Influence of soil and hydrocarbon properties on the solvent extraction of high-concentration weathered petroleum from contaminated soils

Petroleum ether was used to extract petroleum hydrocarbons from soils collected from six oil fields with different history of exploratory and contamination. It was capable of fast removing 76–94 % of the total petroleum hydrocarbons including 25 alkanes (C₁₁–C₃₅) and 16 US EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from soils at room temperature. The partial least squares analysis indicated that the solvent extraction efficiencies were positively correlated with soil organic matter, cation exchange capacity, moisture, pH, and sand content of soils, while negative effects were observed in the properties reflecting the molecular size (e.g., molecular weight and number of carbon atoms) and hydrophobicity (e.g., water solubility, octanol–water partition coefficient, soil organic carbon partition coefficient) of hydrocarbons. The high concentration of weathered crude oil at the order of 10⁵ mg kg^?1 in this study was demonstrated adverse for solvent extraction by providing an obvious nonaqueous phase liquid phase for hydrocarbon sinking and increasing the sequestration of soluble hydrocarbons in the insoluble oil fractions during weathering. A full picture of the mass distribution and transport mechanism of petroleum contaminants in soils will ultimately require a variety of studies to gain insights into the dynamic interactions between environmental indicator hydrocarbons and their host oil matrix.     

Contamination assessment of arsenic and heavy metals in a typical abandoned estuary wetland—a case study of the Yellow River Delta Natural Reserve

Coastal and estuarine areas are often polluted by heavy metals that result from industrial production and agricultural activities. In this study, we investigated the concentration trait and vertical pattern of trace elements, such as As, Cd, Ni, Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cr, and the relationship between those trace elements and the soil properties in coastal wetlands using 28 profiles that were surveyed across the Diaokouhe Nature Reserve (DKHNR). The goal of this study is to investigate profile distribution characteristics of heavy metals in different wetland types and their variations with the soil depth to assess heavy metal pollution using pollution indices and to identify the pollution sources using multivariate analysis and sediment quality guidelines. Principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and pollution level indices were applied to evaluate the contamination conditions due to wetland degradation. The findings indicated that the concentration of trace elements decreased with the soil depth, while Cd increases with soil depth. The As concentrations in reed swamps and Suaeda heteroptera surface layers were slightly higher than those in other land use types. All six heavy metals, i.e., Ni, Cu, As, Zn, Cr, and Pb, were strongly associated with PC1 (positive loading) and could reflect the contribution of natural geological sources of metals into the coastal sediments. PC2 is highly associated with Cd and could represent anthropogenic sources of metal pollution. Most of the heavy metals exhibited significant positive correlations with total concentrations; however, no significant correlations were observed between them and the soil salt and soil organic carbon. Soil organic carbon exhibited a positive linear relationship with Cu, Pb, and Zn in the first soil layer (0–20 cm); As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the second layer (20–40 cm); and As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the third layer (40–60 cm). Soil organic carbon exhibited only a negative correlation with Cd (P?I _geo values), which averaged less than 0 in the three soil layers, this finding indicates that the soils have remained unpolluted by these heavy metals. The mean concentrations of these trace elements were lower than Class I criteria. The degradation wetland restoration suggestions have also been provided in such a way as to restore the reserved flow path of the Yellow River. The results that are associated with trace element contamination would be helpful in providing scientific directions to restore wetlands across the world.     

液液萃取-固相萃取-气质联用测定指甲中的多溴联苯醚与多氯联苯

利用液液萃取(LLE)与固相萃取法(SPE)提取和净化人体指甲中的多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)和多氯联苯(PCBs),经浓硫酸除脂后,利用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)测定PBDEs和PCBs.对提取溶剂比例、净化柱类型(复合硅胶柱与固相萃取柱)、固相萃取条件(洗脱溶剂及体积)以及脂肪的去除方法进行了优化,加标回收率较前人基础上均有明显提高.加标回收试验结果显示,PBDEs和PCBs平均基质加标回收率分别为90%—110%和71%—102%,空白加标回收率分别为70%—110%和60%—100%之间,仪器检出限(IDL)分别为0.034—0.120μg·L~(-1)和0.032—0.392μg·L~(-1).本方法快速、简单、高效,能够满足指甲中PBDEs和PCBs的分析.同时本研究利用该方法对电子垃圾拆解地区居民的指甲样品进行测定,PBDEs和PCBs平均浓度分别为623 ng·g~(-1)和148 ng·g~(-1),BDE(-154、-153、-183、-209)和PCB(-8、-28、-52、-66、-101、-77、-118、-153、-187)在所有样品中均检出,女性指甲中PBDEs与PCBs的浓度普遍高于男性.     

Regulatory effects of dioxin-like and non-dioxin-like PCBs and other AhR ligands on the antioxidant enzymes paraoxonase 1/2/3

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1), an antioxidant enzyme, is believed to play a critical role in many diseases, including cancer. PCBs are widespread environmental contaminants known to induce oxidative stress and cancer and to produce changes in gene expression of various pro-oxidant and antioxidant enzymes. Thus, it appeared of interest to explore whether PCBs may modulate the activity and/or gene expression of PON1 as well. In this study, we compared the effects of dioxin-like and non-dioxin-like PCBs and of various aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands on PON1 regulation and activity in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Our results demonstrate that (i) the non-dioxin-like PCB154, PCB155, and PCB184 significantly reduced liver and serum PON1 activities, but only in male rats; (ii) the non-dioxin-like PCB153, the most abundant PCB in many matrices, did not affect PON1 messenger RNA (mRNA) level in the liver but significantly decreased serum PON1 activity in male rats; (iii) PCB126, an AhR ligand and dioxin-like PCB, increased both PON1 activities and gene expression; and (iv) even though three tested AhR ligands induced CYP1A in several tissues to a similar extent, they displayed differential effects on the three PONs and AhR, i.e., PCB126 was an efficacious inducer of PON1, PON2, PON3, and AhR in the liver, while 3-methylcholantrene induced liver AhR and lung PON3, and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the most potent AhR agonist, increased only PON3 in the lung, at the doses and exposure times used in these studies. These results show that PCBs may have an effect on the antioxidant protection by paraoxonases in exposed populations and that regulation of gene expression through AhR is highly diverse.     

Simultaneous determination of estrogenic odorant alkylphenols,chlorophenols, and their derivatives in water using online headspace solid phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple online headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed for simultaneous determination of trace amounts of nine estrogenic odorant alkylphenols and chlorophenols and their derivatives in water samples. The extraction conditions of HS-SPME were optimized including fiber selection, extraction temperature, extraction time, and salt concentration. Results showed that divinylbenzene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fiber was the most appropriate one among the three selected commercial fibers, and the optimal extraction temperature, time, and salt concentration were 70 °C, 30 min, and 0.25 g/mL, respectively. The developed method was validated and showed good linearity (R ²?>?0.989), low limit of detection (LOD, 0.002–0.5 μg/L), and excellent recoveries (76–126 %) with low relative standard deviation (RSD, 0.7–12.9 %). The developed method was finally applied to two surface water samples and some of these target compounds were detected. All these detected compounds were below their odor thresholds, except for 2,4,6-TCAS and 2,4,6-TBAS wherein their concentrations were near their odor thresholds. However, in the two surface water samples, these detected compounds contributed to a certain amount of estrogenicity, which seemed to suggest that more attention should be paid to the issue of estrogenicity rather than to the odor problem.     

鄱阳湖湿地土壤-植物-地下水稳定氧同位素组成分析

近年来,鄱阳湖水位持续走低,极端干旱事件频繁发生,湿地生态系统结构与功能遭受破坏。为此,于2014年鄱阳湖湿地保护区两个断面分层采集0~100 cm土壤,并采集优势种植物和河湖水以及地下水数据,运用稳定同位素技术,分析了土壤-植物-河湖水-地下水稳定同位素变化特征,并探寻它们之间的补给关系。结果表明,两断面土壤水氧同位素变化范围分别为–10.48‰~–5.23‰和–12.39‰~–6.55‰,算术平均值分别为–8.36‰和–8.63‰。断面一表层(0~30 cm)土壤水氧重同位素较富集,且随深度增加而减小;断面二表层(0~40 cm)土壤水中氧同位素组成基本无变化。断面一的地下水主要是受降水补给,断面二可能是受降水和河湖水共同补给。鄱阳湖湿地两断面优势种植物虉草叶片水的氧同位素值最大,为–0.9‰,其次是灰化苔草和芦苇,分别为–4.23‰和–5.25‰。     

Performance evaluation of circulating fluidized bed incineration of municipal solid waste by multivariate outlier detection in China

This first nationwide survey was conducted to evaluate the overall performance of the circulating fluidized bed (CFB) incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2014-2015 in China. Total 23 CFB incineration power plants were evaluated. The data for monthly average flue gas emission of particles, CO, NO _x , SO₂ and HCl were collected over 12 consecutive months. The data were analyzed to assess the overall performance of CFB incineration by applying the Mahalanobis distance as a multivariate outlier detection method. Although the flue gas emission parameters had met the Chinese national emission standards, there were 11 total outliers (abnormal behavior) detected in 6 out of 23 CFB incineration power plants from the perspective of the MSWincineration performance. The results demonstrate that it is more important for a better performance of CFBs to reduce the frequencies of the MSW load changes, rather than the magnitudes of the MSW load changes, particularly reducing the frequencies in the range of 10% and more of the load changes, under the same and stable conditions. Furthermore, the overloading occurs more often than the underloading during the operation of the CFB incineration power plants in China. The frequent overloading is 0% to 30% of the designed capacity. To achieve the stable performance of CFBs in practice, an appropriately designed MSW storage capacity is suggested to build in a plant to buffer and reduce the frequency of the load changes.

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膜电解技术处理含氯及重金属的废酸

采用离子交换膜电解技术处理铜冶炼过程产生的含氯及重金属的废酸。考察了废酸处理工艺、电解温度、电解时间、电流密度和催化剂的添加等条件对处理效果的影响。实验结果表明：采用先沉淀重金属后脱氯的废酸处理工艺，氯离子和铜离子的去除效果均较好;当以钛盐为催化剂时，在电解温度为40 ℃、电解时间为2.0 h、电流密度为825 A/m²的最佳工艺条件下，处理后废酸中的氯离子质量浓度为0.22 g/L，氯离子去除率为98.59%，铜离子质量浓度为0.45 g/L，铜离子去除率为95.08%，其他重金属大部分也得到有效去除。净化后的废酸可回用至铜冶炼的生产过程中。     

Factors influencing farmers’ decisions on nitrogen fertilizer application in the Liangzihu Lake basin,Central China

Overuse of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in agriculture activities has caused severe water pollution in China. The lack of data at producer level hampers decision makers in the development and implementation of efficient policies to curb excessive N-fertilizer use. In a survey of 300 farm households in the Liangzihu Lake basin, we identified factors associated with farmers’ decisions on N-fertilizer use and application rate. Household survey and multiple linear regression models indicate that the average application rate in the study region is 229 kg N ha^?1, which exceeds the recommended rate for maximum profit for cereal crops (maize, wheat, and rice) in China of 150–180 kg N ha^?1. High N-application rates are associated with low farmland productivity (coefficient = ?15.66, p = 0.02), a high share of off-farm income (coefficient = 27.14, p = 0.003), and a low education level of the household head (coefficient = ?10.83, p = 0.039). Neither physical infrastructure nor access to input markets appears to be related to N-application rates. It may be concluded that excessive use of N in agriculture of Central China is mainly a problem of insufficient awareness and high share of off-farm income.     

Factors influencing adsorption and desorption of trimethoprim on marine sediments: mechanisms and kinetics

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Adsorption-desorption behavior of ionic antibiotics in natural aquatic environment is complex, especially in coastal or estuary area where influencing...