Leaching behavior and chemical stability of copper butyl xanthate complex under acidic conditions

Although xanthate addition can be used for treating copper-containing wastewater, a better understanding of the leaching toxicity and the stability characteristics of the copper xanthate complexes formed is essential. This work was undertaken to evaluate the leaching behavior of copper xanthate complex precipitates by means of toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP) and semi-dynamic leaching test (SDLT) using 1 N acetic acid solution as the leachant. Also, the chemical stability of the copper xanthate complex during extraction has been examined with the studying of variation of chemical structure using UV-vis, Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies (XPS).Both TCLP and SDLT results showed that a negligible amount of copper ion was leached out from the copper xanthate complex precipitate, indicating that the complex exhibited a high degree of copper leaching stability under acidic conditions. Nevertheless, chemical structure of the copper xanthate complex precipitate varied during the leaching tests. XPS data suggested that the copper xanthate complex initially contained both cupric and cuprous xanthate, but the unstable cupric xanthate change to the cuprous form after acid extraction, indicating the cuprous xanthate to be the final stabilizing structure. Despite that, the changes of chemical structure did not induce the rapid leaching of copper from the copper xanthate complex.     

Characteristics and clinical outcomes of head-injured cyclists with and without helmets in urban and rural areas of Taiwan: A 15-year study

Objective: Bicycle riding is increasingly popular in Taiwan, but the number of cyclists injured and cyclists' death rates are both increasing. The aim of this study was to investigate the different characteristics and clinical outcomes of traffic accident–related head injuries among cyclists in urban and rural areas.

Methods: Records of 812 patients (533 urban and 279 rural) admitted to 27 hospitals in Taipei City and Hualien County as the result of a traumatic head injury while bicycling between 1998 and 2013 were retrieved for study. Demographics, details about the accident, protective helmet use, and clinical outcomes were then subjected to analysis.

Results: Urban victims were more likely to be injured during morning and early evening rush hours and rural victims during the day; most urban victims were between 19 and 34 years of age and injured in the slow lane; rural victims tended to be younger or older and were injured in the fast lane (all P ≤.001). Riders who wore a helmet were less likely to suffer loss of consciousness (odds ratio [OR] = 0.31), amnesia (OR = 0.069), neurological disorders (OR = 0.205), or facial fractures (OR = 0.369). Older age, more severe head injuries, and bicycle–motor vehicle collisions influenced the severity of symptoms on admission and the residual effects at discharge.

Conclusions: Differences in the characteristics of injuries in urban and rural areas and the utilization of protective helmets may help government authorities adopt appropriate policies to promote safer and more enjoyable cycling.     

Photocatalytic oxidation of xenobiotics in water with immobilized TiO2 on agitator

A novel photocatalytic oxidation reactor, using Degussa P-25 TiO2 as a stationary phase with a thickness of 1.5-2.0 um on the blades of agitator, was developed to study the photocatalytic oxidation of xenobiotics. Particularly in this device, separation of photocatalyst from the purified water after oxidation reaction was not necessary, and no other aeration equipment was required to supply oxygen. To examine the efficiency of this device, photocatalytic degradation of xenobiotic organics such as carbofuran was studied as an example. Results indicated that carbofuran could be degraded completely with mineralization efficiency of 20% after 6 hours of oxidation under the imposed conditions. The mineralization rate of carbofuran was found to follow the pseudo-first order reaction kinetics. Moreover, the rate constant of mineralization was found to be proportional to TiO2 film area and the square root of UV light intensity. These results implied the mineralization efficiency of carbofuran could be improved through increasing TiO2 film area and UV light intensity. Accordingly, this novel device showed potential application for degrading xenobiotics in water.     

低层通风量及逆温条件对浙江省空气质量的影响分析

利用高时空分辨率的ERA-Interim资料,结合环保局空气质量监测数据,分析了1000 m以下低层大气扩散能力和大气层结条件对浙江省大气环境质量的可能影响.结果表明：浙江省700 m以下的大气扩散能力对全省大部地区的空气质量有明显影响,部分地区700~1000 m的大气扩散能力对空气质量也有一定的影响.但位于沿海的舟山,仅300 m以下的大气扩散能力对空气质量有显著的影响.将低层大气扩散能力分别与逆温层高度、空气质量做相关性分析,结果显示通过显著性检验的影响区域和影响高度有很好的一致性,说明三者之间存在密切的联系.逆温层高度越低,低层大气扩散能力越弱,空气质量越差,严重污染天气出现时常常伴随着强度较强或贴近地面的逆温发生.浙江省大气层结大部分时间处于中性状态,当大气层结转为较稳定时,污染物不易扩散稀释,空气污染较易发生.     

基于乡镇尺度的西南重金属高背景区土壤重金属生态风险评价

西南地区土壤重金属具有天然的高背景属性,在重金属高背景区开展生态风险评价和识别重金属潜在来源具有重要意义.以往工作主要以区域尺度的调查工作为主,调查精度难以满足空间规划和自然资源管理的需求,迫切需要在乡镇尺度上进行生态风险评价.云南省宣威市热水镇是典型的碳酸盐岩覆盖区,重金属来源复杂,潜在生态风险较高.本文在热水镇采集土壤表层样品(0～20 cm)1 092件,分析表层土壤中8种重金属(Cd、 Cr、 As、 Hg、 Pb、 Cu、 Zn和Ni)含量,采用统计学、地理信息系统、地累积指数、生态风险指数和正定矩阵因子分析模型(PMF)等方法开展生态风险评价和重金属源解析.研究发现,土壤中重金属Cd、 Cr、 Cu、 Hg、 Ni和Zn含量平均值和中位数均超过云南省土壤背景值,Cd、 Cr、 Cu和Ni平均含量均超过《土壤环境质量农用地土壤污染风险管控标准》(GB 15618-2018)规定的筛选值.地累积指数结果表明,研究区表层土壤污染最严重的是Cu,其次是Cr和Cd.土壤重金属Cr、 As、 Pb、 Cu、 Zn和Ni多以残渣态存在,多来自于地质背景,生物有效性较低,Hg的潜在有效组分较高,但是Hg全量较低,污染风险较小.Cd生物有效性比例较高,易于进入土壤溶液并被农作物吸收,是研究区污染风险最高的重金属元素.土壤重金属潜在生态风险指数统计结果显示,生态风险较低、中等生态危害和强生态危害比例分别为44.23%、 54.40%和1.37%,无很强生态危害样品,贡献率最高的元素为Cd和Hg,贡献率分别为34.62%和34.33%.PMF结果显示研究区重金属来源包括人类日常活动来源、自然来源、煤矿开采及交通排放引起的综合污染源和农业生产来源,各种来源的贡献率分别占9.29%、 53.67%、 11.23%和25.81%.PMF可以有效识别和量化污染物来源,为政府部门进行土地规划提供重要的参考依据.     

Characterization and Properties of Reactive Poly (Lactic Acid)/Ethylene–Vinyl Alcohol Copolymer Blends with Chain-Extender

A hydrophilic copolymer, ethylene–vinyl alcohol (EVOH), was incorporated into the poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix to improve the barrier property of PLA through twin-screw extrusion rather than the typical coextrusion process. A chain extender, poly[(ethylene)-co-(methyl acrylate)-co-(glycidyl methacrylate)] (PEMG), was used to reduce the probability of the thermal degradation of PLA during melt compounding. Biaxial stretching was used to enhance the microstructure and barrier property of PLA-PEMG/EVOH films. Experimentally, PEMG considerably reduced the probability of the thermal degradation of the PLA-PEMG sample. Biaxial stretching increased the tensile strength and decreased the value of elongation at break of the PLA-PEMG/EVOH80 (PLA/EVOH 100/80) film. Because of the efficient blending of PLA/EVOH in the twin-screw extruder, the dispersion of EVOH in the PLA matrix revealed homogeneous dispersion with a domain size of 1–5 μm. EVOH effectively improved the water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) of PLA through melt blending. Blending PLA-PEMG with EVOH substantially decreased the WVTR from 250 cc—20 μm/m²-day-atm for neat PLA to approximately 65 cc—20 μm/m²-day-atm for the PLA-PEMG/EVOH80 film, a decrease of approximately 74 % compared with neat PLA. Moreover, the WVTR decreased further from 65 cc—20 μm/m²-day-atm for the unstretched PLA-PEMG/EVOH80 film to 6.3 cc—20 μm/m²-day-atm for the film stretched at a stretch ratio of 3.5 × 3.5 and at 100 %/s, a decrease of approximately 90 % compared with neat PLA.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in household dust near diesel transport routes

A river-dredging project has been undertaken in Nantou, Taiwan. A large number of diesel vehicles carrying gravel and sand shuttle back and forth on the main roads. Ten stations along major thoroughfares were selected as the exposure sites for testing, while a small village located about 9 km from a main traffic route was selected as the control site. Levels of household dust loading at the exposure sites (60.3 mg/m²) were significantly higher than those at the control site (38.2 mg/m²). The loading (μg/m²) of t-PAHs (total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in the household dust at the exposure sites was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than was the case at the control site. The diagnostic ratios of PAHs showed that diesel emissions were the dominant source of PAHs at the exposure sites. The lack of a significant correlation between the concentrations of Fe and t-PAHs suggested that the t-PAHs in household dust might come from diverse sources. However, a significant correlation (P = 0.003) between the concentrations of Mo and t-PAHs implied that the most of the t-PAHs in the household dust might have resulted from diesel emissions. The lifetime cancer risks of BaP_eq from household dust exposure were markedly higher than those resulting from inhalation exposure.     

近20年来鄱阳湖流域泛滥平原沉积物微量元素含量与污染变化

查明鄱阳湖流域微量元素的污染状况、识别其潜在来源并评估生态风险,对制定保护流域生态系统的有效策略至关重要.为了全面了解鄱阳湖流域5条主要支流泛滥平原沉积物中Cd、Hg、Pb、As、Cu、Zn、Cr、Ni、Mn、Sb、W和Sn等12种微量元素间隔近20 a的含量、污染水平和生态风险的时空变化状况,采用富集因子（EF）和修正综合污染指数（MPI）评价了微量元素的污染水平,应用潜在生态风险因子（E_r）和修正生态风险指数（MRI）量化了微量元素引发的生态风险,并对污染水平显著变化区域的污染源进行了分析和探讨.研究结果显示,近20年来,鄱阳湖流域泛滥平原沉积物中Cd、Zn、Mn、W和Pb含量分别升高了134%、26%、41%、25%和8%,Hg、As、Cr、Ni、Sb和Sn含量分别降低了35%、15%、22%、10%、14%和13%,Cu含量无明显变化;饶河、赣江和信江流域的Cd含量分别升高了331%、151%和107%,抚河、赣江和修水流域的Hg含量分别降低了87%、41%和40%;其污染变化主要表现为Cd污染加剧和Hg污染降级,整个赣江流域Cd污染升级至中度和中度-重度,饶河乐安江Cd污染升级至重度,抚河流域Hg污染降至无或轻微;Cd污染加剧导致综合污染升级,极度和重度污染点位比例由17%升至33%;极高生态风险点位的比例由11%升至22%,其高MRI贡献率元素由Hg变为Cd,源于Hg污染的极高生态风险点降至中等生态风险.鄱阳湖流域泛滥平原沉积物中微量元素的显著污染变化主要源于矿产开发与冶炼、工业和农业生产等人为活动.研究成果可为河流污染防治和流域生态系统的优化管理提供科学依据.     

生物环境因子对树干呼吸时空变异的影响

树干呼吸是解释森林生态系统生产力变化的关键过程之一.测定树干呼吸速率,理解其生物环境调控机制,有助于构建森林碳循环模型,提供森林碳收支的估测精度.本文比较分析了树干呼吸3种测定方法,指出活体测定法与质量平衡方法的结合使用,可以更深入地进行树十呼吸机理研究.针对树十呼吸速率时空变异,着重探讨温度、树干液流的重要影响机制,并比较分析了不同森林生态系统的维持呼吸年通量,维持呼吸年通量与林龄、维度、年均温和降水量呈显著线性相关.表4参84     

Assessment of Organochlorine Pesticide Residues in Water,Sediment, and Fish of the Songhua River,China

This study examined residual concentrations and associated ecological risks of the organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) hexa- chlorocyclohexane (HCH) and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) in water, sediment, and fish of the Songhua River in Zhaoyuan County, China. In June 2012, 10 water, 10 sediment, and 20 fish samples were collected. Residual concentrations of ΣHCH and ΣDDT ranged from 10.0–35.59 ng L^?1 (mean 28.03 ± 11.66 ng L^?1) and 5.12–39.66 ng L^?1 (mean 32.36 ± 11.58 ng L^?1) for water. Residual concentrations of ΣHCH and ΣDDT ranged from 0.52–3.00 ng g^?1 (mean 2.04 ± 0.73 ng g^?1) and 0.34–3.41 ng g^?1 (mean 2.38 ± 0.92 ng g^?1) for sediment. The ratios of α-HCH/γ-HCH were close to 1 at the majority of sampling points, indicating considerable new pollution from the use of lindane. The ratios of p,p′-DDE + p,p′-DDD/ΣDDT were less than 0.5, indicating recent inputs from DDT impurities in dicofol. All HCH and DDT isomers except for p,p′-DDD were detected in fish tissue samples, but the associated ecological risks were estimated to be below levels of concern. The study revealed a historical usage of OCPs in the Zhaoyuan section of the Songhua River and new OCP from the use of lindane and dicofol.