Determination of o-phthalic acid in snow and its photochemical degradation by capillary gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection

Phthalic acid and its photochemical degradation has been determined in snow and rainwater samples collected during winters (2003-2010) in the Southeast of Massachusetts using capillary gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection. Water samples were dried using a rotary evaporator and derivatized with a 14% BF₃/methanol reagent before GC analysis. The developed method proved simple and accurate. Phthalic acid was found in snow samples collected in a concentration range of 7.22-76.5 nM. The photodegradation of phthalate was carried out under 300 nm UV light. The direct photodecomposition of the acid is slow (5% h⁻¹). However, the addition of dissolved Fe(III) species at 2.0 μM accelerated the light-induced degradation of phthalic acid by 3.5 times in the atmospheric water samples. Photodegradation rates of phthalic acid increases with decreasing pH value of water samples in the range of pH 2.8-4.5.     

Investigating the spatial distribution of phototrophic picoplankton in a tropical estuary

We sampled extensively (29 stations) at the Klang estuarine system over a 3-day scientific expedition. We measured physical and chemical variables (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids, dissolved inorganic nutrients) and related them to the spatial distribution of phototrophic picoplankton (Ppico). Multivariate analysis of variance of the physicochemical variables showed the heterogeneity of the Klang estuarine system where the stations at each transect were significantly different (Rao’s F _{18, 36}?=?8.401, p?<?0.001). Correlation analyses also showed that variables related to Ppico abundance and growth were mutually exclusive. Distribution of Ppico was best explained by the physical mixing between freshwater and seawater whereas Ppico growth was correlated with temperature.     

Speciation distribution and mass balance of copper and zinc in urban rain, sediments, and road runoff

Heavy metal pollution in road runoff had caused widespread concern since the last century. However, there are little references on metal speciation in multiple environmental media (e.g., rain, road sediments, and road runoff). Our research targeted the investigation of metal speciation in rain, road sediments, and runoff; the analysis of speciation variation and mass balance of metals among rain, road sediments, and runoff; the selection of main factors by principal component analysis (PCA); and the establishment of equation to evaluate the impact of rain and road sediments to metals in road runoff. Sequential extraction procedure contains five steps for the chemical fractionation of metals. Flame atomic absorption spectrometry (Shimadzu, AA-6800) was used to determine metal speciation concentration, as well as the total and dissolved fractions. The dissolved fractions for both Cu and Zn were dominant in rain. The speciation distribution of Zn was different from that of Cu in road sediments, while speciation distribution of Zn is similar to that of Cu in runoff. The bound to carbonates for both Cu and Zn in road sediments were prone to be dissolved by rain. The levels of Cu and Zn in runoff were not obviously influenced by rain, but significantly influenced by road sediments. The masses for both Cu and Zn among rain, road sediments, and road runoff approximately meet the mass balance equation for all rainfall patterns. Five principal factors were selected for metal regression equation based on PCA, including rainfall, average rainfall intensity, antecedent dry periods, total suspended particles, and temperature. The established regression equations could be used to predict the effect of road runoff on receiving environments.     

Detection of tritium sorption on four soil materials

In order to measure groundwater age and design nuclear waste disposal sites, it is important to understand the sorption behavior of tritium on soils. In this study, batch tests were carried out using four soils from China: silty clays from An County and Jiangyou County in Sichuan Province, both of which could be considered candidate sites for Very Low Level Waste disposal; silty sand from Beijing; and loess from Yuci County in Shanxi Province, a typical Chinese loess region. The experimental results indicated that in these soil media, the distribution coefficient of tritium is slightly influenced by adsorption time, water/solid ratio, initial tritium specific activity, pH, and the content of humic and fulvic acids. The average distribution coefficient from all of these influencing factors was about 0.1-0.2 mL/g for the four types of soil samples. This relatively modest sorption of tritium in soils needs to be considered in fate and transport studies of tritium in the environment.     

降解SO2功能菌的16S rRAN基因测序及降解特性

用低浓度SO2诱导驯化方法获得高效脱硫菌群,并用分离培养与16S rRNA基因测序技术相结合的方法鉴定菌群种属,分析驯化过程中种群结构的动态变化,同时研究分离纯菌种的脱硫性能。结果表明,从诱导驯化7 d和14 d菌液中分别分离出23株菌和22株菌,16S rRNA序列分析发现这些菌归属于13个种,其中有6个种(Rhodococcus erythropolis、Pseudomonas putida、Microbacterium oxydans、Sphingomonas koreensis、Acinetobacter junii、Acinetobacter johnsonii)对SO2-3有较强的降解能力,并在持续驯化过程中稳定的生长传代,降解产物以硫酸根为主,还有极少量的单质硫。与含混合菌的驯化菌液降解SO2-3的能力相比,单一脱硫菌的脱硫性能较弱。脱硫功能菌株及其基本特性的研究为微生物处理SO2烟气提供了丰富的菌源信息和理论基础。     

水解酸化-A2O污泥减量工艺的运行性能研究

生物处理单元采用水解酸化、多级串联接触曝气、连续流的除磷脱氮A2／O工艺，并辅以外排厌氧富磷污水侧流除磷，开发了一个新型的具有强化除磷脱氮功能的污泥减量HA—A／A—MCO工艺。用该工艺处理校园生活污水发现，在SRT60d、进水COD316～407mg／L、NH4＋-N30～40mg／L、TN35～53mg／L、TP8—12mg／L的条件下，出水COD≤18mg／L、NH4＋-N≤2．1mg／L、TN≤10．3mg／L、TP≤0．44mg／L。研究还发现，水解酸化池处理产生的VFA能有效促进生物除磷脱氮，导致厌氧释磷量达57mg／L，进入化学除磷池的侧流液量仅相当于进水量的13％；系统最主要的脱氮形式是SND和缺氧反硝化，SND脱氮占脱氮总量的50％，缺氧反硝化占26％；HA-A／A—MCO系统有效实现了生物相分离，并利用生物捕食作用获得较低的污泥产率，0．1gMLSS／gCOD。     

Continuous measurement of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) in suburban and remote areas of western China

Knowledge on atmospheric abundance of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) is important in assessing the severity of photochemical pollution, and for understanding chemical transformation of reactive odd nitrogen and its impact on the budget of tropospheric ozone (O₃). In summer 2006, continuous measurements of PAN were made using an automatic GC–ECD analyzer with an on-line calibrator at a suburban site of Lanzhou (LZ) and a remote site of Mt. Waliguan (WLG) in western China, with concurrent measurements of O₃, total reactive nitrogen (NO_y) and carbon monoxide (CO). At LZ, several photochemical episodes were observed during the study, and the average mixing ratio of PAN (plus or minus standard deviation) was 0.76 (±0.89) ppbv with the maximum value of 9.13 ppbv, compared to an average value of 0.44 (±0.16) ppbv at remote WLG. The PAN mixing ratios in LZ exhibited strong diurnal variations with a maximum at noon, while enhanced concentrations of PAN were observed in the evening and a minimum in the afternoon at WLG. The daily O₃ and PAN concentration maxima showed a strong correlation (r² = 0.91) in LZ, with a regression slope (PAN/O₃) of 0.091 ppbv ppbv^?1. At WLG, six well-identified pollution plumes (lasting 2–8 h) were observed with elevated concentrations of PAN (and other trace gases), and analysis of backward particle release simulation shows that the high-PAN events at WLG were mostly associated with the transport of air masses that had passed over LZ.     

Modification of Fe–Mn mixed oxide COS removal sorbent by rare-earth oxides addition

In order to develop highly active sorbent for COS removal, Fe–Mn mixed oxides doped with CeO₂, La₂O₃ or Sm₂O₃ were studied. The effects of these promoters on the structural properties of Fe–Mn oxides were investigated by XRD, BET, TPR and TEM techniques. XRD results revealed that the degree of crystallinity of Fe–Mn oxide phase decreased due to the addition of rare-earth oxides. Doping with CeO₂, La₂O₃ or Sm₂O₃ led to an increase in BET surface area of the sample. TPR studies showed that the reactivity of the reduction of doped samples increased in the temperature range of 300–450 °C. In addition, the desulfurization test was performed at 325 °C with a gas hourly space velocity of 1000 h⁻¹. It was found that the addition of 3% La₂O₃ greatly improved the absorption sulfur capacity of the sorbent, while the sorbent doped 3% CeO₂ achieved a sufficiently high purifying degree before breakthrough.     

湖南2008/2011年两次低温雨雪冰冻灾害成因与影响对比分析

针对2008年1月13日-2月2日和2011年1月1-23日两次低温雨雪冰冻过程,从天气学成因、对交通、电力影响情况和特点等方面进行综合对比分析,揭示了两次过程的强度和造成灾情差异的原因,并提出了如何进一步防御和减轻极端天气气候事件灾害的能力,为暴雪冰冻灾害防御提供经验和依据。     

基于层次分析法的未确知测度理论泥石流危险性评价

将未确知测度理论与层次分析方法相结合用于评价泥石流危险性。根据泥石流危险性的影响因素和等级划分标准，选取泥石流规模、泥石流发生频率、流域面积、主沟长度、最大相对高差、流域切割密度、主沟床弯曲系数、泥砂补给长度比、24小时最大降雨量、人口密度等10个指标作为泥石流危险评价因子，利用未确知测度理论建立泥石流危险性评价指标的未确知测度函数，通过层次分析方法确定各评价指标的权重，依据置信度识别准则对泥石流危险性进行评价，并结合实例进行了对比分析。研究结果表明，基于层次分析方法的未确知测度理论的评价方法评价过程合理、置信度高、结果可靠，为泥石流危险性评价提供了一种新的方法