Analysis of chemical compositions contributable to chemical oxygen demand (COD) of oilfield produced water

This work was to give a comprehensive estimation for the chemical compositions contributable to COD of the produced water treatment system. For this purpose, the wastewater samples were collected from an onshore wastewater treatment plant. The chemical compositions of the wastewater were investigated, and the COD contributed by each component was estimated. The results showed that the COD levels of O&G and SS presented decreasing trends during the whole process and achieved total removal percentages of 95.1% and 62.3%, respectively. The final COD of organic acids and low-molecular-weight carbonyl compounds were respectively lowered to nearly 64% and 35% of their initial levels, and no regular trends were found for the COD of these chemicals during the whole treatment process. The COD of inorganic components presented minor variations at all sampling spots. The majority of COD was originated from O&G in raw wastewater. The COD contributed by O&G decreased greatly with continuous treatment and finally was lower than 17% of measured COD. At each sampling spot, the ratios of COD contributed by SS did not exceed 7.6% of measured COD. Other measured chemicals, including organic acids, carbonyl compounds, volatile phenols, reductive anions, metals and TDP were not the main sources of COD during the whole treatment process, and the ratio of COD was below 9% at each sampling spot. Most of the soluble components contributable to residual COD were still unknown after biological treatment, and the COD contributed by these components was greater than 57% of measured COD.     

Kinetics on the decomposition of polychlorinated biphenyls with activated carbon-supported iron

The process of destroying polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) generates exhaust gases that contain low quantities of PCBs, which cannot be disposed of easily. Activated carbon (AC) can be used to adsorb residual PCBs after disposal of high-level PCBs. We examined the chemical reactivity of AC-supported iron as a catalyst to decompose PCB-153, and varied three decomposition parameters (temperature, time and iron concentration) under an atmosphere of either air or N(2). We measured the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and pore volume of AC to assess the adsorption capacity of AC before and after decomposition. At low temperatures the adsorption process was more important than the decomposition process. The decomposition process was completed within 30 and 60 min under air and N(2), respectively. The efficiency of PCB-153 decomposition at 350 degrees C for 120 min was approximately 100.0% and 97.1% under air and N(2), respectively. Analysis of inorganic chloride ions revealed that PCB-153 was effectively destroyed during decomposition. The differences between decomposition under air and N(2) reflected differences in BET surface and pore volume.     

Methods for the preparation of a biodesulfurization biocatalyst using Rhodococcus sp

Several methods to prepare a biodesulfurization (BDS) biocatalyst were investigated in this study using a strain of Rhodococcus sp. 1awq. This bacterium could selectively remove sulfur from dibenzothiophene (DBT) via the "4S" pathway. DBT, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), sodium sulphate and mixed sulfur sources were used to study their influence on cell density, desulfurization activity, desulfurization ability, and the cost of biocatalyst production. In contrast to that observed from bacteria cultured in DBT, only partial desulfurization activity of strain 1awq was induced by DBT after cultivation in a medium containing inorganic sulfur as the sole sulfur source. The biocatalyst, prepared from culture with mixed sulfur sources, was found to possess desulfurization activity. With DMSO as the sole sulfur source, the desulfurization activity was shown to be similar to that of bacteria incubated in medium with DBT as the sole sulfur source. The biocatalyst prepared by this method with the least cost could remove sulfur from hydrodesulfurization (HDS)-treated diesel oil efficiently, providing a total desulfurization percent of 78% and suggesting its cost-effective advantage.     

A robust approach for iterative contaminant source location and release history recovery

Contamination source identification is a crucial step in environmental remediation. The exact contaminant source locations and release histories are often unknown due to lack of records and therefore must be identified through inversion. Coupled source location and release history identification is a complex nonlinear optimization problem. Existing strategies for contaminant source identification have important practical limitations. In many studies, analytical solutions for point sources are used; the problem is often formulated and solved via nonlinear optimization; and model uncertainty is seldom considered. In practice, model uncertainty can be significant because of the uncertainty in model structure and parameters, and the error in numerical solutions. An inaccurate model can lead to erroneous inversion of contaminant sources. In this work, a constrained robust least squares (CRLS) estimator is combined with a branch-and-bound global optimization solver for iteratively identifying source release histories and source locations. CRLS is used for source release history recovery and the global optimization solver is used for location search. CRLS is a robust estimator that was developed to incorporate directly a modeler's prior knowledge of model uncertainty and measurement error. The robustness of CRLS is essential for systems that are ill-conditioned. Because of this decoupling, the total solution time can be reduced significantly. Our numerical experiments show that the combination of CRLS with the global optimization solver achieved better performance than the combination of a non-robust estimator, i.e., the nonnegative least squares (NNLS) method, with the same solver.     

Factors influencing arsenic accumulation by Pteris vittata: a comparative field study at two sites

This study compared the factors influencing arsenic (As) accumulation by Pteris vittata at two sites, one containing As along with Au mineralization and the other containing Hg/Tl mineralization. The soils above these two sites contained high As concentrations (26.8-2955 mg kg(-1)). Although the As concentration, pH, soil cation exchange capacity and plant biomass differed significantly between the two sites, no differences were observed in the As concentrations in the fronds and roots, or the translocation factors, of P. vittata, suggesting that this species has consistent As hyperaccumulation properties in the field. The As concentration in the fronds was positively related to phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), but negatively related to calcium (Ca), at one site. This suggested that P, K and Ca influenced As accumulation by P. vittata in the field.     

2株苯胺降解的分离鉴定及其降解特性研究

从处理印染废水的活性污泥中分离得到2株苯胺降解菌,从菌落、细胞形态、生理生化及16S rRNA基因扩增测序等方面对2株菌进行了鉴定,并比较分析2株菌在好氧与缺氧条件下的苯胺降解、偶氮染料脱色及苯胺脱氨氧化酶基因tdnQ和黄素还原酶基因(fre)的携带情况.结果表明,2株菌属于Pseudomonas属和Shewanella属,分别命名为Pseudomonas sp.AN30和Shewanella sp.DN425.AN30菌株在振荡好氧条件下72h内对250mg/L苯胺的降解率为96.1%,DN425菌株的降解率为13.8%;在静置缺氧条件下AN30菌株的苯胺降解率为39.6%,DN425菌株的降解率仅为8.6%.DN425菌株在静置缺氧条件下4h内可将初始浓度为50 mg/L的偶氮染料酸性大红彻底脱色,而AN30菌株对酸性大红不具有脱色能力.以总DNA为模板,分别用tdnQ基因和fre基因特异性引物进行扩增,2株菌均能扩增出大小分别为380bp和630bp左右的目标条带,显示2菌株均携带有苯胺脱氨氧化酶基因和黄素还原酶基因.     

Prediction for energy content of Taiwan municipal solid waste using multilayer perceptron neural networks

In the past decade, the treatment amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) by incineration has increased significantly in Taiwan. By year 2008, approximately 70% of the total MSW generated will be incinerated. The energy content (usually expressed by lower heating value [LHV]) of MSW is an important parameter for the selection of incinerator capacity. In this work, wastes from 55 sampling sites, including villages, towns, cities, and remote islands in the Taiwan area, were sampled and analyzed once a season from April 2002 to March 2003 to determine the waste characteristics. The LHV of MSW in Taiwan was predicted by the multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural networks model using the input parameters of elemental analysis and dry- or wet-base physical compositions. Although all three of the models predicted LHV values rather accurately, the elemental analysis model provided the most accurate prediction of LHV values. Additionally, the wet-base physical composition model was the easiest and most economical. Therefore, the waste treatment operators can choose the more appropriate analysis method considering situations themselves, such as time, equipment, technology, and cost.     

Pyrolysis behavior of tire-derived fuels at different temperatures and heating rates

Pyrolytic product distribution rates and pyrolysis behavior of tire-derived fuels (TDF) were investigated using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) techniques. A TGA was designed and built to investigate the behavior and products of pyrolysis of typical TDF specimens. The fundamental knowledge of TGA analysis and principal fuel analysis are applied in this study. Thermogravimetry of the degradation temperature of the TDF confirms the overall decomposition rate of the volatile products during the depolymerization reaction. The principal fuel analysis (proximate and ultimate analysis) of the pyrolytic char products show the correlation of volatilization into the gas and liquid phases and the existence of fixed carbon and other compounds that remain as a solid char. The kinetic parameters were calculated using least square with minimizing sum of error square technique. The results show that the average kinetic parameters of TDF are the activation energy, E = 1322 +/- 244 kJ/mol, a pre-exponential constant of A = 2.06 +/- 3.47 x 10(10) min(-1), and a reaction order n = 1.62 +/- 0.31. The model-predicted rate equations agree with the experimental data. The overall TDF weight conversion represents the carbon weight conversion in the sample.     

Distribution and dissipation pathways of nonylphenol polyethoxylates in the Yellow River: Site investigation and lab-scale studies

Spatial distribution of nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEOs) and nonylphenol (NP) was investigated in a field study in Lanzhou Reach of the Yellow River. NPEOs and their metabolites were found in the river, with the maximum dissolved concentrations of 6.38 nmol/L for NPEOs, 0.19 nmol/L for nonylphenol ethoxy acetic acids (NPECs) and 0.79 nmol/L for NP, respectively. The maximum concentrations in the sediment and suspended particle samples were 1.50 and 5.09 nmol/g for NPEOs and NP, respectively. The effects of particles, light and microorganism on the dissipation of NPEOs in the river water were investigated based on lab-scale experiments. When natural particles were removed, 72% and 22% degradation of NPEOs were achieved at 120 h in non-sterile and sterile conditions with light, respectively. Different concentrations of NPECs were also observed in these experiments. When suspended particle matters (SPMs) were present, about 38-50% of NPEOs were sorbed to the particulate phase in only 1 h. As a result, the degradation of NPEOs and production of NPECs were inhibited. However, the combined sorption and degradation in the presence of SPMs resulted in lower dissolved NPEO concentrations than those in the absence of SPMs. Biodegradation was the most important pathway for NPEOs degradation in the river water, while NPECs seemed to be produced through both biological and abiological pathways.     

油层注水过程中水质不合要求的危害及保护措施

分析了油田在二次采油注水过程中,对水质的要求,讨论了水质不合格带来的危害并提出了保护措施.