Enrichment of thermophilic and mesophilic microbial consortia for efficient degradation of corn stalk

Six different environmental samples were applied to enrich microbial consortia for efficient degradation of corn stalk,under the thermophilic and mesophilic conditions.The consortium obtained from anaerobic digested sludge under thermophilic condition(TC-Y)had the highest lignocellulose-degrading activity.The CO_2yield was 246.73 m L/g VS in23 days,meanwhile,the maximum CO_2production rate was 15.48 mL/(CO_2·d),which was28.75%and 52.27%higher than that under mesophilic condition,respectively.The peak value of cellulase activity reached 0.105 U/mL,which was at least 34.61%higher than the other groups.In addition,49.5%of corn stalk was degraded in 20 days,moreover,the degradation ratio of cellulose,hemicellulose and lignin can reach 52.76%,62.45%and42.23%,respectively.Microbial consortium structure analysis indicated that the TC-Y contained the phylum of Gemmatimonadetes,Acidobacteria,Chloroflexi,Planctomycetes,Firmicutes,and Proteobacteria.Furthermore,the Pseudoxanthomonas belonging to GammaProteobacteria might be the key bacterial group for the lignocellulose degradation.These results indicated the capability of degrading un-pretreated corn stalk and the potential for further investigation and application of TC-Y.     

Impacts of climate change on development rate and production of corn in the northeastern China

In this paper, the impacts of climate change on development rate and production of corn in the northeastern China are discussed. The results show that the higher the temperature is, the faster the development rate will be. And the more the precipitation is, the slower the development rate will be. Of which, air temperature is the controlling factor of corn development rate. The influences of development rate on corn yield are remarkable. The impacts of development rate on production in first and last periods are great, and small in the middle two periods. The development rate is positive by relate with corn production from sowing to emergence stage and negative during other periods. So, it is very important to arrange a suitable sowing time for com cultivating in the northeastern China.     

Investigation on emission factors of particulate matter and gaseous pollutants from crop residue burning

Emission factors of particulate matter (PM), element carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), SO_2, NO_x, CO, CO_2, and ten ions (Na~ , NH_4~ , K~ , Mg~(2 ), Ca~(2 ), F~-, Cl~-, NO_2~-, NO_3~-, SO_4~(2-)) were estimated from the domestic burning of four types of commonly produced crop residues in rural China: rice straw, wheat straw, corn stover, and cotton stalk, which were collected from the representative regions across China. A combustion tower was designed to simulate the cooking conditions under which the peasants burned their crop residues in rural China, to measure the emission factors. Results showed that wheat straw had the highest emission factor for the total PM (8.75 g/kg) among the four crop residues, whereas, corn stover and wheat straw have the highest emission factor for EC (0.95 g/kg) and OC (3.46 g/kg), respectively. Corn stover also presents as having the highest emission factors of NO, NO_x, and CO_2, whereas, wheat straw, rice straw, and cotton stalk had the highest emission factors of NO_2, SO_2, and CO, respectively. The water-soluble ions, K~ and Cl~-, had the highest emission factors from all the crops. Wheat straw had a relatively higher emission factor of cation species and F~-, Cl~-, NO_2~- than other residues.     

Effect of algal flocculation on dissolved organic matters using cationic starch modified soils

Modified soils(MSs) are being increasingly used as geo-engineering materials for the sedimentation removal of cyanobacterial blooms. Cationic starch(CS) has been tested as an effective soil modifier, but little is known about its potential impacts on the treated water.This study investigated dissolved organic matters in the bloom water after algal removal using cationic starch modified soils(CS-MSs). Results showed that the dissolved organic carbon(DOC) could be decreased by CS-MS flocculation and the use of higher charge density CS yielded a greater DOC reduction. When CS with the charge density of 0.052, 0.102 and0.293 meq/g were used, DOC was decreased from 3.4 to 3.0, 2.3 and 1.7 mg/L, respectively.The excitation–emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy and UV254 analysis indicated that CS-MS exhibits an ability to remove some soluble organics, which contributed to the DOC reduction. However, the use of low charge density CS posed a potential risk of DOC increase due to the high CS loading for effective algal removal. When CS with the charge density of 0.044 meq/g was used, DOC was increased from 3.4 to 3.9 mg/L. This study suggested, when CS-MS is used for cyanobacterial bloom removal, the content of dissolved organic matters in the treated water can be controlled by optimizing the charge density of CS. For the settled organic matters, other measures(e.g., capping treatments using oxygen loaded materials) should be jointly applied after algal flocculation.     

Approaches to municipal wastewater irrigation and environmental protection

To reuse the water and nutrient resources from ecological point of view the goals, criteria and constraint conditions of the scientifically municipal wastewater irrigation are discussed as well as the practice in major municipal wastewater irrigation areas in China is introduced, of which particularly the effects of municipal water irrigation mixing with oil refinery wastewater on the agricultural ecosystem are studied and described. It has been revealed that benzo(a)pyrene in various parts of paddy crop is attributed to air pollution, water-soil pollution and biosynthesis of plant. Of exogenous contributions of benzo(a)pyrene in paddy shoot system under natural condition, the dominant factor is the air pollution, whereas the water-soil factor is considered to be secondary. Therefore, it is mostly urgent to control the air pollution source of benzo(a)pyrene, to which the edible parts of various green plants are exposed directly.     

Degradation of corn stalk by the composite microbial system of MC1

The composite microbial system of MC1 was used to degrade corn stalk in order to determine properties of the degraded products as well as bacterial composition of MC1. Results indicated that the pH of the fermentation broth was typical of lignocellulose degradation by MC1, decreasing in the early phase and increasing in later stages of the degradation. The microbial biomass peaked on the day 3 after degradation. The MC1 efficiently degraded the corn stalk by nearly 70% during which its cellulose content decreased by 71.2%, hemicellulose by 76.5% and lignin by 24.6%. The content of water-soluble carbohydrates （WSC） in the fermentation broth increased progressively during the first three days, and decreased thereafter, suggesting an accumulation of WSC in the early phase of the degradation process. Total levels of various volatile products peaked in the third day after degradation, and 7 types of volatile products were detected in the fermentation broth. These were ethanol, acetic acid, 1,2-ethanediol, propanoic acid, butanoic acid, 3- methyl-butanoic acid and glycerine. Six major compounds were quantitatively analysed and the contents of each compound were ethanol （0.584 g/L）, acetic acid （0.735 g/L）, 1,2-ethanediol （0.772 g/L）, propanoic acid （0.026 g/L）, butanoic acid （0.018 g/L） and glycerine （4.203 g/L）. Characterization of bacterial cells collected from the culture solution, based on 16S rDNA PCR-DGGE analysis of DNAs, showed that the composition of bacterial community in MC1 coincided basically with observations from previous studies. This indicated that the structure of MC1 is very stable during degradation of different lignocellulose materials.     

Profiling kidney microRNAs from juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) after 56 days of oral exposure to decabromodiphenyl ethane

Grass carp(Ctenopharyngodon idella) is one of the most important species in China.Decabromodiphenyl ethane(DBDPE) is a brominated flame retardant that has been used widely in industry, and has been observed to accumulate in the tissues of fish from South China. Evidence has shown that DBDPE is toxic to aquatic animals, but the molecular response has been unclear. MicroRNAs(miRNAs) are small noncoding and negative regulatory RNAs that are 20–24 nucleotides in length, which are involved in a wide range of biological processes. We took advantage of deep-sequencing techniques to accurately and comprehensively profile the kidney mi RNA expression of grass carp after 8 weeks of oral exposure to DBDPE. After mapping sequencing data to the genome and Expressed Sequence Tags(ESTs) of grass carp, we identified 493 miRNAs in the sequenced grass carp samples, which included 51 new miRNAs. The results indicated that 5 miRNAs were significantly down-regulated and 36 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated(FDR 0.001,1.5-fold change) after DBDPE exposure. Real-time quantitative PCR(RT-q PCR) was performed on 4 miRNAs from the two samples, and the sequencing and RT-q PCR data were consistent. This study provides the first comprehensive identification of grass carp miRNAs, and the first expression analysis of grass carp miRNAs following DBDPE exposure.The results indicated that miRNAs have potential for use as biomarkers.     

Coupling catalytic hydrolysis and oxidation for CS2 removal

CS2 removal was Obtained by coupling catalytic hyidation on bi-functional catalyst.On the hydrolysis active sites,CS2 is hydrolyzed to H2S,while on the oxidation active sites,H2S is oxidized to elemental S or sulfuric acid deposited on the porous support.The above process can be expressed as followsCS2→H2O COS →H2O H2S→O2 S/SO2- 4.H2S oxidation eliminates its prohibition on CS2 hydrolysis so that the rate of coupling removal CS2 is 5 times higher than that of CS2 hydrolysis.The same active energy of hydrolysis and coupling reaction also indicates that H2S oxidation does not change the reaction mechanism of CS2 hydrolysis.Temperature has obvious effect on the process while the mole ratio of O2 concentration to CS2 concentration (O/S) does not,especially in excess of 2.5.The formation of sulfuric acid on the catalyst surface poisons hydrolysis active sites and causes the decrease of left OH-1 concentration on the catalysts surface.Lower temperature is suggested for this bi-functional catalyst owing to the low yield ratio of S/SO4 2-.     

Effect of biomass addition on the surface and adsorption characterization of carbon-based adsorbents from sewage sludge

Sewage sludge with the additive corn cob was used as prescusor to prepare sludge-based carbon adsorbents by pyrolysis method. And then, the carbonizated products were activated with potassium hydroxide. The mixing ratio of the corn cob to sewage sludge was investigated. The surface area and pore size distribution, elemental composition, surface chemistry structure and the surface physical morphology were determined and compared. The results demonstrated that the addition of corn cob into the sewage sludge sample could effectively improve the surface area (from 287 to 591 m 2 /g) and the microporosity (from 5% to 48%) of the carbon based adsorbent, thus enhancing the adsorption behavior. The sulfur dioxide adsorption capacity was measured according to breakthrough test. It was found that the sulfur dioxide adsorption capacity of the adsorbents was obviously enhanced after the addition of the corn cob. It is presumed that not only highly porous adsorbents, but also a high metallic content of these materials are required to achieve good performances.     

A profile of environmental science in China

This paper concisely introduced the eco-environmental survey in China and the Chinese scientific programme for environmental research which is being practiced or being planned. China has established a nation-wide system relating to environmental scientific research and environmental administration and has taken the following strategies for solving the environment problems: (1) a series of laws and regulations for environmental protection has been promulgated so as to strengthen the legal administration and economic punishment. (2) the idea of ecological construction has been proposed for the purpose of taking the environmental protection work into the consideration of the national and provincial (or regional) economic construction planning. (3) spreading ecological engineering and ecological technologies have reduced the pollutant sources and have increased the industrial and agricultural economic profit.     

秸秆生物质环境材料的制备及对水中多环芳烃的处理性能

300～700℃下热解炭化黄豆、芝麻、玉米秸秆8h,制备了秸秆生物质环境材料,测定了秸秆生物质环境材料的BET比表面积及其对亚甲基蓝和碘的吸附能力.以多环芳烃(PAHs)为目标污染物,探讨了生物质环境材料对水中单一和复合PAHs的吸附性能.结果表明,随热解温度升高,秸秆生物质环境材料比表面积增大,其对亚甲基蓝、碘的吸附...     

表面改性秸秆生物质环境材料对水中PAHs的吸附性能

300~700℃下热解炭化芝麻秸秆8h后,再用H3PO4溶液进行表面改性,制备了芝麻秸秆生物质环境材料.测定了生物质环境材料比表面积及其对亚甲基蓝和碘的吸附能力,并以多环芳烃(PAHs)为目标污染物,探讨了生物质环境材料对水中不同固液比(0.01g/32ml和0.02g/32mL)下单一PAHs菲以及复合PAHs萘、苊、菲的吸附性能.结果表明,随热解温度升高,秸秆生物质环境材料比表面积增大,对碘和亚甲基蓝的吸附能力也增强,700°C时比表面积、碘值和亚甲基蓝吸附值的最大值分别为269.95m2/g、434mg/g和150mg/g.生物质环境材料吸附水中PAHs的能力强,700℃时0.01g材料对32mL水中萘、苊、菲的去除率分别高达94.44%、95.47%和100%,均比相同条件下未经H3PO4改性的秸秆生物质环境材料高.     

Evaluation of Virus Reduction by Ultrafiltration with Coagulation–Sedimentation in Water Reclamation

The evaluation of virus reduction in water reclamation processes is essential for proper assessment and management of the risk of infection by enteric viruses. Ultrafiltration (UF) with coagulation–sedimentation (CS) is potentially effective for efficient virus removal. However, its performance at removing indigenous viruses has not been evaluated. In this study, we evaluated the reduction of indigenous viruses by UF with and without CS in a pilot-scale water reclamation plant in Okinawa, Japan, by measuring the concentration of viruses using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Aichi virus (AiV) and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) were targeted in addition to the main enteric viruses of concern for risk management, namely, norovirus (NoV) genogroups I and II (GI and GII) and rotavirus (RoV). PMMoV, which is a plant pathogenic virus and is present at high concentrations in water contaminated by human feces, has been suggested as a useful viral indicator. We also investigated the reduction of a spiked model virus (F-specific RNA bacteriophage MS2) to measure the effect of viral inactivation by both qPCR and plaque assay. Efficiencies of removal of NoV GI, NoV GII, RoV, and AiV by UF with and without CS were >0.5 to 3.7 log₁₀, although concentrations were below the detection limit in permeate water. PMMoV was the most prevalent virus in both feed and permeate water following UF, but CS pretreatment could not significantly improve its removal efficiency (mean removal efficiency: UF, 3.1 log₁₀; CS + UF, 3.4 log₁₀; t test, P > 0.05). CS increased the mean removal efficiency of spiked MS2 by only 0.3 log₁₀ by qPCR (t-test, P > 0.05), but by 2.8 log₁₀ by plaque assay (t-test, P < 0.01). This difference indicates that the virus was inactivated during CS + UF. Our results suggest that PMMoV could be used as an indicator of removal efficiency in water reclamation processes, but cultural assay is essential to understanding viral fate.     

高比表面植物基活性炭吸附水中对硝基苯胺的性能及影响因素

以互花米草与棉秆为原料,以KOH为活化剂,制备了2种低成本高比表面微孔植物基活性炭SA-AC和CS-AC,通过静态实验研究了其对水溶液中对硝基苯胺的吸附特性,测定了溶液pH值、吸附剂剂量、溶液温度对吸附的影响,并探讨了等温吸附行为及其热力学性质.结果表明,在KOH与炭化料的质量比(剂料质量比)为3∶1、活化温度为800℃、活化时间为1.5 h条件下,活化制备的互花米草活性炭SA-AC和棉秆活性炭CS-AC的比表面积分别为2 825 m2.g-1和2 135 m2.g-1,微孔容积分别为1.192 cm3.g-1和1.011 cm3.g-1,对水溶液中对硝基苯胺的Langmuir最大吸附量分别为719和716 mg.g-1,远高于商业活性炭ST1300.溶液pH值和温度对吸附有较大影响,在低温及中性条件下有利于制备活性炭对水溶液中对硝基苯胺的吸附.Freundlich与Redlich-Peterson模型能很好地描述对硝基苯胺在2种活性炭上的吸附行为;热力学研究表明,吸附标准吉布斯自由能变ΔG0与标准焓变ΔH0均为负值,表明对硝基苯胺在这2种活性炭上的吸附属于自发的放热吸附过程;吸附标准熵变ΔS00,说明对硝基苯胺在活性炭表面上的迁移比在溶液中受到了更大的限制.     

改性玉米秸秆材料的制备及吸油性能的研究

以粉末状玉米秸秆(Raw corn stalks,RCS)为基体,甲基丙烯酸丁酯和苯乙烯为单体,采用悬浮聚合法制备高吸油复合材料(Butylmethacrylate and styrene grafted corn stalks,BMS-CS).实验确定的最佳制备条件为:在50℃,引发剂硝酸铈铵为2.0mmol·L-1,单体甲基丙烯酸丁酯和苯乙烯浓度分别为0.6mol·L-1、0.012mol·L-1,交联剂N,N’-亚甲基双丙烯酰胺质量分数为0.1%(相对于RCS的质量)的前提下反应25h.同时,实验考察了吸附时间、吸附温度及保油时间等对材料吸油性能的影响,并通过傅里叶变换红外光谱仪、X-射线衍射和扫描电镜对改性前后样品的结构进行表征.结果表明,BMS-CS表面变得粗糙且呈毛刺状,具有较多不规则的褶皱;结晶度的下降也印证了粗糙度的增加;红外图谱中新出现的酯基和苯乙烯基的吸收峰说明亲油单体被接枝到RCS表面;两种原因共同促进了改性材料吸油性能的增加.吸油数据显示,常温下RCS和BMS-CS的吸油量分别为5.23g·g-1和20.12g·g-1,后者是前者的3.85倍,即改性后的材料吸油性能明显增加.     

Preparation and characterization of boron-doped corn straw biochar: Fe (Ⅱ) removal equilibrium and kinetics

Nowadays, iron ions as a ubiquitous heavy metal pollutant are gradually concerned and the convenient and quick removal of excessive iron ions in groundwater has become a major challenge for the safety of drinking water. In this study, boron-doped biochar (B-BC) was successfully prepared at various preparation conditions with the addition of boric acid. The as-prepared material has a more developed pore structure and a larger specific surface area (up to 897.97 m²/g). A series of characterization results shows that boric acid effectively activates biochar, and boron atoms are successfully doped on biochar. Compared with the ratio of raw materials, the pyrolysis temperature has a greater influence on the amount of boron doping. Based on Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacity of 800B-BC_1:2 at 25 °C, 40 °C, 55 °C are 50.02 mg/g, 95.09 mg/g, 132.78 mg/g, respectively. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model can better describe the adsorption process, the adsorption process is mainly chemical adsorption. Chemical complexation, ions exchange, and co-precipitation may be the main mechanisms for Fe²⁺ removal.     

Effects of different sediment fractions on sorption of galaxolide

Sorption isotherms of galaxolide (HHCB) of different fractions from two sediments with different mineral and organic carbon contents were determined to compare HHCB sorption behavior and contribution to the total sorption. The HHCB sorption isotherms that used the batch equilibration method were studied on different sediments of different fractions. The sorption isotherms of 600°C heating fractions were detailed using the linear model, while the other fractions were nonlinear and fitted well with the Freundlich model. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removed, NaOH extracted, and 375°C heating fractions showed more nonlinear sorption than the original sediments, which suggested more heterogeneous sorption sites in these fractions. Compared to the original sediments, the 375°C heating fractions had higher carbonnormalized distribution coefficient (K _oc) values, indicating a higher sorption affinity for HHCB. Among the different sediment fractions, the contribution of the 600°C heating fractions to the overall sorption were the lowest (< 20%), while the 375°C heating fractions were the highest (up to 85%).     

负载磷酸盐生物质炭材料对重金属复合污染土壤的稳定化机制研究

为探讨负载磷酸盐生物质炭材料对重金属复合污染土壤中共存重金属的稳定化效果和迁移转化特征,以玉米秸秆和小麦秸秆为原材料,负载磷酸盐后在600 °C下无氧热解制备两种生物质炭材料,并将其用于重金属复合污染土壤中进行稳定化批处理试验. 结果表明:负载磷酸盐的玉米秸秆和小麦秸秆生物质炭材料可通过增加土壤中无定形铁、铝氧化物的含量而促进其对Cd的吸附,且负载磷酸盐后玉米秸秆生物质炭材料对土壤中无定形氧化物含量的增幅和游离态氧化物含量的降幅高于小麦秸秆生物质炭;同时,两种生物质炭材料均显著提高了土壤铁的活化度,进而有效控制了土壤重金属的生物有效性. 添加不同比例(如5%、10%和15%)的负载磷酸盐生物质炭均可降低土壤中Pb、Cd、Zn和Cu的迁移风险,并促进Pb的酸可提取态、铁锰结合态向有机结合态和残渣态转化,以及Cd、Zn和Cu的酸可提取态向残渣态转化. 两种负载磷酸盐生物质炭材料均可有效降低重金属的浸出浓度,10%及以上的添加量均可使Pb的浸出浓度降低98%以上. 15%的负载磷酸盐玉米秸秆生物质炭可使Cd和Zn的浸出浓度分别降低89%和47%,而15%的负载磷酸盐小麦秸秆生物质炭可使Cu的浸出浓度降低56%. 研究显示,施用10%~15%的负载磷酸盐生物质炭材料可显著降低重金属复合污染土壤中Pb和Cd的潜在环境风险,对矿区重金属污染土壤的安全利用具有参考和指导意义.      

Alum split applications strengthened phosphorus fixation and phosphate sorption in high legacy phosphorus calcareous soil

High phosphorus (P) saturation arising from historic P inputs to protected vegetable fields (PVFs) drives high P mobilisation to waterbodies. Amendment of soils with alum has shown potential in terms of fixing labile P and protecting water quality. The present 15 month pot experiment investigated P stabilisation across single alum application (Alum-1 treatment, 20 g alum/kg soil incorporated into soil before the maize was sown), alum split applications (Alum-4 treatment, 5 g alum/kg soil incorporated into soil before each crop was sown i.e. 4 × 5 g/kg) and soil only treatment (Control). Results showed that the Alum-1 treatment caused the strongest stabilisation of soil labile P after maize plant removal, whereas the P stabilisation effect was gradually weakened due to the transformation of soil non-labile P to labile P and the reduced active Al³⁺ in soil solution. For the Alum-4 treatment, soil labile P decreased gradually with each crop planting and was lower than the Alum-1 treatment at the end of the final crop removal, without any impairment on plant growth. The better P stabilisation at the end of Alum-4 treatment was closely correlated with a progressive supply of Al³⁺ and a gradual decrease of pH, which resulted in higher contents of poorly-crystalline Al, Fe and exchangeable Ca. These aspects were conducive to increasing the soil P stabilisation and phosphate sorption. In terms of management, growers in continuous cropping systems could utilise split alum applications as a strategy to alleviate P losses in high-P enriched calcareous soil.     

Mercury accumulation and dynamics in montane forests along an elevation gradient in Southwest China

Understanding atmospheric mercury (Hg) accumulation in remote montane forests is critical to assess the Hg ecological risk to wildlife and human health. To quantify impacts of vegetation, climatic and topographic factors on Hg accumulation in montane forests, we assessed the Hg distribution and stoichiometric relations among Hg, carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) in four forest types along the elevation of Mt. Gongga. Our results show that Hg concentration in plant tissues follows the descending order of litter > leaf, bark > root > branch > bole wood, indicating the importance of atmospheric Hg uptake by foliage for Hg accumulation in plants. The foliar Hg/C (from 237.0 ± 171.4 to 56.8 ± 27.7 µg/kg) and Hg/N (from 7.5 ± 3.9 to 2.5 ± 1.2 mg/kg) both decrease along the elevation. These elevation gradients are caused by the heterogeneity of vegetation uptake of atmospheric Hg and the variation of atmospheric Hg° concentrations at different altitudes. Organic soil Hg accumulation is controlled by forest types, topographic and climatic factors, with the highest concentration in the mixed forest (244.9 ± 55.7 µg/kg) and the lowest value in the alpine forest (151.9 ± 44.5 µg/kg). Further analysis suggests that soil Hg is positively correlated to C (r² = 0.66) and N (r² = 0.57), and Hg/C and Hg/N both increase with the soil depth. These stoichiometric relations highlight the combined effects from environmental and climatic factors which mediating legacy Hg accumulation and selective Hg absorption during processes of organic soil mineralization.