Impact of municipal solid waste dumpsites on trace metal contamination levels in the surrounding area: a case study in West Africa,Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The impact of uncontrolled municipal dumping sites on metal contamination in the surrounding waters, sediments, and soils are of great concern in many...     

3种内筒溢流型溶气罐结构改进设计方案的溶气性能对比分析

溶气罐是溶气释放式微气泡发生系统的关键设备,其中内筒溢流型溶气罐具有结构简单、成泡粒径小等优点.提出了3种内筒溢流型溶气罐的结构改进设计方案,并对其在不同操作参数下的溶气性能进行了对比分析.为克服通过测量释气量间接表征溶气量所带来的系统误差,建立了在线带压测量溶解氧的方法,并以空气在水中溶解量的变化率(即溶气效率)来直接表征溶气罐的溶气性能.结果表明:溶气效率随气液比和溶气压力的增大而增加,随液位比的升高而减小;在相同气液比、液位比及溶气压力下,气液切向进口加螺旋导叶片型溶气罐的溶气效率最高.采用响应曲面法对溶气性能相对最佳的内筒溢流型溶气罐的操作参数进行优化,预测最高溶气效率为72.43％时的最佳操作参数为:气液比为0.25,液位比为0.36,溶气压力为0.26 MPa.所得回归模型预测值与实测值的相对误差为0.87％,表明该模型可较好地分析和预测溶气罐的溶气性能.     

闽江河口潮汐沼泽湿地CO_2排放通量特征

以闽江河口区面积最大的鳝鱼滩湿地分布的3种植物沼泽湿地：土著种咸草（Cyperus malaccensis Lam.var.brevifolius Bocklr.）沼泽湿地、芦苇（Phragmites australis）沼泽湿地及外来入侵种互花米草（Spartina alterniflora Loisel.）沼泽湿地...     

Cladocerans under conditions of small river damming by man and beavers

In beaver ponds, the species diversity, abundance, biomass, and production of cladocerans and the amount of food consumed by them have increased and the composition of dominant species has changed as compared to those in the stretches of small rivers with running water or dammed by man. The stimulating effect of water from a beaver pond has been confirmed in laboratory experiments. The average number of juvenile Ceriodaphnia affinis produced by one female was considerably greater in this water than in the water from flowing and dammed (by man) river stretches.     

磷回收对厌氧/好氧交替式生物滤池蓄磷/除磷的影响

为能提高生物除磷系统的除磷/回收磷效率,研究采用厌氧/好氧交替式生物滤池(AABF)处理低碳磷比废水,观察利用周期性扩增进水碳源进行磷回收时,生物滤池除磷效率及生物膜内微生物特性的变化.通过分析生物滤池除磷效率变化,生物膜多聚物染色、扫描电镜(SEM)观察以及荧光原位杂交(FISH)技术分析生物滤池系统实施周期性磷回收对生物膜内微生物菌群形态与组成的影响.结果发现,生物滤池在先后经历3次生物蓄磷-磷回收(PB-PR)的运行操作过程中,生物滤池除磷效率分别由磷回收前的60.3%、82.9%、86.6%提高到磷回收后的87.2%、91.2%、93.5%;生物滤池生物膜内优势菌群形态逐渐由大球菌演变为小球菌、杆菌与丝状菌;经过连续3个周期的PB-PR操作,生物滤池底部生物膜中聚磷菌所占比例由43%提高至70%;聚磷菌群在生物膜内混合菌群中的比例随着上流式生物滤池高度的增加而不断提高.结果表明,采用周期性的碳源扩增与回收磷的操作,可以提高生物滤池除磷效率;引起生物滤池生物膜内微生物菌群形态与组成发生变化,促进聚磷菌成为优势菌群.     

Technical feasibility study of a low-cost hybrid PAC-UF system for wastewater reclamation and reuse: a focus on feedwater production for low-pressure boilers

This study has applied the concept of the hybrid PAC-UF process in the treatment of the final effluent of the palm oil industry for reuse as feedwater for low-pressure boilers. In a bench-scale set-up, a low-cost empty fruit bunch-based powdered activated carbon (PAC) was employed for upstream adsorption of biotreated palm oil mill effluent (BPOME) with the process conditions: 60 g/L dose of PAC, 68 min of mixing time and 200 rpm of mixing speed, to reduce the feedwater strength, alleviate probable fouling of the membranes and thus improve the process flux (productivity). Three polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes of molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 1, 5 and 10 kDa were investigated in a cross-flow filtration mode, and under constant transmembrane pressures of 40, 80, and 120 kPa. The permeate qualities of the hybrid processes were evaluated, and it was found that the integrated process with the 1 kDa MWCO UF membrane yielded the best water quality that falls within the US EPA reuse standard for boiler-feed and cooling water. It was also observed that the permeate quality is fit for extended reuse as process water in the cement, petroleum and coal industries. In addition, the hybrid system’s operation consumed 37.13 Wh m⁻³ of energy at the highest applied pressure of 120 kPa, which is far lesser than the typical energy requirement range (0.8–1.0 kWh m⁻³) for such wastewater reclamation.

     

Radiostrontium monitoring of bivalves from the Pacific coast of eastern Japan

In early April 2011, radiostrontium was accidentally released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to the Pacific coast of eastern Japan. We developed a simple procedure to analyze radiostrontium levels in marine mussels (Septifer virgatus) and seawater using crown ether (Sr Resin; Eichrom). Then, we used our method to describe the spatial and temporal distribution of radiostrontium in mussels and seawater on the Pacific coast of eastern Japan from 2011 to 2013 and for 2015. Activity of ⁹⁰Sr in mussels and seawater decreased with distance from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and between 2011 and 2013 tended to be higher in areas south of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant than to the north of it. Activity in mussels and seawater also tended to decrease from 2011 to 2013 and by 2015 had reached levels experienced prior to the Fukushima accident. Our results suggest that radiostrontium discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was dispersed by coastal currents in a southerly direction along the Pacific coast of eastern Japan from 2011 to 2013, following which its activity decreased to background levels by 2015.     

Does vehicle colour influence crash risk?

An often asked question regarding vehicle safety is whether vehicle colour has an influence on crash risk and if so, what is the differential in risk between the various colours of vehicles available. The major objective of this study was to assess the relationship between vehicle colour and crash risk through the analysis of real crash outcomes described in Police reported crash data. The study employed induced exposure methods utilising single vehicle crashes as the comparison crash type. It estimated the crash risk associated with each vehicle colour relative to a reference colour which was chosen to be white. Results of the analysis identified a clear statistically significant relationship between vehicle colour and crash risk. Compared to white vehicles, a number of colours were associated with higher crash risk. These colours were black, blue, grey, green, red and silver. The association between vehicle colour and crash risk was strongest during daylight hours where relative crash risks were higher for the colours listed compared to white by up to around 10%. No colour had a statistically significantly lower crash risk than white although crash risks for a number of other colours were not statistically significantly different from white.