WATER REPELLENCY OF DEGRADED LIGNITE IN A RECLAIMED SOIL

1983 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. RICHARDSON ◽  
N. C. WOLLENHAUPT

Lignitic material located in a reshaped mine spoil at a depth of 35–53 cm was extremely water-repellent and no root growth was observed in or below this layer. The material is black (10YR 2/1) when dry and is easily identifiable. It is postulated that this layer may influence water movement and nutrient uptake because of the water repellency. Key words: Lignite, reclamation, strip mining, water repellency

Soil Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 168 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. L. Walden ◽  
R. J. Harper ◽  
D. S. Mendham ◽  
D. J. Henry ◽  
J. B. Fontaine

There is an increasing interest in eucalypt reforestation for a range of purposes in Australia, including pulp-wood production, carbon mitigation and catchment water management. The impacts of this reforestation on soil water repellency have not been examined despite eucalypts often being associated with water repellency and water repellency having impacts on water movement across and within soils. To investigate the role of eucalypt reforestation on water repellency, and interactions with soil properties, we examined 31 sites across the south-west of Western Australia with paired plots differing only in present land use (pasture v. plantation). The incidence and severity of water repellency increased in the 5–8 years following reforestation with Eucalyptus globulus. Despite this difference in water repellency, there were no differences in soil characteristics, including soil organic carbon content or composition, between pasture and plantation soils, suggesting induction by small amounts of hydrophobic compounds from the trees. The incidence of soil water repellency was generally greater on sandy-surfaced (<10% clay content) soils; however, for these soils 72% of the pasture sites and 31% of the plantation were not water repellent, and this was independent of measured soil properties. Computer modelling revealed marked differences in the layering and packing of waxes on kaolinite and quartz surfaces, indicating the importance of interfacial interactions in the development of soil water repellency. The implications of increased water repellency for the management of eucalyptus plantations are considered.


1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 675-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. Clark

Attempts were made to clean and rehabilitate nearly 8000 oiled birds (mainly auks) following the wreck of the Torrey Canyon. This was an almost total failure and a Research Unit on the Rehabilitation of Oiled Seabirds was established in Newcastle upon Tyne to devise effective treatment methods. This has involved a study of the mechanism of water-repellency in seabird plumage and led to the development of cheap, effective cleaning methods and full recovery of the birds within 2–3 wk of capture. These methods have been used successfully on small numbers of birds by amateurs and also operationally on larger numbers by the Research Unit. There have been only few ringing returns but at least some of the cleaned birds became reintegrated with the breeding populations after release. Even with appropriate organization and facilities it is doubtful whether the rescue and treatment of oiled birds can make a material contribution to seabird conservation, but there is often strong public pressure for the treatment of oiled birds and the development of suitable techniques makes this possible. Key words: oiled seabird rescue, conservation, water-repellent plumage


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Mazhar H. Tunio ◽  
Jianmin Gao ◽  
Imran A. Lakhiar ◽  
Kashif A. Solangi ◽  
Waqar A. Qureshi ◽  
...  

The atomized nutrient solution droplet sizes and spraying intervals can impact the chemical properties of the nutrient solution, biomass yield, root-to-shoot ratio and nutrient uptake of aeroponically cultivated plants. In this study, four different nozzles having droplet sizes N1 = 11.24, N2 = 26.35, N3 = 17.38 and N4 = 4.89 µm were selected and misted at three nutrient solution spraying intervals of 30, 45 and 60 min, with a 5 min spraying time. The measured parameters were power of hydrogen (pH) and electrical conductivity (EC) values of the nutrient solution, shoot and root growth, ratio of roots to shoots (fresh and dry), biomass yield and nutrient uptake. The results indicated that the N1 presented significantly lower changes in chemical properties than those of N2, N3 and N4, resulting in stable lateral root growth and increased biomass yield. Also, the root-to-shoot ratio significantly increased with increasing spraying interval using N1 and N4 nozzles. The N1 nozzle also revealed a significant effect on the phosphorous, potassium and magnesium uptake by the plants misted at proposed nutrient solution spraying intervals. However, the ultrasonic nozzle showed a nonsignificant effect on all measured parameters with respect to spraying intervals. In the last, this research experiment validates the applicability of air-assisted nozzle (N1) misting at a 30-min spraying interval and 5 min of spraying time for the cultivation of butter-head lettuce in aeroponic systems.


Author(s):  
David Quéré ◽  
Mathilde Reyssat

Superhydrophobic materials recently attracted a lot of attention, owing to the potential practical applications of such surfaces—they literally repel water, which hardly sticks to them, bounces off after an impact and slips on them. In this short review, we describe how water repellency arises from the presence of hydrophobic microstructures at the solid surface. A drop deposited on such a substrate can float above the textures, mimicking at room temperature what happens on very hot plates; then, a vapour layer comes between the solid and the volatile liquid, as described long ago by Leidenfrost. We present several examples of superhydrophobic materials (either natural or synthetic), and stress more particularly the stability of the air cushion—the liquid could also penetrate the textures, inducing a very different wetting state, much more sticky, due to the possibility of pinning on the numerous defects. This description allows us to discuss (in quite a preliminary way) the optimal design to be given to a solid surface to make it robustly water repellent.


2012 ◽  
Vol 549 ◽  
pp. 733-736
Author(s):  
Xiao Mian Chen ◽  
Jing Jing Shi ◽  
Hong Sha Su ◽  
Chun Ting Lin ◽  
En Long Yang

The catalytic properties of nano-TiO2 modified fabric suits the demand for self-cleaning in recent years. In this paper, advanced and innovative technology were used to synthesize water sol of titanium dioxide photocatalyst with high catalytic activity for fabric finishing. The wear behavior, antibacterial property and water repellency of treated and untreated fabric were tested. Results indicate that finishing and washing of the titanium dioxide had no effect on wear behavior; finished and washed fabric has a certain antibacterial and water repellent properties.


1996 ◽  
Vol 184 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 153-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. van Dam ◽  
J.H.M. Wösten ◽  
A. Nemes

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yichen Wang ◽  
Xiaofang Wang ◽  
Henry Wai Chau ◽  
Bingcheng Si ◽  
Ning Yao ◽  
...  

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