The styrene purification performance of biotrickling filter with toluene-styrene acclimatization under acidic conditions

The obvious disadvantages of biotrickling filters (BTFs) are the long start-up time and low removal efficiency (RE) when treating refractory hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which limits its industrial application. It is worthwhile to investigate how to reduce the start-up period of the BTF for treating hydrophobic VOCs. Here, we present the first study to evaluate the strategy of toluene induction combined with toluene-styrene synchronous acclimatization during start-up in a laboratory-scale BTF inoculated with activated sludge for styrene removal, as well as the effects of styrene inlet concentration (0.279 to 2.659 g·m^?3), empty bed residence time (EBRT) (i.e., 136, 90, 68, 45, 34 sec), humidity (7.7% to 88.9%), and pH (i.e., 4, 3, 2.5, 2) on the performance of the BTF system. The experiments were carried out under acidic conditions (pH 4.5) to make fungi dominant in the BTF. The start-up period for styrene in the BTF was shortened to about 28 days. A maximum elimination capacity (EC_max) of 126 g·m^?3·hr^?1 with an RE of 80% was attained when styrene inlet loading rate (ILR) was below 180 g·m^?3·hr^?1. The highest styrene RE(s) [of BTF] that could be achieved were 95% and 93.4%, respectively, for humidity of 7.7% and at pH 2. A single dominant fungal strain was isolated and identified as Candida palmioleophila strain MA-M11 based on the 26S ribosomal RNA gene. Overall, the styrene induction with the toluene-styrene synchronous acclimatization could markedly reduce the start-up period and enhance the RE of styrene. The BTF dominated by fungi exhibited good performance under low pH and humidity and great potential in treating styrene with higher inlet concentrations.

Implications: The application of the toluene induction combined with toluene-styrene synchronous acclimatization demonstrated to be a promising approach for the highly efficient removal of styrene. The toluene induction can accelerate biofilm formation, and the adaptability of microorganisms to styrene can be improved rapidly by the toluene-styrene synchronous acclimatization. The integrated application of two technologies can shorten the start-up period of biotrickling filters markedly and promote its industrial application.     

Characteristics of single atmospheric particles in a heavily polluted urban area of China: size distributions and mixing states

To investigate the chemical composition, size distribution, and mixing state of aerosol particles on heavy pollution days, single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry was conducted during 9–26 October 2015 in Xi’an, China. The measured particles were classified into six major categories: biomass burning (BB) particles, K-secondary particles, elemental carbon (EC)–related particles, metal-containing particles, dust, and organic carbon (OC) particles. BB and EC-related particles were the dominant types during the study period and mainly originated from biomass burning, vehicle emissions, and coal combustion. According to the ambient air quality index, two typical episodes were defined: clean days (CDs) and polluted days (PDs). Accumulation of BB particles and EC-related particles was the main reason for the pollution in Xi’an. Most types of particle size were larger on PDs than CDs. Each particle type was mixed with secondary species to different degrees on CDs and PDs, indicating that atmospheric aging occurred. The mixing state results demonstrated that the primary tracers were oxidized or vanished and that the amount of secondary species was increased on PDs. This study provides valuable information and a dataset to help control air pollution in the urban areas of Xi’an.

Graphical abstract

     

Screening 31 endocrine-disrupting pesticides in water and surface sediment samples from Beijing Guanting reservoir

For screening 31 potential or suspected endocrine-disrupting pesticides in water and surface sediments, a multiresidue analysis method based on gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC/ECD) was developed. Solid phase extraction (SPE) technology with Oasis^® HLB cartridge was also applied in sample extraction. The relevant mean recoveries were 70–103% and 71–103% for water and sediment, respectively. Relative standard deviations (RSD) are 2.0–7.0%, 4.0–8.0% for water and sediment, respectively. Thirty one pesticides (-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, δ-HCH, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), aldrin, heptachlor, endosulfan I & II, p,p′-DDD, o,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDE, endrin aldehyde, endosulfan sulphate, methoxychlor, hepachlor epoxide, -chlordane, γ-chlordane, dieldrin, endrin, dicofol, acetochlor, alachlor, metolachlor, chlorpyriphos, nitrofen, trifluralin, cypermethrin, fenvalerate, deltamethrin) in water and surface sediment samples from Beijing Guanting reservoir were analyzed. Concentrations of pesticides ranged from 7.59 to 36.0 ng g⁻¹ on a dry wt. basis for sediment samples, from 279.3 to 2740 ng l⁻¹ for pore waters and from 48.8 to 890 ng l⁻¹ for water samples, respectively, with a mean concentration of 10.7 ng g⁻¹ in sediment, 735 ng l⁻¹ in pore water and 295 ng l⁻¹ in water, respectively. The data obtained provides information on the levels and sources of endocrine-disrupting pesticides in Guanting reservoir. These results underscore the need to improved environmental protection measures in order to reduce the exposure of the population and aquatic biota to these endocrine-disrupting compounds.     

pH对沟渠沉积物截留农田排水沟渠中氮、磷的影响研究

通过摇瓶动态实验和箱体静止实验,研究了不同pH条件下沟渠沉积物对农田流失氮、磷的截留效应,分析了pH对氮、磷截留效应及其界面交换作用的影响.结果表明:在实验pH变化范围内,沟渠沉积物对NH 4-N的吸附量和NO-2-N的硝化量以及对TN的截留率都是随着pH的增加而增加;沟渠沉积物对总溶解性磷(TDP)的吸附量随着pH的增加而增加,TP的截留率在5 d前随pH的增加而增加,但在此后基本不发生变化;在不同的pH下,通过影响微生物的活动直接或间接影响氮的界面交换行为,同时pH通过影响沉积物的吸附作用和离子交换作用来影响磷在沉积物-水界面的交换行为.阐明pH对沟渠沉积物氮、磷截留效应的影响有助于掌握氮、磷在农田排水沟渠中的迁移转化机理,从而对控制农业面源污染具有重要的意义.     

高效降解微囊藻毒素食酸戴尔福特菌USTB-04的培养与活性研究

主要针对筛选的高效降解微囊藻毒素(microcystins,MCs)的食酸戴尔福特菌USTB-04(Delftia acidovorans,DA菌)的培养方法进行了研究.结果表明,以葡萄糖、甘油和乙醇作为惟一碳源时,与氯化铵和尿素相比,酵母粉是支持DA菌生长的较好氮源.在以酵母粉作为惟一氮源时,与甘油和乙醇相比,葡萄糖是提高DA菌生长速度的较好碳源.进一步研究显示,以葡萄糖和酵母粉作为碳源和氮源时,可以支持DA菌的快速稳定生长,但在以甘油和酵母粉作为碳源和氮源时.培养出的DA菌降解MCs的比活性最高.此研究在培养高细胞浓度DA菌作为生物催化剂用于饮用水源中的MCs去除方面具有重要意义.     

Prevalence and Bayesian Phylogenetics of Enteroviruses Derived From Environmental Surveillance Around Polio Vaccine Switch Period in Shandong Province,China

Food and Environmental Virology - We present the results of environmental surveillance for poliovirus (PV) and non-poliovirus (NPEV) around the switch from trivalent to bivalent oral polio-vaccine...     

海洋环境设备涂层老化和失效的影响因素研究

目的 研究海洋设备涂层老化和失效的影响因素。方法 选择现有海洋设备涂层进行户外暴露试验和实验室加速环境试验,分析防护涂层的失光度和色差变化规律。结果 在实验室条件下成功模拟了加速海洋环境中的涂料老化,加速试验结果与户外暴露结果相关性较高。在海洋自然环境下暴露6个月后,涂层失光率降低,暴露18个月后出现粉化。结论 利用紫外光老化和盐雾试验,设定合适的环境试验参数后,实验室加速环境试验可代替户外暴露试验,缩短试验周期。涂层的配套设计、涂敷的基材结构形状、涂层施工过程等因素可直接影响涂料的老化、失效,进而引起基体腐蚀。     

Co3O4/BiVO4复合阳极活化过一硫酸盐强化光电催化降解双酚A

采用静电纺丝法制备了Co_3O_4/BiVO_4复合薄膜电极,并以之为光阳极,在过一硫酸盐(PMS)辅助作用下开展了光电催化降解双酚A研究.结果表明,PMS在可见光下可显著强化Co_3O_4/BiVO_4复合阳极光电催化降解双酚A,在0.25 V外加偏压以及可见光照射下,当加入2 mmol·L-1PMS时,双酚A在2 h内的降解效率为96%.降解动力学常数为0.471 4 min-1.系统研究了PMS初始浓度、外加偏压对双酚A降解性能的影响.结果发现,双酚A在较低的PMS投加量和较低的外加偏压(0.25 V)下即可有效降解.采用电子自旋共振波谱仪鉴定体系的主要活性自由基为SO·-4和·OH.并进一步通过淬灭实验结果证明空穴、SO·-4和·OH起主要氧化作用.光电反应后的体系中未检测到金属离子溶出,可避免二次污染.     

Characterization of submicron particles during autumn in Beijing, China

In this study, we performed a highly time-resolved chemical characterization of nonrefractory submicron particles(NR-PM_1) in Beijing by using an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer(HR-ToF-AMS). The results showed the average NR-PM_1 mass concentration to be 56.4 ± 58.0 μg/m~3, with a peak at 307.4 μg/m~3. Due to the high frequency of biomass burning in autumn, submicron particles significantly increased in organic content, which accounted for 51% of NR-PM_1 on average. Secondary inorganic aerosols(sulfate + nitrate + ammonium) accounted for 46% of NR-PM_1, of which sulfate,nitrate, and ammonium contributed 15%, 20%, and 11%, respectively. To determine the intrinsic relationships between the organic and inorganic species, we used the positive matrix factorization(PMF) model to merge the high-resolution mass spectra of the organic species and NO+and NO_2~+ions. The PMF analysis separated the mixed organic and nitrate(NO+and NO_2~+) spectra into four organic factors, including hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol(HOA), oxygenated organic aerosol(OOA), cooking organic aerosol(COA), and biomass burning organic aerosol(BBOA), as well as one nitrate inorganic aerosol(NIA) factor. COA(33%) and OOA(30%) contributed the most to the total organic aerosol(OA) mass, followed by BBOA(20%) and HOA(17%). We successfully quantified the mass concentrations of the organic and inorganic nitrates by the NO+and NO2+ions signal in the organic and NIA factors. The organic nitrate mass varied from 0.01-6.8 μg/m~3, with an average of 1.0 ±1.1 μg/m~3, and organic nitrate components accounted for 10% of the total nitrate mass in this observation.     

Are current Chinese national ambient air quality standards on 24-hour averages for particulate matter sufficient to protect public health?

With rapid economic development and urbanization in recent decades, China has experienced the worsening of ambient air quality. For better air quality management to protect human health, Chinese government revised national ambient air quality standards(NAAQS) for particulate matter(PM) in 2012(GB3095-2012). To assess the effectiveness of current NAAQS for PM on public health in Chinese population, we conducted a metaanalysis on published studies examining the mortality risk of short-term exposure to PM with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 and 2.5 μm(PM_(10) and PM_(2.5)) in China. The reported24-hour concentrations of PM_(10) and PM_(2.5) in studies ranged from 43.5 to 150.1 μg/m~3 and 37.5 to 176.7 μg/m~3. In the pooled excess, mortality risk estimates of short-term exposure to PM.In specific, per 10 μg/m~3 increase in PM_(10), we observed increases of 0.40%(95%CI: 0.33%,0.47%), 0.57%(95%CI: 0.44%, 0.70%) and 0.49%(95%CI: 0.40%, 0.58%) in total, respiratory and cardiovascular mortality, per 10 μg/m~3 increase in PM_(2.5), we observed increases of 0.51%(95%CI: 0.38%, 0.63%), 0.62%(95%CI: 0.52%, 0.73%) and 0.75%(95%CI: 0.54%, 0.95%) in total,respiratory and cardiovascular mortality. Finally, we derived 125 μg/m~3 for PM_(10) and 62.5 μg/m~3 for PM_(2.5) as 24-hour recommendation values based on the pooled estimates. Our results indicated that current Chinese NAAQS for PM could be sufficient in mitigating the excess mortality risk from short-term exposure to ambient PM. However, future research on longterm exposure cohort studies in Chinese population is also essential in revising annual averages for PM in Chinese NAAQS.