Potential of secondary aerosol formation from Chinese gasoline engine exhaust

Light-duty gasoline vehicles have drawn public attention in China due to their significant primary emissions of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds(VOCs). However,little information on secondary aerosol formation from exhaust for Chinese vehicles and fuel conditions is available. In this study, chamber experiments were conducted to quantify the potential of secondary aerosol formation from the exhaust of a port fuel injection gasoline engine. The engine and fuel used are common in the Chinese market, and the fuel satisfies the China V gasoline fuel standard. Substantial secondary aerosol formation was observed during a 4–5 hr simulation, which was estimated to represent more than 10 days of equivalent atmospheric photo-oxidation in Beijing. As a consequence, the extreme case secondary organic aerosol(SOA) production was 426 ± 85 mg/kg-fuel, with high levels of precursors and OH exposure. The low hygroscopicity of the aerosols formed inside the chamber suggests that SOA was the dominant chemical composition. Fourteen percent of SOA measured in the chamber experiments could be explained through the oxidation of speciated single-ring aromatics. Unspeciated precursors, such as intermediate-volatility organic compounds and semi-volatile organic compounds, might be significant for SOA formation from gasoline VOCs. We concluded that reductions of emissions of aerosol precursor gases from vehicles are essential to mediate pollution in China.     

Experimental study on filtration and continuous regeneration of a particulate filter system for heavy-duty diesel engines

This study investigated the filtration and continuous regeneration of a particulate filter system on an engine test bench, consisting of a diesel oxidation catalyst（DOC） and a catalyzed diesel particulate filter（CDPF）. Both the DOC and the CDPF led to a high conversion of NO to NO2 for continuous regeneration. The filtration efficiency on solid particle number（SPN） was close to100%. The post-CDPF particles were mainly in accumulation mode. The downstream SPN was sensitively influenced by the variation of the soot loading. This phenomenon provides a method for determining the balance point temperature by measuring the trend of SPN concentration.     

Evaluation of phenanthrene toxicity on earthworm (Eisenia fetida): An ecotoxicoproteomics approach

The goal of this study was to identify promising new biomarkers of phenanthrene by identifying differentially expressed proteins in Eisenia fetida after exposure to phenanthrene. Extracts of earthworm epithelium collected at days 2, 7, 14, and 28 after phenanthrene exposure were analyzed by two dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and quantitative image analysis. Comparing the intensity of protein spots, 36 upregulated proteins and 45 downregulated proteins were found. Some of the downregulated and upregulated proteins were verified by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS and database searching. Downregulated proteins in response to phenanthrene exposure were involved in glycolysis, energy metabolism, chaperones, proteolysis, protein folding and electron transport. In contrast, oxidation reduction, oxygen transport, defense systems response to pollutant, protein biosynthesis and fatty acid biosynthesis were upregulated in phenanthrene-treated E. fetida. In addition, ATP synthase b subunit, lysenin-related protein 2, lombricine kinase, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, actinbinding protein, and extracellular globin-4 seem to be potential biomarkers since these biomarker were able to low levels (2.5 mg kg⁻¹) of phenanthrene. Our study provides a functional profile of the phenanthrene-responsive proteins in earthworms. The variable levels and trends in these spots could play a potential role as novel biomarkers for monitoring the levels of phenanthrene contamination in soil ecosystems.     

Morphology and composition of particles emitted from a port fuel injection gasoline vehicle under real-world driving test cycles

Traffic vehicles, many of which are powered by port fuel injection (PFI) engines, are major sources of particulate matter in the urban atmosphere. We studied particles from the emission of a commercial PFI-engine vehicle when it was running under the states of cold start, hot start, hot stabilized running, idle and acceleration, using a transmission electron microscope and an energy-dispersive X-ray detector. Results showed that the particles were mainly composed of organic, soot, and Ca-rich particles, with a small amount of S-rich and metal-containing particles, and displayed a unimodal size distribution with the peak at 600?nm. The emissions were highest under the cold start running state, followed by the hot start, hot stabilized, acceleration, and idle running states. Organic particles under the hot start and hot stabilized running states were higher than those of other running states. Soot particles were highest under the cold start running state. Under the idle running state, the relative number fraction of Ca-rich particles was high although their absolute number was low. These results indicate that PFI-engine vehicles emit substantial primary particles, which favor the formation of secondary aerosols via providing reaction sites and reaction catalysts, as well as supplying soot, organic, mineral and metal particles in the size range of the accumulation mode. In addition, the contents of Ca, P, and Zn in organic particles may serve as fingerprints for source apportionment of particles from PFI-engine vehicles.     

Dechlorination and conversion mechanism of trichlorobenzene as a model compound of chlorine-containing wastes by different base-catalyzed combinations

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Chlorine-containing organic waste (COWs) is a big threat for the waste incineration because of the dioxin generation and equipment corrosion....     

Reducing bioassay variability by identifying sources of variation and controlling key parameters in assay protocol

Reducing bioassay variability by identifying sources of variation and controlling important parameters in assay protocol was demonstrated in this study. The variability of a bioassay based on a luminescent bacterium was examined as an example. This assay involved the growth of cells, storage at a low temperature, activation, and exposure to a test sample, and the assay response was bioluminescence inhibition. After determining that measurement error was small and negligible, the total assay variability was decomposed in an initial variance components study into between-batch, between-vial, and between-tube variations. Results indicated that between-vial variations accounted for the majority of the total observed variability and that reducing this type of variation would be beneficial. Five parameters in the assay protocol were determined as factors that potentially affected assay variability significantly. A split-plot design was employed to investigate the effects of these factors and some of their interactions on the assay response. One of the five factors, i.e., activation temperature, turned out to have a significant effect. The variance components study was repeated with better control of activation temperature as well as other parameters. Results indicated that the total variability of the bioassay was reduced by approximately 85%.     

Optimization of gasoline hydrocarbon compositions for reducing exhaust emissions

Effects of hydrocarbon compositions on raw exhaust emissions and combustion processes were studied on an engine test bench. The optimization of gasoline hydrocarbon composition was discussed. As olefins content increased from 10.0% to 25.0% in volume, the combustion duration was shortened by about 2 degree crank angle ( CA), and the engine-out THC emission was reduced by about 15%. On the other hand, as aromatics content changed from 35.0% to 45.0%, the engine-out NOx emissions increased by 4%. An increment in olefins content resulted in a slight increase in engine-out CO emission, while the aromatics content had little e ect on engine-out total hydrocarbon (THC) and CO emissions. Over the new European driving cycle (NEDC), the THC, NOx and CO emissions of fuel with 25.0% olefins and 35.0% aromatics were about 45%, 21% and 19% lower than those of fuel with 10.0% olefins and 40.0% aromatics, respectively. The optimized gasoline compositions for new engines and new vehicles have low aromatics and high olefins contents.     

Combination of biodiesel-ethanol-diesel fuel blend and SCR catalyst assembly to reduce emissions from a heavy-duty diesel engine

In this study, the efforts to reduce NOx and particulate matter （PM） emissions from a diesel engine using both ethanol-selective catalytic reduction （SCR） of NOx over an Ag/Al2O3 catalyst and a biodiesel-ethanol-diesel fuel blend （BE-diesel） on an engine bench test are discussed. Compared with diesel fuel, use of BE-diesel increased PM emissions by 14% due to the increase in the soluble organic fraction （SOF） of PM, but it greatly reduced the Bosch smoke number by 60%-80% according to the results from 13-mode test of European Stationary Cycle （ESC） test. The SCR catalyst was effective in NOx reduction by ethanol, and the NOx conversion was approximately 73%. Total hydrocarbons （THC） and CO emissions increased significantly during the SCR of NOx process. Two diesel oxidation catalyst （DOC） assemblies were used after Ag/Al2O3 converter to remove CO and HC. Different oxidation catalyst showed opposite effect on PM emission. The PM composition analysis revealed that the net effect of oxidation catalyst on total PM was an integrative effect on SOF reduction and sulfate formation of PM. The engine bench test results indicated that the combination of BE-diesel and a SCR catalyst assembly could provide benefits for NOx and PM emissions control even without using diesel particle filters （DPFs）.     

陆生植物化感作用的抑藻研究进展

有效控制水华,治理富营养化水体是目前环境领域的研究热点和前沿。所谓化感物质,就是由植物、细菌、病毒和真菌所产生的二次代谢产物。利用水生植物的化感作用或化感物质抑制水体中藻类的爆发被认为是一种高效、低毒、环境亲合性好的方法而备受关注。然而,对于陆生植物应用于抑制藻类生长的研究却较少。文章在对化感作用的概念的演化、各种生物对藻类化感抑制作用、化感物质抑藻机理等方面进行了较系统的论述,总结了近年来国内外学者对于陆生植物化感作用抑藻的研究进展。文章认为相对于水生植物在抑藻方面的局限性,陆生植物的优势体现在对水生生态系统影响明显（化感作用明显）、所含抑藻化感物质种类丰富、不易受水生生态环境影响等方面,并对今后陆生植物抑藻技术的研究方向进行了展望,陆生植物中尤其是菊科植物化感抑藻应用前景广阔。最后指出,陆生植物的化感抑藻作用研究还存在进一步探索和改进化感物质的提取和鉴定方法、抑藻作用机理的研究、应用实际水体时的生态安全性等方面的问题。     

废SCR催化剂中钒和钨的有机酸浸出

在对废SCR催化剂组成进行分析的基础上,采用草酸和酒石酸两种有机酸浸取废SCR催化剂中的V和W。实验结果表明：草酸对V、W的浸出率均大于酒石酸;在草酸浓度为1.00 mol/L、浸取温度为80 ℃、液固比为10 mL/g、浸取时间为180 min时,V和W的浸出率分别为63.50%和13.12%;在酒石酸浓度为0.5 mol/L、浸取温度为100 ℃、液固比为10 mL/g、浸取时间为180 min时,V和W的浸出率分别为44.00%和9.00%。酸性浸出未改变SCR催化剂中TiO₂的晶型,剩余残渣中依然保留着TiO₂骨架,可继续作为催化剂载体使用。