Heavy metals in soils from a typical industrial area in Sichuan,China: spatial distribution,source identification,and ecological risk assessment

Anthropogenic activities could result in increasing concentrations of heavy metals in soil and deteriorating in soil environmental quality. Topsoil samples from a typical industrial area, Shiting River Valley, Sichuan, Southwest China, were collected and determined for the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd, As, and Hg. The mean concentrations of these metals were lower than the national threshold values, but were slightly higher than their corresponding background values, indicating enrichment of these metals in soils in the valley, especially for Cu, Zn, and Hg. The topsoils in this area demonstrated moderate pollution and low potential ecological risk. Principal component analysis coupled with cluster analysis was applied to analyze the data and identified possible sources of these heavy metals; the results showed that soil Cd, Hg, As, Cu, and Zn were predominantly controlled by human activities, whereas Cr was mainly from the parent material. The spatial distribution of the heavy metals varied distinctly and was closely correlated to local anthropogenic activities. Furthermore, the concentrations of heavy metals in the industrial land demonstrated relatively higher levels than those of other land use patterns. Soil metal concentrations decreased with the distance increase from the traffic highway (0–1.0 km) and water system (0–2.0 km). Additionally, soil properties, especially pH and soil organic matter, were found to be important factors in the distribution and composition of metals.     

A framework for understanding waste management studies in construction

During the past decades, construction and demolition (C&D) waste issues have received increasing attention from both practitioners and researchers around the world. A plethora of research relating to C&D waste management (WM) has been published in scholarly journals. However, a comprehensive understanding of the C&D WM research is somehow absent in spite of its proliferation. The aim of this paper is to develop a framework that helps readers understand the C&D WM research as archived in selected journals. Papers under the topic of C&D WM are retrieved based on a set of rigorous procedures. The information of these papers is then analyzed with the assistance of the Qualitative Social Research (QSR) software package NVivo. A framework for understanding C&D WM research is created based on the analytic results. By following the framework, a bibliometric analysis of research in C&D WM is presented, followed by an in-depth literature analysis. It is found that C&D generation, reduction, and recycling are the three major topics in the discipline of C&D WM. Future research is recommended to (a) investigate C&D waste issues in wider scopes including design, maintenance and demolition, (b) develop a unified measurement for waste generation so that WM performance can be compared across various economies, and (c) enhance effectiveness of WM approaches (e.g. waste charging scheme) based on new WM concepts (e.g. Extended Producer Responsibility). In addition to the above research findings, the approach for producing the research framework can be useful references for other studies which attempt to understand the research of a given discipline.     

Performance of hybrid vertical up- and downflow subsurface flow constructed wetlands in treating synthetic high-strength wastewater

The performance and temporal variation of hybrid vertical-subsurface flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) in response to two-stage combinations of vertical upflow (VUF) and vertical downflow (VDF) were analyzed in this research. The results of high carbon (C) treatment and high nitrogen (N) treatment were similar. The Lythrum salicaria treatment showed higher removal efficiency than CWs planted with Acorus calamus. Under high C- and N-loading treatments, the optimum two-stage combination was VDF-VUF VFCWs planted with A. calamus. Furthermore, the highest nutrient removal efficiencies were achieved in late summer (July and August) and early autumn (September). The chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen removal efficiencies were significantly affected (P?<?0.05) by season, system, and wetland plant.     

Altitude dependence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in surface soil from Tibetan Plateau, China

Remote mountain areas besides high latitude regions are beginning to receive increased attention in studying the transport and behavior of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). In the present work, surface soil samples were collected from the Tibetan Plateau, the highest plateau in the world which includes the northern slope of Mt. Qomolangma, to investigate the levels and trends of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) along the altitudinal gradient. The average PCB and PBDE concentrations were 185.6 ng kg⁻¹ dry weight (dw) (range 47.1–422.6 ng kg⁻¹ dw) and 11.1 ng kg⁻¹ dw (range 4.3–34.9 ng kg⁻¹ dw), respectively. Regression analysis between the log-transformed TOC-normalized concentrations and the altitudes of the sampling sites showed two opposite trends with regard to altitude dependence: negative relationship with altitude below about 4500 m followed by a positive altitude dependence above this point. Considering minimum anthropogenic activities and very sparse precipitation in the north of Himalayas, the trends above 4500 m imply that the significant altitude dependence of these two groups of POPs were irrespective of pollution sources, but could be predicted by the global distillation effect involving cold condensation in high altitude mountain areas. Increasing levels of heavier congeners were found in higher altitude sites, although the lighter congeners were the main contributors to the total amount, suggesting that less volatile congeners seem to become enriched easier than those more volatile at higher altitudes in this region.     

Temporal trends (2005-2009) of PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs in rice hulls from an e-waste dismantling area after stricter environmental regulations

Primitive e-waste dismantling activities have been of increasing concern due to serious environmental and human health problems, and therefore authorities in China have strengthened the regulations on illegal e-waste recycling activities. In this work, we used rice hull as a passive sampler and investigated temporal trends of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in areas near e-waste recycling sites after the stricter regulations. Furthermore, the distribution patterns and composition profiles of these contaminants were also discussed. The average concentrations of the three groups of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in rice hulls have markedly decreased during the period of 2005-2009. Specifically, from 12.9 (average value in 2005) to 0.37 pg WHO-TEQ/g (dry weight, dw) (in 2009) for PCDD/Fs, 47.6 (2005) to 7.10 ng g⁻¹ dw (2009) for PCBs, and 2.51 (2005) to 0.89 ng g⁻¹, dw (2009) for PBDEs. The significant decrease of combustion markers 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF, 1,2,3,6,7,8HxCDF and PCB126, and the PCDD/PCDF ratio from 1:9 (2005) to 7:3 (2009) is likely a result of stricter regulations on open combustion activities. This study suggests that stricter control measures, strengthened laws and regulations and more environmental friendly techniques could be effective measures in reducing the release and formation of related POPs in typical e-waste dismantling sites, and these measures could further improve the quality of the environment and health of the local inhabitants.     

三维电极电化学反应器深度处理焦化废水

为探索焦化废水深度处理新途径,采用了焦粒、活性炭负载Mn（NO3）2和Zn（NO3）2化合物粒子电极为第3极的三维电极反应器对二级生化处理后的焦化废水进行深度处理。考察了焦化废水中有机物去除的影响因素及处理效果,并探讨了有机物的降解动力学。结果表明,以焦粒为载体的粒子电极三维电极系统在pH为6.5,电导率为4 580μS/cm,电流密度为16 mA/cm2,投加量大于25 g/L时,降解20 min,COD去除率超过35%以上。焦化废水的降解的动力学研究表明,焦化废水降解符合表观一级反应动力学规律。该研究可为三维电极反应器在焦化废水深度处理工程应用中提供参数依据。     

医疗废弃物焚烧挥发性氯含量与热值测试与估算

通过测定上海某医疗废弃物处置公司设定燃烧工况条件下某时间段内烟气中HC l的平均排放速率,估算出上海地区医疗垃圾废物中的可燃烧转化氯含量在2.33%~2.64%左右;通过测定各较小采样时间段(2 m in)的烟气HC l浓度测定发现批次进料造成烟气中HC l浓度近4倍的波动,通过初步的热平衡估算得到医疗废弃物的热值大致在21.8 M J/kg,得到的结果可为我国医疗废弃物的焚烧工艺设计提供基础依据。     

青藏高原希夏邦马冰芯中阴阳离子的研究

本文对希夏邦马浅冰芯的资料进行了分析，发同离子含量变化显示强烈的周期性变化，反映了季节变化的特征。离子浓度高低变化将指示气候的冷暖变化。并与降水量变化有着反相关关系，与δ＾１８Ｏ存在着对应关系，但δ＾１８Ｏ对气候变化的反映没有各咱郭反映灵敏。     

氧化改性活性炭催化脱除NO的性能

将活性炭（AC）应用于烟气脱硝中，其自身损耗和脱硝效率是关注焦点。采用不同氧化剂（KMnO4、HNO3、（NH4）2S2O8和H2O2）对AC进行氧化改性，对所得催化剂进行了TG、FTIR、H2-TPR和XPS表征，并对其脱NO活性进行了评价。对AC进行浸渍回流处理，可使AC表面含氧官能团增加，尤其是羧基和羰基等酸性含氧官能团。TG分析结果表明：在没有O2存在时，催化剂表面的O会与NO发生反应，导致催化剂自身损耗；在O2存在时，NO主要与O2中的O反应，因而在一定温度范围内不会发生催化剂自身损耗；同时AC表面的含氧官能团能加速NO的化学吸附活化，从而提高催化剂的脱NO活性。KMnO4改性的AC在180 ℃具有高催化活性，这归因于催化剂表面丰富的含氧官能团以及高价态Mn的存在。     

High spatial and seasonal heterogeneity of pCO2 and CO2 emissions in a karst groundwater-stream continuum,southern China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Accurate quantification of the emission of CO2 from streams and rivers is one of the primary challenges in determining the global carbon budget...