Analysis of surface and aerosol polarized reflectance for aerosol retrievals from polarized remote sensing in PRD urban region

A precise estimate of polarization induced by surface is crucial for polarized remote sensing dedicated to monitoring aerosol properties over urban area. The accurate knowledge of interaction between surface and aerosol polarized reflectance is essential for accurately achieving aerosol properties. In order to study surface and aerosol polarized reflectance for aerosol retrievals over urban area, a new airborne directional polarimetric camera (DPC) with high spatial resolution (4 m at 4000 m a.g.l) was developed. The surface polarized reflectance over distinct surface covers of urban area (forest, shrub, and soil) were studied using DPC measurements during a field campaign in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. The large variations were found in surface polarized reflectance of distinct urban covers due to surface type variability. For all surface types, the empirical BPDF model cannot describe accurately surface polarized reflectance at all possible illumination and observation geometries. From the quantitatively study of relationship between surface and aerosol polarized contribution to DPC measurements, we show that the polarized contributions of aerosol, which optical properties were defined by ground-based measurements, are much larger than the polarized contribution of surface, and found that the polarized contribution of surface covers increases with decreasing NDVI. The effect of polarization accuracy of measurements on aerosol retrieval was also investigated using DPC measurements, and found that 0.1% polarization accuracy of measurements can be neglected when AOD is retrieved using polarized measurements. Based on the information of effects of polarized reflectance differences between distinct surface covers and polarization accuracy of polarized measurements on retrieved aerosols over urban area, we found that the accuracy of aerosol retrieval over forest covers is higher than other surface types using polarized remote sensing.     

Broadband UV spectroscopy system used for monitoring of SO2 and NO emissions from thermal power plants

A gas monitoring system based on broadband absorption spectroscopic techniques in the ultraviolet region is described and tested. The system was employed in real-time continuous concentration measurements of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitric oxide (NO) from a 220-ton h^?1 circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler in Shandong province, China. The emission coefficients (per kg of coal and per kWh of electricity) and the total emission of the two pollutant gases were evaluated. The measurement results showed that the emission concentrations of SO₂ and NO from the CFB boiler fluctuated in the range of 750–1300 mg m^?3 and 100–220 mg m^?3, respectively. Compared with the specified emission standards of air pollutants from thermal power plants in China, the values were generally higher for SO₂ and lower for NO. The relatively high emission concentrations of SO₂ were found to mainly depend on the sulfur content of the fuel and the poor desulfurization efficiency. This study indicates that the broadband UV spectroscopy system is suitable for industrial emission monitoring and pollution control.     

危险废物回转式流化冷渣多段焚烧系统焚烧特性研究

危险废物的处理和处置是摆在我国各级市政府面前的紧迫任务。然而我国已经运行的危险废物焚烧装置普遍存在回转窑挂壁结渣、热灼减率偏高和污染排放超标等问题,作者通过将回转窑和流化床特点相结合的方法提出了一种新型危险废物回转式流化冷渣多段焚烧处置装置。该装置采用回转窑(一燃室)、二燃室和流化床结合的热解-流化焚烧工艺,特别是采用控制窑头温度避免了回转窑挂壁结渣;采用流化冷渣装置延长未燃烬渣的焚烧时间,解决了热灼减率偏高问题;水冷式烟气急冷装置可以将烟气温度从1 100℃降到200℃,防止了二恶英的尾部低温再生成。该系统运行稳定可靠,可以处理医疗垃圾和大多数的固态和液态危险废物,实现了烟气污染物尤其是二恶英排放达到国家标准的目标。同时对该系统运行时窑头温度分布、二燃室炉膛出口氧量变化、回转窑和炉膛升温特性、燃烧室外壁温度分布等几方面运行数据都进行了详细的介绍,为危险废物焚烧炉的运行提供了宝贵的经验数据。     

溶胶-凝胶法制备复合光催化剂（MWNTs/ TiO2）工艺条件的研究

以多壁碳纳米管（MWNTs）为载体，在煅烧温度200~900℃、煅烧时间1~7 h、溶胶体系pH值为2~10的工艺条件下，采用溶胶-凝胶法制备复合光催化剂（MWNTs/TiO₂）。通过其对甲基橙的光催化降解效果对比，评价各种复合光催化剂催化活性之间的差异，结果表明，随着煅烧温度的升高，复合光催化剂中纳米TiO₂的晶型由锐钛型逐渐向金红石型转变，500℃时为2种晶型的混合相；pH值为2的强酸性条件有利于形成金红石晶型，pH值为5的中性及弱酸性条件则有利于形成锐钛型，而pH值为3时为2种晶型的混合相；在煅烧温度500℃、煅烧时间3 h、溶胶凝胶体系pH值为3的最佳制备工艺条件下，复合光催化剂催化活性最高，借助扫描电镜发现其TiO₂均匀地包覆在多壁碳纳米管管壁上。     

Modelling pollutants dispersion and plume rise from large hydrocarbon tank fires in neutrally stratified atmosphere

Petrochemical industries normally use storage tanks containing large amounts of flammable and hazardous substances. Therefore, the occurrence of a tank fire, such as the large industrial accident on 11th December 2005 at Buncefield Oil Storage Depots, is possible and usually leads to fire and explosions. Experience has shown that the continuous production of black smoke from these fires due to the toxic gases from the combustion process, presents a potential environmental and health problem that is difficult to assess. The goals of the present effort are to estimate the height of the smoke plume, the ground-level concentrations of the toxic pollutants (smoke, SO₂, CO, PAHs, VOCs) and to characterize risk zones by comparing the ground-level concentrations with existing safety limits. For the application of the numerical procedure developed, an external floating-roof tank has been selected with dimensions of 85 m diameter and 20 m height. Results are presented and discussed. It is concluded that for all scenarios considered, the ground-level concentrations of smoke, SO₂, CO, PAHs and VOCs do not exceed the safety limit of IDLH and there are no “death zones” due to the pollutant concentrations.     

Assessment of metal contaminations leaching out from recycling plastic bottles upon treatments

Background, aims, and scope  

Heavy metal contaminants in environment, especially in drinking water, are always of great concern due to their health impact. Due to the use of heavy metals as catalysts during plastic syntheses, particularly antimony, human exposure to metal release from plastic bottles has been a serious concern in recent years. The aim and scope of this study were to assess metal contaminations leaching out from a series of recycling plastic bottles upon treatments.     

光合细菌(PSB)处理明胶废水中填料挂膜性能研究

分别以纤维填料和毛刷填料为载体,采用优势菌种挂膜法,利用光合细菌处理明胶生产过程中产生的磷钙废水。两种填料表现出不同的挂膜效果,综合比较二者的挂膜时间、最终COD去除率和TP含量后得出毛刷填料挂膜性能优于纤维填料,其挂膜时间为23 d,最终COD去除率和TP含量分别达到93%,2.8 mg/L,在磷钙水处理中有适应性。通过对2种填料的电镜分析,发现纤维填料表面挂膜前后没有变化且十分光滑,而毛刷填料挂膜前表面粗糙,挂膜后表面有鳞片状突起,粗糙的表面状况有利于光合细菌的附着,最终促进生物膜功效的发挥。废水中Ca2+和pH是影响填料挂膜的主要因素。     

An optimized artificial neural network model for the prediction of rate of hazardous chemical and healthcare waste generation at the national level

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This paper presents a development of general regression neural network (a form of artificial neural network) models for the prediction of annual...     

Uptake of radionuclides and stable elements from paddy soil to rice: a review

The critical paths for radionuclides and the critical foods in Asian countries differ from those in Western countries because agricultural products and diets are different. Consequently, safety assessments for Asian countries must consider rice as a critical food. As most rice is produced under flooded conditions, the uptake of radionuclides by rice is affected by soil conditions. In this report, we summarize radionuclide and stable element soil-to-plant transfer factors (TFs) for rice. Field observation results for fallout ¹³⁷Cs and stable Cs TFs indicated that while fallout ¹³⁷Cs had higher TF than stable Cs over several decades, the GM (geometric mean) values were similar with the GM of TF value for ¹³⁷Cs being 3.6 × 10⁻³ and that for stable Cs being 2.5 × 10⁻³. Although there are some limitations to the use of TF for stable elements under some circumstances, these values can be used to evaluate long-term transfer of long-lived radionuclides in the environment. The compiled data showed that TF values were higher in brown rice than in white rice because distribution patterns for elements were different in the bran and white parts of rice grains.     

Optimisation of MSW collection routes for minimum fuel consumption using 3D GIS modelling

Collection of municipal solid waste (MSW) may account for more than 70% of the total waste management budget, most of which is for fuel costs. It is therefore crucial to optimise the routing network used for waste collection and transportation. This paper proposes the use of geographical information systems (GIS) 3D route modelling software for waste collection and transportation, which adds one more degree of freedom to the system and allows driving routes to be optimised for minimum fuel consumption. The model takes into account the effects of road inclination and vehicle weight. It is applied to two different cases: routing waste collection vehicles in the city of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, and routing the transport of waste from different municipalities of Santiago Island to an incineration plant. For the Praia city region, the 3D model that minimised fuel consumption yielded cost savings of 8% as compared with an approach that simply calculated the shortest 3D route. Remarkably, this was true despite the fact that the GIS-recommended fuel reduction route was actually 1.8% longer than the shortest possible travel distance. For the Santiago Island case, the difference was even more significant: a 12% fuel reduction for a similar total travel distance. These figures indicate the importance of considering both the relief of the terrain and fuel consumption in selecting a suitable cost function to optimise vehicle routing.