Enhanced activation of peroxymonosulfate by CNT-TiO2 under UV-light assistance for efficient degradation of organic pollutants

CNT-TiO₂ composite is used to activate PMS under UV-light assistance. Superior performance is due to the enhanced electron-transfer ability of CNT. SO₄•⁻, •OH and ¹O₂ play key roles in the degradation of organic pollutants. In this work, a UV-light assisted peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation system was constructed with the composite catalyst of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) - titanium dioxide (TiO₂). Under the UV light irradiation, the photoinduced electrons generated from TiO₂ could be continuously transferred to CNT for the activation of PMS to improve the catalytic performance of organic pollutant degradation. Meanwhile, the separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs could enhance the photocatalysis efficiency. The electron spin resonance spectroscopy (EPR) and quenching experiments confirmed the generation of sulfate radical (SO₄•⁻), hydroxyl radical (•OH) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) in the UV/PMS/20%CNT-TiO₂ system. Almost 100% phenol degradation was observed within 20 min UV-light irradiation. The kinetic reaction rate constant of the UV/PMS/20%CNT-TiO₂ system (0.18 min⁻¹) was 23.7 times higher than that of the PMS/Co₃O₄ system (0.0076 min⁻¹). This higher catalytic performance was ascribed to the introduction of photoinduced electrons, which could enhance the activation of PMS by the transfer of electrons in the UV/PMS/CNT-TiO₂ system.     

Comparison of CNT-PVA membrane and commercial polymeric membranes in treatment of emulsified oily wastewater

CNT-PVA membrane was fabricated and compared with polymeric membranes. The separation performance was evaluated by homemade and cutting fluid emulsions. The three membranes show similar oil retention rates. CNT-PVA membranes have higher permeation fluxes compared with polymeric membranes. CNT-PVA membrane shows higher fouling resistance. Membrane separation is an attractive technique for removal of emulsified oily wastewater. However, polymeric membranes which dominate the current market usually suffer from severe membrane fouling. Therefore, membranes with high fouling resistance are imperative to treat emulsified oily wastewater. In this study, carbon nanotube-polyvinyl alcohol (CNT-PVA) membrane was fabricated. And its separation performance for emulsified oily wastewater was compared with two commercial polymeric membranes (PVDF membrane and PES membrane) by filtration of two homemade emulsions and one cutting fluid emulsion. The results show that these membranes have similar oil retention efficiencies for the three emulsions. Whereas, the permeation flux of CNT-PVA membrane is 1.60 to 3.09 times of PVDF membrane and 1.41 to 11.4 times of PES membrane, respectively. Moreover, after five consecutive operation circles of filtration process and back flush, CNT-PVA membrane can recover 62.3% to 72.9% of its initial pure water flux. However, the pure water flux recovery rates are only 24.1% to 35.3% for PVDF membrane and 6.0% to 26.3% for PES membrane, respectively. Therefore, CNT-PVA membrane are more resistant to oil fouling compared with the two polymeric membranes, showing superior potential in treatment of emulsified oily wastewater.     

Carbon nanotubes-incorporated MIL-88B-Fe as highly efficient Fenton-like catalyst for degradation of organic pollutants

CNTs were incorporated into MIL-88B-Fe to get a new Fenton-like catalyst (C@M). Fe(II) was introduced in C@M to get a fast initiation of Fenton-like reaction. Fe(II) content in C@M was related with oxygen-containing functional groups on CNTs. C@M shows efficient catalytic degradation of pollutants over a wide pH range. Iron-based metal organic frameworks have been verified to be efficient heterogeneous Fenton catalysts due to their open pore channels and highly uniform distribution of metallic centers. In these catalysts, however, the iron element is mainly in the form of Fe(III), which results in a process required to reduce Fe(III) to Fe(II) to initiate Fenton reaction. To address this problem, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with electron-rich oxygen-functional groups on the surface were incorporated into the metal organic frameworks (MIL-88B-Fe) to improve Fe(II) content for an enhanced Fenton-like performance. The prepared CNT@MIL-88B-Fe (C@M) showed much stronger catalytic ability toward H₂O₂ than MIL-88B-Fe. The pseudo-first-order kinetic constant for phenol degradation by C@M (0.32 min^–1) was about 7 times that of MIL-88B-Fe, and even higher than or comparable to the values of reported heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts. Moreover, the Fenton-like system could effectively degrade various kinds of refractory organic pollutants and exhibited excellent catalytic activity over a wide pH range (4–9). XPS analysis confirmed that Fe(II) content of the catalyst gradually increased with CNT loadings. Electron spin resonance analysis showed that the signal intensity (•OH) of C@M was much higher than MIL-88B-Fe, which was consistent with the degradation efficiency of pollutants. Furthermore, the Fe(II) content of the catalyst gradually increased along with the oxygen-functional group content of CNTs. The result demonstrated that oxygen-containing functional groups of CNTs have a significant impact on the enhanced catalytic performance of C@M. This study provides a new insight to enhance Fenton reaction by using nanocarbon materials.     

Changes in the heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbon contents in seawater and surface sediment in the year following artificial reef construction in the Pearl River Estuary,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Marine pollution is an important driver of ocean biodiversity loss, which can be mitigated by the construction of artificial reefs (ARs). Many studies...     

Feeding and respiration rates of a planktonic copepod (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Calanus sinicus</Emphasis>) oversummering in Yellow Sea Cold Bottom Waters

The distribution, feeding and oxygen consumption of Calanus sinicus were studied in August 2001 on a transect across Yellow Sea Cold Bottom Waters (YSCBW) and two additional transects nearby. The distribution of C. sinicus adults and copepodites stage CV appeared to be well correlated with water temperature. They tended to concentrate in the YSCBW (>10,000 ind. m^–2) to avoid high surface temperature. Gut pigment contents varied from 0.44 to 2.53 ng chlorophyll a equivalents (chl a equiv.) ind.^–1 for adults, and from 0.24 to 2.24 ng chl a equiv. ind.^–1 for CV copepodites. We found no relationship between gut pigment contents and the ambient chl a concentrations. Although the gut evacuation rate constants are consistent with those measured for other copepods, their low gut pigment contents meant an estimated daily herbivorous ingestion of <3% of body carbon in the YSCBW and <10% outside the YSCBW. However, based on estimates of clearance rates, C. sinicus feeds actively whether in the YSCBW or not, so the low ingestion rates probably reflect shortage of food. Oxygen consumption rates of C. sinicus ranged from 0.21 to 0.84 l O₂ ind.^–1 h^–1, with high rates often associated with high temperature. From the oxygen consumption rates, daily loss of body carbon was estimated to be 4.0–13.7%, which exceeds our estimates of their carbon ingestion rates. C. sinicus was probably not in diapause, either within or outside the YSCBW, but this cold-water layer provides C. sinicus with a refuge to live through the hot, low-food summer.Communicated by T. Ikeda, Hakodate     

Single and joint effects of acetochlor and urea on earthworm Esisenia foelide populations in phaiozem

Much attention is paid to soil health and environmental safety. Earthworms are an important indicator of soil ecosystem health and safety. Ecological toxicity of acetochlor and excessive urea, in both their single and joint effects, on earthworm Esisenia foelide was thus studied using the soil-culture method. Acetochlor had an enhanced toxicity from low concentration to high concentration. The mortality of earthworms after a 6-day exposure was changed from 0 to 86.7%, and the weight change rate ranged from 7.86 to -30.43%, when the concentration of acetochlor was increased from 164 to 730 mg kg(-1). Urea expressed its positive and beneficial effects on earthworms when its concentration was lower than 500 mg kg(-1). Strongly toxic effects took place when the concentration of urea was higher than 1000 mg kg(-1). The mortality of earthworms exposed to urea reached 100% when its concentration was more than 1500 mg kg(-1). When the concentration of urea was lower than 500 mg kg(-1), there were antagonistic effects between the two agrochemicals on earthworms; when the concentration of urea was higher than 500 mg kg(-1), joint toxic effects of acetochlor and excessive urea on earthworms were synergic. In any case, excessive urea application is very harmful to the health of soil ecosystems.     

Field Studies on 32P Movement and P Leaching from Flooded Paddy Soils in the Region of Taihu Lake, China

Field experiments were done in two sites, Yixing and Changshu, Jiangsu province, China, to study P movement and leaching in flooded paddy soils. P movement in soil was investigated by using the KH₂ ³²PO₄ tracker method, and the amount of P leached from the soil layer in different depths was estimated by measuring P concentrations in the soil solution and saturated hydraulic conductivities in field. Determination was done about one month after P application. There was 46% and 42% of total ³²P retained in the 0–5cm layer of soil in the Yixing site and in the Changshu site respectively. The ³²P retained in the 25–30 cm layer was only about 1–2% of the total ³²P added. Furthermore, 8.01% of ³²P in the soil of Yixing site and 16.8% of ³²P in the soil of Changshu site was lost from the layer 0–30cm soil. The seasonal amounts of P leached from the top soil layer and from bottom layer are about 4.5–5.8% and 1.6–2.1% of the total P application, respectively. Changes of total P concentrations in soil solutions during rice growth showed that the fertilizer P applied before flooding of the paddy fields suffered a flash leaching loss and a slow leaching loss. We concluded that the fertilizer P could quickly move in the flooded paddy rice field and parts of it can enter into surface water and ground water. Unless the P application is well managed the risk of P loss and consequently environmental pollution exist.