Could biochar amendment be a tool to improve soil availability and plant uptake of phosphorus? A meta-analysis of published experiments

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - As one of the most important nutrients for plant growth, phosphorus was often poorly available in soil. While biochar addition induced improvement of...     

Fractionation and leachability of Fe,Zn, Cu and Ni in the sludge from a sulphate-reducing bioreactor treating metal-bearing wastewater

This work presents and discusses experimental results on the characterisation and metal leaching potential of a biogenic, metal-rich sulphidic sludge, generated in a sulphate-reducing bioreactor, operated to treat acidic synthetic solutions bearing Fe, Zn, Ni and Cu. The sustainability of the metal removal bioprocess strongly depends on the fate of the sludge. To propose appropriate management practices, a detailed characterisation of the sludge is necessary. The granulometry, chemical composition and mineralogy of the sludge were initially determined. The mobility of the metals was assessed via a modified Tessier experimental procedure. The leachability of the sludge metal content was determined via a standard compliance method (EN 12457-2) and experiments designed to evaluate the effect of pH and time on metal leaching from the sludge. The sludge metal content sums up to 69.5% dw, namely iron (14.8%), zinc (18.7%), nickel (17.7%) and copper (18.2%) and, based on the criteria set by European Union, the sludge is characterised as hazardous and inappropriate for landfilling without any pretreatment. The sludge consists mainly of very fine poorly crystalline aggregates of Fe, Zn, Cu and Ni sulphides. The fine grain size, the poorly crystalline structure and the oxidation of sulphide upon exposure to water/air render the high metal content of the sludge recoverable.     

Copolymerization of 2,4-dichlorophenol with humic substances by oxidative and photo-oxidative biomimetic catalysis

We evaluated the catalytic activity of a water-soluble iron-porphyrin in an oxidative coupling reaction to form covalent bonds between 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) and humic molecules. The biomimetic catalysis in the presence of H₂O₂ was tested in the dark and in daylight, and changes in reaction products were revealed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In all conditions, iron-porphyrin was effective in promoting complete disappearance of 2,4-DCP, although catalyst activity was enhanced in daylight (with a maximum turnover number of 85.13). Further evidence of the occurred covalent coupling between 2,4-DCP and humic molecules was revealed by diffusion-ordered nuclear magnetic resonance (DOSY-NMR) spectroscopy that showed a reduced diffusivity of 2,4-DCP after the catalytic reaction. These findings indicate that iron-porphyrin is an efficient catalyst for the covalent binding of polyhalogenated phenols to humic molecules, thereby suggesting that the copolymerization reactions may become a useful technology to remediate soils and waters contaminated by halogenated phenols and their analogues.     

秸秆生物质炭DOM光谱特征及其与Cu2+的相互作用

通过荧光猝灭滴定法探究玉米秸秆炭（MSB）、水稻秸秆炭（RSB）和花生秸秆炭（PSB）中DOM的光谱特征及其与Cu²⁺的络合机理.结果表明：三种生物质炭的DOM均具有较高的亲水性和较低的芳香性,其中RSB-DOM的芳香性相对较强、分子量较大,但DOM含量低,PSB-DOM含量最高,芳香结构中含氧官能团较多.MSB和RSB-DOM中均含类富里酸组分C1和类腐殖酸组分C3、C4,RSB-DOM中还有类色氨酸组分C5,PSB-DOM则由两种类富里酸组分C1、C2和较长波长类腐殖酸组分C4组成,3种DOM均以类富里酸组分为主,占比达54.93%~86.29%.Cu²⁺与类腐殖酸组分的稳定常数（logK_M）高于类富里酸组分,且类腐殖酸组分C4的络合能力（f）最强,类腐殖酸组分的logK_M和f值总体上表现为：PSB-DOM> MSB-DOM>RSB-DOM.二维相关光谱分析发现,类富里酸组分对Cu²⁺最敏感,而Cu²⁺优先与类腐殖酸组分结合.研究结果有助于进一步揭示生物质炭的DOM对Cu²⁺环境行为的影响机制.     

不同原料生物质炭DOM组分成分特性

不同原料的生物质炭DOM含量和组分存在差异,选取水稻秸秆（RS）、小麦秸秆（WS）、大豆秸秆（SS）、油菜秸秆（YS）、花生壳（PH）、松木屑（PW）和竹粉（BS）7种生物质原料在450 ℃下制备的生物质炭,采用紫外-可见光光谱（UV-vis）、荧光光谱（EEM）结合平行因子分析（PARAFAC）技术对生物质炭中DOM的光谱特征和荧光组分进行表征.结果表明：木本类生物质炭的DOM含量较秸秆类生物质炭低,分子量较高.从生物质炭DOM中鉴定分离可见区类富里酸组分（C1）、较短波长类腐殖酸组分（C2）、较长波长类腐殖酸组分（C3）和类蛋白质组分（C4）等4种组分.不同原料生物质炭DOM各组分的最大荧光强度（F_max）值表现为C1 ＞ C2 ＞ C3 、C4,秸秆类炭DOM各组分的F_max值显著高于木本类.生物质炭DOM中以C1组分占主导地位,占比达48.87% ~ 79.97%.C2、C3组分在YSB、SSB-DOM中占比最高,分别达32.71%和23.25% ,仅在YSB和PHB-DOM中发现少量C4组分.木本类原料的有机和无机矿物含量远低于秸秆类,原料中纤维素含量与生物质炭DOM总量及其C3组分呈显著的正相关关系, Ca含量与生物质炭的DOM含量及其F_max值和C3组分呈显著正相关,说明不同生物质原料的组成对生物质炭DOM组成特性具有显著的影响,研究结果为全面评估不同原料生物质炭DOM的环境效应提供重要的科学理论依据.     

BASINWIDE WATER-BALANCE MODELING WITH EMPHASIS ON SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF GROUND WATER RECHARGE1

ABSTRACT: A detailed but simple hydrologic budget for the entire Rattlesnake Creek basin (3,768 km²) in south-central Kansas was developed. With this budget, using minimal daily-weather input data and the soil-plant-water system-analysis methodology, we were able to characterize the spatial distribution of the hydrologic components of the water balance within the basin. A combination of classification and meteorological methods resulted in a basinwide integration methodology. Using this methodology, we found that, in addition to obvious climatic controls, soil, vegetation, and land-use factors also exert considerable influence on the water balance of the area. The available-water capacity (AWC) of soil profiles plays a dominant role in soil-water-deficit development and deep drainage. Vegetation and dryland or irrigated farming particularly affect the evapotranspiration (ET) components, with ET from irrigated corn and alfalfa being two to three times that from wheat. Deep drainage from irrigated wheat fields was found to be significantly higher than that from grassland and dryland wheat; deep drainage from alfalfa is practically nonexistent. We demonstrated how vegetation changes may affect components of the hydrologic cycle. We also showed that different portions of the watershed have different water-balance components and that use of single average values of hydrologic variables in management practices may not be realistic.     

Effect of nonionic surfactant partitioning on the dissolution kinetics of residual perchloroethylene in a model porous medium

At concentrations above the critical micelle concentration, surfactants can significantly enhance the solubilization of residual nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPL) and, for this reason, are the focus of research on surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR). As a consequence of their amphiphilic nature, surfactants may also partition to various extents between the organic and aqueous phases, thereby affecting SEAR performance. We report here on the observation and analysis of the effect of surfactant partitioning on the dissolution kinetics of residual perchloroethylene (PCE) by aqueous solutions (1000 mg/L) of the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 in a model porous medium. For this fluid system, batch equilibration experiments showed that the surfactant partitions strongly into the NAPL (NAPL-water partition coefficient equal to 12.5). Dynamic interfacial tension (IFT) measurements were employed to study surfactant diffusion and interfacial adsorption. The dynamic IFT measurements were consistent with partitioning of the surfactant between the two liquid phases. PCE dissolution experiments, conducted in a transparent glass micromodel using an aqueous surfactant solution, were contrasted to experiments using clean water. Surfactant partitioning was observed to delay significantly the onset of micellar solubilization of PCE, an observation reproduced by a numerical model. This effect is attributed to the reduction of surfactant concentration in the immediate vicinity of the NAPL-water interface, which accompanies transport of the surfactant into the NAPL. Accordingly, it is suggested that both the rate and the extent of diffusion of the surfactant into the NAPL affect the onset of and the driving force for micellar solubilization. While many surfactants do not readily partition in NAPL, this possibility must be considered when selecting non-ionic surfactants for the enhanced solubilization of residual chlorinated solvents in porous media.     

Inference and model determination for temperature-driven non-linear ecological models

Environmental and Ecological Statistics - This paper is concerned with a contemporary Bayesian approach to the effect of temperature on developmental rates. We develop statistical methods using...