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A simultaneous partial nitrification, anammox and denitrification(SNAD) micro-aerobic system was constructed. The effects of different particle sizes of ZVI on the micro-aerobic system were investigated from the aspects of operation, microbial performance and community structure by adding 120 mg of zero-valent iron(ZVI) into the system. The results showed that the TIN removal rate of the system stabilized at 83.591% and the electron transport system activity(ETSA) was 1.48 times of the inoculated sludge under the domestication of ZVI with a partical size of 50 nm (50 nZVI), which was higher than the influence of other particle sizes of ZVI. The smaller the particle size, the more production of extracellular polymers promoted by ZVI, the more stable of the activated sludge structure. This was due to the fact that ZVI of smaller particle size was more easily adsorbed and utilized by microorganisms. The results of microbial community analysis showed that the smaller the particle size, the higher the diversity of the microbial community mediated by ZVI, and the more complex the community structure. ZVI mediation promoted the enrichment of microorganisms that were not sensitive to oxygen demand. Candidatus_Brocadia and Candidatus_Kuenenia, two kinds of AnAOB were the main bacteria detected in the samples with the highest abundance of 4.650% and 0.692% under the influence of 50 nZVI. Under nZVI, AnAOB acted together with two facultatively anaerobic denitrifying bacteria, Gemmobacter and norank_f_Comamonadaceae, which constituted the denitrification pathway of SNAD. In contrast, facultatively anaerobic denitrification was the main denitrification pathway mediated by mZVI.

BackgroundThe very small-angle neutron scattering (VSANS) spectrometer is currently being constructed at the China spallation neutron source (CSNS). The neutron detector plays a key role in meeting the detection requirements of the spectrometer.PurposeThis study aims to achieve accurate measurement of neutron diffraction in the small angle scattering mode which requires the position resolution of the neutron detector to be ≤2 mm, and the detection efficiency to be ≥60%@0.4 nm.MethodsA large-area position-sensitive neutron scintillator detector mainly composed of 6LiF/ZnS(Ag) scintillation screen, wavelength shift fiber (WLSF), and a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) was designed and developed to achieve high efficiency and high-resolution real-time detection of thermal neutrons. The optical transmission performance of the 0.5-mm-diameter wavelength shift fiber was investigated in detail. The gain and the thermal noise characteristics of various SiPMs were examined. Finally, a 300 mm×300 mm engineering prototype of the detector was developed and tested by experiments. The detection efficiency was calculated with comparison of the incident neutron counts of the stander 3He tube whilst the detector's position resolution was tested using a boron-doped aluminum plate with a narrow slit bearing the label 'CSNS'.ResultsThe neutron beam test results show that the position resolution of the detector is 1.2 mm×1.2 mm and that the neutron detection efficiency is (61.8±0.2)%@0.4 nm.ConclusionsThe high-resolution neutron scintillator detector developed in this study satisfies the engineering design target, and meets the neutron scintillator detector meets the neutron diffraction measurement needs for the VSANS spectrometer of the CSNS.

BackgroundThe Energy Resolved Neutron Imaging Spectrometer (ERNI) of China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) is in process of building, whose diffraction detector with ninety degree partition adopts 6LiF/ZnS neutron scintillator detector with a 90° partition as its detection equipment.PurposeThis study aims to develop the readout electronics for high position resolution neutron scintillator detector of ERNI.MethodsFirstly, a capacitive network combined with center-of-gravity of the induced charge distribution was adopted for the design of readout electronics. Then, a prototype of the readout electronics system consisted of three parts: capacitive network circuit, preamplifier board and digital readout board, was developed. After functional verification, the relevant performance parameters of the developed prototype were experimentally tested in the laboratory and in the No.20 beam line of CSNS.ResultsThe experimental results show that the integration nonlinearity of electronics is better than 0.95%, the time resolution is about 12 ns, the position resolution is 1mm, and the detection efficiency is 65%@1.6 Å.ConclusionsThe prototype meets the design specifications of the project. The successful development of the prototype provides a reliable technical support for the smooth development of the spectrometer experiment in ERNI of CSNS in the future.

Anaerobic digestion of waste-activated sludge (WAS) towards biogas recovery is constrained by the limited hydrolysis and inhibited acetogenesis steps that hinder subsequent energy recovery. This study employed Fe(VI)/S(IV) oxidation to enhance the WAS solubilization and coupled it with the syntrophic interaction of hydrogen-producing acetogen (HPA) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) to stimulate the successive procedure towards methane production. Results showed that the dosage ratio of HPA-SRB to WAS (H-S-W) with 1:1:50 outperformed with the highest methane production potential (11.63 ± 1.87 mL CH4/(g VSS·d). Meanwhile, the efficient and sequential process from acetogenesis to methanogenesis stimulated by HPA-SRB was evidenced by a significant decrease of 30.2% in the acetate concentration. The microbial community structure further manifested the crucial role of HPA-SRB with increased abundance of Desulfobulbus (2.07%), Syntrophomonas (1.24%) and Smithella (1.63%), which stimulated acetophilic methanogen boost with Methanobacterium dominating with 77.51% in H-S-W100. Furthermore, the positive syntrophic relationships among HPA-SRB and acetophilic methanogens towards methane production were confirmed via molecular ecological network and canonical correspondence analysis. This study highlighted the syntrophic cooperation of the mixed consortia of HPA and SRB on methane production based on Fe(VI)/S(IV) pretreatment and provided the theoretical and technical basis for the potential implementation of novel methanogenesis technology for WAS treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Volmer step in alkaline hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs), which supplies H* to the following steps by cleaving H–O–H bonds, is considered the rate-determining step of the overall reaction. The Volmer step involves water dissociation and adsorbed hydroxyl (*OH) desorption; Ru-based catalysts display a compelling water dissociation process in an alkaline HER. Unfortunately, the strong affinity of Ru for *OH blocks the active sites, resulting in unsatisfactory performance during HER processes. Hence, this study investigates a series of key descriptors (ΔG*H2O, ΔG*H–OH, ΔG*H, and ΔG*OH) of TM (Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, or Pt)–Ru/Mo2Ti2C3O2 to systematically explore the effects of bimetallic site interactions on the kinetics of the Volmer step. The results indicate that bimetallic catalysts effectively reduced the strong adsorption of *OH on Ru sites; especially, the NiRu diatomic state shows the highest electron-donating ability, which promoted the smooth migration of *OH from Ru sites to Ni sites. Therefore, Ru, Ni and MXenes are suitable to serve as water adsorption and dissociation sites, *OH desorption sites, and H2 release sites, respectively. Ultimately, NiRu/Mo2Ti2C3O2 promotes Volmer kinetics and has the potential to improve alkaline HERs. This work provides theoretical support for the construction of synergistic MXene-based diatomic catalysts and their wide application in the field of alkaline HERs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]