Appendix A. A table listing natural 15N abundance and N content in plant and soil pools of the four study plots.

A table listing natural 15N abundance and N content in plant and soil pools of the four study plots

Appendix D. A table listing recovery of the 15N tracer from western red cedar stem pools.

A table listing recovery of the 15N tracer from western red cedar stem pools

Appendix C. Tables listing 15N atom% and N content of soil pools and western red cedar roots and foliage over the one-year experiment.

Tables listing 15N atom% and N content of soil pools and western red cedar roots and foliage over the one-year experiment

Appendix B. A figure showing 15N tracer maxima in extractable and microbial soil pools.

A figure showing 15N tracer maxima in extractable and microbial soil pools

Adsorptive removal of mercury from acid mine drainage: a comparison of silica and maghemite nanoparticles

<div><p>Mercury adsorption by silica and maghemite nanoparticles (NPs) was studied with the aim of comparing their performance in the remediation of acid mine drainage (AMD) contaminated water. Calculated distribution coefficients (<i>K</i>_d) showed that both NPs are exceptional adsorbents. However, adsorbate coverage per unit area was 30 times higher for maghemite than for silica NPs, despite the latter having a surface area ∼15 times greater. Maghemite adsorbed 75% of available Hg compared to 56% by silica, making it a more efficient sorbent than silica under AMD conditions. Kinetics and isotherm data for both adsorbents were fitted by the pseudo-second-order (<i>R</i>² = 1) and the Freundlich (<i>R</i>² ≥ 0.98) models, implying that adsorption to both NP types was by chemisorption. Adsorption increased with NP concentrations and pH and was enhanced in the presence of manganese and sulfate ions although adsorption to silica was inhibited in 1:2 Hg-to-Mn systems. Importantly, trends in simulated wastewater were replicated in actual AMD-contaminated water samples. This study highlights the fact that properties besides surface area and charge of adsorbents determine adsorbent performance, and superior attributes may not always lead to higher adsorption efficiencies.</p></div