Photochemical decomposition of environmentally persistent short-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids in water mediated by iron(II)/(III) redox reactions

The photochemical decomposition of short-chain (C(3)-C(5)) perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) was investigated. Direct photolysis in water proceeded slowly with the 220- to 460-nm light emission from a xenon-mercury lamp to form F(-), CO(2), and shorter-chain PFCAs. Addition of a small amount of Fe(3+) to the aqueous solutions of the PFCAs dramatically enhanced their photochemical decomposition under an oxygen atmosphere: when the (initial PFCA)/(initial Fe(3+)) molar ratio was 13.5 (initial PFCA concentration=67.3mM), the pseudo-first-order rate constants for the PFCA decomposition were 3.6-5.3 times those with photolysis alone, and the turnover number for the catalytic PFCA decomposition [i.e., (moles of decomposed PFCA)/(moles of initial Fe(3+))] reached 6.71-8.68 after 24h of irradiation. The catalysis can be explained by photoredox reactions between PFCA, Fe(3+)/Fe(2+) and oxygen via photo-induced complexation of Fe(3+) with the PFCAs.     

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in rice plants: possible contaminated pathways

Uptake of dioxins was confirmed in rice plants. We determined (i) dioxin concentrations and isomer profiles in leaf+stem samples of rice plants grown in three soils with different dioxin concentrations and isomer profiles and (ii) temporal changes in dioxin concentrations and isomer profiles in rice grown in a paddy field on which agricultural chemicals containing dioxin impurities had been used in previous years. Principal-component and chemical mass-balance analyses of the data showed that dioxin concentrations and isomer profiles in the rice grown in the different soils were similar, even though the dioxin concentrations and isomer profiles of the soils were different. However, the dioxin concentrations in the rice were influenced by dioxin levels in the atmospheric gas phase. Changes in dioxin levels during the growing period of the rice were also strongly influenced by adhesion of the soil to plant components during the early stage of growth, but gradually the influence of the atmospheric gas phase became predominant. Calculated dietary uptake estimates indicated that, even in rice grown in Japan on soil contaminated with high concentrations of dioxins, the amount of dioxins ingested by humans from rice is extremely small, and the amount of dioxins ingested by livestock from forage rice is similar to that for other forage crops.     

Humic-like substances global levels and extraction methods in aerosols

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The abundance of humic-like substances in the atmosphere has received considerable attention since these substances play an important role in various atmospheric...     

Techniques to separate metal from waste printed circuit boards from discarded personal computers

Waste printed circuit boards contain valuable metals such as Au, Pd, Ag, and Cu that can be reutilized and harmful elements such as Pb, Br, and Cr that must be removed from the viewpoint of environmental conservation. In this research, we examined a method that separates the materials from printed circuit boards contained in discarded personal computers. After cutting the printed circuit boards to a size of 20 × 20 mm, they were heated at 873 K under an Ar atmosphere to remove organic resins containing elements such as C, H, and N. After heat treatment, the printed circuit boards were crushed using a planetary ball mill and the pulverized powders were filtered. The fraction with a granularity of greater than 250 μm was separated into magnetic and nonmagnetic materials by a magnetic field. Because the fraction with a granularity of less than 250 μm contained 39 mass% of C, it was heated at 1273 K in an atmosphere of 95% Ar and 5% O₂ to allow carbon combustion to take place, followed by metal reduction processing at the same temperature in an atmosphere of 97% Ar and 3% H₂. The basicity of the resulting powder was adjusted and the powder was heated at 1773 K under an Ar atmosphere. The proposed method separated the slag and metal, and 80% of the valuable metals contained in printed circuit boards could be collected.     

Release of phosphorus from lake sediments

The relationship between the content of various forms of phosphorus in lakesediments and the amount of phosphorus released under aerobic and anaerobic conditions was studied. Total phosphorus content in the sediment of Lake Kasumigaura was highest at the 0–5 cm surface layer and decreased with depth. The constant value below 15 cm was consistent with the decrease of iron-bound phosphorus conent (FeP). The amount of phosphorus released from the sediments was proportional to the decrease of FeP under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Under anaerobic conditions, 90% of the FeP initially held in the sediments was released in 55 days. Using dialysis apparatus, maximum growth yield of algae was shown to be linearly dependent on the amount of phosphorus released under aerobic conditions.     

日本湖泊水质富营养化控制措施与政策

日本在经历了20世纪50年代和60年代的严重污染事件后,强化了环境政策.在水污染控制法中从严制定了污水排放限制和水质标准,在20世纪70年代和80年代成功地减少了污染.对"日本湖泊水质保全特别措施法"的现状、流域的点源和非点源污染负荷的削减、湖泊底泥的疏浚以及采用生态工程方法减少支流负荷等流域综合管理进行了综述和探讨,并给出了进一步改善湖泊水质的建议.     

Evaluation of river pollution of neonicotinoids in Osaka City (Japan) by LC/MS with dopant-assisted photoionisation

An atmospheric pressure photoionisation (APPI) source for liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) was applied to determine neonicotinoid pesticides in the aquatic environment. Dopant-assisted APPI was very effective in the ionisation of neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids generated protonated molecules in APPI with high sensitivity, while adduct ions, such as sodiated molecules, were predominantly generated in conventional electrospray ionisation. The ionisation of neonicotinoids was confirmed by ultra-high-resolution MS. An analytical method coupled with solid phase extraction was developed for acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, nitenpyram, and thiamethoxam. Method detection limits were 0.47 to 2.1 ng L(-1) for six neonicotinoids. Dinotefuran was the most frequent and highest among the neonicotinoids examined in the aquatic environment in Osaka, Japan. The maximum concentration of dinotefuran was 220 ng L(-1). Given the toxicity of neonicotinoids for aquatic creatures, the concentrations observed here were substantially low. The change in concentrations was temporally coincident with the period of the neonicotinoid application. Although rapid photodegradation and some degradation products have been elucidated, the degradation products in the aquatic environment were not identified in the present study.     

A preliminary estimate of the trophic position of the deep-water ram’s horn squid Spirula spirula based on the nitrogen isotopic composition of amino acids

The ram’s horn squid, Spirula spirula (Spirulida, Coleoidea), inhabits subsurface waters of the tropical and subtropical oceans. Because of the presence of an internal chambered shell in this species, it has frequently been used as a model species to investigate the paleobiology of fossil coleoids. However, the feeding and dietary habits of S. spirula in the nature are poorly known. In this study, we applied a new method (amino acid nitrogen isotopic analysis) to estimate the trophic position of S. spirula specimens captured off Suriname, as well as three cuttlefish Sepia species (Sepia officinalis, S. latimanus, and S. esculenta), with a calcified chambered shell from the shallower water. The trophic position of S. spirula was estimated to be 2.5–2.8, which was significantly lower than that for the three Sepia species (3.4–3.6). The results and available data on the gastric contents of S. spirula suggest that it feeds mainly on detritus and zooplankton, including crustaceans, from the overlying water column. The method used in this study can potentially be applied to the estimation of the trophic position of the fossil cephalopods having calcified chambered shells.     

旋轮虫在污水生物处理中的作用机制初探

蛭形轮虫常被用作生物处理性能良好的指示生物.本文以一种常见的蛭形轮虫—旋轮虫(Philodina sp.)为研究对象,着重探讨了旋轮虫及其分泌物对活性污泥处理性能和细菌的作用方式,以明确旋轮虫在污水生物处理中的作用机制.结果表明,旋轮虫及其分泌物均在一定程度上提高了活性污泥对COD、氨氮、总磷的去除率,且两者的提高效果相近,表明旋轮虫分泌物是旋轮虫对活性污泥的主要作用形式,即非直接捕食性的间接作用是其主要作用形式.旋轮虫分泌物对絮凝性细菌的絮凝性、异养硝化-好氧反硝化菌的同步硝化和脱氮效能均有促进作用,进一步表明旋轮虫提高活性污泥活性的作用是通过其分泌物提高细菌活性的结果.此外,通过使用根癌农杆菌KYC55从旋轮虫分泌物中检测出AHLs信号分子的类似物,表明旋轮虫对细菌的作用机制可能是其分泌物误导或触发细菌的群体感应所致.本文结果为研究微型动物在污水生物处理中的作用机制提供了新的研究思路.