesses their resulting reinforcing efficiency in cementitious composites. The proportion of nanofilaments used (in this case, multiwall carbon nanotubes MWCNTs, functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes F-MWCNTs, and carbon nanofibres CNFs) was 0.025% by weight of cement. Aqueous dispersions were examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and optical microscopy, and ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy. Compressive, flexural and splitting tensile strengths tests, and porosity and density measurements, were used to evaluate the mechanical properties of the composites. High-intensity sonication over short durations significantly improved the dispersion, and reinforcing and filling effects, of carbon-based nanofilaments in cementitious composites, with increases in compressive strength of 24–32%, splitting tensile strength of 45–50%, and flexural toughness factor of 30–40%, observed after 28 days curing. A 17–26% reduction in the porosity of the composite materials was also recorded
Phenolic carbon tailored for the removal of polar organic contaminants from water : a solution to the metaldehyde problem?
Full text linkCurrent water treatment technologies are inefficient at treating water contaminated with metaldehyde, an 8-member cyclic tetramer of acetaldehyde widely used as a molluscicide in large-scale agriculture and in gardens, and which has been frequently observed to breach European regulatory limits in the UK due to its high solubility and frequent use. Here, we examine the controls on metaldehyde adsorption onto activated phenolic carbon, namely the influence of activation degree, pore size distribution, particle size, point of zero charge and surface functionalisation, by synthesising “tailored” carbons from phenolic resin. Metaldehyde adsorption has been found to be independent of specific surface area (SBET), which is highly unusual for an adsorption process, and is favoured in carbons with (a) high microporosity with narrow pore size distribution, (b) presence of mesopores which allow efficient diffusive transport, and (c) an absence of negatively charged functional groups. The maximum adsorption capacity of the phenolic resin-derived carbons, tested at an elevated (i.e. exceeding environmental levels) water concentration of 64 mg metaldehyde/L, was 76 mg metaldehyde/g carbon compared with 13 mg metaldehyde/g carbon in industrial granular activated carbon (GAC). The phenolic resin-derived carbons and GAC showed similar adsorption kinetics with maximum metaldehyde uptake occurring within 30 min under batch adsorption conditions, although adsorption isotherms indicate much stronger adsorption of metaldehyde on the phenolic resin-derived carbons. Adsorption efficiency for metaldehyde was maintained even in the presence of high background concentrations of organic matter and inorganic salts, indicating the potential utility of these “designer” carbons in waste and/or drinking water treatment
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
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