Leaching-induced migration and compositional form change of Cu,Zn, and Cd from sludge to loess

Land utilization of sewage sludge has become one of the major issues in environmental mitigation in China. This is particularly important in the Loess Plateau of Northwest China. Sludge enriched with organic matter and nutrients might effectively help to resolve the problems of silty loess soils as evidenced by porosity defect, structural alterations and absence of fertility. After sludge flows into the loess, irrigation water contains heavy metals that leach and migrate into sludge and consequently related human health risks may occur that raise concerns; and this situation needs to be rectified. The characteristics of the vertical migration and composition form change of Cu, Zn, and Cd from composted sludge to loess, and corresponding influencing factors, were investigated by performing a soil column simulation test under the leaching treatment of a one-year irrigation water capacity. Results demonstrated that: (1) composted sludge significantly improved loess fertility, and irrigation leaching transported only a small quantity of organic matter in sludge in the plough layer; (2) although some of the Cu, Zn, and Cd in composted sludge migrated to and concentrated in the middle and upper layers of the soil column during leaching, these metals were mostly retained in the plough layer; and (3) after the leaching treatment of the one-year irrigation water capacity, the compositions of Cu, Zn, and Cd (particularly Cu and Zn) in both plough layer and loess began to stabilize with low concentrations in the exudate. These findings confirmed the applicability of composted sludge in loess regions. This study provided a new insight into the sludge reuse in alkaline soils in arid and semi-arid region.     

Research on transesterification parameters for producing plant sterols with supercritical methanol

The supercritical fluid method, regarded as a type of individual production process in the course of preparing plant sterols, has become a promising technology, which possesses advantages of high conversion rate without any pretreatment and need of a catalyst. This study examined the reaction process of the deodorizer distillate (DOD), which mainly included the direct transesterification of DOD to convert into free sterols. The effects of the ratio of methanol to DOD, reaction temperature and time on transesterification were studied. Furthermore, the interactions between different factors were also assessed using the response surface methodology. The optimal conditions obtained were as follows: reaction temperature 553 K, reaction time 80 min, and CH₃OH: DOD = 25:1 (mass ratio). Under these conditions, 36.42% sterol concentration was obtained, which is significantly higher in comparison with the initial sterols’ concentration in raw material (22.45%).     

Sulfur speciation and bioaccumulation in camphor tree leaves as atmospheric sulfur indicator analyzed by synchrotron radiation XRF and XANES

Analyzing and understanding the effects of ambient pollution on plants is getting more and more attention as a topic of environmental biology.A method based on synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence and X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy was established to analyze the sulfur concentration and speciation in mature camphor tree leaves (CTLs),which were sampled from 5 local fields in Shanghai,China.Annual SO2 concentration,SO42-concentration in atmospheric particulate,SO42-and sulfur concentration in soil were also analyzed to explore the relationship between ambient sulfur sources and the sulfur nutrient cycling in CTLs.Total sulfur concentration in mature camphor tree leaves was 766-1704 mg/kg.The mainly detected sulfur states and their corresponding compounds were +6 (sulfate,include inorganic sulfate and organic sulfate),+5.2 (sulfonate),+2.2 (suloxides),+0.6 (thiols and thiothers),+0.2 (organic sulfides).Total sulfur concentration was strongly correlated with sulfate proportion with a linear correlation coefficient up to 0.977,which suggested that sulfur accumulated in CTLs as sulfate form.Reduced sulfur compounds (organic sulfides,thiols,thioethers,sulfoxide and sulfonate) assimilation was sufficed to meet the nutrient requirement for growth at a balanced level around 526 mg/kg.The sulfate accumulation mainly caused by atmospheric sulfur pollution such as SO2 and airborne sulfate particulate instead of soil contamination.From urban to suburb place,sulfate in mature CTLs decreased as the atmospheric sulfur pollution reduced,but a dramatic increase presented near the seashore,where the marine sulfate emission and maritime activity pollution were significant.The sulfur concentration and speciation in mature CTLs effectively represented the long-term biological accumulation of atmospheric sulfur pollution in local environment.     

区域森林火灾危害程度评价指标构建

为弥补用发生次数和受害森林面积评价森林火灾危害程度的不足,在拟定了林火次数比率、森林燃烧率、森林受害面积比率、每起森林火灾平均受害面积、森林火灾发生次数变异系数、受害森林面积变异系数6个指标的基础上,利用权重法确定了综合指标。结果表明,单一指标可以从某个方面评价森林火灾危害程度,综合指标则能更好地评价某个区域森林火灾的危害程度,更便于区域间的比较和评价。     

PEM式臭氧消毒在地上游泳池水处理中的应用

采用臭氧法水处理系统对地上游泳池的循环水进行灭菌消毒,研究了臭氧用量、循环水流量和运行时间等因素对臭氧法灭菌效果的影响。结果表明,3组PEM臭氧发生器应用于21.2 m3的地上游泳池,在4 m3/h的循环水流量下运行12 h后,水中的细菌总数与大肠杆菌群数达到国家标准,去除率均在99%以上。与盐电解法水处理系统相比较,臭氧法水处理系统的优势在于:杀菌快速高效、出水水质的理化指标较好和运行费用低廉。     

Changes in Soil Particulate Organic Matter, Microbial Biomass, and Activity Following Afforestation of Marginal Agricultural Lands in a Semi-Arid Area of Northeast China

Afforestation of agricultural lands has been one of the major land use changes in China in recent decades. To better understand the effect of such land use change on soil quality, we investigated selected soil physical, chemical and microbial properties (0–15 cm depth) in marginal agricultural land and a chronosequence of poplar (Populus euramericana cv. ‘N3016’) plantations (5-, 10-, 15- and 20-years old) in a semi-arid area of Northeast China. Soil bulk density significantly declined after conversion of agricultural lands to poplar plantations. Soil total organic carbon (TOC) and nitrogen (TN) concentrations, microbial biomass C (MBC) and potential N mineralization rate (PNM) decreased initially following afforestation of agricultural lands, and then increased with stand development. However, soil metabolic quotient (qCO₂) exhibited a reverse trend. In addition, soil particulate organic matter C (POM-C) and N (POM-N) concentrations showed no significant changes in the first 10 years following afforestation, and then increased with stand age. These findings demonstrated that soil quality declined initially following afforestation of agricultural lands in semi-arid regions, and then recovered with stand development. Following 15 years of afforestation, many soil quality parameters recovered to the values found in agricultural land. We propose that change in soil quality with stand age should be considered in determining optimum rotation length of plantations and best management practices for afforestation programs.     

Precipitation of Charged Dust Particles on Electrostatic Screen

The purpose of this paper is to present collection performance dependence upon the parameters of channeled electrodes in a twostage precipitator. The practical channeled electrostatic screens are classified into two types and the respective theoretical collection efficiency equations are obtained by employing idealized models. It is shown that In normal operating conditions the most effective particle collection mechanism in the device is electrostatic precipitation rather than the Inertlal separation. It is also pointed out that the channeled electrode, in comparison with the plate-type, should be a narrow width. An empirical efficiency equation is recommended and the agreement between experimental data and empirical equation is within 6%.     

CNTs/TiO2/CS光降解苯的动力学

综合光催化氧化苯的动力学过程、光辐射场模型和质量守恒定律,采用平板型反应器建立了碳纳米管/二氧化钛/壳聚糖(CNTs/TiO2/CS)催化薄膜光催化氧化气相苯的数学模型;该模型考虑了光强、相对湿度、初始浓度与气体流速对气相苯光降解的影响。结果表明,建立的数学模型与实验结果吻合较好。     

Occurrence and distribution of polycyclic aromatic carbons in sludges from wastewater treatment plants in Guangdong, China

In this study, the occurrence and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in six sludge samples collected from Guangdong Province, China. Concentrations of PAHs varying from 2,534.1 to 6,926.6 μg kg^???1 (dry sludge) were observed in three municipal wastewater treatment plants with phenanthrene (Phe), fluoranthene, and pyrene being the main compounds. In addition, 682.6 μg kg^???1 PAHs were detected in one sludge sample from a food processing plant, with fluorene, Phe, and chrysene being the main components. No PAHs were detected in sludge samples obtained from two cosmetic plants. The levels and distributional characteristics of PAHs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic musks (PMs) from the samples were also compared. The results of this comparison indicated that petrochemical refineries and road traffic played important roles in the PAH loads in sludge, while PMs primarily originated from domestic wastewater and industrial wastewater from cosmetic plants. Finally, the presence of 98.8 μg kg^???1 PCBs in sludge suggested diffusional emission sources from electrical components containing PCBs.