scholarly journals Characterization of Ambient Particulate Matter Sampled at an Active Sand Mine Facility in Northwestern Wisconsin

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Zhang ◽  
Callie Fischer ◽  
Joe Oster ◽  
Gabriel de Carvalho Chaves ◽  
Rachel Mooney ◽  
...  

Concern has arisen about levels of silica in ambient particles near sand mines in Northwestern Wisconsin. Airborne particles released from mining and processing activity may release respirable silica into the air, which can have adverse health effects on individuals exposed to significant quantities. In order to assess these levels of silica, this study developed a parallel analysis using an X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis to test particles in real air samples. Calibrations were constructed for the XRD analysis (following NIOSH Method 7500) with silica standards containing 10 μg – 500 μg respirable silica on filter media with detection limits of 19-28 μg. SEM-EDS methods incorporated identifying the geologic composition of particles using the elemental analysis. Real air samples were collected at a sand mining site using a cascade impactor. Filter substrates were pre-weighed and post-weighed to determine the total dry mass of particles sampled and XRD results show at maximum 16 % of the mass can be attributed to crystalline silica in the samples. An SEM-EDS analysis to categorize the particles geologic classification using ratios of elements shows more than 70% of sampled particles are classified as potassium feldspars. KEYWORDS: Particulate Matter; Sand Mining; Silica; Atmospheric Characterization; XRD; SEM-EDS; Fugitive Dust

Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 852
Author(s):  
Asiful H. Seikh ◽  
Hossam Halfa ◽  
Mahmoud S. Soliman

Molybdenum (Mo) is an important alloying element in maraging steels. In this study, we altered the Mo concentration during the production of four cobalt-free maraging steels using an electroslag refining process. The microstructure of the four forged maraging steels was evaluated to examine phase contents by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Additionally, we assessed the corrosion resistance of the newly developed alloys in 3.5% NaCl solution and 1 M H2SO4 solution through potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Furthermore, we performed SEM and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis after corrosion to assess changes in microstructure and Raman spectroscopy to identify the presence of phases on the electrode surface. The microstructural analysis shows that the formation of retained austenite increases with increasing Mo concentrations. It is found from corrosion study that increasing Mo concentration up to 4.6% increased the corrosion resistance of the steel. However, further increase in Mo concentration reduces the corrosion resistance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 347-353 ◽  
pp. 2622-2625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiu Juan Li ◽  
Yong Zheng Wang ◽  
Mao Zhen Yue

The elemental and phase compositions of cornstalk ash are largely different from that of lean coal ash. In comparison with pure lean coal, co-firing of cornstalk and lean coal may result in serious corrosion to the heating surface of superheater. This paper presents a composition comparison between the two ashes by means of Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) analysis and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. A number of experiments were carried out in a tubular furnace to investigate the ash corrosion characteristics. Measured corrosion characteristic curves show the agreement of parabolic rule, and the corrosion is mainly effected by ash compositions and temperature. It was also found that alkali-chloride, alkali metal sulphide in ash and HCl in flue gas significantly aggravate the corrosion. The corrosion speed increases as the temperature increase, and becomes significantly high when the temperature is above 550°C.


TAPPI Journal ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23
Author(s):  
KEVIN TAYLOR ◽  
RICH ADDERLY ◽  
GAVIN BAXTER

Over time, performance of tubular backpulse pressure filters in kraft mills deteriorates, even with regular acid washing. Unscheduled filter replacement due to filter plugging results in significant costs and may result in mill downtime. We identified acid-insoluble filter-plugging materials by scanning electron microscope/energy-dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis in both polypropylene and Gore-Tex™ membrane filter socks. The major filter-plugging components were calcium sulfate (gypsum), calcium phosphate (hydroxylapatite), aluminosilicate clays, metal sulfides, and carbon. We carried out detailed sample analysis of both the standard acid-washing procedure and a modified procedure. Filter plugging by gypsum and metal sulfides appeared to occur because of the acid-washing procedure. Gypsum formation on the filter resulted from significant hydrolysis of sulfamic acid solution at temperatures greater than 130°F. Modification of the acid-washing procedure greatly reduced the amount of gypsum and addition of a surfactant to the acid reduced wash time and mobilized some of the carbon from the filter. With surfactant, acid washing was 95% complete after 40 min.


2000 ◽  
Vol 41 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 295-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Murdoch ◽  
P.G. Smith

The deposition of manganese within a biofilm growing on the surface of high-density polyethlene (HDPE) and polyvinychloride (PVC) was studied over a period of four months. The manganese rich water used in the study was inoculated with a manganese oxidising Pseudomonas spp. The level of Mn2+ in the water was monitored and was found to decrease as the biofilm formation increased. This was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis which showed the detection of manganese was dependent on the presence of a biofilm. After two months a 100% removal of Mn2+ was observed in all the flasks inoculated by the Pseudomonas spp. and manganese micro-nodules, the formation of which were reported in Murdoch and Smith (1999), were being formed in large clusters across the surfaces of both the HDPE and PVC. The manganese peak area from the EDS spectrum analysis of the micro-nodules was significantly larger than was measured in the biofilm when these micro-nodules were absent. The scanning confocal laser microscope (SCLM) images of three-week samples showed high bacterial activity around areas where manganese micro-nodules were starting to form on the pipe surface.


Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 473
Author(s):  
Prabu Kumar Seetharaman ◽  
Rajkuberan Chandrasekaran ◽  
Rajiv Periakaruppan ◽  
Sathishkumar Gnanasekar ◽  
Sivaramakrishnan Sivaperumal ◽  
...  

To develop a benign nanomaterial from biogenic sources, we have attempted to formulate and fabricate silver nanoparticles synthesized from the culture filtrate of an endophytic fungus Penicillium oxalicum strain LA-1 (PoAgNPs). The synthesized PoAgNPs were exclusively characterized through UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The synthesized nanoparticles showed strong absorbance around 430 nm with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and exhibited a face-centered cubic crystalline nature in XRD analysis. Proteins presented in the culture filtrate acted as reducing, capping, and stabilization agents to form PoAgNPs. TEM analysis revealed the generation of polydispersed spherical PoAgNPs with an average size of 52.26 nm. The PoAgNPs showed excellent antibacterial activity against bacterial pathogens. The PoAgNPs induced a dose-dependent cytotoxic activity against human adenocarcinoma breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231), and apoptotic morphological changes were observed by dual staining. Additionally, PoAgNPs demonstrated better larvicidal activity against the larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus. Moreover, the hemolytic test indicated that the as-synthesized PoAgNPs are a safe and biocompatible nanomaterial with versatile bio-applications.


Author(s):  
Erdoğan Karip ◽  
Mehtap Muratoğlu

People are exposed to different kinds of diseases or various accidents in life. Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been widely employed for bone treatment applications. In this study, HA was extracted from sheep bones. Bio-composites were doped with 1, 5, and 10 wt.% of expanded perlite and 5 wt.% of ZrO2–MgO-P2O5. The bio-composites were prepared by the cold isostatic pressing method (250 MPa) and sintered at 900°C for 1 h. In order to evaluate the characteristics of the bio-composites, microhardness, density, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses were carried out on them. Additionally, the specimens whose characteristics were determined were kept in synthetic body fluid (SBF), and their in vitro behavior was examined. As a result, it was observed that microhardness increased as both the weight and the grain size of the expanded perlite were increased. Calcium silicate, tri-calcium phosphate, and hydroxyapatite were observed in the XRD analysis of all samples, and the formation of apatite structures was increased by addition of ZrO2–MgO–P2O5.


2021 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 110863
Author(s):  
Beatriz Linillos-Pradillo ◽  
Lisa Rancan ◽  
Elías Díaz Ramiro ◽  
Elena Vara ◽  
Begoña Artíñano ◽  
...  

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Mei Zhang ◽  
Hongfeng Lu ◽  
Qing Chen ◽  
Gayan Bandara ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
...  

In the northern South China Sea, pockmarks are widely distributed on the seabed offshore on the southwestern Xisha Uplift. The mineralogy and geochemistry of the clay minerals and surface sediments from the pockmark field were identified using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis to trace the provenance, weathering, and sediment transportation system in the area. The clay minerals are primarily comprised of illite, smectite, kaolinite, and chlorite, showing a distribution of average weight percentages of 35%, 35%, 18%, and 13%, respectively. Based on the surrounding fluvial drainage basins and various transport mechanisms (current or monsoon), illite and chlorite primarily originate from rivers in Taiwan and the Mekong and Red Rivers. Kaolinite primarily originates from the Pearl River, and smectite derived from the Luzon arc system is primarily transported by surface currents with significant influence from the Kuroshio intrusion.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document