Fine particulate matter (PM2.5/PM1.0) in Beijing, China: Variations and chemical compositions as well as sources

Particulate matter (i.e., PM_1.0 and PM_2.5), considered as the key atmospheric pollutants, exerts negative effects on visibility, global climate, and human health by associated chemical compositions. However, our understanding of PM and its chemical compositions in Beijing under the current atmospheric environment is still not complete after witnessing marked alleviation during 2013–2017. Continuous measurements can be crucial for further air quality improvement by better characterizing PM pollution and chemical compositions in Beijing. Here, we conducted simultaneous measurements on PM in Beijing during 2018–2019. Results indicate that annual mean PM_1.0 and PM_2.5 concentrations were 35.49 ± 18.61 µg/m³ and 66.58 ± 60.17 µg/m³, showing a positive response to emission controls. The contribution of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium (SNA) played an enhanced role with elevated PM loading and acted as the main contributors to pollution episodes. Discrepancies observed among chemical species between PM_1.0 and PM_2.5 in spring suggest that sand particles trend to accumulate in the range of 1–2.5 µm. Pollution episodes occurred accompanied with southerly clusters and high formation of SNA by heterogeneous reactions in summer and winter, respectively. Results from positive matrix factorization (PMF) combined with potential source contribution function (PSCF) models showed that potential areas were seasonal dependent, secondary and vehicular sources became much more important compared with previous studies in Beijing. Our study presented a continuous investigation on PM and sources origins in Beijing, which provides a better understanding for further emission control as well as a reference for other cities in developing countries.     

The simultaneous removal of ammonium and manganese from surface water by MeOx: Side effect of ammonium presence on manganese removal

Manganese and ammonium pollution in surface water sources has become a serious issue.In this study, a pilot-scale filtration system was used to investigate the effect of ammonium on manganese removal during the simultaneous removal of ammonium and manganese from surface water using a manganese co-oxide filter film(MeO_x ). The results showed that the manganese removal efficiency of MeO_x in the absence of ammonium was high and stable, and the removal efficiency could reach 70% even at 5.5 °C. When the influent ammonium concentration was lower than 0.7 mg/L, ammonium and manganese could be removed simultaneously. However, at an ammonium concentration of 1.5 mg/L, the manganese removal efficiency of the filter gradually decreased with time(from 96% to 46.20%). Nevertheless, there was no impact of manganese on ammonium removal. The mechanism by which ammonium negatively affected manganese removal was investigated, demonstrating that ammonium affected manganese removal mainly through two possible mechanisms. On one hand, the decreased p H caused by ammonium oxidation was unfavorable for the oxidation of manganese by MeO_x ; on the other hand, the presence of ammonium slowed the growth of new MeO_x and retarded the increase in the specific surface area of the Me Ox-coated sand, and induced changes in the morphology and crystal structure of Me Ox. Consequently, the manganese removal efficiency of the filter decreased when ammonium was present in the inlet water.     

Sorption mechanism of naphthalene by diesel soot: Insight from displacement with phenanthrene/p-nitrophenol

The nonlinear sorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) could be changed to linear sorption by the suppression of coexisting solutes in natural system, resulting in the enhancement of mobility, bioavailability and risks of HOCs in the environment. In previous study, inspired from the competitive adsorption on activated carbon (AC), the displaceable fraction of HOCs sorption to soot by competitor was attributed to the adsorption on elemental carbon fraction of soot (EC-Soot), while the linear and nondisplaceable fraction was attributed to the partition in authigenic organic matter of soot (OM-Soot). In this study, however, we observed that the linear and nondisplaceable fraction of HOC (naphthalene) to a diesel soot (D-Soot) by competitor (phenanthrene or p-nitrophenol) should be attributed to not only the linear partition in OM-Soot, but also the residual linear adsorption on EC-Soot. We also observed that the competition on the surface of soot dominated by external surface was different from that of AC dominated by micropore surface, i.e., complete displacement of HOCs by p-nitrophenol could occur for the micropore surface of AC, but not for the external surface of soot. These observations were obtained through the separation of EC-Soot and OM-Soot from D-Soot with organic-solvent extraction and the sorption comparisons of D-Soot with an AC (ACF300) and a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT30). The obtained results would give new insights to the sorption mechanisms of HOCs by soot and help to assess their environmental risks.     

过敏与非过敏儿童室内PM2.5的细胞毒性比较研究

流行病学研究表明,空气细颗粒污染物(PM_(2.5))的暴露与过敏性疾病有一定的联系;然而,PM_(2.5)暴露与过敏性疾病之间的关系尚未完全阐明,特别是室内环境中PM_(2.5)涉及到过敏或非过敏的作用不详.为了比较研究过敏与非过敏儿童室内PM_(2.5)的细胞毒性,在武汉市洪山区10户家庭室内进行了为期3个月的采样,分别收集过敏与非过敏儿童的室内PM_(2.5).采用有机/元素碳测定仪对二者PM_(2.5)成分中的含碳组分进行了分析,并通过检测昆明小鼠巨噬细胞的形态及吞噬功能影响、细胞活力、乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)漏出率等指标,来检测PM_(2.5)暴露所致的细胞毒性.结果表明,高剂量(200μg·mL~(-1))PM_(2.5)暴露对小鼠巨噬细胞的形态及吞噬功能会产生不利的影响;与非过敏儿童的室内PM_(2.5)暴露组相比,过敏儿童的室内PM_(2.5)暴露组诱导巨噬细胞产生的毒性作用更明显.细胞体外测试结果提示:在相同PM_(2.5)暴露剂量下,引起儿童过敏症的室内PM_(2.5)成分具有重要影响.     

Upgrading of organic waste: production of the copolymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate by Ralstonia eutrophus with organic waste as sole carbon source

Two types of fermented organic waste (trade and industry waste and fruit and vegetable waste) were successfully used as a sole carbon source to produce poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) by Ralstonia eutrophus (formerly Alcaligenes eutrophus) via oxygen limitation.The production of PHBV could be optimized by optimizing the oxygen transfer through the fermentor. Thereby, a peak concentration of 1.1 g PHBV per liter cell suspension, 40 w% of cell dry weight, was obtained at an aeration rate of 0.24 mol O₂/h·kg biomass. The yield of PHBV on the fatty acid concentration in the organic waste was 0.16 g polymer/g volatile organic matter. The process obtained, compares well with the commercial production process of PHBV based on glucose.