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This research focuses on the potential use of fly ash (WAf) from a Chinese pulverized-coal combustion (PCC) power plant for manufacturing foam glass. The influences of fly ash properties, fly ash/recycled glass proportion in the raw materials, addition of fluxing and foaming agent, firing temperature, and residence time at the peak temperature on the final properties (apparent density, compressing strength and leachable potential of major and trace elements) of the foam specimens are investigated. The optimal foaming products were obtained consuming up to 33.3–43.3% fly ash, adding 9–11% Na 2 CO 3 fluxing agent and 0.5% SiC foaming agent, firing at 865–915 °C during 15 min residence time at the peak temperature. The obtained fly ash-based product revealed comparable compressive strength but slightly higher densities than commercial foam glass, with low CO 2 emissions and low leachable potential for environmentally relevant trace elements within the limits for inert/no-hazardous material established by the European Council Decision 2003/33/EC for land waste disposal. The large porosity of the foam glass indicates a high potential of thermal and acoustic insulation. The foaming behavior and the final properties the foam glass are strongly influenced by properties of fly ash (mainly fluxing temperature and organic C content), fly ash/recycled glass proportion in the raw materials, addition of Na 2 CO 3 fluxing agent and SiC foaming agent, firing temperature, and residence time at the peak temperature. The low C content and high refractory character of WAf give rise to poor foaming of the specimens when only fly ash and Na 2 CO 3 mixtures are used. The consumption of relatively high proportions of recycled glass and SiC is essential to produce foaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brittle minerals, especially quartz, play an important role in the quality of shale reservoir. The precipitation of authigenic quartz caused a significant change in the rock stiffness and porosity. However, the formation mechanism of authigenic quartz in shale is still unclear. Lower Cambrian Niutitang shale from Guchengcun outcrop has been examined with respect to quartz cement. Four different types of quartz have been identified using SEM/CL/EDS. Type 1 occurs as angular to sub-rounded silt-size quartz grains with uniform luminescence, indicative of detrital origin. Type 2 appears as relatively large quartz aggregates approximately 30–150 μm in size, which is composed of small quartz grains (1–3 μm) and abundant in siliceous shale. The petrological evidence and consideration of potential diagenetic process suggest that Type 2 quartz was formed by local re-crystallization of biogenic silica in syndiagenesis and preferentially precipitated in the axial cavities of sponge spicules. Type 3 occurs as quartz overgrowths that are essentially non-luminescent at the periphery of high luminescence detrital quartz grains. This type quartz is present in most investigated samples. Type 4 represents microcrystalline quartz embedded in the illitized clay matrix as discrete, short chains or small clusters/nests and they are most commonly observed in argillaceous shale. The petrological evidence and CL responses indicate that both Type 3 and Type 4 quartz are derived from precipitation of silica released during the smectite to illite dissolution–precipitation reaction. S-I transition can be driven by microbial metabolic processes in shallow buried diagenesis or by heat and pressure in late diagenesis. Some of Type 4 quartz may be originated from low-temperature microbial pathway in shallow buried diagenesis, while Type 3 quartz and the remaining Type 4 quartz were formed in late diagenesis. Siliceous shale contains less abundant detrital quartz than argillaceous shale, indicating that siliceous shale was deposited in deeper water and far from terrigenous input than argillaceous shale. Although identifying the exact cause for diagenetic silica deposition in shale is not a trivial matter, its recognition is important for the reconstruction of the depositional history of shale sequences and understanding the role of diagenesis in shale reservoirs development, moreover, it also has great potential for enhancing prediction of mechanical rock properties in shales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates lateral variation of gas saturation and its geological controls of the No.2 coal seam in the Permian Shanxi Formation based on coal samples from 21 exploration wells in the Yanchuannan Coalbed Methane (CBM) Field, Southeastern Ordos Basin, China. The data set reveals that gas saturation of the No.2 coal seam shows a high lateral variation from 32.44% to 89.69%, and that there is an overall trend in gas saturation with depth overprinted by four other factors: 1) influence of faults, 2) secondary biogenic gas generation, 3) local top seal conditions and 4) variations in coal properties. The reverse faults F1 and F2 are effective barriers horizontally for the hydraulic communication and divide our study area into relatively closed and recharge zones. Gas saturation of the relatively closed zone is generally higher than that in the recharge zone. In the recharge, gas saturation increases generally along the flow pathway of groundwater with the exceptions of the areas affected by secondary biogenic gas. The stable isotope compositions suggest that late-stage biogenic methane was generated via CO 2 reduction associated with meteoric water recharge, which significantly contributes to higher gas saturation than expected. Meanwhile, the biogenic gas generation was/is restricted to shallow depths. The apparent variations in local areas of lithology of the overlying stratum next to the coal seam suggest that the top seal conditions are deteriorative, which can cause gas dissipation and reduce gas saturation remarkably. Integrally, for the variations in coal properties, gas saturation has a general positive relationship with coalification, and weak negative correlations with moisture content and ash yield but the relationships lacks statistical significances. Gas saturation is not associated with coal maceral in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial resistance mediated by plasmid-borne AmpC β-lactamase in Gram-negative bacteria is an emerging event of significant clinical importance. Rapid and reliable detection of ampC is in urgent need for appropriate infection control. We described the development and evaluation of a heptaplex PCR melting curve analysis that could identify six groups of ampC , i.e., CIT, EBC, DHA, ACC, MOX and FOX, through predefined melting temperatures. The entire analysis could be finished within 2 h for 96 samples after template DNA was prepared. We first evaluated the assay with 176 AmpC-producing isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae , and the results showed that 36 isolates were positive for ampC , including 18 positive for DHA, 12 for CIT, 5 for EBC, and one for both DHA and EBC. These results were fully concordant with sequencing analysis whereas the comparison method, an electrophoresis-based singleplex PCR assay, missed four isolates. The assay was also used to analyze 429 randomly selected clinically relevant Gram-negative isolates involving 22 different species, and 34 isolates were found to be ampC -positive. The results again fully agreed with the sequencing analysis. We conclude that the established assay could be used for rapid and reliable detection of ampC . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underground coal mining produces large amounts of mine water annually in the Shendong mining area of China. Due to the severe scarcity of water resources, mine water is extensively used for productive, domestic, and ecological demands. However, mine water exhibits high fluoride levels. For water-use security, reduction of fluoride exposure and environmental protection, knowledge of sources and geochemical controls of fluoride enrichment in mine water is required. The results showed that F− concentrations of mine waters vary from 0.05 to 11.65 mg/L, with a mean value of 1.96 mg/L, and 51% of the mine waters contain F− concentrations exceeding the Chinese drinking water standard (1 mg/L). The overall mine water quality is influenced by cation exchange, mineral dissolution, pyrite oxidation, silicate weathering and so on. The high-fluoride mine waters are all associated with Na–type, with a remarkable cation composition feature of higher Na+ and lower Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations. Overall, the high-fluoride mine waters are well-matched with the water environment with higher pH, TDS, and EC levels. PCA reveals that the geochemical controls on the enrichment of F− in mine waters include dissolution of fluoride-bearing minerals and F−-OH− ion exchange; the former process is mainly caused by the decrease in Ca2+ concentrations resulting from Na + -Ca2+ cation exchange and mineral precipitation, and the latter process benefits from a highly alkaline water environment, facilitating the substitution of OH− in the mine water for F− within or absorbed on the minerals. Evaporation also controls F− enrichment in local areas. [Display omitted] • 51% of mine water samples exceed the Chinese drinking water limit for fluoride (1 mg/L). • The overall mine water quality is influenced by cation exchange, dissolution of minerals and so on. • NaHCO 3 type mine water possesses the highest average fluoride concentration. • Fluoride concentrations are overall proportional to higher pH, TDS, and EC levels. • Fluoride enrichment is related to ion exchange, mineral precipitation, and evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Inorganic trace pollutants are studied in a coal-fired power station in China. • The aqueous (NH 4) 2 SO 4 slurry (pH 3.2) is enriched in inorganic trace pollutants. • NH 3 -FGD performance for the retention efficiency of trace pollutants is questioned. • Acidic conditions of the aqueous (NH 4) 2 SO 4 slurry could lead to low FGD efficiencies. • Operating conditions may affect Hg fate across the PCC-SCR-ESP-NH 3 -FGD. The behaviour and speciation of inorganic trace pollutants were studied in a 270 MWh coal-fired power station equipped with denitrification (DeNOx)-based selective catalytic reduction (SCR), electrostatic precipitators (ESP) and ammonia flue gas desulphurisation (NH 3 -FGD) controls. The aqueous (NH 4) 2 SO 4 slurry (pH 3.2) showed remarkably high concentrations of SO 4 2−, Cl−, Fe, NH 4 +, PO 4 3−, and F− and was substantially enriched in multiple trace pollutants, e.g. Mn, Ni, Zn, and As, which can be ascribed to the diffusion of gaseous pollutants released during combustion and to the partial dissolution of fly ash (FA) particles entrained in the flue gas FGD. These processes were favoured by the iteration of the FGD water re-circulation cycles within the scrubber. Three major unresolved performance issues remain for the NH 3 -FGD with respect to the retention efficiency of major and trace pollutants: (i) the high concentration of soluble salts and major and minor trace elements in the aqueous (NH 4) 2 SO 4 slurry could lead to entrainment of droplets and particles with the outgoing (OUT)-FGD gas; (ii) the ionic strength, as a result of the high concentration of the elements associated with soluble salts and major and minor elements, could lead to diminishing diffusivity of gaseous pollutants into the aqueous phase, where these are supposed to dissolve; and (iii) the acidic conditions of the aqueous (NH 4) 2 SO 4 slurry, caused by Fe-hydrolysis, could lead to low FGD efficiencies. Operating conditions at this power station affect Hg partitioning and fate across the PCC-SCR-ESP-NH 3- FGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-accumulation of carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon gas is common and widely existing in oil and gas basins. Such two natural pools are located in Lishui sag (East China Sea Shelf Basin), as a favorable prospecting area for exploration. CO 2 gas derived from inorganic mantle sources and CO 2 accumulation times have been investigated. In this study, petrographic observation shows pure CH 4 , CH 4 -rich, H 2 O-rich and hybrid CH 4 -CO 2 fluid inclusions exist in healed micro-fractures and overgrowths of quartz mineral in Palaeocene reservoirs of Lishui sag. The pressure–temperature–time–composition (PVT – x) properties of CH 4 -bearing inclusions were obtained by Raman quantitative analysis and thermodynamic models. These results provide important constraints on the P-T entrapment conditions and predict relative accumulation time of CH 4 fluid. Combination of carbon isotope analyses, inclusion petrography, microthermometry, PT entrapment conditions of CH 4 -bearing inclusions, hydrocarbon generation and simulation of burial history permit to assign periods of CH 4 fluid activity and its sequence with CO 2 fluid. Methane charging time occurs during two stages in LS-A: low density CH 4 fluid (~0.10 g/cm3 or lower) were trapped during late Oligocene (30-20 Ma) and high density (>0.115 g/cm3) during a Pliocene (8-1 Ma) CH 4 accumulation event. CO 2 fluid accumulation (Miocene, 21-4 Ma) displaced the methane gas trapped in the early stage. Pliocene CH 4 fluid partial displaced Miocene CO 2 fluid. In well B, only high density (0.144–0.153 g/cm3) recorded a late Oligocene to early Miocene (36-19 Ma) CH 4 accumulation event, Pliocene (5-3 Ma) CO 2 fluid displaced early CH 4 fluid. Micro-thermometry, composition of fluid inclusion, features of reservoir, thermal maturity reflect hydrothermal fluid vertical migration and the existence of Supercritical CO 2 extraction. • Hydrocarbon stable isotope show crude oil associated gas generation. • Petrography, micro-thermometry and Raman method discriminate the type of inclusion. • PVT-x properties of CH 4 -bearing inclusions were determined by Raman quantification. • Analysis of CH 4 accumulation time and displacement relationship with CO 2 fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]