The dynamics and drivers of environmental performance in Chinese cities: a decomposition analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper examines urban environmental performance using a unique database of 286 Chinese cities for the period 2002–2014. Both the dynamics of...     

Sewage sludge ditch for recovering heavy metals can improve crop yield and soil environmental quality

• Indirect use of sludge in ditches alongside plants was tested in field experiments. • The dried and stabilized sludge in ditches was recovered with heavy metals. • Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn in the planted soil were all in a safe range. • The indirect use of sludge increased plant yield, soil N content and C storage. The treatment and disposal of municipal sewage sludge (MSS) is an urgent problem to be resolved in many countries. Safely using the nutrients within MSS to increase crop yield and enhance the fertility of poor soil could contribute to achieving sustainable development. An indirect use of MSS in ditches alongside Pennisetum hybridum plants was studied in field plots for 30 months and the contents of heavy metals and macronutrients were monitored in soil, sludge and plant samples. We found that the yield of P. hybridum was significantly increased by 2.39 to 2.80 times and the treated plants had higher N content compared with no sludge. In addition, the organic matter (OM) and N contents in the planted soil increased significantly compared with the initial soil. The OM content in the planted soil of the MSS treatment was 2.9 to 5.2 times higher than that with no sludge, and N increased by 2.0 to 3.8 times. However, MSS had no significant effect on the N, P and K contents in the soil at the bottom of the MSS ditch, and the content of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn) were also within the safe range. Moreover, the moisture content and phytotoxicity of MSS after this indirect use were reduced and the heavy metal contents changed little, which is favorable to the further disposal of recovered MSS. Therefore, this indirect use of MSS is beneficial to agricultural production, soil quality and environmental sustainability.     

Effects of climate variables on the transmission of COVID-19: a systematic review of 62 ecological studies

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was initially discovered at the end of 2019 in Wuhan City in China and has caused one of the...     

Environmental effects and risk control of antibiotic resistance genes in the organic solid waste aerobic composting system: A review

• ARGs were detected in livestock manure, sludge, food waste and fermentation dregs. • The succession of microbial community is an important factor affecting ARGs. • Horizontal transfer mechanism of ARGs during composting should be further studied. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been diffusely detected in several kinds of organic solid waste, such as livestock manure, sludge, antibiotic fermentation residues, and food waste, thus attracting great attention. Aerobic composting, which is an effective, harmless treatment method for organic solid waste to promote recycling, has been identified to also aid in ARG reduction. However, the effect of composting in removing ARGs from organic solid waste has recently become controversial. Thus, this article summarizes and reviews the research on ARGs in relation to composting in the past 5 years. ARGs in organic solid waste could spread in different environmental media, including soil and the atmosphere, which could widen environmental risks. However, the conventional composting technology had limited effect on ARGs removal from organic solid waste. Improved composting processes, such as hyperthermophilic temperature composting, could effectively remove ARGs, and the HGT of ARGs and the microbial communities are identified as vital influencing factors. Currently, during the composting process, ARGs were mainly affected by three response pathways, (I) “Microenvironment-ARGs”; (II) “Microenvironment-microorganisms-ARGs”; (III) “Microorganisms-horizontal gene transfer-ARGs”, respectively. Response pathway II had been studied the most which was believed that microbial community was an important factor affecting ARGs. In response pathway III, mainly believed that MGEs played an important role and paid less attention to eARGs. Further research on the role and impact of eARGs in ARGs may be considered in the future. It aims to provide support for further research on environmental risk control of ARGs in organic solid waste.     

Study on coupling between mineral resources exploitation and the mining ecological environment in Shanxi Province

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Due to rapid socioeconomic development, seeking the coordination of resources exploitation and the ecological environment has become an objective...     

Influence of pore structure on biologically activated carbon performance and biofilm microbial characteristics

• Pore structure affects biologically activated carbon performance. • Pore structure determines organic matter (OM) removal mechanism. • Microbial community structure is related to pore structure and OM removal. Optimizing the characteristics of granular activated carbon (GAC) can improve the performance of biologically activated carbon (BAC) filters, and iodine value has always been the principal index for GAC selection. However, in this study, among three types of GAC treating the same humic acid-contaminated water, one had an iodine value 35% lower than the other two, but the dissolved organic carbon removal efficiency of its BAC was less than 5% away from the others. Iodine value was found to influence the removal of different organic fractions instead of the total removal efficiency. Based on the removal and biological characteristics, two possible mechanisms of organic matter removal during steady-state were suggested. For GAC with poor micropore volume and iodine value, high molecular weight substances (3500–9000 Da) were removed mainly through degradation by microorganisms, and the biodegraded organics (soluble microbial by-products,<3500 Da) were released because of the low adsorption capacity of activated carbon. For GAC with higher micropore volume and iodine value, organics with low molecular weight (<3500 Da) were more easily removed, first being adsorbed by micropores and then biodegraded by the biofilm. The biomass was determined by the pore volume with pore diameters greater than 100 μm, but did not correspond to the removal efficiency. Nevertheless, the microbial community structure was coordinate with both the pore structure and the organic removal characteristics. The findings provide a theoretical basis for selecting GAC for the BAC process based on its pore structure.     

2019年扬州市公共场所健康危害因素监测结果分析

为了提升扬州市公共场所卫生状况和传染病防控能力,按照国家标准于2019年对扬州市宾馆(酒店)类、沐浴类、理发店类、美容店类和候车室类5类公共场所的健康危害因素(空气质量和公共用品用具)进行监测,按照《公共场所卫生指标及限值要求》(GB 37488—2019)进行评价。结果表明,共监测空气质量样品216份,合格率为84.26%,共监测公共用品用具1 414份,合格率为96.46%,不同场所的空气质量合格率和公共用品用具微生物指标合格率差异均具有统计学意义(P 0.05)。不同类型公共用品用具监测项目中,金黄色葡萄球菌的合格率最高(100%),而真菌总数的合格率最低(93.75%)。各类公共用品用具中,拖鞋合格率最低(91.67%),床单相对较高(99.70%)。扬州市公共卫生状况总体良好,在空气质量监测中,物理项目和微生物项目合格率较低,在公共用品用具监测中,细菌总数和大肠菌群存在不合格现象。     

Simultaneous removal of cyanobacterial blooms and production of clean water by coupling flocculation with a rotary drum filter

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A mechanical harvesting technology based on coupling flocculation with a rotary drum filter (RDF, 35-μm) was applied to remove cyanobacterial...     

新型溴代阻燃剂TBB和TBPH的生态毒理研究进展

新型溴代阻燃剂2-乙基己基-四溴苯甲酸(2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate,TBB)和2,3,4,5-四溴-苯二羧酸双(2-乙基己基)酯(bis(2-ethylhexyl)2,3,4,5-tetrabromophthalate,TBPH)作为传统溴代阻燃剂多溴联苯醚(poly brominated diphenyl ethers,PBDEs)的替代品,广泛应用于工业和人类日常生活用品中,已在各种环境介质和生物体甚至人体中被检测出,由此可能对生态环境和人类健康产生潜在的风险.本文对TBB和TBPH这2种新型溴代阻燃剂的最新生态毒理学研究进展进行了综述,介绍了 TBB和TBPH在各类环境介质和生物体中的分布、环境归趋、人群暴露状况以及有关的生物毒性效应.最后对TBB和TBPH研究存在的问题进行了梳理分析,提出了研究展望,以期促进TBB和TBPH的环境风险和人类健康风险评价的深入研究.     

Sequential coupling of bio-augmented permeable reactive barriers for remediation of 1,1,1-trichloroethane contaminated groundwater

Sequential coupling of high-density luffa sponge (HDLS) immobilized microorganism and permeable reactive barriers (IM Bio-PRBs) was superior to intimate coupling of free microorganism and permeable reactive barriers (FM Bio-PRBs) for remediation of 1,1,1-trichloroethane contaminated groundwater. IM Bio-PRBs had much better performance to removal 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) and prevent the transport of 1,1,1-TCA and inorganic ions (NO₃^?, PO₄^3?, and SO₄^2?). The majority of them were prevented and accumulated in upgradient of IM Bio-PRBs. 1,1,1-TCA and inorganic ions in there contributed to the much faster growth of microorganism in upgradient aquifer. Therefore, the removal of 1,1,1-TCA and consumption of inorganic ions in upgradient of Bio-PRBs played a constructive role in reducing the processing load of following zero-valent iron (ZVI) PRBs and the negative effect of free microorganism cells (biological clogging) and inorganic ions (chemical clogging) on Bio-PRB permeability. In addition, IM Bio-PRBs were more conducive to accelerate the removal of 1,1,1-TCA in long-term remediation and 1,1,1-TCA residual concentration significantly lower than the safety standard of 0.2 mg L^?1. The change of terminal by-products of 1,1,1-TCA contaminated groundwater in Bio-PRBs showed that 1,1,1-TCA could be effectively de-chlorinated and mineralized in Bio-PRBs. The reductant H₂S (prolong the service life of ZVI-PRBs) was much more produced and utilized in IM Bio-PRBs. Taken together, sequentially coupled IM Bio-PRBs had a better overall performance, and its service life could be prolonged. It was a different design and idea to update conventional PRB remediation technology and theory.