Mitigating the risk of mercury (Hg) contamination in rice soils using environmental friendly amendments is essential to reducing the probable daily intake (PDI) of MeHg via rice consumption. Here, we examined the impacts of different doses (0% (control), 0.6% and 3%) of rice hull-derived biochar (RHB) and mixture of wheat-rice straw-derived biochar (RWB) on the fractionation, phytoavailability, and uptake of total (THg) and methyl Hg (MeHg) by rice in Hg-polluted soil (THg = 78.3 mg kg^-1) collected from Wanshan Hg mining area. Both biochars increased rice biomass up to 119% as compared to control. Application of RHB and RWB significantly (P ≤ 0.05) decreased bioavailable Hg (soluble and exchangeable and specifically-sorbed fractions) concentrations by 55-71% and 67-72%, respectively. The addition of RHB significantly decreased MeHg concentrations in the soil. However, RWB (particularly at 3%) increased significantly MeHg concentrations in the soil as compared to the control and RHB treatments, likely due to the increased abundance of Hg-methylation microorganisms (e.g., Geobacter spp., Nitrospira spp.) in the RWB treatments. Both RHB and RWB significantly decreased MeHg concentrations in the rice grain by 55-85%. We estimated a reduction of the PDI of MeHg from 0.26 μg kg^-1 bw d^-1of control to below the reference dose (0.1 μg kg^-1 bw d^-1) of two biochar treatments. Our results highlight the potentiality of RWB and RHB for mitigating MeHg accumulation in rice and reducing PDI of MeHg via rice consumption, which offers a sustainable approach for management of Hg-polluted soils.

In this work, a novel low molecular weight zwitterionic copolymer for improving wellbore stability, which is expected to be an alternative to the current shale inhibitors, was obtained by copolymerization of tris hydroxyethyl allyl ammonium bromide (THAAB), 2-acrylamido-2- methyl propane sulfonic acid (AMPS) and acrylamide (AM), initiated by a redox initiation system in an aqueous solution. The copolymer, denoted as SX-1, was characterized by FT-IR, TGA-DSC, and GPC. Results demonstrated that the molecular weight of SX-1 was approximately 13,683 g/mol and it displayed temperature resistance up to 225 °C. Regarding the inhibition performance, evaluation experiments showed the hot rolling recovery of a Longmaxi shale sample in 2.0 wt % SX-1 solutions was up to 90.31% after hot rolling for 16 h at 120 °C. The Linear swelling height of Na-MMT artificial core in 2.0 wt % SX-1 solution was just 4.74 mm after 16 h. Methods including particle size analysis, FTIR, XRD, and SEM were utilized to study the inhibition mechanism of SX-1; results demonstrated that SX-1 had entered into the inner layer of sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT) and adsorbed on the inner surface, and the micro-structure of Na-MMT was successfully changed by SX-1. The particle size of Na-MMT in distilled water was 8.05 μm, and it was observed that its size had increased to 603 μm after the addition of 2.0 wt % of SX-1. Its superior properties make this novel low molecular weight copolymer promising for ensuring wellbore stability, particularly for high temperature wells.

Based on the adsorption mechanism analysis of polyhydroxy organic compound on a shale surface, a novel polyhydroxy organic amine shale hydration inhibitor N, N, N′, N′-tetrakis (2-hydroxyethyl) ethylenediamine (THEED) was synthesized via a nucleophilic reaction by using diethanolamine and dibromoethane as raw materials. Its structure was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), Hydrogen Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H NMR) and Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS). The inhibition performance of THEED was studied by a shale rolling recovery experiment, a linear expansion experiment and the particle size distribution experiment. Results showed the shale rolling recovery rate in 2.0 wt % THEED solutions was up to 89.6% at the rolling condition of 100 °C × 16 h, and the linear expansion height of artificial shale core in 2.0 wt % THEED solutions was just 4.74 mm after 16 h. The average particle size of Na-bentonite (Na-MMT) in fresh water was 8.05 μm, and it was observed that the average particle size has been increased to 124 μm in 2.0 wt % THEED solutions. The shale hydration inhibition mechanism of the novel inhibitor THEED was analyzed by FTIR, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD), we concluded that the nice shale hydration inhibition performance of THEED was achieved by means of intercalation and adsorption onto the surface of shale. The superior shale hydration inhibition property makes THEED promising in maintaining wellbore stability in drilling engineering.

Two substitution levels of Portland cement by silica fume (SF; 30 and 50 mass%) and three hydrothermal treatment regimes (0.5, 1.2, and 2 MPa and 165, 195, and 220 °C for 7 days, respectively) were selected for the investigation of high-temperature phase formation. A combination of thermogravimetric, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared analyses in the mid-IR region was used to overcome the shortcomings of individual techniques for the identification of these complex systems. Changes in molecular water amounts, the polymerization degree of silicate chains, or their decomposition due to transformations and crystallization of phases at hydrothermal conditions were observed and discussed concerning composition. Contrary to the calciochondrite, hydrogrossular phases, α-C₂SH, and jaffeite detected in the systems without SF, a decrease in CaO/SiO₂ ratio resulted in the formation of stable tobermorite in the case of 30 mass% SF, whilst calcium hydrogen silicate, gyrolite, and cowlesite were identified as more thermally stable phases in the samples with 50 mass% SF.