Search results for "silica"

Photoluminescence of SiO2 under excitation by synchrotron radiation above the fundamental absorption edge

2008

Educational or emotional languages? An interactive experiment with the Lucanian flora (S-Italy)

2010

In the frame of dissemination activities for a still-in-progress work on the Sites of Community Importance (see EU Directive 92/43) of Basilicata (a region of Southern Italy), an interactive tool (IIT) for the identification of vascular plants growing there has been illustrated to two groups of people, following two different approaches: one focused on textual parts and on scientific accuracy, the other on images and on the visual comparison of different objects. The reactions were measured in terms of number of accesses to the IIT, elapsed time from the demonstration to the first individual access, and number of queries in the first week after the IIT was distributed. The most clicked opti…

Beneficiation, desilication and selective precipitation techniques for phosphorus refining from biomass derived fly ash

2018

The supply of affordable phosphorus (P), a biocritical element, is at great risk due to the utilization of limited natural phosphate minerals at an unprecedented scale. The need of phosphorus recovery to sustain the anthropogenic P-cycle was recog- nized and fly ash, a waste product from the combustion of renewable biofuels, was selected as the secondary resource. Increasing supply of fly ash in the future due to growing use of forest biofuels in energy production also contributes to its suitability for P-recovery. Fly ash comprises of silicates, oxides, carbonates, phosphates and hydroxides of the elements that potentially represent the entire periodic table. This only augments the complexity…

Mesoporous silica microparticles gated with a bulky azo derivative for the controlled release of dyes/drugs in colon.

2018

[EN] Mesoporous silica microparticles were prepared, loaded with the dye safranin O (M-Saf) or with the drug budesonide (M-Bud) and capped by the grafting of a bulky azo derivative. Cargo release from M-Saf at different pH values (mimicking those found in the gastrointestinal tract) in the absence or presence of sodium dithionite (a reducing agent mimicking azoreductase enzyme present in the colon) was tested. Negligible safranin O release was observed at pH 6.8 and 4.5, whereas a moderate delivery at pH 1.2 was noted and attributed to the hydrolysis of the urea bond that linked the azo derivative onto the external surface of the inorganic scaffold. Moreover, a marked release was observed w…

The behavior of Rare-Earth Elements, Zr and Hf during biologically-mediated deposition of silica-stromatolites and carbonate-rich microbial mats

2015

Abstract Venere Lake, in the Pantelleria Island thermal system (Central Mediterranean Sea) consists of a mix of seawater and hydrothermal volcanic fluids containing high levels of dissolved SiO 2 . Close to the lake's thermal springs, siliceous stromatolites are deposed under high bacterial activity conditions whereas roughly interlaminated Ca-carbonates and microbial mats are widely scattered in the lake. The dissolved REE speciation in lake waters is dominated by [REE(CO 3 ) 2 ] − , [REE(CO 3 )] + and [REE(H 3 SiO 4 )] 2 + complexes. On the contrary the most abundant Zr and Hf species are hydroxyl- and fluoride-complexes. The behavior of REE Zr and Hf in the Venere lake waters is controll…

Acoustic spectroscopy of aerogel precursors

2007

We investigate the acoustical properties of silica gels, which are precursors in the aerogel production process. These gels exhibit a strong “ringing gel” behavior, that is they emit a characteristic sound if one knocks against the container. We study this sound emission with a very simple spectroscopic technique and observe resonances which are characteristic for natural frequencies of a cylindrical body. From a fit of the experimental frequency positions to calculated values, we determine a sound velocity of c T = 4 m/s for a gel sample with porosity φ = 97.5%. This low sound velocity can only be interpreted as the transverse sound mode predicted by Biot’s theory for sound propagation in …

Seasonal variability in silicate weathering signatures recorded by Li isotopes in cave drip-waters

2021

Abstract Silicate weathering is a critical process in Earth’s carbon cycle, but the fundamental controls on weathering are poorly understood and its response to future climate change is uncertain. In particular, the potential for changes in seasonality or extreme weather events to control silicate weathering rates or mechanisms has been little studied. Here, we use lithium (Li) isotope measurements in bimonthly sampled drip-waters from two caves in the Yorkshire Dales (U.K.) to assess the response of silicate weathering processes to changes in temperature and hydrology over seasonal timescales. While the caves are contained in limestone bedrock, the drip-water Li isotope signal predominantl…

Magmatic degassing of multicomponent vapors and assessment of magma depth: application to Vulcano Island (Italy)

2001

Degassing of magmatic H2O, CO2 and rare gases plays a major role in understanding large-scale Earth processes and in the assessment of volcanic activity. Here we describe a quantitative model for magmatic degassing of H2O–CO2–noble gas–N2 mixtures. Our modeling takes into account non-ideal behaviors by adopting recently developed approaches for the solubility of H2O–CO2 mixtures in silicate liquids and for noble gas partitioning in H2O–CO2 bearing magmas. This new approach allows quantitative treatment of inert gas fractionation throughout the degassing of any H2O–CO2 bearing natural magma in a wide range of thermo-baric conditions. Magma degassing simulations performed by our model have cl…

Magmatic signature in acid rain at Masaya volcano, Nicaragua: Inferences on element volatility during lava lake degassing

2021

Abstract Major, minor and trace element concentrations of single rainfall events were investigated at Masaya volcano (Nicaragua) in order to determine the relative contributions of volcanogenic elements. Most of the samples were collected in the summit area of the volcano around the Santiago crater, and two samples, representative of the local background, were collected at a 4.3 km upwind site. Samples from the summit are very acidic with pH down to 2.14 and contain large amounts of volcanogenic elements that can be clearly distinguished from the local background. These elements are released into the atmosphere from the continuously degassing lava lake of the Santiago crater, Masaya volcano…

The viscous-brittle transition of crystal-bearing slilic melt: direct observation of magma rupture and healing

2012

Magmas may fl ow or break depending on their deformation rate. The transition between such viscous and brittle behavior controls the style of volcanic eruptions. While the brittle failure of silicate melts is reasonably well characterized, the effect of crystals on the viscous-brittle transition has not yet been constrained. Here we examine the effect of suspended crystals on the mechanical failure of magmas using torsion experiments performed at temperatures (600‐ 900 °C), strain rates (10 ‐4 ‐10 ‐1 s ‐1 ), and confi ning pressures (200‐300 MPa) relevant for volcanic systems. We present a relationship that predicts the critical stress and associated strain rate at which magmas fail as a fu…