The mining of sulphidic ore to extract metals such as zinc and copper produces huge quantities of waste material. The weathering and oxidation of the waste produces what is commonly known as Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), a dilute sulphuric acid rich in Fe(II) and heavy metals. This thesis serves to summarise five papers reporting how the precipitation of Fe(III) phases can attenuate the contamination of heavy metals by adsorption processes. Schwertmannite (Fe8O8(OH)6SO4) is a common Fe(III) mineral precipitating in AMD environments at pH 3-4. The stability and surface chemistry of this mineral was investigated. It was shown that the stability depended strongly on pH and temperature, an increase in either promoted transformation to goethite (α-FeOOH). Two pH dependent surface species of SO42- were detected with infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The adsorption of Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) to schwertmannite occurred at lower pH than to goethite, whereas Cd(II) adsorption occurred in a similar pH range on both schwertmannite and goethite. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy suggests two surface species for Cu(II) and Cd(II) at the schwertmannite surface. Cu(II) adsorbs monodentately and Cd(II) bridging bidentately to adsorbed SO42-. Both metal ions also adsorb in a bridging bidentate mode to the surface hydroxyl groups. At pH 7.5 up to 2.7 μmol Cd(II) m-2 could be adsorbed to schwertmannite, indicating a large adsorption capacity for this mineral. The acid-base properties of two NOM samples were characterised and could be well described as diprotic acids below pH 6. The adsorption of NOM to schwertmannite and goethite was very similar and adsorption occured in a very wide pH range. High concentrations of NOM increased the adsorption of Cu(II) to goethite at low pH whereas a slight decrease was noted at low concentrations of NOM. No effect was detected in the schwertmannite system. The formation of Fe(III) phases from precipitation of AMD was shown to be very pH dependent. At pH 5.5 a mixture of minerals, including schwertmannite, formed whereas at pH 7 only lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) formed. The concentration of Zn(II) in AMD could by adsorption/coprecipitation be reduced to environmentally acceptable levels.

Dans la section UO2-PuO2-Pu2O3, les équilibres de phases décrivent un domaine monophasé (U1-y,Puy)O2-x stable pour y<0,20 à 25°C et jusqu'à l'équilibre solide-liquide. Aux teneurs Pu supérieures, ils sont plus complexes avec l'apparition d'une démixtion et la précipitation de phase(s) additionnelle(s). L'objectif de la thèse a consisté à améliorer la représentation du système pour 0,15≤y≤0,65 et 25≤T(°C)≤1500.A 25°C, une lacune de miscibilité composée de deux phases (U1-y,Puy)O2-X a été observée pour y<0,45, dont l'une est de rapport Oxygène/Métal proche de la stœchiométrie et une autre très réduite. Pour la première fois, un domaine triphasé a été caractérisé à teneurs Pu supérieures avec deux phases (U1-y,Puy)O2-X de teneurs proches de y=0,45, et une phase (U1-y,Puy)2O3 comprenant une faible proportion d'uranium solubilisée.L'étude en fonction de la température a démontré que la température de démixtion augmente avec la teneur Pu. Plusieurs représentations ont été établies. A 200°C, les limites d'existence du domaine multiphasé évoluent peu par rapport à 25°C. A 400°C, la démixtion survient à une teneur Pu proche de 0,35, largement inférieure à celle suggérée par la littérature. A 600°C, les résultats précisent les équilibres de phases jusqu'alors très méconnus avec une démixtion apparaissant à partir de y=0,60.L'analyse microstructurale des échantillons a clairement démontré l'impact significatif de la démixtion sur le matériau se traduisant par des fissures au sein des échantillons, d'autant plus nombreuses que la teneur en Pu est élevée. / In the UO2-PuO2-Pu2O3 section, a monophasic (U1-y,Puy)O2-x domain is stable for y<0,20 at 25°C and up to solid-liquid equilibrium. At higher Pu content, phase equilibria are more unclear with a phase separation process. The main objective of this work consisted in upgrading the representation of this system for 0,15≤y≤0,65 and 25≤T(°C)≤1500.At 25°C, a miscibility gap composed by two different (U1-y,Puy)O2-X phases has been observed for y<0,45, with one very closed to stoichiometric state (Oxygen/Metal=2) and one other very reduced. For the first time, a triphasic domain has been characterized at higher Pu contents, with two (U1-y,Puy)O2-X phases near y=0,45 and one (U1-y,Puy)2O3 phase with a low U content inside. Concerning the study in function of temperature, we have demonstrated that phase separation temperature increase when Pu content grows. Several representations have been established. At 200°C, the representation is closed to that at 25°C. At 400°C, the phase separation have been specified at a lower Pu content than that of literature : y=0,35. At 600°C, our results have clarified the section, until then very unclear, with a phase separation appearing at y=0,60.The microstructural analysis has clearly demonstrated the significant impact of the phase separation on the material. Indeed many cracks have been observed in our samples, and quantity of these defects increases when Pu content grows.

Parce qu'ils présentent des propriétés remarquables par rapport à leurs équivalents massifs, les nanomatériaux occupent une place de plus en plus importante dans l'industrie et en médecine. Leur essor rapide a généré de nombreuses craintes dans l'opinion publique notamment au regard de certaines méconnaissances liées à leur toxicité. Notre projet vise l'utilisation du séléniure de cadmium (CdSe) comme matériau modèle afin d'établir une corrélation entre la structure chimique des nanoparticules, leur réactivité de surface, leur (photo)stabilité et leur toxicité. Des quantum dots (QDs) CdSe et alliages CdSe(S) ont été préparés en milieu aqueux à 100°C ou par voie hydrothermale de manière à ne différer que par leur structure chimique de coeur (alliage ternaire vs semi-conducteur binaire) alors que d'autres paramètres comme la taille, la charge ou la nature du ligand de surface, ont été maintenus constants. Des études de cytotoxicité menées sur Escherichia coli ont montré que la libération de Cd2+ jouait un rôle important dans la toxicité pour les deux QDs. Nos résultats ont également mis en évidence que les QDs CdSe(S) alliés étaient plus stables et moins toxiques que les QDs CdSe. Sans négliger l'importance de la libération d'ion Cd2+ par les nanoparticules, une corrélation entre la stabilité et la production d'espèces réactives de l?oxygène (EROs) a montré que la toxicité était en partie dépendante de la photostabilité des QDs. Notre étude met en perspective une relation entre la réactivité, la stabilité du coeur des nanoparticules, et la toxicité photo-induite / Due to their unique properties compared to their bulk counterparts, nanomaterials have gained considerable attention, especially in industry and medicine. Their fast development has generated many public concerns, especially because of a lack of knowledge regarding their toxicity. Our project aims to use cadmium selenide (CdSe) as a model material in order to initiate a research aiming at establishing a correlation between the nanoparticles chemical structure, their surface reactivity, their stability and their toxicity. CdSe and alloyed CdSe(S) quantum dots (QDs) were prepared in aqueous phase either at 100°C or under hydrothermal conditions in order to differ solely by their core chemical structure (ternary alloy vs binary semiconductor), while other parameters such as the size, the surface charge or the surface ligand, have been kept constant. Cytotoxicity studies carried out on Escherichia coli have shown that release of Cd2+ played a key role in the toxicity for both QDs. However, alloyed CdSe(S) QDs were also found more stable and less toxic than CdSe nanocrystals. Without disregarding the importance of Cd2+ ions release by the nanoparticles, a correlation between the stability and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) showed that toxicity was dependent on QDs photostability. Our study highlights a relationship between the core reactivity, stability and the photo-induced toxicity QD nanoparticles

Na presente tese investigou-se a adsorção induzida de um cátion metálico (cádmio(II)) na presença simultânea de dois ligantes (um pseudo-haleto e uma amina ou haleto) na interface eletrodo de mercúrio/solução aquosa, com vistas a uma melhor compreensão desse processo. Os estudos de adsorção foram precedidos por estudos de equilíbrio dos compostos de coordenação formados em solução aquosa. Medidas experimentais foram feitas por potenciometria com eletrodo de amálgama, em força iônica 1,00 M, ajustada com NaCl04. Análise dos dados por programas computacionais adequados levou à quantificação das constantes de estabilidade de 7 espécies binárias e 9 espécies mistas para o sistema Cd(II)/ SCN-/C6H12N4 e de 8 espécies binárias e 6 mistas para o sistema Cd(II)/I-/SCN-, sendo todas estas espécies mononucleares. Para possibilitar um maior grau de automação das medidas cronocoulométricas de adsorção, o eletrodo de gota pendente de mercúrio, anteriormente desenvolvido no IQ-USP, teve seu sistema mecânico aperfeiçoado e passou a ser controlado por computador. O \"software\" se incumbe de calcular e comandar o tempo de abertura da micro-válvula do eletrodo para gerar gotas com a área solicitada. Aproveitando a possibilidade de realizar aquisição (de dados de carga durante e após a formação das gotas de mercúrio, introduziu-se um novo método para corrigir a componente faradaica que interfere nos experimentos de determinação da carga absoluta do eletrodo por extrusão. Após provar o bom funcionamento do método, conseguiu-se a combinação inédita do método de extrusão de gotas com acronocoulometria num único experimento automatizado feito com a mesma gota de mercúrio. Com as informações assim geradas, torna-se possível conhecer e optar entre o potencial e a carga absoluta como parâmetro que define o estado elétrico da interface eletrodo/solução. Com esta combinação de técnicas, foi investigada a adsorção de cádmio induzida por tiocianato e hexametilenotetramina. Este sistema apresentou um interessante comportamento: a hexametilenotetramina, ao contrário do tiocianato, não induz a adsorção de ions cádmio, mas na presença desse pseudo-haleto provoca um intenso reforço na adsorção induzida que pode alcançar um fator de 50 vezes. Também foi possível realizar estimativas sobre as espécies que adsorvem preferencialmente, e da área média ocupada pelos complexos na condição de máxima adsorção. A energia livre de adsorção pode ser estimada pela isoterma de Henry, para baixas concentrações de ligantes. A adsorção de cádmio induzida por iodeto e tiocianato foi investigada de maneira preliminar. Nos estudos deste sistema ficou bem evidenciada a importância da utilização da carga como variável independente, ao invés do potencial. / The induced adsorption of a metallic cation (cadmium (II)) in the presence of two ligands, simultaneously (a pseudo-halide and an amine or halide), has been investigated at the mercury electrode/aqueous solution interface with the purpose of gaining a better understanding about such kind of process. The adsorption studies have been preceded by studies of the equilibria of the coordination compounds formed in aqueous solutions. Experimental measurements have been made by potentiometry with an amalgam electrode with 1,00 M ionic strength adjusted with NaClO4. Analysis of the data with adequated software allowed the quantification of the stability constants of 7 binary and 8 mixed species for the system Cd(II)/ SCN-/C6H12N4</sub and 8 binary and 6 mixed species for the system Cd(II)/I-/SCN-, all species being mononuclear. To provide a greater degree of automation of the chronocoulometric measurements of adsorption, the hanging drop mercury electrode, formely developed at the Chemistry Institute-USP, has had its mechanical parts perfectioned and wasput under computer control. A software was written to calculate and control the opening and closure of the micro-solenoid valve of the electrode to generate drops with the required area. A new method for the correction of the faradaic component that interferes with the absolute electrode charge during extrusion experiments was introduced and applied to charge measurements obtained making data aquisition during and shortly after the drop formation. Once proved that the method works, efforts were directed to combine the extrusion with the chronocoulometric measurements in one automated experiment dane with the same mercury drop. As a result, it is now a simple matter to make a choice between potential or charge on the electrode to define the electric state of the electrode/solution interface. With this combination of techniques, the adsorption of cadmium(II) induced by thiocyanate and hexamethylenetetramine has been investigated. An interesting behavior whas observed: the hexamethylenetetramine alone, doesn\'t induce adsorption of cadmium (II) as does the thiocyanate but provides a strong reinforcement (up to a factor of 50) of the induced adsorption when it is present simultaneously with the pseudo-halide. Some estimatives about the species that can adsorb preferentially has been made, as well as an evaluation of the mean area ocupied by the complexes at the maximum adsorption condition. The free energy of adsorption has been calculated, considering an Henry isotherm for the lowest concentration range. Preliminary studies of the induced adsorption of the Cd(II)/I-/SCN- system revealed a slight reinforcement of the adsorption, when both ligands are presente. The iodide always controls the process. The advantage of using the charge in place of potential as the independent variable is evident for this system.

O presente trabalho é composto por 4 capítulos distintos. No primeiro intitulado \"Ciclodextrinas: tecnologia para melhoria da solubilidade de fármacos pouco solúveis\" aborda-se uma revisão das ciclodextrinas e de seus derivados, como também a formação dos complexos de inclusão. No segundo capítulo, \"Obtenção e caracterização de complexos ternários de saquinavir, &#946;-ciclodextrina e polivinilpirrolidona\", foram avaliadas condições que poderiam influenciar na obtenção dos complexos, tais como: tempo de agitação na formação dos complexos, proporção equimolar de fármaco e ciclodextrina, solvente para solubilização do fármaco e porcentagem de polímero hidrossolúvel, concluindo-se que as melhores condições para obtenção dos complexos são 48 horas de agitação, razão equimolar 1:2 e 1:4, água para solubilização do fármaco e acréscimo de1% de polímero ao sistema. O terceiro capítulo, \"Influência do método de secagem na obtenção de complexos ternários de saquinavir\", teve o objetivo de obter e caracterizar complexos ternários de saquinavir, &#946;-ciclodextrina e polivinilpirrolidona pelos métodos de secagem em estufa e liofilização, bem como, comparar a influência dos métodos de obtenção na solubilidade do fármaco, chegando-se ao aumento de 44 vezes da solubilidade do fármaco quando na forma de complexo SAQ:&#946;CD:PVP de proporção equimolar 1:2 obtido por liofilização. O quarto, \"Perfil de dissolução de cápsulas e comprimidos contendo complexos ternários de saquinavir, ciclodextrina e polivinilpirrolidona\", teve o objetivo de comparar o perfil de dissolução de cápsulas de gelatina dura e comprimidos contendo sistemas ternários SAQ:&#946;CD:PVP, obtidos pelos métodos de secagem em estufa e liofilização e o produto referência (Fortovase®). Os resultados indicam que os perfis de dissolução das formas farmacêuticas contendo complexos liofilizados apresentaram melhores resultados de eficiência de dissolução e que as cápsulas liberam mais prontamente o ativo que os comprimidos. / The present study has 4 captions. The first is called \"Cyclodextrins: Technology to improve the solubility of the little soluble drugs\" show a review of the cyclodextrins and its derivates, as well the formations of inclusion complexes. At the second caption, \"Preparation and characterization of the ternary complexes of the saquinavir, &#946-cyclodextrin and polyvinylpyrrolidone\", were evaluated some conditions that could influence in an obtention of the complexes like stirring time at the formation of the complexes, equimolar ratio of the drug and cyclodextrin, solvent for the solubility of the drug and percentage of the hydrosoluble polymer concluding that the best conditions for the formation of the complexes are: 48 hours of the stirring, equimolar ratio 1:2 and 1:4, water to solubilize the drug and addition of 1% of the polymer in the system. The third caption, \"Influence of the drying method at the formation of the ternary complexes of the saquinavir\", had the aim to prepare and characterize ternary complexes of the saquinavir, &#946-cyclodextrin and polyvinylpyrrolidone by the method of drying in equipment and lyophilization, as well to compare the influence of the methods of the obtention at the solubility of the drug, reaching the increasing of 44 times the solubility of the drug when at the form of the ternary inclusion complex (SAQ:&#946;CD:PVP) at the equimolar ratio 1:2 obtained by lyophilization. The fourth and the last caption, \"Dissolution rate of the capsules and tablets of ternary complex of the saquinavir, cyclodextrin and polyvinylpyrrolidone, had the aim to compare the dissolution profile of capsules of the hard gelatine and tablets of ternary complexes SAQ:&#946;CD:PVP obtained by the method of drying in equipment and lyophilization and the reference product (Fortovase®). The results indicate that the dissolution profiles of the pharmaceutical forms of lyophilized complexes show better results of the efficience of the dissolution and that the capsules liberate more efficient the active than the tablets.

Durant ces travaux, nous nous sommes intéressés à l’étude des transferts thermiques aux nano-échelles dans les couches minces par spectroscopie pompe-sonde femtoseconde. Dans un premier temps, nous nous sommes intéressés à la mesure haute-cadence de la conductivité thermique d’alliages de Fe-Si-Ge et Ti-Ni-Sn, dans le but d’optimiser leur processus de fabrication et de créer une base de données des propriétés thermiques de ces matériaux. Afin de pouvoir mesurer une grande quantité d’échantillons en un temps réduit, un système de mesure haute cadence entièrement automatisé a été développé et utilisé avec succès. Dans un second temps,ces travaux ont portés sur l’étude du transport thermique dans trois matériaux (Ge, GaAs In-GaAs) par spectroscopie pompe-sonde femtoseconde. Une nouvelle méthode de mesure de la réponse spectrale des nanomatériaux sur une gamme de fréquences allant de quelques centaines de kHz jusqu’au THz a été développée. Les mesures à l’aide de cette méthode ont permis de confirmer la présence d’un régime de transport qualifié de quasi-balistique dans certains matériaux,et une méthode d’extraction de propriétés thermiques à partir de la réponse spectrale mesurée, et prenant en compte ces effets quasi-balistiques, a été développée. L’ensemble des résultats obtenus par ces nouvelles méthodes confirment les travaux précédents décrits dans la littérature. Enfin, la mesure de la réponse spectrale d’un nano-matériau à haute fréquence est en grande partie limitée par la gigue des cavités lasers utilisées par l’expérience. Ainsi, la dernière étape a été de développer un système de mesure de cette gigue et de synchronisation de cavités laser qui pourra permettre de repousser la limite des fréquences mesurables par spectroscopie pompe-sonde femtoseconde. / In this work, we studied ultrafast thermal transport at nanoscale in thin films by femtosecond pump-probe thermal spectroscopy. We first developed a high-throughput heterodyne thermoreflectance setup that allows the extraction of thermal properties of a large number of sample in a minimum time, aiming at creating a database of these properties for a large numberof thin film ternary alloys with thermoelectric potential. In the second part of this work, wefocused on the study of thermal transport in three materials : Ge, GaAs and InGaAs. A high resolution phonon spectroscopy setup, along with a spectral reconstruction method allowed usto measure the response of these materials up to several tens of GHz in Fourier domain, which highlighted the presence of non-diffusive thermal transport in InGaAs. Non-diffusive theory,based on Lévy dynamics, allowed us to model this superdiffusion phenomenon and to extract coherent, frequency-independant thermal properties of these materials. Also, high frequency(>GHz) measurements of these spectral responses have shown interesting effects related to the ultrafast thermalisation in transducer-like very thin films. Finally, high-frequency thermal spectroscopy is inherently limited by the intrinsic timing jitter of laser cavities. Thus, the last partof this work was dedicated to developing a timing jitter measurement and active laser synchronisation system in order to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and access higher frequencies in pump-probe thermal spectroscopy experiments.

[pt] Foram estudados os sistemas binários de complexos de Cu(II) e Al(III) formados com a fosfocreatina (PCr), o adenosina 5 trifosfato (ATP), a glicina (Gli), a serina (Ser), a tirosina (Tir) e a treonina (Tre) e os sistemas ternários (MLaLb) onde La foi o ATP ou a PCr e o Lb foi um dos quatro aminoácidos. O estudo foi realizado em solução aquosa através da técnica potenciométrica e das técnicas espectroscópicas ultravioleta-visível, Raman, RMN e RPE. As constantes de estabilidade foram determinadas pela potenciometria. Considerando L como um dos aminoácidos, foi observado que todos os complexos CuL são mais estáveis que os complexos AlL correspondentes. Este fato pode ser explicado pela grande afinidade entre o Cu(II) e o grupo amino. Por outro lado, os complexos binários formados com os fosfatos (ATP ou PCr) e o Al(III) apresentaram valores maiores de log b, do que os complexos de Cu(II) correspondentes. Este fato pode ser justificado pela grande afinidade do Al(III) com os átomos de oxigênio dos fosfatos. Pela mesma razão, todos os complexos ternários de Al(III) apresentaram-se mais estáveis do que os de Cu(II) correlacionados. Os valores das constantes de estabilidade dos complexos poderiam ser divididos em dois grupos: o dos complexos binários e o dos complexos ternários, com valores mais altos. Para os complexos de cobre, este comportamento foi confirmado pelo decréscimo dos valores dos comprimentos de onda máximos no espectro de absorção e no aumento no parâmetro Ao à medida que as constantes de estabilidade aumentaram. Os comprimentos de onda máximos dos complexos CuATPLb foram maiores que os dos complexos CuPCrLb, o que indica que o ATP deve coordenar com o Cu(II) através de dois átomos de oxigênio dos fosfatos e a PCr deve coordenar, nos complexos CuPCrLb, através de um átomo de oxigênio e um átomo de nitrogênio. O valor de D log K [log bCuLaLb) - (log bCuLa + log bCuLb)] mostrou que, quando La foi o ATP, os complexos ternários de Cu(II) e de Al(III) foram menos estáveis do que os seus binários respectivos, sugerindo não existir qualquer tipo de interação entre os ligantes. Aplicando o mesmo cálculo para os sistemas de Cu(II) onde La foi a PCr e Lb a serina ou a tirosina, o valor de D log K foi maior do que zero, indicando que estes ligantes favoreceram a formação de complexos ternários mais estáveis, o que pode ser justificado pela interação do grupo OH destes aminoácidos com o grupo livre (carboxilato ou fosfato) da PCr. Para todos os complexos AlPCrLb, onde Lb foi um dos quatro aminoácidos em estudo, os valores das constantes de estabilidade dos ternários foram maiores do que a soma das constantes dos seus binários. Este fato, não pode ser justificado pela interação do grupo OH dos aminoácidos com a PCr, já que a glicina não apresenta este grupo. Provavelmente, a interação ocorre através do oxigênio não coordenado do fosfato da PCr e do hidrogênio do grupo amino do aminoácido. O estudo do sistema Al(III):Ser pela espectroscopia Raman, mostrou que o complexo [Al(Ser)(H2O)4] 2+ é a espécie predominante e a serina atua como ligante bidentado (átomo de N do grupo amino e átomo de oxigênio do carboxilato). Este deve ser o comportamento de todos os complexos de Al(III) com os aminoácidos. / [en] The binary systems of Cu(II) and Al(III) complexes with adenosine triphosphate (ATP), phosphocreatine (PCr), glycine (gly), serine (Ser), tyrosine (Tyr) and threonine (Thr) and the ternary systems where La was ATP or PCr and Lb was one of the four amino acids, were investigated. The study was performed in aqueous solution using potentiometry, ultraviolet visible, Raman, NMR and EPR spectroscopies. The stability constants of the complexes were determined by potentiometry. When L is one of the amino acids, it can be observed that all the CuL complexes are more stable than the correspondent AlL complexes. This can be explained by the greater affinity between the Cu(II) and the amino group. On the other hand, the binary complexes formed by one of the phosphates (ATP or PCr) and Al(III) have greater values of log b than the correspondent complexes of Cu(II). This can be explained by the greater affinity of Al(III) ion to the oxygen atoms of the phosphates. For this same reason, all the ternary complexes of Al(III) are more stable than the Cu(II) ones. The values of the stability constants of the complexes could be divided in two groups: one of the binary complexes and the second of the ternary complexes, with higher values. For the Cu(II) complexes this behavior was confirmed by the decreasing of the maximum wavelength in the absorption spectra and the increasing of the A0 parameter as the stability constants increase. The maximum wavelength of the CuATPLb complexes were greater than those of the CuPCrLb complexes and this means that ATP must be bound to Cu(II) ion through two oxygen atoms of the phosphates, whereas in CuPCrLb complexes, PCr is bound through one oxygen atom and one nitrogen atom and the amino acid is the same. Values of DlogK (logbCuLaLb - (logbCuLa+ logbCuLb) showed that when La was ATP, the ternary complexes of Cu(II) and Al(III) were less stable than the binary ones suggesting that it does not occur any interaction between the ligands in the ternary complexes. When La was PCr, the stability constants of the Cu(II) complexes where Lb was Ser or Tyr were greater. This showed that these ligands favored more stable ternary complexes and this must be due to the interaction of the OH group of these amino acids and the phosphate or carboxylate of PCr. For the AlPCrLb complexes, when Lb was one of the four amino acids, the stability constants of the complexes were greater. This shows that in this case, the interaction cannot be between the OH groups of the amino acid since glycine does not have any OH group. Probably the interaction occur through the non coordinated oxygen of the phosphate of PCr and the hydrogen of the amino group of the aminoacid. The study of the sistem Al(III):Ser by Raman spectroscopy, showed that [Al(Ser)(H2O)4]2+is the predominant species and that Ser acts as bidentate ligand (N atom of the amino group and O atom of the carboxylate). This must be the behavior of all the complexes of Al(III) and the amino acids.

Abstract in English below.

<p>The mining of sulphidic ore to extract metals such as zinc and copper produces huge quantities of waste material. The weathering and oxidation of the waste produces what is commonly known as Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), a dilute sulphuric acid rich in Fe(II) and heavy metals. This thesis serves to summarise five papers reporting how the precipitation of Fe(III) phases can attenuate the contamination of heavy metals by adsorption processes. </p><p>Schwertmannite (Fe8O8(OH)6SO4) is a common Fe(III) mineral precipitating in AMD environments at pH 3-4. The stability and surface chemistry of this mineral was investigated. It was shown that the stability depended strongly on pH and temperature, an increase in either promoted transformation to goethite (α-FeOOH). Two pH dependent surface species of SO42- were detected with infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy.</p><p>The adsorption of Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) to schwertmannite occurred at lower pH than to goethite, whereas Cd(II) adsorption occurred in a similar pH range on both schwertmannite and goethite. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy suggests two surface species for Cu(II) and Cd(II) at the schwertmannite surface. Cu(II) adsorbs monodentately and Cd(II) bridging bidentately to adsorbed SO42-. Both metal ions also adsorb in a bridging bidentate mode to the surface hydroxyl groups. At pH 7.5 up to 2.7 μmol Cd(II) m-2 could be adsorbed to schwertmannite, indicating a large adsorption capacity for this mineral.</p><p>The acid-base properties of two NOM samples were characterised and could be well described as diprotic acids below pH 6. The adsorption of NOM to schwertmannite and goethite was very similar and adsorption occured in a very wide pH range.</p><p>High concentrations of NOM increased the adsorption of Cu(II) to goethite at low pH whereas a slight decrease was noted at low concentrations of NOM. No effect was detected in the schwertmannite system. </p><p>The formation of Fe(III) phases from precipitation of AMD was shown to be very pH dependent. At pH 5.5 a mixture of minerals, including schwertmannite, formed whereas at pH 7 only lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) formed. The concentration of Zn(II) in AMD could by adsorption/coprecipitation be reduced to environmentally acceptable levels.</p>

This study investigated the transport coefficients involved in mass and heat transfer during the drying of a porous solid partially saturated with multicomponent mixtures.  It included the coefficients governing liquid transport through the solid, the matrix of multicomponent diffusion coefficients in the liquid phase, and the effective thermal conductivity.  As it is not possible to determine these coefficients by theoretical considerations alone and considerable experimental work is required to determine them in a broad range of process conditions, the principle of this study has been the use of mathematical models complemented with some empirical parameters.  These empirical parameters were determined by comparison between measurements in specially designed experiments and the results of mathematical models that describe the process.  In addition, the application of the multicomponent diffusion coefficients is described in two cases where liquid diffusion is important: convective evaporation of a multicomponent stationary liquid film and a falling film. To study liquid transport through the solid, isothermal drying experiments were performed to determine the transient composition profiles and total liquid content of sand samples wetted with ternary liquid mixtures with different initial compositions and temperatures.  A mathematical model including mass transfer by capillary movement of the liquid and interactive diffusion in both the gas and liquid phases was developed.  To simulate the capillary movement of liquid mixtures, parameters experimentally determined for single liquids were weighed according to liquid composition. A fairly good agreement between theoretical and experimental liquid composition profiles was obtained considering that axial dispersion was included in the model. To study the matrix of multicomponent diffusion coefficients in the liquid phase, the redistribution of liquid composition in a partially filled tube exposed to a longitudinal temperature gradient was analysed.  Experimental work was carried out using two main ternary mixtures with different initial compositions and temperature gradients.  Experimental data were compared with the results of a theoretical model that describes the steady-state liquid composition distribution in a partially filled non-isothermal tube to find the empirical exponent that modifies the matrix of thermodynamic factors.  Correlations for the exponents as a function of temperature were determined for each particular multicomponent mixture. The effective thermal conductivity of a porous solid containing multicomponent liquid mixtures was studied by measuring the liquid composition, liquid content and temperature distributions in a cylindrical sample dried by convection from the open upper side and heated by contact with a hot source at the bottom side.  Simulations performed at a quasi steady state were compared with experiments to estimate the adjusting geometric parameter of Krischer’s model for effective thermal conductivity, which includes the contribution of the evaporation-diffusion-condensation mechanism. The results revealed that a resistance corresponding to a parallel arrangement between the phases seems to dominate in this case. In the study of the convective drying of a multicomponent stationary liquid film, the equations describing interactive mass transfer were decoupled by a similarity transformation and solved simultaneously with a conduction equation by the method of variable separation.  Variations of physical properties along the process trajectory were taken into account by a stepwise application of the solution in time intervals with averaged coefficients from previous time steps.  Despite simplifications, the analytical solution gives a good insight into the selectivity of the drying process and is computationally fast.  On the other hand, numerical simulations of the convective evaporation of the multicomponent falling liquid film into an inert gas with a co-current flow arrangement of the phases almost always revealed a transition from liquid-phase-controlled conditions to a process in which neither the gas nor the liquid completely controls the evaporation. The results obtained in this work would be useful in implementing models to improve the design, process exploration and optimisation of dryers by incorporating the solid-side effects to describe the drying of liquid mixtures along the whole process. / QC 20110124