Density functional theory (DFT) studies of vanadium-titanium based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts

Based on density functional theory (DFT) and basic structure models, the chemical reactions on the surface of vanadium-titanium based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) denitrification catalysts were summarized. Reasonable structural models (non-periodic and periodic structural models) are the basis of density functional calculations. A periodic structure model was more appropriate to represent the catalyst surface, and its theoretical calculation results were more comparable with the experimental results than a non-periodic model. It is generally believed that the SCR mechanism where NH₃ and NO react to produce N₂ and H₂O follows an Eley-Rideal type mechanism. NH₂NO was found to be an important intermediate in the SCR reaction, with multiple production routes. Simultaneously, the effects of H₂O, SO₂ and metal on SCR catalysts were also summarized.     

Will polycentric cities cause more CO2 emissions? A case study of 232 Chinese cities

From 2000 to 2010 China experienced rapid economic development and urbanization. Many cities in economically developed areas have developed from a single-center status to polycentricity. In this study, we used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to identify the population centers, which identified 232 cities in China as having urban centers. COMP was used to represent urban agglomeration, and POLYD (representing how far is the city's sub-centers to the main center), POLYC (representing the number of a city's centers), and POLYP (representing the population distributed between the main center and the sub-centers) were used to indicate urban polycentricity. Night light data were used to determine the CO₂ emissions from various cities in China. A mixed model was used to study the impact of urban aggregation and polycentric data on the CO₂ emission efficiency in 2000 and 2010. The study found that cities with higher compactness were distributed in coastal areas, and the cities with higher multicentricity were distributed in the Yangtze River Delta and Shandong Province. The more compact the city was, the less conducive it was to improving CO₂ emission efficiency. Polycentric development of the city was conducive to improving the CO₂ emission efficiency, but the number of urban centers had no significant relationship with the CO₂ emission efficiency. Our research showed that the compactness and multicentricity of the city had an impact on the CO₂ emission efficiency and provided some planning suggestions for the low carbon development of the city.     

Investigation to meet China II emission legislation for marine diesel engine with diesel methanol compound combustion technology

In order to reduce the pollutant emission and alleviate the pressure of petroleum resources shortage and greenhouse gas emission at the same time, the use of clean and renewable alternative fuel for marine engines is a promising option. In this study, a marine diesel engine, which was modified to run in diesel methanol compound combustion (DMCC) mode, was investigated. After the diesel injection parameters were calibrated, and combined with a sample after-treatment device DOC (diesel oxidation catalyst), the engine could meet the requirements of China II legislation. The overall MSP (methanol substitute percent) reached 54.1%. The value of each pollutant emission was much lower than that in China II emission legislation, and there was almost no methanol and formaldehyde emissions. When methanol was injected into the inlet manifold, the intake air temperature decreased a lot, as well as the exhaust gas temperature, which were beneficial to increase engine thermal efficiency and improve engine room environment. Compared with the engine running in pure diesel mode, when the engine ran in diesel/methanol dual fuel mode, the combustion phase was advanced, and the combustion duration became shorter. Therefore, the engine thermal efficiency increased, and fuel consumption decreased significantly.     

Metabolomic modulations in a freshwater microbial community exposed to the fungicide azoxystrobin

An effective broad-spectrum fungicide, azoxystrobin (AZ), has been widely detected in aquatic ecosystems, potentially affecting the growth of aquatic microorganisms. In the present study, the eukaryotic alga Monoraphidium sp. and the cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena sp. were exposed to AZ for 7 days. Our results showed that 0.2–0.5 mg/L concentrations of AZ slightly inhibited the growth of Monoraphidium sp. but stimulated Pseudanabaena sp. growth. Meanwhile, AZ treatment effectively increased the secretion of total organic carbon (TOC) in the culture media of the two species, and this phenomenon was also found in a freshwater microcosm experiment (containing the natural microbial community). We attempted to assess the effect of AZ on the function of aquatic microbial communities through metabolomic analysis and further explore the potential risks of this compound. The metabonomic profiles of the microcosm indicated that the most varied metabolites after AZ treatment were related to the citrate cycle (TCA), fatty acid biosynthesis and purine metabolism. We thereby inferred that the microbial community increased extracellular secretions by adjusting metabolic pathways, which might be a stress response to reduce AZ toxicity. Our results provide an important theoretical basis for further study of fungicide stress responses in aquatic microcosm microbial communities, as well as a good start for further explorations of AZ detoxification mechanisms, which will be valuable for the evaluation of AZ environmental risk.     

Analytical methods and environmental processes of nanoplastics

The degradation of plastic debris may result in the generation of nanoplastics (NPs). Their high specific surface area for the sorption of organic pollutions and toxic heavy metals and possible transfer between organisms at different nutrient levels make the study of NPs an urgent priority. However, there is very limited understanding on the occurrence, distribution, abundant, and fate of NPs in the environment, partially due to the lack of suitable techniques for the separation and identification of NPs from complex environmental matrices. In this review, we first overviewed the state-of-the-art methods for the extraction, separation, identification and quantification of NPs in the environment. Some of them have been successfully applied for the field determination of NPs, while some are borrowed from the detection of microplastics or engineered nanomaterials. Then the possible fate and transport of NPs in the environment are thoroughly described. Although great efforts have been made during the recent years, large knowledge gaps still exist, such as the relatively high detection limit of existing method failing to detect ultralow masses of NPs in the environment, and spherical polystyrene NP models failing to represent the various compositions of NPs with different irregular shapes, which needs further investigation.     

Reviews of emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in Asia

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in the atmosphere play important roles in the formation of ground-level ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in global scale and also in regional scale under some condition due to their large amount and relatively higher reactivity. In places with high plant cover in the tropics and in China where air pollution is serious, the effect of BVOCs on ozone and secondary organic aerosols is strong. The present research aims to provide a comprehensive review about the emission rate, emission inventory, research methods, the influencing factors of BVOCs emissions, as well as their impacts on atmospheric environment quality and human health in recent years in Asia based on the summary and analysis of literatures. It is suggested to use field direct measurement method to obtain the emission rate and model method to calculate the emission amount. Several recommendations are given for future investigation and policy development on BVOCs emission.     

生物炭复合青霉菌修复砷污染土壤对其微生物群落功能多样性的影响

真菌修复砷污染土壤是一种能够有效吸附固化环境中砷的重要措施.生物炭作为目前修复重金属的热点,其多空疏松的结构、较高的离子交换量、丰富的有机碳含量等都说明了其在土壤修复中的地位.为了探究生物炭与青霉菌在修复砷污染土壤的同时对土壤中微生物活性及其多样性的影响,在室内孵育条件下,运用Biolog法研究了3×3随机区组试验（3个生物炭梯度分别为0%、2%、4%,3个青霉菌梯度分别为0%、10%、20%）下土壤微生物对不同类型碳源的利用能力以及多种功能性指数的影响.结果表明:①添加青霉菌与生物炭后,土壤中有效砷含量较对照组显著下降,从而影响其微生物群落功能多样性.②砷污染土壤中微生物群落功能多样性、碳源利用丰富度随生物炭浓度梯度的升高呈先升后降的趋势.③高接菌量（20%）与低接菌量（10%）对砷污染土壤中微生物群落功能多样性的影响没有显著性差异.④2%生物炭与10%青霉菌处理土壤中微生物群落功能多样性、碳源利用丰度最高.⑤青霉菌对胺类及少部分酸类碳源的利用能力较弱（AWCD < 0.5,AWCD为Biolog微平板孔中溶液吸光值平均颜色变化率）,对氨基酸类中大部分碳源以及脂类碳源的代谢能力较强（AWCD>1.0）,对糖类、酚酸类的代谢能力稍弱（AWCD为0.3~1.0）,青霉菌对D-半乳糖醛酸、L-天冬酰胺酸、L-丝氨酸、L-精氨酸、r-羟基丁酸这5种碳源的利用率最高（AWCD>1.2）.研究显示,低浓度生物炭可增加砷污染土壤中微生物群落多样性,生物炭含量的继续增加会对微生物产生抑制作用;青霉菌添加到砷污染土壤后,会显著提升砷污染土壤中微生物的群落功能多样性,改善砷污染土壤中微生的物群落结构;青霉菌的优势碳源大多为植物根系分泌物,可为后续青霉菌与超积累植物复合修复砷污染土壤提供参考.      

Concentrations and chemical compositions of PM10 during hazy and non-hazy days in Beijing

In order to study the concentrations of major components,characteristics and comparison in hazy and non-hazy days of PM_(10) in Beijing,aerosol samples were collected at urban site in Beijing from December 29,2014 to January 22,2015.Heavy metals like Zn,Pb,Mn,Cu,As,V,Cr and Cd were deeply studied considering their toxic effects on human being;nine water-soluble inorganic ions(SO_4~(2-),NO_3~-,NH_4~+,Na~+,K~+,Cl~-,Ca~(2+) and Mg~(2+)) and carbon fractions(OC and EC) were also analyzed.The concentrations of heavy metals were 1.03–1.98 times higher in hazy days than those in non-hazy days,mainly due to biomass burning and coal burning.The trends in total heavy metals concentrations were basically consistent with the trends in PM concentrations except for two obvious periods(12.29–12.30;1.14–1.15);but when air masses accumulated locally or around Beijing,trends in PM concentrations and heavy metals were opposite.The proportion for NO_3~-/SO_4~(2-) indicated that mobile sources such as automobiles were important reasons for haze in Beijing.Correlation between OC and EC during non-hazy days was strong(R~2= 0.95) but it was low(R~2= 0.67) during hazy days,and large variations for OC/EC values occurred in hazy days.The calculated mass concentration of SOC is 2.58 μg/m~3,which only accounted for 10.1% of the OC concentration.When air masses from the far north-west,they decreased PM concentration in Beijing and they were relatively clean;however,those from the near east,south-east and south of the mainland increased PM concentration and they were dirty.     

UASB启动运行特征及互营丙酸氧化菌定量分析

为揭示升流式厌氧污泥床（UASB）反应器启动运行效能与互营丙酸降解菌群数量之间的关系,以稀释的玉米淀粉生产废水为底物,考察了UASB启动期的运行特征,并采用实时荧光定量PCR技术（qPCR）分析了互营丙酸降解菌群（丙酸氧化菌和产甲烷菌）的演替规律.结果表明,在进水COD 2000mg/L和水力停留时间（HRT）24h条件下,经过38d的连续运行,COD去除率达到了91.9%.当HRT分阶段缩短至8h时,比产甲烷速率达到了315LCH₄/（kg COD·d）,且形成了沉降性能良好的颗粒污泥.qPCR检测结果表明,至少有5种已鉴定的丙酸氧化菌存在于UASB反应器中.Pelotomaculum propionicum为接种污泥中的主要丙酸氧化菌,约占检测到丙酸氧化菌总数的45.7%.它的数量随着HRT缩短不断减少.而Syntrophobacter sulfatireducens和S.wolinii的数量随着HRT缩短不断增加,并在启动完成时达到最大值,分别为1.3×10³,5.5×10³个16S rRNA基因拷贝数/ng DNA,演替成为成熟颗粒污泥中的优势丙酸氧化菌群.Methanobacterium和Methanosarcina为接种污泥中的主要氢营养型产甲烷菌和乙酸营养型产甲烷菌,其数量随着HRT的缩短而逐渐减少,而Methanospirillum和Methanosaeta的数量随HRT的缩短逐渐增加,成为成熟颗粒污泥中的优势产甲烷菌群.     

Well-to-wheels greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from battery electric vehicles in China

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Electric vehicles (EVs) play a crucial role in addressing climate change and urban air quality concerns. China has emerged as the global...