Phase Transformation of Alumina, Silica and Iron Oxide during Carbothermic Reduction of Fly Ash for Ceramics Production

Fly ash is a by-product from burning of coal. Utilization of fly ash by carbothermic reduction is an effective way to recover aluminum, silicon, and iron to enhance product-added value. This work is focused on the phase transformation of Al2O3, SiO2 and Fe2O3 during carbothermic reduction of fly ash in air. A comparative analysis of carbothermic reduction of fly ash in air and in nitrogen was made. Thermodynamics analysis was performed to illustrate the possible reactions for residue and condensate. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscope (SEM), and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) were employed to characterize the phase composition, surface morphology, and microstructure of the reduced products. Results show that Fe3Si and Fe2Si appear sequentially with increasing of temperature. Al5O6N is an intermediate compound. Residue of Al9FeSi3, Al, and Si, and condensate of SiC, AlN and C are obtained. β-SiAlON was not found in the residue. Nitrogen is involved in the reduction of Al2O3 but not in the reduction of SiO2 and Fe2O3. Carbothermic reduction of fly ash in air did not behave the same as fly ash in nitrogen.

Shock and awe or incentive-compatible harm reduction? Graphic health warnings on tobacco packages

Background Graphic Health Warnings (GHWs) on cigarette packages were first introduced in Canada in 2001 and will become mandatory in the US as of January 2022. While previous studies have evaluated the impacts of GHWs, the data used in these studies have several shortcomings. The objective of this paper was to investigate the likely impact of such warnings in the US based upon the experience of Canada using hitherto unexplored monthly cigarette sales data, and to explore if alternative approaches involving risk-reduced products might be more successful in reducing smoking. Methods We used quasi-experimental segmented regression and difference-in-differences analyses. Data on monthly sales (i.e., shipments) of cigarettes from Canadian manufacturers to Canadian retailers during 1995–2005 were obtained from Statistics Canada. Results We found that GHWs did not have a significant impact on the sales of cigarettes in Canada. We propose an alternative type of graphical health messaging that actively combines information on how to quit with the legally required messaging. The novelty of the proposal is that it is incentive compatible for the supply side of the market and if adopted in several states, the measure could be tested by using a suitable treatment–control design. Conclusions Our findings imply that we should not expect any notable decline in sales or consumption as a result of implementation of GHWs in the US. The main impact of GHWs will be to add to the anti-smoking culture that has grown steadily over several decades, and this may impact smoking in the longer term.

Establishing patterns of the structural-phase transformations during the reduction of tungsten-containing ore concentrate with carbon

This paper reports a study into the phase composition and microstructure of tungsten ore concentrate after carbon-thermal reduction at different O:C ratios in the charge. This is required for determining those indicators that reduce tungsten loss through the sublimation of oxide compounds when processing ore concentrates, as well as when using reduced tungsten-containing doping additives. The study results have established that the reduced tungsten concentrate at the O:C ratio in the charge within the interval of 1.33‒2.30 contained the phases of W, W2C C, C, WO2. The microstructure demonstrated a spongy and disordered character. Together with W, the Mo, Si, Ca, Al impurities were present in the reduced products. The main elements identified at the sites studied had the following limiting content, % by weight: O – 5.01–17.32; C – 0.84–4.23; W – 61.21–86.78; Mo – 1.57–7.51; Si – 2.07–9.06; Ca – 1.34–11.30; Al – 0.27–0.40. The micro-inclusions at the examined surface areas acquired different complex shapes. There were traces of the process of caking between the particles. The analysis of the resulting data has shown that the most preferred ratio of O:C in the charge was 1.65. In this case, there is no lack of carbon and there is a predominance of W in the phase composition with a relatively little manifestation of the W2C phases, carbon, as well as the residual part of WO2. The post-reduction of the oxide component would occur during the doping process. The sponge structure contributes to a higher dissolution rate compared to standard tungsten ferroalloys. Lack of compounds with a relatively high propensity for sublimation does not require any special conditions to prevent the loss of tungsten in the gas phase, which increases the degree of assimilation of the target element

Biogeochemical Impact of Cable Bacteria on Coastal Black Sea Sediment

Cable bacteria can strongly alter sediment biogeochemistry. Here, we used laboratory incubations to assess whether cable bacteria can establish in iron (Fe) monosulphide-poor coastal Black Sea sediment and to determine the impact of their activity on the cycling of Fe, phosphorus (P) and sulphur (S). Microsensor depth profiles of oxygen, sulphide and pH in combination with electric potential profiling and FISH analyses showed a rapid development ( 200 days). During most of the experiment, the current density correlated linearly with the oxygen demand. Sediment oxygen uptake was attributed to activity of cable bacteria and the oxidation of reduced products from anaerobic degradation of organic matter, such as ammonium. Pore water sulphide was low (

Ring-theoretic (In)finiteness in reduced products of Banach algebras

We study ring-theoretic (in)finiteness properties—such as Dedekind-finiteness and proper infiniteness—of ultraproducts (and more generally, reduced products) of Banach algebras. While we characterise when an ultraproduct has these ring-theoretic properties in terms of its underlying sequence of algebras, we find that, contrary to the $C^*$ -algebraic setting, it is not true in general that an ultraproduct has a ring-theoretic finiteness property if and only if “ultrafilter many” of the underlying sequence of algebras have the same property. This might appear to violate the continuous model theoretic counterpart of Łoś’s Theorem; the reason it does not is that for a general Banach algebra, the ring theoretic properties we consider cannot be verified by considering a bounded subset of the algebra of fixed bound. For Banach algebras, we construct counter-examples to show, for example, that each component Banach algebra can fail to be Dedekind-finite while the ultraproduct is Dedekind-finite, and we explain why such a counter-example is not possible for $C^*$ -algebras. Finally, the related notion of having stable rank one is also studied for ultraproducts.

Syntheses, theoretical studies, and crystal structures of [Ni(II)SSRRL](PF6)2 and [Ni(II)SRSRL](Cl)(PF6) that contains anagostic interactions

The syntheses of two square planar nickel complexes containing the condensation and subsequently reduced products obtained by reacting [Ni(en)3](BF4)2 and acetone are reported. The complexes 5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl-1(S),4(S),8(R),11(R)-tetraazacyclotetradecane-nickel(II)[PF6]2 and 5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl-1(S),4(R),8(S),11(R)-tetraazacyclotetradecane-nickel(II)[Cl][PF6] labelled as [Ni(II)SSRRL](PF6)2 and [Ni(II)SRSRL](Cl)(PF6), respectively, were found to have slightly different solubilities that allowed for their purification. The complexes were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, and UV–vis spectra. Redox potentials, determined by cyclic voltammetry, established that [Ni(II)SSRRL](PF6)2 exhibits a reversible oxidation (E1/2(ox) = 0.85 V) and reduction (E1/2(red) = −1.59 V), whereas [Ni(II)SRSRL](Cl)(PF6) displays an irreversible oxidation (Epa(ox) = 1.37 V) and reversible reduction (E1/2(red) = −1.62 V) relative to the ferrocene couple at 0.0 V. Single crystal X-ray determinations established that one of the compounds, [Ni(II)SSRRL](PF6)2, contained two [Formula: see text] anions, whereas the other compound, [Ni(II)SRSRL](Cl)(PF6), contained one Cl− and one [Formula: see text] anion. In the solid state, compound [Ni(II)SSRRL](PF6)2 was held together by H-bonds between H atoms on the Ni containing dication and F atoms in the [Formula: see text] anion. Compound [Ni(II)SRSRL](Cl)(PF6) crystallized in the form of dimers held together by interactions between H atoms attached to N atoms on adjacent cations binding to two Cl− anions in the middle with these dimers held together by further H-bonding to interstitial [Formula: see text] anions. Complex [Ni(II)SRSRL](Cl)(PF6) was found to contain anagostic interactions on the bases of NMR (downfield shift in C–H protons) and structural data (2.3 < d(H-Ni) < 2.9 Å), as well as theoretical calculations.