Compositions and sources of organic acids in fine particles (PM2.5) over the Pearl River Delta region, south China

Organic acids as important constituents of organic aerosols not only influence the aerosols' hygroscopic property, but also enhance the formation of new particles and secondary organic aerosols. This study reported organic acids including C14–C32fatty acids, C4–C9dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids in PM2.5collected during winter 2009 at six typical urban, suburban and rural sites in the Pearl River Delta region. Averaged concentrations of C14–C32fatty acids, aromatic acids and C4– C9 dicarboxylic acids were 157, 72.5 and 50.7 ng/m3, respectively. They totally accounted for 1.7% of measured organic carbon. C20–C32fatty acids mainly deriving from higher plant wax showed the highest concentration at the upwind rural site with more vegetation around, while C14–C18fatty acids were more abundant at urban and suburban sites, and dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids except 1,4-phthalic acid peaked at the downwind rural site. Succinic and azelaic acid were the most abundant among C4–C9dicarboxylic acids, and 1,2-phthalic and 1,4-phthalic acid were dominant aromatic acids. Dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids exhibited significant mutual correlations except for 1,4-phthalic acid, which was probably primarily emitted from combustion of solid wastes containing polyethylene terephthalate plastics. Spatial patterns and correlations with typical source tracers suggested that C14–C32fatty acids were mainly primary while dicarboxylic and aromatic acids were largely secondary. Principal component analysis resolved six sources including biomass burning, natural higher plant wax, two mixed anthropogenic and two secondary sources; further multiple linear regression revealed their contributions to individual organic acids. It turned out that more than 70% of C14–C18fatty acids were attributed to anthropogenic sources, about 50%–85% of the C20–C32fatty acids were attributed to natural sources, 80%–95% of dicarboxylic acids and 1,2-phthalic acid were secondary in contrast with that 81% of 1,4-phthalic acid was primary.     

Effect of a high strength chemical industry wastewater on microbial community dynamics and mesophilic methane generation

A high strength chemical industry wastewater was assessed for its impact on anaerobic microbial com- munity dynamics and consequently mesophilic methane generation. Cumulative methane production was 251 mL/g total chemical oxygen demand removed at standard temperature and pressure at the end of 30 days experimental period with a highest recorded methane percentage of 80.6% of total biogas volume. Volatile fatty acids （VFAs） analysis revealed that acetic acid was the major intermediate VFAs produced with propionic acid accumulating over the experimental period. Quantitative analysis of microbial communities in the test and control groups with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction highlighted that in the test group, Eubacteria （96.3%） was dominant in comparison with methanogens （3.7%）. The latter were dominated by Methanomicrobiales and Methanobacteriales while in test groups increased over the experimental period, reaching a maximum on day 30. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profile was performed, targeting the 16S rRNA gene of Eubacteria and Archaea, with the DNA samples extracted at 3 different time points from the test groups. A phylogenetic tree was constructed for the sequences using the neighborhood joining method. The analysis revealed that the presence of organisms resembling Syntrophomonadaceae could have contributed to increased production of acetic and propionic acid intermediates while decrease of organisms resembling Pelotomaculum sp. could have most likely contributed to accumulation of propionic acid. This study suggested that the degradation of organic components within the high strength industrial wastewater is closely linked with the activity of certain niche microbial communities within eubacteria and methanogens.     

Reduction and characterization of bioaerosols in a wastewater treatment station via ventilation

Bioaerosols from wastewater treatment processes are a significant subgroup of atmospheric aerosols. In the present study,airborne microorganisms generated from a wastewater treatment station(WWTS) that uses an oxidation ditch process were diminished by ventilation.Conventional sampling and detection methods combined with cloning/sequencing techniques were applied to determine the groups,concentrations,size distributions,and species diversity of airborne microorganisms before and after ventilation. There were 3021 ± 537 CFU/m3 of airborne bacteria and 926 ± 132 CFU/m3 of airborne fungi present in the WWTS bioaerosol.Results showed that the ventilation reduced airborne microorganisms significantly compared to the air in the WWTS. Over 60% of airborne bacteria and airborne fungi could be reduced after4 hr of air exchange. The highest removal(92.1% for airborne bacteria and 89.1% for fungi) was achieved for 0.65–1.1 μm sized particles. The bioaerosol particles over 4.7 μm were also reduced effectively. Large particles tended to be lost by gravitational settling and small particles were generally carried away,which led to the relatively easy reduction of bioaerosol particles0.65–1.1 μm and over 4.7 μm in size. An obvious variation occurred in the structure of the bacterial communities when ventilation was applied to control the airborne microorganisms in enclosed spaces.     

Inhibitory effects of nisin-coated multi-walled carbon nanotube sheet on biofilm formation from Bacillus anthracis spores

Multi-walled carbon nanotube（MWCNT） sheet was fabricated from a drawable MWCNT forest and then deposited on poly（methyl methacrylate） film. The film was further coated with a natural antimicrobial peptide nisin. We studied the effects of nisin coating on the attachment of Bacillus anthracis spores, the germination of attached spores, and the subsequent biofilm formation from attached spores. It was found that the strong adsorptivity and the super hydrophobicity of MWCNTs provided an ideal platform for nisin coating. Nisin coating on MWCNT sheets decreased surface hydrophobicity, reduced spore attachment, and reduced the germination of attached spores by 3.5 fold, and further inhibited the subsequent biofilm formation by 94.6% compared to that on uncoated MWCNT sheet. Nisin also changed the morphology of vegetative cells in the formed biofilm.The results of this study demonstrated that the anti-adhesion and antimicrobial effect of nisin in combination with the physical properties of carbon nanotubes had the potential in producing effective anti-biofilm formation surfaces.     

Nitrogen mass balance in a constructed wetland treating piggery wastewater effluent

The nitrogen changes and the nitrogen mass balance in a free water surface flow constructed wetland （CW） using the four-year monitoring data from 2008 to 2012 were estimated. The CW was composed of six cells in series that include the first settling basin （Cell 1）, aeration pond （Cell 2）, deep marsh （Cell 3）, shallow marsh （Cell 4）, deep marsh （Cell 5） and final settling basin （Cell 6）. Analysis revealed that the NH4＋-N concentration decreased because of ammonification which was then followed by nitrification. The NO4＋-N and NO4＋-N were also further reduced by means of microbial activities and plant uptake during photosynthesis. The average nitrogen concentration at the influent was 37,819 kg/year and approximately 45% of that amount exited the CW in the effluent. The denitrification amounted to 34% of the net nitrogen input, whereas the accretion of sediment was only 7%. The biomass uptake of plants was able to retain only 1% of total nitrogen load. In order to improve the nutrient removal by plant uptake, plant coverage in four cells （i.e., Cells 1, 3, 4 and 5） could be increased.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal phylogenetic groups differ in affecting host plants along heavy metal levels

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi（AMF） are important components of soil microbial communities,and play important role in plant growth. However, the effects of AMF phylogenetic groups（Glomeraceae and non-Glomeraceae） on host plant under various heavy metal levels are not clear. Here we conducted a meta-analysis to compare symbiotic relationship between AMF phylogenetic groups（Glomeraceae and non-Glomeraceae） and host plant functional groups（herbs vs. trees, and non-legumes vs. legumes） at three heavy metal levels. In the meta-analysis, we calculate the effect size（ln（RR）） by taking the natural logarithm of the response ratio of inoculated to non-inoculated shoot biomass from each study. We found that the effect size of Glomeraceae increased, but the effect size of non-Glomeraceae decreased under high level of heavy metal compared to low level. According to the effect size, both Glomeraceae and non-Glomeraceae promoted host plant growth, but had different effects under various heavy metal levels. Glomeraceae provided more benefit to host plants than non-Glomeraceae did under heavy metal condition, while non-Glomeraceae provided more benefit to host plants than Glomeraceae did under no heavy metal. AMF phylogenetic groups also differed in promoting plant functional groups under various heavy metal levels.Interacting with Glomeraceae, herbs and legumes grew better than trees and non-legumes did under high heavy metal level, while trees and legumes grew better than herbs and non-legumes did under medium heavy metal level. Interacting with non-Glomeraceae, herbs and legumes grew better than trees and non-legumes did under no heavy metal. We suggested that the combination of legume with Glomeraceae could be a useful way in the remediation of heavy metal polluted environment.     

全球环境展望5——我们未来想要的环境:第2章 大气

<正>联合国环境规划署(UNEP)于2012年9月正式发布了全球环境展望5(GEO-5)中文版,该报告评估了世界上最重要的90个环境目标的完成情况。最新发布的GEO-5中文版将为世界上人口最多国家的研究人员、学者、政府代表、行业和民间团体带来联合国最全面的环境评估。本刊自2012年06期起对其进行连载。报告来源:联合国环境规划署。     

武汉市大气PM_(2.5)中有机酸的季节变化及其来源解析

经过预处理的样品用BSTFA/TMCS衍生化试剂衍生后,采用GC-MS技术对武汉市一年四季3个不同类型采样点中大气气溶胶中有机酸进行定量分析。共测定武汉市大气PM2.5中22种饱和脂肪酸(C11~C32)、油酸(C18∶1)、亚油酸(C18∶2)和8种二元羧酸(di-C2~di-C9)。3个采样点四季脂肪酸均呈现出明显的碳偶数优势,其中最丰富的物种均为棕榈酸(年均值ID:85.86 ng/m3,DT:56.43 ng/m3,BG:52.39 ng/m3)和硬脂酸(年均值ID:57.05 ng/m3,DT:32.68 ng/m3,BG:37.37 ng/m3)。同时通过C18∶1与C18∶0的比值用来判断武汉市不同季节、不同类型污染源气溶胶的老化程度。二元羧酸中最丰富的物种为草酸(年均值ID:254.62 ng/m3,DT:367.38 ng/m3,BG:235.19 ng/m3),其次为丁二酸(年均值ID:214.70 ng/m3,DT:312.44 ng/m3,BG:168.46 ng/m3)、丙二酸(年均值ID:103.45 ng/m3,DT:70.56 ng/m3,BG:44.48 ng/m3),二元羧酸总浓度呈现出明显的季节变化,表现为夏季>春季>秋季>冬季。通过di-C2与di-C3之比之来判断二次源对不同类型采样点气溶胶的贡献程度。主成分分析法结果显示化石燃料燃烧、机动车排放及光化学氧化、生物质燃烧、肉类烹饪是武汉市大气气溶胶中有机酸的主要来源。     

高絮凝活性酿酒酵母菌株筛选及其培养条件研究

从实验室保藏菌种中筛选到1株具有高絮凝活性的酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)菌株,利用其发酵液进行絮凝实验,结果表明:该絮凝剂对4 g/L、pH为7的高岭土悬浊液有很好的絮凝效果;该菌株产絮凝剂的最佳培养条件:碳源为葡萄糖,氮源为蛋白胨,培养温度为30℃,初始pH值为5.5,液体震荡培养96 h后絮凝率最高可达92.6%。     

微生物与铀的相互作用及其应用前景

放射性核素铀可能会对周围环境造成长期污染,因此,放射性废物中铀的处理受到了普遍关注。近年来,越来越多的证据表明,放射性核素污染微生物处理法与无机材料处理法同等重要。微生物与铀的相互作用机制主要包括以下几个方面:生物吸附,细胞内的聚积、沉淀和氧化还原转换。目前正在开展的研究旨在阐明从放射性物质贮存相关的各种极端环境中分离获得的菌株与铀之间相互作用的关键过程。对这些能与铀相互作用的细菌有了基本的了解,将有助于放射性废物处理、修复技术的发展及其在环境放射性污染防治中的推广应用。