Abiotic behavior of entrapped petroleum products in the subsurface during leaching

Petroleum products are generally volatile hydrocarbon mixtures. These mixtures may contaminate land surfaces, the unsaturated zone and ground waters at numerous sites and thus represent a long-term source of environmental subsurface pollution. Based on laboratory and field evidence obtained by our research groups and others we emphasize in the present review paper the effect of leaching on the abiotic processes controlling the fate of volatile petroleum hydrocarbon mixtures (VPHMs) in the soil environment. The modification of petroleum hydrocarbon mixtures due to changes in the soil water content is considered the result of a “leaching phenomenon”. The experimental evidence of VPHM behavior in the porous media is linked to four major processes: retention, redistribution and attenuation in the subsurface, and dissolution in the soil water.

Once VPHMs reach the soil surface, their residual concentration and composition is influenced by the amount and quality of the leaching water. The transport and natural attenuation of the VPHMs in the unsaturated zone is affected by the amount and rate of leaching. Since VPHM are a mixture of volatile and non-volatile hydrocarbons whose components differ by several orders of magnitude in their vapor pressure and water solubility, their fates in the soil environment under leaching will be diverse too. This will influence the temporal concentrations of the VPHM components and their distributions with depth, as vapors, solutes, or water-immiscible solutions. Wetting the soil before or after the VPHMs reach it, differentially affects the abiotic processes governing petroleum products behavior into the porous media.     

Simulated Limnological Effects of the Shasta Lake Temperature Control Device

We estimated the effects of a temperature control device (TCD) on a suite of thermodynamic and limnological attributes for a large storage reservoir, Shasta Lake, in northern California. Shasta Dam was constructed in 1945 with a fixed-elevation penstock. The TCD was installed in 1997 to improve downstream temperatures for endangered salmonids by releasing epilimnetic waters in the winter/spring and hypolimnetic waters in the summer/fall. We calibrated a two-dimensional hydrodynamic reservoir water quality model, CE-QUAL-W2, and applied a structured design-of-experiment simulation procedure to predict the principal limnological effects of the TCD under a variety of environmental scenarios. Calibration goodness-of-fit ranged from good to poor depending on the constituent simulated, with an R ² of 0.9 for water temperature but 0.3 for phytoplankton. Although the chemical and thermal characteristics of the discharge changed markedly, the reservoir's characteristics remained relatively unchanged. Simulations showed the TCD causing an earlier onset and shorter duration of summer stratification, but no dramatic affect on Shasta's nutrient composition. Peak in-reservoir phytoplankton production may begin earlier and be stronger in the fall with the TCD, while outfall phytoplankton concentrations may be much greater in the spring. Many model predictions differed from our a priori expectations that had been shaped by an intensive, but limited-duration, data collection effort. Hydrologic and meteorological variables, most notably reservoir carryover storage at the beginning of the calendar year, influenced model predictions much more strongly than the TCD. Model results indicate that greater control over reservoir limnology and release quality may be gained by carefully managing reservoir volume through the year than with the TCD alone. RID=" ID=" Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. e-mail: John_Bartholow@USGS.gov     

活性粉末混凝土(RPC)槽形梁模型破坏试验研究

活性粉末混凝土 (RPC)具有高强、高耐久性以及高延展性等特点 ,因此 ,RPC在桥梁中有很好的应用前景。但是当前对RPC桥梁的设计研究很少 ,笔者根据自行研制的RPC ,设计了预应力拼装结构的槽形梁模型 ;并进行了RPC槽形梁模型的破坏试验研究 ,以验证槽形梁模型的承载力及发现设计上存在的问题。通过对模型拼装、预应力张拉及模型加载的试验现象的介绍和对试验结果的分析可知 ,破坏时主梁底部的拉应力远没有达到RPC的抗拉极限强度 ,而主梁腹板和下翼缘连接处的局部承载力不足才是主梁破坏的真正原因。最后 ,在总结裂缝发展和模型破坏的原因的基础上 ,对进一步的模型设计提出了修改意见。     

惰性气体抑制油气爆炸的机理分析及实验模拟

从经典燃烧学、化学反应动力学的基本理论出发,分析了惰性气体抑制油气爆炸的作用机理,通过试验模拟研究了惰性气体抑制油气爆炸的作用规律,为惰性气体防爆抑爆技术的工艺实施、系统设计和关键参数计算提供了依据.     

江苏油田含油污泥的处理

含油污泥是油田生产过程中产生的固体废物,已被列入《国家危险废物名录》,其无害化处理在国内外仍是一个未攻克的难题。通过对江苏油田含油污泥的实验分析可知,储油罐底泥的含油量比较高,污泥油含量较低,采用1:1比例混合后进行处理,可节约成本。同时对不同的处理剂进行了单因素分析,并通过正交实验确定了含油污泥处理的最佳工艺条件。     

重质燃料油中主要芳烃在自然条件下的风化规律

文章在自然环境条件下对重质燃料油进行了风化模拟实验,采用气质(GC/MS)联用仪分析了重质燃料油中主要芳烃组分及其变化。结果表明:该重质燃料油中主要芳烃为苯类(C_nB)、萘(C_nN)类、菲(C_nP)类、二苯并噻吩(C_nD)类;在自然条件下,经过1周的风化,C_nB和C_0N完全损失;经过6周风化,C_1N完全损失;经过12周的风化,C_2N完全损失,3环的PAHs无明显变化。同时指出C_2D/C_2P和C_3D/C_3P的比值以及烷基化二苯并噻吩的同分异构体分布可用于区别其它油品,并且风化后变化不大,仍可较好地用于油品的鉴定。     

地震荷载作用下沉管地基砂垫层液化的可能性

以广州仑头—生物岛沉管隧道为背景,采用二维动力有限元模拟方法,分析了地震荷载作用下沉管隧道地基的动力响应,得到了地震荷载作用下地基土的动剪应力分布;通过对试验资料的分析,得到了沉管隧道地基砂垫层的抗液化剪应力,以此分析了沉管隧道地基土在地震荷载作用下的液化可能性,并提出了相应的抗液化措施,可供沉管隧道的抗震设计参考。     

宁夏中北部风沙灾害潜在风险区域对比评价

从致灾因子危险性、孕灾环境稳定性和承灾体脆弱性三个方面对宁夏中北部地区风沙灾害的潜在风险进行了区域对比评价，结果表明：（1）银川市辖区西部、永宁县西部和惠农县为风沙灾害高风险区，石嘴山市辖区、贺兰县、盐池县和吴忠市辖区风沙灾害潜在风险居中，平罗县东部、陶乐县中部、灵武市西部风沙灾害的潜在风险相对较小；（2）风沙灾害潜在风险是多种因素共同作用的结果，某些因素的相互作用可在一定程度上减少风沙活动，防治风沙灾害；（3）通过对影响风沙活动及其危害的自然和人文因素的分析，可对未来风沙灾害的潜在风险进行预测，并为针对性防沙减灾政策的制定提供科学依据。在上述结论的基础上，从可操作性角度提出了风沙灾害的防治建议。     

Urban riverbank residents’ evaluation of flood evacuation policies in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

The results of a discrete choice experiment (DCE) as a part of a survey among the urban riverbank residents on the Red River in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, indicated that the risk of over-dike flooding, set at 2 ft above the 1997 flood water level, was a significant determinant of both voluntary and mandatory evacuation, compared to those set at the 1996 or 1997 levels. Mandatory evacuation was more preferred over voluntary evacuation when the likelihood of flooding was at its most severe, and the opposite relationship was the case when the likelihood was low. The notification time for evacuation, suggested as 1, 2, and 4 days, proved to be an insignificant attribute, whereas the respondents indicated significant preference for full flood compensation over an offer of either 80% or 90% flood relief, irrespective of the alternatives of voluntary or mandatory evacuation.     

Response of Drinking-water Reservoir Ecosystems to Decreased Acidic Atmospheric Deposition in SE Germany: Signs of Biological Recovery

Strongly decreasing atmospheric emissions and acidic deposition during the 1990s have initiated chemical reversal from acidification in several drinking-water reservoirs of the Erzgebirge, SE Germany. We studied responses of phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish stocks in five reservoirs and at enclosure scale after experimental neutralization of 1,200 m³ of lake water. About 4 months after this treatment, diatoms and cryptomonads replaced the predominating chrysophytes and dinoflagellates. The colonization by acid-sensitive species of green algae, cryptomonads, rotifers and Cladocera (e.g. Bosmina longirostris) is explained by the occurrence of dormant stages or by survival of individuals in very low abundances. Analogous to the enclosure experiment, three reservoirs showed significantly (p < 0.01) falling trends of chlorophyll a and phytoplankton biovolume, mainly due to the decline of dinoflagellates. Picoplankton and diatoms increased slightly in two reservoirs. The zooplankton communities were dominated by rotifers and small Cladocera. Representatives of the genus Daphnia were lacking. Two reservoirs were re-colonized by zooplanktivorous fish populations of either perch (Perca fluviatilis) or sunbleak (Leucaspius delineatus). The latter exhibited extremely high fluctuating abundance and biomass and even suffered from a population crash. This natural mortality was caused by a limited food supply. Hence, severe top-down control may delay the recovery of larger zooplankton species like daphnids. Fishery management comprising the introduction of predatory fishes can help to control zooplanktivorous fish populations and to prevent their mass mortality.