Toxicity of atrazine and its bioaccumulation and biodegradation in a green microalga,Chlamydomonas mexicana

This study evaluated the toxicity of herbicide atrazine, along with its bioaccumulation and biodegradation in the green microalga Chlamydomonas mexicana. At low concentration (10 μg L^?1), atrazine had no profound effect on the microalga, while higher concentrations (25, 50, and 100 μg L^?1) imposed toxicity, leading to inhibition of cell growth and chlorophyll a accumulation by 22 %, 33 %, and 36 %, and 13 %, 24 %, and 27 %, respectively. Atrazine 96-h EC50 for C. mexicana was estimated to be 33 μg L^?1. Microalga showed a capability to accumulate atrazine in the cell and to biodegrade the cell-accumulated atrazine resulting in 14–36 % atrazine degradation at 10–100 μg L^?1. Increasing atrazine concentration decreased the total fatty acids (from 102 to 75 mg g^?1) and increased the unsaturated fatty acid content in the microalga. Carbohydrate content increased gradually with the increase in atrazine concentration up to 15 %. This study shows that C. mexicana has the capability to degrade atrazine and can be employed for the remediation of atrazine-contaminated streams.     

Mechanistic studies of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) formation in chlorinated drinking water

Studies were conducted to investigate the hypothesis that N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a potential disinfection by-product specifically produced during chlorination or chloramination. Experiments were conducted using dimethylamine (DMA) as a model precursor. NDMA was formed by the reaction of DMA with free chlorine in the presence of ammonia and also with monochloramine. We proposed a mechanism for NDMA formation in chlorinated or chloraminated water, which does not require nitrite as in N-nitrosation. The critical NDMA formation reactions consist of (i) the formation of monochloramine by combination of free chlorine with ammonia, (ii) the formation of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) intermediate from the reaction of DMA with monochloramine followed by, (iii) the oxidation of UDMH by monochloramine to NDMA, and (iv) the reversible chlorine transfer reaction between free chlorine/monochloramine and DMA which is parallel with (i) and (ii). A kinetic model was also developed to validate the proposed mechanism.     

Effect of soil texture on surfactant-based remediation of hydrophobic organic-contaminated soil

Surfactants may be used in remediation of subsoil and aquifer contaminated with hydrophobic compounds. The objectives of this study were to examine the effect of soil texture on hydrophobic organic contaminant (HOC; toluene, or 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene [TCB]) removal from six soils and to evaluate the optimal composition of soil texture for maximum HOC removal using aqueous surfactant solution. Selected surfactants were 4% (vol/vol) sodium diphenyl oxide disulfonate (DOSL) and 4% (wt/vol) sodium lauryl sulfate (LS). Toluene and TCB were selected as the lighter-than-water nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) and denser-than-water nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) model substances, respectively. Soil types used for this study were Ottawa sand and five Iowa soils (Fruitfield, Keomah, Crippin, Webster, and Galvar). The greatest recovery of toluene and TCB in batch tests was 73% and 84%, respectively, which was obtained with DOSL surfactant in Ottawa sand. The toluene removal of 95% in column tests has been achieved in the Ottawa sand and three Iowa soils (Fruitfield, Keomah, Crippin) with DOSL after effluent volume of 3750 ml (about 32 pore volume) passed. TCB removal of 98% in column tests has been achieved in Ottawa sand and three Iowa soils (Fruitfield, Keomah, Crippin) with DOSL after effluent volume of 2500 ml (about 21 pore volume) passed. These results were related with soil texture (clay content 30%), clay mineralogy (kaolinite and smectite), as a function of transported pore volume.     

ARCGIS‐SWAT: A GEODATA MODEL AND GIS INTERFACE FOR SWAT1

This paper presents ArcGIS‐SWAT, a geodata model and geographic information system (GIS) interface for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The ArcGIS‐SWAT data model is a system of geodatabases that store SWAT geographic, numeric, and text input data and results in an organized fashion. Thus, it is proposed that a single and comprehensive geodatabase be used as the repository of a SWAT simulation. The ArcGIS‐SWAT interface uses programming objects that conform to the Component Object Model (COM) design standard, which facilitate the use of functionality of other Windows‐based applications within ArcGIS‐SWAT. In particular, the use of MS Excel and MATLAB functionality for data analysis and visualization of results is demonstrated. Likewise, it is proposed to conduct hydrologic model integration through the sharing of information with a not‐model‐specific hub data model where information common to different models can be stored and from which it can be retrieved. As an example, it is demonstrated how the Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS) ‐ a computer application for flood analysis ‐ can use information originally developed by ArcGIS‐SWAT for SWAT. The application of ArcGIS‐SWAT to the Seco Creek watershed in Texas is presented.     

EPR characterization of the catalytic activity of clays for PCE removal by gamma-radiation induced by acid and thermal treatments

Clays from tidal flat sediments showed efficient catalytic activity in the decomposition of PCE by gamma-radiation. The highest PCE removal of 98.6% was obtained with clays heated to 700 degrees C after acid treatment. The improved catalytic activity was identified by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The EPR spectra of clays were significantly changed by the acid and thermal treatments. The intensity of a narrow signal at g=2 (signal III) was decreased with increasing thermal treatment temperature and this increased the PCE removal efficiency. The acid treatment completely removed a broad signal at g=2 (signal II), decreased the intensity of signal III, and improved the gamma-radiation treatment of PCE.     

A dynamic compartment model for assessing the transfer of radionuclide deposited onto flooded rice-fields

A dynamic compartment model has been studied to estimate the transfer of radionuclides deposited onto flooded rice-fields after an accidental release. In the model, a surface water compartment and a direct shoot-base absorption from the surface water to the rice-plant, which are major features discriminating the present model from the existing model, has been introduced to account for the flooded condition of rice-fields. The model has been applied to the deposition experiments of 137Cs on rice-fields that were performed at three different times to simulate the deposition before transplanting (May 2) and during the growth of the rice (June 1 and August 12), respectively. In the case of the deposition of May 2, the root-uptake is the most predominant process for transferring 137Cs to the rice-body and grain. When the radionuclide is applied just after transplanting (June 1), the activity of the body is controlled by the shoot-base absorption and the activity of the grain by the root-uptake. The deposition just before ear-emergence (August 12) shows that the shoot-base absorption contributes entirely to the increase of both the activities of the body and grain. The model prediction agrees within one or two factors with the experimental results obtained for a respective deposition experiment.     

Fluctuations of exposure rate at regional radiation monitoring stations in Korea

Based on hourly means of exposure rate between August 2000 and July 2001 at nine Regional Radiation Monitoring Stations (RRMS) in Korea, we analyzed spatio-temporal characteristics of exposure rate. The mean and fluctuations of exposure rates were 99 and 3.8 nGy h(-1), respectively. The hourly exposure rate over 9 RRMS indicated a diurnal pattern with the exposure rates reaching a maximum between 5:00 and 8:00 a.m. in the early morning and a broad minimum between 4:00 and 10:00 p.m. in the afternoon. The fluctuations of exposure rate in the inland areas were less than 3.2 nGy h(-1), and those of exposure rate in coastal areas were larger than 3.9 nGy h(-1). The frequency distribution of exposure rates had one peak around the mean and was to be skewed to the right or positively skewed and its tails were fatter than those of a normal distribution. The interrelations of exposure rates at each station generally decreased with the distance between the stations. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis showed that almost all (99.9%) of exposure rate fluctuations were described by simultaneous variations. The spatial distribution of the first EOF modes of actual, low-pass (periods longer than one month) and high-pass (periods shorter than one month) exposure rate series were similar to each other.     

Absorption characteristics of new solvent based on a blend of AMP and 1,8-diamino-p-menthane for CO2 absorption

Aqueous 1,8-diamino-p-menthane (KIER-C3) and commercially available amine solutions were tested for CO₂ absorption. A 2-amino- 2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) solution with an addition of KIER-C3 showed 9.3% and 31.6% higher absorption rate for CO₂ than the AMP solution with an addition of monoethanolamine (MEA) and ammonia (NH₃), respectively. The reaction rate constant for CO₂ absorption by the AMP/KIER-C3 solution was determined by the following equation: k_2,AMP/C3 = 7.702×10⁶ exp (-2248.03/T). A CO₂ loading ratio of the AMP/KIER-C3 solution was also 2 and 3.4-times higher than that of the AMP/NH3 solution and the AMP/MEA solution, respectively. Based on the experimental results, KIER-C3 may be used as an excellent additive to increase CO₂ absorption capability of AMP.