Evaluation of phytoextracting cadmium and lead by sunflower, ricinus, alfalfa and mustard in hydroponic culture

Soil contaminated with heavy metals cadmium(Cd)and lead(Pb)is hard to be remediated.Phytoremediation may be a feasible method to remove toxic metals from soil,but there are few suitable plants which can hyperaccumulate metals.In this study,Cd and Pb accumulation by four plants including sunflower(Helianthus annuus L.),mustard(Brassica juncea L.),alfalfa(Medicago sativa L.), ricinus(Ricinus communis L.)in hydroponic cultures was compared.Results showed that these plants could phytocxtract heavy metals, the ability of accumulation differed with species,concentrations and categories of heavy metals.Values of BCF(bioconcentration factor)and TF(translocation factor)indicated that four species had dissimilar abilities of phytoextraction and transportation of heavy metals.Changes on the biomass of plants,pH and Eh at different treatments revealed that these four plants had distinct responses to Cd and Pb in cultures.Measurements should be taken to improve the phytoremediation of sites contaminated with heavy metals,such as pH and Eh regulations,and so forth.     

Oxidation of As(Ⅲ) by potassium permanganate

The oxidation of As(Ⅲ) with potassium permanganate was studied under conditions including pH, initial As(Ⅲ) concentration and dosage of Mn(Ⅶ). The results have shown that potassium permanganate was an effective agent for oxidizing of As(Ⅲ) in a wide pH range. The pH value of tested water was not a significant factor affecting the oxidation of As(Ⅲ) by Mn(Ⅶ). Although theoretical redox analyses suggest that Mn(Ⅶ) should have better performance in oxidization of As(Ⅲ) within lower pH ranges, the experimental results show that the oxidation efficiencies of As(Ⅲ) under basic and acidic conditions were similar, which may be due to the adsorption of As(Ⅲ) on the Mn(OH)2 and MnO2 resulting from the oxidation of As(Ⅲ).     

Chlorobenzenes in waterweeds from the Xijiang River （Guangdong section） of the Pearl River

The Xijiang River is the major source of water for about 4.5 millions of urban population and 28.7 millions of rural population. The water quality is very important for the health of the rural population. The concentration and distribution of chlorobenzenes (CBs) in both water and waterweeds collected from 4 stations in the Xijiang River (Gangdong section) of the Pearl River in April and November were determined. The result showed that nearly every congener of CBs was detected. The total contents of CBs (∑CBs) in the river water ranged from 111.1 to 360.0 ng/L in April and from 151.9 to 481.7 ng/L in November, respectively. The pollution level of CBs in the water in April was higher than that in November. The contents of ∑ CBs in waterweeds ranged from 13.53×102 μg/g to 38.27×102μg/g dry weight (dw). There was no significant difference between April and November in waterweeds. The distribution of CBs in roots, caulis, and leaves of Vallisneria spiralis L. showed different patterns. The leaves mainly contained low-molecular-weight CBs(DCBs), whereas the roots accumulated more PCBs and HCBs. The average lgBCFlip (bioconcentration factor) of CBs ranged from 0.64 to 3.57 in the waterweeds. The spatial distribution character of CBs in the Xijiang River was: Fengkai County ＜ Yunan County ＜Yun'an County ＜ Gaoyao County according to the ∑CBs, and the pollution deteriorated from the upstream to the downstream of the Xijiang River. Further analysis demonstrated that the discharge of waste containing CBs may be the main source of CBs pollution in the Xijiang River.     

Degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol with a novel TiO2/Ti-Fe-graphite felt photoelectrocatalytic oxidation process

Degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol(2,4-DCP)was studied in a novel three-electrode photoelectrocatalytic(PEC)integrative oxidation process,and the factors influencing the degradation rate,such as applied current,flow speed of O_2,pH,adscititious voltage and initial 2,4-DCP concentration were investigated and optimized.H_2O_2 was produced nearby cathode and Fe~(2 )continuously generated from Fe anode in solution when current and O_2 were applied,so,main reactions,H_2O_2-assisted TiO_2 PEC oxidation and E-Fenton reaction,occurred during degradation of 2,4-DCP in this integrative system.The degradation ratio of 2,4-DCP was 93% in this integrative oxidation process,while it was only 31% in E-Fenton process and 46% in H_2O_2-assisted TiO_2 PEC process.So,it revealed that the degradation of 2,4-DCP was improved greatly by photoelectrical cooperation effect.By the investigation of pH,it showed that this integrative process could work well in a wide pH range from pH 3 to pH 9.     

Effect of copper on the degradation of pesticides cypermethrin and cyhalothrin

The influence of coexisting copper (Cu) ion on the degradation of pesticides pyrethroid cypermethrin and cyhalothrin in soil and photodegradation in water system were studied.Serial concentrations of the pesticides with the addition of copper ion were spiked in the soil and incubated for a regular period of time,the analysis of the extracts from the soil was carried out using gas chromatography (GC).The photodegradation of pyrethroids in water system was conducted under UV irradiation.The effect of Cu~(2 ) on the pesticides degradation was measured with half life (t_(0.5)) of degradation.It was found that a negative correlation between the degradation of the pyrethroid pesticides in soil and Cu addition was observed.But Cu~(2 ) could accelerate photodegradation of the pyrethroids in water.The t_(0.5) for cyhalothrin extended from 6.7 to 6.8 d while for cypermethrin extended from 8.1 to 10.9 d with the presence of copper ion in soil.As for photodegradation,t_(0.5) for cyhalothrin reduced from 173.3 to 115.5 rain and for cypermethrin from 115.5 to 99.0 min.The results suggested that copper influenced the degradation of the pesticides in soil by affecting the activity of microorganisms.However, it had catalyst tendency for photodegradation in water system.The difference for the degradation efficiency of pyrethroid isomers in soil was also observed.Copper could obviously accelerate the degradation of some special isomers.     

Effects of arsenic on seed germination and physiological activities in wheat seedlings

The effects of arsenic(As)were investigated on seed germination,root and shoot length and their biomass and some other factors to elucidate the toxicity of As.The results showed low concentrations of As(O-1 mg/kg)stimulated seed germination and the growth of root and shoot,however,these factors all decreased gradually at high concentrations of As(5-20 mg/kg).The contents Of O2-,MDA,soluble protein and peroxidase(POD)activity all increased with increasing As concentrations.Soluble sugar content,ascorbate peroxidase(APX),and superoxide dismutase(SOD)activities decreased at low concentrations of As,and increased at high concentrations of As.While acetylsalicylic acid(ASA)and chlorophyll contents,catalase(CAT)activity displayed increasing trend when the concentrations of As was lower than 1 mg/kg,and then decreasing trend.By polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(PAGE).As induced the expression of POD isozymes of wheat seedlings.As induced the expression of CAT isozymes but inhibited the expression of SOD isozymes of wheat seedlings at concentrations lower than 1 mg/kg.However,As inhibited the expression of CAT isozymes but induced the expression of SOD isozymes at concentrations higher than 5 mg/kg.The results indicated As could exert harmfulness in the early development stage of wheat at inappropriate concentrations.     

Sustainability： A view from the wind-eroded field

This article explores the assessment of sustainability in fields subject to wind erosion. In the first part, simple sustainability audits are examined, as of soil depth and nutrients. Direct measurement of these characteristics has many problems, largely because of huge variability in space and time at all scales. Modelling still has its problems, but it may be possible to overcome many of them soon. It is true that wind erosion preferentially removes soil nutrients, but there are imponderables even here. The nutrient balance in many of these soils includes considerable input from dust. In West Africa, it has been shown that the amounts of calcium and potassium that are added in dust are sufficient to fertilize dispersed crops. In mildly acidic sandy soils, such as those found on the widespread palaeo- aeolian deposits, much of the phosphorus is fixed and unavailable to plants by the time it is removed by wind erosion, so that erosion has no added downside. Most of the nutrients carried by dust have been shown to travel close to the ground （even when they are attached to dust-sized particles）, and so are trapped in nearby fallow strips, and are thus not lost to the farming system. Second, the sustalnabillty of a whole semi-arid farming system is explored. Wind erosion in semi-arid areas （like China, the Sahel and Norflawestern Europe） generally takes place on aeolian deposits of the recent geological past. Most of these soils are deep enough to withstand centuries of wind erosion before they are totally lost to production, and some of these soils have greater fertility at greater depth （so that wind erosion may even improve the soil）. Finally some remarks are made about environmental change in relation to sustainability.     

Bioconcentration kinetics of PCBs in various parts of the lifecycle of the tadpoles Xenopus laevis

Polychlorinated biphenyls （PCBs） in Xenopus laevis have been reported only for a few congeners. Additionally, there is very little information on the ability of Xenopus laevis to bioconcentrate PCBs. To address these issues, the tadpole Xenopus laevis was exposed to Aroclor 1254 mixtures in water at room temperature for 110 d followed by an additional 110 d of nonspiked PCBs in the water for the control group. During the whole process, bioconcentration factors （BCFs） of PCBs ranged from 1180 to 15670. For most PCB congeners, the highest and lowest bioconcentrations of the kinetic curves were found to be remarkably simultaneous, respectively. All 141 PCB congeners under the same experimental conditions had no linear correlation on the lgBCF versus lgKow relationship. The relationship between lgBCFs and lgKow followed a parabolic pattern indicative of selective bioconcentration, suggesting that the kinetic curves of the PCB congeners observed in the lifecycle of the tadpoles may be concentrated due to the amphibian special species and internal metabolism. In contrast, lgBCFs for PCBs were inversely related to lgKow, suggesting that a metabolism of the higher Kow PCB congeners occurred. These results support the author＇s conclusion that the tadpole Xenopus laevis plays major roles in the bioconcentration of PCB congeners, and demonstrated that the exposure kinetic curves of PCB congeners are complex. Besides the amphibian metamorphous development, the lifecycle of the tadpole Xenopus laevis also may be of importance in determining the bioconcentration of PCB congeners.     

Amplification of plasmid DNA bound on soil colloidal particles and clay minerals by the polymerase chain reaction

Polymerase chain reaction(PCR)was used to amplify a 600-base pair(bp)sequence of plasmid pGEX-2T DNA bound on soil colloidal particles from Brown soil(Alfisol)and Red soil(Ultisol),and three different minerals(goethite,kaolinite,montmorillonite). DNA bound on soil colloids,kaolinite,and montmorillonite was not amplified when the complexes were used directly but amplification occurred when the soil colloid or kaolinite-DNA complex was diluted,10- and 20-fold.The montmorillonite-DNA complex required at least 100-fold dilution before amplification could be detected.DNA bound on goethile was amplified irrespective of whether the complex was used directly,or diluted 10- and 20-fold.The amplification of mineral-bound plasmid DNA by PCR is,therefore,markedly influenced by the type and concentration of minerals used.This information is of fundamental importance to soil molecular microbial ecology with particular reference to monitoring the fate of genetically engineered microorganisms and their recombinant DNA in soil environments.     

Arsenic uptake and transport of Pteris vittata L. as influenced by phosphate and inorganic arsenic species under sand cu｜ture

In order to understand the similarity or difference of inorganic As species uptake and transport related to phosphorus in As-hyperaccumulator, uptake and transport of arsenate (As(Ⅴ)) and arsenite (As(Ⅲ)) were studied using Pteris vittata L. under sand culture. Higher concentrations of phosphate were found to inhibit accumulation of arsenate and arsenite in the fronds of P. vittata. The reduction in As accumulation was greater in old fronds than in young fronds, and relatively weak in root and rhizome. Moderate increases, from 0.05 to 0.3 mmol/L, in phosphate reduced uptake of As(Ⅲ) more than As(Ⅴ), while the reverse was observed at high concentrations of phosphate (≥ 1.0 mmol/L). Phosphate apparently reduced As transport and the proportion of As accumulated in fronds of P. vittata when As was supplied as As(Ⅴ). It may in part be due to competition between phosphorus and As(Ⅴ) during transport. In contrast, phosphate had a much smaller effect on As transport when the As was supplied as As(Ⅲ). Therefore, the results from present experiments indicates that a higher concentration of phosphate suppressed As accumulation and transport in P. vittata, especially in the fronds, when exposure to As(Ⅴ); but the suppression of phosphate to As transport in the root or rhizome may be insignificant when P. vittata when exposure to As(Ⅲ) under sand culture conditions. The finding will help to understand the interaction of P and As during their uptake process in P. vittata.     

Bacterial diversity in soils around a lead and zinc mine

Five samples of soil collected from a lead and zinc mine were used to assess the effect of combined contamination of heavy metals on soil bacterial communities using a polyphasic approach including characterization of isolates by culture method, community level catabolic profiling in BIOLOG GN microplates, and genetic community fingerprinting by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA fragments amplified by PCR from community DNA （PCR-DGGE）. The structure of the bacterial community was affected to a certain extent by heavy metals. The PCR-DGGE analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that there were significant differences in the structure of the microbial community among the soil samples, which were related to the contamination levels. The number of bacteria and the number of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） bands in the soils increased with increasing distance from the lead and zinc mine tailing, whereas the concentration of lead （Pb） and cadmium （Cd） was decreased. Heavily polluted soils could be characterized by a community that differs from those of lightly polluted soils in richness and structure of dominating bacterial populations. The clustering analysis of the DGGE profiles showed that the bacteria in all the five samples of soil belonged to three clusters. The data from the BIOLOG analysis also showed the same result. This study showed that heavy metal contamination decreased both the biomass and diversity of the bacterial community in soil.     

Surface reaction of Bacillus cereus biomass and its biosorption for lead and copper ions

In this study, the surface chemical functional groups of Bacillus cereus biomass were identified by Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） analytical technique. It had been shown that the B. cereus cells mainly contained carboxyl, hydroxyl, phosphate, amino and amide functional groups. The potentiometric titration was conducted to explain the surface acid-base properties of aqueous B. cereus biomass. The computer program FITEQL 4.0 was used to perform the model calculations. The optimization results indicated that three sitesthree pKas model, which assumed the cell surface to have three distinct types of surface organic functional groups based on the IR analysis results, simulated the experimental results very well. Moreover, batch adsorption experiments were performed to investigate biosorption behavior of Cu（Ⅱ） and Pb（Ⅱ） ions onto the biomass. Obviously, the adsorption equilibrium data for the two ions were reasonably described by typical Langmuir isotherm.     

Start-up performances of dry anaerobic mesophilic and thermophilic digestions of organic solid wastes

Two dry anaerobic digestions of organic solid wastes were conducted for 6 weeks in a lab-scale batch experiment for investigating the start-up performances under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. The enzymatic activities, i.e., β-glucosidase, N-α-benzoyl-Largininamide （BAA）-hydrolysing protease, urease and phosphatase activities were analysed. The BAA-hydrolysing protease activity during the first 2-3 weeks was low with low pH, but was enhanced later with the pH increase. β-Glucosidase activity showed the lowest values in weeks 1-2, and recovered with the increase of BAA-hydrolysing protease activity. Acetic acid dominated most of the total VFAs in thermophilic digestion, while propionate and butyrate dominated in mesophilic digestion. Thermophilic digestion was confirmed more feasible for achieving better performance against misbalance, especially during the start-up period in a dry anaerobic digestion process.     

Analysis of bacterial community structures in two sewage treatment plants with different sludge properties and treatment performance by nested PCR-DGGE method

The bacterial community structures in two sewage treatment plants with different processes and performance were investigated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） of nested polymerase chain reaction （nested PCR） amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments with group-specific primers. Samples of raw sewage and treated effluents were amplified using the whole-cell PCR method, and the activated sludge samples were amplified using the extracted genomic DNA before the PCR products were loaded on the same DGGE gel for bacterial community analysis. Ammonia-oxidizing bacterial and actinomycetic community analysis were also carried out to investigate the relationship between specific population structures and system or sludge performance. The two plants demonstrated a similarity in bacterial community structures of raw sewage and activated sludge, but they had different effluent populations. Many dominant bacterial populations of raw sewage did not appear in the activated sludge samples, suggesting that the dominant bacterial populations in raw sewage might not play an important role during wastewater treatment. Although the two plants had different sludge properties in terms of settleability and foam forming ability, they demonstrated similar actinomycetic community structures. For activated sludge with bad settling performance, the treated water presented a similar DGGE pattern with that of activated sludge, indicating the nonselective washout of bacteria from the system. The plant with better ammonium removal efficiency showed higher ammonia-oxidizing bacteria species richness. Analysis of sequencing results showed that the major populations in raw sewage were uncultured bacterium, while in activated sludge the predominant populations were beta proteobacteria.     

Two alternative modes for di use pollution control in Wuhan City Zoo

Pollution in urban zoos arises from diffuse and small point sources. However, its control has received little attention in past decades. Online and ofttine modes of ecological engineering technology were designed to control pollution from small point and diffuse sources in Wuhan City Zoo, China. Their characteristics and performances were investigated in sixteen runoff events from 2003 to 2005. The results showed that the two modes both improved runoff water quality and had high retention rates for water and pollutants. In the outflows, the event mean concentrations （EMCs） of total suspended solids （TSS）, chemical oxygen demand （COD）, total nitrogen （TN） and total phosphorus （TP） were reduced by 88%, 59%, 46% and 71% for the online mode, and those were 77%, 42%, 50% and 66% for the ofttine mode. The annual retention rates of pollutant loads for the online mode were 94.9%-98.5% in the three study years; those for the ofitine mode were 70.5%-86.4%. Based on calculation, the online mode was able to store the runoff of 66.7 mm rainfall completely, and the ofttine mode could store that of 31.3 mm rainfall. In addition, the online mode can provide an effective way for rainwater utilization and good habitats for aquatic wildlives, and has an excellent aesthetics value for recreationsal pastimes. The ofiline mode can save land resources and may be an effective and economical measure for diffuse pollution control in urban areas.     

Characterization and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in sediments of Haihe River, Tianjin, China

In this study sediment samples were collected from 13 sites of Haihe River in Tianjin City, China, sixteen of priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） listed in USEPA were analyzed by means of GC-MS. The total concentrations of PAH ranged from 774.81 to 255371.91 ng/g dw, and two to four rings of PAHs were dominant in sediment samples. Molecular ratios, such as phenanthrene/anthracene, fluoranthene/pyrene and low-molecular-weight PAH/high-molecular-weight PAH, were used to study the possible sources of pollution. It indicated a mixed pattern of parolytic and petrogenic inputs of PAHs in sediments in Haihe River. The petrogenic PAHs may be mainly derived from the leakage of refined products, e.g., gasoline, diesel fuel and fuel oil vehicle traffics or gas stations from urban area. The pyrolytic PAHs might be from the discharge of industrial wastewater and the emission of atmospheric particles from petrochemical factories. In addition, the levels of PAHs in the urban and industrial areas are far beyond the values reported from other rivers and marine systems reported. This situation may be due to polluted discharging from some petrochemical industrial manufactories and worse traffic conditions in Tianjin.     

Characterization of metal doped-titanium dioxide and behaviors on photocatalytic oxidation of nitrogen oxides

A series of nanosized ion-doped TiO_2 catalysts with different ion content(between 0.1 at.% and 1.0 at.%) have been prepared by wet impregnation method and investigated with respect to their behavior for UV photocatalytic oxidation of nitric oxide.The catalytic activity was correlated with structural,electronic and surface examinations of the catalysts using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD),ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis)absorption spectroscopy,transmission electron microscopy(TEM),energy disperse spectrometer (EDS)and high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) techniques.An enhancement of the photocatalytic activity was observed for Zn~(2 ) doping catalyst ranged from 0.1 at.% to 1.0 at.% which was attributed to the lengthened lifetime of electrons and holes.The improvement in photocatalytic activity could be also observed with the low doping concentration of Cr~(3 )(0.1 at.%). However,the doping of Fe~(3 ),Mo~(6 ),Mn~(2 ) and the high doping concentration of Cr~(3 ) had no contribution to photocatalytic activity of nitric oxide.     

Carbonaceous aerosols in PM10 and pollution gases in winter in Beijing

An intensive observation of organic carbon (OC) and element carbon (EC) in PM10 and gaseous materials (SO2, CO, and O3,) was conducted continuously to assess the characteristics of wintertime carbonaceous aerosols in an urban area of Beijing, China. Results showed that the averaged total carbon (TC) and PM10 concentrations in observation period are 30.2±120.4 and 172.6±198.3 μ/m3, respectively. Average OC concentration in nighttime (24.9±19.6 μ/m3) was 40% higher than that in daytime (17.7±10.9 μ/m3). Average EC concentrations in daytime (8.8±15.2 μ/m3) was close to that in nighttime (8.9±15.1 μ/m3). The OC/EC ratios in nighttime ranging from 2.4 to 2.7 are higher than that in daytime ranging from 1.9 to 2.0. The concentrations of OC, EC, PM10 were low with strong winds and high with weak winds. The OC and EC were well correlated with PM10, CO and SO2, which implies they have similar sources. OC and EC were not well correlated with O3. By considering variation of OC/EC ratios in daytime and night time, correlations between OC and O3, and meteorological condition, we speculated that OC and EC in Beijing PM10 were emitted as the primary particulate form. Emission of motor vehicle with low OC/EC ratio and coal combustion sources with high OC/EC ratio are probably the dominant sources for carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing in winter. A simple method was used to estimate the relative contribution of sources to carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing PM10. Motor vehicle source accounts for 80% and 68%, while coal combustion accounts for 20% and 32% in daytime and nighttime, respectively in Beijing. Averagely, the motor vehicle and coal combustion accounted for 74% and 26%, respectively, for carbonaceous aerosols during the observation period. It points to the motor vehicle is dominant emission for carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing PM10 in winter period, which should be paid attention to control high level of PM10 in Beijing effectively.     

Remove cooking fume using catalytic combustion over Pt/La-Al2O3

Five monolithic catalysts with low noble metal content were prepared by irnmerge method （Pt/γ=Al2O3, Pt/La-Al2O3, Pt/YSZ-AI203, Pt＋Pd/La-Al2O3 and Pd/La-Al2O3） and their activity measurements were carried out in a conventional fixed-bed flow reactor. The results show that La-Al2O3 can promote activity of the prepared catalysts and can decrease the complete conversion temperature of cooking fume. The Pt/La-Al2O3 catalyst has the highest activity and can be applied in wide range of gas hourly space velocity （GHSV）. Some characterizations （XRD, TPR） were carried out with the objective to explain differences in catalytic behaviors. The prepared catalyst showed a great potential for application.     

Effect of organic matter and pH on mercury release from soils

An investigation was conducted on the effect of organic matter(OM)and pH on mercury(Hg)release from soils.Hg release flux was measured using the dynamic flux chamber(DFC)combined with the Lumex multifunctional mercury analyzer in both laboratory experiment and field monitoring.The results showed that Hg emission from the OM-added soils was apparently low because of the high affinity of OM to Hg,resulting in the reverse order as the amount of OM addition.Meanwhile,Hg release flux from different pH value soils exhibited the same trend for both Hg~(2 )and Hg_2~(2 )treatment,increasing the Hg flux with pH value of soils increasing.The trend of Hg release in the pH dependence experiment has been well in agreement with that from the field test.In addition,Hg release seemed to be related to its species in the soil,the flux from Hg~(2 )-added soil was obviously higher than that of Hg_2~(2 )-added soil by the laboratory experiment.