Polystyrene nanoplastics affect growth and microcystin production of Microcystis aeruginosa

Nanoplastics are widely distributed in freshwater environments, but few studies have addressed their effects on freshwater algae, especially on harmful algae. In this study, the effects of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics on Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) growth, as well as microcystin (MC) production and release, were investigated over the whole growth period. The results show that PS nanoplastics caused a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on M. aeruginosa growth and a dose-dependent increase in the aggregation rate peaking at 60.16% and 46.34%, respectively, when the PS nanoplastic concentration was 100 mg/L. This caused significant growth of M. aeruginosa with a specific growth rate up to 0.41 d^?1 (50 mg/L PS nanoplastics). After a brief period of rapid growth, the tested algal cells steadily grew. In addition, the increase in PS nanoplastics concentration promoted the production and release of MC. When the PS nanoplastic concentration was 100 mg/L, the content of the intracellular (intra-) and extracellular (extra-) MC increased to 199.1 and 166.5 μg/L, respectively, on day 26, which was 31.4% and 31.1% higher, respectively, than the control. Our results provide insights into the action mechanism of nanoplastics on harmful algae and the potential risks to freshwater environments.

     

Exploring the spatial-temporal variations and policy-based driving force behind groundwater contamination and remediation research in past decades

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Groundwater has been recognized as one of the most critical and vulnerable natural sources which is utilized in potable water supply, agricultural...     

Urban carbon emission intensity under emission trading system in a developing economy: evidence from 273 Chinese cities

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The international community has generally recognized the key role of developing countries’ cities in reducing carbon emissions, an elemental way...     

Facile in situ synthesis of silver nanocomposites based on cellulosic paper for photocatalytic applications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this work, various photocatalysts were synthesized with an impregnation-precipitation process to in situ decorate Ag-based nanoparticles (NPs,...     

三峡库区腹地大气微量金属干湿沉降特征

为研究三峡库区腹地大气微量金属沉降特征,在万州城区采样点收集了2014年1月~6月的干湿沉降样品,在云阳晒经村(工厂区)、云阳高阳(场镇郊区)、开县白家溪(自然保护区)、开县野塘溪(县郊区)、开县大德(乡村区)收集了2014年4月的干湿沉降样品;分别测定了样品的p H值、电导率和微量金属元素(Al、As、B、Ba、Bi、Cd、Co、Cr、Cu、Fe、Li、Mn、Pb、Ni、Sb、Sr、Sn、Ti、Zn、V).结果表明:1万州城区酸雨频率为48.44%,酸雨主要集中在1~4月.不同功能区酸雨频率高低顺序为:工厂区万州城区县郊区场镇郊区自然保护区乡村区.2湿沉降中20种微量金属质量浓度均低于国家地表水环境质量标准Ⅲ级标准限值,而Cd、Cu、Pb和Zn不同程度超Ⅰ级标准限值,其中工厂区相对严重.3万州城区干沉降提取液p H值在4.91~6.74之间,平均为5.79.各功能区干沉降酸度高低顺序为:工厂区县郊区万州城区乡村区场镇郊区自然保护区,这与湿沉降酸度顺序完全一致,说明干湿沉降中主要酸性物质具有同源性.4万州城区Ba、Co、Cu、Cr、Li、Mn、Ni、Sr、Zn干沉降超过湿沉降,而Al、As、B、Bi、Cd、Fe、Pb、Sb、Sn、Ti、V湿沉降大于干沉降.富集因子分析表明,万州城区Al为中等富集,Bi和Cd显著富集.     

制革废水和印染废水的综合毒性评估及鉴别

研究采用成组生物毒性试验(发光菌急性毒性、斑马鱼幼鱼急性毒性,斑马鱼胚胎发育毒性和小球藻急性毒性),结合理化指标,通过毒性单位、平均毒性(average toxicity,Av Tx)、毒性指数(toxic print,Tx Pr)、最敏感的测试(most sensitive test,MST)和潜在毒性效应指数(potential ecotoxic effects probe,PEEP)对不同工艺阶段印染及制革废水进行毒性削减评估.结果表明PEEP能兼顾废水排放量与毒性效应,更为客观地表征了废水综合毒性,PEEP评价结果显示制革废水和印染废水的毒性削减率分别达到36.8%和23.2%.最后,以发光菌作为受试生物,采用毒性鉴别评估(toxicity identification evaluation,TIE)技术,对印染废水进行毒性鉴别.结果表明,印染废水中主要的致毒物质为非极性有机污染,其次为可滤性化合物,然后是重金属、氧化性物质以及挥发性物质.     

Effect of lubricant sulfur on the morphology and elemental composition of diesel exhaust particles

This work investigates the effects of lubricant sulfur contents on the morphology, nanostructure, size distribution and elemental composition of diesel exhaust particle on a light-duty diesel engine. Three kinds of lubricant (LS-oil, MS-oil and HS-oil, all of which have different sulfur contents: 0.182%, 0.583% and 1.06%, respectively) were used in this study. The morphologies and nanostructures of exhaust particles were analyzed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Size distributions of primary particles were determined through advanced image-processing software. Elemental compositions of exhaust particles were obtained through X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Results show that as lubricant sulfur contents increase, the macroscopic structure of diesel exhaust particles turn from chain-like to a more complex agglomerate. The inner cores of the core-shell structure belonging to these primary particles change little; the shell thickness decreases, and the spacing of carbon layer gradually descends, and amorphous materials that attached onto outer carbon layer of primary particles increase. Size distributions of primary particles present a unimodal and normal distribution, and higher sulfur contents lead to larger size primary particles. The sulfur content in lubricants directly affects the chemical composition in the particles. The content of C (carbon) decreases as sulfur increases in the lubricants, while the contents of O (oxygen), S (sulfur) and trace elements (including S, Si (silicon), Fe (ferrum), P (phosphorus), Ca (calcium), Zn (zinc), Mg (magnesium), Cl (chlorine) and Ni (nickel)) all increase in particles.     

岩溶地区隧道施工对水环境影响评价指标体系的建立

随着人们环保意识的不断提高,交通隧道施工期对周边水环境的影响也日益受到关注。针对岩溶地区隧道的施工特点建立了隧道施工期对水环境影响的评价指标体系。该体系研究了施工中含污废水排放对地表水体污染以及地下水疏排给隧道周边水资源流失两方面进行评价;指标体系各层指标数量随施工进展与现场情况变化进行增减,以满足施工期不断变化情况对水环境影响大小的准确评估;该指标体系充分考虑到"木桶理论"的原理,明确施工过程中对水环境影响最严重环节,有助于及时采取保护措施。     

On the effect of Fe(III) on proliferation of Microcystis aeruginosa at high nitrate and low chlorophyll condition

The impact of Fe concentrations on the growth of Microcystisaeruginosa in aquatic systems under high nitrate and low chlorophyll conditions was studied. The responses of cell density, total and cell chlorophyll-a intracellular Fe content and organic elemental composition of M. aeruginosa to different concentration gradients of Fe(III) in the solutions were analysed. The results showed that the proliferation speeds of M. aeruginosa were: (1) decelerated when the Fe(III) concentration was lower than 50 μg/L in the solutions, (2) promoted and positively related to the increase of Fe(III) concentration from 100 to 500 μg/L in the solutions over the experimental period, and (3) promoted in the early stage but decelerated in later stages by excess adsorption of Fe by cells when the Fe(III) concentration was higher than 500 μg/L in the solutions. The maximum cell density, total and cell chlorophyll-a were all observed at 500 μg Fe(III)/L concentration. The organic elemental composition of M. aeruginosa was also affected by the concentration of Fe(III) in the solutions, and the molecular formula of M. aeruginosa should be expressed as C_7–7.5H₁₄O_0.8–1.3N_3.5–5 according to the functions for different Fe(III) concentrations. Cell carbon and oxygen content appeared to increase slightly, while cell nitrogen content appeared to decrease as Fe(III) concentrations increased from 100 to 500 μg/L in the solutions. This was attributed to the competition of photosynthesis and nitrogen adsorption under varying cell Fe content.     

Ambient volatile organic compounds pollution in China

Owing to rapid economic and industrial development, China has been suffering from degraded air quality and visibility. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors to the formation of ground-level ozone and hence photochemical smog. Some VOCs adversely affect human health. Therefore, VOCs have recently elicited public concern and given new impetus to scientific interest. China is now implementing a series of polices to control VOCs pollution. The key to formulating policy is understanding the ambient VOCs pollution status. This paper mainly analyzes the species, levels, sources, and spatial distributions of VOCs in ambient air. The results show that the concentrations of ambient VOCs in China are much higher than those of developed countries such as the United States and Japan, especial benzene, which exceeds available standards. At the same time, the ozone formation potential (OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAFP) of various VOCs are calculated. Aromatics and alkenes have much higher OFPs, while aromatics have higher SOAFP. The OFPs of ambient VOCs in the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Changchun are very high, and the SOAFP of ambient VOCs in the cities of Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Changchun are higher.