Changes in electrical generator cooling systems: Are they cost-effective sources of water now and under climate change?

In the United States, thermal power plant electrical generators (EGs) are large water diverters and consumptive users who need water for cooling. Retrofitting existing cooling systems to dry cooling and building new facilities with dry cooling can save water and reduce EG's vulnerability to drought. However, this can be an expensive source of water. We estimate that the cost of water saved by retrofitting cooling in existing EGs ranges from $0.04/m³ to $18/m³ depending on facility characteristics. Also water savings from building new EGs with dry cooling ranges in cost per unit water from $1.29/m³ to $2.24/m³. We compare costs with that for water development projects identified in the Texas State Water Plan. We find the water cost from converting to dry cooling is lower than many of the water development possibilities. We then estimate the impact of climate change on the cost of water saved, finding climate change can increase EG water use by up to 9.3% and lower the costs of water saved. Generally, it appears that water planners might consider cooling alterations as a cost competitive water development alternative whose cost would be further decreased by climate change.     

Research progress and hot spots of hydrothermal liquefaction for bio-oil production based on bibliometric analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of biomass used HTL reaction under high temperature and pressure to produce bio-oil. This technology is considered as...     

Coupled electrochemical methods for nitrogen and phosphorus recovery from wastewater: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Declining mineral resources, high fertilizer production cost and widespread eutrophication are calling for the recovery of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewaters...     

三峡水库蓄水期不同调度方案对洞庭湖出口水位的影响

洞庭湖水情受到长江和四水的综合影响，因此三峡水库蓄水运行必将对洞庭湖出口水位产生影响。通过构建模型对洞庭湖出口的水位过程进行模拟，以三峡出库日均流量、洞庭湖四水合成日均流量为输入，城陵矶站日水位过程为输出，以量化和分析城陵矶水位变化受三峡水库调度的影响。通过三峡入库流量代替出库流量，还原自然状态下的水位过程，并根据各调度方案计算的出库流量模拟各调度方案下城陵矶的水位变化过程。对比各调度方案下三峡水库蓄泄水对洞庭湖出口水位的影响可以发现：各蓄水方案对洞庭湖出口水位都造成了一定的影响，起蓄时间较早的方案影响时间较长，整体上平均水位变化也较大，但起蓄后水位变化较为平缓；起蓄时间较晚的方案影响时间较短，整体上平均水位变化相对较小，但起蓄后水位变化较为剧烈。考虑到不同年份和不同来水类型情况对洞庭湖出口水位的影响存在差异，各蓄水方案的优劣需要具体分析和讨论     

UiO-66(Zr)@多孔陶瓷复合材料的制备及对络合态重金属EDTA-Cu(Ⅱ)的去除

本文采用多孔陶瓷作为基体制备了锆基金属有机骨架UiO-66@多孔陶瓷复合材料.通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、粉末X射线衍射(PXRD)、氮气吸附和傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)等表征手段对比了氢氧化钠脱硅和乙二胺表面改性等基体活化方式对UiO-66(Zr)在多孔陶瓷表面负载情况的影响.结果表明,经过乙二胺表面改性的多孔陶瓷对UiO-66(Zr)的负载更均匀,负载效果更好.以EDTA-Cu(Ⅱ)为考察对象,研究了UiO-66(Zr)@乙二胺表面改性多孔陶瓷复合材料对络合态重金属的净化效能.结果表明,UiO-66(Zr)@多孔陶瓷复合材料在较宽的酸碱条件下(pH=3—9)对络合态重金属EDTA-Cu(Ⅱ)均表现出良好的吸附性能,饱和吸附量为1.17 mg·g~(-1),并可通过NaOH解吸再生,从而实现材料的重复利用.     

Magnetotactic bacteria: Characteristics and environmental applications

• Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) synthesize magnetic nanoparticle within magnetosomes. • The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were summarized. • Isolation and mass cultivation of MTB deserve extensive research for applications. • MTB can remove heavy metals, radionuclides, and organic pollutants from wastewater. Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a group of Gram-negative prokaryotes that respond to the geomagnetic field. This unique property is attributed to the intracellular magnetosomes, which contains membrane-bound nanocrystals of magnetic iron minerals. This review summarizes the most recent advances in MTB, magnetosomes, and their potential applications especially the environmental pollutant control or remediation. The morphologic and phylogenetic diversity of MTB were first introduced, followed by a critical review of isolation and cultivation methods. Past research has devoted to optimize the factors, such as oxygen, carbon source, nitrogen source, nutrient broth, iron source, and mineral elements for the growth of MTB. Besides the applications of MTB in modern biological and medical fields, little attention was made on the environmental applications of MTB for wastewater treatment, which has been summarized in this review. For example, applications of MTB as adsorbents have resulted in a novel magnetic separation technology for removal of heavy metals or organic pollutants in wastewater. In addition, we summarized the current advance on pathogen removal and detection of endocrine disruptor which can inspire new insights toward sustainable engineering and practices. Finally, the new perspectives and possible directions for future studies are recommended, such as isolation of MTB, genetic modification of MTB for mass production and new environmental applications. The ultimate objective of this review is to promote the applications of MTB and magnetosomes in the environmental fields.     

A review of measurement methods for peracetic acid (PAA)

• Physical and chemical properties and application of peracetic acid solution. • Determination method of high concentration peracetic acid. • Determination method of residual peracetic acid (low concentration). Peroxyacetic acid has been widely used in food, medical, and synthetic chemical fields for the past several decades. Recently, peroxyacetic acid has gradually become an effective alternative disinfectant in wastewater disinfection and has strong redox capacity for removing micro-pollutants from drinking water. However, commercial peroxyacetic acid solutions are primarily multi-component mixtures of peroxyacetic acid, acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and water. During the process of water treatment, peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) often coexist, which limits further investigation on the properties of peroxyacetic acid. Therefore, analytical methods need to achieve a certain level of selectivity, particularly when peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide coexist. This review summarizes the measurement and detection methods of peroxyacetic acid, comparing the principle, adaptability, and relative merits of these methods.     

Degradation of polyacrylamide (PAM) and methane production by mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion: Effect of temperature and concentration

• PAM degradation in thermophilic AD in comparison with mesophilic AD. • PAM degradation and its impact on thermophilic and mesophilic AD. • Enhanced methane yield in presence of PAM during thermophilic and mesophilic AD. • PAM degradation and microbial community analysis in thermophilic and mesophilic AD. Polyacrylamide (PAM) is generally employed in wastewater treatment processes such as sludge dewatering and therefore exists in the sludge. Furthermore, it degrades slowly and can deteriorate methane yield during anaerobic digestion (AD). The impact or fate of PAM in AD under thermophilic conditions is still unclear. This study mainly focuses on PAM degradation and enhanced methane production from PAM-added sludge during 15 days of thermophilic (55°C) AD compared to mesophilic (35°C) AD. Sludge and PAM dose from 10 to 50 g/kg TSS were used. The results showed that PAM degraded by 76% to 78% with acrylamide (AM) content of 0.2 to 3.3 mg/L in thermophilic AD. However, it degraded only 27% to 30% with AM content of 0.5 to 7.2 mg/L in mesophilic AD. The methane yield was almost 230 to 238.4 mL/g VSS on the 8th day in thermophilic AD but was 115.2 to 128.6 mL/g VSS in mesophilic AD. Mechanism investigation revealed that thermophilic AD with continuous stirring not only enhanced PAM degradation but also boosted the organics release from the sludge with added PAM and gave higher methane yield than mesophilic AD.     

铜陵某富硫尾矿库周边土壤重金属污染特征及风险评价

铜陵某尾矿库堆积大量富硫尾矿,为研究其氧化状况及对周边土壤的污染情况,在尾矿库和周边采集尾矿及土壤样品,测试分析尾矿及土壤样品典型重金属(Hg、As、Cr、Cd、Pb、Zn)含量和赋存形态,并基于单因子污染指数法和内梅罗综合污染指数法对土壤污染状况进行了评价。结果表明:(1)尾矿中Fe_2O_3平均占比达到38.08%(质量分数,下同),S平均占比达到5.34%;(2)尾矿库周边土壤中Cd、As、Zn、Hg严重超标,分别为《土壤环境质量农用地土壤污染风险管控标准(试行)》(GB 15618—2018)风险筛选值的6.3、3.7、1.8、1.5倍;(3)土壤中重金属主要以残渣态形式存在,但Cd、Hg、Zn的非残渣态平均占比均达到25%以上,生物有效性较高,对周边环境存在潜在危害;(4)两种污染指数法评价结果表明,尾矿库周边土壤以Cd、As、Zn污染为主,该富硫尾矿库已对周边环境造成重度污染。     

新型铁碳微电解填料制备与除磷性能评价

针对传统铁碳填料处理污水活性低的问题,通过均质化-碳化-成型工艺制备新型铁碳微电解填料,采用SEM-EDS、XRD等方法对制备填料进行了表征,探讨了新型填料除磷机理;同时,开展了填料制备条件优化及生活污水除磷性能评价研究。结果表明,新型填料(Fe-C)由于焦油经高温碳化处理可在海绵铁表面及内部孔道形成大量铁碳微原电池,提高了电化学反应速率,其磷脱除率显著高于传统填料(Fe/C);在焦油/铁比(Tar/Fe)为0.3、碳化温度为950℃、恒温时间为0 min、黏结剂质量分数为30%、900℃焙烧90 min条件下,制备的填料除磷性能最佳,除磷效率达98%,可实现含磷废水达标排放。