scholarly journals Screening Coarse Airborne Dust for Lead-Rich Phase Occurrence during Characterisation of Particle Mineralogy, Chemistry and Provenance: Application to Deposits in the Vicinity of an Integrated Steelworks

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 929
Author(s):  
James Small ◽  
Corrie van Hoek ◽  
Frank van der Does ◽  
Anne-Bart Seinen ◽  
Stefan Melzer ◽  
...  

A method has been developed to screen large numbers (~103–104 per sample) of coarse airborne dust particles for the occurrence of Pb-rich phases, together with quantification of the particles’ mineralogy, chemistry, and inferred provenance. Using SEM-EDS spectral imaging (SI) at 15 kV, and processing with the custom software PARC, screening of individual SI pixels is performed for Pb at the concentration level of ~10% at a length-scale of ~1 µm. The issue of overlapping Pb-Mα and S-Kα signal is resolved by exploiting peak shape criteria. The general efficacy of the method is demonstrated on a set of NIST particulate dust standard reference materials (SRMs 1649b, 2580, 2584 and 2587) with variable total Pb concentrations, and applied to a set of 31 dust samples taken in the municipalities surrounding the integrated steelworks of Tata Steel in IJmuiden, the Netherlands. The total abundances of Pb-rich pixels in the samples range from none to 0.094 area % of the (total) particle surfaces. Overall, out of ca. 92k screened particles, Pb was found in six discrete Pb-phase dominated particles and, more commonly, as superficial sub-particles (sub-micron to 10 µm) adhering to coarser particles of diverse and Pb-unrelated provenance. No relationship is apparent between the samples’ Pb-rich pixel abundance and their overall composition in terms of particle provenance.

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-383
Author(s):  
G. Topisirovic ◽  
D.V. Petrovic ◽  
R. Maletic

Information on the concentration of dust particles is an important microclimate parameter that characterizes the local environmental quality of each livestock building. Increased concentration of dust particles primarily affects the indoor air quality and, consequently, the animal and workers health. Among many others, ventilation rate is a vital parameter that controls the spatial distribution of airborne dust particles in livestock buildings. This was the main motive for authors of this paper to research the influence of rotation rate of under-roof axial fans (i.e. the air flow rate) on airborne dust particles distribution crossover the barn specified for tied cows breeding. During a series of performed experiments, six different air flow rates have been maintained in the range between 0 m3?h-1 and 48000 m3?h-1. Flow rate has been controlled by special electronic control unit, which provided six different rotation rates of two under-roof fans, including the neutral regime (natural ventilation only). Measurements have been performed at four typical height levels (0,5 m; 1,0 m; 1,5 m and 2,0 m), cross-over the three lateral and four longitudinal characteristic building sections. Consequently, 48 measuring points were appropriately selected, in order to cover the indoor space in adequate way. Comparative analysis of air flow velocities and dust concentrations showed that this fan setup may give satisfactory results under adequate operational regime. Certain working regimes were recommended for use, and the third rotation rate step, generating the airflow of 37300 m3?h-1 or indoor air exchange level of approximately 25 h-1, has been found as the most suitable. Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31086: Optimization of technological procedures and zoo-technical resources on farmsin purpose of milk production sustainability improvement, br. TR 31051: Improvement of biotechnological procedures as a function of rational utilizationof energy, agricultural products productivity and quality increase, br. III46009: Improvement and development new technological procedures in production ofanimal products, to achieve high quality and safe competitive products inmarket i br. OI 174011: Dynamical stability and instability of mechanical systems exposed to stochasticdisturbances


Author(s):  
Marion Greilinger ◽  
Anne Kasper-Giebl

Mineral dust is one of the main natural sources of atmospheric particulate matter, with the Sahara being one of the most important source regions for the occurrence and deposition of mineral dust in Europe. The occurrence of dust events in the European Alps is documented via measurements of airborne dust and its deposits onto the glaciers. Dust events occur mainly in spring, summer, and early autumn. Dust layers are investigated in ice cores spanning the last millennium as well as in annual snow packs. They strongly affect the overall flux of dust-related compounds (e.g., calcium and magnesium), provide an alkaline input to wet deposition chemistry, and change the microbial abundance and diversity of the snow pack. Still airborne mineral dust particles can act as ice nuclei and cloud condensation nuclei, influencing the formation of cloud droplets and hence cloud formation and precipitation. Dust deposits on the snow lead to a darkening of the surface, referred to as “surface albedo reduction,” which influences the timing of the snowmelt and reduces the annual mass balance of glaciers, showing a direct link to glacier retreat as observed presently in a warming climate.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itzhak Katra ◽  
Yoav Yair

<p>The electrification of mineral sand/dust particles during aeolian processes is a well-documented phenomenon both in natural settings and in laboratory experiments. When in motion, small airborne dust particles collide with other suspended particles or impact the surface through the kinetic energy they acquire from the ambient wind. Field experiments will be conducted in conjunction with the AMEDEE-2020 Analog Mars Mission, planned for November 2020 in the Ramon Crater in southern Israel and led by the Austrian Space Forum. During SANDEE, we will deploy a portable wind-tunnel (Katra et al., 2016) at the site, and record particle movements in conditions that simulate sand storms of varying speeds. We will use local Negev desert, as well as Mars-simulant, soil samples that will be placed inside the wind-tunnel. We will measure particles' dynamic, mineralogical and electrical characteristics as they are blown by wind inside the tunnel.  A JCI 114 portable electric field detector will be used to to measure the amplification of the ambient electric field during sand movement. A vertical array of traps oriented along the wind direction will be used for sampling particles, in order to calculate the related sand fluxes and to analyze particle characteristics. The experiment will be repeated at night under dark conditions, in order to observe if light is emitted from electrified dust, due to corona discharges.</p><p>We expect that SANDEE will help decipher wind-speed/aerosol/electrical charge relationships. These have practical implications for future Mars landers, because airborne sand particles are likely to interfere with communications and also to impede the energy output of solar panels due to the electrical adhesion of charged aerosol.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 720-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin A. Malone ◽  
Matthew McCormack ◽  
James V. Coe

2009 ◽  
Vol 196 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Igathinathane ◽  
S. Melin ◽  
S. Sokhansanj ◽  
X. Bi ◽  
C.J. Lim ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateusz Jakubiak ◽  
Krzysztof Urbański

AbstractDense road network change the landscape as well as in many different ways affect the environment and living organisms. The works on reducing the exposures to traffic pollutants carried out all around the world. In the last decade, noise barriers in large numbers began to appear along the main streets and became a common feature of urban architecture in Poland. Besides being barriers to the spread of the noise on the neighboring areas these constructions might also contribute to reducing the spread of air pollution, especially road dust particles with associated trace metals (Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn).The aim of the study described in the article was to examine if the extent to which “green walls” noise barriers and transparent acrylic-glass noise barriers located along roads can contribute to a change in the spread of trace elements from the road traffic to outside of the road area. Toxic metals which occur in road dust in significant concentrations (Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn) were selected and their concentrations in soil samples were examined. The samples were collected at close vicinity of the road edge in an open area as well as in an area with noise barriers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (51) ◽  
pp. 14639-14644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Stockdale ◽  
Michael D. Krom ◽  
Robert J. G. Mortimer ◽  
Liane G. Benning ◽  
Kenneth S. Carslaw ◽  
...  

Acidification of airborne dust particles can dramatically increase the amount of bioavailable phosphorus (P) deposited on the surface ocean. Experiments were conducted to simulate atmospheric processes and determine the dissolution behavior of P compounds in dust and dust precursor soils. Acid dissolution occurs rapidly (seconds to minutes) and is controlled by the amount of H+ions present. For H+< 10−4mol/g of dust, 1–10% of the total P is dissolved, largely as a result of dissolution of surface-bound forms. At H+> 10−4mol/g of dust, the amount of P (and calcium) released has a direct proportionality to the amount of H+consumed until all inorganic P minerals are exhausted and the final pH remains acidic. Once dissolved, P will stay in solution due to slow precipitation kinetics. Dissolution of apatite-P (Ap-P), the major mineral phase in dust (79–96%), occurs whether calcium carbonate (calcite) is present or not, although the increase in dissolved P is greater if calcite is absent or if the particles are externally mixed. The system was modeled adequately as a simple mixture of Ap-P and calcite. P dissolves readily by acid processes in the atmosphere in contrast to iron, which dissolves more slowly and is subject to reprecipitation at cloud water pH. We show that acidification can increase bioavailable P deposition over large areas of the globe, and may explain much of the previously observed patterns of variability in leachable P in oceanic areas where primary productivity is limited by this nutrient (e.g., Mediterranean).


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 26009-26034 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Nickovic ◽  
A. Vukovic ◽  
M. Vujadinovic ◽  
V. Djurdjevic ◽  
G. Pejanovic

Abstract. Dust storms and associated mineral aerosol transport are mainly driven by meso and synoptic scale atmospheric processes. It is therefore essential that the dust aerosol process and background atmospheric conditions that drive the dust emission and atmospheric transport be represented with sufficiently well resolved spatial and temporal features. Effects of airborne dust interactions with the environment are determent by the mineral composition of dust particles. Fractions of various minerals in the aerosol are determined by the mineral composition of arid soils, therefore high-resolution specification of mineral and physical properties of dust sources is needed as well. Most current dust atmospheric models simulate/predict the evolution of dust concentration but in most cases they do not consider fractions of minerals in dust. Accumulated knowledge on impacts of mineral composition in dust on weather and climate processes emphasizes the importance of considering minerals in modelling systems. Following such needs, in this study we developed a global dataset on mineral composition of potentially dust productive soils. In our study (a) we mapped mineral data into a high-resolution 30-s grid, (b) we included mineral carrying soil types in dust productive regions that were not considered in previous studies, and (c) included phosphorus having in mind their importance for terrestrial and marine nutrition processes.


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