Optimization of the O3/H2O2 process with response surface methodology for pretreatment of mother liquor of gas field wastewater

• Real ML-GFW with high salinity and high organics was degraded by O₃/H₂O₂ process. • Successful optimization of operation conditions was attained using RSM based on CCD. • Single-factor experiments in advance ensured optimal experimental conditions. • The satisfactory removal efficiency of TOC was achieved in spite of high salinity. • The initial pH plays the most significant role in the degradation of ML-GFW. The present study reports the use of the O₃/H₂O₂ process in the pretreatment of the mother liquor of gas field wastewater (ML-GFW), obtained from the multi-effect distillation treatment of the gas field wastewater. The range of optimal operation conditions was obtained by single-factor experiments. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on the central composite design (CCD) was used for the optimization procedure. A regression model with Total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency as the response value was established (R² = 0.9865). The three key factors were arranged according to their significance as: pH>H₂O₂ dosage>ozone flow rate. The model predicted that the best operation conditions could be obtained at a pH of 10.9, an ozone flow rate of 0.8 L/min, and H₂O₂ dosage of 6.2 mL. The dosing ratio of ozone was calculated to be 9.84 mg O₃/mg TOC. The maximum removal efficiency predicted was 75.9%, while the measured value was 72.3%. The relative deviation was found to be in an acceptable range. The ozone utilization and free radical quenching experiments showed that the addition of H₂O₂ promoted the decomposition of ozone to produce hydroxyl radicals (·OH). This also improved the ozone utilization efficiency. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that most of the organic matters in ML-GFW were degraded, while some residuals needed further treatment. This study provided the data and the necessary technical supports for further research on the treatment of ML-GFW.     

Potential energy production from organic waste and its environmental and economic impacts at a tertiary institution in Palestine

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the most well-known biomass resources that can be utilized to produce renewable energy. Numerous countries are plagued by the proliferation of waste, particularly organic waste that can be utilized for energy recovery. Palestine suffers from inefficient solid waste management, and only recently have a few projects focused on bioenergy production been implemented. Throughout the years, the city of Tulkarm experiences power outages which cause a challenge to the Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie campus in Tulkarm. Thus, the possibility of energy recovery from the organic portion in Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie was evaluated. The analysis of an economic impact included discussions of a number of economic aspects, including Levelized cost of energy, internal rate of return, present worth, annual worth, and payback period. On the other hand, a carbon dioxide savings analysis and gas emission were evaluated. The outcomes of the energy optimization demonstrated that the suggested system could supply the institution with an average of roughly 7 MWh of electrical energy. According to the economic study, this project offers 0.25 million dollars in present value, 0.144 million dollars in annual value, a 13 percent internal rate of return, a payback period of 6 years, and a levelized cost of energy of 0.11 dollars for each kWh generated. Additionally, the environmental assessment revealed that this system might reduce CO₂ emissions by around 8,343,778 tons. For effective waste management, energy recovery, and emission reduction, it is advised to implement anaerobic digestion technology.     

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.     

Animal agency in wildlife conservation and management

Wildlife conservation and management (WCM) practices have been historically drawn from a wide variety of academic fields, yet practitioners have been slow to engage with emerging conversations about animals as complex beings, whose individuality and sociality influence their relationships with humans. We propose an explicit acknowledgement of wild, nonhuman animals as active participants in WCM. We examined 190 studies of WCM interventions and outcomes to highlight 3 common assumptions that underpin many present approaches to WCM: animal behaviors are rigid and homogeneous; wildlife exhibit idealized wild behavior and prefer pristine habitats; and human–wildlife relationships are of marginal or secondary importance relative to nonhuman interactions. We found that these management interventions insufficiently considered animal learning, decision-making, individuality, sociality, and relationships with humans and led to unanticipated detrimental outcomes. To address these shortcomings, we synthesized theoretical advances in animal behavioral sciences, animal geographies, and animal legal theory that may help conservation professionals reconceptualize animals and their relationships with humans. Based on advances in these fields, we constructed the concept of animal agency, which we define as the ability of animals to actively influence conservation and management outcomes through their adaptive, context-specific, and complex behaviors that are predicated on their sentience, individuality, lived experiences, cognition, sociality, and cultures in ways that shape and reshape shared human–wildlife cultures, spaces, and histories. Conservation practices, such as compassionate conservation, convivial conservation, and ecological justice, incorporate facets of animal agency. Animal agency can be incorporated in conservation problem-solving by assessing the ways in which agency contributes to species’ survival and by encouraging more adaptive and collaborative decision-making among human and nonhuman stakeholders.     

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.     

Catalytic fast pyrolysis of walnut shell for alkylphenols production with nitrogen-doped activated carbon catalyst

• N-doped activated carbon was prepared for catalytic pyrolysis of walnut shell. • Alkylphenols were selectively produced from catalytic pyrolysis process. • The alkylphenols yield increased by 8.5 times under the optimal conditions. • Formation mechanism of alkylphenols was proposed. Alkylphenols are a group of valuable phenolic compounds that can be derived from lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, three activated carbons (ACs) were prepared for catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of walnut shell to produce alkylphenols, including nitrogen-doped walnut shell-derived activated carbon (N/WSAC), nitrogen-doped rice husk-derived activated carbon (N/RHAC) and walnut shell-derived activated carbon (WSAC). Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) experiments were carried out to reveal the influences of AC type, pyrolytic temperature, and AC-to-walnut shell (AC-to-WS) ratio on the product distributions. Results showed that with nitrogen doping, the N/WSAC possessed stronger capability than WSAC toward the alkylphenols production, and moreover, the N/WSAC also exhibited better effects than N/RHAC to prepare alkylphenols. Under the catalysis of N/WSAC, yields of alkylphenols were significantly increased, especially phenol, cresol and 4-ethylphenol. As the increase of pyrolytic temperature, the alkylphenols yield first increased and then decreased, while high selectivity could be obtained at low pyrolytic temperatures. Such a trend was also observed as the AC-to-WS ratio continuously increased. The alkylphenols production achieved a maximal yield of 44.19 mg/g with the corresponding selectivity of 34.7% at the pyrolytic temperature of 400°C and AC-to-WS ratio of 3, compared with those of only 4.67 mg/g and 6.1% without catalyst. In addition, the possible formation mechanism of alkylphenols was also proposed with the catalysis of N/WSAC.     

The in situ treatment of TCE and PFAS in groundwater within a silty sand aquifer

Chlorinated ethenes such as trichloroethene (TCE), cis‐1,2‐dichloroethene (cis‐1,2‐DCE), and vinyl chloride along with per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been identified as chemicals of concern in groundwater; with many of the compounds being confirmed as being carcinogens or suspected carcinogens. While there are a variety of demonstrated in‐situ technologies for the treatment of chlorinated ethenes, there are limited technologies available to treat PFAS in groundwater. At a former industrial site shallow groundwater was impacted with TCE, cis‐1,2‐DCE, and vinyl chloride at concentrations up to 985, 258, and 54 µg/L, respectively. The groundwater also contained maximum concentrations of the following PFAS: 12,800 ng/L of perfluoropentanoic acid, 3,240 ng/L of perfluorohexanoic acid, 795 ng/L of perfluorobutanoic acid, 950 ng/L of perfluorooctanoic acid, and 2,140 ng/L of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. Using a combination of adsorption, biotic, and abiotic degradation in situ remedial approaches, the chemicals of concern were targeted for removal from the groundwater with adsorption being utilized for PFAS whereas adsorption, chemical reduction, and anaerobic biodegradation were used for the chlorinated ethenes. Sampling of the groundwater over a 24‐month period indicated that the detected PFAS were treated to either their detection, or below the analytical detection limit over the monitoring period. Postinjection results for TCE, cis‐1,2‐DCE, and vinyl chloride indicated that the concentrations of the three compounds decreased by an order of magnitude within 4 months of injection, with TCE decreasing to below the analytical detection limit over the 24‐month monitoring period. Cis‐1,2‐DCE, and vinyl chloride concentrations decreased by over 99% within 8 months of injections, remaining at or below these concentrations during the 24‐month monitoring period. Analyses of Dehalococcoides, ethene, and acetylene over time suggest that microbiological and reductive dechlorination were occurring in conjunction with adsorption to attenuate the chlorinated ethenes and PFAS within the aquifer. Analysis of soil cores collected pre‐ and post‐injection, indicated that the distribution of the colloidal activated carbon was influenced by small scale heterogeneities within the aquifer. However, all aquifer samples collected within the targeted injection zone contained total organic carbon at concentrations at least one order of magnitude greater than the preinjection total organic carbon concentrations.     

梵净山不同森林植被生物量、净生产量、碳储量及空间分布特征

为做好梵净山国家级自然保护区森林植被保护,摸清自然保护区森林植被资源家底,采用2016年第四次森林资源规划设计调查数据及变更至2019年的森林资源数据,计算和分析保护区内森林植被生物量、净生产量、碳储量。梵净山8种森林类型的总生物量为443.72×10⁴t,总碳储量为219.80×10⁴t,总生长量为29.75×10⁴t·a^?1,总凋落量为18.65×10⁴t·a^?1,总净生产量为48.40×10⁴t·a^?1,总生物量、总碳储量较大的是栎林,较小的是铁杉林,桦木林、阔叶混交林、马尾松林、软阔林、杉木林和硬阔林居中;平均碳密度为48.86 t·hm^?2,依次为:桦木林>阔叶混交林>栎林>硬阔林>软阔林>马尾松林>杉木林>铁杉林;总生长量、年凋落量、净生产量较高的是栎林、硬阔林,较低的是马尾松林、阔叶混交林和铁杉林,3种森林类型合计比例不到10%;在龄组中的分配依次为:中龄林>近熟林>成熟林>幼龄林>过熟林。在不同海拔中,梵净山森林植被生物量、碳储量、生长量、凋落量和净生产量主要分布在海拔1201—1800 m,其分布比例分别为50.39%、50.38%、49.21%、50.08%和49.54%;在不同坡向中,梵净山森林植被生物量、碳储量、生长量、凋落量和净生产量主要分布在南坡和北坡,二者合计比例大于60%。     

蚯蚓粪复配硼钼调理剂对土壤改良和茄子生长的影响作用

土壤质量决定着农产品的质量和农业生产的可持续发展,然而土壤退化成为农业生产的重要限制因素之一,施用土壤调理剂有利于减缓土壤退化的速度。该研究配制土壤调理剂,即蚯蚓粪:草菇渣:蛭石=6:3:1、钼酸钠50 g·kg^-1、硼酸13.3 g·kg^-1,并设5个不同的处理CK、QY-T1、QY-T2、QY-T3、QY-T4,研究该调理剂对土壤理化性质和肥力的影响作用,分析其对茄子硼、钼和生长状况的促进作用。结果表明,该调理剂能提高土壤温度,5 cm、09:00的土壤温度QY-T4较高,但10 cm、14:00的土壤温度QY-T3最高;土壤容重随着施用量的增大而显著降低至1.50 g·cm^-3以下,土壤pH值从CK的4.93提高到QY-T4的5.57、微生物量碳分别比CK高29.9%、36.1%、47.6%和52.2%,有机质分别比CK高10.8%、11.7%、12.5%和7.0%,QY-T2、QY-T3、QY-T4土壤有效硼达到0.35、0.36、0.42mg·kg^-1,QY-T1、QY-T2的有效钼分别为0.107、0.140mg·kg^-1,随着调理剂的增多而增多,但QY-T3、QY-T4分别为0.101、0.092 mg·kg^-1反而随着调理剂的增多而下降,茄子硼、钼含量都随着调理剂的增加而增大,且显著高于对照(P<0.01);总产量比CK分别提高了29%、36%、190%和66%,总个数分别增加了25%、28%、155%和66%,59 d株高和叶片面积分别比CK增高了23%、1.4%、23%、16%和6.8%、11%、9.3%、7.4%,而叶片数量,所有的处理差异不显著,因此推荐该土壤调理剂用量与QY-T3相同,为1.5×10⁴kg·hm^-2。该研究可为土壤调理剂修复土壤退化的应用提供依据。     

水处理用活性炭改性研究

利用锆和氯化十六烷基三甲铵共同改性活性炭,制备一种新型去除污水中硝酸盐和磷酸盐的水处理吸附剂,并考察吸附剂加量、反应温度、pH值、共存阴离子等影响因素对吸附效果的影响。结果表明:锆-氯化十六烷基三甲铵改性活性炭(Zr-CTAC-AC)吸附剂适用于硝酸盐和磷酸盐浓度在100mg/L以下的污水,随着Zr-CTAC-AC加量的增加,硝酸盐、磷酸盐去除率逐渐增加,单位吸附量逐渐下降,Zr-CTAC-AC加量为8g/L时,硝酸盐去除率为79%,Zr-CTAC-AC加量为4.0g/L时,磷酸盐去除率可达91%,但应在较低的pH值范围内使用;反应温度对Zr-CTAC-AC的吸附效果影响不大;共存Cl-、HCO3^-和SO4^2-可使硝酸盐的吸附率降低,但对磷酸盐吸附率影响较小;1mol/L NaCl溶液可使吸附到Zr-CTAC-AC表面的硝酸盐90.9%左右被解吸出来,1mol/L NaOH溶液可使吸附到Zr-CTAC-AC表面的磷酸盐78.4%左右被解吸出来。Zr-CTAC-AC能够有效去除污水中硝酸盐和磷酸盐,制备方法简单,且可循环利用,处理成本低。