Database for accidents and incidents in the fuel ethanol industry

The purpose of the present research is to collect information about accidents and incidents that have occurred at fuel ethanol facilities from 1998 to October 2014, and to keep complete unified records of them in a database. The developed database contains general information about the accident or incident, its sequence, mitigation measures, its causes and consequences for humans, environment and for the plant. Until now, this information is not available. The work consisted in gathering information from different documental sources and subsequent organization in a database. It complements the previous work made for biodiesel industry and fills the existing gap in the field of ethanol. Knowledge about this information enables us to manage plant risks, since the accidents that are more likely to occur and the main sources of risk can be easily identified. Also, it makes it possible to exchange information with interested third parties. Statistical analysis shows that accident frequency has an oscillatory behavior, rising in the last year. Fire is the most common type of accident, while equipment mechanical failure is the main cause of accident. Partial material loss has been identified as the most common consequence. Finally, some conclusions are obtained concerning to the importance of having an updated and complete accident and incident database.     

Tolerance of Chrysantemum maximum to heavy metals: The potential for its use in the revegetation of tailings heaps

To find if ornamental plants are applicable to the remediation of metal-polluted areas, the tolerance of chrysanthemum plants (Chysanthemum maximum) var. Shasta to different metals under hydroponic conditions was studied. Their responses as influenced by the mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae (Nicol. & Gerd.) Gerdemann & Trappe BEG25 on substrates containing mine residues were also investigated. Our results showed that chrysanthemum is a metal-tolerant plant under hydroponic conditions, plants behaving as Pb-excluders, whereas Cd, Cu and Ni were accumulated in roots. Low accumulation in flowers was observed for Cd and Cu but it was concentration-dependent. Ni and Pb were not translocated to flowers. Shoot biomass was not significantly affected by the different rates of mine residue addition for both mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants. Mycorrhizal plants accumulated less Pb and Cu in both shoots and roots than non-mycorrhizal plants. Chysanthemum could be a prospective plant for revegetation of tailings and the use of inoculation may decrease plant metal accumulation in polluted soils.     

6种陕北适生豆科植物生长对原油污染土壤的响应

为筛选优良的石油污染土壤修复植物,选取陕北适生的6种豆科乡土植物,对不同浓度原油污染土壤中植物的生长差异进行研究.采用混油法盆栽试验,分设0、5 000、10 000、20 000、40 000 mg·kg-1共5个不同的原油污染浓度,分析其对土壤理化性质的改变,对植物出芽时间、出芽率、株高、植物干重、叶绿素含量和枯萎率的影响.结果表明,原油污染显著改变土壤理化性质.5 000 mg·kg-1低浓度原油污染,对受试植物的发芽率和植物株高有促进作用,后随原油浓度加大植物生长受到明显抑制.原油污染浓度低时草本植物耐受力较强,其中紫花苜蓿(Medicago sativa)在出芽时间、出芽率、株高及枯萎率等方面综合表现较优.从40 000 mg·kg-1浓度时枯萎率及叶绿素含量分析,刺槐(Robinia pseudoacacia)表现较高的耐受力.相关分析表明,原油污染浓度与植物出芽时间、出芽率、株高、干重均呈显著负相关,但与叶绿素含量呈极显著正相关.     

三峡库区陆生植物迁地保存初报

三峡植物物种多样性保护,重点在珍稀濒危植物,但对建群种和有实用价值的种也进行收集保存。7年来试验站保存三峡库区植物200余种,迁移成活率93%,有8种未成功。（1）到2002年已有30余种植物正常开花结实（其中木本植物24种）,可以选择繁殖试验,以达到保存的目的;（2）选择了8种植物,进行生长观测,在人为控制下,生长速度满意;（3）进行了部份种类的扦插繁殖和孢子繁殖,获得了相关结果;（4）少数种类收集遇到极大困难,需要继续努力。三峡库区生物多样性研究与保护,存在一些问题与困难,如漏项问题、库区物种问题、外来种问题、隔离对生物多样性的影响问题、生物多样性的功能问题等需要进一步研讨,从而使库区物种得以保存,环境得以优化,生物资源得到持续利用。     

鄱阳湖湿地植物生态系统结构及湖水位对其影响研究

通过对鄱阳湖水文过程和湖盆地形特点的分析，利用3S技术对鄱阳湖湿地进行了分类，研究了各种类型湿地植物生态系统的生境、主要植物群落结构和分布规律。结果表明，鄱阳湖湿地植物生态系统结构复杂，生物多样性极其丰富。湿地植物是以根茎为主要繁殖器官的克隆繁殖植物，以集群分布为主要特点。在宏观尺度上受地形高程、湖水位和洲滩出露时间制约，不同植物群落沿水分梯度分布；在景观尺度上受到土壤含水量、地下水埋深和土壤结构影响，形成水平镶嵌结构；微观尺度上还与微地形和土壤养分密切相关，部分区域表现为复合体结构。湿地植被对水分梯度的敏感性，导致湿地植物生态系统的易变性和脆弱性。近年来，鄱阳湖水位过低且持续时间长，使生态系统遭受一定损害。     

人工浮床对汾江河水质净化的研究

对佛山市汾江河内布置浮床的水域的7个断面进行采样监测,分析了布置浮床侧与未布置浮床侧各水质指标的差异,以考察人工浮床对汾江河水质的净化效果。同时比较了圆币草、水罂粟、梭鱼草、狐尾草、美人蕉和鸢尾6种浮床植物的生物量和氮磷吸收量。结果表明,布置人工浮床一侧的水质TN、TP、COD和NH4＋-N含量均显著低于未布置浮床一侧的水质,表明人工浮床对水体水质的有净化效果。总面积约4 900 m2的浮床植物经过3个月的生长,从水体中共吸收了192.5 kg的氮和76.1 kg的磷。6种浮床植物中,狐尾草的净增生物量最高,达到64.2 kg/m2;圆币草次之,为62.2 kg/m2。狐尾草和圆币草对氮磷的吸收能力在6种植物中处于较高水平,每平方米狐尾草和圆币草从水体中分别吸收了51.61g氮、19.79 g磷和46.90 g氮、22.93 g磷。综合比较得出,狐尾草和圆币草在生物量和氮磷吸收量上均保持在较高水平,是较好的浮床植物。本研究为人工浮床在南方类似河流中的应用及植物选择提供了参考依据。     

Review of Pesticide Retention Processes Occurring in Buffer Strips Receiving Agricultural Runoff1

Arora, Kapil, Steven K. Mickelson, Matthew J. Helmers, and James L. Baker, 2010. Review of Pesticide Retention Processes Occurring in Buffer Strips Receiving Agricultural Runoff. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(3):618-647. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00438.x Abstract: Review of the published results shows that the retention of the two pesticide carrier phases (runoff volume and sediment mass) influences pesticide mass transport through buffer strips. Data averaged across different studies showed that the buffer strips retained 45% of runoff volume (ranging between 0 and 100%) and 76% of sediment mass (ranging between 2 and 100%). Sorption (soil sorption coefficient, K_oc) is one key pesticide property affecting its transport with the two carrier phases through buffer strips. Data from different studies for pesticide mass retention for weakly (K_oc < 100), moderately (100 < K_oc < 1,000), and strongly sorbed pesticides (K_oc > 1,000) averaged (with ranges) 61 (0-100), 63 (0-100), and 76 (53-100) %, respectively. Because there are more data for runoff volume and sediment mass retention, the average retentions of both carrier phases were used to calculate that the buffer strips would retain 45% of weakly to moderately sorbed and 70% of strongly sorbed pesticides on an average basis. As pesticide mass retention presented is only an average across several studies with different experimental setups, the application of these results to actual field conditions should be carefully examined.     

Heavy metal bioaccumulation in selected medicinal plants collected from Khetri copper mines and comparison with those collected from fertile soil in Haridwar,India

Heavy metal distribution in medicinal plants is gaining importance not only as an alternative medicine, but also for possible concern due to effects of metal toxicity. The present study has been focused on emphasizing the heavy metal status and bioaccumulation factors of V, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se (essential metals) and Cr, Ni, Cd, As and Pb (potentially toxic metals) in medicinal plants grown under two different environmental conditions e.g., near to Khetri copper mine and those in fertile soils of Haridwar, both in India, using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (relative method) and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. The copper levels in the medicinal plants from Khetri were found to be 3-4 folds higher (31.6–76.5 mg kg^?1) than those from Haridwar samples (7.40–15.3 mg kg^?1), which is correlated with very high copper levels (763 mg kg^?1) in Khetri soil. Among various heavy metals, Cr (2.60–5.92 mg kg^?1), Cd (1.47–2.97 mg kg^?1) and Pb (3.97–6.63 mg kg^?1) are also higher in concentration in the medicinal plants from Khetri. The essential metals like Mn (36.4–69.3 mg kg^?1), Fe (192–601 mg kg^?1), Zn (24.9–49.9 mg kg^?1) and Se (0.13–0.91 mg kg^?1) and potentially toxic metals like Ni (3.09–9.01 mg kg^?1) and As (0.41–2.09 mg kg^?1) did not show much variations in concentration in the medicinal plants from both Khetri and Haridwar. The medicinal plants from Khetri, e.g., Ocimum sanctum, Cassia fistula, Withania somnifera and Azadirachta Indica were found rich in Ca and Mg contents while Aloe barbadensis showed moderately high Ca and Mg. Higher levels of Ca-Mg were found to correlate with Zn (except Azadirachta Indica). The bioaccumulation factors (BAFS) of the heavy metals were estimated to understand the soil-to-plant transfer pattern of the heavy metals. Significantly lower BAF values of Cu and Cr were found in the medicinal plants from Khetri, indicating majority fraction of these metals are precipitated and were immobilized species unsuitable for plant uptake. Overall, Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) showed very high metal bioaccumulation.     

小议火电厂总量减排核查要点

从资料核查、在线监测设备核查、集控系统核查及现场核查4个环节详细介绍了火电厂总量减排现场核查的要点。对核查中出现的问题进行总结及分析,为同类环境管理工作提供参考。     

中水回用于火电厂循环水存在问题探讨

水资源短缺已成为制约火电厂建设与发展的瓶颈。近年来,火电厂为提高水的利用率、降低新鲜水取水量而采用了以城市污水处理厂出水（中水）为水源,经深度处理后回用于循环水的节水方法。分析了该方法的优缺点,并针对实施过程中出现的问题提出了解决方案,使中水作为水源用于火电厂循环水更加具有实用性。