Self-assembled BiVO4 mesocrystals for efficient photocatalytic decontamination of microcystin-LR

Environmental Chemistry Letters - There is a lack of efficient methods for removing microcystins produced by cyanobacterial blooms. Here, microsphere-like bismuth vanadate (BiVO4-60) mesocrystals...     

Water resource conservation promotes synergy between economy and environment in China’s northern drylands

•Considering evenness provides a more accurate assessment of sustainable development. •Water resource conservation drives industrial transformation. •Synergy between economic development and environmental protection is achieved. •Regional collaboration over water could promote sustainable development in drylands. Water resource availability is the major limiting factor for sustainable development in drylands. Climate change intensifies the conflicting water demands between people and the environment and highlights the importance of effective water resource management for achieving a balance between economic development and environmental protection. In 2008, Inner Mongolia, typical dryland in northern China, proposed strict regulations on water exploitation and utilization aimed at achieving sustainable development. Our study is the first to investigate the effectiveness and performance of these long-standing water conservation regulations. Our analyses found that the regulations drove industrial transformation, evidenced by the decreasing proportion of environmentally harmful industries such as coal and steel, and the increasing proportion of tertiary industries (especially tourism). Following industrial transformation, economic development decoupled from industrial water consumption and subsequently led to reduced negative environmental impacts. Based on these results, adaptive strategies were developed for 12 cities by revealing and integrating their development pathways and relative status in achieving sustainable development. Integration and cooperation between cities were proposed, e.g., a water trade agreement between eastern Inner Mongolia (an economically underdeveloped region with relatively abundant water resources) and central Inner Mongolia (an economically developed region with high water stress). Such an agreement may enable the holistic achievement of sustainable development across regions. By integrating the findings of our research, our study presents a reproducible framework for water-management-based sustainable development strategies in drylands.     

Nitrous oxide fluxes from the littoral zone of a lake on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Nitrous oxide (N(2)O) fluxes were measured in six littoral mirco-zones of Lake Huahu on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in the peak growing season of years of 2006 and 2007. The weighted mean N(2)O flux rate was 0.08 mg N m(-2) h(-1) (ranged from -0.07 to 0.35 mg N m(-2) h(-1)). The result was relatively high in the scope of N(2)O fluxes from boreal and temperate lakes. Emergent plant zones (Hippuris vulgaris and Glyceria maxima stands) recorded the highest N(2)O flux rate (0.11 ± 0.24 and 0.08 ± 0.17 mg N m(-2) h(-1), respectively). Non-vegetated lakeshore recorded the lowest N(2)O flux (0.03 ± 0.11 mg N m(-2) h(-1)), lower than that from the floating mat zone of Carex muliensis (0.05 ± 0.18 mg N m(-2) h(-1)), the floating-leaved plant zone of Polygonum amphibium (0.07 ± 0.11 mg N m(-2) h(-1)), and the wet meadow (0.07 ± 0.15 mg N m(-2) h(-1)). Standing water depths were important factors to explain such spatial variations in N(2)O fluxes. Significant temporal variations in N(2)O fluxes were also found. Such temporal variation in N(2)O flux in the littoral zone may be dependent on the interaction of water regime and thermal conditions, instead of the latter solely. These results showed the importance of the littoral zone of lake, especially the emergent plant zone, as a hotspot of N(2)O fluxes in such grazing meadows.     

黄铁矿对水体中腐殖酸的吸附特性

选择富里酸(fulvic acid,FA)和胡敏酸(humilic acid,HA)作为吸附对象,通过铁矿物吸附筛选实验,以黄铁矿(pyrite)为吸附剂研究其对水体中两种典型腐殖酸(humic acid)的吸附特性.利用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X-射线光电子能谱(XPS)、红外光谱(IR)、纳米粒度及电位(Zeta)分析仪和比表面仪(BET)对黄铁矿进行组成及结构表征.考察了腐殖酸溶液p H、离子强度和温度等条件对黄铁矿吸附的影响.结果表明,黄铁矿是层状结构,吸附腐殖酸后,在黄铁矿表面形成了大小均匀的分子簇,且黄铁矿晶粒尺寸减小了约10 nm;黄铁矿对FA、HA的最大吸附量分别为11.8 mg·g-1和13.1 mg·g-1.随着p H增加,黄铁矿对腐殖酸的吸附量均表现为先增大后减小;离子强度(NaCl)对吸附的影响较小;随着温度升高,其吸附量不断增大.两种腐殖酸吸附数据与Langmuir吸附模型拟合良好且其吸附动力学规律均符合二级动力学模型,热力学研究表明,黄铁矿吸附两种腐殖酸均属于自发进行的吸热反应.     

Characteristics of the microbial communities in the integrated vertical-flow constructed wetlands

Microorganisms play an important role in removing pollutants from constructed wetlands. We investigated the microbial characteristics in a novel integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland (IVCW), which has been in operation in Wuhan, China since 1998. We used phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and amoA gene to analyze the structure and diversity of the microbial community within the IVCW. PLFA results suggested that the amount of bacterial PLFA was significantly higher than that of fungal PLFA, but the total microbial biomass represented by PLFA index was low in the system. Microbial spatial distribution showed significantly higher bacterial (both G⁺ and G⁻) and fungal biomass in the surface than in the subsurface layers. The ratios of monounsaturated to branched PLFA demonstrated that an anaerobic layer sandwiched by two aerobic layers existed in the IVCW, consistent with the redox potential results. Analysis of the amoA revealed the presence of Nitrosomonas-like sequences in the surface substrate of the downflow chamber and apparent diversities of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in the system. These results suggest that microorganisms, despite their relatively low biomass, have inhabited the IVCW, and the results will offer some valuable information on microbe to system designers and managers.     

Concentrations and distribution of novel brominated flame retardants in the atmosphere and soil of Ny-Ålesund and London Island, Svalbard, Arctic

Novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) were investigated in Arctic air and soil samples collected from Ny-Ålesund and London Island, Svalbard, during Chinese scientific research expeditions to the Arctic during 2014–2015. The concentrations of Σ₉NBFRs in the Arctic air and soil were 4.9–8.7 pg/m³ (average 6.8 pg/m³) and 101–201 pg/g dw (average 150 pg/g dw), respectively. The atmospheric concentration of hexabromobenzene (HBB) was significantly correlated with that of pentabromotoluene (PBT) and pentabromobenzene (PBBz), suggesting similar source and environmental fate in the Arctic air. No significant spatial difference was observed among the different sampling sites, both for air and soil samples, indicating that the effects of the scientific research stations on the occurrence of NBFRs in the Arctic were minor. The fugacities from soil to air of pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB), 2,3-dibromopropyl 2,4,6-tribromophenyl ether (DPTE), and decabromodiphenylethane 1,2-bis (pentabromophenyl) ethane (DBDPE) were lower than the equilibrium value, indicating a nonequilibrium state of these compounds between air and soil, the dominant impact of deposition and the net transport from air to soil. The correlation analysis between the measured and predicted soil-atmosphere coefficients based on the absorption model showed that the impact of the soil organic matter on the distribution of NBFRs in the Arctic region was minor. To the best of our knowledge, this work is one of the limited reports on atmospheric NBFRs in the Arctic and the first study to investigate the occurrence and fate of NBFRs in the Arctic soil.     

Effects of environmental factors on N2O emission from and CH4 uptake by the typical grasslands in the Inner Mongolia

The fluxes of N2O emission from and CH4 uptake by the typical semi-arid grasslands in the Inner Mongolia, China were measured in 1998-1999. Three steppes, i.e. the ungrazed Leymus chinensis (LC), the moderately grazed Leymus chinensis (LC) and the ungrazed Stipa grandis (SG), were investigated, at a measurement frequency of once per week in the growing seasons and once per month in the non-growing seasons of the LC steppes. In addition, four diurnal-cycles of the growing seasons of the LC steppes, each in an individual stage of grass growth, were measured. The investigated steppes play a role of source for the atmospheric N2O and sink for the atmospheric CH4, with a N2O emission flux of 0.06-0.21 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) and a CH4 uptake flux of 1.8-2.3 kg C ha(-1) yr(-1). Soil moisture primarily and positively regulates the spatial and seasonal variability of N2O emission. The usual difference in soil moisture among various semi-arid steppes does not lead to significantly different CH4 uptake intensities. Soil moisture, however, negatively regulates the seasonal variability in CH4 uptake. Soil temperature of the most top layer might be the primary driving factor for CH4 uptake when soil moisture is relatively low. The annual net emission of N2O and CH4 from the ungrazed LC steppe, the moderately grazed LC steppe and the ungrazed SG steppe is at a CO2 equivalent rate of 7.7, 0.8 and -7.5 kg CO2-C ha(-1) yr(-1), respectively, which is at an ignorable level. This implies that the role of the semi-arid grasslands in the atmospheric greenhouse effect in terms of net emission of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) may exclusively depend upon the net exchange of net ecosystem CO2 exchange.     

原生质体融合构建高产碱性蛋白酶工程菌

用原生质体融合的方法，将碱性蛋白酶生产菌2709与含有碱性蛋白酶基因克隆载体pDW2的工程菌枯草杆菌BD105进行细胞融合，得到1株高产碱性蛋白酶的工程菌A16，菌落的原位杂交表明，该菌株携有双亲的遗传物质，A16的表型与生长特征与2709相似，但同样条件下发酵酶活比2709高50%-100%，摇瓶发酵的产酶水平最高可达30000u/mL,A16发酵所产酶的最适pH与耐温性及发酵条件等特征均与2709相同。适用于工业生产。     

MBR与接触氧化组合处理生活污水的研究

实验研究了膜生物反应器与接触氧化组合工艺处理生活废水的效果,结果表明:DO在2.0mg/L左右,HRT为8h的条件下,COD、NH3-N、TN、TP的去除率分别达到93.8%、93.7%、41.4%、40.6%;处理出水COD质量浓度小于30mg/L,NH3-N质量浓度小于4 mg/L,SS检不出,出水水质好,能达到中水回用的标准。