Heavy metal contamination in a vulnerable mangrove swamp in South China

Concentrations of six heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cr, and Pb) in sediments and fine roots, thick roots, branches, and leaves of six mangrove plant species collected from the Futian mangrove forest, South China were measured. The results show that both the sediments and plants in Futian mangrove ecosystem are moderately contaminated by heavy metals, with the main contaminants being Zn and Cu. All investigated metals showed very similar distribution patterns in the sediments, implying that they had the same anthropogenic source(s). High accumulations of the heavy metals were observed in the root tissues, especially the fine roots, and much lower concentrations in the other organs. This indicates that the roots strongly immobilize the heavy metals and (hence) that mangrove plants possess mechanisms that limit the upward transport of heavy metals and exclude them from sensitive tissues. The growth performance of propagules and 6-month-old seedlings of Bruguiera gymnorhiza in the presence of contaminating Cu and Cd was also examined. The results show that this plant is not sufficiently sensitive to heavy metals after its propagule stage for its regeneration and growth to be significantly affected by heavy metal contamination in the Futian mangrove ecosystem. However, older mangrove seedlings appeared to be more metal-tolerant than the younger seedlings due to their more efficient exclusion mechanism. Thus, the effects of metal contamination on young seedlings should be assessed when evaluating the risks posed by heavy metals in an ecosystem.     

Environmentally Friendly Polyurethane Composites: Preparation, Characterization and Mechanical Properties

The waterborne polyurethane (PU) prepolymer was prepared based on isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), polyester polyol (N220), dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) and hydroxyethyl methyl acrylate (HEMA). The modified waterborne polyurethane–acrylate (PUA) emulsions were obtained with different proportions of acrylate (butyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate) and initiating agent by in situ dispersion technique. The structures and thermal properties of prepared PU and PUA were analyzed and characterized with FT-IR, UV–Vis spectroscopy and DSC. The PUA hybrid samples had lower glass transition temperature of hard segment and higher decomposition temperatures than PU sample. Performances of the emulsion and film were studied by means of apparent viscidity, particle size and polydispersity, surface tension and mechanical properties. The results indicated that the particle sizes of the PUA dispersions were larger than those of the pure PU and the solvent resistance, mechanical properties of PUA films was improved compare with the unmodified polyurethane film. The film had the biggest hardness and the least water absorption when the BA/MMA mass ratio 5:5 modified PU. The obtained PUA have great potential application such as coatings, leather finishing, adhesives, sealants, plastic coatings and wood finishes.     

苯胺-邻氨基酚共聚物对水中Hg(Ⅱ)吸附性能的研究

利用化学氧化法合成了苯胺-邻氨基苯酚的共聚物,并通过静态实验研究了材料对水中汞离子的吸附性能。研究结果表明,该共聚物对废水中汞离子有优异的去除效果,其吸附容量可达212.13 mg/g;吸附等温线符合Langmu ir单层吸附模型,动力学过程符合准二级动力学模型;溶液pH值对吸附影响不是很大,pH 5~10范围都有较好的吸附效果;氯离子易与汞离子形成水溶性更强的络合物,对共聚物的吸附有很大的抑制作用。     

Causes of decreased reference evapotranspiration and pan evaporation in the Jinghe River catchment, northern China

This study focused on the changes of reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) and pan evaporation (ET_pan) to study the impacts of climate change on the hydrological cycle in the Jinghe River catchment. Based on the Penman–Monteith equation, the ET₀ was calculated. The temporal trend and spatial distribution of ET₀ and E_pan measured with a 20-cm pan were examined at the 14 stations during 1957–2005. The effects of meteorological factors on the variation of ET₀ were determined by analyzing the trends in themselves with comparison between original climate and detrended climate scenarios and then their sensitivity to ET₀. Both the ET₀ and E_pan showed remarkable decreasing trends from 1957 to 2005 and their decreasing rate was 40.9 and 17.7 mm per 10 years, respectively. Trend analysis of meteorological factors exhibited that the reduction in ET₀ and ET_pan was principally caused by both significant decreases in wind speed and sunshine hours. Furthermore, the decreasing trend of ET₀ was mainly dominated by the significant decrease in wind speed with high sensitivity, to a less extent, by the decrease in net radiation. Although relative humidity is one of the most sensitive variables, its effect on ET₀ was negligible because of its temporal constancy. The contribution of wind speed reduction to decreased ET₀ has increased from 50 to 76.1%, but net radiation, by contrast, decreased from 50 to 23.9%.     

土壤中零价铁还原3-氯硝基苯的作用

利用零价铁在常温常压下对土壤中的3-氯硝基苯的还原，对反应物和产物随时间的变化及反应的各个影响因素进行了研究。实验结果表明，零价铁能够有效地将3-氯硝基苯还原为3-氯苯胺，反应过程中没有检测到脱氯产物。其反应速率随铁粉用量、反应体系含水量的增加以及反应温度的升高而升高，随土壤初始pH值的升高而降低。在土壤中3-氯硝基苯含量约为2.5×10^-6 mol/g，铁粉使用量为25 mg/g，反应体系中含水量为0.75 mL/g，pH值为6.8时，在恒温生化培养箱(25±1)℃反应5 h后，3-氯硝基苯的还原率达到92.75％。     

A comparison of antibiotics,antibiotic resistance genes,and bacterial community in broiler and layer manure following composting

Animal manure is an important source of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. However, the difference of antibiotic residues and ARG profiles in layer and broiler manure as well as their compost remains unexplored. In this study, we investigated the profiles of twelve antibiotics, seventeen ARGs, and class 1 integrase gene (intI1) in layer and broiler manure, and the corresponding compost at large-scale. Compared with layer manure, broiler manure exhibited approximately six times more residual tetracyclines, especially chlortetracycline. The relative abundances of qnrS and ermA genes in broiler manure were significantly higher than those in layer manure. The concentration of tetracyclines not only had a significantly positive correlation with tetracycline resistance genes (tetA and tetC) but was also positively correlated with quinolone resistance (qepA, qnrB, and qnrS) and macrolide resistance (ermA and ermT). Most ARGs in manure were reduced after composting. However, the relative abundance of sulfonamide resistance gene sul1 increased up to 2.41% after composting, which was significantly higher than that of broiler (0.41%) and layer (0.62%) manure. The associated bacterial community was characterized by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The relative abundances of thermophilic bacteria had significant positive correlations with the abundance of sul1 in compost. The composting has a significant impact on the ARG-associated gut microbes in poultry manure. Variation partitioning analysis indicated that the change of bacterial community compositions and antibiotics contributed partially to the shift in ARG profiles. The results indicate that at industry-scale production broiler manure had more antibiotics and ARGs than layer manure did, and composting decreased most ARG abundances in poultry manure except for sulfonamide resistance genes.

     

Urban carbon emission intensity under emission trading system in a developing economy: evidence from 273 Chinese cities

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The international community has generally recognized the key role of developing countries’ cities in reducing carbon emissions, an elemental way...     

The catalytic performance of Cu46Zr47-xAl7Yx amorphous ribbons in the degradation of AO II dye wastewater

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Metallic glasses (MGs) with unique disordered atomic stacking structures exhibit excellent catalytic performance in wastewater treatment. The...     

基于污泥掺烧的某生活垃圾焚烧厂烟道气、飞灰及炉渣中的二(口恶)英特征

以我国南方某生活垃圾焚烧厂掺烧10%市政污泥的生活垃圾为研究对象,对前/后口废气、飞灰、炉渣及用于掺烧的污泥中17种二(口恶)英的含量进行了测定,并分析了其指纹分布特征.结合焚烧工况及处理设施,从生成机理角度探讨了二(口恶)英的排放特征、毒性当量浓度主成分特征及主要单体的排放因子线性关系.结果表明：掺烧10%的市政污泥后,废气中二(口恶)英的去除率为99.4%,低于国家排放标准;固体废物中二(口恶)英含量为飞灰 > 炉渣 > 污泥.这说明采用高温焚烧和"活性炭喷射+布袋除尘"装置不会影响掺烧10%污泥的达标排放.指纹分布特征表明,前口废气以1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF和OCDD为主,后口废气以OCDD和OCDF为主;飞灰、炉渣及污泥中的主要单体为OCDD、1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD、OCDF、1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF.主成分分析显示,前口废气和飞灰中的二(口恶)英毒性分布特征相似;炉渣和污泥的毒性分布特征相似;后口废气有自身的特征.这说明在相同工况条件下,经同一设施处理的废物中二(口恶)英排放特征相似.排放因子分析表明,2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF和1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDF、1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD和1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDD与总毒性排放因子具有较强的线性关系,且呋喃类（PCDFs）强于二(口恶)英类（PCDDs）.     

Asian Urban Environment and Climate Change: Preface

The Asian Network on Climate Science and Technology (www.ancst.org), in collaboration with Tsinghua University, held a conference on environmental and climate science, air pollution, urban planning and transportation in July 2015, with over 40 Asian experts participating and presentation. This was followed by a meeting with local government and community experts on the practical conclusions of the conference. Of the papers presented at the conference a selection are included in this special issue of Journal of Environmental Science, which also reflects the conclusions of the Paris Climate meeting in Dec 2015, when the major nations of the world agreed about the compelling need to reduce the upward trend of adverse impacts associated with global climate change. Now is the time for urban areas to work out the serious consequences for their populations, but also how they should work together to take action to reduce global warming to benefit their own communities and also the whole planet!