Coupling mechanism of activated carbon mixed with dust for flue gas desulfurization and denitrification

To clarify the effect of coking dust, sintering dust and fly ash on the activity of activated carbon for various industrial flue gas desulfurization and denitrification, the coupling mechanism of the mixed activated carbon and dust was investigated to provide theoretical reference for the stable operation. The results show that coking dust had 34% desulfurization efficiency and 10% denitrification efficiency; correspondingly, sintering dust and fly ash had no obvious desulfurization and denitrification activities. For the mixture of activated carbon and dust, the coking dust reduced the desulfurization and denitrification efficiencies by blocking the pores of activated carbon, and its inhibiting effect on activated carbon was larger than its own desulfurization and denitrification activity. The sintering dust also reduced the desulfurization efficiency on the activated carbon while enhancing the denitrification efficiency. Fly ash blocked the pores of activated carbon and reduced its reaction activity. The reaction activity of coking dust mainly came from the surface functional groups, similar to that of activated carbon. The reaction activity of sintering dust mainly came from the oxidative property of Fe₂O₃, which oxidized NO to NO₂ and promoted the fast selectively catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO to form N₂. Sintering dust was activated by the joint action of activated carbon, and both had a coupling function. Sintering dust enhanced the adsorption and oxidation of NO, and activated carbon further promoted the reduction of NO_x by NH₃; thus, the denitrification efficiency increased by 5%-7% on the activated carbon.     

Photodegradation of Hexafluoropropylene Oxide Trimer Acid under UV Irradiation

As a novel alternative to traditional perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), hexafluoroproplyene oxide trimer acid (HFPO-TA) has been detected worldwide in surface water. Moreover, recent researches have demonstrated that HFPO-TA has stronger bioaccumulation potential and higher hepatotoxicity than PFOA. To treat these contaminants e.g. PFOA and PFOS, some photochemical techniques by adding exogenous substances had been reported. However, there is still no report for the behavior of HFPO-TA itself under direct UV irradiation. The current study investigated the photo-transformation of HFPO-TA under UV irradiation in aqueous solution. After 72 hr photoreaction, 75% degradation ratio and 25% defluorination ratio were achieved under ambient condition. Reducing active species, i.e., hydrated electrons and active hydrogen atoms, generated from water splitting played dominant roles in degradation of HFPO-TA, which was confirmed by different effects of reaction atmospheres and quenching experiments. A possible degradation pathway was proposed based on the products identification and theoretical calculations. In general, HFPO-TA would be transformed into shorter-chain PFASs, including hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), perfluoropropionic acid (PFA) and trifluoroacetate (TFA). This research provides basic information for HFPO-TA photodegradation process and is essential to develop novel remediation techniques for HFPO-TA and other alternatives with similar structures.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in benthos of the northern Bering Sea Shelf and Chukchi Sea Shelf

Eighteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in benthos collected onboard the ‘Snow Dragon’ in the Northern Bering Sea Shelf and Chukchi Sea Shelf during the 6^th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 2014). Σ₁₈PAHs for all biota samples ranged from 34.2 to 128.1 ng/g dry weight (dw), with the highest concentration observed in fish muscle (Boreogadus saida) samples close to St. Lawrence Island. The PAH composition pattern was dominated by the presence of lighter 3 ring (57%) and 2 ring (28%) PAHs, indicating oil-related or petrogenic sources as important origins of PAH contamination. Concentrations of alkyl-PAHs (1-methylnaphthalene and 2-methylnaphthalene) were lower than their parent PAH (naphthalene) in all biological tissue, and their percentage also decreased significantly (p<0.05) compared with those in the corresponding sediment. There were no significant relationships between PAH concentrations and trophic levels, which is possibly due to the combined results of the complex benthic foodweb in the subarctic/Arctic shelf region, as well as a low assimilation/effective metabolism for PAHs. According to toxic potency evaluation results from TCDD toxic equivalents (TEQs) and BaP-equivalent (BaPE) values, whelk (Neptunea heros) and starfish (Ctenodiscus crispatus) are two macroinvertebrate species showing relatively higher dioxin-like toxicity and carcinogenic risk.     

Particulate matter exchange between atmosphere and roads surfaces in urban areas

The deposition and the re-suspension of particulate matter (PM) in urban areas are the key processes that contribute not only to stormwater pollution, but also to air pollution. However, investigation of the deposition and the re-suspension of PM is challenging because of the difficulties in distinguishing between the resuspended and the deposited PM. This study created two Bayesian Networks (BN) models to explore the deposition and the re-suspension of PM as well as the important influential factors. The outcomes of BN modelling revealed that deposition and re-suspension of PM10 occurred under both, high-traffic and low-traffic conditions, and the re-suspension of PM2.5 occurred under low-traffic conditions. The deposition of PM10 under low-volume traffic condition is 1.6 times higher than under high-volume traffic condition, which is attributed to the decrease in PM10 caused by relatively higher turbulence under high-volume traffic conditions. PM10 is more easily resuspended from road surfaces compared to PM2.5 as the particles which larger than the thickness of the laminar airflow over the road surface are more easily removed from road surfaces. The increase in wind speed contributes to the increase in PM build-up by transporting particulates from roadside areas to the road surfaces and the airborne PM2.5 and PM10 increases with the increase in relative humidity. The study outcomes provide a step improvement in the understanding of the transfer processes of PM2.5 and PM10 between atmosphere and urban road surfaces, which in turn will contribute to the effective design of mitigation measures for urban stormwater and air pollution.     

Analytical methods and environmental processes of nanoplastics

The degradation of plastic debris may result in the generation of nanoplastics (NPs). Their high specific surface area for the sorption of organic pollutions and toxic heavy metals and possible transfer between organisms at different nutrient levels make the study of NPs an urgent priority. However, there is very limited understanding on the occurrence, distribution, abundant, and fate of NPs in the environment, partially due to the lack of suitable techniques for the separation and identification of NPs from complex environmental matrices. In this review, we first overviewed the state-of-the-art methods for the extraction, separation, identification and quantification of NPs in the environment. Some of them have been successfully applied for the field determination of NPs, while some are borrowed from the detection of microplastics or engineered nanomaterials. Then the possible fate and transport of NPs in the environment are thoroughly described. Although great efforts have been made during the recent years, large knowledge gaps still exist, such as the relatively high detection limit of existing method failing to detect ultralow masses of NPs in the environment, and spherical polystyrene NP models failing to represent the various compositions of NPs with different irregular shapes, which needs further investigation.     

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.     

保定市大气污染特征和潜在输送源分析

保定市是京津冀地区重要城市之一.为了解保定市大气污染物质量浓度特征和潜在输送源,对保定市国控点2017年1月1日-12月31日PM₁₀、PM_2.5、SO₂、NO₂、O₃、CO等常规大气污染物数据进行分析,并利用TrajStat后向轨迹模型进行区域传输研究.结果表明:①ρ（PM₁₀）、ρ（PM_2.5）、ρ（SO₂）、ρ（NO₂）分别为（138±96）（84±66）（29±23）和（50±24）μg/m3,与2016年相比分别下降5.9%、9.1%、25.5%和13.1%;ρ（CO）较2016年下降了14.0%;ρ（O₃）较2016年增长了25.2%.ρ（PM₁₀）、ρ（PM_2.5）、ρ（NO₂）和ρ（O₃）分别超过GB 3095-2012《环境空气质量标准》二级标准限值的0.97、1.40、0.25和0.34倍,ρ（SO₂）和ρ（CO）未超标.②除ρ（O₃）外,其他污染物质量浓度均呈冬季最高、夏季最低的季节性特征,其中,冬季PM_2.5污染最为严重,春季PM_2.5~10（粗颗粒物）污染严重.③空气质量模型源解析结果显示,保定市ρ（PM_2.5）约60.0%~70.0%来自本地污染源排放.后向轨迹结果表明,在外来区域传输影响中,保定市主要受到西北方向气团（占比为21.7%~60.0%）远距离传输和正南方向气团（占比为34.8%~50.5%）近距离传输的影响.④PSCF（潜在源贡献因子分析法）和CWT（浓度权重轨迹分析法）分析表明,除保定市及周边区县本地污染贡献外,位于太行山东麓沿线西南传输通道的邯郸市、邢台市、石家庄市是影响保定市PM_2.5的主要潜在源区.研究显示,PM_2.5为保定市大气中的主要污染物,并呈冬季高、夏季低的变化特征,其主要来自西北远距离输送和南部近距离传输.      

闽江河口养虾塘养殖期和非养殖期CO2通量变化特征

为揭示河口区陆基养虾塘从养殖期到非养殖期一年间的CO₂通量变化,以福建省闽江河口鳝鱼滩陆基养虾塘为研究对象,于2016年5月-2017年3月采用悬浮箱/静态箱-气相色谱法对养虾塘养殖期水-大气界面和非养殖期沉积物-大气界面白天CO₂垂直通量进行原位观测.结果表明:①养虾塘在整个研究期间CO₂通量变化范围为-62.87~162.81 mg/（m2·h）,平均值为（42.66±18.12）mg/（m2·h）,总体上表现为大气CO₂的释放源,且呈非养殖期CO₂通量平均值[（78.51±16.61）mg/（m2·h）]显著高于养殖期[（17.98±18.26）mg/（m2·h）]的特征.②养殖期间,养虾塘CO₂通量呈"排放-吸收"交替变化的特征,而非养殖期养虾塘一直是大气CO₂的净排放源.③养虾塘养殖期CO₂通量时间变化特征主要受到ρ（DOC）（DOC为总溶解有机碳）、ρ（SO₄2-）、ρ（Cl-）、盐度、pH、ρ（Chla）（Chla为叶绿素a）的影响,其中,pH和ρ（SO₄2-）是其主要影响因子,而ρ（TDN）（TDN为总溶解氮）、ρ（TDP）（TDP为总溶解磷）、ρ（SO₄2-）对非养殖期CO₂通量时间变化影响较大.研究显示,滨海陆基养殖塘是大气CO₂的重要来源,其排放通量多低于河流、水库等水生生态系统,但高于湖泊生态系统;养殖塘CO₂通量受人为影响明显,其较高的变异性与养殖生物、饲料投放以及浮游藻类有关.      

应用改良型水质综合指数法评价饮用水水质

应用1套改良型水质综合指数法对3种不同类型的饮用水水质进行评价。将选取的26项检测指标按照卫生学意义分为5大类,并对各分类指标赋权。选用内梅罗法和最差因子判别法与五色等级分级法结合对2017年4—8月的3种类型饮用水进行水质评价。除7月和8月的管网水水质为2级（水质综合指数>0.5,蓝色）以外,其余月份的出水水质均达到1级（绿色）评价标准。不同类型饮用水中对水质综合指数影响最大的水质分类指标均是有机污染指标。2种不同类型的净水机出水水质均优于管网末梢水,但需注意个别指标的污染。     

博斯腾小湖最低生态水位与水量盈缺分析

近年来,博斯腾湖小湖水位大幅波动引发了湖区生态环境问题,基于最低生态水位的湖泊水量盈缺分析对小湖水量调度和生态保护有积极意义。基于1991—2019年达吾提闸实测小湖水位数据,结合湖盆DEM数据和遥感NDVI数据,分别采用年保证率设定法、湖泊地形分析法和曲线相关法计算小湖区最低生态水位;并利用其他水文、气象和农业活动和湖区水量调控数据,使用主成分分析法解析小湖缺水的主要驱动因子。结果表明:博斯腾湖小湖最低生态水位为1047.18 m,多年平均满足率为31.03%。1991—1998年、2005—2015年和2017年间博斯腾小湖区发生了生态缺水,平均缺水量为0.69×108 m3。上游来水量是小湖生态需水保证情势的主要驱动因素,农业活动和宝浪苏木水量调节活动次之,气候变化影响相对较小。2000年之前,生态缺水主要由湖区水位调控产生;2000年之后,灌区农业取水成为生态缺水主要诱因。该研究结果可以为博斯腾湖小湖水量调控和湿地生态系统恢复保护提供科学依据。