Leaching of styrene and other aromatic compounds in drinking water from PS bottles

Bottled water may not be safer, or healthier, than tap water. The present studies have proved that styrene and some other aromatic compounds leach continuously from polystyrene （PS） bottles used locally for packaging. Water sapmles in contact with PS were extracted by a preconcentration technique called as ＂purge and trap＂ and analysed by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer （GC/MS）. Eleven aromatic compounds were identified in these studies. Maximum concentration of styrene in PS bottles was 29.5 μg/L. Apart from styrene, ethyl benzene, toluene and benzene were also quantified but their concentrations were much less than WHO guide line values. All other compounds were in traces. Quality of plastic and storage time were the major factor in leaching of styrene. Concentration of styrene was increased to 69.53 μg/L after one-year storage. In Styrofoam and PS cups studies, hot water was found to be contaminated with styrene and other aromatic compounds. It was observed that temperature played a major role in the leaching of styrene monomer from Styrofoam cups. Paper cups were found to be safe for hot drinks.     

基于水资源合理配置的河流“双总量”控制研究——以河北省唐山市为例

河道的最小控制流量和最大纳污控制量（简称“双总量”）是维系河流健康的决定性因子。论文初步建立了基于水资源合理配置的河流“双总量”控制研究技术框架,并对唐山市月尺度的“双总量”控制指标进行核算。通过水资源合理配置,除个别枯水年份和连续枯水年份外,唐山市河道的最小控制流量均可得到满足。在基准年、2010年和2020年3个规划水平年,唐山市规划河流COD的最大纳污控制量分别为16357．57、12659．19和11572．50t／a;NH3-N的最大纳污控制量分别为907．80、660．27和580．09t／a。在统一水资源配置平台上制定的“双总量”控制指标,从根本上保障了竞争用水条件下河流生态需水,客观确立了规划水平年河道纳污能力的年内分配,并整体上提高了河流的最大纳污能力。     

Experimental investigation of the e ect of flow turbulence and sediment transport patterns on the adsorption of cadmium ions onto sediment particles

The mechanism of flow turbulence,sediment supply conditions,and sediment transport patterns that affect the adsorption of cadmiumions onto sediment particles in natural waters are experimentally simulated and studied both in batch reactors and in a turbulencesimulation tank.By changing the agitation conditions,the sediment transport in batch reactors can be categorized into bottom sediment-dominated sediment and suspended sediment-dominated sediment.It is found that the adsorption rate of bottom sediment is much lessthan that of suspended sediment,but the sediment transport pattern does not affect the final(equilibrium)concentration of dissolvedcadmium.This result indicates that the parameters of an adsorption isotherm are the same regardless of the sediment transport pattern.Inthe turbulence simulation tank,the turbulence is generated by harmonic grid-stirred motions,and the turbulence intensity is quantifiedin terms of eddy diffusivity,which is equal to 9.84F(F is the harmonic vibration frequency)and is comparable to natural surfacewater conditions.When the turbulence intensity of flow is low and sediment particles stay as bottom sediment,the adsorption rateis significantly low,and the adsorption quantity compared with that of suspended sediment is negligible in the 6 h duration of theexperiment.This result greatly favors the simplification of the numerical modeling of heavy metal pollutant transformation in naturalrivers.When the turbulence intensity is high but bottom sediment persists,the rate and extent of descent of the dissolved cadmiumconcentration in the tank noticeably increase,and the time that is required to reach adsorption equilibrium also increases considerablydue to the continuous exchange that occurs between the suspended sediment and the bottom sediment.A comparison of the results ofthe experiments in the batch reactor and those in the turbulence simulation tank reveals that the adsorption ability of the sediment,andin particular the adsorption rate,is greatly over-estimated in the batch reactor.     

Effects of nitrate concentration in interstitial water on the bioremediation of simulated oil-polluted shorelines

Nutrient addition has been proved to be an effective strategy to enhance oil biodegradation in marine shorelines.To determine the optimal range of nutrient concentrations in the bioremediation of oil-polluted beaches,nitrate was added to the simulated shoreline models in the initial concentration of 1,5 and 10 mg/L.Whenever the NO3-N concentration declined to 70% of its original value, additional nutrients were supplemented to maintain a certain range.Results showed adding nutrients increased the oil biodegradation level,the counts of petroleum degrading bacteria(PDB)and heterotrophic bacteria (HB),and the promoted efficiency varied depending on the concentration of nitrate.Oil degradation level in 5 mg/L(NO_3-N)group reached as much as 84.3% accompanied with the consistently highest counts of PDB;while in 1 mg/L group oil removal efficiency was only 35.2%,and the numbers of PDB and HB were relatively low compared to the other groups supplemented with nutrients.Although counts of HB in the 10 mg/L group were remarkable,lower counts of PDB resulted in poorer oil removal efficiency (70.5%) compared to 5 mg/L group.Furthermore,it would need more NO_3-N(0.371 mg)to degrade 1 mg diesel oil in the 10 mg/L group than in the 5 mg/L group(0.197 mg).In conclusion, Nitrate concentration in 5 mg/L is superior to 1 and 10 mg/L in the enhancement of diesel oil biodegradation in simulated shorelines.     

Distribution characteristics of dissolved organic carbon in annular wetland soil-water solutions through soil profiles in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

Overwhelming evidence reveals that concentrations of dissolved organic carbon （DOC） have increased in streams which brings negative environmental impacts. DOC in stream flow is mainly originated from soil-water solutions of watershed. Wetlands prove to be the most sensitive areas as an important DOC reserve between terrestrial and fluvial biogeosystems. This reported study was focused on the distribution characteristics and the controlling factors of DOC in soil-water solutions of annular wetland, i.e., a dishing wetland and a forest wetland together, in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. The results indicate that DOC concentrations in soilwater solutions decreased and then increased with increasing soil depth in the annular wetland. In the upper soil layers of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm, DOC concentrations in soil-water solutions linearly increased from edge to center of the annular wetland （R^2 = 0.3122 and R^2 = 0.443）. The distribution variations were intimately linked to DOC production and utilization and DOC transport processes in annular wetland soil-water solutions. The concentrations of total organic carbon （TOC）, total carbon （TC） and Fe（II）, DOC mobility and continuous vertical and lateral flow affectext the distribution variations of DOC in soil-water solutions. The correlation coefficients between DOC concentrations and TOC, TC and Fe（II） were 0.974, 0.813 and 0.753 respectively. These distribution characteristics suggested a systematic response of the distribution variations of DOC in annular wetland soil-water solutions to the geometry of closed depressions on a scale of small catchments. However, the DOC in soil pore water of the annular wetland may be the potential source of DOC to stream flow on watershed scale. These observations also implied the fragmentation of wetland landscape could bring the spatial-temporal variations of DOC distribution and exports, which would bring negative environmental impacts in watersheds of the Sanjiang Plain.     

Water quality characteristics along the course of the Huangpu River （China）

Huangpu River is about 114.5 km from upriver Dianfeng to downriver Wusong,near the estuary of the Yangtze River.It plays a key role in supplying water for production,life,shipment and irrigation.With the industrial development,the pollution of the Huangpu River has become serious recently.The biological oxygen demand (BOD),total nitrogen (TN),total phosphorus (TP),oil,phenol and suspended solids (SS) were lower in the upstream sites than in the downstream sites,indicating pollutants being input along its course. Water quality was the worst in the Yangpu site,near the center of Shanghai City.Dissolved oxygen (DO) content was less than 2 mg/L in the site of Yangpu in July.Among relations between thirteen characteristics,relations between BOD,DO,TN,TP,NH_4~ -N, NO_3~--N and the count of total bacteria or Escherichia coli were significant and interdependent.Inner relationships between these main characteristics in the Huangpu River were studied.High nutrient concentration led to growth of microorganisms,including E.coli. Degradation of organic matters and respiration of bacteria made oxygen concentration decreased in the water body,and DO was a key factor for nitrification-denitrification process of nitrogen.In the Yangpu site,DO was decreased to less than 3.0 mg/L with BOD higher than 7.5 mg/L in May and July.Low DO concentration will decrease nitrification rate.Nitrification need at higher DO value than other organic substrate oxidation.Consequently,river water contains low NO_3~--N values with high amounts of TN and NH_4~ -N there.This will block the self-purification of surface water,by decreasing the rate of nitrification-denitrification transformation process in the water body.     

水电站项目生态用水工程措施设计

电站引水发电以及堤坝式电站调峰运行将使坝下河段减(脱)水,调水、引水和供水等河道以外用水水利工程也将造成下游河道减(脱)水,水文将对水生生态、生产和生活用水、河道景观等产生一系列的不利影响.为维护河流的基本生态需求,水利水电工程必须下泻一定的生态流量,将其纳入工程水资源配置统筹考虑,使河流水电动能经济规模和水资源配备向"绿色"方向发展.本文以火溪河阴坪水电站为例,简述水电工程下泄生态流量确定的主要方法和下泄生态流量的工程措施设计.     

兰州市城区河道表层沉积物磁性特征研究

通过系统的环境磁学测定,分析了兰州市城区河道表层沉积物的磁学性质及其对城市污染的指示意义.结果表明,兰州市城区河道表层沉积物样品磁性特征以亚铁磁性矿物的磁铁矿为主导,同时存在少量赤铁矿和针铁矿贡献.根据参数χFD、χARM、χFD/MS和χARM/MS所指示的人为活动排放物对不同河段沉积物的贡献量将兰州市河流分为3类:末端集中型(排洪沟、寺儿沟、鱼儿沟、水磨沟),源头集中型(七里河、烂泥沟),影响较小型(罗锅沟、大沙沟).与有机质测量结果比较发现,兰州市河道沉积物样品有机质含量与超顺磁颗粒及单畴晶粒具有十分显著的正相关关系,说明了细颗粒磁性矿物对有机碳的富集作用,显示了超顺磁颗粒及单畴颗粒含量作为兰州市城区河道表层沉积物有机质含量的代用指标具有良好的指示意义.     

Impact analysis of drought, water excess and salinity on grass production in The Netherlands using historical and future climate data

The coupled SWAP-WOFOST model was used to study the effects of increasing salinity of groundwater, drought and water excess on grass production in The Netherlands. WOFOST simulates crop growth and SWAP simulates transport of water, solutes and heat in the vadose zone. The model was tested using several datasets from field experiments. We applied the models at regional scale where we quantified the impact of various groundwater salinity levels on grass growth and production using historical weather data (1971-2000). The salt concentrations in the subsoil were derived from the National Hydrological Instrument. The results show that salinity effects on grass production are limited. In wet years the excess rainfall will infiltrate the soil and reduce salt water seepage. In a next step we used future weather data for the year 2050, derived from 3 Global Circulation Models. From each model we used data from two CO₂ emission scenarios. As expected higher temperatures increased drought stress, however, the production reduction as a result of salt water in the root zone is limited. Salt stress mainly occurred when irrigation was applied with saline water. The increased CO₂ concentration in combination with the limited drought stress resulted in increasing simulated actual and potential yields. Overall conclusion for grassland in The Netherlands: drought stress is stronger than stress caused by water excess which on its turn is stronger than salinity stress. Future water demand for irrigation may increase by 11-19% and result in water scarcity if water supply is insufficient.     

Review of the remediation strategies for soil water repellency

Many regions of the world are predicted to experience water scarcity due to more frequent and more severe droughts and increased water demands. Water use efficiency by plants can be negatively affected by soil water repellency (SWR). It is timely to review existing techniques to remedy SWR. Ideally remediation addresses the origins of a problem. However, the fundamental mechanisms of how and why SWR develops are still poorly understood. In this review it was hypothesized that SWR occurs where the balance of input-decomposition of organic matter is impaired, due to either increased input or decreased decomposition rates of hydrophobic substances. Direct and indirect strategies to remedy SWR were distinguished. While direct remediation aims at abolishing the causes of SWR, indirect strategies seek to manage sites with SWR by treating its symptoms. The 12 reviewed strategies include applying surfactants, clay, slow-release fertilizers, lime, and fungicides, bioremediation of SWR through stimulating earthworms, choosing adapted vegetation, irrigation, cultivation, soil aeration and compaction. Some of the techniques have been applied successfully only in laboratory experiments. Our review highlights that it is not straightforward to cure SWR based on easily measurable and site-specific soil and vegetation properties, and that long-term, large-scale field experiments are required to improve the understanding of the evolution of SWR as cornerstone to develop cost-effective and efficient remediation strategies. We also identified current research gaps around the diagnosis and prevention of SWR.