Multi-component adsorption of copper,nickel and zinc from aqueous solutions onto activated carbon prepared from date stones

The removal of Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Zn²⁺ ions from their multi-component aqueous mixture by sorption on activated carbon prepared from date stones was investigated. In the batch tests, experimental parameters were studied, including solution pH, contact time, initial metal ions concentration, and temperature. Adsorption efficiency of the heavy metals was pH-dependent and the maximum adsorption was found to occur at around 5.5 for Cu, Zn, and Ni. The maximum sorption capacities calculated by applying the Langmuir isotherm were 18.68 mg/g for Cu, 16.12 mg/g for Ni, and 12.19 mg/g for Zn. The competitive adsorption studies showed that the adsorption affinity order of the three heavy metals was Cu²⁺?>?Ni²⁺?>?Zn²⁺. The test results using real wastewater indicated that the prepared activated carbon could be used as a cheap adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals in aqueous solutions.     

Current status and historical variations of phthalate ester (PAE) contamination in the sediments from a large Chinese lake (Lake Chaohu)

The residual levels of phthalate esters (PAEs) in the surface and two core sediments from Lake Chaohu were measured with a gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer (GC–MS). The temporal–spatial distributions, compositions of PAEs, and their effecting factors were investigated. The results indicated that di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were three dominant PAE components in both the surface and core sediments. The residual level of total detected PAEs (∑PAEs) in the surface sediments (2.146?±?2.255 μg/g dw) was lower than that in the western core sediments (10.615?±?9.733 μg/g) and in the eastern core sediments (5.109?±?4.741 μg/g). The average content of ∑PAEs in the surface sediments from the inflow rivers (4.128?±?1.738 μg/g dw) was an order of magnitude higher than those from the lake (0.323?±?0.093 μg/g dw), and there were similar PAE compositions between the lake and inflow rivers. This finding means that there were important effects of PAE input from the inflow rivers on the compositions and distributions of PAEs in the surface sediments. An increasing trend was found for the residual levels of ΣPAEs, DnBP, and DIBP from the bottom to the surface in both the western and eastern core sediments. Increasing PAE usage with the population growth, urbanization, and industrial and agricultural development in Lake Chaohu watershed would result in the increasing production of PAEs and their resulting presence in the sediments. The significant positive relationships were also found between the PAE contents and the percentage of sand particles, as well as TOC contents in the sediment cores.     

Nitrogen dynamics in managed boreal forests: Recent advances and future research directions

Nitrogen (N) availability plays multiple roles in the boreal landscape, as a limiting nutrient to forest growth, determinant of terrestrial biodiversity, and agent of eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems. We review existing research on forest N dynamics in northern landscapes and address the effects of management and environmental change on internal cycling and export. Current research foci include resolving the nutritional importance of different N forms to trees and establishing how tree–mycorrhizal relationships influence N limitation. In addition, understanding how forest responses to external N inputs are mediated by above- and belowground ecosystem compartments remains an important challenge. Finally, forestry generates a mosaic of successional patches in managed forest landscapes, with differing levels of N input, biological demand, and hydrological loss. The balance among these processes influences the temporal patterns of stream water chemistry and the long-term viability of forest growth. Ultimately, managing forests to keep pace with increasing demands for biomass production, while minimizing environmental degradation, will require multi-scale and interdisciplinary perspectives on landscape N dynamics.     

The influence of diesel—truck exhaust particles on the kinetics of the atmospheric oxidation of dissolved sulfur dioxide by oxygen

The automobile exhausts are one of the major sources of particulate matter in urban areas and these particles are known to influence the atmospheric chemistry in a variety of ways. Because of this, the oxidation of dissolved sulfur dioxide by oxygen was studied in aqueous suspensions of particulates, obtained by scraping the particles deposited inside a diesel truck exhaust pipe (DEP). A variation in pH showed the rate to increase with increase in pH from 5.22 to about ～6.3 and to decrease thereafter becoming very slow at pH?=?8.2. In acetate-buffered medium, the reaction rate was higher than the rate in unbuffered medium at the same pH. Further, the rate was found to be higher in suspension than in the leachate under otherwise identical conditions. And, the reaction rate in the blank reaction was the slowest. This appears to be due to catalysis by leached metal ions in leachate and due to catalysis by leached metal ions and particulate surface both in suspensions. The kinetics of dissolved SO₂ oxidation in acetate-buffered medium as well as in unbuffered medium at pH?=?5.22 were defined by rate law: k _obs ?=?k ₀?+?k _cat [DEP], where k _obs and k ₀ are observed rate constants in the presence and the absence of DEP and k _cat is the rate constant for DEP-catalyzed pathway. At pH?=?8.2, the reaction rate was strongly inhibited by DEP in buffered and unbuffered media. Results suggest that the DEP would have an inhibiting effect in those areas where rainwater pH is 7 or more. These results at high pH are of particular significance to the Indian subcontinent, because of high rainwater pH. Conversely, it indicates the DEP to retard the oxidation of dissolved SO₂ and control rainwater acidification.

     

Effect of fires on the functioning of phytocenoses of peat bogs in the Middle-Amur lowland

The dynamics and structure of the phytomass and production of an undisturbed mesotrophic dwarf shrub–sphagnum phytocenosis and one burned by fire have been compared. The net primary production (NPP) of both sites of phytocenoses in the postpyrogenic period is estimated by direct field determination of the productivity parameters, and C emission from the fire is assessed. The obtained data on emission (0.7 kg/m²) differ from the results obtained in the peatlands of western Canada (3.2 kg/m²).