An improved method for the extraction of low molecular weight organic acids in variable charge soils

Due to specific adsorption to variable charge soils, low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) have not been sufficiently extracted, even if common extractants, such as water and 0.1 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH), were employed. In this work, the method for extracting LMWOAs in soils with 0.1 M NaOH was improved for variable charge soils; e.g. 1.0 M potassium fluoride (KF) with pH 4.0 was applied as an extractant jointed with 0.1 M NaOH based on its stronger ability to change the electrochemical properties of variable charge soils by specific adsorption. With the proposed method, the recoveries of oxalic, tartaric, malic, citric and fumaric acids were increased from 83 4, 93 1, 22 2, 63 +/- 5 and 84 +/- 3% to 98 +/- 2, 100 +/- 2, 85 +/- 2, 90 +/- 2 and 89 +/- 2%, respectively, compared with NaOH alone. Simultaneously, the LMWOAs in Agri-Udic Ferrosol with field moisture were measured with a satisfactory result.

Optimization of RP-HPLC analysis of low molecular weight organic acids in soil

RP-HPLC analysis for low molecular weight organic acids in soil solution has been optimized. An Atlantis (TM) C-18 column was used for the analyses. An optimal determination for eleven organic acids in soil solution was found at room temperature (25 degrees C) and 220 nm detection wavelength, with a mobile phase of 10 mM KH2PO4 -CH3OH (955, pH 2.7), a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min and 10 mu L sample size. The detection limits ranged 3.2-619 ng/mL, the coefficients of variation ranged 1.3-4.6%, and the recoveries ranged 95.6-106.3% for soil solution with standard addition on the optimal conditions proposed.

Effects of several organic acids on the feeding behavior of Tilapia nilotica

Automatic recording of the frequency of feeding 'bites' was used to evaluate the effects of several organic acids (citric, metacectonic, lactic, acetic, and oxalic) on the stimulatory feeding behavior of Tilapia nilotica . Some of these acids are added to food stocks to retard spoilage. The results showed that citric acid at a concentration of 10(-2) to 10(-6) m, metacetonic acid at 10(-4) to 10(-6) m, and lactic acid at 10(-2) to 10(-5) m stimulated feeding. Fish tended to avoid metacetonic acid at 10(-3) m and acetic acid at 10(-3) m. Acetic acid at 10(-5) m and oxalic acid at 10(-6) m had no significant effects on fish feeding.

Dissolution of kaolinite induced by citric, oxalic, and malic acids

Kaolinite is a dominant clay mineral in the soils in tropical and Subtropical regions, and its dissolution has an influence on a variety of soil properties. In this work, kaolinite dissolution induced by three kinds of low-molecular-weight organic acid, i.e., citric, oxalic, and malic acids, was evaluated under far-from-equilibrium conditions. The rates of kaolinite dissolution depended on the kind and concentration of organic acids, with the sequence R-oxalate > R-citrate > R-malate. Chemical calculation showed the change in concentration of organic ligand relative to change in concentration of organic acid in suspensions of kaolinite and organic acid. The effect of organic acid on kaolinite dissolution was modeled by species of organic anionic ligand. For oxalic acid, L-oxalic(2-) and HLoxalic- jointly enhanced the dissolution of kaolinite, but for malic and citric acids, HLmalic- and H2Lcitric- made a higher contribution to the total dissolution rate of kaolinite than L-malic(2-) and L-citric(3-), respectively. For oxalic acid, the proposed model was R-Si = 1.89 x 10(-12) x [(25x)/(1+25x)] + 1.93 x 10(-12) x [(1990x(1))/(1+1990x(1))] (R-2 = 0.9763), where x and x(1) denote the concentrations of HLoxalic and L-oxalic, respectively, and x(1) = 10(-3.81) x x/[H+]. For malic acid, the model was R-Si =4.79 x 10(-12) x [(328-v)/(1+328x)] + 1.67 x 10(-13) x [(1149x(1))/(1+1149x(1))] (R-2 =0.9452), where x and x(1) denote the concentrations of HLmalic and L-malic, respectively, and x(1) = 10(-5.11) x x/[H+], and for citric acid, the model was R-Si = 4.73 x 10(-12) x [(845x)/(1+845x)] +4.68 x 10(-12) x [(2855x(1))/(1+2855x(1))] (R-2 =0.9682), where x and x(1) denote the concentrations of H2Lcitric and L-citric, respectively, and x(1) = 10(-11.16) x x/[H+](2). (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Degradation of 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol in aqueous solution by ozonation

This study investigates the ozonation of 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in aqueous solution. The affecting factors on the degradation of EE2 were studied and described in details, such as initial EE2 concentration, initial pH value and ozone concentration. In addition, some parameters such as pH. electrical conductivity, mineralization efficiency and degradation products were monitored during the process. The mineralization efficiency of EE2 could reach 53.9%. During the ozonation process the rapid decrease of pH and the sharp increase of electrical conductivity indicated the fort-nation of acidic by-products, small fragments and ions which were confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GUMS) analysis. Results showed that there were intermediate products of smaller molecule with higher polarity produced during the course of EE2 degradation. Then a possible reaction pathway for EE2 degradation involving all intermediates detected is proposed. During the ozonation process EE2 was first oxidized into hydroxyl-semiquinone isomers which were subsequently degraded into low molecular weight compounds such as oxalic acid, malonate, glutarate, and so on. Furthermore. these organic acids are easily oxidized by ozone into carbon dioxide (CO2). This work shows that ozonation process is promising for the removal of EE2. The results can provide some useful information for the potential treatment of EE2 by ozonation in aqueous solution. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Upgrading bio-oil over different solid catalysts

Solid acid 40SiO(2)/TiO2-SO42- and solid base 30K(2)CO(3)/Al2O3-NaOH were prepared and compared with catalytic esterification activity according to the model reaction. Upgrading bio-oil by solid acid and solid base catalysts in the conditioned experiment was investigated, in which dynamic viscosities of bio-oil was lowered markedly, although 8 months of aging did not show much viscosity to improve its fluidity and enhance its stability positively. Even the dehydration by 3A molecular sieve still kept the fluidity well. The density of upgraded bio-oil was reduced from 1.24 to 0.96 kg/m(3), and the gross calorific value increased by 50.7 and 51.8%, respectively. The acidity of upgraded bio-oil was alleviated by the solid base catalyst but intensified by the solid acid catalyst for its strong acidification. The results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that the ester reaction in the bio-oil was promoted by both solid acid and solid base catalysts and that the solid acid catalyst converted volatile and nonvolatile organic acids into esters and raised their amount by 20-fold. Besides the catalytic esterification, the solid acid catalyst carried out the carbonyl addition of alcohol to acetals. Some components of bio-oil undertook the isomerization over the solid base catalyst.

有机酸对砷在针铁矿表面吸附影响研究

砷（As）在自然环境下的迁移转化受到矿物质尤其是铁氧化物吸附过程的制约,大量溶解性有机酸影响了砷的吸附过程。 柠檬酸(CA)和As(Ⅴ)不同加入顺序实验表明CA抑制As(Ⅴ)吸附与其促进针铁矿溶解有关。当CA首先加入时，吸附体系溶解铁浓度为~0.3mmol/L，As(Ⅴ)吸附量随初始浓度增加在0.004~0.10mmol/g针铁矿之间；As(Ⅴ)先加入体系，溶解铁浓度为~0.16mmol/L，As(Ⅴ)吸附量在0.007~0.12mmol/g针铁矿之间。为进一步考察有机酸溶解作用对As(Ⅴ)吸附影响，本研究比较了在柠檬酸(1.0 mM)、草酸(1.5 mM)和乙酸(3.0 mM)与As(Ⅴ)共存条件下砷吸附变化和针铁矿溶解状况，结合三种有机酸引起针铁矿表面等质子状态点迁移结果认为：草酸促进针铁矿溶解趋势强于柠檬酸，而抑制砷吸附程度低于柠檬酸，可归因于小分子量有机酸抑制砷吸附是竞争表面位与溶解作用协同作用的结果。 在酸性区域，CA和As(Ⅴ)共存导致二者在针铁矿表面吸附量分别下降28%和29%左右，这与二者在针铁矿表面发生竞争吸附作用有关。在碱性区域，As(Ⅴ)吸附不受CA存在的影响；CA则随加入顺序不同存在明显差异：As(Ⅴ)先于CA加入的体系，CA严重下降达75%左右，而当CA先加入时，As(Ⅴ)的后续加入导致CA吸附少量升高。As(Ⅴ)对CA在碱性区域的影响与二者随pH变化吸附模式不同有关。 本研究采用平衡透析的方式研究了砷在腐殖酸和针铁矿之间的迁移转化问题。结果显示腐殖酸的存在影响了砷向针铁矿表面的迁移，且对As（Ⅴ）的影响比As（Ⅲ）更显著。在酸性区域，腐殖酸导致As（Ⅴ）在针铁矿表面分配系数降低最高可达70%左右；对As（Ⅲ）而言，腐殖酸在弱酸性、中性和弱碱性区域表现出最大抑制效应，As（Ⅲ）分配系数的降低在10%左右。