Separation of concentrated acid and salt solutions in nanoporous media as the basis for a new technology of processing of phosphorus-containing raw materials

The physical and mathematical models were used to study the method of acid retardation for separating acids from their salts in concentrated multicomponent solutions using nanoporous sorption materials. A combined mechanism of separation relies on the fact that in the sorption phase having a low dielectric permittivity, smaller-sized acid particles, namely, the molecules or strongly bound and weakly hydrated ion pairs, can penetrate the nanopores and are retained within these pores due to molecular sorption or competitive solvation forces. The dissolved salts presented by highly hydrated ions or weakly bound ion pairs can easily pass through the porous medium with a flow of concentrated solution, which is pumped through the column packed with the granulated bed of gel-type ion exchange resins or hypercrosslinked polymers. In conventional cyclic AR processes, purified acid is desorbed by water according to the mechanism of competitive solvation. However, such processes can be successfully used only when the salts separated from acids are highly soluble, as is the case with chloride and nitrate solutions free of components that may form compounds insoluble in neutral medium. At the separation in real sulfate and phosphate media, which normally contain alkaline earth metals and other components, conventional AR- based technologies proved to be unsuccessful. The new modified version of acid retardation is based on the previously discovered effect of stabilization of colloidal systems and supersaturated solutions in porous ion exchange media. A distinctive feature of the proposed technique is the use of weakly acidic aqueous solutions, instead of water, at the stages of acid displace in the cyclic AR processes. The proposed technique of WPA purification using strong-base gel-type ion exchangers in the phosphate form opens up the possibility of stable and feasible processes of acid separation and purification with simultaneous extraction of valuable components, e.g., REE concentrate.     

Three-dimensional tomographic inversion of the seismic velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle of northwestern Nicaragua

Journal of Seismology - A three-dimensional tomographic image of the seismic velocity structure in the crust and upper mantle of northwestern Nicaragua was performed using the back-projection...     

Formation conditions and the environmental state of fresh groundwater in dimitrovgrad area by isotopic-hydrochemical data

Integrated uranium-isotopic and microhydrochemical studies were used to develop an indicator model of formation and circulation of drinking groundwater of Neogene-Quaternary deposit and to assess their current ecological state. The paths of subsurface flows of infiltration recharge are identified and traced, and the zones of deep-water inflow are identified and delimited. The total pollution index of groundwater from Neogene-Quaternary aquifer system was found to far in excess of the acceptable level because of an elevated concentrations of iron, manganese, and phosphorus of anthropogenic and deep-seated origin.     

Optical Spectroscopy of Comet C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR) at the Guillermo Harro Astrophysical Observatory in Mexico

We present a preliminary analysis of medium resolution optical spectra of comet C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR) obtained on 22 November 2001. Theemission lines of the molecules C₂, C₃, CN, NH₂,H₂O⁺ and presumably CO (Asundi and triplet bands) and C₂ ^-were identified in these spectra. By analysing the brightnessdistributions of the C₂, C₃, CN emission lines along theslit of the spectrograph we determined some physical parameters of theseneutrals, such as their lifetimes and expansion velocities inthe coma. The Franck–Condon factors for the CO Asundi bands and C₂ ^- bands were calculated using a Morse potential model.