Recycling food and agriculture by-products to mitigate climate change: a review

Food loss and waste is a major issue affecting food security, environmental pollution, producer profitability, consumer prices, and climate change. About 1.3 billion tons of food products are yearly lost globally, with China producing approximately 20 million tons of soybean dregs annually. Here, we review food and agricultural byproducts with emphasis on the strategies to convert this waste into valuable materials. Byproducts can be used for animal and plant nutrition, biogas production, food, extraction of oils and bioactive substances, and production of vinegar, wine, edible coatings and organic fertilizers. For instance, bioactive compounds represent approximately 8–20% of apple pomace, 5–17% of orange peel, 10–25% of grape seeds, 3–15% of pomegranate peel, and 2–13% of date palm seeds. Similarly, the pharmaceutical industry uses approximately 6.5% of the total output of gelatin derived from fish bones and animal skin. Animals fed with pomegranate peel and olive pomace improved the concentration of deoxyribonucleic acid and protein, the litter size, the milk yield, and nest characteristics. Biogas production amounts to 57.1% using soybean residue, 53.7% using papaya peel, and 49.1% using sugarcane bagasse.

     

SGA对垃圾焚烧飞灰中重金属的固化性能研究

根据EPA1311、HJ／T299—2007、HJ／T300—2007和HJ557—2009等国内外不同标准，研究了深圳某垃圾焚烧发电厂垃圾焚烧飞灰的浸出毒性，探讨了六硫代胍基甲酸（sixthioguanidineacid，SGA）、二甲基二硫代氨基甲酸盐（sodiumdimethyldithiocarbamate，SDD）和Ca（OH）2浓度对垃圾焚烧飞灰中重金属的固定性能的影响。研究结果表明，随着浸提液pH的降低，该厂焚烧飞灰中大部分金属元素的浸出量增大，焚烧飞灰浸出液中的cd、Ni、Ph和zn浓度分别超过国家危险废物鉴别标准（GB5085．3—2007）规定值的4．75倍、1．47倍、6．72倍和2．20倍，属于危险废弃物，必须进行稳定化处理。当固化剂SGA加入量为0．1mol／kg时，稳定化后的重金属浸出浓度已经低于危险废物鉴别标准，且对Cd、Cr、Cu和Pb的固化性能优于SDD和Ca（OH）2；当固化剂SGA、SDD和Ca（OH）2加入量为0．5mol／kg时，稳定化后的焚烧飞灰重金属浸出浓度均低于国家危险废物鉴别标准（GB5085．3-2007）中的规定值。与SDD和Ca（OH）：相比，SGA对垃圾焚烧飞灰中重金属的固化处理更具有优势。     

Fe(Ⅲ)/Fe(Ⅱ)铁氧体工艺原位处理PVA废水及其沉淀物回收利用

为了评价Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺对PVA（聚乙烯醇）废水处理的可行性,采用Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺原位处理PVA模拟废水,考察不同作用时间、总铁投加量、初始ρ（PVA）和废水硬度对该工艺处理效果的影响.利用XRD（X射线衍射）、FT-IR（傅里叶转换红外光谱）、BET比表面积、VSM（磁滞回线测试）对沉淀物进行表征,解析该工艺原位处理PVA模拟废水的主要机理,并以该工艺沉淀物为吸附剂,通过锑吸附试验,探讨该工艺沉淀物的回用性.结果表明:①Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺对PVA模拟废水具有良好的处理能力,初始ρ（PVA）为1 000 mg/L时,该工艺在20 min以内即可达到80%以上的去除率,并且基本没有金属铁的残余,该工艺对PVA的去除率随总铁投加量的增加而提高且基本不受水体硬度影响. ②在Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺对PVA的原位去除过程中,PVA作为一种反应物参与沉淀物Fe₃O₄的生成,并促进纳米Fe₃O₄比表面积增大,最终形成一种类似于凝胶的Fe₃O₄聚合物. ③Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺可高效处理模拟PVA-MB（亚甲基蓝）染料废水.对于含有100 mg/L MB（亚甲基蓝三水）和500 mg/L PVA的混合溶液,MB和COD_Cr去除率在1 min时分别达到97.37%和89.47%.沉淀物通过磁分离、乙醇和水清洗后,在水中浸出的ρ（TOC）和ρ（COD_Cr）很低,分别为0.86和2 mg/L,可作为吸附剂直接使用,得益于其具有较高的比表面积,对金属锑的拟合吸附量可达71.94 mg/g. ④Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺具有一定的实际应用价值.对东莞某实际印染废水处理5 min,COD_Cr和染料的去除率分别为85.71%和98.98%.研究显示,Fe（Ⅲ）/Fe（Ⅱ）铁氧体工艺可高效去除PVA,沉淀物为易回收的磁性Fe₃O₄,可作为吸附剂直接使用.      

含裂隙岩石裂纹扩展与剪切特性的数值研究*

为研究直剪条件下含交叉裂隙岩石的裂纹扩展模式和剪切特性,基于PFC2D研究直剪条件下含裂隙岩石的裂纹扩展模式和剪切特性。研究结果表明:直剪过程可分4个阶段:Ⅰ初始平静阶段、Ⅱ裂纹单一扩展阶段、Ⅲ裂纹复杂扩展阶段、Ⅳ破坏阶段;法向应力越大,Ⅱ,Ⅲ阶段的裂纹扩展程度受到抑制;岩石中含单裂隙时,随裂隙角度α的增加,抗剪强度的变化趋势基本一致,遵循先降后增的规律;含交叉裂隙时,当主裂隙角度α=120°,150°时,抗剪强度随次裂隙角度β的增加呈先减小后增大的趋势,抗剪强度最小值均出现在β=30°;加固含裂隙岩体时,预防裂隙或者潜在破坏面两侧的岩体产生位移差,使其加固后成为1个稳固整体,是避免岩体产生裂纹导致破坏的重要手段。     

Highly efficient P uptake by Fe3O4 loaded amorphous Zr-La (carbonate) oxides: Electrostatic attraction, inner-sphere complexation and oxygen vacancies acceleration effect

Bimetallic oxides composites have received an increasing attention as promising adsorbents for aqueous phosphate (P) removal in recent years. In this study, a novel magnetic composite MZLCO was prepared by hybridizing amorphous Zr-La (carbonate) oxides (ZLCO) with nano-Fe₃O₄ through a one-pot solvothermal method for efficient phosphate adsorption. Our optimum sample of MZLCO-45 exhibited a high Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of 96.16 mg P/g and performed well even at low phosphate concentration. The phosphate adsorption kinetics by MZLCO-45 fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model, and the adsorption capacity could reach 79% of the ultimate value within the first 60 min. The phosphate adsorption process was highly pH-dependent, and MZLCO-45 performed well over a wide pH range of 2.0-8.0. Moreover, MZLCO-45 showed a strong selectivity to phosphate in the presence of competing ions (Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, HCO₃⁻, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺) and a good reusability using the eluent of NaOH/NaCl mixture, then 64% adsorption capacity remained after ten recycles. The initial 2.0 mg P/L in municipal wastewater and surface water could be efficiently reduced to below 0.1mg P/L by 0.07 g/L MZLCO-45, and the phosphate removal efficiencies were 95.7% and 96.21%, respectively. Phosphate adsorption mechanisms by MZLCO-45 could be attributed to electrostatic attraction and the inner-sphere complexation via ligand exchange forming Zr/La-O-P, -OH and CO₃²⁻ groups on MZLCO-45 surface played important roles in the ligand exchange process. The existence of oxygen vacancies could accelerate the phosphate absorption rate of the MZLCO-45 composites.     

Solution method of overtopping risk model for earth dams

Hydrologic risk analysis relies on a series of probabilistic analyses, and it is a complex problem in estimating the probability distributions of multiple independent and random variables. The goal of this study is to presents the procedure and application of a probability-based risk analysis methodology to evaluate earth dam overtopping risk that induced by concurrent flood and wind. The uncertainty arising from initial water surface level, flood, wind velocity, and dam height are discussed in this research. The improved Monte Carlo simulation and mean-value first-order second-moment method are used to solve the proposed dam overtopping risk model, respectively. The nonparametric kernel density estimation method, which can better learn the complex multimodal characteristic of probability density function than that of traditional parametric estimation method, is employed to improve the probability density function of initial water surface level. The latin hypercube sampling is introduced to generate uniform random number, which improves the efficient and stability compared with simple random sampling. Afterward, an application to the Dongwushi Reservoir in China illustrates that the dam overtopping risk computed using the improved Monte Carlo simulation is lower than that using mean-value first-order second-moment method. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis show that initial water surface level is more sensitive to overtopping risk than wind velocity.     

Nitrate removal from aqueous solutions by magnetic cationic hydrogel: Effect of electrostatic adsorption and mechanism

Excessive nitrate(NO_3~-) is among the most problematic surface water and groundwater pollutants.In this study,a type of magnetic cationic hydrogel(MCH) is employed for NO_3~-adsorption and well characterized herein.Its adsorption capacity is considerably pHdependent and achieves the optimal adsorption(maximum NO_3~--adsorption capacity is95.88±1.24 mg/g) when the pH level is 5.2-8.8.The fitting result using the homogeneous surface diffusion model indicates that the surface/film diffusion controls the adsorption rate,and NO_3~-approaches the center of MCH particles within 30 min.The diffusion coefficient(D_s) and external mass transfer coefficient(k_F) in the liquid phase are1.15 × 10~(-6) cm~2/min and 4.5 × 10~(-6) cm/min,respectively.The MCH is employed to treat surface water that contains 10 mg/L of NO_3~-,and it is found that the optimal magnetic separation time is 1.6 min.The high-efficiency mass transfer and magnetic separation of MCH during the adsorption-regeneration process favors its application in surface water treatment.Furthermore,the study of the mechanism involved reveals that both-N~+(CH_3)_3 groups and NO_3~-are convoluted in adsorption via electrostatic interactions.It is further found that ion exchange between NO_3~-and chlorine occurs.     

Strong enhancement of methylene blue removal from binary wastewater by in-situ ferrite process

Dye wastewater containing heavy metal ions is a common industrial effluent with complex physicochemical properties.The treatment of metal–dye binary wastewater is difficult.In this work,a novel in-situ ferrite process(IFP) was applied to treat Methylene Blue(MB)–Cu(II)binary wastewater,and the operational parameters were optimized for MB removal.Results showed that the optimum operating conditions were OH/M of 1.72,Cu~(2+)/Fe~(2+)ratio of 1/2.5,reaction time of 90 min,aeration intensity of 320 mL/min,and reaction temperature of40°C.Moreover,the presence of Ca~(2+)and Mg~(2+)moderately influenced the MB removal.Physical characterization results indicated that the precipitates yielded in IFP presented high surface area(232.50 m2/g) and a multi-porous structure.Based on the Langmuir model,the maximum adsorption capacity toward MB was 347.82 mg/g for the precipitates produced in IFP,which outperformed most other adsorbents.Furthermore,IFP rapidly sequestered MB with removal efficiency 5 to 10 times greater than that by general ferrite adsorption,which suggested a strong enhancement of MB removal by IFP.The MB removal process by IFP showed two different high removal stages,each with a corresponding removal mechanism.In the first brief stage(5 min),the initial high MB removal(~95%)was achieved by predominantly electrostatic interactions.Then the sweep effect and encapsulation were dominant in the second longer stage.     

Relationship between metabolic enzyme activities and bioaccumulation kinetics of PAHs in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Many studies have investigated bioaccumulation and metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic organisms. However, lack of studies investigated both processes simultaneously, and the interaction between these two processes is less understood so far. This study investigated the bioaccumulation kinetics of PAHs and metabolic enzyme activities, including total cytochrome P450 (CYPs) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), in zebrafish. Mature zebrafish was exposed to the mixture of phenanthrene and anthracene under constant concentration maintained by passive dosing systems for 16 days. The results showed that PAH concentrations in zebrafish experienced a peak value after exposure for 1.5 days, and then decreased gradually. The bioaccumulation equilibrium was achieved after exposure for 12 days. Both of the uptake rate constants (k_u) and the elimination rate constants (k_e) decreased after the peak value. The variation of PAH concentrations and metabolic enzyme activities in zebrafish had an interactive relationship. CYPs and T-SOD activities increased initially with the increase of PAH concentrations, but decreased to the lowest state when PAH concentrations reached the peak value. When the bioaccumulation equilibrium of PAHs was achieved, CYPs and T-SOD activities also reached the steady state. In general, CYPs and T-SOD activities were activated after exposure to PAHs. The decrease of PAH concentrations in zebrafish after the peak value may be attributed to the great drop of k_u and the variation of CYPs activities. This study suggests that an interactive relationship exists between bioaccumulation kinetics of PAHs and metabolic enzyme activities in aquatic organisms.