Plasmonic silver/silver oxide nanoparticles anchored bismuth vanadate as a novel visible-light ternary photocatalyst for degrading pharmaceutical micropollutants

The degradation of pharmaceutical micropollutants is an intensifying environmental problem and synthesis of efficient photocatalysts for this purpose is one of the foremost challenges worldwide. Therefore, this study was conducted to develop novel plasmonic Ag/Ag₂O/BiVO₄ nanocomposite photocatalysts by simple precipitation and thermal decomposition methods, which could exhibit higher photocatalytic activity for mineralized pharmaceutical micropollutants. Among the different treatments, the best performance was observed for the Ag/Ag₂O/BiVO₄ nanocomposites (5 wt.%; 10 min's visible light irradiation) which exhibited 6.57 times higher photodegradation rate than the pure BiVO₄. Further, the effects of different influencing factors on the photodegradation system of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-HCl) were investigated and the feasibility for its practical application was explored through the specific light sources, water source and cycle experiments. The mechanistic study demonstrated that the photogenerated holes (h⁺), superoxide radicals (?O₂^?) and hydroxyl radicals (?OH) participated in TC-HCl removal process, which is different from the pure BiVO₄ reaction system. Hence, the present work can provide a new approach for the formation of novel plasmonic photocatalysts with high photoactivity and can act as effective practical application for environmental remediation.     

Algal toxicity induced by effluents from textile-dyeing wastewater treatment plants

This research aimed to evaluate the alga Scenedesmus obliquus toxicity induced by textiledyeing effluents(TDE).The toxicity indicator of TDE in alga at the physiological(algal growyth),biochemical(chlorophyll-a(Chl-a) synthesis and superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity) and structural(cell membrane integrity) level were investigated.Then we further study the relationship among toxicity indicators at physiological and biochemical level,and supplemented by research on algal biomacromolecules.According to the analysis of various endpoints of the alga,the general sensitivity sequence of toxicity endpoints of Scenedesmus obliquus was:SOD activity Chl-a synthesis algal growth.The stimulation rate of SOD activity increased from day 3(57.25%～83.02%) to day 6(57.25%～103.81%),and then decreased on day 15(-4.23%～-32.96%),which indicated that the antioxidant balance system of the algal cells was destroyed.The rate of Chl-a synthesis inhibition increased gradually,reaching19.70%～79.39% on day 15,while the rate of growth inhibition increased from day 3(-12.90%～10.16%) to day 15(-21.27%～72.46%).Moreover,the algal growth inhibition rate was positively correlated with the inhibition rate of SOD activity or Chl-a synthesis,with the correlation coefficients were 0.6713 and 0.5217,respectively.Algal cells would be stimulating to produce excessive reactive oxygen species,which would cause peroxidation in the cells,thereby destroying chloroplasts,inhibiting chlorophyll synthesis and reducing photosynthesis.With increasing exposure time,irreversible damage to algae can lead to death.This study is expected to enhance our understanding of the ecological risks through algal tests caused by TDE.     

UV/H2O2 oxidation of tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate: Intermediate products, degradation pathway and toxicity evaluation

Tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) with the initial concentration of 5 mg/L was degraded by UV/H₂O₂ oxidation process. The removal rate of TCEP in the UV/H₂O₂ system was 89.1% with the production of Cl^? and PO₄^3? of 0.23 and 0.64 mg/L. The removal rate of total organic carbon of the reaction was 48.8% and the pH reached 3.3 after the reaction. The oxidative degradation process of TCEP in the UV/H₂O₂ system obeyed the first order kinetic reaction with the apparent rate constant of 0.0025 min^?1 (R²=0.9788). The intermediate products were isolated and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. The addition reaction of HO? and H₂O and the oxidation reaction with H₂O₂ were found during the degradation pathway of 5 mg/L TCEP in the UV/H₂O₂ system. For the first time, environment risk was estimated via the “ecological structure activity relationships” program and acute and chronic toxicity changes of intermediate products were pointed out. The luminescence inhibition rate of photobacterium was used to evaluate the acute toxicity of intermediate products. The results showed that the toxicity of the intermediate products increased with the increase of reaction time, which may be due to the production of chlorine compounds. Some measures should be introduced to the UV/H₂O₂ system to remove the highly toxic Cl-containing compounds, such as a nanofiltration or reverse osmosis unit.     

Ozone pollution characteristics and sensitivity analysis using an observation-based model in Nanjing, Yangtze River Delta Region of China

Ground-level ozone (O₃) has become a critical pollutant impeding air quality improvement in Yangtze River Delta region of China. In this study, we present O₃ pollution characteristics based on one-year online measurements during 2016 at an urban site in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Then, the sensitivity of O₃ to its precursors during 2 O₃ pollution episodes in August was analyzed using a box model based on observation (OBM). The relative incremental reactivity (RIR) of hydrocarbons was larger than other precursors, suggesting that hydrocarbons played the dominant role in O₃ formation. The RIR values for NO_X ranged from –0.41%/% to 0.19%/%. The O₃ sensitivity was also analyzed based on relationship of simulated O₃ production rates with reductions of VOC and NO_X derived from scenario analyses. Simulation results illustrate that O₃ formation was between VOCs-limited and transition regime. Xylenes and light alkenes were found to be key species in O₃ formation according to RIR values, and their sources were determined using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. Paints and solvent use was the largest contributor to xylenes (54%), while petrochemical industry was the most important source to propene (82%). Discussions on VOCs and NO_X reduction schemes suggest that the 5% O₃ control goal can be achieved by reducing VOCs by 20%. To obtain 10% O₃ control goal, VOCs need to be reduced by 30% with VOCs/NO_X larger than 3:1.     

Chemical characteristics of road dust PM2.5 fraction in oasis cities at the margin of Tarim Basin

In order to understand the compositions characteristics of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) fraction in road dust (RD_2.5) of oasis cities on the edge of Tarim Basin, 30 road dust (RD) samples were collected in Kashi, Cele, and Yutian in the spring, 2018, and RD_2.5 was collected using the resuspension approach. Eight water-soluble ions, 39 trace elements and 8 fractions of carbon-containing species in PM_2.5 were analyzed. Ca²⁺ and Ca were the most abundant ions and elements in RD_2.5 (7.1% and 9.5%). Cl^- in RD_2.5 was affected not only by attributed to saline-alkali soils in oasis cities of the Tarim Basin and dust from Taklimakan Desert but also by human activities. Moreover, the organic carbon/elemental carbon (OC/EC) ratio indicated that carbon components in RD_2.5 in Cele town mainly come from fossil fuel combustion, while those in Yutian and Kashi mainly come from biomass combustion. It is noteworthy that high Ca in RD_2.5 was seriously affected by anthropogenic emissions, and high Na and K contents in RD_2.5 could be derived from soil and desert dust. It was estimated that Cd, Tl, Sn and Cr were emitted from anthropogenic emissions using the enrichment factor. The coefficients of divergence (COD) result indicated that the influence of local emission on road dust emission is greater than that of long-distance transmission. This study is the first time to comprehensively analyze the chemical characteristics of road dust in oasis cities, and the results provides the sources of road dust at the margin of Tarim Basin.     

Reviews of emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in Asia

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in the atmosphere play important roles in the formation of ground-level ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in global scale and also in regional scale under some condition due to their large amount and relatively higher reactivity. In places with high plant cover in the tropics and in China where air pollution is serious, the effect of BVOCs on ozone and secondary organic aerosols is strong. The present research aims to provide a comprehensive review about the emission rate, emission inventory, research methods, the influencing factors of BVOCs emissions, as well as their impacts on atmospheric environment quality and human health in recent years in Asia based on the summary and analysis of literatures. It is suggested to use field direct measurement method to obtain the emission rate and model method to calculate the emission amount. Several recommendations are given for future investigation and policy development on BVOCs emission.     

基于TMVOC的地下水位波动带苯系物迁移转化模拟

为探究水位波动情况下苯系物的迁移转化规律,提高石油污染场地地下水污染治理精度,以西北某傍河石化场地为研究对象,基于TMVOC模型对特征污染物苯系物开展泄漏模拟,通过情景模拟比较水位波动对苯系物迁移转化的影响,并从污染分布、相间转化等方面,解析地下水位稳定和波动状态下苯系物迁移转化过程差异.结果表明:①TMVOC模型较好地模拟了水位波动状态下苯系物迁移转化过程.②相较于水位稳定状态下,水位波动作用下苯系物污染深度增加0.5 m,污染面积增加25%,总质量增加12 kg.③水位稳定和波动状态下苯系物"气-液-NAPL（Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids）相"占比分别为0.17%、2.03%、97.8%和0.04%、3.69%、96.27%.④NAPL相苯系物饱和度分布与苯系物质量分布呈正相关,水位波动造成NAPL相初始饱和度降低,且初始水位面以下NAPL相饱和度升高.⑤对于苯而言,水位波动状态下非饱和带中苯在液相中的质量是水位稳定状态下的1.11倍,饱和带为10.15倍.研究显示,水位波动显著地影响了苯系物的迁移转化过程,促进了苯系物的溶解,并使更多的苯系物残留在地下介质中.      

餐厨垃圾生物有机肥对贫瘠黄褐土改良的研究

为了阐明餐厨垃圾生物有机肥改良贫瘠土壤的作用机制,以贫瘠黄褐土为研究对象,通过不施肥、长期（>5 a）施用化肥、中长期（5 a）施用少量餐厨垃圾生物有机肥和短期（1 a）施用大量餐厨垃圾生物有机肥4种施肥方式,分别记为CK组、CF组、LOF-5组和MOF-1组,对比分析不同施肥方式对土壤OM（有机质）、活性有机碳、营养元素和团聚体等的影响.结果表明:①施用餐厨垃圾生物有机肥可显著提高土壤OM、活性有机碳含量,其中,MOF-1组提高效果最显著,与CK组相比,w（OM）可提高173.29%,w（ROC）（ROC为易氧化有机碳）增加了39.17%,w（POC）（POC为颗粒有机碳）和w（DOC）（DOC为可溶性有机碳）分别是CK组的13.85和10.32倍.②中长期（5 a）施用少量餐厨垃圾生物有机肥可增加土壤中较大粒径团聚体的占比,且更有利于提高土壤团粒结构的稳定性,LOF-5组>2 mm粒级的团聚体占比是CK组的4.68倍;与CK组相比,LOF-5组MWD（平均重量直径）增加了100.00%,GMD（几何平均直径）增加了82.98%,>0.25 mm水稳定性团聚体质量占比（DR_0.25）增加了27.20%.③中长期（5 a）施用少量餐厨垃圾生物有机肥可增加土壤中w（TN）（TN为全氮）和w（AN）（AN为速效氮）,与CK组相比,LOF-5组w（TN）和w（AN）分别增加了77.42%和20.82%.施用餐厨垃圾有机肥也可同时增加土壤中w（AP）（AP为速效磷）和w（AK）（AK为速效钾）,MOF-1组增加效果较佳,w（AP）和w（AK）分别是CK组的9.43和3.39倍.研究显示,中长期（5 a）施用少量餐厨垃圾生物有机肥可提升土壤固碳能力,提高土壤养分利用的有效性,从而提升耕地土壤质量,减少化肥施用量,是我国贫瘠黄褐土改良的有效施肥模式.      

不同制备温度下污泥生物炭对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附特性

以城市剩余污泥为原料,于300,400,500,600 ℃温度条件下制备生物炭,通过单因素静态吸附实验探讨制备温度对生物炭吸附Cr（Ⅵ）的影响。结果表明:在500 ℃以内随着温度上升制备的生物炭对Cr（Ⅵ）的吸附量增加,制备温度高于500 ℃后变化不明显;扫描电镜（SEM）、比表面积（BET）、傅里叶红外光谱（FTIR）表征结果显示,热解温度对生物炭表面形貌和官能团组成有显著影响;等温模型及动力学拟合结果表明,生物炭吸附Cr（Ⅵ）为单分子层吸附、物理-化学复合吸附。热解温度对污泥制备生物炭吸附Cr（Ⅵ）的性能有显著影响,最佳制备温度为500 ℃,在此条件制备的生物炭对Cr（Ⅵ）的理论吸附量可达7.93 mg/g。     

特殊区域地表水环境背景值表征技术方法研究与应用

选取黑龙江省源头水保护区作为研究对象,根据DEM数据对保护区内随机布设的水质监测点控制单元进行划分并提取单元内的相关指标建立监测点背景特性量化模型,基于量化结果提出地表水环境背景值监测方案,建立背景值数据库.选取研究区自然属性指标与空间属性指标,以空间叠置技术与聚类分析方法对研究区地表水进行背景值分区,最终将黑龙江省分为六大地表水水质背景值地理分区,并计算了各分区地表水环境背景值表征范围.表征范围显示：依据现行标准进行水质评价,保护区内水质背景值已超出Ⅱ类水质标准限值.因此,基于水质背景值研究成果提出了考虑背景值影响下的水环境质量评价方法,并将方法应用于研究区,结果表明方法切实可行且优于单因子评价法.研究成果可为区域制定背景值影响下的水环境评价方法提供科学的数据支撑与理论依据.