Search results for "Science and technology"
showing 10 items of 1592 documents
Characterization of gas flow through low-permeability claystone: laboratory experiments and two-phase flow analyses
2014
For the characterization of gas migration through a low-permeability clay host rock for deep underground repositories, a comprehensive understanding of the relevant phenomena of gas and fluid flow through low-permeability clay is required. The National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) in Switzerland has developed a comprehensive programme to characterize gas flow in low-permeability Opalinus Clay through laboratory tests and detailed numerical analyses for developing appropriate constitutive models. Laboratory tests were performed on cores by two different laboratories, the Laboratory for Soil Mechanics at EPFL and the Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geos…
Comparative study of initial stages of copper immersion deposition on bulk and porous silicon
2013
Initial stages of Cu immersion deposition in the presence of hydrofluoric acid on bulk and porous silicon were studied. Cu was found to deposit both on bulk and porous silicon as a layer of nanoparticles which grew according to the Volmer-Weber mechanism. It was revealed that at the initial stages of immersion deposition, Cu nanoparticles consisted of crystals with a maximum size of 10 nm and inherited the orientation of the original silicon substrate. Deposited Cu nanoparticles were found to be partially oxidized to Cu2O while CuO was not detected for all samples. In contrast to porous silicon, the crystal orientation of the original silicon substrate significantly affected the sizes, dens…
Preparation of polyelectrolyte-modified membranes for heavy metal ions removal
2017
ABSTRACTPolyethersulfone membranes were modified by polyelectrolyte (PE) multilayers, made of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) with poly(styrene sulfonate), to remove Cu2+, Zn2+ and Ni2+ heavy metal cations from aqueous solutions in a wide range of metal concentration (50–1200 ppm). After characterization of the modified membranes, the efficiency of the process was estimated for single heavy metal ions solution leading to high rejection rates (>90% for 50 ppm) and good adsorption capacities (7.0–8.5 mg cm−2) whatever the metal ion tested. The stability in time of the modified membranes was proved by repeating successive filtrations with the same membrane. The filtration process was also used …
Diagnosis of boron, fluorine, lead, nickel and zinc toxicity in citrus plantations in Villarreal, Spain
1997
In the late 1980s, citrus plantations in the area of Villarreal (Spain) showed injuries similar to those previously reported for boron and fluorine toxicity. The area was affected by the disposal of industrial wastewater, mainly from ceramic industries. Conjunctive uses of surface water, groundwater and wastewater for irrigation had taken place. A survey was conducted at 25 orchards to assess leaves and soil for their boron, fluorine, lead, nickel and zinc contents. Wastewater and groundwater were also analyzed to corroborate the presence of these pollutants. The results showed that both boron and fluorine contents were greater than those reported as excess at the most part of the orchards …
Evaluation of Antimony, Cadmium and Lead Levels in Vegetables, Drinking and Raw Water from Different Agricultural Areas
1990
Abstract Lead and cadmium levels in edible vegetables and antimony, lead and cadmium in drinking and raw waters from three agricultural areas exposed to different levels of environmental pollution (1-high industrial pollution, 2-high urban pollution, 3-standard low industrial and urban pollution) are determined. The organic matter is destroyed by repeated attack with nitric acid. Cadmium and lead are determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) and antimony by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS). When the results obtained for three different areas are compared, differences between cadmium and lead contents in vegetables are observed. Waters are…
Electrostatic phenomena in ion exchange membranes
1971
Abstract Specific and transport properties of a cation and an anion exchange membrane in Na + and Cl - form respectively have been measured in water and dioxane water mixtures. A greater electrolyte absorption and a lesser specific conductivity and counterion transport number in solvents at higher dioxane content indicate strong electrostatic interactions between fixed groups in the membrane and counterions.
Comparison between a detailed and a simplified integrated model for the assessment of urban drainage environmental impact on an ephemeral river
2008
The benefit of integrated analysis has been demonstrated in technical literature and it is also required by the EU Water Framework Directive 60/2000, which proposes a water-quality-orientated view of the whole urban drainage system and oversees new ways of assessing its performance. Integrated models, such as any complex modelling approach, often have prohibitive data availability requirements that reduce their applicability. Moreover, widely different approaches can be applied, ranging from simple conceptual models to complex physically based ones. In the present paper, two approaches have been compared using data from an experimental catchment in Bologna ( Italy), which consists of a part…
A hierarchical model for novel schemes of electrodialysis desalination
2019
Abstract A new hierarchical model for the electrodialysis (ED) process is presented. The model has been implemented into gPROMs Modelbuilder (PSE), allowing the development of a distributed-parameters simulation tool that combines the effectiveness of a semi-empirical modelling approach to the flexibility of a layered arrangement of modelling scales. Thanks to its structure, the tool makes possible the simulation of many different and complex layouts, requiring only membrane properties as input parameters (e.g. membrane resistance or salt and water permeability). The model has been validated against original experimental data obtained from a lab scale ED test rig. Simulation results concern…
A Marching in Space and Time (MAST) solver of the shallow water equations. Part I: The 1D model
2007
A new approach is presented for the numerical solution of the complete 1D Saint-Venant equations. At each time step, the governing system of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) is split, using a fractional time step methodology, into a convective prediction system and a diffusive correction system. Convective prediction system is further split into a convective prediction and a convective correction system, according to a specified approximated potential. If a scalar exact potential of the flow field exists, correction vanishes and the solution of the convective correction system is the same solution of the prediction system. Both convective prediction and correction systems are shown to …
Establishing a threshold for rainfall‐induced landslides by a kinetic energy–duration relationship
2020
Many investigators have attempted to define the threshold of landslide failure, that is, the level of the selected climatic variable above which a rainfall-induced landslide occurs. Intensity–duration (I–d) relationships are the most common type of empirical thresholds proposed in the literature for predicting landslide occurrence induced by rainfall. Recent studies propose the use of the kinetic power per unit volume of rainfall (J m−2 mm−1) to quantify the threshold of landslides induced by rainfall. In this paper, the relationship between rainfall duration and kinetic power corresponding to landslides triggered by rain was used to propose a new approach to define the threshold for predic…