Dislodged sludge, a kind of industrial waste, was used as raw material to prepare silica aerogels via ambient pressure drying. The effect of solvent exchange and surface silylation on the pore structure and property of the obtained materials was investigated in detail. If the ethanol and n-hexane exchange decreases to 8 h (two times, each time for 4 h) and 4 h (one time), respectively, and the volume ratio of ethanol/wet gel and n-hexane/wet gel reduces to 2 and 1, respectively, the obtained materials exhibit a desirable pore volume of 3.17 cm3/g, a water contact angle of 152.9° and a low thermal conductivity of 0.030 W/ (m·K). Further decreasing the mole ratio of silylation agent/SiO2 to 0.5 and the silylation time to 6 h results to silica aerogels with a pore volume of 3.44 cm3/g, a water contact angle of 144.5° and a low thermal conductivity of 0.032 W/ (m·K). A rapid synthesis (a total time of 50 h, from wet gel aging to ambient pressure drying) of silica aerogels has been realized and the consumption of solvent/silylation agents has been pronouncedly reduced without sacrificing the thermal insulation property of the obtained materials.

•Different types of Alkanolamines were investigated on hydration reactions.•The mineral contents of the hydrates were quantitatively analyzed.•Different dosages of Alkanolamines were studied in hydration heat experiment.•The pore structure and microstructure of hydrates was explored.•TEA and DEIPA have better effects on improving the hydration reactions.The impact on hydration of four kinds of alkanolamines (triethanolamine (TEA), triisopropanolamine (TIPA), diethanol-isopropanolamine (DEIPA) and methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)) in a steel slag cementitious system was reviewed. Isothermal calorimetry studies provided information on the hydration heat release rate and the cumulative energy released by blend cement systems. Mortar strength, quantitative X-ray diffractometry, mercury intrusion pore size distribution analysis, scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis were used to analyze the mechanism of strength enhancement and micro-structure of hydrates that were impacted by alkanolamines. Alkanolamines prolonged the hydrated induction period in the steel slag–cement system, and enhanced the second exothermic peak of hydration at dosages of 0.01%, 0.03% and 0.05%. The second hydration rate was decreased by TEA, DEIPA and MDEA, and increased by TIPA at alkanolamine dosages of 0.1% and 0.2%. The compressive strength and non-evaporable water content were enhanced by the four types of alkanolamines (dosage of 0.03%) at 3 d, 7 d and 28 d, which allowed TEA and DEIPA to contribute to strength development and the hydration reaction over TIPA and MDEA. The CH content, porosity and pore size were decreased by alkanolamines at different ages. Alkanolamines promoted the formation of ettringite and an alumina–ferric oxide–monosulfate phase, and the C–S–H morphology was also changed by different kinds of alkanolamines.

•C18-bonded ethyl-bridged organic-inorganic hybrid silica is successfully prepared via a facile one-pot strategy.•A desirable mesoporous structure is obtained.•The baseline separation of a mixture of uracil, pyridine, phenol, 1-naphthylamine and naphthalene can be realized.•The sample MSS-0.08 can be used for a long time (at least for 80 h) in basic mobile phase (pH = 10.5).A facile one-pot method was used to prepare C18-bonded ethyl-bridged organic-inorganic hybrid silica via the co-hydrolysis and condensation of 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE) and octadecyltriethoxysilane (ODTES) under basic condition. The pore structure, chemical composition and liquid chromatographic performance of the obtained materials were investigated. The sample MSS-0.08, prepared with an ODTES/BTESE mole ratio of 0.08, exhibits a desirable mesoporous structure with a surface area of 352.82 m2 g−1, a pore volume of 0.21 cm3 g−1 and an average pore size of 3.72 nm and shows a hydrophobic property with a water contact angle of 139.8° ± 0.1°. When used as stationary phase for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), MSS-0.08 realizes a baseline separation for a mixture of uracil, pyridine, phenol, 1-naphthylamine and naphthalene and exhibits a high degree of resistance to alkali at elevated temperature.

•The Mn/TiO2 model for low-temperature SCR is established for the first time.•NOx will first adsorbed on the manganese-terminal to form nitrates species, and then NH3 more inclined to choose Brønsted acid sites and a small amount of Lewis acid sites with no occupied.•NO2 and NH3 can be easily adsorbed to the surface according to the simulation results. Thus, L-H mechanism plays a major role in NH3-SCR process.The adsorption of NO and NH3 gaseous molecules on Mn3O4/TiO2 catalysts is studied based on density function theory and the corresponding experiments for low-temperature SCR of NOx by ammonia. The SCR performances of the Mn3O4/TiO2 catalysts prepared by joint precipitation method were systematically carried out in the temperature range of 90–300 °C. The results show that nitrogen oxide can first adsorb on the manganese-terminal to form nitrates species, and then NH3 are more inclined to adsorb on Brønsted acid sites. Bridging nitrate and bidentate nitrate can be turned into monodentate nitrates, and NH4+ was formed when there is ammonia and water molecules because the adsorption and dissociation of the water on the surface of the catalyst is the main source of hydroxyl groups. It is indicated that L-H mechanism plays a major role in NH3-SCR process.NH3–TPD curves agrees well with NO conversion curves for MnOx and Mn/TiO2 catalysts. One broad desorption peak in 150–500 °C is present for MnOx and Mn/TiO2 catalysts which are owing to NH3 desorbed by weak acid and Brønsted acid sites.

Cement production is associated with a considerable environmental load, which needs to be fully understood before effective measures can be taken. The existing literature did not give detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) study of China and had limited potential for investigating how best available techniques (BATs) would provide a maximum benefit when they are applied in China. Japan was selected as a good example to achieve better environmental performance of cement production. We identified potentials for reducing emissions and saving energy and natural resources in Chinese cement industry through the comparative analysis.This paper follows the principal of Life Cycle Assessment and International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD). The functional units are “1 t of portland cement” and with 42.5 MPa of strength grade. The input (limestone, sandstone, ferrous tailings, coal, and electricity) and output (CO2 from limestone decomposition and coal combustion, NOx, PM, and SO2) of cement manufacturing were calculated by use of on-site measurements, calculation by estimated coefficients, and derivation by mass and heat balance principle. The direct (cement manufacturing) and indirect (electricity production) LCI are added to be total LCI results (cement production). The impact categories of global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), photochemical oxidant formation potential (POCP), and human toxicity potential (HTP) are used to calculate environmental impact.Only in GWP of cement manufacturing China has advantage. Japanese cement industry shows remarkable superiorities in the environmental impacts of AP, POCP, HTP, and EP due to advanced technologies. SO2 emissions make the corresponding AP and HTP. PM emissions result in part of HTP. The NOx emissions are the major contributors of POCP, AP, EP, and HTP in China. China emits fewer CO2 emissions (2.09 %) in cement manufacturing than Japan but finally makes higher total GWP than Japan due to more GWP of electricity generation in power stations. The waste heat recovery technology can save electricity but bring more coal use and CO2 emissions. The alternative fuel and raw materials usage and denitration and de-dust technologies can relieve the environmental load. Using the functional unit with the strength grade, the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results are affected.LCA study allows a clear understanding from the view of total environmental impact rather than by the gross domestic product (GDP) unit from an economic development perspective. In an LCA study, the power generation should be considered in the life cycle of cement production.

•The detailed LCI study of P. O cement production in China is conducted.•The environmental damages of cement production are assessed by footprints.•The input and output data are measured on-site by patented monitoring systems.•The developments of LCI study for cement industry in China are discussed.To make clear the environmental damages and potential improvements of Chinese cement industry, the detailed life cycle inventory (LCI) of cement manufacture with direct input and output in the boundary of cement plant as well as corresponded transport is conducted. The functional units are 1 t of Portland Ordinary cement and 1 t of clinker. The input data contain not only the traditional items such as raw materials (limestone, sandstone, ferrous tailings and gypsums), energy (coal and electricity), and admixtures (fly ash and furnace slag), but also fresh water which is not paid attention in other literature. The output data contain not only greenhouse gas (CO2) and primary pollution (NOx, PM, SO2), but also the hazardous air pollutants (HCl, NMVOC, PCDD/Fs, PAHs and fluoride) as well as noise and heavy metal emissions (As, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu) which are usually neglected by others. The data were measured on-site. The applications of reducing pollutants and waste heat recovery technologies, and AFRs usage in cement industry are evaluated. The three steps of developments of LCI study for China cement industry are discussed.