VOCs in representative canadian residences

Stored extracts of passive samplers exposed in 757 randomly selected Canadian residences provided a unique opportunity for retrospective determination of the occurrence of airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Aliquots of the individual extracts were pooled to form a composite exposure sample and a corresponding blank sample. To identify and quantitate potentially hazardous organics in the samples, GC-MS analyses were conducted by several approaches. The amounts of 52 target compounds in the the composite sample were estimated based on selected ion monitoring (SIM) results, extraction recoveries, average air volume sampled, and 3M OVM 3500 passive sampling rates. Forty of the organics were detected and were present in amounts equivalent to airborne concentrations ranging from <1 to 104 μg m⁻³. Several other compounds were also tentatively identified by full scan analysis. Many of the detected organics have been reported to be associated with activities such as tobacco smoking and the presence of consumer products and plastic materials indoors. The analytical results have been useful in risk assessments and establishment of a new Canadian priority substances list (PSL).     

一种紫外-可见光谱检测水质COD预测模型优化方法

针对紫外-可见光谱法检测水质COD预测模型的精度低和收敛速度慢等问题,研究了一种基于粒子群算法联合最小二乘支持向量机(PSO_LSSVM)的水质检测COD预测模型优化方法,并引入主元分析(PCA)算法对模型输入光谱数据进行降维预处理,借以提高模型的收敛速度.结果表明,利用粒子群(PSO)算法收敛速度快和全局优化能力,优化了最小二乘支持向量机(LSSVM)模型的惩罚因子和核函数参数,避免了人为选择参数的盲目性,克服了传统LSSVM预测模型的精度较低、稳健性较差等缺点.通过以收敛时间、预测平均相对误差(MRE)和均方根误差(RMSE)为评价标准进行评估,输入样本经过PCA降维预处理的PSO_LSSVM模型的预测能力和输入样本未经过降维预处理的LSSVM模型与PSO_LSSVM模型进行了比较分析,输入样本经过PCA降维预处理的PSO_LSSVM模型预测效果最优,且此算法使用C语言实现,易于移植,这为紫外-可见光谱水质COD在线、实时性检测奠定了基础.     

Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Algorithms for Simulation of Oil Pollution

This paper deals with the mathematical modeling and algorithms for the problem of oil pollution. For solving this task, we derive the adjoint problem for the advection–diffusion equation describing the propagation of oil slick after an accident, which we call the main problem. We prove a fundamental equality between the solutions of the main and the adjoint problems. Based on this equality, we propose a novel method for the identification of the pollution source location and the accident time of oil emission. This approach is illustrated on an example for an accident in the offshore of the central part of the Vietnamese coast. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Besides, the method is verified for 1D model of substance propagation.     

Mechanisms of molecular product and persistent radical formation from the pyrolysis of hydroquinone

Hydroquinone is considered to be one of the major, potential molecular precursors for semiquinone-type radicals in the combustion of complex polymeric and oligomeric structures contained in biomass materials. Comprehensive product yield determinations from the high-temperature, gas-phase pyrolysis of hydroquinone in two operational modes (rich and lean hydrogen conditions) are reported at a reaction time of 2.0s over a temperature range of 250-1000 degrees C. Below 500 degrees C, p-benzoquinone is the dominant product, while at temperatures above 650 degrees C other products including phenol, benzene, styrene, indene, naphthalene, biphenylene, phenylethyne, dibenzofuran and dibenzo-p-dioxin are formed. Hydrogen-rich conditions initially inhibit hydroquinone decomposition (below 500 degrees C) but promote product formation at higher temperatures. The decomposition process apparently proceeds via formation of a resonance stabilized p-semiquinone radical. Detailed mechanisms of formation of stable molecular species as well as stable radicals are proposed.     

Persistence of white spot syndrome virus in shrimp ponds and surrounding areas after an outbreak

White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) is the major and most serious pathogen in shrimp aquaculture industries. By using a sensitive PCR-based detection technique followed by sequencing multiple PCR products for confirmation, we address to the question of whether WSSV can persist in shrimp ponds and surrounding areas after an outbreak. The seawater samples were taken from two shrimp ponds and surrounding canals in a coastal area in northern Vietnam, Quang Ninh Province where the shrimps cultured in the two ponds had been killed due to a WSSV outbreak in April 2001 and the ponds were thereafter abandoned. A total of 480 seawater samples (30 samples each for July and December of 2001 and 2002) were subjected to WSSV genome detection. Although the detection rates of WSSV genome were generally gradually declined in seawater environments of both diseased shrimp ponds and surrounding canals, WSSV was still detected with rates of more than 10% in the diseased ponds and lower in surrounding canals in December 2002, 20 months after the WSSV outbreak.     

铁阳极电化学对直接大红4BE模拟废水脱色

对铁阳极电化学处理直接大红4BE染料废水脱色率和脱色能耗的影响因素进行研究。考察了电流密度、染料溶液初始pH值、染料初始浓度和支持电解质Na2SO4浓度对脱色性能的影响。结果表明,电流密度、染料废水初始pH、染料初始浓度、支持电解质浓度对脱色率和脱色能耗产生较大影响。在电流密度1.667 mA/cm2、pH值6.54、染料浓度50mg/L、Na2SO4浓度0.01 mol/L、温度20℃、搅拌速度600 r/min、电解时间60 min条件下,脱色率达到92.1%,脱色能耗1.298 kWh/kg染料、铁阳极消耗量41 mg/400 mL染料模拟废水。     

Improving nitrogen removal in two modified decentralized wastewater systems

Efficient nutrient removal in decentralized wastewater treatment systems is a challenging task. To improve the removal of organic matter and nitrogen from wastewater, two types of bioreactors using membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) and microbial fuel cell (MFC) techniques were evaluated. During more than 250 days of continuous-flow reactor operation, both reactors showed consistently high chemical oxygen demand removal (>86%). At an influent ammonium-nitrogen (NH4(+)-N) concentration of 30 mg N/L, the average effluent NH4(+)-N concentrations were 6.2 and 0.5 mg N/L for the MABR and MFC reactor, respectively, while the effluent nitrate-nitrogen (NO3(-)-N) concentrations were 5.4 mg/ L in the MABR and 19.2 mg/L in the MFC-based reactor. The overall total inorganic nitrogen removal efficiencies were 64% and 36% for the MABR and MFC reactor, respectively. At the measured dissolved oxygen concentrations of 5.2 and 0.23 mg/L in the aerobic/anoxic zone of the MFC and MABR, respectively, a specific oxygen uptake rate of 0.1 g O2/g VSS-d, resulting from ammonia oxidation, was detected in the settled sludge of the MFC, while no nitrifying activity of the sludge from the MABR was detected. Molecular microbial analysis demonstrated a link between the bacterial community structure and nitrifying activity. The relatively high abundance of Nitrosomonas europaea was associated with its detectable nitrification activity in the settled sludge of the MFC. The results suggest that MABR and MFC techniques have the potential to improve organic and nitrogen removal in decentralized wastewater systems.     

A conductive polypyrrole based ammonium ion selective electrode

In view of the development of miniaturized sensor arrays, a solid-contact ammonium ion selective electrode has been investigated. A conductive polypyrrole film was electrochemicallydeposited on a glassy carbon surface and used as an internal solid contact layer between the sensing membrane and solid electrode surface. A systematic evaluation of the importantparameters affecting the electromotive force (emf) response ispresented. The performances of this solid-contact sensor were verified using a batch-mode measurement setup and a wall-jet flow cell system. The designed sensor exhibited excellent selectivity for the primary ion and a linear response over the pNH₄ ⁺ range 1–5 with a slope of 56.3 mV decade^-1. The sensor has a fast response and is relativelyrobustness, and was also used to determine ammonium concentrations in natural waters, with promising results.