Abilities of agricultural waste materials (walnut shell-WS, rice husk-RH, and peanut hull-PH) were tested as adsorbents for the adsorption of Cr(Ⅵ) from aqueous solution. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to study the adsorption kinetics mechanism of Cr(Ⅵ) effect of adsorbent dosage, pH, contact time, and temperature. The best results are obtained at 15g/L adsorbent concentration, 60min contact time, 298K temperature, and 50mg/L adsorbate initial concentration at pH 2. The adsorption isotherms, using initial concentrations of Cr(Ⅵ) between 10 and 500mg/L for the Cr(Ⅵ) removal, show the maximum metal uptake capacities of adsorbent were 10.48, 6.71, and 8.54mg/g for WS, RH, and PH, respectively. And the adsorption data fitted well to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm for WS, RH, and PH with correlation coefficients of 0.9862, 0.9723, and 0.9714, respectively. Moreover, the FTIR analysis of WS, RH, and PH before and after adsorption of Cr(Ⅵ) suggested that Cr ions were combined to some functional groups of compounds contained in these materials.
The isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in marine and estuarine environments has been studied in some detail because of its role in determining the isotopic composition of inorganic/organic matter and its applications to the study of various natural processes. The δ13CDIC values of sea water are controlled by the sources and sinks of carbon and the results from isotope fractionation among solid, dissolved and gaseous phases. In this paper, based on the description of the stable isotope geochemical characteristics of dissolved inorganic carbon in northern South China Sea, the following conclusions were drawn: 1) the δ13CDIC values of natural waters are controlled by the sources and sinks of carbon and the results from isotope fractionation among solid, dissolved and gaseous phases. And the low seawater δ13CDIC values of northern South China Sea are accompanied by a low level of sea primary productivity in this region; 2) according to the parameter relationship (δ13CDIC-1.1 PO4) between δ13CDIC and PO4, it is indicated that northern South China Sea is the source of atmospheric CO2; and 3) nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the elements which are the basis for phytoplankton growth. Based on the analysis of seawater δ13CDIC values and PO4 and NO3+NO2 concentrations, our data show that N is a limiting nutrient in northern South China Sea.
