Amendment of arsenic and chromium polluted soil from wood preservation by iron residues from water treatment

An iron-rich water treatment residue (WTR) consisting mainly of ferrihydrite was used for immobilization of arsenic and chromium in a soil contaminated by wood preservatives. A leaching batch experiment was conducted using two soils, a highly contaminated soil (1033 mg kg⁻¹ As and 371 mg kg⁻¹ Cr) and slightly contaminated soil (225 mg kg⁻¹ As and 27 mg kg⁻¹ Cr). Compared to an untreated reference soil, amendment with 5% WTR reduced leaching in the highly contaminated soil by 91% for Cr and 98% for As. No aging effect was observed after 103 d. In a small field experiment, soil was mixed with 2.5% WTR in situ. Pore water was extracted during 3 years from the amended soil and a control site. Pore water arsenic concentrations in the amended soil were more than two orders of magnitude lower than in the control for the upper samplers. An increased release of arsenic was observed during winter in both fields, mostly in the deepest samplers. This is likely due to the formation of a pseudo-gley because of precipitation surplus. Stabilization of arsenic and chromium contaminated soil using WTR is a promising method but the transformation of ferrihydrite in soil proves a concern in case of waterlogged soils. Still the amendment minimized the leaching of arsenic, even in cases of seasonal releases.     

Synthesis of isotopically modified ZnO nanoparticles and their potential as nanotoxicity tracers

Understanding the behavior of engineered nanoparticles in the environment and within organisms is perhaps the biggest obstacle to the safe development of nanotechnologies. Reliable tracing is a particular issue for nanoparticles such as ZnO, because Zn is an essential element and a common pollutant thus present at elevated background concentrations. We synthesized isotopically enriched (89.6%) with a rare isotope of Zn (⁶⁷Zn) ZnO nanoparticles and measured the uptake of ⁶⁷Zn by L. stagnalis exposed to diatoms amended with the particles. Stable isotope technique is sufficiently sensitive to determine the uptake of Zn at an exposure equivalent to lower concentration range (<15 μg g⁻¹). Without a tracer, detection of newly accumulated Zn is significant at Zn exposure concentration only above 5000 μg g⁻¹ which represents some of the most contaminated Zn conditions. Only by using a tracer we can study Zn uptake at a range of environmentally realistic exposure conditions.     

Differentiation of nitrous oxide emission factors for agricultural soils

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) direct soil emissions from agriculture are often estimated using the default IPCC emission factor (EF) of 1%. However, a large variation in EFs exists due to differences in environment, crops and management. We developed an approach to determine N₂O EFs that depend on N-input sources and environmental factors. The starting point of the method was a monitoring study in which an EF of 1% was found. The conditions of this experiment were set as the reference from which the effects of 16 sources of N input, three soil types, two land-use types and annual precipitation on the N₂O EF were estimated. The derived EF inference scheme performed on average better than the default IPCC EF. The use of differentiated EFs, including different regional conditions, allows accounting for the effects of more mitigation measures and offers European countries a possibility to use a Tier 2 approach.     

The changes of nitric oxide production during the growth of Microcystis aerugrinosa

This study characterized the changes of nitric oxide (NO) production during the growth of Microcystis aerugrinosa, a cyanobacterium which usually cause cyanobacterial blooms. Results showed a drastic NO release accompanying with cell density and Chl-a content sharp rises when M. aerugrinosa grew from fifth day to sixth day. Moreover, high N:P ratio accelerated the cyanobacterial growth and NO burst. Sodium nitroprusside, an exogenous NO donor, promoted M. aerugrinosa growth with the optimal concentration of 0.1 mg/L. Experiments by supplementing with sodium nitrite and l-arginine demonstrated NO production in M. aerugrinosa cells was mainly through nitrate reductase (NR) pathway while minorly through NO synthase pathway. All these data suggested M. aerugrinosa produced increasing NO during its growth mainly by NR pathway, during which NO positively regulated the growth of M. aerugrinosa.     

酸碱改性对氧化铁脱硫剂脱硫性能影响的研究

通过酸碱改性制备了酸式和碱式2种不同表面性质的常温氧化铁脱硫剂,并采用FT-IR技术对其表面酸碱性质和净化硫化氢废气活性进行了研究.结果表明,表面酸碱件质不同的脱硫剂其脱硫反应行为也不同,在脱硫过程中硫化氢氧化生成的硫酸及亚硫酸会影响脱硫剂的表面酸碱性质,造成酸式脱硫剂的表面酸性更强,从而抑制了硫化氢分子在酸式脱硫剂表...     

同步硝化反硝化工艺中DO浓度对N2O产生量的影响

采用序批式生物膜反应器(SBBR),在连续曝气全程好氧的运行条件下,考察不同溶解氧浓度对同步硝化反硝化脱氮性能及N2O产量的影响.控制溶解氧浓度恒定在1、2、2.5和3 mg/L.结果表明,DO为2 mg/L和2.5 mg/L时,氨氮去除率分别为97.9%和98.5%,同步硝化反硝化率均为99%.DO为2 mg/L时,...     

土壤原位覆盖对底泥的修复作用研究

在高度厌氧底泥和富营养化水体构成的模拟生态系统中,采用土壤和硅藻土进行原位覆盖,研究了覆盖技术对水．沉积物界面微环境的改善作用和不同覆盖材料对苦草生长的影响。这2种底质覆盖后,表层底泥氧化还原电位（Eh）分别提高了48．37％和46．77％,底层水体的溶解氧消耗降低,水体中的总氮（TN）和总磷（TP）含量降低;与对照箱体的苦草死亡相比,经过土壤和硅藻土覆盖的箱体中苦草正常萌发、定植和生长;硅藻土箱体苦草的生物量、叶绿素和根茎比均高于土壤覆盖箱体。因此,原位覆盖能有效改善底层水体和表层底泥的氧化还原环境,隔绝污染底泥和延缓营养盐释放,为沉水植物种子萌发和幼苗生长提供有利的生境条件。     

我国中小型锅炉的NOx排放特征与管理对策

对我国中小型燃煤、燃油、燃气锅炉的NOx排放监测数据进行了统计分析,探讨了NOx的排放特征与管理控制现状.研究结果表明:燃煤锅炉中NOx排放质量浓度小于等于400.00 mg/m3的锅炉占76％,NOx平均排放质量浓度为324.60 mg/m3;燃油锅炉中NOx排放质量浓度小于等于400.00 mg/m3的锅炉占84％...     

The influence of neighborhood traffic density on the respiratory health of elementary schoolchildren

Background

Several studies have found that living near major roadways is associated with an increase in respiratory illness but few studies have measured the volume and type of traffic.

Objective

We investigated the relation between traffic volume and respiratory health of 2328 children 9 to 11 years old in the city of Windsor, Canada.

Methods

We identified the roadways within a 200 meter radius of the child's neighborhood using the latitude and longitude of the residential postal code. Traffic exposure was defined as the sum of the annual volume of vehicles on all of these roadways. Volume was calculated using sensors to detect passing vehicles (simple traffic counts), and by counts and direction of traffic at intersections (turning movement counts). Ventilatory lung function was measured by spirometry and airway inflammation by exhaled nitric oxide (eNO).

Results

The odds ratio between an interquartile increase in truck turning movement counts and chest congestion was 1.20 (1.06-1.35). The percentage of predicted FVC declined 0.68%, (95% CI 1.32, 0.03) for an interquartile increase in simple traffic counts (33,787 vehicles daily). Among those with self-reported asthma, effect sizes were larger. Percentage predicted FEV₁ declined 1.84% (95% CI 0.07, 3.61) associated with an interquartile range increase in turning movement counts. No statistically significant change was detected between traffic measures and exhaled nitric oxide.

Conclusions

Our findings provide further support for the hypothesis that neighborhood exposure to traffic-related air pollution increases respiratory symptoms and reduces ventilatory function in children, especially those with self-reported asthma.