Treating wastewater under zero waste principle using wetland mesocosms

• Smart wetland was designed to treat wastewater according to zero waste principle. • The system included a dynamic roughing filter, Cyperus papyrus (L.) and zeolite. • It removed 98.8 and 99.8% of chemical and bacterial pollutants in 3 days. • The effluent reused to irrigate a landscape and the sludge recycled as fertilizer. • The plant biomass is a profitable resource for antibacterial and antioxidants. The present investigation demonstrates the synergistic action of using a sedimentation unit together with Cyperus papyrus (L.) wetland enriched with zeolite mineral in one-year round experiment for treating wastewater. The system was designed to support a horizontal surface flow pattern and showed satisfactory removal efficiencies for both physicochemical and bacteriological contaminants within 3 days of residence time. The removal efficiencies ranged between 76.3% and 98.8% for total suspended solids, turbidity, iron, biological oxygen demand, and ammonia. The bacterial indicators (total and fecal coliforms, as well as fecal streptococci) and the potential pathogens (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) showed removal efficiencies ranged between 96.9% and 99.8%. We expect the system to offer a smart management for every component according to zero waste principle. The treated effluent was reused to irrigate the landscape of pilot area, and the excess sludge was recycled as fertilizer and soil conditioner. The zeolite mineral did not require regeneration for almost 36 weeks of operation, and enhanced the density of shoots (14.11%) and the height of shoots (15.88%). The harvested plant biomass could be a profitable resource for potent antibacterial and antioxidant bioactive compounds. This could certainly offset part of the operation and maintenance costs and optimize the system implementation feasibility. Although the experiment was designed under local conditions, its results could provide insights to upgrade and optimize the performance of other analogous large-scale constructed wetlands.     

Impact of floodplain and Stage 0 stream restoration on flood attenuation and floodplain exchange during small frequent storms

River flooding impacts human life and infrastructure, yet provides habitat and ecosystem services. Traditional flood control (e.g., levees, dams) reduces habitat and ecosystem services, and exacerbates flooding elsewhere. Floodplain restoration (i.e., bankfull floodplain reconnection and Stage 0) can also provide flood management, but has not been sufficiently evaluated for small frequent storms. We used 1D unsteady Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System to simulate small storms in a 5 km-long, second-order generic stream from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and varied % channel restored (starting at the upstream end), restoration location, restoration bank height (distinguishes bankfull from Stage 0 restoration), and floodplain width/Manning's n. Stream restoration decreased (attenuated) peak flow up to 37% and increased floodplain exchange by up to 46%. Floodplain width and % channel restored had the largest impact on flood attenuation. The incremental effects of new restoration projects on flood attenuation were greatest when little prior restoration had occurred. By contrast, incremental effects on floodplain exchange were greatest in the presence of substantial prior restoration, setting up a tradeoff. A similar tradeoff was revealed between attenuation and exchange for project location, but not bank height or floodplain width. In particular, attenuation and exchange were always greater for Stage 0 than for bankfull floodplain restoration. Stage 0 thus may counteract human impacts such as urbanization.     

Experimental research of LNG accidental underwater release and combustion behavior

Evaluating potential hazards caused by accidental LNG release from underwater pipelines or vessels is a significant consideration in marine transportation safety. The aim of this study was to capture the dynamic behavior of LNG jet released under water and to analyze its vapor dispersion characteristics and combustion characteristics on the water surface during different release scenarios. Controlled experiments were conducted where LNG was jet released from a cryogenic storage tank. The dynamic process of LNG being jet released from orifices of different sizes and shapes, as well as the rising plume structure, were captured by a high-speed camera. The leakage flow rate and pipeline pressure were recorded by a flow meter and pressure gauge, respectively. The concentration distribution that emanated from the water surface was measured utilizing methane sensors in different positions with various wind speeds. The flame combustion characteristics of LNG vapor clouds, which immediately ignited upon the enclosed water tank, were also recorded. Additionally, the mass burning rate of the flame on the water surface was evaluated, and a new correlation between the ratio of flame length and width was established. The results indicated a large dimensionless heat release rate (Q*) and a continuous release flow rate in a limited burning area. This study could provide greater understanding of the mechanisms of LNG release and combustion behavior under water.     

Numerical simulation of small-scale pool fires of LNG

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been largely indicated as a promising alternative solution for the transportation and storage of natural gas. In the case of accidental release on the ground, a pool fire scenario may occur. Despite the relevance of this accident, due to its likelihood and potential to trigger domino effects, accurate analyses addressing the characterization of pool fires of LNG are still missing.In this work, the fire dynamic simulator (FDS) has been adopted for the evaluation of the effects of the released amount of fuel and its composition (methane, ethane, and propane), on the thermal and chemical properties of small-scale LNG pool fire. More specifically, the heat release rate, the burning rate, the flame height, and thermal radiation, at different initial conditions, have been evaluated for pool having diameter smaller than 10 m. Safety distances have been calculated for all the investigated conditions, as well.Results have also been compared with data and correlations retrieved from the current literature. The equation of Thomas seems to work properly for the definition of the height over diameter ratio of the LNG pool fire for all the mixture and the investigated diameters.The addition of ethane and propane significantly affects the obtained results, especially in terms of radiative thermal radiation peaks, thus indicating the inadequacy of the commonly adopted assumption of pure methane as single, surrogate species for the LNG mixture.     

Toward sustainable use of natural resources: Nexus between resource rents,affluence, energy intensity and carbon emissions in developing and transition economies

Sustainable use of natural resources would entail ensuring that derived economic benefits today do not undermine the welfare of generations to come. On this basis, this study examines the nexus between natural resource rents and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions disaggregated into production and consumption-based (i.e., trade-adjusted) CO₂ emissions for a selected panel of 45 developing and transition economies over the period 1995–2017. The empirical model also incorporates the impacts of population, affluence, and energy intensity. The results show that affluence increases production-based CO₂ emissions by 1.407%, with the EKC's predicted inverted U-shaped curve only explaining consumption-based CO₂ emissions. Economic reliance on natural resource rents and energy intensification contribute 0.022% and 0.766%, respectively, to CO₂ emissions embedded in territorial production inventories and 0.035% and 0.583%, respectively, to CO₂ emissions embedded in consumption inventories. The bootstrap non-causality test shows that historical data on each variable has significant predictive power for future CO₂ emissions from both sources. The historical information about natural resource rents has significant predictive power over the future levels of affluence and energy intensity. Clearly, the results show that the environmental impact of natural resource rents is stronger when CO₂ emissions are adjusted for trade and varies among the countries, with Bangladesh, Guinea, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe among the most affected countries. Overall, this study provides motivation for policies to keep the use of natural resources within sustainable limits.     

粉煤灰沸石分子筛负载氧化铈催化剂的制备及其催化燃烧二氯甲烷性能

以发电厂粉煤灰为原料,采用碱融水热法合成了HZSM-5分子筛（FHZSM-5）,用浸渍法负载10%（w）CeO₂制备了CeO₂/FHZSM-5催化剂,用于二氯甲烷的催化燃烧。盐酸浓度为2 mol/L及粉煤灰和NaOH的质量比为1∶1.2时制备的FHZSM-5纯度最高,结晶度最好,用其制备的CeO₂/FHZSM-5催化剂（CFH-1）催化燃烧二氯甲烷的活性最佳,T₉₀和T₅₀（转化率为90%和50%时对应的反应温度）分别为348 ℃和304 ℃,低于其他条件下制备的同系列催化剂。低空速和低二氯甲烷入口浓度更有利于催化燃烧反应的进行。在100 h的连续稳定性测试中,所制备的CFH-1催化剂表现出较高的稳定性,二氯甲烷转化率一直保持在75%以上。     

碱熔融—微波晶化法合成粉煤灰沸石及其对Cd2+的吸附

以粉煤灰为主要原料，采用碱熔融—微波晶化法合成粉煤灰沸石。采用XRD，SEM，TEM等技术表征了粉煤灰沸石的微观结构，并对其吸附Cd²⁺的性能进行了研究。表征结果显示，粉煤灰沸石主要由X型沸石、P型沸石和铝组成，粉煤灰沸石中有排列规则、呈蜂窝状的孔穴和孔道存在，其孔穴和孔道大小分布均匀，致密。粉煤灰沸石的比表面积为108.49 m²/g，平均孔径为3.779 nm，孔体积为0.221 mL/g。实验结果表明，在溶液pH为7、吸附时间30 min的最佳吸附条件下，Cd²⁺去除率均大于94%。粉煤灰沸石对Cd²⁺的吸附可很好地用二级动力学方程进行拟合，相关系数为0.999 99。可用Langmuir等温吸附模型描述该吸附过程，该吸附过程是单分子层吸附，主要是化学吸附，粉煤灰沸石对Cd²⁺的饱和吸附量为49.261 mg/g。     

后疫情时期全国碳市场政策对经济和排放的影响

新冠肺炎疫情暴发一年多以来,国际国内形势仍面临极大不确定性。疫情显著降低了短期排放水平,但是经济恢复政策和疫情发展形势的不确定使得对未来经济发展和碳排放的判断变得复杂,碳排放是否会反弹对实现《巴黎协定》目标造成挑战,已经投入运行的全国碳市场能多大程度发挥政策效果等问题值得关注。本文首先定量评估了疫情对经济和环境的短期和长期的影响,基于此分析疫情后全国碳市场政策的实施效果。结果显示:疫情造成中国经济活动以及碳排放短期显著下降,2020年中国全年的GDP增长较基准情景下降3.84%,能源消费和碳排放分别较基准情景下降4.47%和5.12%。但是,接下来的十年内,GDP会逐渐恢复至基准情景,累计碳排放较基准情景增加0.06%。在没有其他气候政策干预的情况下,疫情带来的短期减排效应不足以保障中国各项气候目标的实现,落实碳市场政策十分必要。疫情之后启动全国碳市场,可以促进投资、减少能源使用和碳排放,到2030年,能源消费将下降7.44%,碳排放下降10.49%,碳价为229.73元/t。国外疫情若在2021年还不能得到控制,将会继续影响中国的对外贸易,使得中国GDP损失略有提高,但不会改变国内疫情之后经济恢复的大趋势。     

新疆阿克苏地区平原区高砷地下水分布特征及富集因素分析

地下水砷污染是全球化环境问题.本文基于阿克苏地区平原区2017年75个地下水砷实测含量进行分析.结果表明,研究区地下水砷含量变化范围为ND—98.70μg·L^-1,平均值为9.42μg·L^-1,超标率达26.7%.水平方向上,高砷地下水主要集中在研究区的中部偏南一带;垂直方向上,山麓斜坡冲洪积砾质平原潜水区地下水砷含量平均值表现为深层潜水>浅层潜水,中下游河流冲积平原区承压水区地下水砷含量平均值表现为深层承压水>浅层承压水>潜水.采用绘制Piper三线图、Gibbs图、离子比例图等方法对研究区地下水砷的富集因素进行研究.结果表明,研究区地下水砷主要为自然来源;封闭的地质构造和造山带与河流等沉积环境相结合的水文地质条件有利于研究区地下水砷的富集;研究区高砷地下水水化学类型主要为HCO3·SO4-Na,还原性-弱碱性环境利于地下水砷富集;研究区地下水砷受强烈的蒸发浓缩作用进一步浓缩,同时地下水阴离子浓度增大加剧了地下水中阴离子与砷酸根、亚砷酸根之间的竞争吸附,利于地下水砷的富集.     

Preparation and performance of novel APP/NaY–Fe suppressant for coal dust explosion

Coal dust explosion occurs easily in the coal chemical industry. To ensure safety in industrial production, NaY zeolite was used as carrier modified with Fe ions and combined with ammonium polyphosphate (APP) to prepare a novel composite suppressant for coal dust explosion. The explosion suppression performance of novel APP/NaY–Fe suppressant was investigated by flame propagation inhibition experiments. The results show that Fe ion modification can effectively improve the explosion suppression performance. By increasing content, the explosion suppression performance of the explosion suppressant increases. The maximum explosion pressure P_max of coal dust drops to 0.13 MPa when 50 wt% explosion suppressants were added, and the coal dust explosion cannot continue to expand. Complete suppression of explosion could be achieved by adding 66 wt% explosion suppressants. Combined with XRD, SEM and TG results, the explosion suppression mechanism was proposed. The novel explosion suppressant has high thermal stability, good dispersity and its explosion suppression components distribute uniformly. It shows good explosion suppression performance by the synergistic effect among explosion-suppression components.