Search results for "METALS"
showing 10 items of 2013 documents
Wild brown trout affected by historical mining in the Cévennes national park, France.
2011
8 pages; International audience; In the protected area of the Cévennes National Park (Southern France), 114 wild brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) were captured at six locations affected to different extents by historical mining and metallurgy dating from the Iron Age to Modern Times. Cadmium and lead in trout livers and muscles reflect high sediment contamination, although an age-related effect was also detected for hepatic metal concentrations. Lead isotope signatures confirm exposure to drainage from mining and metallurgical waste. Developmental instability, assessed by fluctuating asymmetry, is significantly correlated with cadmium and lead concentrations in trout tissues, suggesting th…
Ecological and agronomic importance of the plant genus Lotus. Its application in grassland sustainability and the amelioration of constrained and con…
2010
The genus Lotus comprises around 100 annual and perennial species with worldwide distribution. The relevance of Lotus japonicus as a model plant has been recently demonstrated in numerous studies. In addition, some of the Lotus species show a great potential for adaptation to a number of abiotic stresses. Therefore, they are relevant components of grassland ecosystems in environmentally constrained areas of several South American countries and Australia, where they are used for livestock production. Also, the fact that the roots of these species form rhizobial and mycorrhizal associations makes the annual L. japonicus a suitable model plant for legumes, particularly in studies directed to r…
Highly efficient temperature-dependent chiral separation with a nucleotide-based coordination polymer.
2018
We report a new chiral coordination polymer, prepared from the cytidine 5′-monophosphate (CMP) nucleotide, capable of separating efficiently (enantiomeric excess of ca. 100%) racemic mixtures of L- and D-Asp in a temperature-dependent manner. The crystal structure of the host–guest adsorbate, with the D-Asp guest molecules loaded within its channels, could be solved allowing a direct visualization of the chiral recognition process.
Formation and distortion of iodidoantimonates(III): the first isolated [SbI6]3- octahedron
2017
The ability to intentionally construct, through different types of interactions, inorganic–organic hybrid materials with desired properties is the main goal of inorganic crystal engineering. The primary deformation, related to intrinsic interactions within inorganic substructure, and the secondary deformation, mainly caused by the hydrogen bond interactions, are both responsible for polyhedral distortions of halogenidoantimonates(III) with organic cations. The evolution of structural parameters, in particular the Sb—I secondary- and O/N/C—H...I hydrogen bonds, as a function of temperature assists in understanding the contribution of those two distortion factors to the irregularity of [SbI6]…
Coping with uncertainty in the assessment of atmospheric pollution with lichen transplants
2019
In the assessment of atmospheric deposition using lichen transplants, coping with uncertainty is mandatory in cases of environmental forensics, when understanding whether an area is polluted or not, or tracing a given pollution source is of paramount importance. In this article, we have suggested a method based on the calculation of exposed-to-control ratios of element concentrations and on the quantification of the overall uncertainty associated with such calculation, which proved to be very robust and can be applied in most cases using a minimum of three replicates. The method allowed the selection of significantly accumulated elements i.e. those polluting the site under study, as well as…
Effect of current on the sintering of pre-oxidized copper powders by SPS
2017
Abstract As mentioned in the literature, SPS (Spark Plasma Sintering) technology combines uniaxial charge and pulsed currents to achieve the rapid sintering of powders. Although the utilization of current is often reported, an understanding of its role in the sintering mechanisms is still a subject of controversy. In fact, the oxide layer around metal particles is sometimes considered to be a dielectric gap in which discharges may occur: these discharges can clean the surface of particles and enhance densification. In this paper, an oxide layer was grown on the particle surface of a copper powder, and the growth enabled the study of the role of current on such dielectric layers. The powders…
Fine tuning of the magnetic properties in Mn3-Co Ga Heusler films near the critical regime
2021
Abstract Tunability of structural and magnetic properties of Mn3-xCoxGa films is presented by Co substitution, where critical behavior emerges 0.37 ≤ x ≤ 0.56 exhibiting a transition from tetragonal hard ferrimagnetic with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) to a cubic soft ferrimagnetic phase with in-plane magnetic anisotropy (IMA). In the critical regime, coexisting state of tetragonal and cubic phases possesses significantly low coercive field (HC = 1.9 kOe) with relatively low saturation magnetization (MS = 100~150 emu/cc) while maintaining the PMA. From first-principles calculations, moments of two Mn sites do not change upon Co substitution. However, moments of substituted Co almo…
Mining minerals and critical raw materials from bittern: Understanding metal ions fate in saltwork ponds
2022
Seawater represents a potential resource for raw materials extraction. Although NaCl is the most representative mineral extracted other valuable compounds such as Mg, Li, Sr, Rb and B and elements at trace level (Cs, Co, In, Sc, Ga and Ge) are also contained in this “liquid mine”. Most of them are considered as Critical Raw Materials by the European Union. Solar saltworks, providing concentration factors of up-to 20 to 40, offer a perfect platform for the development of minerals and metal recovery schemes taking benefit of the concentration and purification achieved along the evaporation saltwork ponds. However, the geochemistry of these elements in this environment has not been yet thoroug…
Poplar rotation coppice at a trace element-contaminated phytomanagement site: A 10-year study revealing biomass production, element export and impact…
2019
Abstract Growing lignocellulosic crops on marginal lands could compose a substantial proportion of future energy resources. The potential of poplar was explored, by devising a field trial of two hectares in 2007 in a metal-contaminated site to quantify the genotypic variation in the growth traits of 14 poplar genotypes grown in short-rotation coppice and to assess element transfer and export by individual genotypes. Our data led us to conclusions about the genotypic variations in poplar growth on a moderately contaminated site, with the Vesten genotype being the most productive. This genotype also accumulated the least amounts of trace elements, whereas the Trichobel genotype accumulated up…
Two-Stage Anaerobic Digestion of Energy Crops: Methane Production, Nitrogen Mineralisation and Heavy Metal Mobilisation
2006
Energy crops (willow, sugar beet and grass silage) were digested in pilot scale two-stage anaerobic digesters. The specific methane yields obtained were 0.16, 0.38 and 0.39 m3 kg(-1) added volatile solids (VSadded) for willow, sugar beet and grass, respectively, corresponding to yearly gross energy yields of 15, 53 and 26 megawatt-hours (MWh) per hectare. With grass and sugar beets as substrate, 84-85% of the harvestable methane was obtained within 30 days. In pilot scale two-stage digestion of willow and sugar beet, 56 and 85% of the laboratory scale methane yields were obtained, but digestion of grass in two-stage reactors yielded 5% more methane than digestion in laboratory scale complet…