Preliminary studies on potential remediation of acid mine drainage‐impacted soils by amendment with drinking‐water treatment residuals

Mining operations result in a wide range of environmental impacts: acid mine drainage (AMD) and acid sulfate soils being among the most common. Due to their acidic pH and high soluble metal concentrations, both AMD and acid sulfate soils can severely damage the local ecosystems. Proper post‐mining management practices are necessary to control AMD‐related environmental issues. Current AMD‐impacted soil treatment technologies are rather expensive and typically not environmentally sustainable. We conducted a 60‐day bench‐scale study to evaluate the potential of a cost‐effective and environment‐friendly technology in treating AMD‐impacted soils. The metal binding and acid‐neutralizing capacity of an industrial by‐product, drinking water treatment residuals (WTRs) were used for AMD remediation. Two types of locally generated WTRs, an aluminum‐based WTR (Al‐WTR) and a lime‐based WTR (Ca‐WTR) were used. Highly acidic AMD‐impacted soil containing very high concentrations of metals and metalloids, such as iron, nickel, and arsenic, was collected from the Tab‐Simco coal mine in Carbondale, Illinois. Soil amendment using a 1:1 Al‐ and Ca‐WTR mix, applied at 5 and 10 percent rates significantly lowered the soluble and exchangeable fractions of metals in the AMD‐impacted soil, thus lowering potential metal toxicity. Soil pH increased from an extremely acidic 2.69 to a near‐neutral 6.86 standard units over the 60‐day study period. Results from this preliminary study suggest the possibility of a successful scale‐up of this innovative, cost‐effective, and environmentally sustainable technology for remediating AMD‐impacted acid sulfate soils.     

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.     

THOR dummy chest deflection response in oblique and lateral far-side sled tests

Abstract

Objective: The focus of this study is side impact. Though occupant injury assessment and protection in nearside impacts has received considerable attention and safety standards have been promulgated, field studies show that a majority of far-side occupant injuries are focused on the head and thorax. The 50th percentile male Test Device for Human Occupant Restraint (THOR) has been used in oblique and lateral far-side impact sled tests, and regional body accelerations and forces and moments recorded by load cells have been previously reported. The aim of this study is to evaluate the chestband-based deflection responses from these tests.

Methods: The 3-point belt–restrained 50th percentile male THOR dummy was seated upright in a buck consisting of a rigid flat seat, simulated center console, dashboard, far-side side door structure, and armrest. It was designed to conduct pure lateral and oblique impacts. The center console, dashboard, simulated door structure, and armrest were covered with energy-absorbing materials. A center-mounted airbag was mounted to the right side of the seat. Two 59-gage chestbands were routed on the circumference of the thorax, with the upper and lower chestbands at the level of the third and sixth ribs, respectively, following the rib geometry. Oblique and pure lateral far-side impact tests with and without airbags were conducted at 8.3 m/s. Maximum chest deflections were computed by processing temporal contours using custom software and 3 methods: Procedures paralleling human cadaver studies, using the actual anchor point location and actual alignment of the InfraRed Telescoping Rods for the Assessment of Chest Compression (IR-TRACC) in the dummy on each aspect—that is, right or left,—and using the same anchor location of the internal sensor but determining the location of the peak chest deflection on the contour confined to the aspect of the sensor; these were termed the SD, ID, and TD metrics, respectively.

Results: All deformation contours at the upper and lower thorax levels and associated peak deflections are given for all tests. Briefly, the ID metrics were the lowest in magnitude for both pure lateral and oblique modes, regardless of the presence or absence of an airbag. This was followed by the TD metric, and the SD metric produced the greatest deflections.

Conclusion: The chestbands provide a unique opportunity to compute peak deflections that parallel current IR-TRACC-type deflections and allow computation of peak deflections independent of the initial point of attachment to the rib. The differing locations of the peak deflection vectors along the rib contours for different test conditions suggest that a priori attachment is less effective. Further, varying magnitudes of the differences between ID and TD metrics underscore the difficulty in extrapolating ID outputs under different conditions: Pure lateral versus oblique, airbag presence, and thoracic levels. Deflection measurements should, therefore, not be limited to an instrument that can only track from a fixed point. For improved predictions, these results suggest the need to investigate alternative techniques, such as optical methods to improve chest deflection measurements for far-side occupant injury assessment and mitigation.     

过氧化钙降解有机污染物研究进展

CaO₂具有很好的稳定性,可在水和土壤中逐步分解生成H₂O₂成为氧化反应的氧化剂,已作为H₂O₂的替代物用于环保领域的研究中。介绍了CaO₂的作用机理,综述了CaO₂用于处理含卤代物、染料、抗生素、苯系物等废水的研究进展,以及CaO₂用于治理含石油烃、多环芳烃、苯系物和农药的污染土壤的研究进展。提出未来的研究方向：充分利用CaO₂水解生成O₂和H₂O₂的特性,探索化学与生物联合修复技术;探究CaO₂与其他氧化剂联用技术,从而增加CaO₂修复技术的适用性和经济性。     

抗坏血酸和铁系还原剂修复铬污染土壤

通过投加抗坏血酸(C₆H₈O₆)或铁系还原剂(FeCl₂,(NH₄)₂Fe(SO₄)₂,FeS)对重庆某化工厂的Cr污染土壤进行修复。除FeS外,其余3种还原剂对土壤中Cr(Ⅵ)的还原率均达80%以上,稳定效率均超73%,且投加量为理论值3倍和4倍时的效果相差不大。C₆H₈O₆相比于铁系还原剂表现出更好的长期稳定性,4~30 d的Cr(Ⅵ)浸出质量浓度均低于《生活垃圾填埋场污染控制标准》(GB 16889—2008)中Cr(Ⅵ)的浸出限值(1.5 mg/L)。投加3倍理论值C₆H₈O₆的土壤在30 d时的Cr(Ⅵ)浸出质量浓度仅为0.83 mg/L,稳定效率高达98.3%。除FeS外,其余3种还原剂均显著增加了土壤中Cr的残渣态占比。FeCl₂和(NH₄)₂Fe(SO₄)₂会导致土壤pH降低。4种还原剂均未对土壤晶体结构产生明显影响。     

污染农田土壤修复产业发展面临的问题及建议

随着经济的发展,我国的农业建设也迎来了新的发展机遇,但是目前我国的农业发展过程中存在着严重的土壤污染问题,污染农田土壤修复的问题有待解决。本文围绕污染农田土壤修复这一问题展开研究,望有所助益。     

钝化材料对Cd污染农田修复及其后效探究

在田间试验条件下,考察不同钝化材料对农田Cd轻度污染水稻修复效果及稻麦轮作后第二年水稻修复后效。结果表明,在轻度Cd污染农田中,各钝化材料处理均能不同程度降低土壤有效态Cd含量和水稻籽粒中Cd含量。其中,在钝化材料施用当季和稻麦轮作后第二季水稻中修复效果最好的处理为中量纳米材料处理和石灰配施中量纳米材料处理,这两种处理对土壤有效态Cd含量降低率分别为50.94%和47.15%,对水稻籽粒中Cd含量降低率分别为73.74%和69.41%。     

Indian dye yielding plants: Efforts and opportunities

The present review article deals with the information on the dye‐yielding plants of India. Dyes are intensively coloured compounds that are applied to a substrate such as fibre, paper, cosmetics, hair, etc. to give colours and can be extracted from the roots, fruits/berries, bark, leaves, flowers, and stem/wood, fungi, and lichens by various processes of extractions. In addition to their dye‐yielding characteristics, many of these plants possess medicinal values and can be used for multiple other purposes. Plant derived‐colours have an important role in human life because of their safe and eco‐friendly nature. But due to the availability of economically cheaper synthetic dyes, the indigenous knowledge of extraction, processing, and proper utilisation has been diminished. Nowadays, the demand for natural dyes has been increased worldwide due to awareness about their beneficial properties. It has been essential that proper documentation and measure of conservation should be undertaken to preserve these natural dye‐yielding plants. This review article is an aid to a collective inquiry into Indian dye plants.     

Identification and characterization of extracted microplastics from agricultural soil near industrial area: FTIR and X-ray diffraction method

Microplastics have been found in large quantities in agricultural soil and now become a major global issue. Different types of microplastic have adverse effects on agricultural soil. The most widely used method for the extraction of microplastics in agricultural soil is the density floatation method by using saturated NaCl solution. This method includes the pre-digestion of soil samples with H₂O₂ to remove all the organic matter present in the soil. Different types of microplastic particles were extracted and identified by using ATR-FTIR viz polypropylene, polybutylene tetrapthalate, polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene tetrapthalate. The crystalline nature of extracted microplastic was checked by employing XRD analytical technique. Floatation with higher density saturated sodium chloride (NaCl) solution recovered approximately 80% MPs from soil. Floatation methods were found to be effective for extracting microplastics from soils.     

铬污染土壤的微生物修复技术研究进展

介绍了土壤中铬的来源,存在形态,迁移转化及其对生物的危害,并重点阐述铬污染土壤的微生物修复机理:土壤中的Cr(VI)可以在微生物生物吸附、还原作用等作用下降低其生物可利用性和毒性,从而达到铬污染土壤修复的目的。针对微生物修复过程中存在的问题,提出了提高微生物修复铬污染土壤效果的措施,并对铬土壤污染微生物修复的发展趋势进行了展望。