MODELING THE BUILDUP AND WASHOFF OF POLLUTANTS ON URBAN WATERSHEDS1

ABSTRACT: A model for urban stormwater quality was developed in this study. The basis for the model is the process by which pollutants build up on the watershed surface. For the wet climate of the study site, it was assumed that there exists an interval of time over which the pollutant buildup equals the pollutant washoff (no accumulation of pollutant). The buildup model was represented by a linear function of the antecedent dry time. The buildup function was then linked with a pollutant washoff model represented by a power function of the storm runoff volume. Various time intervals for no net accumulation were tested to calibrate the model. The model was calibrated to observed data for two small urban basins in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and model results were used to analyze the behavior of phosphorus concentrations in storm runoff from these basins over a long period of time.     

Thermal and mechanical properties of poly(lactic Acid) and poly(ethylene/butylene Succinate) blends

In this study, blends of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) with poly(ethylene/butylene succinate) (Bionolle) have been investigated for their thermal and mechanical properties as a function of the concentration of Bionolle. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and tensile tests were used to characterize the blends. From the results of the DMA and DSC, it was found that this blend system was not miscible within the compositions studied. DSC results showed that adding Bionolle aids in crystallization of PLA. It was observed that increasing the Bionolle concentration led to a slight increase in the strain-at-break of the blends but a decrease in the Young’s modulus and ultimate tensile strength. Biaxially oriented films showed an increase in tensile strength, modulus, and strain-at-break.     

Effect of Cross-Linking Waste Protein with Diepoxides on its Biodegradation under Anaerobic Conditions

Biodegradability testing was performed in an aqueous environment under anaerobic conditions after inoculation with digested sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plant. In cross-linking with 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane in limits 0.8–9.1% weight, biodegradability degree decreased from 76.8 to 62.2%; when 1,2:7,8 diepoxyoctane in quantities 1.1–13.2% weight was used, biodegradability degree dropped more prominently – from 72.3 to 22.8%. There is obviously a direct connection between growing cross-link degree (assessed by so-called fixation index) and decreasing readiness to biodegradation, apparently owing to build-up of a network forming an obstacle to access of micro-organisms and enzymes.     

青藏铁路50年内不惧冻土

青藏铁路有553公里从冻土区经过,而高原冻土的融沉和冻胀,会造成路面的坑坑洼洼,给行车留下安全隐患。因此曾有“青藏线10年后会因冻土退化出现安全问题”的说法,对此,风火山观测站对外宣称,青藏铁路能够克     

城市烟花爆竹安全监控与业务管理综合信息系统的研究和开发

对城市烟花爆竹安全监控与业务管理综合信息系统的需求进行分析;提出了网络化信息管理系统的设计架构和功能设置;并设计开发了城市烟花爆竹安全监控与业务管理综合信息系统,将先进的网络通讯技术、数据实时采集技术、组态技术、安全监控与预警技术和基于W eb的信息管理软件开发技术进行集成设计;实现了基于烟花爆竹仓库现场实时数据监测结果的多媒体联动、多用途智能报警监视硬件设备和配套的业务管理软件的信息融合。     

White spruce response to co-composted hydrocarbon-contaminated drilling waste: effects of compost age and nitrogen fertilization

There are growing interests to use co-composted drilling wastes contaminated with hydrocarbons as growth media for planting in land reclamation. However, such use of the compost may have potential problems such as inherent toxicity of residual hydrocarbon and microbial N immobilization due to high compost C to N ratios. We investigated the growth, biomass production, N uptake, and foliar delta13C of white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) seedlings in a pot experiment using 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-yr-old composts (with different hydrocarbon concentrations and C to N ratios) and a local noncontaminated soil with (200 kg N ha(-1)) or without N fertilization. Growth and N content of seedlings (particularly N content in roots) were lower when grown in the compost media as compared with those grown in the soil. Within the compost treatments seedling growth was affected by compost age, but the magnitude of growth reduction was not linearly proportional to hydrocarbon concentrations. Plant N uptake increased with compost age, which corresponds with an increase in indigenous mineral N concentration. Effects of N fertilization on N uptake were curtailed by the presence of indigenous mineral N (e.g., in the 4-yr-old compost) and by fertilization-induced stimulation of microbial activities (e.g., in the 1-yr-old compost). The differences in foliar delta13C values between seedlings grown in compost and soil (P < 0.05) suggest that limitations on water uptake caused by the residual hydrocarbon might have been the predominant factor limiting seedling growth in the compost media. This study suggests that water stress caused by residual hydrocarbons may be a critical factor for the successful use of co-composted drilling wastes as a growth medium.     

污泥淤砂分离器再分离底流污泥

研究了污泥淤砂分离器对分离原污泥所得的底流污泥进行再分离时,分离分流污泥的性质。实验结果表明,原污泥MLVSS/MLSS为0.372,1次分离后得到的底流污泥MLVSS/MLSS为0.222,2次分离后得到的底流污泥MLVSS/MLSS为0.126,表明通过底流污泥再分离,能够进一步降低底流污泥中生物有机质的含量,提高底流污泥中无机淤砂的含量。同时,原污泥CST为2.85(s·L)/g SS,1次分离后得到的底流污泥CST为0.98(s·L)/g SS,2次分离后得到的底流污泥CST为0.12(s·L)/g SS,表明底流污泥再分离进一步提高了底流污泥的脱水性能,最终得到的底流污泥脱水性能良好。     

Quality assessment of groundwater from the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula

Assessment of groundwater quality plays a significant role in the utilization of the scarce water resources globally and especially in arid regions. The increasing abstraction together with man-made contamination and seawater intrusion have strongly affected groundwater quality in the Arabia Peninsula, exemplified by the investigation given here from the United Arab Emirates, where the groundwater is seldom reviewed and assessed. In the aim of assessing current groundwater quality, we here present a comparison of chemical data linked to aquifers types. The results reveal that most of the investigated groundwater is not suitable for drinking, household, and agricultural purposes following the WHO permissible limits. Aquifer composition and climate have vital control on the water quality, with the carbonate aquifers contain the least potable water compared to the ophiolites and Quaternary clastics. Seawater intrusion along coastal regions has deteriorated the water quality and the phenomenon may become more intensive with future warming climate and rising sea level.     

Forest Die-Back Modified Plankton Recovery from Acidic Stress

We examined long-term data on water chemistry of Lake Rachelsee (Germany) following the changes in acidic depositions in central Europe since 1980s. Despite gradual chemical recovery of Rachelsee, its biological recovery was delayed. In 1999, lake recovery was abruptly reversed by a coincident forest die-back, which resulted in elevated terrestrial export of nitrate and ionic aluminum lasting ~5 years. This re-acidification episode provided unique opportunity to study plankton recovery in the rapidly recovering lake water after the abrupt decline in nitrate leaching from the catchment. There were sudden changes both in lake water chemistry and in plankton biomass structure, such as decreased bacterial filaments, increased phytoplankton biomass, and rotifer abundance. The shift from dominance of heterotrophic to autotrophic organisms suggested their substantial release from severe phosphorus stress. Such a rapid change in plankton structure in a lake recovering from acidity has, to the best of our knowledge, not been previously documented.