VOC emission caps constrained by air quality targets based on response surface model: A case study in the Pearl River Delta Region, China

Because of the recent growth in ground-level ozone and increased emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), VOC emission control has become a major concern in China. In response, emission caps to control VOC have been stipulated in recent policies, but few of them were constrained by the co-control target of PM_2.5 and ozone, and discussed the factor that influence the emission cap formulation. Herein, we proposed a framework for quantification of VOC emission caps constrained by targets for PM_2.5 and ozone via a new response surface modeling (RSM) technique, achieving 50% computational cost savings of the quantification. In the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, the VOC emission caps constrained by air quality targets varied greatly with the NO_x emission reduction level. If control measures in the surrounding areas of the PRD region were not considered, there could be two feasible strategies for VOC emission caps to meet air quality targets (160 µg/m³ for the maximum 8-hr-average 90th-percentile (MDA8-90%) ozone and 25 µg/m³ for the annual average of PM_2.5): a moderate VOC emission cap with <20% NOx emission reductions or a notable VOC emission cap with >60% NO_x emission reductions. If the ozone concentration target were reduced to 155 µg/m³, deep NO_x emission reductions is the only feasible ozone control measure in PRD. Optimization of seasonal VOC emission caps based on the Monte Carlo simulation could allow us to gain higher ozone benefits or greater VOC emission reductions. If VOC emissions were further reduced in autumn, MDA8-90% ozone could be lowered by 0.3-1.5 µg/m³, equaling the ozone benefits of 10% VOC emission reduction measures. The method for VOC emission cap quantification and optimization proposed in this study could provide scientific guidance for coordinated control of regional PM_2.5 and O₃ pollution in China.     

酸碱复合改性海泡石亚结构特征及其对Cd(Ⅱ)吸附性能

为强化海泡石(Sep)对溶液中Cd~(2+)的吸附性能,采用酸碱复合改性处理获得改性海泡石(ABsep),借助氮气吸脱附等温线、SEM-EDS、TEM、FTIR和XRD等技术分析了改性前后海泡石的结构特征,采用静态吸附实验研究了时间、ABsep/Cd~(2+)质量比、温度、吸附剂用量、pH及共存离子等因素对ABsep吸附Cd~(2+)的影响.结果表明,ABsep孔隙结构发达,比表面积、平均孔径和孔容分别较改性前增加66.1%、15.7%和34.8%,可交换性离子含量有所增加,主要成分为SiO_2和Mg(OH)_2.改性前后海泡石对Cd~(2+)吸附过程能较好地以准二级动力学方程和Langmuir模型进行拟合,且均为自发吸热反应,以化学吸附为主并伴有物理性吸附;最佳ABsep/Cd~(2+)质量比为3:1;298 K时Sips拟合ABsep对Cd~(2+)最大饱和吸附量为142.43 mg·g~(-1),为改性前海泡石的3.55倍;随着吸附剂投加量的增加,Cd~(2+)吸附量表现为先增大后减小,最佳用量为0.3 g·L~(-1);ABsep对Cd~(2+)的吸附量随溶液初始pH的升高而增加最佳pH为7;不同浓度K~+、Na~+、Mg~(2+)和Ca~(2+)的存在均会对Cd~(2+)的吸附产生一定的抑制作用其中Mg~(2+)的抑制作用最强.     

紫根水葫芦对富营养化水体中氮磷的净化效果研究

以普通水葫芦和紫根水葫芦为试材,分别在室内和室外条件下,研究了两种水葫芦对富营养化水体中氮磷污染物的净化效果。结果表明:经过18d试验,不同条件下两种水葫芦均可提高水体中NH4+-N、NO3--N、TN、PO43--P、DTP和TP的去除率,且超过90%,但紫根水葫芦对氮磷污染物的去除率和去除速率均优于普通水葫芦。室内条件下,两种水葫芦均可降低碱性水体的pH值,紫根水葫芦组EC值高于普通水葫芦组的原因可能是由于其庞大的根系分泌了更多的化感物质;紫根水葫芦组ρ(DO)和ORP值均高于普通水葫芦组,表现出更好的水质净化效果。室外条件下,紫根水葫芦组水体中藻类的数量下降了4个数量级,明显好于普通水葫芦组和对照组。试验表明,紫根水葫芦不仅对富营养化水体中氮磷污染物的净化效果优于普通水葫芦,而且对水体理化指标的影响和藻类的去除效果均优于普通水葫芦,可以作为一种新型改良植物品种对富营养化水体进行修复。     

Sorption of Some Rare Earth Elements from Acidic Solution onto Poly(acrylic acid–co-acrylamide/16, 16-dimethylheptadecan-1-amine) Composite

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - In this study, Acrylic acid (AA), acrylamide (AM), and 16,16-dimethylheptadecan-1-amine (PJM-T) were copolymerized using gamma irradiation with 60Co...     

Umbelliferone ameliorates ulcerative colitis induced by acetic acid via modulation of TLR4/NF-κB-p65/iNOS and SIRT1/PPARγ signaling pathways in rats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common chronic, idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease associated with inflammatory perturbation and oxidative stress....     

Assessment of arsenic level in the hair of the nonoccupational Egyptian population: pilot study.

Arsenic level of hair samples of apparently healthy Egyptian was measured by means of hydride atomic absorption spectrophotometery. It ranged between 0.04 and 1.04 mg As/kg hair, about 55% of the analysed hair samples were within the range of allowable values (0.08-0.25 mg As/kg hair), but 45% were not. There were no considerable sex-related differences (0.303 and 0.292 mg As/kg hair for males and females, respectively). Different educational levels did not influence it either, when the effect of the age had been excluded. Children and adolescents proved to be more susceptible to arsenic as their mean levels (0.353 microg/g), and were significantly higher than those in the adults (0.233 microg/g). Smoking and some dietary habits had an important role in the elevation of arsenic levels among the nonoccupational Egyptian population: 60% of smokers and 66.7% of indoor passive smokers had arsenic levels >0.25 mg As/kg hair. Arsenic levels were also dependent on the kind of smoking, as hair arsenic of the subject smoking molasses tobacco was found to be significantly higher than that of cigarette smokers (0.459 and 0.209 mg As/kg hair, respectively). The frequency of meat and fish consumption per week was also found to be positively, significantly correlated with arsenic levels. On the other hand, the frequency of consumption of fruits, fresh and cooked vegetables, milk and milk products per week beneficially influenced the arsenic level of the hair samples examined. Arsenic content of the consumed water in Egypt was 0.001 mg/l, which is below the maximum drinking water level allowed by World Health Organisation (WHO). Therefore, the arsenic content of domestic tap water hardly contributed to the arsenic exposure of the Egyptian population in the regions of the study. It is likely that exposure routes by smoking, fish and animal protein consumption are the principal cause of arsenic accumulation in the general Egyptian population.     

A Regional Classification Scheme for Estimating Reference Water Quality in Streams Using Land-Use-Adjusted Spatial Regression-Tree Analysis

Various approaches are used to subdivide large areas into regions containing streams that have similar reference or background water quality and that respond similarly to different factors. For many applications, such as establishing reference conditions, it is preferable to use physical characteristics that are not affected by human activities to delineate these regions. However, most approaches, such as ecoregion classifications, rely on land use to delineate regions or have difficulties compensating for the effects of land use. Land use not only directly affects water quality, but it is often correlated with the factors used to define the regions. In this article, we describe modifications to SPARTA (spatial regression-tree analysis), a relatively new approach applied to water-quality and environmental characteristic data to delineate zones with similar factors affecting water quality. In this modified approach, land-use-adjusted (residualized) water quality and environmental characteristics are computed for each site. Regression-tree analysis is applied to the residualized data to determine the most statistically important environmental characteristics describing the distribution of a specific water-quality constituent. Geographic information for small basins throughout the study area is then used to subdivide the area into relatively homogeneous environmental water-quality zones. For each zone, commonly used approaches are subsequently used to define its reference water quality and how its water quality responds to changes in land use. SPARTA is used to delineate zones of similar reference concentrations of total phosphorus and suspended sediment throughout the upper Midwestern part of the United States.     

Protective effects of thymoquinone against acrylamide-induced liver,kidney and brain oxidative damage in rats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Acrylamide (AA), an industrial monomer, may cause multi-organ toxicity through induction of oxidative stress and inflammation. The antioxidant...     

H∞ loop-shaping controller design for a grid-connected single-phase photovoltaic system

This paper presents a H_∞ loop-shaping controller for controlling dc-link voltage by regulating the switching signal of the inverter associated with a grid-connected single-phase photovoltaic system. To facilitate a robust control design, state-space realisation of the system model is made with uncertainties represented by linear fractional transformation. The controller is achieved through H_∞ synthesis followed by obtaining desired loop shapes through the choice of the proper weighting functions. The controller order is reduced by Henkel-norm method for facilitating its practical implementation. Controller performance is evaluated through carrying out simulations on MATLAB/Simulink platform under standard and changing atmospheric conditions, and fault condition.     

Micropollutants in urban stormwater: occurrence,concentrations, and atmospheric contributions for a wide range of contaminants in three French catchments

This study aimed at: (a) providing information on the occurrence and concentration ranges in urban stormwater for a wide array of pollutants (n?=?77); (b) assessing whether despite the differences between various catchments (land use, climatic conditions, etc.), the trends in terms of contamination level are similar; and (c) analyzing the contribution of total atmospheric fallout (TAF) with respect to sources endogenous to this contamination. The studied contaminants include conventional stormwater contaminants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Zn, Cu, Pb, etc.), in addition to poorly or undocumented pollutants such as nonylphenol and octylphenol ethoxylates (NPnEO and OPnEO), bisphenol A (BPA), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a wide variety of pesticides, and various metals of relevance (As, Ti, Sr, V). Sampling and analysis were performed using homogeneous methods on three urban catchments with different land use patterns located in three distinct French towns. For many of these pollutants, the results do not allow highlighting a significant difference in stormwater quality at the scale of the three urban catchments considered. Significant differences were, however, observed for several metals (As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Sr and Zn), PAHs, and PBDEs, though this assessment would need to be confirmed by further experiments. The pollutant distributions between dissolved and particulate phases were found to be similar across the three experimental sites, thus suggesting no site dependence. Lastly, the contributions of TAF to stormwater contamination for micropollutants were quite low. This finding held true not only for PAHs, as previously demonstrated in the literature, but also for a broader range of molecules such as BPA, NPnEO, OPnEO, and PBDEs, whose high local production is correlated with the leaching of urban surfaces, buildings, and vehicles.