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Mixed matrix lithium adsorbents have attracted much interest for lithium recovery from brine. However, the absence of an interfacial interaction between the inorganic lithium-ion sieves (LISs) and the organic polymer matrix resulted in the poor structural stability and attenuated lithium adsorption efficiency. Here, a novel hollow hemispherical mixed matrix lithium adsorbent (H-LIS) with high interfacial compatibility was constructed based on mussel-bioinspired surface chemistry using a solvent evaporation induced phase transition method. The effects of types of functional modifiers, LIS loading amount, adsorption temperature and pH on their structural stability and lithium adsorption performance were systematically investigated. The optimized H-LIS adsorbent with the LIS loading amount of 50 wt.% possessed the structural merit that the LIS functionally modified by dopamine exposed on both the inner and outer surfaces of the hollow hemispheres. At the best adsorption pH of 12.0, it showed a comparable lithium adsorption capacity of 25.68 mg·g−1 to the powdery LIS within 4 h, favorable adsorption selectivity of Mg/Li and good reusability that could maintain over 90% of lithium adsorption capacity after the LiCl adsorption—0.25 M HCl pickling-DI water cleaning cycling processes for three times. The interfacial interaction mechanism of H-LIS for lithium adsorption was innovatively explored via advanced microcalorimetry technology. It suggested the nature of the Li+ adsorption process was exothermic and dopamine modification could reduce the activation energy for lithium adsorption from 15.68 kJ·mol−1 to 13.83 kJ·mol−1 and trigger a faster response to Li+ by strengthening the Li+-H+ exchange rate, which established the thermodynamic relationship between the structure and Li+ adsorption performance of H-LIS. This work will provide a technical support for the structural regulation of functional materials for lithium extraction from brine.

The analysis of iodine content in kelp is mainly focused on determining total iodine content, which lacks a rapid and sensitive analytical method for iodine species corresponding to iodate, iodide, monoiodotyrosine (MIT), and diiodo-tyrosine (DIT). Based on exploring the pretreatment methods of enzymatic hydrolysis of kelp, a rapid determination method of high-performance liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) for different iodine species existed in kelp samples was established. The pretreatment method is trypsin hydrolysis of kelp samples treated at 50°C for 10 hours, then the extraction solution was obtained by centrifugation, and filtration was proved for the first time. A high-efficiency separation anion-exchange column (Dionex IonPac AS-14) for iodate, iodide, MIT, and DIT with 0.1 mol·L−1(NH4)2CO3 solution at pH = 9 as a mobile phase, a flow rate of 0.8 mL·min−1 for the first 1500 s, and 1.2 mL·min−1 for the last 1800 s was confirmed. The linear ranges of the standard calibrations on four iodine species are 1.0–150 μg·L−1, and the detection limits are 1.62, 1.02, 1.59, and 2.55 μg·L−1, respectively, while the RSD values of four iodine species are all less than 2%. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method was successfully applied for the speciation analysis of iodine in kelp samples.

The solid-liquid phase equilibria for the quaternary system (NaCl + NH4Cl + NaHCO3 + NH4HCO3 + H2O) at 283.15 and 313.15 K were studied with the isothermal solution method. There are four crystallization regions corresponding to NaCl, NH4Cl, NaHCO3, and NH4HCO3, five univariant solubility curves, and two invariant points saturated with the three coexisting minerals in the phase diagrams at the two temperatures. A comparison of the phase diagrams at 283.15 and 313.15 K shows that the areas of regions for NaCl, NaHCO3, and NH4Cl increase obviously. In contrast, the area of NH4HCO3 region decreases significantly as the temperature rises. The density and refractive index in the quaternary system change regularly with the concentration changing. The calculated densities and refractive indices in the quaternary system at the two temperatures with the empirical equations agree well with the experimental values.

The selective elimination of radioactive cesium from complicated wastewater is imperative in view of environment and human health. Montmorillonite has been accepted as one of the most promising adsorbents for cesium purification. However, its poor selectivity still remains a major challenge. Herein, a novel montmorillonite-sulfur composite was developed via a facile one-step solvent-free method and used for Cs+ removal. Owing to the fact that soft Lewis base S2− ligand interacted more strongly with softer Lewis acid Cs+ than other cations, the capacity and selectivity towards Cs+ was significantly enhanced. In this case, a large capacity of 160.9 mg g−1 was achieved. The distribution coefficient value (∼4000 mL g−1) was 3-times larger than that of pristine montmorillonite (∼1500 mL g−1). Moreover, this composite could be easily recycled and reused within five times recycling experiments. Therefore, this low-cost and facilely prepared composite are expected to be used for the selective removal of Cs+ from complicated wastewater containing various competing ions.

The solubilities in the system NaCl–Na2SO4–NaB(OH)4–H2O and its subsystems were calculated with two models based on Pitzer model. The model I assumes that there are four boron species corresponding to B(OH)3, B(OH)4–, B3O3(OH)4– and B4O5(OH)42– along with OH– in the solution. The model II assumes only one boron species B(OH)4– in the solution. The calculated solubilities are in accordance with the experimental data in the ternary systems NaCl–NaB(OH)4–H2O and Na2SO4–NaB(OH)4–H2O. The assumption of only one boron species B(OH)4− can be applied in the solubility calculation for the systems containing metaborate. The distribution of four boron species were obtained with model I in the borate solution. The mole fraction of the four boron species are mainly affected with the total boron concentration in the solution, but rarely effected by the concentration of Cl– and SO42–. B(OH)4− is the dominant boron species in the metaborate solution. The phase diagram and Pitzer model for the quaternary system were then used to conduct evaporation simulation. The evaporation-crystallization route and order of salt precipitation during the evaporation were demonstrated. The results of the evaporation simulation of brine can be used as a theoretical reference for salt separation and purification from brine resources.

In this study, ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE) and melamine (ME) were used to prepare a spherical composite material CMC-LTO-EGDE-ME through the strategy of cross-linking reaction of biodegradable sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) with Li2TiO3 (LTO) to improve the cycle stability of the adsorption-desorption for lithium recovery. In the geothermal water at 333.15°K, the adsorption capacity of the spherical composite adsorbent for lithium-ion is 12.02 mg/g, and the adsorption equilibrium time is 8 h. There is a good selectivity of Li+ (Kd = 3.7 × 103) and high separation factors between Li+ and Na+, K+, Cs+ and Ca2+ (between 39.17 and 181.97). Studies on adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherm showed that composite material’s adsorption process was obtained from the pseudosecond-order kinetics and the molecular diffusion model. It was found that the composite material has broad applications in lithium recovery from geothermal water.

The isothermal dissolution equilibrium method was employed to obtain the solubilities and physicochemical properties of the quaternary system (LiCl + LiBO2 + Li2B4O7 + H2O) at 308.15 K in this work. The dry-salt phase diagram, water-phase diagram, and physicochemical properties, including density, refractive index, and pH against composition in the quaternary system, were established for the first time. The dry-salt phase diagram includes two invariant points, five univariate solubility curves, and four single salt crystalline phase regions (LiCl·H2O, LiBO2·2H2O, LiBO2·8H2O and Li2B4O7·3H2O), respectively. In addition, the physicochemical properties of density, refractive index, and pH in the system change regularly with the changing of the lithium metaborate concentration. Based on the Pitzer model, the mixing ion parameters of θCl,B4O5(OH)4, θB(OH)4,B4O5(OH)4 and Ψ(Li,Cl,B4O5(OH)4, ΨLi,B (OH)4,B4O5(OH)4 and the predictive solubilities in the quaternary system were fitted. Although there is a slight deviation between the calculated and experimental values, the solubility of boron in the quaternary system agrees well, which provides data support for the study of the solubility of boron.

Ion-selective electrodes directly respond to the activity of target ions without destroying the existing form of the original electrolyte, so ion-selective electrodes have been widely used in various fields. Mean activity coefficient of NaNO3 in the ternary system (NaNO3 + CsNO3 + H2O) at 298.15 K was measured by electromotive force (EMF) with the cell: Na+ ion-selective electrode (Na-ISE)|NaNO3 (mA), CsNO3 (mB)|NO3- ion-selective electrode (NO3-ISE) with total ionic strengths from 0.01 to 4.5 mol·kg-1 at different ionic strength fractions (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8). The results showed that the Na-ISE and NO3-ISE have a good Nernst response, and the mean activity coefficients of NaNO3 are obtained via the Nernst equation. Based on the data of mean activity coefficients of NaNO3, the relationship diagrams of activity coefficients of NaNO3 against ion strengths in the ternary system were demonstrated, and the Pitzer mixing ion-interaction parameters θNa,Cs and ψNa,Cs,NO3 were obtained.

To effectively develop the rare earth elements resources from the geothermal waters, it is essential to understand the volumetric properties of the aqueous solution system to establish the relative thermodynamic model. In this study, densities of YCl3 (aq) at the molalities of 0.08837–1.60639 mol·kg−1 from 283.15 K to 363.15 K at 5 K intervals and ambient pressure were measured experimentally by an Anton Paar digital vibrating-tube densimeter. Based on experimental data, the volumetric properties including apparent molar volume (Vϕ) and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the solution (α) of the binary systems (YCl3 + H2O) were derived. The 3D diagram (mi, T, Vϕ) of apparent molar volumes against temperature and molality was plotted. On the basis of the Pitzer ion-interaction model of electrolyte, the Pitzer single-salt parameters (βMX0v, βMX1v, and CMXv) for YCl3 and temperature-dependence equation F(i, p, T) = a1 + a2ln(T/298.15) + a3(T-298.15) + a4/(620-T) + a5(T-227) as well as their coefficients ai (i = 1–5) in the binary system were obtained for the first time. The values of Pitzer single-salt parameters of YCl3 agree well with the calculated values corresponding to the temperature-dependence equations, indicating that single-salt parameters and temperature-dependent formula obtained in this work are reliable.

The densities and pH values in the system NaBO2–Na2SO4–H2O at 298.15 K and 323.15 K were investigated. Combining the equilibrium constants for different boron species, the distributions of six boron species in the mixed solution were calculated with total boron concentration and pH values. The molar fractions of the six boron species are mainly affected by the total boron concentration and temperature, but rarely affected by the concentration of SO42–. The dominant boron species in the mixed solution at the two temperatures is B(OH)4‒. The mole fraction of B(OH)3, B5O6(OH)4‒, and B3O3(OH)4‒ can be neglected. The polyborate ions are easier to form as the temperature increases. The results of distribution for boron species in this study and those with the Pitzer model can both be used to describe the distribution of boron species in the mixed solution.

Efficient removal of radioactive cesium from complex wastewater is a challenge. Unlike traditional precipitation and hydrothermal synthesis, a novel vast specific surface area adsorbent of copper hexacyanoferrates named EA-CuHCF was synthesized using a one-pot solvothermal method under the moderate ethanol media characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, BET, and FTIR. It was found that the maximum adsorption capacity towards Cs+ was 452.5 mg/g, which is far higher than most of the reported Prussian blue analogues so far. Moreover, EA-CuHCF could effectively adsorb Cs+ at a wide pH range and low concentration of Cs+ in geothermal water within 30 minutes, and the removal rate of Cs+ was 92.1%. Finally, the separation factors between Cs+ and other competitive ions were higher than 553, and the distribution coefficient of Cs+ reached up to 2.343 × 104 mL/g. These properties suggest that EA-CuHCF synthesized by the solvothermal method has high capacity and selectivity and can be used as a candidate for Cs+ removal from wastewater.

This paper reports the molar heat capacities of β-CsB5O8·4H2O, which were measured by an accurate adiabatic calorimeter from 298 to 373 K with a heating rate of 0.1 K/min under nitrogen atmosphere. Neither phase transition nor thermal anomalies were observed. The molar heat capacity against temperature was fitted to a polynomial equation of Cp,m (J·mol−1·K−1) = 618.07702 + 39.52669[T − (Tmax + Tmin)/2]/(Tmax − Tmin)/2] − 3.46888[(T − (Tmax + Tmin)/2)/(Tmax − Tmin)/2]2 + 7.9441[(T − (Tmax+ Tmin)/2)/(Tmax − Tmin)/2]3. The relevant thermodynamic functions of enthalpy (HT − H298.15), entropy (ST − S298.15), and Gibbs free energy (GT − G298.15) of cesium pentaborate tetrahydrate from 298 to 375 K of 5 K intervals are also obtained on the basis of relational expression equations between thermodynamic functions and the molar heat capacity.

Densities of sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) aqueous solution with the molality varied from 0.19570 to 1.94236 mol·kg−1 at temperature intervals of 5 K from 283.15 to 363.15 K and 101 ± 5 kPa were measured by a precise Anton Paar Digital vibrating-tube densimeter. Apparent molar volumes (VΦ) and thermal expansion coefficient (α) were obtained on the basis of experimental data. The 3D diagram of apparent molar volume against temperature and molality and the diagram of thermal expansion coefficient against molality were generated. According to the Pitzer ion-interaction equation of the apparent molar volume model, the Pitzer single-salt parameters (βM,X0υ, βM,X1υ, βM,X2υ, and CM,Xυ, MX = NaAsO2) and their temperature-dependent correlation F(i, p, T) = a1 + a2ln (T/298.15) + a3(T − 298.15) + a4/(620 − T) + a5/(T − 227) (where T is temperature in Kelvin and ai are the correlation coefficients) for NaAsO2 were obtained for the first time. The predictive apparent molar volumes agree well with the experimental values, and those results indicated that the single-salt parameters and the temperature-dependent formula are reliable.

In this paper, in order to understand the thermodynamic properties of natural minerals of pinnoite (MgB2O4·3H2O, Pin) and inderite (Mg2B6O11·15H2O, Ind) deposited in salt lakes, heat capacities of two minerals were measured using a precision calorimeter at temperatures from 306.15 to 355.15 K after the high purity was synthesized. It was found that there are no phase transitions and thermal anomalies for the two minerals, and the molar heat capacities against temperature for Pin and Ind were fitted as Cp,m,pin = −2029.47058 + 16.94666T − 0.04396T2 + 3.89409×10−5T3 and Cp,m,Ind = −30814.43795 + 282.68108T − 0.85605T2 + 8.70708×10−4T 3, respectively. On the basis of molar heat capacities (Cp,m) of Pin and Ind, the thermodynamic functions of entropy, enthalpy, and Gibbs free energy at the temperature of 1 K interval for the two minerals were obtained for the first time.

Phase diagram is a powerful tool to guide the exploitation of thermal energy materials. Heat storage technology of phase-change material (PCM) was widely used to solve major energy utilization problems on large energy consumption and low utilization efficiency. In this work, a novel solid-liquid phase diagram of the binary system octadecanoic acid (C18-acid) + octadecanol (C18-OH) was investigated using the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The phase-change temperature and phase-change enthalpies against the composition of C18-acid and C18-OH were determined experimentally, and then the binary phase diagram of T–X (X expresses the mass fraction of C18-OH in the two components of C18-acid and C18-OH) was established for the first time. The phase diagram belongs to a binary simple system with one eutectic point, and the content of C18-OH at eutectic point is 0.4 in mass fraction. Neither solid solution nor copolymer was formed. The thermal chemical properties on the phase-change latent heat (Q), phase-change temperature (Tp), and the thermal conductivity (λ) for the composition at the eutectic point of the binary system are 198.7 J·g−1, 44.2°C, and 0.2352 W·m−1·K−1, respectively. This result indicates that the material at eutectic point has a great potential to be used as energy storage material for supply of heat and scouring bath.

The solubilities; concentration of four boron species B(OH)3, B(OH)4−, B3O3(OH)4−, and B4O5(OH)42−; and H+ (OH–) in the system Na2O–B2O3–H2O were calculated with the Pitzer model. The boron species B5O6(OH)4− was not considered in the model calculation. The calculated solubility and pH data are in accordance with the experimental results. The Pitzer model can be used to describe the experimental values. The distributions of the four boron species in the solution were obtained. The mole fractions of the four boron species are mainly affected by the ratio of B2O3 and Na2O in the solution. The dominant boron species in the solution saturated with different salts vary greatly. The results can supply a theoretical reference for sodium borate separation from brine.

In order to recover cesium tetraborate pentahydrate (Cs2O·2B2O3·5H2O) from the high concentration cesium-containing salt lake brines and geothermal water resources, the molar heat capacity of Cs2O·2B2O3·5H2O has been measured with a precision calorimeter at the temperature from 303 to 349 K. It was found that there is no phase transition and thermal anomalies. The molar heat capacity of cesium tetraborate pentahydrate is fitted as Cp,m (J·mol−1·K−1) = 593.85705 + 48.0694[T − (Tmax + Tmin)/2]/(Tmax − Tmin)/2] + 24.86395[(T − (Tmax + Tmin)/2)/(Tmax − Tmin)/2]2 + 0.53077[(T − (Tmax + Tmin)/2)/(Tmax − Tmin)/2]3, and the relevant thermodynamic functions of enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy of cesium tetraborate pentahydrate are also obtained at intervals of 2 K from 303 to 349 K.

Overlying sediment and pore waters were collected in summer and winter at upstream (Jintang) and downstream (Neijiang) sites of the Tuohe River, which is one of the five largest tributaries of the Yangtze River in China. Phosphorus species, including soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), soluble unreactive phosphorus (SUP), and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), and some diagenetic constituents including dissolved Fe(II), Mn(II), and sulfide in overlying and pore waters, were measured systematically. The seasonal variations and vertical distributions of phosphorus species in overlying and pore waters at both sampling sites were obtained to elucidate some aspects of the transport and transformations of phosphorus. Based on the profiles of pore and overlying waters as well as the TDN/TDP data during an algal bloom in 2007, it was clearly demonstrated that phosphorus was the main factor limiting the phytoplankton growth in the Tuohe River.

Salt-water phase diagram of the ternary system (NaCl + NaBO2 + H2O) is significant in separate boron resources from brine. Solubilities and physicochemical properties bifurcated to density and refractive index for the ternary system at 288.15 and 308.15 K and 0.1 MPa were investigated experimentally by means of isothermal dissolution. According to the experimental data, the phase diagrams for this system at two temperatures were constructed and their physicochemical properties were drawn. There both contain two invariant points, three univariant isotherm dissolution curves, and three crystallization regions corresponding to sodium metaborate tetrahydrate (NaBO2·4H2O, Smt), double salt teepleite (NaCl·NaBO2·2H2O, Te), and halite (NaCl, Ha) for (NaCl + NaBO2 + H2O). At the invariant points of this ternary system, the coexisting solid phases are both for (Smt + Te) and (Te + Ha), respectively. It was found that the double salt of teepleite was incongruent at 288.15 K and then transformed into congruent at 308.15 K. Comparing the phase diagrams at 288.15 and 308.15 K, it reveals that the area of the crystallization region of NaBO2·4H2O decreased with the increase of temperature obviously, while the area of NaCl·NaBO2·2H2O increased sharply and that of NaCl increased lightly. The refractive indices and densities of the system at two temperatures are similarly increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of NaCl concentration in the solution and attain extreme points at both invariant points. Besides, the calculated values of densities and refractive indices utilizing the empirical equations are in accordance with the experimental data at 288.15 and 308.15 K.

Phase equilibria and phase diagrams for the ternary aqueous system containing lithium, sodium, and pentaborate ions at 298.15 and 323.15 K and 101.325 kPa were investigated by the methods of isothermal dissolution equilibrium. From the experimental data, the phase diagrams and the diagrams of physicochemical properties versus composition of lithium pentaborate in the equilibrium systems were plotted, respectively. The phase diagrams of the ternary system LiB5O8 + NaB5O8 + H2O at two temperatures contain one invariant point, two univariant curves, and two crystallization regions corresponding to sodium pentaborate pentahydrate (NaB5O8·5H2O) and lithium pentaborate pentahydrate (LiB5O8·5H2O). Due to the different dissolution behaviors of pentaborate salts in the aqueous systems, the component of LiB5O8 has a relatively strong effect on the solubility of NaB5O8. It was found that this system belongs to a simple eutectic type at two temperatures, and neither double salts nor solid solutions were formed. The densities and refractive indices in the ternary system at 298.15 and 323.15 K are as similar as changing regularly with the increase of LiB5O8 concentration. On the basis of empirical equations of the density and refractive index in electrolytes, the calculated values of density and refractive index agreed well with the experimental values at two temperatures.

A sensitive and accurate simultaneous continuous analysis for six arsenic species including arsenobetaine (AsB), arsenocholine (AsC), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), arsenite (AsIII), and arsenate (AsV) has been developed by high performance liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). An anion-exchange column of Hamilton PRP-X100 (Switzerland) was applied for separation of the six arsenic species with gradient elution of 1.25 mmol/L Na2HPO4 and 11.0 mmol/L KH2PO4 as the mobile phase A and 2.5 mmol/L Na2HPO4 and 22.0 mmol/L KH2PO4 as the mobile phase B. The linearity ranges for AsB, AsC, MMA, DMA, AsIII, and AsV were between 0.5 and 50.0 μg/L, and the detection limits of the six arsenic species were all within 0.01–0.35 ng/L. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were within 2.26–3.68% and the recovery rates of samples ranged from 95 to 103%. The proposed method was applied for the arsenic speciation analysis of sediment pore-water samples, which were taken from the supernatant after centrifugation and filtration.

The phase equilibrium of the ternary system (NaCl + CH3OH + H2O) at 298.15, 308.15, 318.15 K, and 0.1 MPa has been investigated by the isothermal dissolution equilibrium method. Solubilities and physicochemical properties including refractive index (nD) and density (ρ) in the ternary system were determined experimentally. According to the experimental data, the phase diagrams and diagrams of physicochemical properties versus sodium chloride concentration in the solvents at 298.15, 308.15, and 318.15 K were plotted, respectively. The experimental results showed that the system did not cause stratification and the equilibrium solid phase was anhydrous sodium chloride. Neither double salt nor solid solution was found at the three temperatures. The physicochemical properties of the ternary system change regularly with the increase of sodium chloride concentration in the solution, and the solvation effect of CH3OH on NaCl was significant. Moreover, the calculated values of NaCl solubility data based on the CNIBS/R-K equations agreed well with the experimental results, and the thermodynamic functions in the dissolution process of NaCl in the CH3OH-H2O binary system were also calculated for further investigation of NaCl dissolution process.

In order to economical and environmental-friendly recycle of boron from underground brine, the extraction of boron was carried out in this work by the continuous centrifugal technique using 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol (EHD) + sulfonated kerosene (SK) extraction system, and the extraction mechanism was also investigated by the combination of FT-IR with slope method. The results showed that boron can be effectively extracted from underground water with the concentration of boron 5.43 g·L−1 by five-stage centrifugal extraction using 30% EHD + 70% SK at pH = 2.0–3.0, R(O/A) = 1 : 2, and the extraction rate reached 98.46%. Boron in the organic phase can be well five-stage back-extracted by 1.0 mol·L−1·NaOH at R(O/A) = 1 : 1 with a back-extraction rate of 97.00%. About 88.32% boron in the aqueous phase obtained by back-extraction can be recycled in H3BO3 form by evaporation crystallization after acidified to pH

The heat capacity of lithium pentaborate pentahydrate has been measured using an adiabatic calorimeter at the temperature from 297 to 375 K. No phase transition and thermal anomalies were observed. The molar heat capacity of LiB5O8·5H2O can be expressed as Cp,m (J·mol−1·K−1) = 396.79376 + 35.87528 [T-(Tmax+Tmin)/2]/[(Tmax-Tmin)/2] + 0.16494[T-(Tmax+Tmin)/2]/[(Tmax-Tmin)/2]2 + 8.3083[T-(Tmax+Tmin)/2]/[(Tmax-Tmin)/2]3, where T is the temperature in Kelvin, Tmax=375 K, and Tmin=297 K. The thermodynamic functions of (HT-H298.15), (ST-S298.15), and (GT-G298.15) of LiB5O8·5H2O are obtained via the molar heat capacity at the temperature of 5 K intervals.

Arsenic species including arsenite As(III), arsenate As(V), monomethylarsenate (MMA), dimethylarsenate (DMA), and some diagenetic constituents (Fe, Mn, and S2−) in porewaters along with the unstable arsenic species in sediments collected from a typical intertidal zone of Bohai Bay in China were measured. Their vertical distributions were subsequently obtained to reveal the transportation and transformation characteristics of arsenic at the intertidal sediment-water interface (SWI). Results show that the reduction of As(V) by microorganisms occurred in sediments, but the methylation of arsenic by microorganisms was weak in the intertidal zone. The distribution of As(V) was mainly controlled by Mn, whereas As(III) appeared to be more likely controlled by Fe. Arsenic in sediments mainly existed in a stable state, so that only little arsenic could be released from sediments when the environmental conditions at the SWI are changed. As(III) diffused from porewaters to the overlying water while the opposite was true for As(V) at that time when the samples were collected. The total diffusion direction for arsenic across the SWI was from porewaters to the overlying water with a total diffusive flux estimated at 1.23 mg·m−2·a−1.

In order to obtain a well understanding of the toxicity and ecological effects of trace elements in the environment, it is necessary to determine not only the total amount, but also their existing species. Speciation analysis has become increasingly important in making risk assessments of toxic elements since the toxicity and bioavailability strongly depend on their chemical forms. Effective separation of different species in combination with highly sensitive detectors to quantify these particular species is indispensable to meet this requirement. In this paper, we present the recent progresses on the speciation analysis of trace arsenic, mercury, selenium and antimony in environmental and biological samples with an emphasis on the separation and detection techniques, especially the recent applications of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) hyphenated to atomic spectrometry or mass spectrometry.

The metastable zone width (MZW) of lithium metaborate salts at various concentrations was determined using the laser technique. The solubility data for lithium metaborate salts was nearly the same in the presence of NaCl at various concentrations. The MZW of lithium metaborate salts decreased when the stirring rate increased, but increased remarkably with increasing cooling rates and an increasing concentration of sodium chloride. The apparent secondary nucleation order for lithium metaborate salts was obtained using the Nývlt’s approach. The apparent secondary nucleation order m of lithium metaborate salts is 4.00 in a pure LiBO2−H2O system with an improved linear regression method. The m for lithium metaborate salts was enlarged in the system LiBO2−NaCl−H2O.

The extractive separation of tellurium (IV) from hydrochloric acid media with tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) in kerosene was investigated. The dependence on the extraction of tellurium species, concentrations of tellurium and TBP, extraction time and stage, organic/aqueous ratio, and interferences from coexist metallic ions were examined and are discussed. Besides, the stripping agent and stripping time were also studied. It was found that the extraction reaction corresponds to the neutral complex formation mechanism and the extracted species is TeCl4·3TBP and that the extraction process is exothermic. The thermodynamic parameters of enthalpy ΔH, entropy ΔS, and free energy ΔG of the extraction process were evaluated at −26.2 kJ·mol−1, −65.6 J·mol−1·K−1, and −7.0 kJ·mol−1, respectively at 293 K.

There is usually a large concentration of magnesium in the brine of salt lakes and as a consequence it is difficult to measure Mg2+ accurately with the complexometric titration by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA) because of the large levels of Li+ also coexisting in brine samples. In this study, a relationship between the relative error related to the number of drops of the indicator and the NMR spectra of anhydrous ethanol and n-butanol, with or without LiCl, was analyzed and compared. It was then possible to suggest a mechanism to explain the interference of Li+ when measuring Mg2+ and to control the interference in the alcohol mixture because Li+ can then complex with the alcohols and mainly form a complex with n-butanol.