Adsorption of a jet fuel on a model organic-clay soil: application of small angle neutron scattering.

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) data are reported from a system that models the contamination of a clay/organic matter soil from a fuel spillage. The soil was represented as an aqueous dispersion of the synthetic clay mineral Laponite coated with lysine, and the contaminant was a representative jet fuel, quadricyclane, mixed with the detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The adsorbed surface coverage on the clay was estimated. It is shown that the presence of adsorbed lysine considerably enhances the subsequent adsorption of both CTAB and quadricyclane. It is demonstrated that the SANS technique can contribute to the general problem of environmental remediation and retention by probing the interactions of pollutants and clay surfaces. © 2008, National Research Council Canad

Estimation of incidence and social cost of colon cancer due to nitrate in drinking water in the EU: a tentative cost-benefit assessment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Presently, health costs associated with nitrate in drinking water are uncertain and not quantified. This limits proper evaluation of current policies and measures for solving or preventing nitrate pollution of drinking water resources. The cost for society associated with nitrate is also relevant for integrated assessment of EU nitrogen policies taking a perspective of welfare optimization. The overarching question is at which nitrogen mitigation level the social cost of measures, including their consequence for availability of food and energy, matches the social benefit of these measures for human health and biodiversity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Epidemiological studies suggest colon cancer to be possibly associated with nitrate in drinking water. In this study risk increase for colon cancer is based on a case-control study for Iowa, which is extrapolated to assess the social cost for 11 EU member states by using data on cancer incidence, nitrogen leaching and drinking water supply in the EU. Health costs are provisionally compared with nitrate mitigation costs and social benefits of fertilizer use.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For above median meat consumption the risk of colon cancer doubles when exposed to drinking water exceeding 25 mg/L of nitrate (NO₃) for more than ten years. We estimate the associated increase of incidence of colon cancer from nitrate contamination of groundwater based drinking water in EU11 at 3%. This corresponds to a population-averaged health loss of 2.9 euro per capita or 0.7 euro per kg of nitrate-N leaching from fertilizer.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our cost estimates indicate that current measures to prevent exceedance of 50 mg/L NO₃are probably beneficial for society and that a stricter nitrate limit and additional measures may be justified. The present assessment of social cost is uncertain because it considers only one type of cancer, it is based on one epidemiological study in Iowa, and involves various assumptions regarding exposure. Our results highlight the need for improved epidemiological studies.</p

Toward nanofluids of ultra-high thermal conductivity

The assessment of proposed origins for thermal conductivity enhancement in nanofluids signifies the importance of particle morphology and coupled transport in determining nanofluid heat conduction and thermal conductivity. The success of developing nanofluids of superior conductivity depends thus very much on our understanding and manipulation of the morphology and the coupled transport. Nanofluids with conductivity of upper Hashin-Shtrikman (H-S) bound can be obtained by manipulating particles into an interconnected configuration that disperses the base fluid and thus significantly enhancing the particle-fluid interfacial energy transport. Nanofluids with conductivity higher than the upper H-S bound could also be developed by manipulating the coupled transport among various transport processes, and thus the nature of heat conduction in nanofluids. While the direct contributions of ordered liquid layer and particle Brownian motion to the nanofluid conductivity are negligible, their indirect effects can be significant via their influence on the particle morphology and/or the coupled transport

SANS study of the adsorption of guar gum on talc surfaces.

Reagents based on guar gum are commonly used as 'gangue' depressants in the flotation of sulphides from ores containing naturally floating layer silicate minerals such as talc. Nickel sulphide ores processed by WMC Resources Ltd. at the Leinster Nickel Operations in Western Australia typically contain 1-2 % talc. Guar gum added to the flotation cell depresses the talc by adsorbing onto its surface thereby reducing its hydrophobic nature. Guar gum is a long chain polysaccharide containing many hydroxyl functional groups along the length of its chain. The ratio of chain length to the number of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups causes the guar gum to be selective in depressing talc rather than nickel sulphide minerals. Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) it is an excellent tool for probing structures in the nano length scale. Unlike X-rays neutrons are sensitive to low atomic weight elements especially hydrogen and therefore organics. Using SANS it is possible to contrast different parts of a composite sample to get information on spatial arrangements. These qualities make SANS an obvious choice for studying the adsorption of guar gum on the surface of talc in aqueous solutions. Complimentary SANS experiments were carried out in Australia at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and in the United States at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Initially talc samples were studied 'as supplied' however as experiments proceeded attempts to reduce the particle size and distribution were carried out by milling and centrifuging procedures. Contrast matching techniques were used to observed the scattering behaviour of talc with and without the presence of guar gum and vice versa over a total q range of 0.002 - 0.1 Angstroms - 1. The size of the talc particles appears to affect the scattering behaviour not only of talc but also of guar gum in the same solutions. This implies that the structure of the guar gum is strongly influenced by the dimensions of the talc and could be taken as indirect evidence of adsorption of guar gum onto the talc surface. Although adsorption has been implied a model of the adsorption mechanism cannot be proposed from these preliminary results. In order to achieve this more homogeneous talc samples need to be studied; in particular the poly dispersity of and impurities in the samples must be addressed