The interactions of sulfate-reducing bacteria and Spartina alterniflora marsh grass have been established using a simulated salt marsh system and these interactions have been quantified using geochemical and molecular tools. Plant activities have a direct influence on mercury methylators and therefore control mercury transformation in the environment. Biogeochemical data show that sulfate and sulfide profiles change seasonally due to plant growth and senescence. Spartina alterniflora impact the two drivers for sulfate and sulfide transformation. The community of sulfate-reducing bacteria serve as the anaerobic driver and transform sulfate to sulfide (sulfate reduction). Sulfate-reducing bacteria have been identified as the principal methylators of mercury (Andersson, et al., 1990; Compeau and Bartha, 1985; Compeau and Bartha, 1984; Blum and Bartha, 1980; Gilmour and Capone). The aerobic driver is dissolved oxygen present in both porewater and plant root exudates, which transform sulfide back to sulfate (sulfide oxidation). Sulfate is not limiting in the vegetated sediment, even at the lower depths. Therefore, although sulfate reduction rates were high when plant activity was high, oxidative processes were also significant in the upper 4-cm of the sediment. In addition, demethylation of methylmercury to ionic Hg(II) in the porewater can occur through oxidative processes (Oremland et al., 1991). Therefore, the significance of sulfide oxidation may have strong implications for methylmercury demethylation in our marsh system.

In this study, we use the swelling characteristics of bentonite to discussion about the performance of bentonite mortar anti-seepage and the performance of resistance to sulfate. And add the AE water-reducing to improve its workability. To compare with different rate of bentonite added at different ratio of AE water-reducing in the condition of Standard Test for Flow Table. We planning in different water-cement ratio (0.445,0.485,0.550) to test for its fresh properties and hardened properties, and discussion the effect by AE water-reducing on the marine engineering. According to this study, adding bentonite will make the flow value dropped, and affecting the workability. Because of the positive ion exchange properties between bentonite and water will make it a high volume exchange rate, it means that absorption is high, so when the mixing time, the bentonite will form clumps, in this study, we add the AE water-reducing to improve. After we add AE water-reducing, the absorption, compressive strength are increase, but we still had to pay attention to the ratio between bentonite and AE water-reducing, the strength of structure perhaps decrease if added too much bentonite. This study can get the best positive effect when added ratio of 0.25% of bentonite to replaced cement.

Our ability to understand and predict the fate and transport of contaminants in natural systems is vital if we are to be successful in protecting our water resources. One important aspect of understanding chemical fate and transport in natural systems is identifying key kinetic controls on important redox reactions such as sulfate reduction. Anaerobic microbial activities like sulfate reduction are of particular interest because of the important role they play in the degradation of contaminants in the subsurface. However, current rate estimates for sulfate reduction have a wide range in the literature making it difficult to determine representative rates for a given system. These differences in rate data may be explained by varying kinetic controls on reactions. Push-pull tests were used to evaluate sulfate reduction rates at the wetland-aquifer interface. Anaerobic aquifer water containing abundant sulfate was injected into sulfate-depleted wetland porewater. The injected water was subsequently withdrawn and analyzed for geochemical indicators of sulfate reduction. Complexities in rate data, such as presence of a lag phase, changing rate order and spatial variability, were observed and are hypothesized to be linked to activities of the native microbial population. Subsequent experiments explored the response of native microorganisms to geochemical perturbations using a novel approach to measure directly the effects of a geochemical perturbation on an in situ microbial population and measure rates of resulting reactions. In situ experiments involved colonization of a substrate by microorganisms native to the wetland sediments followed by introductions of native water amended with sulfate and tracer. Experimental results showed that higher sulfate concentrations and warmer seasonal temperatures result in faster sulfate reduction rates and corresponding increases in sulfate reducing bacteria. Findings from this research provide quantitative evidence of how geochemical and microbiological processes are linked in a system not at equilibrium.

This thesis presents a study to enhance and improve a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) reverse osmosis process that uses seed crystals to promote crystallization of the dissolved salts in the residual brine while it is being treated by identifying those membrane materials that are most suitable for the process. In the study, a one plate SEPA Cell module by GE Osmonics was used to determine which membranes were most susceptible to fouling and/or membrane hydrolysis. A cellulose acetate (CA), polyamide (PA) low MWCO, and PA high MWCO membrane were tested under reverse osmosis conditions. The CA and thin film (TF) membranes were also tested for nanofiltration. The cell was operated under conditions that were determined to be optimum for each membrane by the manufacturer, GE Osmonics. A high pressure, low flow, positive displacement diaphragm pump circulated the saturated calcium sulfate solution with 2 % suspended solids through the cell while the reject and permeate were recycled back to the feed, thereby preserving a saturated solution to promote crystal growth and simulate the seeded reverse osmosis process. The temperature was maintained constant by adding an ice pack to the feed vessel when necessary. The transmembrane pressure differential was maintained constant by adjusting a back pressure valve on the concentrate outlet. The results illustrate that if potable drinking water is the intended use, then the nanofiltration cellulose acetate membrane should be used. If irrigation is the desired use, then the nanofiltration thin film membrane should be used. Overall, the reverse osmosis cellulose acetate membrane was observed to outperform all membranes when all performance parameters were normalized. However, this membrane was observed to be prone to degradation in a seeded slurry and therefore its lifetime should be analyzed further. The polyamide membrane initially had a high water transport coefficient, but fouling led to its rapid decline which was attributed to the membrane’s rough and protrusive surface. A lifetime test on the thin film and cellulose acetate revealed that when operated at their maximum pressure specified by GE Osmonics for a duration of 8 hours that no decrease in rejection occurred.

Barium sulfate scaling can cause many oilfield problems leading to loss of well productivity and well abandonment. Currently, diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) is used, along with synergist oxalic acid and potassium hydroxide, to remove the scale by dissolution. However, the chemical factors affecting this reaction are not known fully, leading to mixed results in terms of treatment effectiveness. This thesis investigates the effect of these factors, by analyzing the change in barite dissolution due to intrinsic factors like variations in formulation composition and extrinsic factors like presence of competing ions. The dissolution reaction is carried out, by taking the barite powder and chelant solution in a teflon round bottom flask and measuring the barite dissolved periodically, with an ICP-OES. The effect of different factors is studied by varying each factor individually and plotting the changes in solubilities. These lab tests show that solubility of barite (0.01mM in water), ideally, increases with increasing concentrations of chelating agents, even going as high as 239 mM. However experimental or field constraints lead to significant decrease in dissolution, especially at higher chelant concentrations. Thus, field tests to determine most effective chelant concentrations must precede treatment design. Lab tests also show that combination of DTPA with weaker chelating agents like ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), L-glutamic acid, N,N-diacetic acid (GLDA) or methyl glycine diacetic acid (MGDA) reduces barite dissolution and should be avoided during treatment design. Addition of synergists to the formulations, initially improves dissolution performance, especially for moderate chelant concentrations, but proves detrimental and hence must be avoided, over longer treatments. Finally, presence of competing ions in seawater, calcium sulfate and calcium carbonate, can significantly reduce barite dissolution and must be carefully studied for each formation-fluid system before design of treatments. Thus, this project sets a framework to identify the best chelant formulation and estimate its dissolution profile to ensure, a more informed treatment design for barite scale removal.

名古屋大学博士学位論文 学位の種類 : 博士(医学)(課程) 学位授与年月日:平成6年4月5日 西田佳弘氏の博士論文として提出された

Sulfate-bearing soils are a problem in highway construction as they combine with materials used for lime stabilization to form minerals, particularly ettringite, that expand and induce heave in the stabilized soil. This research involves quantifying sulfate in soils that may be potentially used in highway construction using electromagnetic induction. The objectives are to: 1) document electrical conductivity (EC) variability within selected sites that contain sulfate-bearing materials, and 2) determine if electromagnetic induction has potential for locating hazardous levels of sulfate-bearing materials. The 0.43 ha study area is located in the Blackland Prairies and is a Vertisol known to contain gypsum at the time of site selection. Apparent EC using a model EM38 electromagnetic induction instrument was measured at 200 locations in July and November 2003, using a sampling grid with 5-m spacings. Representative rows and columns were selected from the map of apparent electrical conductivity, and soil cores taken to a depth of 1.5 m at 29 points. Soil samples were obtained by dividing cores into depth increments of 0 to 25 cm, 25 to 75 cm, and 75 to 150 cm. Laboratory analyses were run for each sample and included moisture content, EC and soluble cations and anions of the saturated paste extract, and percent gypsum. Elevation measurements were made to determine if changes in elevation related to EC measurements. Apparent EC proved to be more successful at detecting soluble salts during the dry sampling period (July) when the effect of soil moisture content was less. For July data, EC and gypsum were significantly correlated in the deepest samples (r2 = 0.51 and 0.15, respectively) to apparent EC. Further, soluble sulfate was significantly correlated to apparent EC (r2 = 0.30) at a depth of 25 to 75 cm. Results suggest that the EM38 can be used successfully to map variability of soil salinity across a field, but although correlation exists between apparent EC and sulfate-bearing materials, it is not sufficiently strong to serve as a good predictor for conditions surrounding lime-induced heave in soil.

Reproduction de : Thèse d'exercice : Médecine : Nancy 1 : 2007. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Institute of Paper Chemistry, 1952. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 154-157).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Institute of Paper Chemistry, 1941. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-142).