The elemental content of fish scales is known to be a reliable biogeochemical tag for tracing the origin of fishes. In this study, this correlation is further confirmed to exist on the surface of fish scales using a novel environmental analytical method, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), which bypasses several complicated sample preparation procedures such as acid digestion and pre-concentration. The results suggest that the elemental ratios of Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, and Mn/Ca on the surface of fish scales are strongly correlated with the geochemical environment of their original habitat. This correlation is further demonstrated to be sensitive to variation of water in the habitat due to the adsorbed inorganic ions. In this sense, the limitation of fish scales as a biogeochemical tag is the sensitivity of LA-ICP-MS toward the studied elements. Graphical abstract Illustration of the connection between element distribution pattern over the surface of fish scales and biogeochemical environment of its habitat.
A new type of poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA)/peat/ organoclay composite beads was prepared. This composite bead was a porous spherical particle with a diameter of 3.0-5.0 mm and a porosity of about 50%. The oragnoclay is prepared by hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HDTMA) exchanged clay. The dynamic adsorption behavior between methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and this composite bead was investigated. The adsorption process occurs in two stages with external mass transport occurring in the early stage and intraparticle diffusion occurring in the later stage. The rate of MEK diffusion in the external mass transport process and the intraparticle diffusion process in the adsorption temperature 20-35°C was 3.28-76.98×10 −8 cm 2 /s and 1.62-3.17×10 −7 cm 2 /s, respectively. The rate of MEK diffusion in both processes was concentration independent, and it increased with increasing the adsorption temperature. Langmuir isotherm adsorption model was more suitable for describing the adsorption equilibrium of MEK. The calculated Q values in the adsorption temperature 20-35°C were 5.90-22.78 mg/g composite bead. The adsorption capacity of this composite bead increased with increasing the adsorption temperature. The adsorption process was physical adsorption, endothermic and non-spontaneous process.
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