Optimizing synthesis conditions of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) through aqueous reactivity assessment

Nanoscale iron particles (nZVI) is one of the most important engineered nanomaterials applied to environmental pollution control and abatement. Although a multitude of synthesis approaches have been proposed, a facile method to screen the reactivity of candidate nZVI materials produced using different methods or under varying synthesis conditions has yet been established. In this study, four reaction parameters were adjusted in the preparation of borohydride-reduced nZVI. The reductive properties of the resultant nanoparticles were assayed independently using two model aqueous contaminants, Cu(II) and nitrate. The results confirm that the reductive reactivity of nZVI is most sensitive to the initial concentration of iron precursor, borohydride feed rate, and the loading ratio of borohydride to ferric ion during particle synthesis. Solution mixing speed, in contrast, carries a relative small weight on the reactivity of nZVI. The two probing reactions (i.e., Cu(II) and nitrate reduction) are able to generate consistent and quantitative inference about the mass-normalized surface activity of nZVI. However, the nitrate assay is valid in dilute aqueous solutions only (50 mg·L⁻¹ or lower) due to accelerated deactivation of iron surface at elevated nitrate concentrations. Additional insights including the structural and chemical makeup of nZVI can be garnered from Cu(II) reduction assessments. The reactivity assays investigated in this study can facilitate screening of candidate materials or optimization of nZVI production parameters, which complement some of the more sophisticated but less chemically specific material characterization methods used in the nZVI research.     

矿物超细颗粒的形成机制、结构特征及其环境行为和效应

矿物超细颗粒在自然环境中普遍存在,具有独特的环境行为和效应,对元素地球化学循环、污染物迁移转化和生态环境演变等有重要影响.矿物超细颗粒的环境行为和效应与其形成过程和结构特征密切相关.综述了物理、化学和生物过程驱动的矿物超细颗粒的形成机制,介绍了用于表征矿物超细颗粒结构特征的显微镜、光谱、质谱和同步辐射技术,分析了矿物超细颗粒在环境中的迁移转化及其与污染物的吸附、氧化还原和催化转化作用,总结了矿物超细颗粒的食物链积累、生物和生态毒性等环境效应,并对颗粒结晶路径、风险管控和微纳界面调控等重要研究方向进行了展望.超细颗粒是连接微观物质与宏观矿物晶体之间的桥梁,全面认识复杂基质中矿物颗粒的环境属性及其与污染物的微观作用机制,有助于指导矿物超细颗粒在环境污染修复中的应用,从而优化功能材料的设计,促进绿色低碳纳米技术的发展.     

深圳市大气中多环芳烃的污染特征与来源识别

利用大流量主动采样器于2009年12月~2010年1月及2010年6月,分冬季与夏季两批次对深圳市13个点位进行大气样品采集,检测其气相及颗粒相中总的多环芳烃(PAHs)浓度.结果表明,冬季深圳市大气中总PAHs的浓度为17.9~92.3ng/m3,平均值为45.3ng/m3;夏季总PAHs浓度范围为8.64~96.3ng/m3,平均值为32.2ng/m3.两个季节PAHs单体中均以3~4环为主,占总浓度的75%以上;单个组分与总量的相关性分析表明,夏季明显优于冬季.来源分析表明,冬季大气中PAHs来源比夏季更为复杂,通过特征分子比值法推断冬季PAHs主要来源于石油源、燃煤、机动车尾气排放;夏季主要来源于机动车尾气排放.利用毒性当量因子法和致癌风险评价其污染水平和毒性风险,结果表明深圳市大气中PAHs污染与国内部分城市相比,处于较低水平.     

镁铁复合絮凝剂的表征及应用研究

以FeSO4、MgO和H2SO4为原料,制备了新型镁铁复合絮凝剂(PFMS),考察了PFMS的结构和Fe(Ⅲ)分布形态,为了考察自制PFMS、自制聚合硫酸铁(PFS)与工业PFS产品的絮凝性能差别,选择高岭土模拟浊度废水、直接耐晒黑G模拟染料废水和焦化废水生化出水,分别进行了去除浊度、色度和COD的絮凝实验.结果表明,Mg2+未参与聚合过程,但引入Mg2+提高了PFMS的稳定性.PFMS对浊度去除效果略高于自制PFS和工业PFS,余浊<5NTU;在碱性条件下,PFMS的脱色率、COD去除率高于自制PFS和工业PFS.     

A novel biosorbent: characterization of the spent mushroom compost and its application for removal of heavy metals

The spent mushroom compost of Lentinus edodes was used as a biosorbent for adsorbing cadmium, lead and chromium from solutions under batch conditions for the first time. Titration of the biomass revealed that it contained at least three types of functional groups. The Fourier transform infrared spectrometry showed that the carboxyl, phosphoryl, phenolic groups were the main groups. The simulated values of pK, and molar quantity were 5.00 and 0.44 mmol/g, 7.32 and 1.38 mmol/g, 10.45 and 1.44 mmol/g, respectively. The biosorption ability increased with pH in acid condition. When 10 mg/L biomass dosage was added in, there was no significant increment of metal uptake. The maximum uptake estimated with the Langmiur isotherm model were 833.33 mg/g for Cd（ Ⅱ ）, 1000.00 mg/g for Pb（ Ⅱ ） and 44.44 mg/g for Cr（ Ⅲ ）, respectively. All the results showed that vast potential sorption capacity was existed in the biomass for adsorbing these three kinds of metals studied.     

Accelerated ash accumulation method for diesel particulate filter and its characterization: a review

ABSTRACT

It is well known that high-efficiency wall-flow particulate filter is the most commonly used technology that can effectively reduce both particulate matter (PM) and particulate number (PN) to comply with the latest emission legislations. Ash, defined as the noncombustible, non-evaporative residue derived mostly from lubricants, has critical impact on engine backpressure, particulate filter filtration efficiency and durability performance, therefore, the investigation of ash impact on particulate filter is of great importance. Due to cost-saving potential, several published methods from different laboratories for accelerated ash loading under carefully controlled conditions are described in this review, including some characterization methods that have been used for the evaluation of filter performance. In addition, the impact of ash deposit on back pressure and regeneration performance are also discussed in this review.     

Development of inherent safety and health index for formulated product design

The numerous formulated products which are introduced to the market consist of chemical ingredients that may cause various safety and health hazards to the consumers. Therefore, it is extremely important to practice a systematic methodology to formulate products with acceptable safety and health performances. This work presents an index-based methodology to assess the safety and health hazards of the ingredients during the early formulation stage of product design. Hence, new inherent safety and health sub-indexes are introduced to improve the current safety and health hazards that are needed in formulated product design. The inherent safety and health sub-indexes are assigned with scores based on the degree of potential hazards. A higher score indicates a higher safety risk or severe health effect, and vice versa. The proposed methodology will greatly assist the users to identify the adverse safety and health effects caused by the ingredients. Hence, it is pivotal to eliminate or reduce the safety and health impacts from product usage. A case study on common ingredients used in the formulation of paint is presented on this study to describe the proposed method.     

2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) micropollutant herbicide removing from water using granular and powdered activated carbons: a comparison applied for water treatment and health safety

Abstract

Activated carbons are well-known porous materials as an effective adsorbent used for the removal of emerging contaminants, such as herbicides, which are increasingly present in water bodies. Most water treatment plants, specially in Brazil, are unable to completely remove such contaminants by the conventional process and advanced treatment using activated carbons is required. The aim of this paper was to verify the influence of the activated carbons granulometry and specific surface area on the 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) herbicide removal efficiency using distilled-deionized water and filtered water collected from a conventional Water Treatment Plant. Commercial activated carbons samples used in this work were obtained from two different manufacturers. Activated carbons were analyzed by the specific surface area, pore size and volume distribution, nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared and x-ray spectroscopy, moisture, volatile matter and ash contents. Batch adsorption isotherms experiments were used and performed by Langmuir and Freundlich models. Granular and powdered activated carbons removed over 99% of 2,4-D in distilled water and near to 99% using filtered water. The activated carbons evaluated in this work presented high performance and played a key role in water treatment by removing 2,4-D herbicide, ensuring the protection of human health and the ecosystem.     

高效重金属捕集剂EDTC的结构表征及对酸性络合铜的去除特性研究

以乙二胺和二硫化碳为反应物,无水乙醇和去离子水的混合溶液为溶剂,制备了一种巯基类重金属捕集剂N,N-双(二硫代羧基)乙二胺(EDTC),采用紫外光谱、红外光谱和元素分析对其结构进行表征,重点研究了其对EDTA络合铜、柠檬酸络合铜和酒石酸铜3种酸性模拟络合铜的去除性能及螯合沉淀物的溶出特性,并探讨了EDTC脱除络合铜的机理.研究结果表明,处理50 mg·L-1的含铜废水,p H值范围为3~9,EDTC投加量为mEDTC/mCu=8(质量比),反应时间3 min,PAM投加量为1 mg·L-1,此时出水Cu2+浓度均低于0.25 mg·L-1,去除率达到99.5%以上.螯合沉淀物在弱酸性和弱碱性条件下很稳定,不易产生二次污染.红外光谱图分析结果表明,EDTC与Cu会发生螯合反应,即EDTC直接脱出络合铜中Cu2+,并与Cu2+生成难溶的螯合产物EDTC-Cu,进而有效地去除废水中Cu.     

麦秸焚烧导致的北京市大气污染时空分布和化学组成特征分析

为了全面评价农田秸秆焚烧产生的污染事件,并为制定有效的管理措施提供依据,于2006年6月20日监测了西南风下北京南部农田麦秸焚烧产生的污染物向北京传输的过程.获得了SO2、CO、NOx以及可吸入颗粒物(PM10)质量浓度的数据.颗粒物的化学组分数据.数据分析结果表明,污染输送对北京市西南部地区空气质量影响最大(PM10小时浓度超过600μg·m-3),对北部山区影响较小(PM10浓度峰值在110μg·m-3).高浓度污染在市区持续时间最长.麦秸焚烧通过输送增加了PM10(尤其是PM1)、CO、NO2以及NMHC等污染物质,这使得与前一日相比污染物之间的相关关系发生了变化:SO2与其它污染物的相关性不显著,而CO与NO2、CH4与NO显著相关.因子分析进一步揭示,气象条件对污染物浓度变化具有主导作用,而由麦秸焚烧所产生的外来污染源属于次要地位.污染输送过程中,PM25中的硝酸盐类和有机碳、碳黑质量浓度增大.麦秸焚烧所输送的气态污染物和细小颗粒物对人体健康存在威胁,在不利扩散的气象条件下在大气中存留时间加长.研究结果表明,气象条件不利于污染扩散时必须禁止农田秸秆焚烧.