Preparation of aluminium-hydroxide-modified diatomite and its fluoride adsorption mechanism.

As the current excessive accumulation of fluoride (F-) in the environment can be hazardous to human health, it is essential to remove fluoride from wastewater. In this study, diatomite (DA) was used as a raw material and modified using aluminum hydroxide (Al-DA) for use in the adsorption of F- from water bodies. SEM, EDS, XRD, FTIR, and Zeta potential characterization analyses were carried out; adsorption tests and kinetic fitting were performed, and the effects of pH, dosing quantity, and presence of interfering ions on the adsorption of F- by the materials were investigated. The results show that the Freundlich model effectively describes the adsorption process of F- on DA, which therefore involves adsorption-complexation interactions; however, the Langmuir model effectively describes the adsorption process of F- on Al-DA, corresponding to unimolecular layer adsorption mainly via ion-exchange interactions, that is, adsorption is dominated by chemisorption. Aluminum hydroxide was shown to be the main species involved in F- adsorption. The efficiency of F- removal by DA and Al-DA was over 91% and 97% for 2 h, and the adsorption kinetics were effectively fit by the quasi-secondary model, suggesting that chemical interactions between the absorbents and F- control the adsorption process. The adsorption of F- was highly dependent on the pH of the system, and the maximum adsorption performance was obtained at pH 6 and 4. The optimal dosage of DA and Al-DA was 4 g/L. Even in the presence of interfering ions, the removal of F- on Al-DA reached 89%, showing good selectivity. XRD and FTIR studies showed that the mechanism of F- adsorption on Al-DA involved ion exchange and the formation of F-Al bonds.

FISI: frequency domain integration sequential imaging at 1.26×1013 frames per second and 108 lines per millimeter.

High spatial resolution on the image plane (intrinsic spatial resolution) has always been a problem for ultrafast imaging. Single-shot ultrafast imaging methods can achieve high spatial resolution on the object plane through amplification systems but with low intrinsic spatial resolutions. We present frequency domain integration sequential imaging (FISI), which encodes a transient dynamic by an inversed 4f (IFF) system and decodes it using optical spatial frequencies recognition (OFR), which overcomes the limitation of the spatial frequencies recognition algorithm. In an experiment on the process of an air plasma channel, FISI achieved shadow imaging of the channel with a framing rate of 1.26×1013 fps and an intrinsic spatial resolution of 108 lp/mm (the spatial resolution on the image plane). Owing to its excellent framing time and high intrinsic spatial resolution, FISI can probe both repeatable and unrepeatable ultrafast phenomena, such as laser-induced damage, plasma physics, and shockwave interactions in living cells with high quality.

Adsorption Characteristics and Charge Transfer Kinetics of Fluoride in Water by Different Adsorbents.

Water containing high concentrations of fluoride is widely distributed and seriously harmful, largely because long-term exposure to fluoride exceeding the recommended level will lead to fluorosis of teeth and bones. Therefore, it is imperative to develop cost-effective and environmentally friendly adsorbents to remove fluoride from polluted water sources. In this study, diatomite (DA), calcium bentonite (CB), bamboo charcoal (BC), and rice husk biochar (RHB) were tested as adsorbents to adsorb fluoride (F-) from water, and this process was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (FEI-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The effects of pH, dosage, and the initial mass concentration of each treatment solution upon adsorption of F- were determined. Kinetic and thermodynamic models were applied to reveal the mechanism of defluoridation, and an orthogonal experiment was designed to obtain the optimal combination of conditions. The results show that the surfaces of CB, BC, and RHB have an irregular pore structure and rough surface, whereas DA has a rich pore structure, clear pores, large specific surface area, and high silica content. With regard to the adsorption process for F-, DA has an adsorption complex electron interaction; that of CB, BC, and RHB occur mainly via ion exchange with positive and negative charges; and CB on F- relies on chemical electron bonding adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity of DA can reach 32.20 mg/g. When the mass concentration of fluoride is 100 mg/L, the pH value is 6.0 and the dosage is 4.0 g/L; the adsorption rate of F- by DA can reach 91.8%. Therefore, we conclude that DA soil could be used as an efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly adsorbent for fluoride removal, perhaps providing an empirical basis for improving the treatment of fluorine-containing water in the future.

Occurrence characteristics and health risk assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from water in residential areas around fluorine chemical industrial areas, China.

Recently, identifying the contamination status and assessing the health risk of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in surface water and groundwater have been of great significance. Eighteen individual PFASs were analyzed in thirty-three surface/groundwater samples during one period in a fluorine chemical park (Park A) and during two periods in Park B. The mean total concentration of 18 PFASs (∑PFASs) in Park A (9104.63 ng·L-1) was significantly higher than that in the wet season (WS) (801.68 ng·L-1) or DS (714.64 ng·L-1) in Park B. The perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) was the predominant substance in the two parks, and the maximum concentration in groundwater exceeded 10,000 ng·L-1. The contamination status in the wet season (WS) was higher than that in the dry season (DS) in Park B. The ∑PFASs in Park A presented an increasing tendency following the groundwater flow direction, whereas this rule was limited to all periods in Park B. Two relative source contributions (RSCs) of 20% or 100% allowed assessing the PFASs risk to different age groups, and the results revealed that some PFASs (4 ≤ C ≤ 7 or 9 ≤ C ≤ 12) were identified as having a low risk quotient (RQ), except for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and PFOA (C = 8). The RQmix value mainly relies on PFOA and PFOS, with a larger contribution rate of 80-90%. All assessed cases (case 1, case 2, case 3, and case 4) in all age groups revealed that infants were vulnerable to PFASs influence, followed by children, teenagers, and adults.

Multiple pollutants in groundwater near an abandoned Chinese fluorine chemical park: concentrations, correlations and health risk assessments.

Contamination and adverse effects from various pollutants often appear in abandoned industrial regions. Thus, nine groundwater samples were collected from the vicinity of the fluorochemical industry in Fuxin City, Liaoning Province, to determine concentrations of the ten heavy metals arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and mercury(Hg), as well as those of fluorine (F-) and eighteen poly- and perfluorinated substances (PFASs), analyse correlation relationships, and assess the health risks for different age groups. The results showed that the levels of fluorine (F-) (0.92-4.42 mg·L-1), Mn (0.0005-4.91 mg·L-1) and Fe (1.45-5.61 mg·L-1) exceeded the standard limits for drinking water. Short chain perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) (4.14-2501.42 ng·L-1), perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) (17.07-51,818.61 ng·L-1) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) (0.47-936.32 ng·L-1) were the predominant substances from the PFASs group. No individual PFASs levels had significant relationships with F- or heavy metal contents. There was a positive relationship between short chain PFASs concentrations and water depth and a negative relationship between long chain PFASs concentration and water depth. The hazard quotient (HQ) decreased in the order F- > heavy metals > PFASs and also decreased for older age groups. In addition, As, Fe, Mn and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were the main sources of risk from the heavy metal and PFASs groups, respectively.

All-optical high spatial-temporal resolution photography with raster principle at 2 trillion frames per second.

A novel single-shot ultrafast all-optical photography with raster principle (OPR) that can capture real-time imaging of ultrafast phenomena is proposed and demonstrated. It consists of a sequentially timed module (STM), spectral-shaping module (SSM), and raster framing camera (RFC). STM and SSM are used for linearly encoding frequency-time mapping and system calibration, respectively. The function of the RFC is sampling the target by microlens arrays and framing on the basis of frequency-time-spatial positions conversion. We demonstrated the recording of transient scenes with the spatial resolution of ∼90lp/mm, the frame number of 12 and the frame rate of 2 trillion frames per second (Tfps) in single-shot. Thanks to its high spatial-temporal resolution, high frame rate (maximum up to 10 Tfps or more) and sufficient frame number, our OPR can observe the dynamic processes with complex spatial structure at the atomic time scale (10 fs∼1ps), which is promising for application in plasma physics, shock waves in laser-induced damage, and dynamics of condensed matter materials.

[Transfer energy disposal in collisions of NaK (6(1)sigma+) with H2].

The radiative lifetimes and rate coefficients for deactivation of high lying 6(1)sigma+ state of NaK by collisions with H2 were studied. An OPO laser was set to a particular 2(1)sigma+ <-- 1(1)sigma+ transition. Another single mode Ti sapphire laser was then used to excite molecule from 2(1)sigma+ level to the 6(1)sigma+ state. The predissociation was monitored by the atomic potassium emission at the 3D --> 4P (1.7 microm) or the S --> 4P (1.24 microm), while bound state radiative processes were monitored by total fluorescence from the upper state to the various levels, all studied as a function of H2 density. The values for predissociation, collisional dissociation and collisional depopulation rate coefficients were obtained. The decay signal of the time resolved fluorescence from the 6(1)sigma+ --> 2(1)sigma+, 6(1)sigma+ -->1(1)sigma+ or 2(1)sigma+ --> 1(1)sigma+ transition was monitored. Based on the Stern-Volmer equation, the radiative lifetimes were monitored for 6(1)sigma+ --> 2(1)sigma+ and 2(1)sigma+ --> 1(1)sigma+ transition. The rate coefficients for deactivation of collisions with H2 were monitored for 6(1)sigma+ --> 2(1)sigma+, 6(1)sigma+ --> 1(1)sigma+ and 2(1)sigma+ -->1(1)sigma+. When the density of H2 was 10(19) cm(-3), the total collisional transfer energy (15 426 cm(-1)) and radiative energy (10 215 cm(-1)) were obtained. The relative fraction ((f(v)), (f(R)), (f(T)) of average energy disposal was derived as (0.58, 0.03, 0.39); (f(v)), (f(R)), (f(T)) represent separately the relative fraction of average energy disposal among vibration, rotation and translation. The major vibrational and translational energy release supports the assumption that the 6(1)sigma(+) -H2 collision occurs primarily in a collisional energy transfer mechanism. In this experiment, alkali molecules relative energy population ratio was determined through using the time integrated intensity, so we can get the total transfer energy. That the NaK (6(1)sigma+) energy transfers to the H2 vibrational, rotational and translational energy was quantitatively given for the first time, which illustrates the collisional mechanism.