The exposition of a calcareous Mediterranean soil to toxic concentrations of Cr, Cd and Pb produces changes in the microbiota mainly related to differential metal bioavailability

The involvement of the bacterial community of an agricultural Mediterranean calcareous soil in relation to several heavy metals has been studied in microcosms under controlled laboratory conditions. Soil samples were artificially polluted with Cr(VI), Cd(II) and Pb(II) at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 5000 mg kg⁻¹ and incubated along 28 d. The lowest concentrations with significant effects in soil respirometry were 10 mg kg⁻¹ Cr and 1000 mg kg⁻¹ Cd and Pb. However, only treatments showing more than 40% inhibition of respirometric activity led to significant changes in bacterial composition, as indicated by PCR-DGGE analyses. Presumable Cr- and Cd-resistant bacteria were detected in polluted microcosms, but development of the microbiota was severely impaired at the highest amendments of both metals. Results also showed that bioavailability is an important factor determining the impact of the heavy metals assayed, and even an inverted potential toxicity ranking could be achieved if their soluble fraction is considered instead of the total concentration. Moreover, multiresistant bacteria were isolated from Cr-polluted soil microcosms, some of them showing the capacity to reduce Cr(VI) concentrations between 26% and 84% of the initial value. Potentially useful strains for bioremediation were related to Arthrobacter crystallopoietes, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and several species of Bacillus.     

Heavy-metal fractionation and distribution in soil profiles short-term-irrigated with sewage wastewater

Six soil profiles irrigated and non-irrigated with sewage wastewater were investigated for soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), and CaCO₃. The distributions and chemical fractions of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb, and their lability were also studied. The results indicated that pH, EC, OM, and CaCO₃, as well as metal fractionation in soil profiles were affected by wastewater irrigation, especially in the surface layer. The surface layer (0-15 cm) irrigated with wastewater exhibited a 0.6 unit decrease in soil pH, a 40.6% decrease in CaCO₃, and a 200% increase in EC as compared with that of the non-irrigated soil. The soil OM increased from 0.04% to 0.35% in the surface layer. The irrigation of soil with wastewater resulted in transformation of metals from the carbonate fraction (CARB) towards the exchangeable (EXCH), Fe-Mn oxide (ERO), and organic (OM) fraction for Zn, towards the EXCH, the OM, and residual fraction for Cu, and towards the exchangeable (EXCH) fraction for Cd. It was concluded that the use of sewage wastewater led to salt accumulation and an increase in the readily labile fraction of Zn, Cu, and Cd in the surface layer. Therefore, this reason may limit the use of wastewater under arid and semi-arid conditions.     

废旧电池掩埋处理方法初探

以分别种植小叶黄杨和八角金盘的2块试验土地与1块贫瘠裸露土地作为对照,试验植物吸收处理废旧电池的重金属污染的掩埋方法。文章介绍了将废旧电池内部的糊状物分别掩埋在小叶黄杨,八角金盘和贫瘠裸露土地3块试验土中,选用电池内部含量较多的 Zn 等重金属元素为跟踪元素,经一定时间后分析土壤中重金属元素的残留量。测定结果发现,小叶黄杨能很好地吸收掩埋入土的重金属元素,而八角金盘则对重金属没有明显的吸收作用。     

Waste plastics recycling by an entrained-flow gasifier

We studied an entrained-flow gasification process which efficiently converts waste plastics to energy at a high energy recovery rate. Waste plastics, after being shredded to <8 mm or <14 mm, were fed into an entrained-flow gasifier with air and oxygen. In the gasifier, organic substances were pyrolyzed, partially combusted, and then converted into synthetic gas (CO, H₂) at a high temperature (over 1600 K). The clarified gasification characteristics were that the lower heat value (LHV) of the product gas was over 4.2 MJ/Nm³ and the cold gas efficiency was approximately 60%. Other inert substances in the wastes such as ashes and metals were melted into slag and condensed on bag filters. The bag filters and a water scrubber removed impurities such as dusts, heavy metals, and hydrogen halides from the product gases. Solid hydrocarbons, which include char and soot, were removed at a hot cyclone and on the bag filters. Received: July 19, 2000 / Accepted: October 3, 2000     

水体沉积物重金属质量基准研究新进展——生物效应数据库法

根据加拿大、美国佛罗里达、澳大利亚、新西兰、中国香港等国家和地区水体沉积物质量基准研究的最新资料 ,综述了目前国际上广泛采用的用于制定沉积物质量基准的新方法——生物效应数据库法 ,介绍了该方法制定基准研究和应用的新进展     

落叶对重金属吸咐的初步研究

研究了落叶 (主要是梧桐落叶 )对重金属 (Cu、Ni、Cr)的吸收作用 ,结果表明 :落叶对重金属溶液的吸附效率高于 60 % ,二次吸附效率仍高达60 % ,对混合液吸附效果更好 ,且吸咐效果与吸附时间、落叶粒径关系不显著 .本文还对落叶吸附机理进行了初步研究 .     

Estimation of atmospheric trace metal emissions in Vilnius City, Lithuania, using vertical concentration gradient and road tunnel measurement data

A new approach for the estimation of trace metal emissions in Vilnius city was implemented, using vertical concentration profiles in the urban boundary layer and road tunnel measurement data. Heavy metal concentrations were examined in fine and coarse particle fractions using a virtual impactor (cut-off size diameter 2.5 μm). Negative vertical concentration gradients were obtained for all metals (Ba, Pb, V, Sb, Zn) and both fractions. It was estimated that the vertical concentration gradient was formed due to emissions from an area of about 12 km². Road tunnel measurements indicated that trace metal concentrations on fine particles were lower than those on coarse particles, which suggested that re-emitted road dust was highly enriched in trace metal due to historic emissions within the tunnel. Emission rates of different pollutants in the road tunnel were calculated using pollutant concentration differences at the tunnel entrance and exit and traffic flow data. Heavy metal emission rates from the area of Vilnius city were estimated using the vertical gradient of heavy metal concentrations and the coefficient of turbulent mixing, as derived from meteorological measurement data. The emission values calculated by the two different methods coincided reasonably well, which indicated that the main source of airborne trace metals in Vilnius city is traffic. The potential of the vertical concentration gradient method for the direct estimation of urban heavy metal emissions was demonstrated.     

Characteristic levels of heavy metals in sediments and dredged sediments of a municipal creek in the Niger delta, Nigeria

Characteristic levels of metal ions in post dredged sediment and dredged sediments materials of a municipal creek in the Niger Delta show that significant concentrations of heavy metals are found to be accumulated more on the surface (0–15cm depth) of the dredged material as compared to the sub surface (15–30cm) and post dredged sediments. The distribution patterns were in the following order Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cd and Fe > Mn > Zn > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cd for the post dredged sediment and dredged sediment materials respectively. The levels of the various metals were far below the EPA screening levels for open water disposal, consequently total levels of heavy metal found in these sediments pose no problem by open-water or upland disposal     

渤海沉积物中重金属分布及环境背景值

 讨论了渤海25柱岩芯样细颗粒（<0.063mm）中重金属含量分布，采用统计学方法确定了底质重金属的分布类型，通过渤海中部岩芯样分析结果，获得渤海沉积物中Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd的环境背景值。在研究中，借助Pb²¹⁰测年技术测定了百年前沉积层中重金属含量，结果与渤海底质Cu、Pb、Zn和Cd环境背景值是吻合的。