Monitoring of the microbial community composition in saline aquifers during CO2 storage by fluorescence in situ hybridisation

This study reveals the first analyses of the composition and activity of the microbial community of a saline CO₂ storage aquifer. Microbial monitoring during CO₂ injection has been reported. By using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), we have shown that the microbial community was strongly influenced by the CO₂ injection. Before CO₂ arrival, up to 6 × 10⁶ cells ml⁻¹ were detected by DAPI staining at a depth of 647 m below the surface. The microbial community was dominated by the domain Bacteria that represented approximately 60% to 90% of the total cell number, with Proteobacteria and Firmicutes as the most abundant phyla comprising up to 47% and 45% of the entire population, respectively. Both the total cell counts as well as the counts of the specific physiological groups revealed quantitative and qualitative changes after CO₂ arrival. Our study revealed temporal outcompetition of sulphate-reducing bacteria by methanogenic archaea. In addition, an enhanced activity of the microbial population after five months CO₂ storage indicated that the bacterial community was able to adapt to the extreme conditions of the deep biosphere and to the extreme changes of these atypical conditions.     

Bioluminescent bacteria as indicators of chemical contamination of coastal waters

The ratio of bioluminescent to total bacteria (bioluminescent ratio, BLR) as an indicator of a variety of types of anthropogenic contamination of estuarine ecosystems was evaluated through a series of laboratory and field studies. Laboratory studies indicated that the BLR of natural bacterioplankton communities was proportionally reduced in the presence of a number of contaminants including diesel fuel and saltmarsh sediments co-contaminated with mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Bioluminescent ratio inhibition was observed after short-term exposure to a contaminant suggesting a physiological rather than a population response of native microbial communities. Simulated eutrophication did not suppress the BLR. Field observations of the BLR were conducted weekly for a 2-yr period in the Skidaway River estuary, Georgia, USA. These observations revealed considerable seasonal variability associated with the BLR. Bioluminescent ratios were highest during the summer (25 +/- 15%), lower in the fall (6 +/- 5%) and spring (3 +/- 2%), and near zero during the winter. Although the BLR was not significantly correlated to salinity at a single site (Skidaway River estuary), the BLR was significantly correlated with salinity when sites within the same estuary system were compared (r2 = 0.93). Variation in BLR was not correlated to standard bacteriological indicators of water quality including total and fecal coliform bacteria. Comparison of the BLR from impacted and pristine estuarine sites during the fall suggested that anthropogenically impacted sites exhibited lower BLR than predicted from salinity versus BLR relationships developed in pristine systems. These observations suggest that the BLR could be used as a simple and reliable initial indicator of chemical contamination of estuarine systems resulting from human activity.     

Evaluation of The Efficiency of Various Commercial Products for The Bioremediation of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soil

Summary Bioremediation has become an important method for the treatment of terrestrial oil spills and is often favoured over strictly physical-chemical methods. In this study, enzymatic analyses and signature lipid biomarkers were employed to evaluate the efficacy of selected bioremediation products on control and oil contaminated soil plots. It is envisioned that these biological indicators may be used as possible adjuncts to the strictly physical-chemical criteria most commonly employed. The application of the enzymatic and signature biomarker methods for product evaluation proved successful. The enzymatic assays provided a valuable insight into shifts in the functional diversity of the soil microbial communities resultant from the various treatments. Stimulation or inhibition of the microbial communities as a result of the various treatments was also demonstrated, particularly with regards to dehydrogenase activity. Phospholipid fatty acid profiles proved sufficiently sensitive to allow differentiation between products and resultant microbial communities that corresponded to satisfactory and unsatisfactory petroleum hydrocarbon removal.     

Assessing soil biodiversity across Great Britain: national trends in the occurrence of heterotrophic bacteria and invertebrates in soil

An assessment of the biodiversity of soils was a component of the Countryside Survey 2000 (CS2000). This was the first integrated survey of soil biota and chemical properties at a national scale. A total of 1052 soil samples were collected across Great Britain during CS2000 and analysed for a range of soil microbial and invertebrate characteristics resulting in the production of a series of robust datasets. A principal objective was to use these datasets to investigate relationships between soil biota and environmental factors such as geographical location, vegetation, land use, land cover, soil type and pollutant levels as first stages in characterising the inherent biodiversity of British soils and investigating the potential of soil biodiversity as indicators of soil health at a regional or national scale. Preliminary results for culturable heterotrophic, invertebrate taxa, Acari, Collembola and Oribatid mites are presented here to illustrate the nature of the data collected and the patterns of soil biodiversity in relation to large-scale regional, vegetation and soil characteristics across the British countryside.     

Processing of Straw/Corn Stover: Comparison of Life Cycle Emissions

The LCA emissions from four renewable energy routes that convert straw/corn stover into usable energy are examined. The conversion options studied are ethanol by fermentation, syndiesel by oxygen gasification followed by Fischer Tropsch synthesis, and electricity by either direct combustion or biomass integrated gasification and combined cycle (BIGCC). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of these four options are evaluated, drawing on a range of studies, and compared to the conventional technology they would replace in a western North American setting. The net avoided GHG emissions for the four energy conversion processes calculated relative to a “business as usual” case are 830 g CO₂e/kWh for direct combustion, 839 g CO₂e/kWh for BIGCC, 2,060 g CO₂e/L for ethanol production, and 2,440 g CO₂e/L for FT synthesis of syndiesel. The largest impact on avoided emissions arises from substitution of biomass for fossil fuel. Relative to this, the impact of emissions from processing of fossil fuel, e.g., refining of oil to produce gasoline or diesel, and processing of biomass to produce electricity or transportation fuels, is minor.     

Energy balance and global warming potential of corn straw-based bioethanol in China from a life cycle perspective

As the second largest corn producer in this world, China has abundant corn straw resources. The study assessed the energy balance and global warming potential of corn straw-based bioethanol production and utilization in China from a life cycle perspective. The results revealed that bioethanol used as gasoline and diesel blend fuel could reduce global warming potential by 10%–97% and 4%–96%, respectively, as compared to gasoline and diesel for transport. The total global warming potential, net global warming potential, net energy, and Net Energy Ratio per MJ ethanol generated from corn straw-based bioethanol system are estimated to be 0.20 kg CO₂-eq, 0.012 kg CO₂-eq, 0.60 MJ, and 1.87, respectively. By using sensitivity analysis, we found that the collected coefficient and compressing density of straw have a more obvious influence on energy balance; transportation distance has a more obvious influence on global warming potential emission factor. The by-products may be utilized as fertilizer, animal feed, cement replacement, or high-value lignin chemicals, which make a contribution to offsetting 0.28 MJ per MJ ethanol of energy consumption.     

Optimization of membrane-based CO2-removal from natural gas using simple models considering both pressure and temperature effects

Simple models for permeability and selectivity variations of the CO₂/CH₄ system in 6FDA-2,6-DAT membrane have been derived that include both temperature and pressure effects simultaneously in a single equation. The proposed models were used in MATLAB, for a membrane-based CO₂-removal process design for natural gas sweetening. The effects of the following factors on design parameters were examined: feed temperature, feed pressure and permeate pressure. The effect of permeate pressure was found to be very significant in the optimization process. In order to reduce hydrocarbon losses to below 2%, a two-stage membrane process was modeled and simulated in MATLAB, and the extent of desired hydrocarbon recovery was shown to be crucial in the optimization process. It has also been shown that there exist minima for the total required area of the two-stage membrane-based process, and as the CO₂ load increases in the feed, the position of these minima shift to higher values of methane loss.     

Policy evaluation of vehicle exhaust standards in Japan from 1995 to 2005 based on two human health risk indices for air pollution and global warming

Measures for vehicle exhaust emissions aimed at reducing either air pollution or global warming could have counterproductive effects on one another. Increasing diesel passenger vehicles, which generally have lower CO₂ emissions than gasoline counterparts, leads to increasing particulate matter (PM) emissions, while gasoline has lower PM emissions than diesel. It is said that stringent limits on PM emission factors discourages improved CO₂ emission factors. Without including both effects in a risk evaluation, one cannot evaluate whether the total risk is reduced or not. Hence, we evaluated representative exhaust emission measures based on risk evaluation for both air pollution and global warming. Considering consumer choice between diesel and gasoline passenger vehicles and emissions standards adopted in Japan from 1995 to 2005, we built five cases for vehicle policy evaluation. For each case, we estimated disability-adjusted life years (DALY) as an index of human health risk caused by lung cancer linked to inhalation exposure of elemental carbon in PM as well as due to global warming linked to CO₂. The results of our risk evaluation reveal that the case adopting the 2005 new long-term Japanese emission standard reduces the human health risk caused by lung cancer due to air pollution by 0.6 × 10³ DALY, but would increase the risk due to global warming by 31.9 × 10³ DALY compared with the case of adopting EURO 4, for the same conditions of passenger vehicle choice from 1995. These results suggest that the characteristics of Japanese emissions standards are mainly designed to reduce air pollution.     

Changes in Microbial Community Structure and Soil Biological Properties in Mined Dune Areas During Re-vegetation

The aim of this study was to describe the impact of re-vegetation on the restoration of microbial community structure and soil microbiological properties in sand dunes that had been affected by mining activity. Soil samples were collected during the dry and rainy seasons from a chronosequence (1, 9, 21 years) of re-vegetated dunes using a single preserved dune as a reference. The composition of the fatty acid methyl esters and soil microbial properties were evaluated. The results showed that the changes in microbial community structure were related to seasonal variations: biomarkers of Gram-positive bacteria were higher than Gram-negative bacteria during the dry season, showing that this group of organisms is more tolerant to these stressful conditions. The microbial community structure in the natural dune was less affected by seasonal variation compared to the re-vegetated areas, whereas the opposite was observed for microbiological properties. Thus, in general, the proportion of saprobic fungi was higher in the natural dune, whereas Gram-negative bacteria were proportionally more common in the younger areas. Although over time the re-vegetation allows the recovery of the microbial community and the soil functions, these communities and functions are different from those found in the undisturbed areas.     

Effects of Recreational Impacts on Soil Microbial Communities

/ The functional diversity of soil microbial communities in heavilyimpacted subalpine campsites and adjacent undisturbed areas was comparedusing the Biolog method of carbon utilization profiles. Principal componentsanalysis of patterns and level of microbial activity indicate that microbialcommunities differentiate in response to disturbance in the top 6 cm of soil,while below 6 cm there were no recognizable differences between disturbed andundisturbed soil communities. Analysis of the factors that differentiate theupper microbial communities between disturbed and undisturbed sites revealedthat the percent of total carbon sources utilized was significantly less inthe disturbed (54%) than in undisturbed areas (95%). Carbonsubstrates important in the discrimination between soil communities includeplant, invertebrate, and microbial derivatives that could not be metabolizedby microbial communities from disturbed sites. Comparisons of totalculturable actinomycetes, bacteria, and fungi reveal no difference in overallnumber of colony forming units (CFU) on disturbed and undisturbed sites, buta marked decrease in actinomycetes on disturbed sites. Biolog andspread-plate data combined indicate a shift in the structure and function ofthe microbial community in campsite soils, which may be a useful indicator ofsoil community disturbance.KEY WORDS: Microbial functional diversity; Anthropogenic disturbance;Recreational impacts; Carbon source profile; Subalpine     

RESPONSES OF HETEROTHROPHIC BACTERIAL POPULATIONS TO pH CHANGES IN COAL ASH EFFLUENT1

ABSTRACT: Total culturable heterotrophic bacteria in a coal ash basin and drainage system were monitored over a period of two years. In the first year heavy (bottom) ash was sluiced to the basin resulting in a pH of 6.5. During the second year fly ash was precipitated and added to the sluice lowering the basin pH to 4.6. Sulfate concentrations during 1975 ranged from 16–73 ppm (mean 33) and in 1976 from 44–88 ppm (mean 72). Mean annual basin temperatures were 28.8 and 26.0 C, respectively. Approximately 1500 m in the receiving swamp below the basin, mean pH and temperature were 6.8 and 22.2 C for the first year, and 5.4 and 22.1 C for the second. Total culturable bacteria and diversity (colony types) were reduced at all sampling stations by 44 and 30 percent, respectively, whereas the percentage of the population comprised of chromagenic bacteria increased by 51 percent at the lower pH; Data indicated the pH had a greater effect than did water temperature when temperature was within the range of 15–25 C. The predominant genera within the system in the first year were Bacillus, Sarcina, Achromobacter, Flavobacterium, and Pseudomonas. In the second year, at the lower pH, predominant genera were Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, Chromobacterium, Bacillus, and Brevibacterium.     

Bacterial removal and protozoan grazing in biological sand filters

The objective of the study was to investigate the importance of protozoan predation as a biological removal mechanism in sand filters used for purification of bacteria from wastewater. Eleven sand filter columns were seeded with a high dose of wastewater (70 mm d(-1)) and a high concentration (10(8) colony forming units [CFU] mL(-1)) of Aeromonas hydrophila (American Type Culture Collection [ATCC] 14715) for a period of 30 d. Water samples from three filter outlets were analyzed for the concentration of A. hydrophila. In addition, one filter column was sacrificed each sampling day for the quantification of A. hydrophila, culturable bacteria (heterotrophic plate counts, HPC), total bacterial counts, and protozoa in the sand. The mean removal efficiency of A. hydrophila in the sand filter columns was 4.7 log units. The concentration of A. hydrophila in the sand filter effluent, however, had a clearly time-dependent pattern from high (log 6) and unstable concentrations to low and more stable levels (log 2). The removal efficiency of A. hydrophila correlated significantly (P = 0.0005, r2 = 0.6) with numbers of protozoa in the sand filters. Significantly higher (P < 0.05) concentrations of A. hydrophila were observed in sand filter effluents from columns treated with the protozoan inhibitor cycloheximide, compared with nontreated columns. Results from the present study show that protozoan grazing plays an important role as a bacterial removal mechanism in sand infiltration systems.     

Grey relation analysis of carbon dioxide emissions from industrial production and energy uses in Taiwan

This study aims to identify key factors affecting energy-induced CO₂emission changes from 34 industries in Taiwan, in order to have an integrated understanding of the industrial environmental-economic-energy performance and to provide insights for relevant policy making in Taiwan. Grey relation analysis was used in this paper to analyse how energy-induced CO₂emissions from 34 industries in Taiwan are affected by the factors: production, total energy consumption, coal, oil, gas and electricity uses. The methodology was modified by taking account of the evolutionary direction among relevant factors. Furthermore, tests of sensitivity and stability, which are seldom discussed in most grey relation analyses, were conducted to ensure the reliability of outcomes. We found that values ranging from 0·3 to 0·5 are appropriate, and the analytical results with value of 0·5 offer moderate distinguishing effects and good stability. Results indicate that industrial production has the closest relationship with aggregate CO₂emission changes; electricity consumption the second in importance. It reveals that the economy in Taiwan relied heavily on CO₂intensive industries, and that electricity consumption had become more important for economic growth. The relational order of fuels is electricity, coal, oil then gas, accordant with their CO₂emission coefficients in Taiwan. The positive relational grade of aggregate production implies that the aggregate industrial CO₂intensity tended to decline. The total energy consumption had a smaller and negative relational grade with CO₂emissions, and implies an improvement on aggregate energy intensity, while the CO₂emission coefficient increased. For industries with significant influence on CO₂emissions, the total energy consumption had the largest relational grades. It is important to reduce the energy intensity of these industries. Nevertheless, it is also critical to decouple energy consumption and production to reduce the impacts of CO₂mitigation on economic growth.     

对燃油征税的区域能源环境影响研究:以中国为例

控制汽柴油消费对中国的能源安全和环境保护有着重要意义.燃油税和碳税是中国近期两种主要的已经或可能施加于燃油的税收政策.以自回归分布滞后模型为核心,本研究构建了一个燃油税和碳税的区域能源环境影响评估模型.利用模型估计了我国的燃油需求价格弹性,测算了燃油需求响应,计算了在相同CO2减排目标下,提高汽油消费税、提高柴油消费税、引入碳税三种政策情景下各省份预计产生的节能效应、减排效应和税收效益.研究结果显示,在相同的CO2减排目标下,第一,在不同情景下,各省份节能程度差异均有限,但节能数量均体现出区域匹配性,燃油消费越多的省份,节能数量一般越多,且提高汽油消费税的全国节能总量最大;第二,在引入碳税情景下,各省份CO2减排比例差异最小;第三,在全国层面,三种政策情景中空气污染物(PM2.5和NOx和SO2)减排数量均为提高汽油消费税>引入碳税>提高柴油消费税,但在提高柴油消费税情景下,有4/5的省份预计PM2.5排放减少程度超过14%.除此之外,提高汽油消费税的税收收益最大.     

基于混合生命周期评价模型的我国食物系统水资源消耗及二氧化碳排放核算

食物生产不仅依赖水资源,同时产生大量二氧化碳排放,这种资源环境影响存在于食物系统整个产业链。为促进食物系统节水降碳,本文构建了包含5大类共23种具体食物部门的混合生命周期评价模型,对各类食物系统的完全水资源消耗和二氧化碳排放进行了核算与比较。结果表明：①不同食物的水资源消耗和二氧化碳排放差异明显,动物性食物的平均水资源消耗和二氧化碳排放强度分别为植物性食物的1.9 ～ 15.0倍和1.9 ～ 2.7倍;②食物系统直接和间接水资源消耗占比较为接近,但二氧化碳排放主要源自上游产业链的间接排放,占比高达80.9%;③食物系统间接水资源消耗主要来自农业部门,而间接碳排放主要来自电力生产和供应业、基础化工原料制造业、非金属矿产品行业和交通运输业;④从营养元素供给看,动物性食物提供蛋白质和脂肪的资源环境影响高于植物性食物,蔬菜和主食分别在提供维生素C和碳水化合物上具有最小的环境成本。基于本文结果,食物系统节水应主要提高生产环节用水效率,而降碳则主要依靠上游产业减排,特别是发电和化肥生产等行业的协同节水减碳潜力。同时,本文结果也可为未来基于环境影响制定膳食指南提供数据支撑。     

Use of Microbial Community to Evaluate Performance of a Wetland System in Treating Pb/Zn Mine Drainage

The performance of a wetland system in treating lead (Pb)/zinc (Zn) mine drainage was evaluated by using the polyurethane foam unit (PFU) microbial community (method), which has been adopted by China as a standardized procedure for monitoring water quality. The wetland system consisted of four cells with three dominant plants: Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis and Paspalum distichum. Physicochemical characteristics [pH, EC, content of total suspended solid (TSS) and metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu)] and PFU microbial community in water samples had been investigated from seven sampling sites. The results indicated that the concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, and TSS in the mine drainage were gradually reduced from the inlet to the outlet of the wetland system and 99%, 98%, 75%, 83%, and 68% of these metals and TSS respectively, had been reduced in concentration after the drainage passed through the wetland system. A total of 105 protozoan species were identified, the number of protozoa species and the diversity index (DI) gradually increased, while the heterotrophic index (HI) gradually decreased from the inlet to the outlet of the wetland system. The results indicated that DI, HI, and total number species of protozoa could be used as biological indicators indicating the improvement of water quality.     

Salmonella typhimurium survival and viability is unaltered by suspended particles in freshwater

Rolling microcosm experiments were conducted to determine whether suspended particles affect the survival and viability of a model pathogen, Salmonella choleraesuis, serotype typhimurium (American Type Culture Collection no. 23567), in a freshwater microbial community. Water from the Duluth, MN harbor of Lake Superior (including native microorganisms) was inoculated with clay, silt, or flocculent organic particles in a range of concentrations and a streptomycin-resistant strain of S. typhimurium. Microcosms (incubated at 20 degrees C) were rolled horizontally (3 rpm) and sampled periodically for total bacteria and total, viable, and culturable S. typhimurium. Total S. typhimurium abundance decreased rapidly in all experiments (8.5-73.1% d-1). Total bacteria did not decrease as rapidly as the S. typhimurium population in any experiment, suggesting that a microcosm effect was not responsible for the decline in S. typhimurium populations. Loss rates of attached and free cells were similar, indicating that attachment to particles did not enhance the persistence of Salmonella cells beyond our minimum detectable differences. After eight days, only 0.1 to 11.9% of the initial S. typhimurium inocula were detected by direct counts. Suspended particles had a minimal effect on the survival and viability of S. typhimurium; the losses of total, viable, or culturable Salmonella were generally the same across particle treatments and concentrations. Silt and flocculent particles affected loss rates of total and viable S. typhimurium similarly to inorganic particles (clay). It appears unlikely that suspended particles would provide a means for S. typhimurium to persist at hazardous levels in freshwater.     

Performance of a diesel engine with water emulsified diesel prepared with optimized process parameters

An attempt has been made to produce stable water–diesel emulsion with optimal formulation and process parameters and to evaluate the performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine using this stable water–diesel emulsion. A total of 54 samples were prepared with varying water/diesel ratio, surfactant amount and stirring speed and water separation was recorded after 24 and 48 hr of emulsification. The recorded data were used in artificial neural network (ANN)-particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique to find the optimal parameters to produce water–diesel emulsion for engine testing. The predicted optimal parameters were found as 20% water to diesel ratio, 0.9% surfactant and 2200 rpm of stirrer for a water separation of 14.33% in one day with a variation of 6.54% against the actual value of water separation. Water–diesel emulsion fuel exhibited similar fuel properties as base fuel. The peak cylinder gas pressure, peak pressure rise rate and peak heat release rate for water–diesel were found higher as compared to diesel at medium to full engine loads. The improved air-fuel mixing in water–diesel emulsion enhanced brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of engine. The absorption of heat by water droplets present in water–diesel emulsion led to reduced exhaust gas temperature (EGT). With water–diesel emulsion fuel, the mean carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emissions reduced by 8.80, 39.60, and 26.11%, respectively as compared to diesel.     

Evaluating Microbial Indicators of Environmental Condition in Oregon Rivers

Traditional bacterial indicators used in public health to assess water quality and the Biolog system were evaluated to compare their response to biological, chemical, and physical habitat indicators of stream condition both within the state of Oregon and among ecoregion aggregates (Coast Range, Willamette Valley, Cascades, and eastern Oregon). Forty-three randomly selected Oregon river sites were sampled during the summer in 1997 and 1998. The public health indicators included heterotrophic plate counts (HPC), total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC) and Escherichia coli (EC). Statewide, HPC correlated strongly with physical habitat (elevation, riparian complexity, % canopy presence, and indices of agriculture, pavement, road, pasture, and total disturbance) and chemistry (pH, dissolved O2, specific conductance, acid-neutralizing capacity, dissolved organic carbon, total N, total P, SiO2, and SO4). FC and EC were significantly correlated generally with the river chemistry indicators. TC bacteria significantly correlated with riparian complexity, road disturbance, dissolved O2, and SiO2 and FC. Analyzing the sites by ecoregion, eastern Oregon was characterized by high HPC, FC, EC, nutrient loads, and indices of human disturbance, whereas the Cascades ecoregion had correspondingly low counts of these indicators. The Coast Range and Willamette Valley presented inconsistent indicator patterns that are more difficult to characterize. Attempts to distinguish between ecoregions with the Biolog system were not successful, nor did a statistical pattern emerge between the first five principle components and the other environmental indicators. Our research suggests that some traditional public health microbial indicators may be useful in measuring the environmental condition of lotic systems.     

Analysis of emission reduction in ethyne–biodiesel-aspirated diesel engine

The present experimental work investigates the use of ethyne gas in biodiesel-fueled diesel engine at different flow rate of 1, 2, and 3 L/min and is compared with diesel operation. This work is aimed to examine the outcome of ethyne gas by dual-fuel operation on emission characteristics of neat biodiesel-fueled stationary diesel engine. The oil derived from mustard seeds are employed as a source for biodiesel. The work was carried out at 2100 rpm (speed) and at an optimal compression ratio of 17. Based on the outcome of this investigation, the maximum reduction in hydrocarbon (25.1%), carbon monoxide (17.24%), and smoke emission (24.8%) was observed for biodiesel–ethyne at 3 L/min than the neat biodiesel. However, NO_x emissions were found to be 15.8% higher for ethyne–biodiesel fueling at 3 L/min owing to increase in combustion gas temperature than neat biodiesel.