Determination of 27 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in water: The benefit of isotope dilution

• Isotope dilution method was developed for the determination of 27 PPCPs in water. • The established method was successfully applied to different types of water samples. • The correction effect of corresponding 27 ILSs over 70 d was investigated. • Benefit of isotopic dilution method was illustrated for three examples. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a unique group of emerging and non-persistent contaminants. In this study, 27 PPCPs in various water samples were extracted by solid phase extraction (SPE), and determined by isotope dilution method using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem triple quadruple mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). A total of 27 isotopically labeled standards (ILSs) were applied to correct the concentration of PPCPs in spiked ultrapure water, drinking water, river, effluent and influent sewage. The corrected recoveries were 73%–122% with the relative standard deviation (RSD)<16%, except for acetaminophen. The matrix effect for all kinds of water samples was<22% and the method quantitation limits (MQLs) were 0.45–8.6 ng/L. The developed method was successfully applied on environmental water samples. The SPE extracts of spiked ultrapure water, drinking water, river and wastewater effluent were stored for 70 days, and the ILSs-corrected recoveries of 27 PPCPs were obtained to evaluate the correction ability of ILSs in the presence of variety interferences. The recoveries of 27 PPCPs over 70 days were within the scope of 72%–140% with the recovery variation<37% in all cases. The isotope dilution method seems to be of benefit when the extract has to be stored for long time before the instrument analysis.     

Biological conversion pathways of sulfate reduction ammonium oxidation in anammox consortia

• The SRAO phenomena tended to occur only under certain conditions. • High amount of biomass and non-anaerobic condition is requirement for SRAO. • Anammox bacteria cannot oxidize ammonium with sulfate as electron acceptor. • AOB and AnAOB are mainly responsible for ammonium conversion. • Heterotrophic sulfate reduction mainly contributed to sulfate conversion. For over two decades, sulfate reduction with ammonium oxidation (SRAO) had been reported from laboratory experiments. SRAO was considered an autotrophic process mediated by anammox bacteria, in which ammonium as electron donor was oxidized by the electron acceptor sulfate. This process had been attributed to observed transformations of nitrogenous and sulfurous compounds in natural environments. Results obtained differed largely for the conversion mole ratios (ammonium/sulfate), and even the intermediate and final products of sulfate reduction. Thus, the hypothesis of biological conversion pathways of ammonium and sulfate in anammox consortia is implausible. In this study, continuous reactor experiments (with working volume of 3.8L) and batch tests were conducted under normal anaerobic (0.2≤DO<0.5 mg/L) / strict anaerobic (DO<0.2 mg/L) conditions with different biomass proportions to verify the SRAO phenomena and identify possible pathways behind substrate conversion. Key findings were that SRAO occurred only in cases of high amounts of inoculant biomass under normal anaerobic condition, while absent under strict anaerobic conditions for same anammox consortia. Mass balance and stoichiometry were checked based on experimental results and the thermodynamics proposed by previous studies were critically discussed. Thus anammox bacteria do not possess the ability to oxidize ammonium with sulfate as electron acceptor and the assumed SRAO could, in fact, be a combination of aerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox and heterotrophic sulfate reduction processes.     

Magnetotactic bacteria: Characteristics and environmental applications

• Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) synthesize magnetic nanoparticle within magnetosomes. • The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were summarized. • Isolation and mass cultivation of MTB deserve extensive research for applications. • MTB can remove heavy metals, radionuclides, and organic pollutants from wastewater. Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a group of Gram-negative prokaryotes that respond to the geomagnetic field. This unique property is attributed to the intracellular magnetosomes, which contains membrane-bound nanocrystals of magnetic iron minerals. This review summarizes the most recent advances in MTB, magnetosomes, and their potential applications especially the environmental pollutant control or remediation. The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were first introduced, followed by a critical review of isolation and cultivation methods. Past research has devoted to optimize the factors, such as oxygen, carbon source, nitrogen source, nutrient broth, iron source, and mineral elements for the growth of MTB. Besides the applications of MTB in modern biological and medical fields, little attention was made on the environmental applications of MTB for wastewater treatment, which has been summarized in this review. For example, applications of MTB as adsorbents have resulted in a novel magnetic separation technology for removal of heavy metals or organic pollutants in wastewater. In addition, we summarized the current advance on pathogen removal and detection of endocrine disruptor which can inspire new insights toward sustainable engineering and practices. Finally, the new perspectives and possible directions for future studies are recommended, such as isolation of MTB, genetic modification of MTB for mass production and new environmental applications. The ultimate objective of this review is to promote the applications of MTB and magnetosomes in the environmental fields.     

A review of measurement methods for peracetic acid (PAA)

• Physical and chemical properties and application of peracetic acid solution. • Determination method of high concentration peracetic acid. • Determination method of residual peracetic acid (low concentration). Peroxyacetic acid has been widely used in food, medical, and synthetic chemical fields for the past several decades. Recently, peroxyacetic acid has gradually become an effective alternative disinfectant in wastewater disinfection and has strong redox capacity for removing micro-pollutants from drinking water. However, commercial peroxyacetic acid solutions are primarily multi-component mixtures of peroxyacetic acid, acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and water. During the process of water treatment, peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) often coexist, which limits further investigation on the properties of peroxyacetic acid. Therefore, analytical methods need to achieve a certain level of selectivity, particularly when peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide coexist. This review summarizes the measurement and detection methods of peroxyacetic acid, comparing the principle, adaptability, and relative merits of these methods.     

Resilience building of rural livelihoods in PES programmes: A case study in China’s Loess Hills

In spite of positive expectations for environmental protection, payments for ecosystem services (PES) can bring about unintended disturbances to rural livelihoods. Based on resilience thinking, this article investigates livelihood resilience building at farm level through the interaction between farm adaptation and disturbances induced by China’s Grain for Green project (GGP). Cluster analysis was conducted to investigate the complexity and diversity of farm adaptation; the crafting of composite indexes was designed to value resilience through disturbance, sensitivity, and adaptability; regression analyses linked the resilience indexes and farm adaptation with access to resources. The results show three adaptation typologies (i.e. reclamation of retired lands, contractive farming, and expansive farming) with distinct land use structures and resilience scores, and highlight the need to improving farmers’ access and endowment of tangible (e.g. farming facilities) and intangible resources (e.g. skill training) for resilience-building practices in light of the GGP. The findings imply that policy interventions combining environmental restrictions with widening resource access to support alternative livelihoods can offset the unintended effects and amplify the success of PES programmes.     

生物基质对煤渣改良地下渗滤系统脱氮效果的影响

地下渗滤系统(SWIS)对硝化、反硝化过程调控不灵活,导致其对氮的去除效果不够理想。组建了两套SWIS装置(1#装置:65～80cm段没有生物基质;2~#装置:65～80cm段添加生物基质),对沿程氮素、硝化和反硝化作用强度及氮还原酶活性进行分析。结果表明,两套装置均表现为硝化反应主要发生在20～60cm段,反硝化反应主要发生在60～80cm段。2~#装置的反硝化作用明显强于1#装置,因此其TN去除率高于1~#装置。硝化作用强度随深度增加而递减,反硝化作用强度随深度增加而递增。硝酸盐还原酶(NAR)活性随深度的增加而逐渐减弱,亚硝酸盐还原酶(NIR)活性随深度的增加先减弱后又增强。主要原因是2~#装置中添加了干化污泥作为生物基质,为反硝化作用补充了碳源,增强了脱氮能力。     

不同类型透水砖对雨水径流水量的控制效果

透水铺装是目前海绵城市建设中应用较广泛的技术措施之一,对雨水径流的促渗减排发挥着重要作用。选择2种不同类型透水砖为研究对象,采用人工模拟降雨实验方法,研究了降雨重现期分别为1、3、5、10 a条件下,2种不同类型透水砖对雨水径流总量控制、峰值削减和峰值延迟等方面的控制效果。结果表明:在降雨重现期小于10 a的条件下,构造透水砖和普通透水砖的场次降雨总量控制率平均值均超过95%;峰值流量均随着重现期的增加而增大,构造透水砖的峰值削减效果优于普通透水砖,平均峰值削减率提高了8.6%;构造透水砖和普通透水砖的出流延迟时间平均值分别为11.3 min和13.8 min,平均峰值延迟时间分别为6.3 min和16.3 min。构造透水砖对径流总量、峰值流量的控制效果要优于普通透水砖,因此,在透水铺装应用中,应结合项目设计目标和当地的水文地质条件,宜优先考虑采用构造透水砖铺装方式。     

硬质聚氨酯泡沫和组合聚醚中消耗臭氧层物质的便携式GC-MS测定方法

建立了便携式顶空/气相色谱-质谱法测定硬质聚氨酯泡沫和组合聚醚中一氟三氯甲烷（CFC-11）、二氟二氯甲烷（CFC-12）、二氟一氯甲烷（HCFC-22）及一氟二氯乙烷（HCFC-141b）的定性分析方法，系统考察了色谱柱、顶空体系、顶空温度和顶空时间对测定结果的影响。结果表明，DB-WAX色谱柱对目标物质的分离效果最好，顶空温度为50℃、顶空时间为10 min条件下，目标物质的检测灵敏度最高。在优化条件下，硬质聚氨酯泡沫取样体积为1 cm³时，4种目标物的方法检出限为0.6~0.8 μg；组合聚醚取样量为10 mg时，4种目标物的方法检出限为0.5~0.6 μg。该方法具有较高的灵敏度，定性准确，适用于实际样品的现场快速定性分析。     

基于数字信息化的消防呼吸气瓶检验管理系统研究与开发

为解决碳纤维缠绕式消防呼吸气瓶检验中因单机作业而存在的检验效率低、检验质量差、受人为因素影响的问题，研究开发基于数字信息化的碳纤维缠绕式消防呼吸气瓶检验管理系统，该检验系统包括消防呼吸气瓶数据库、OA系统、呼吸气瓶检验软件和手机APP。利用二维码技术和计算机网络，实现呼吸气瓶数据库、检验软件、OA约检和报告审核审批系统、手机APP的数据传输。结果表明:该检验管理系统实现了呼吸气瓶检验的无纸化、过程的可追溯性、检验结果的防伪性等功能，其对于碳纤维缠绕式消防呼吸气瓶检验具有较强的适用性和可行性。     

煤对CO2，N2和CH4的吸附速率经验公式与异同性研究*

为了解决吸附速率拟合公式缺乏而解吸经验公式众多的问题，通过替换解吸参数、定性和对比分析各经验公式对煤吸附CO₂，N₂，CH₄吸附速率的适用性，选取4种不同煤质的煤样在0.5，1.0和2.0 MPa下进行定温吸附实验，分析压力和煤质对吸附速率的影响规律。研究结果表明:时间函数式对3种气体在不同压力和煤质下的吸附速率拟合效果最佳；压力和煤质对3种气体吸附速率的影响既存在共性又具有差异性，气体吸附速率与压力符合指数函数关系，与挥发分呈现出二次函数关系，并且压力升高会导致最低吸附速率趋向于较高变质程度煤样；CH₄和N₂的吸附速率随压力升高而升高，而CO₂的吸附速率因煤样而不同，且在同压下，不同气体的最高和最低吸附速率煤样的变质程度也不同。