Immobilization of lead in anthropogenic contaminated soils using phosphates with/without oxalic acid

Understanding the effects of oxalic acid(OA) on the immobilization of Pb(Ⅱ) in contaminated soils by phosphate materials, has considerable benefits for risk assessment and remediation strategies for the soil. A series of phosphate amendments with/without oxalic acid were applied to two anthropogenic contaminated soils. We investigated the immobilization of Pb(Ⅱ) by KH2PO4, phosphate rock(PR), activated phosphate rock(APR) and synthetic hydroxyapatite(HAP) at different phosphate:Pb(P:Pb) molar ratios(0, 0.6, 2.0 and 4.0) in the presence/absence of 50 mmol oxalic acid/kg soil, respectively. The effects of treatments were evaluated using single extraction with deionized water or Ca Cl2, Community Bureau of Reference(BCR) sequential extraction and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure(TCLP)methods. Our results showed that the concentration of water extractable, exchangeable and TCLP-Pb all decreased with incubation time. The concentration of water-extractable Pb after120 days was reduced by 100% when soils were amended with APR, HAP and HAP + OA, and the TCLP-Pb was 5 mg/L for the red soil at P:Pb molar ratio 4.0. Water-soluble Pb could not be detected and the TCLP-Pb was 5 mg/L at all treatments applied to the yellow-brown soil. BCR results indicated that APR was most effective, although a slight enhancement of water-soluble phosphate was detected at the P:Pb molar ratio 4.0 at the beginning of incubation. Oxalic acid activated phosphates, and so mixing insoluble phosphates with oxalic acid may be a useful strategy to improve their effectiveness in reducing Pb bioavailability.     

Mercury adsorption characteristics of HBr-modified fly ash in an entrained-flow reactor

In this study, the mercury adsorption characteristics of HBr-modified fly ash in an entrained-flow reactor were investigated through thermal decomposition methods. The results show that the mercury adsorption performance of the HBr-modified fly ash was enhanced significantly. The mercury species adsorbed by unmodified fly ash were HgCl₂, HgS and HgO. The mercury adsorbed by HBr-modified fly ash, in the entrained-flow reactor, existed in two forms, HgBr₂ and HgO, and the HBr was the dominant factor promoting oxidation of elemental mercury in the entrained-flow reactor. In the current study, the concentration of HgBr₂ and HgO in ash from the fine ash vessel was 4.6 times greater than for ash from the coarse ash vessel. The fine ash had better mercury adsorption performance than coarse ash, which is most likely due to the higher specific surface area and longer residence time.     

Fabrication of ion doped WO3 photocatalysts through bulk and surface doping

Na⁺ doped WO₃ nanowire photocatalysts were prepared by using post-treatment (surface doping) and in situ (bulk doping) doping methods. Photocatalytic degradation of Methyl Blue was tested under visible light irradiation, the results showed that 1 wt.% Na⁺ bulk-doped WO₃ performed better, with higher photoactivity than surface-doped WO₃. Photoelectrochemical characterization revealed the differences in the photocatalytic process for surface doping and bulk doping. Uniform bulk doping could generate more electron–hole pairs, while minimizing the chance of electron–hole recombination. Some bulk properties such as the bandgap, Fermi level and band position could also be adjusted by bulk doping, but not by surface doping.     

Predicting heavy metals’ adsorption edges and adsorption isotherms on MnO2 with the parameters determined from Langmuir kinetics

Although surface complexation models have been widely used to describe the adsorption of heavy metals, few studies have verified the feasibility of modeling the adsorption kinetics,edge, and isotherm data with one p H-independent parameter. A close inspection of the derivation process of Langmuir isotherm revealed that the equilibrium constant derived from the Langmuir kinetic model, K S-kinetic, is theoretically equivalent to the adsorption constant in Langmuir isotherm, K S-Langmuir. The modified Langmuir kinetic model(MLK model) and modified Langmuir isotherm model(MLI model) incorporating p H factor were developed. The MLK model was employed to simulate the adsorption kinetics of Cu(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II) on Mn O2 at p H 3.2 or 3.3 to get the values of K S-kinetic. The adsorption edges of heavy metals could be modeled with the modified metal partitioning model(MMP model), and the values of K S-Langmuir were obtained. The values of K S-kinetic and K S-Langmuir are very close to each other, validating that the constants obtained by these two methods are basically the same. The MMP model with K S-kinetic constants could predict the adsorption edges of heavy metals on Mn O2 very well at different adsorbent/adsorbate concentrations. Moreover, the adsorption isotherms of heavy metals on Mn O2 at various p H levels could be predicted reasonably well by the MLI model with the K S-kinetic constants.     

Applying a new method for direct collection,volume quantification and determination of N2 emission from water

The emission of N2 is important to remove excess N from lakes, ponds, and wetlands. To investigate the gas emission from water, Gao et al.(2013) developed a new method using a bubble trap device to collect gas samples from waters. However, the determination accuracy of sampling volume and gas component concentration was still debatable. In this study, the method was optimized for in situ sampling, accurate volume measurement and direct injection to a gas chromatograph for the analysis of N2 and other gases. By the optimized new method, the recovery rate for N2 was 100.28% on average; the mean coefficient of determination(R2) was 0.9997; the limit of detection was 0.02%. We further assessed the effects of the new method, bottle full of water, vs. vacuum bag and vacuum vial methods, on variations of N2 concentration as influenced by sample storage times of 1,2, 3, 5, and 7 days at constant temperature of 15°C, using indices of averaged relative peak area(%) in comparison with the averaged relative peak area of each method at 0 day.The indices of the bottle full of water method were the lowest(99.5%–108.5%) compared to the indices of vacuum bag and vacuum vial methods(119%–217%). Meanwhile, the gas chromatograph determination of other gas components(O2, CH4, and N2O) was also accurate. The new method was an alternative way to investigate N2 released from various kinds of aquatic ecosystems.     

Excretion of manure-borne estrogens and androgens and their potential risk estimation in the Yangtze River Basin

The Yangtze River is the longest river in China, and the river basin spans one fifth of the area of the whole country. Based on statistical data, the excretion of manure-borne steroid hormones, including steroid estrogens(SEs) and steroid androgens(SAs), in 10 provinces of China within the region has been estimated. The potential environmental and ecological risk of manure-borne steroid estrogens to the surface water in this region was also assessed. The manure-borne SE and SA excretions in the 10 provinces and municipalities vary in the order: Sichuan Hunan Hubei Yunnan Jiangsu Anhui Jiangxi Chongqing Qinghai Shanghai. The highest increase of manure-borne SEs(1434.3 kg)and SAs(408.5 kg) was found in Hunan and Hubei provinces, respectively, and the total excretion in 2013 was 65% more than 15 years earlier in these two provinces. However, the emissions in Anhui and Shanghai decreased in this 15 year period of time. Swine urine,chicken feces, cattle urine, and laying hen feces were considered the dominant sources of manure-borne E1, βE2, αE2, and SAs, respectively. Although Jiangsu province did not have the largest excretion of manure-borne SEs, it had the highest level of predicted17β-estradiol equivalency(EEQs) value of 16.65 ng/L in surface water because of the limited surface water resources. According to the lowest observable effect level of 10 ng/L for17β-estradiol, the manure-borne SEs in Jiangsu province might potentially pose ecological risk to its wild aquatic organisms.     

低浓度苯系物在新疆干旱区土壤中的吸附行为研究

采集新疆干旱区石化废水库附近区域土壤,以苯、甲苯、乙苯、二甲苯(间、对二甲苯)等典型苯系物为研究对象,系统研究低浓度苯系物在干旱区土壤上的吸附行为,分析土壤有机质含量,溶液p H、溶液含盐量、温度对苯系物吸附的影响。结果显示土壤对低浓度苯系物的吸附16 h达到平衡;吸附等温线经拟合后符合Henry直线型吸附模型;土壤对苯系物的吸附量随着土壤有机质含量的增加而增加,土壤有机质含量与吸附量呈显著正相关(P0.01,R2≥0.919);溶液p H值对吸附过程无明显作用;随着溶液含盐量增大,土壤对苯系物的吸附量表现为先减小,再稳定;温度升高会抑制土壤对苯系物的吸附作用。     

四川三岔湖重金属污染与人类活动的关系

沉积物对湖泊重金属污染具有指示作用,通过分析沉积物的污染特征可以揭示湖泊重金属污染的污染历史和污染源。利用210Pb和137Cs定年和沉积物粒度分析,研究了三岔湖沉积物重金属的不同湖区和不同年代的分布特征及形成原因。人类活动强烈影响了重金属的沉积与富集:Cu、Zn与网箱养殖密切相关,Pb则主要源于邻近岸区的交通运输活动,Cr主要来自农业面源污染。受自身化学特性的影响,重金属的含量与沉积物的粒度分布密切相关,也正因此会出现洪水等的特殊年份重金属污染特征的异变。     

闸控河段水质浓度影响关键因子识别

由于闸门调度对河道内的水环境要素具有强烈的扰动作用,故闸控河段的水质变化过程较常规河道更为复杂。为了探析引起闸控河段水质浓度变化的主要制约因素,以槐店闸为研究对象,结合笔者进行的2次实验和其他时期的监测数据,通过偏相关分析和主成分分析的方法识别影响闸控河段水质浓度变化的关键因子,并利用多元线性回归方法分析得到闸控河段水质浓度变化与其关键因子的多元线性回归方程。经过分析初步得到,与高锰酸盐指数浓度变化率有关的关键因子为闸门开度、开启个数、高锰酸盐指数来水浓度、溶解氧含量、流速和水深;与氨氮浓度变化率有关的关键因子为闸门开度、开启个数、氨氮来水浓度、溶解氧含量和p H值。     

再生水消毒副产物去除技术研究进展

三卤甲烷、卤乙酸、卤乙腈、三氯硝基甲烷以及N-亚硝基二甲胺是再生水氯/氯胺消毒中主要的消毒副产物,具有较强的毒性和致癌性,严重威胁生态安全及人体健康。目前难以通过改变消毒条件来减少其生成量,而去除其前驱物可有效降低消毒副产物的生成。文章介绍了氧化法、混凝沉淀法、离子交换法以及膜过滤等方法去除消毒副产物前驱物的研究,重点分析了臭氧氧化法去除消毒副产物前驱物的影响因素,对已生成的消毒副产物的去除也进行了简述。