Solar-induced generation of singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical in sewage wastewaters

Singlet oxygen (¹O₂) and hydroxyl radical (·OH) play an important role in the degradation of pollutants in surface waters. However, the mechanism underlying the photochemical generation of ¹O₂ and ·OH in wastewaters is poorly known. Here we studied the photo-induced generation of ¹O₂ and ·OH in different sewage treatment plant units. The correlation between the generation of ¹O₂ and ·OH and the water constituents was discussed. Our results show that in sewage units the ¹O₂ formation rate ranges from 2.19 × 10^?8 to 6.74 × 10^?8 mol L^?1 s^?1, and the ·OH formation rate ranges from 1.7 × 10^?11 to 3.06 × 10^?10 mol L^?1 s^?1. The average ¹O₂ formation rates in the various sewage units are similar to those in wetland and estuarine waters containing rich dissolved organic matter and 2–4 times higher than those in lake and seawater samples. The average ·OH formation rates of the sewage units are 5–50 times higher than for other water samples reported. The ·OH generation rate increased with the iron content with a correlation coefficient of 0.85, which indicates that the photo-Fenton reaction plays a dominant role in ·OH generation in sewage wastewater.     

某石化废水的综合毒性评价及其处理工艺对毒性的削减规律研究

利用生物毒性测试对环境中的污染物进行生态风险评价,是目前风险评价中的研究热点。本研究以明亮发光杆菌(Photobacterium phosphoreum)、斜生栅藻(Scenedesmus obliquus)和大型溞(Daphina magna)为受试生物,对某石化厂废水的处理流程中5个主要单元出水的急性毒性进行了测试,分析了其急性毒性与理化指标间的相关性;同时,为了解不同处理单元毒性去除效果及主要毒性来源,结合毒性鉴别评价(toxicity identification evaluation,TIE)技术对各阶段出水的毒性削减及其主要致毒物质类别进行了分析。毒性测试结果表明,该废水处理厂对石化废水的毒性去除效果比较显著,其中进水对明亮发光杆菌、斜生栅藻和大型溞分别表现为中毒、高毒和剧毒,最终处理后出水的毒性分别为无急性毒、中毒和微毒,对毒性的去除效率分别为96.4%、74.3%和99.5%。TIE结果表明,石化废水中的主要致毒物质是非极性有机物和可滤型物质。本研究结果为石化废水的综合生物毒性评价提供了研究基础,为探讨废水生物毒性的去除提供了实例参考。     

环氟菌胺的水解动力学研究

为明确环氟菌胺的水解动力学规律,采用室内模拟试验方法,探究了温度、p H值、表面活性剂和不同种类水体对环氟菌胺水解的影响。结果表明:随着温度的升高,环氟菌胺的水解速率加快;环氟菌胺在碱性条件下降解最快;十二烷基磺酸钠(sodium dodecyl sulfonate,SDS)抑制环氟菌胺的水解;腐植酸的浓度低于1 mg·L-1时促进环氟菌胺的水解,浓度高于1 mg·L-1时抑制环氟菌胺的水解;环氟菌胺在不同水体中的水解速率顺序为:海水>江水>河水,环氟菌胺在自然条件下的降解速率显著高于室内模拟条件。     

废弃农药厂污染场地土壤浸出液的急性毒性和遗传毒性筛查

污染土地再开发是城市土地可持续利用的关键。为进行废弃农药厂的生态风险评价,采集常州市某废弃农药厂污染场地6个不同区域的土壤样品(编号为S1、S2、S3、S4、S5和S6),选取发光细菌、大型溞和蚕豆根尖细胞为试验生物,运用成组生物毒性试验对6个土壤样品的浸出液进行生物毒性检测。结果表明:6个土壤样品的浸出液都具有急性毒性和遗传毒性;发光菌和大型溞急性毒性试验表明,S3和S5的土壤浸出液毒性最高,S6的土壤浸出液毒性最低;蚕豆根尖微核遗传毒性试验表明S3和S5的土壤浸出液毒性最高,S4和S6的土壤浸出液毒性最低。蚕豆根尖微核遗传毒性试验结果与发光菌和大型溞急性毒性效应基本相同,表明成组生物毒性测试法可以用于污染土壤浸出液的毒性评价。污染物质和毒性检测结果的相关性分析结果表明,土壤中所含污染物种类和浓度已经对土壤毒性效应产生影响,结合化学分析与生物毒性检测可为污染场地进行综合评价与风险评估提供依据。     

Different exposure levels of fine particulate matter and preterm birth: a meta-analysis based on cohort studies

The previous studies estimated the association between PM_2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm) exposure during pregnancy and preterm birth, only considered and highlighted the hazard effects of high levels of air pollutant exposure, and underestimated that low levels of pollutant exposure might also affect pregnancy outcome. We conducted a meta-analysis of 11 cohort studies, a total of more than 1,500,000 subjects. The results of these studies were pooled by exposure levels and study periods. PM_2.5 exposure during pregnancy was positively associated with preterm birth (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.07–1.23), and during the first trimester of pregnancy, low levels of PM_2.5 exposure were also positively associated with preterm birth (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.04–1.30). It is important to protect pregnant women from PM_2.5 exposures, especially during their first trimester of pregnancy even when the ambient PM_2.5 concentration is relatively low. More relevant health policy should be carried out to prevent hazard effect of air pollutants.     

Temporal comparison of global inventories of CO2 emissions from biomass burning during 2002–2011 derived from remotely sensed data

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Biomass burning is a large important source of greenhouse gases and atmospheric aerosols, and can contribute greatly to the temporal variations of CO2...     

Diffusion of municipal wastewater treatment technologies in China: a collaboration network perspective

The diffusion of municipal wastewater treatment technology is vital for urban environment in developing countries. China has built more than 3000 municipal wastewater treatment plants in the past three decades, which is a good chance to understand how technologies diffused in reality.We used a data-driven approach to explore the relationship between the diffusion of wastewater treatment technologies and collaborations between organizations. A database of 3136 municipal wastewater treatment plants and 4634 collaborating organizations was built and transformed into networks for analysis. We have found that: 1) the diffusion networks are assortative, and the patterns of diffusion vary across technologies; while the collaboration networks are fragmented, and have an assortativity around zero since the 2000s. 2) Important projects in technology diffusion usually involve central organizations in collaboration networks, but organizations become more central in collaboration by doing circumstantial projects in diffusion. 3) The importance of projects in diffusion can be predicted with a Random Forest model at a good accuracy and precision level. Our findings provide a quantitative understanding of the technology diffusion processes, which could be used for waterrelevant policy-making and business decisions.

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Feasibility of bubble surface modification for natural organic matter removal from river water using dissolved air flotation

A novel, functionalized bubble surface can be obtained in dissolved air flotation (DAF) by dosing chemicals in the saturator. In this study, different cationic chemicals were used as bubble surface modifiers, and their effects on natural organic matter (NOM) removal from river water were investigated. NOM in the samples was fractionated based on molecular weight and hydrophobicity. The disinfection byproduct formation potentials of each fraction and their removal efficiencies were also evaluated. The results showed that chitosan was the most promising bubble modifier compared with a surfactant and a synthetic polymer. Tiny bubbles in the DAF pump system facilitated the adsorption of chitosan onto microbubble surfaces. The hydrophobic NOM fraction was preferentially removed by chitosan-modified bubbles. Decreasing the recycle water pH from 7.0 to 5.5 improved the removal of hydrophilic NOM with low molecular weight. Likewise, hydrophilic organic compounds gave high dihaloacetic acid yields in raw water. An enhanced reduction of haloacetic acid precursors was obtained with recycle water at pH values of 5.5 and 4.0. The experimental results indicate that NOM fractions may interact with bubbles through different mechanisms. Positive bubble modification provides an alternative approach for DAF to enhance NOM removal.

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Comparison of sequential with intimate coupling of photolysis and biodegradation for benzotriazole

Benzotriazole (BTA) is an emerging contaminant that also is a recalcitrant compound. Sequential and intimate coupling of UV-photolysis with biodegradation were investigated for their impacts on BTA removal and mineralization in aerobic batch experiments. Special attention was given to the role of its main photolytic products, which were aminophenol (AP), formic acid (FA), maleic acid (MA), and phenazine (PHZ). Experiments with sequential coupling showed that BTA biodegradation was accelerated by photolytic pretreatment up to 9 min, but BTA biodegradation was slowed with longer photolysis. FA and MA accelerated BTA biodegradation by being labile electron-donor substrates, but AP and PHZ slowed the rate because of inhibition due to their competition for intracellular electron donor. Because more AP and PHZ accumulated with increasing photolysis time, their inhibitory effects began to dominate with longer photolysis time. Intimately coupling photolysis with biodegradation relieved the inhibition effect, because AP and PHZ were quickly biodegraded and did not accumulate, which accentuated the beneficial effect of FA and MA.

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Light absorption by water-soluble organic carbon in atmospheric fine particles in the central Tibetan Plateau

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Brown carbon (BrC) has recently received much attention because of its light absorption features. The chemical compositions, optical properties, and...