Determination of 15 phthalate esters in air by gas-phase and particle-phase simultaneous sampling

Based on previous research, the sampling and analysis methods for phthalate esters (PAEs) were improved by increasing the sampling flow of indoor air from 1 to 4 L/min, shortening the sampling duration from 8 to 2 hr. Meanwhile, through the optimization of chromatographic conditions, the concentrations of 9 additional PAE pollutants in indoor air were measured. The optimized chromatographic conditions required a similar amount of time for analysis as before, but gave high responsivity, the capability of simultaneously distinguishing 15 kinds of PAEs, and a high level of discrimination between individual sample peaks, as well as stable peak generation. The recovery rate of all gas-phase and particle-phase samples of the 15 kinds of PAEs ranged from 91.26% to 109.42%, meeting the quantitative analysis requirements for indoor and outdoor air sampling and analysis. For the first time, investigation of the concentration levels as well as characteristics of 15 kinds of PAEs in the indoor air from four different traffic micro-environments (private vehicles, busses, taxis and subways) was carried out, along with validation of the optimized sampling and analytical method. The results show that all the 9 additional PAEs could be detected at relatively high pollution levels in the indoor air from the four traffic micro-environments. As none of the pollution levels of the 15 kinds of PAEs in the indoor air from the 4 traffic micro-environments should be neglected, it is of great significance to increase the types of PAEs able to be detected in indoor air.     

Effect of barium sulfate modification on the SO2 tolerance of V2O5 /TiO2 catalyst for NH3-SCR reaction

Sulfur poisoning of V_2O_5/BaSO_4–TiO_2(VBT),V_2O_5/WO_3–TiO_2(VWT) and V_2O_5/BaSO_4–WO_3–TiO_2(VBWT) catalysts was performed in wet air at 350℃ for 3 hr,and activities for the selective catalytic reduction of NO_x with NH_3 were evaluated for 200–500℃.The VBT catalyst showed higher NO_x conversions after sulfur poisoning than the other two catalysts.The introduction of barium sulfate contributed to strong acid sites for the as-received catalyst,and eliminated the redox cycle of active vanadium oxide to some extent,which resulted in a certain loss of activity.Readily decomposable sulfate species formed on VBT-S instead of inactive sulfates on VWT-S.These decomposable sulfates increased the number of strong acid sites significantly.Some sulfate species escaped during catalyst preparation and barium sulfate was reproduced during sulfur poisoning,which protects vanadia from sulfur oxide attachment to a great extent.Consequently,the VBT catalyst exhibited the best resistance to sulfur poisoning.     

基于环境质量管理的城市综合环境绩效评估研究

文章以26个省会城市2004~2013年的样本数据,从环境健康、生态保护、资源与能源利用、环境治理等4个方面开展研究,构建了包括4项二级指标、12项三级指标和26项四级指标在内的城市综合环境绩效指标体系。研究发现,大部分城市的综合环境绩效历年差异明显,东、中、西部的环境绩效有明显的差异。因此,文章认为应该进一步优化环境绩效指标体系,充分体现区域差异特点,通过实施城市综合环境绩效考核来提高城市环境质量管理水平。     

Modification of Ce02-ZrO2 catalyst by potassium for NOx-assisted soot oxidation

Potassium-modified ceria-zirconia catalyst was synthesized by wetness impregnation method. The ageing treatment was performed in static air at 800℃ for 20 hr to evaluate the thermal stability of the catalyst. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction,BET surface area, oxygen storage capacity, NOx-temperature programmed desorption and soot-temperature programmed oxidation measurements. By introduction of potassium, the maximum soot oxidation rate temperature (Tm) of the ceria-zirconia based catalyst decreased from 525 to 428℃ in the presence of NO under a loose contact mode. The shift of Tm of the K-modified catalyst after ageing is only 15℃. The enhanced activity of the aged catalyst mainly lies in the promotional effect of potassium on the NOx/oxygen storage cacity as well as the soot-catalyst contact.     

Investigating the spatial distribution of phototrophic picoplankton in a tropical estuary

We sampled extensively (29 stations) at the Klang estuarine system over a 3-day scientific expedition. We measured physical and chemical variables (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids, dissolved inorganic nutrients) and related them to the spatial distribution of phototrophic picoplankton (Ppico). Multivariate analysis of variance of the physicochemical variables showed the heterogeneity of the Klang estuarine system where the stations at each transect were significantly different (Rao’s F _{18, 36}?=?8.401, p?<?0.001). Correlation analyses also showed that variables related to Ppico abundance and growth were mutually exclusive. Distribution of Ppico was best explained by the physical mixing between freshwater and seawater whereas Ppico growth was correlated with temperature.     

Environmental Factors and Risk Areas of West Nile Virus in Southern California, 2007–2009

The West Nile virus (WNV) may post a significant health risk for mammals, including humans and insects. This study examines the spatial–temporal effects of environmental factors on WNV dissemination with a case study of ten counties in the southern California, where the epidemic was recently most prevalent within the USA. WNV surveillance data were obtained from the California Vectorborne Disease Surveillance System and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques were combined to derive environmental variables. Principal component analysis was performed to select the most relevant environmental variables. Two ecological zones were identified based on the selected variables. Identification of risk areas for WNV was limited to a zone with 95% mosquitoes surveillance records. Three time windows, the epidemiological weeks?18–26, 27–35, and 36–44 in each year of 2007–2009, were examined in details with risk area mapping. It is found that the southern part of San Joaquin Valley in Kern County and Los Angeles County (especially its southern part) were the most vulnerable locations for WNV outbreak. Main factors contributing to the WNV propagation included summer mean temperature, annual mean deviation from the mean temperature, land surface temperature, elevation, landscape complexity, landscape diversity, and vegetation water content. The result of this study improves understanding of WNV ecology and provides tools for detecting, tracking, and predicting the epidemic. The holistic approach developed for this study, which integrated remotely sensed, GIS-based, and in situ-measured environmental data with landscape metrics, may be applied to studies of other vector-borne diseases.     

Remediating ethylbenzene-contaminated clayey soil by a surfactant-aided electrokinetic (SAEK) process

The objectives of this research are to investigate the remediation efficiency and electrokinetic behavior of ethylbenzene-contaminated clay by a surfactant-aided electrokinetic (SAEK) process under a potential gradient of 2 Vcm(-1). Experimental results indicated that the type of processing fluids played a key role in determining the removal performance of ethylbenzene from clay in the SAEK process. A mixed surfactant system consisted of 0.5% SDS and 2.0% PANNOX 110 showed the best performance of ethylbenzene removed in the SAEK system. The removal efficiency of ethylbenzene was determined to be 63-98% in SAEK system while only 40% was achieved in an electrokinetic system with tap water as processing fluid. It was found that ethylbenzene was accumulated in the vicinity of anode in an electrokinetic system with tap water as processing fluid. However, the concentration front of ethylbenzene was shifted toward cathode in the SAEK system. The electroosmotic permeability and power consumption were 0.17 x 10(-6)-3.01 x 10(-6) cm(2)V(-1)s(-1) and 52-123 kW h m(-3), respectively. The cost, including the expense of energy and surfactants, was estimated to be 5.15-12.65 USD m(-3) for SAEK systems, which was 2.0-4.9 times greater than that in the system of electrokinetic alone (2.6 USD m(-3)). Nevertheless, by taking the remediation efficiency of ethylbenzene and the energy expenditure into account for the overall process performance evaluation, the system SAEK was still a cost-effective alternative treatment method.     

热备用应急电源在化工企业中的应用

介绍了热备用应急电源(EPS)的分类、原理、选型、特点以及操作注意事项。随着智能化程度的提高、快速切换型离线技术的应用,具有抗晃电、稳频稳压、离线运行、快速切换、等功率拖动电机特性的应急电源产品,已不仅仅局限于变电所、厂区照明的应用,而且还用于安全设备、生产设备等。     

Factors controlling phosphate interaction with iron oxides

Factors such as pH, solution ion composition, and the presence of natural organic matter (NOM) play a crucial role in the effectiveness of phosphorous adsorption by iron oxides. The interplay between these factors shows a complicated pattern and can sometimes lead to controversial results. With the help of mechanistic modeling and adsorption experiments, the net macroscopic effect of single and combined factors can be better understood and predicted. In the present work, the relative importance of the above-mentioned factors in the adsorption of phosphate was analyzed using modeling and comparison between the model prediction and experimental data. The results show that, under normal soil conditions, pH, concentration of Ca, and the presence of NOM are the most important factors that control adsorption of phosphate to iron oxides. The presence of Ca not only enhances the amount of phosphate adsorbed but also changes the pH dependency of the adsorption. An increase of dissolved organic carbon from 0.5 to 50 mg L can lead to a >50% decrease in the amount of phosphate adsorbed. Silicic acid may decrease phosphate adsorption, but this effect is only important at a very low phosphate concentration, in particular at high pH.     

Enhanced CO2 adsorptive performance of PEI/SBA-15 adsorbent using phosphate ester based surfactants as additives

In this study,a series of polyetherimide/SBA-15: 2-D hexagonal P6 mm,Santa Barbara USA(PEI/SBA-15) adsorbents modified by phosphoric ester based surfactants(including tri(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate(TEP),bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate(BEP) and trimethyl phosphonoacetate(TMPA))were prepared for CO_2 adsorption.Experimental results indicated that the addition of TEP and BEP had positive effects on CO_2 adsorption capacity over PEI/SBA-15.In particular,the CO_2 adsorption amount could be improved by around 20% for 45PEI–5TEP/SBA-15 compared to the additive-free adsorbent.This could be attributed to the decrease of CO_2 diffusion resistance in the PEI bulk network due to the interactions between TEP and loaded PEI molecules,which was further confirmed by adsorption kinetics results.In addition,it was also found that the cyclic performance of the TEP-modified adsorbent was better than the surfactant-free one.This could be due to two main reasons,based on the results of in situ DRIFT and TG-DSC tests.First and more importantly,adsorbed CO_2 species could be desorbed more rapidly over TEP-modified adsorbent during the thermal desorption process.Furthermore,the enhanced thermal stability after TEP addition ensured lower degradation of amine groups during adsorption/desorption cycles.