Origin of major ions in monthly rainfall events at the Bamenda Highlands, North West Cameroon

Rainwater characteristics can reveal emissions from various anthropogenic and natural sources into the atmosphere. The physico-chemical characteristics of 44 monthly rainfall events （collected between January and December 2012） from 4 weather stations （Bamenda, Ndop plain, Ndawara and Kumbo） in the Bamenda Highlands （BH） were investigated. The purpose was to determine the sources of chemical species, their seasonal inputs and suitability of the rainwater for drinking. The mean pH of 5 indicated the slightly acidic nature of the rainwater. Average total dissolved solids （TDS） were low （6.7 mg/L）, characteristic of unpolluted atmospheric moisture/air. Major ion concentrations （mg/L） were low and in the order K＋ 〉 Ca2＋ 〉 Mg2~ 〉 Na＋ for cations and NO3 〉〉 HCO3 〉 SO] 〉 CI- 〉 PO3- 〉 F- for anions. The average rainwater in the area was mixed Ca-Mg-SO4-CI water type. The CI-/Na＋ ratio （1.04） was comparable to that of seawater （1.16）, an indication that N a＋ and CI originated mainly from marine （Atlantic Ocean） aerosols. High enrichments of Ca2＋, Mg2＋ and SO2- to Na＋ ratios relative to seawater ratios （constituting 44% of the total ions） demonstrated their terrigenous origin, mainly from Saharan and Sahelian arid dusts. The K＋/Na＋ ratio （2.24）, which was similar to tropical vegetation ash （2.38）, and NO3 was essentially from biomass burning. Light （〈 100 mm） pre-monsoon and post-monsoon convective rains were enriched in major ions than the heavy （〉 100 mm） monsoon rains, indicating a high contribution of major ions during the low convective showers. Despite the acidic nature, the TDS and major ion concentrations classified the rainwater as potable based on the WHO guidelines.     

Fast increasing of surface ozone concentrations in Pearl River Delta characterized by a regional air quality monitoring network during 2006-2011

Based on the observation by a Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network including 16 monitoring stations, temporal and spatial variations of ozone(O3), NO2and total oxidant(Ox) were analyzed by both linear regression and cluster analysis. A fast increase of regional O3concentrations of 0.86 ppbV/yr was found for the annual averaged values from 2006 to 2011 in Guangdong, China. Such fast O3increase is accompanied by a correspondingly fast NOx reduction as indicated by a fast NO2 reduction rate of 0.61 ppbV/yr. Based on a cluster analysis, the monitoring stations were classified into two major categories – rural stations(non-urban) and suburban/urban stations. The O3concentrations at rural stations were relatively conserved while those at suburban/urban stations showed a fast increase rate of 2.0 ppbV/yr accompanied by a NO2 reduction rate of 1.2 ppbV/yr. Moreover, a rapid increase of the averaged O3 concentrations in springtime(13%/yr referred to 2006 level) was observed, which may result from the increase of solar duration, reduction of precipitation in Guangdong and transport from Eastern Central China. Application of smog production algorithm showed that the photochemical O3production is mainly volatile organic compounds(VOC)-controlled. However, the photochemical O3production is sensitive to both NOx and VOC for O3pollution episode. Accordingly, it is expected that a combined NOx and VOC reduction will be helpful for the reduction of the O3 pollution episodes in Pearl River Delta while stringent VOC emission control is in general required for the regional O3 pollution control.     

Biostability in distribution systems in one city in southern China：Characteristics, modeling and control strategy

This study investigated the bacterial regrowth in drinking water distribution systems receiving finished water from an advanced drinking water treatment plant in one city in southem China. Thirteen nodes in two water supply zones with different aged pipelines were selected to monitor water temperature, dissolved oxygen （DO）, chloramine residual, assimilable organic carbon （AOC）, and heterotrophic plate counts （HPC）. Regression and principal component analyses indicated that HPC had a strong correlation with chloramine residual. Based on Chick-Watson＇s Law and the Monod equation, biostability curves under different conditions were developed to achieve the goal of HPC 100 CFU/mL. The biostability curves could interpret the scenario under various AOC concentrations and predict the required chloramine residual concentration under the condition of high AOC level. The simulation was also carded out to predict the scenario with a stricter HPC goal （≤50 CFU/mL） and determine the required chloramine residual. The biological regrowth control strategy was assessed using biostability curve analysis. The results indicated that maintaining high chloramine residual concentration was the most practical way to achieve the goal of HPC ≤ 100 CFU/mL. Biostability curves could be a very useful tool for biostability control in distribution systems. This work could provide some new insights towards biostability control in real distribution systems.     

Debromination of decabromodiphenyl ether by organo-montmorillonite-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron：Preparation, characterization and influence factors

An organo-montmorillonite-supported nanoscale zero-valent iron material(M-NZVI) was synthesized to degrade decabromodiphenyl ether(BDE-209). The results showed that nanoscale zero-valent iron had good dispersion on organo-montmorillonite and was present as a core-shell structure with a particle size range of nanoscale iron between 30–90 nm, characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XRF, ICP-AES, and XPS. The results of the degradation of BDE-209 by M-NZVI showed that the efficiency of M-NZVI in removing BDE-209 was much higher than that of NZVI. The efficiency of M-NZVI in removing BDE-209 decreased as the pH and the initial dissolved oxygen content of the reaction solution increased, but increased as the proportion of water in the reaction solution increased.     

Review on water leakage control in distribution networks and the associated environmental benefits

Water supply is the primary element of an urban system. Due to rapid urbanization and water scarcity, maintaining a stable and safe water supply has become a challenge to many cities, whereas a large amount of water is lost from the pipes of distribution systems. Water leakage is not only a waste of water resources, but also incurs great socio-economic costs. This article presents a comprehensive review on the potential water leakage control approaches and specifically discusses the benefits of each to environmental conservation. It is concluded that water leakage could be further reduced by improving leakage detection capability through a combination of predictive modeling and monitoring instruments, optimizing pipe maintenance strategy, and developing an instant pressure regulation system. The environment could benefit from these actions because of water savings and the reduction of energy consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions.     

Biosorption mechanisms involved in immobilization of soil Pb by Bacillus subtilis DBM in a multimetal-contaminated soil

Mechanisms of soil Pb immobilization by Bacillus subtilis DBM, a bacterial strain isolated from a heavy-metal-contaminated soil, were investigated. Adsorption and desorption experiments with living bacterial cells as well as dead cells revealed that both extracellular adsorption and intracellular accumulation were involved in the Pb2＋removal from the liquid phase. Of the sequestered Pb（II）, 8.5% was held by physical entrapment within the cell wall, 43.3% was held by ion-exchange, 9.7% was complexed with cell surface functional groups or precipitated on the cell surface, and 38.5% was intracellularly accumulated.Complexation of Pb2＋with carboxyl, hydroxyl, carbonyl, amido, and phosphate groups was demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis. Precipitates of Pb5（PO4）3OH, Pb5（PO4）3Cl and Pb10（PO4）6（OH）2that formed on the cell surface during the biosorption process were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis. Transmission electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectroscopic analysis confirmed the presence of the Pb（II）precipitates and that Pb（II） could be sequestered both extracellularly and intracellularly.Incubation with B. subtilis DBM significantly decreased the amount of the weak-acid-soluble Pb fraction in a heavy-metal-contaminated soil, resulting in a reduction in Pb bioavailability, but increased the amount of its organic-matter-bound fraction by 71%. The ability of B.subtilis DBM to reduce the bioavailability of soil Pb makes it potentially useful for bacteria-assisted phytostabilization of multi-heavy-metal-contaminated soil.     

Phosphatase activity and culture conditions of the yeast Candida mycoderma sp. and analysis of organic phosphorus hydrolysis ability

Orthophosphate is an essential but limiting macronutrient for plant growth. About 67% cropland in China lacks sufficient phosphorus, especially that with red soil. Extensive soil phosphorus reserves exist in the form of organic phosphorus, which is unavailable for root uptake unless hydrolyzed by secretory acid phosphatases. Thus, many microorganisms with the ability to produce phosphatase have been exploited. In this work, the activity of an extracellular acid phosphatase and yeast biomass from Candida mycoderma was measured under different culture conditions, such as pH, temperature, and carbon source. A maximal phosphatase activity of 8.47 × 10^5±0.11× 10^5 U/g was achieved by C. Mycoderma in 36 hr under the optimal conditions. The extracellular acid phosphatase has high activity over a wide pH tolerance range from 2.5 to S.0 （optimum pH 3.5）. The effects of different phosphorus compounds on the acid phosphatase production were also studied. The presence of phytin, lecithin or calcium phosphate reduced the phosphatase activity and biomass yield significantly. In addition, the pH of the culture medium was reduced significantly by lecithin. The efficiency of the strain in releasing orthophosphate from organic phosphorus was studied in red soil （used in planting trees） and rice soil （originating as red soil）. The available phosphorus content was increased by 230% after inoculating 20 days in rice soil and decreased by 50% after inoculating 10 days in red soil. This work indicates that the yeast strain C. mycoderma has potential application for enhancing phosphorus utilization in plants that grow in rice soil.     

Reaction mechanism and metal ion transformation in photocatalytic ozonation of phenol and oxalic acid with Ag+/TiO2

Photocatalytic ozonation of phenol and oxalic acid （OA） was conducted with a Ag^＋/TiO2 catalyst and different pathways were found for the degradation of different compounds. Ag^＋ greatly promoted the photocatalytic degradation of contaminants due to its role as an electron scavenger. It also accelerated the removal rate of OA in ozonation and the simultaneous process for its complex reaction with oxalate. Phenol could be degraded both in direct ozonation and photolysis, but the TOC removal rates were much higher in the simultaneous processes due to the oxidation of hydroxyl radicals resulting from synergetic effects. The sequence of photo-illumination and ozone exposure in the combined process showed quite different effects in phenol degradation and TOC removal. The synergetic effects in different combined processes were found to be highly related to the properties of the target pollutants. The color change of the solution and TEM result confirmed that Ag＋ was easily reduced and deposited on the surface of Tit2 under photo-illumination, and dissolved again into solution in the presence of ozone. This simple cycle of enrichment and distribution of Ag^＋ can greatly benefit the design of advanced oxidation processes, in which the sequences of ozone and photo-illumination can be varied according to the needs for catalyst recycling and the different properties of pollutants.     

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous solution by raw and modified plant residue materials as biosorbents

Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs）, e.g., naphthalene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene and pyrene, from aqueous solution by raw and modified plant residues was investigated to develop low cost biosorbents for organic pollutant abatement. Bamboo wood, pine wood, pine needles and pine bark were selected as plant residues, and acid hydrolysis was used as an easily modification method. The raw and modified biosorbents were characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The sorption isotherms of PAHs to raw biosorbents were apparently linear, and were dominated by a partitioning process. In comparison, the isotherms of the hydrolyzed biosorbents displayed nonlinearity, which was controlled by partitioning and the specific interaction mechanism. The sorpfion kinetic curves of PAHs to the raw and modified plant residues fit well with the pseudo second-order kinetics model. The sorption rates were faster for the raw biosorbents than the corresponding hydrolyzed biosorbents, which was attributed to the latter having more condensed domains （i.e., exposed aromatic core）. By the consumption of the amorphous cellulose component under acid hydrolysis, the sorption capability of the hydrolyzed biosorbents was notably enhanced, i.e., 6-18 fold for phenanthrene, 6-8 fold for naphthalene and pyrene and 5-8 fold for acenaphthene. The sorpfion coefficients （Kd） were negatively correlated with the polarity index [（O＋N）/C], and positively correlated with the aromaticity of the biosorbents. For a given biosorbent, a positive linear correlation between logKoc and logKow for different PAHs was observed. Interestingly, the linear plots of logKoc-logKow were parallel for different biosorbents. These observations suggest that the raw and modified plant residues have great potential as biosorbents to remove PAHs from wastewater.     

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.