Sedimentary record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Lake Erhai, Southwest China

The temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated in a sediment core from Lake Erhal in Southwest China using gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method.The total organic carbon (TOC) normalized total PAHs concentrations (sum of US Environmental Protection Agency proposed 16 priority PAHs) ranged from 31.9 to 269 μg/g dry weight (dw),and were characterized by a slowly increasing stage in the deeper sediments and a sharp increasing stage in the upper sediments.The PAHs in the sediments were dominated by low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs,suggesting that the primary source of PAHs was low- and moderate temperature combustion processes.However,both the significant increase in high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs in the upper sediments and the vertical profile of diagnostic ratios pointed out a change in the sources of PAHs from low-temperature combustion to high-temperature combustion.The ecotoxicological assessment based on consensus-based sediment quality guidelines implied that potential adverse biological impacts were possible for benzo(ghi)perylenelene and most LMW PAHs.In addition,the total BaP equivalent quotient of seven carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (BaA,CHr,BbF,BkF,BaP,DBA and INP) was 106.1 ng/g,according to the toxic equivalency factors.Although there was no great biological impact associated with the HMW PAlls,great attention should be paid to these PAH components based on their rapid increase in the upper sediments.     

Identification of odorous compounds in reclaimed water using FPA combined with sensory GC-MS

Odorous compounds in the influent of a reclaimed water treatment plant (RWTP), consisting of coagulation, sedimentation, continuous micro-filtration (CMF), and chlorination in succession, in a north China city, were identified by combining flavor profile analysis (FPA) with sensory gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The sewery/swampy/septic odor with an odor intensity of 6.4 was found to be the major odor group in the RWTP influent, and the existence of well-known odorant including dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, indole and skatole were confirmed using GC-MS. The result of a spiking test showed that the intensity (3.6) of the sewery/swampy/septic odor caused by these four chemicals contributed to over 50% of the odor intensity of the influent. The FPA intensity for sewery/swampy/septic odor in the RWTP effluent was 3.8, showing that the treatment process was not efficient for the removal of odorants, particularly indole and skatole.     

Roles of manganese oxides in degradation of phenol under UV-Vis irradiation: Adsorption, oxidation, and photocatalysis

The effect of crystal structure on photocatalytic activities of manganese oxides and underlying reaction mechanism were investigated.     

Visible light responsive N-F-codoped TiO2 photocatalysts for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol

Visible light responsive N-F-codoped TiO₂ photocatalysts exhibit a higher catalytic activity than N-doped TiO₂ for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol due to the synergistic effect of nonmetal elements.     

Complete catalytic oxidation of o-xylene over Ce02 nanocubes

The activities of CeO2 nanocubes calcined at different temperatures were tested for catalytic oxidation of o-xylene. Using CeO2 nanocubes as catalysts, complete catalytic oxidation of o-xylene was achieved below 210℃. The CeO2 nanomaterials were characterized by means of BET, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). From the TEM images, all Ce02 nanocubes displayed cubic morphology irrespective of calcination temperature. The HRTEM images revealed that these nanocubes were enclosed by reactive {001}planes, which may contribute to the intrinsically catalytic property of o-xylene oxidation. The higher activity of Ce02 nanocubes calcined at 550℃ than those calcined at above 550℃ was attributed to their smaller crystallite size and larger surface area. The influences of reaction conditions were also studied, which found that a higher reaction temperature was necessary for complete catalytic oxidation of o-xylene at higher weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) and o-xylene concentration.     

Long-term joint effect of nutrients and temperature increase on algal growth in Lake Taihu, China

To study how global warming and eutrophication affect water ecosystems, a multiplicative growth Monod model, modified by incorporating the Arrhenius equation, was applied to Lake Taihu to quantitatively study the relationships between algal biomass and both nutrients and temperature using long-term data. To qualitatively assess which factor was a limitation of the improved model, temperature variables were calculated using annual mean air temperature (AT), water temperature (WT), and their average temperature (ST), while substrate variables were calculated using annual mean total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and their weighted aggregate (R), respectively. The nine fitted curves showed that TN and AT were two important factors influencing algal growth; AT limited growth as algal photosynthesis is mainly carried out near the water surface; N leakage of phytoplankton and internal phosphorus load from sediment explains why TN was the best predictor of peak biomass using the Monod model. The fitted results suggest that annual mean algal biomass increased by 0.145 times when annual mean AT increased by 1.0℃. Results also showed that the more eutrophic the lake, the greater the effect AT had on algal growth. Subsequently, the long-term joint effect of annual temperature increase and eutrophication to water ecosystems can be quantitatively assessed and predicted.     

Decolorization of dye solutions with Ruditapes philippinarum conglutination mud and the isolated bacteria

Application of Ruditapes Philippinarum conglutination mud (RPM) for decolorizing synthetic dye solutions was studied. RPM showed good activity for decolorization of Methylene Blue, Crystal Violet, Malachite Green, and Ink Blue. The amount of the RPM had great effect on the decoloration rate of the dye solutions. However, the decoloration rate did not continue to increase when the amount of mud exceeded the optimum dose. The temperature of the dye solution had a remarkable effect on the decolorization rate of Ink Blue solution, but had little effect on the other three dye solutions. The initial pH of the dye solutions evidently affected the decolorization rate of Malachite Green solution, but had less effect on the other three. The decolorization rate of the dye solutions increased significantly with treatment time within 8 hr, but tended to be steady after 8 hr for Methylene Blue, Crystal Violet and Malachite Green solutions, and after 12 hr for Ink Blue solution. The decolorization efficiencies for the four dye solutions under the optimum conditions were all above 90%. Seventeen strains screened from RPM showed flocculation ability for kaolin clay suspension. Out of them, the flocculation rate of strain ZHT3-9 and strain ZHT4-13 were up to 88.14% and 86.01%, respectively. ZHT3-9 was studied, and its decolorization rate for Methylene Blue, Crystal Violet, and Malachite Green reached 90.02%, 89.21%, and 80.29%, respectively. By morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics analysis and 16S rRNA sequencing, the strain ZHT3-9 was identified as Arthrobacter sp.     

Characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus removal in a sequencing batch reactor

Laboratory scale experiments were conducted to study the characteristics of N and P removal under different influent organic carbon concentration in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with simple anaerobic/aerobic operating mode. Experimental results indicated that, under the operating condition of influent N concentration of 89 mg/L and P concentration of 15 mg/L, when the influent C/N ratio increased from 1.5 to 6.9 (influent C/P ratio from 9 to 41), total N and P removal efficiency improved from 50% and 46% to 78% and 96% respectively. Track studies of N, P and other operating parameters demonstrated that N removal of the SBR was realized through simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) in the aeration phase and anoxic denitrificaiton in the filling phase, P removal was accomplished through conventional anaerobic P release and aerobic P taken-up process. Keeping dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration during the first two aeration hours as low as 0.1-0.6 mg/L is essential for the simultaneous occurrences of nitrification, denitrification and P-taken up.     

Microstructures and electrochemical behaviors of the friction stir welding dissimilar weld

By using optical microscope, the microstructures of 5083/6082 friction stir welding (FSW) weld and parent materials were analyzed. Meanwhile, at ambient temperature and in 0.2 mol/L NaHS0₃ and 0.6 mol/L NaCl solutionby gravimetric test, potentiodynamic polarization curve test, electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, the electrochemical behavior of 5083/6082 friction stir welding weld and parent materials were comparatively investigated by gravimetric test, potentiodynamic polarization curve test, electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation. The results indicated that at given processing parameters, the anti-corrosion property of the dissimilar weld was superior to those of the 5083 and 6082 parent materials.