Contributions of root cell wall polysaccharides to Cu sequestration in castor (Ricinus communis L.) exposed to different Cu stresses

Cell wall polysaccharides play a vital role in binding with toxic metals such as copper(Cu)ions.However, it is still unclear whether the major binding site of Cu in the cell wall varies with different degrees of Cu stresses.Moreover, the contribution of each cell wall polysaccharide fraction to Cu sequestration with different degrees of Cu stresses also remains to be verified.The distribution of Cu in cell wall polysaccharide fractions of castor(Ricinus communis L.) root was investigated with various Cu concentrations in the hydroponic experiment.The results showed that the hemicellulose1(HC1) fraction fixed 44.9%–67.8% of the total cell wall Cu under Cu stress.In addition, the pectin fraction and hemicelluloses2(HC2) fraction also contributed to the Cu binding in root cell wall,accounting for 11.0%–25.9% and 14.1%–26.6% of the total cell wall Cu under Cu treatments, respectively.When the Cu levels were ≤ 25 μmol/L, pectin and HC2 contributed equally to Cu storage in root cell wall.However, when the Cu level was higher than 25 μmol/L, the ability of the pectin to bind Cu was easy to reach saturation.Much more Cu ions were bound on HC1 and HC2 fractions, and the HC2 played a much more important role in Cu binding than pectin.Combining fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) and twodimensional correlation analysis(2 D-COS) techniques, the hemicellulose components were showed not only to accumulate most of Cu in cell wall, but also respond fastest to Cu stress.     

New mechanism of FA in composted sludge inducing Cu fixation on Albite in open-pit mine soil

Fulvic acid (FA), typical organic matter derived from humification process in composted sludge, possesses the potential to remediate mine soils contaminated by heavy metals. To understand the cooper (Cu) immobilizing process in open-pit mine soil induced by FA, changes of Cu speciation in mixture of open-pit mine soil and composted sludge was tracked over 180 days. It was observed that the organic-bound and residual fraction of Cu increased dramatically with the corresponding decrease of Fe/Mn oxide-bound Cu in the first 60 days, then the organic-bound fraction decreased to about its initial proportion during 60-120 days, while residual fraction still increased, and the proportion of residual Cu accounted for over 85% and became stable after 120 days. To reveal the mechanism of FA inducing Cu fixation on Albite which is the main phase of soil primary ore, two groups of Cu adsorption experiments with and without FA were designed. With the addition of FA, the adsorption capacity of Cu by Albite increased by 1.55 times and the content of residual Cu in Albite increased by 7.7 times. It was found that the Cu absorbed in smaller Albite particle induced by FA formed a secondary mineral——Chrysocolla, causing increase of residual fraction of Cu. These results revealed the mechanism: FA was absorbed on the surface of Albite after complexing with Cu ions in the solution, and then it induced Cu into the interlayer and pore channels of Albite. The Cu in the Albite was immobilized by forming Chrysocolla finally.     

Release behavior of copper and zinc from sandy soils

The concentrations and chemical forms of copper(Cu) and zinc(Zn) in surface soils directly influence the movement of Cu and Zn. In this study, thirteen sandy soil samples with a wide range of total Cu and Zn concentrations were collected for evaluating the relationships between Cu and Zn release and extraction time, ratio of soil to water, pH and electro;yte types. The results indicated that Cu released in batch extraction that represents long-term leaching was mainly from exchangeable, and carbonate bound Cu fractions, and Zn released in the batch extraction was mainly from its carbonate bound fraction. However, the Cu and Zn leached from the soils using the column leaching that represents short-term leaching were mainly from their exchangeable fractions. Soil column leaching at different pH values indicated that the amounts of leached Zn and Cu were greatly affected by pH. The Cu and Zn release experiments with varying extraction times and ratio of soil to water suggest that long-term water-logging in the soils after rain may increase contact time of the soils with water and the release of Cu and Zn to water from the soils, and total amounts of Cu or Zn released from the soils increase, but the Cu or Zn concentration in the surface runoff decrease with increasing rainfall intensity. The increased Ca concentration in soil solution increased stability of organic matter-mineral complexes and might decrease the dissolution of organic matter, and thus decreased the release of Cu-binding component of organic matter. However, high concentration of Na in the soil solution increased the dispersion of the organic matter-mineral complexes and increased dissolution of organic matter and the release of Cu from the soils.     

Efficient low-temperature soot combustion by bimetallic Ag–Cu/SBA-15 catalysts

In this study, the effects of copper(Cu) additive on the catalytic performance of Ag/SBA-15 in complete soot combustion were investigated. The soot combustion performance of bimetallic Ag–Cu/SBA-15 catalysts was higher than that of monometallic Ag and Cu catalysts. The optimum catalytic performance was acquired with the 5 Ag_1-Cu_(0.1)/SBA-15 catalyst, on which the soot combustion starts at T_(ig)= 225°C with a T_(50)= 285°C. The temperature for 50% of soot combustion was lower than that of conventional Ag-based catalysts to more than 50°C(Aneggi et al., 2009). Physicochemical characterizations of the catalysts indicated that addition of Cu into Ag could form smaller bimetallic Ag–Cu nanolloy particles, downsizing the mean particle size from 3.7 nm in monometallic catalyst to 2.6 nm in bimetallic Ag–Cu catalyst. Further experiments revealed that Ag and Cu species elicited synergistic effects, subsequently increasing the content of surface active oxygen species. As a result, the structure modifications of Ag by the addition of Cu strongly intensified the catalytic performance.     

Influences of petroleum on accumulation of copper and cadmium in the polychaete Nereis diversicolor

Using the exposure simulation experiment, the action of petroleum affecting the accumulation of the trace metals including copper （Cu） and cadmium （Cd） in littoral polychaete Nereis diversicolor collected from the Shuangtaizi Estuary in Liaoning Province, China was examined. The results showed that there was a markedly non-linear relationship between the accumulation of Cu in worms and the experimental concentration of Cu in exposure solutions when the concentration of petroleum remained at 0, 100, and 220 μl/L, respectively. However, significantly non-linear relationship for worms exposed to Cd was observed only when the concentration of added petroleum was 0 and 220 μl/L. The accumulation of Cu in worms did not differ significantly among the three different levels of petroleum concentrations combined with various concentrations of Cu. So was the accumulation of Cd in worms （p〉0.05）. However, the addition of petroleum in exposure solutions brought about an increase in the accumulation of Cu in Nereis diversicolor, in comparison with single Cu pollution. On the other hand, when the concentration of added petroleum remained at 100 μl/L, the accumulation of Cd in worms was lower than that in worms exposed to various concentrations of only cadmium. However, the worms exposed to Cd and petroleum 220 μl/L did not show obvious and identical increase in the accumulation of Cd, compared with single Cd exposure. The accumulation of both Cu and Cd in worms did not increase significantly with the increases in concentrations of Cu or Cd in exposure solutions combined with petroleum （0, 100, and 220μl/L） under the experimental conditions. Although Nereis diversicolor is exposed to very high Cu and Cd in exposure solutions, accumulation and detoxification mechanisms are sufficient to cope with the extra metal influx in order to survive.     

Metal loaded zeolite adsorbents for hydrogen cyanide removal

Metal(Cu,Co,or Zn) loaded ZSM-5 and Y zeolite adsorbents were prepared for the adsorption of hydrogen cyanide(HCN) toxic gas.The results showed that the HCN breakthrough capacity was enhanced significantly when zeolites were loaded with Cu.The physical and chemical properties of the adsorbents that influence the HCN adsorption capacity were analyzed.The maximal HCN breakthrough capacities were about the same for both zeolites at 2.2 mol of HCN/mol of Cu.The Cu2p XPS spectra showed that the possible species present were Cu2O and CuO.The N1s XPS data and FT-IR spectra indicated that CNwould be formed in the presence of Cu+/Cu2+ and oxygen gas,and the reaction product could be adsorbed onto Cu/ZSM-5 zeolite more easily than HCN.     

Biosorption of Cu(II) on extracellular polymers from Bacillus sp. F19

Biosorption can be an effective process for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. The adsorption of Cu(Ⅱ) from aqueous solution on the extracellular polymers (EPS) from Bacillus sp. (named MBFF19) with respect to pH, incubation time,concentration of initial Cu(Ⅱ), and biosorbent dose was studied. Biosorption of Cu(Ⅱ) is highly pH dependent. The maximum uptake of Cu(Ⅱ) (89.62 mg/g) was obtained at pH 4.8. Biosorption equilibrium was established in approximately 10 min. The correlation coefficient of more than 0.90 turned out that the adsorption process of Cu(Ⅱ) on MBFF19 was in accordance with both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The pseudo-first and second order models were applied to examine the kinetics of the adsorption, whereas the latter was found to be in harmony with the kinetic data better. Because of the outstanding uptake capacity of Cu(Ⅱ), MBFF19 produced by Bacillus sp. was proved to be an excellent biosorbent for removing Cu(Ⅱ) from aqueous solutions.     

Biosorption of Cu(Ⅱ) on extracellular polymers from Bacillus sp.F19

Biosorption can be an effective process for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions.The adsorption of Cu(Ⅱ) from aqueous solution on the extracellular polymers (EPS) from Bacillus sp.(named MBFF19) with respect to pH,incubation time,concentration of initial Cu(Ⅱ),and biosorbent dose was studied.Biosorption of Cu(Ⅱ) is highly pH dependent.The maximum uptake of Cu(Ⅱ) (89.62 mg/g) was obtained at pH 4.8.Biosorption equilibrium was established in approximately 10 min.The correlation coeffcient of mor...     

Cu-Mn-Ce ternary mixed-oxide catalysts for catalytic combustion of toluene

Cu–Mn, Cu–Mn–Ce, and Cu–Ce mixed-oxide catalysts were prepared by a citric acid sol–gel method and then characterized by XRD, BET, H_2-TPR and XPS analyses. Their catalytic properties were investigated in the toluene combustion reaction. Results showed that the Cu–Mn–Ce ternary mixed-oxide catalyst with 1:2:4 mole ratios had the highest catalytic activity, and 99% toluene conversion was achieved at temperatures below 220°C. In the Cu–Mn–Ce catalyst, a portion of Cu and Mn species entered into the Ce O_2 fluorite lattice, which led to the formation of a ceria-based solid solution. Excess Cu and Mn oxides existed on the surface of the ceria-based solid solution. The coexistence of Cu–Mn mixed oxides and the ceria-based solid solution resulted in a better synergetic interaction than the Cu–Mn and Cu–Ce catalysts, which promoted catalyst reducibility, increased oxygen mobility, and enhanced the formation of abundant active oxygen species.     

Accumulation of cadmium and copper by female Oxya chinensis(Orthopera: Acridoidea) in soil-plant-insect system

One purpose of this research is to present accumulation of cadmium （Cd） and copper （Cu） by female Oxya chinensis （Orthopera： Acridoidea） in a simulated soil-plant-insect ecosystem treated with Cd. Fourth-instar nymphs of O. chinensis had been fed on wheat （Triticurn aestivum） seedlings contaminated with Cd and Cu for one month. In the ecosystem, the Cd concentration in wheat seedlings rose greatly with the increasing of Cd in the soil, but the Cu concentration in wheat seedlings was not found elevated. There was a highly significant difference（P〈0.05） in Cd concentrations of wheat seedlings and not any significant difference（P〉0.05） in Cu concentrations of wheat seedlings. The Cd and Cu concentration in different body part-head, thorax, abdomen, and hind femur, varied under different Cd concentrations in soil. There were significant differences （P〈0.05） in the four parts of Cd and Cu accumulations with all treatments. The order of Cd accumulation was thorax 〉abdomen 〉head 〉hind femur and the Cu was abdomen 〉thorax 〉 head〉hind femur. The results indicated that Cd and Cu were accumulated from the soil to grasshoppers through the plant; that is to say, Cd and Cu in environment could be transported to animal or human via food chain.     

Contribution of additives Cu to its accumulation in pig feces： study in Beijing and Fuxin of China

Massive amounts of pig manure are produced by intensive pig farm in China, and the composition of pig manure has changed much due to the use of feed additives. However, little is known about the exact Cu （copper） feed as additives or present as contaminants in pig feed and the residues in feces. One hundred and thirty-seven feeds and one hundred and forty-two fecal samples from 48 pig farms were collected in Beijing and Fuxin cities in 1999 and 2005, respectively. The concentrations of Cu were in the range of 6.86-395.19 mg/kg in the feed samples, and the mean values were in the order of weaner〉 grower-finisher〉 sow＇s feeds. The high concentrations over EU recommendations implied that excessive levels of Cu are fed on many pig farms in Beijing and Fuxin. Cu was also present in high concentrations in feces, and concentrations were highly variable. Cu concentrations in the feces from grower-finisher and weaner pigs were significantly greater than feces of sows. The super-intensive and small-scale farms had higher levels of Cu in feces than the middle farms. Cu concentrations in pig feces were approximately 5-times greater than in pig feeds. Feed management in grower-finisher pigs on super-intensive and small-scale pig farms is needed to reduce high Cu concentrations in feces and risks to soil contamination while feces are land-applied.     

Heavy metals in surface sediments from Minjiang Esturary—Mazu and Xiamen—Jinmen sea areas

The concentrations of Cu,Pb, Zn and Cd in surface sediments from Minjang Estuary-Mazu and Ziamen-Jinmen sea areas of China were investigated during 1995-1996.The concentration ranges of Cu,Pb ,Zn and Cd in the Minjiang Estuary-Mazu sea area were 16.4-37.2,33.4-69.6,92.1-128,0.087-0.036mg/kg(dry wt.),respectively; those for Xiamen-Jinmen sea area were 11.0-24.5,36.0-80.3,77.5-161,0.135-0.285mg/kg(dry wt.), respectively.The concentration and distributions of Cu,Pb,Zn and Cd in surface sediments of Minjiang Estuary-Mazu and Xiamen-Jinmen sea areas were analyzed and evaluated.The results showed that the values of Zn and Pb exceeded those of sediment quality criteria.The average concentration of Cu in Minjiang Estuary-Mazu sea area was higher than that in Xiamen-Jinmen sea area.The obviously higher concentrations of Cu,Pb, Zn and Cd were found at outlets of Minjiang and Jiulong River.From the estuaries to open sea, the concentrations of Cu, Pb,Zn and Cd had a decreasing trend, and then elevated in the sea areas near Mazu and Jinmen, suggesting that Cu,Pb,Zn and Cd in Minjiang Estuary-Mazu and Xiamen-Jinmen sea areas may come from both the mainland and Taiwan of China.     

Influences of excessive Cu on photosynthesis and growth in ectomycorrhizal Pinus sylvestris seedlings

Growth and photosynthesis responses were measured for Scots pine( Pinus sylvestris L. cv. ) inoculated with ectomycorrhizal fungi ( Suillus bovinus ) under 6.5 and 25 mg/L Cu treatments to evaluate ectomycorrhizal seedlings‘ tolerance to heavy metal stress. Results showed that excessive Cu can significantly impair the growth and photosynthesis of pine seedlings, but such impairment is much smaller to the ectomycorrhizal seedlings. Under 25mg/L Cu treatment, the dry weight of ectomycorrhizal seedlings is 25% lower than the control in contrary to 53% of the non-mycorrhizal seedlings, and the fresh weight of ectomycorrhizal roots was significantly higher than those of non-mycorrhizal roots, about 25% and 42% higher at 6.5 and 25 mg/L Cu treatments respectively. Furthermore,ectomycorrhizal fungi induced remarkable difference in the growth rate and pigment content of seedlings under excessive Cu stress. At 2.5 mg/L Cu, the contents of total chlorophyll, chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b were 30% higher in ectomycorrhizal plants than those in non-mycorrhizal plants. O2 evolution and electron transport of PSI and PSII were restrained by elevated Cu stress. However, no significant improvement was observed in reducing the physiological restraining in ectomycorrhizal seedlings over the non-mycorrhizal ones.     

Adsorption characteristics of copper, lead, zinc and cadmium ions by tourmaline

The adsorption characteristics of heavy metals： Cu（Ⅱ）, Pb（Ⅱ）, Zn（Ⅱ） and Cd（Ⅱ） ions on tourmaline were studied. Adsorption equilibrium was established. The adsorption isotherms of all the four metal ions followed well Langmuir equation. Tourmaline was found to remove heavy metal ions efficiently from aqueous solution with selectivity in the order of Pb（Ⅱ）〉Cu（Ⅱ）〉Cd（Ⅱ）〉Zn（Ⅱ）. The adsorption of metal ions by tourmaline increased with the initial concentration of metal ions increasing in the medium. Tourmaline could also increase pH value of metal solution.The maximum heavy metal ions adsorbed by tourmaline was found to be 78.86, 154.08, 67.25, and 66.67 mg/g for Cu（Ⅱ）, Pb（U）, Zn（Ⅱ） and Cd（U）, respectively. The temperature （25-55℃） had a small effect on the adsorption capacity of tourmaline. Competitive adsorption of Cu（Ⅱ）, Pb（Ⅱ）, Zn（Ⅱ） and Cd（Ⅱ） ions was also studied. The adsorption capacity of tourmaline for single metal decreased in the order of Pb〉Cu〉Zn 〉Cd and inhibition dominance observed in two metal systems was Pb〉Cu, Pb〉Zn, Pb〉Cd, Cu〉Zn, Cu〉Cd, and Cd〉Zn.     

Removal of Cu(II) from acidic electroplating effluent by biochars generated from crop straws

The removal efficiency of copper(Cu(Ⅱ)) from an actual acidic electroplating effluent by biochars generated from canola,rice,soybean and peanut straws was investigated.The biochars simultaneously removed Cu(Ⅱ) from the effluent,mainly through the mechanisms of adsorption and precipitation,and neutralized its acidity.The removal efficiency of Cu(Ⅱ) by the biochars followed the order:peanut straw char > soybean straw char > canola straw char > rice straw char a commercial activated carbonaceous material,which is consistent with the alkalinity of the biochars.The pH of the effluent was a key factor determining the removal efficiency of Cu(Ⅱ) by biochars.Raising the initial pH of the effluent enhanced the removal of Cu(Ⅱ) from it.The optimum pyrolysis temperature was 400°C for producing biochar from crop straws for acidic wastewater treatment,and the optimum reaction time was 8 hr.     

Application of enriched stable isotope technique to the study of copper bioavailability in Daphnia magna

The biokinetics of Cu in Daphnia magna, including dissolved uptake, assimilation and e ux, has been determined using a gamma 67Cu radiotracer methodology. However, this gamma emitting radioisotope is not readily available due to its very short half-life. In the present study, we employed a stable isotope tracer (65Cu) to determine the Cu biokinetics and compared our results to those determined using 67Cu. The dissolved uptake rate constant of 65Cu was 3.36 L/(g day), which is higher than that of 67Cu (1.32 L/(g day)). With increasing food concentrations from 2 104 to 1 105 cells/mL, the Cu assimilation e ciency (AE) decreased from 46% to 11%, compared to a decrease from 27% to 16% when determined using 67Cu. The e ux of Cu from Daphnia magna was quantified following both dissolved and dietary uptake. The e ux of waterborne Cu was comparable to that of dietborne Cu and the e ux rate constant (0.32–0.52 day??1) was higher than that determined by 67Cu (0.19–0.20 day??1). By considering di erent water properties and handling procedure between the two experiments, we believe that these di erences are reasonable. Overall, this study demonstrated that the enriched stable isotope tracer technique is a powerful tool to investigate metal bioavailability and maybe a good alternative to radioactive measurements.     

Does copper reduce cadmium uptake by different rice genotypes？

A hydroponics experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of copper （Cu） on cadmium （Cd）, calcium （Ca）, iron （Fe）, and zinc （Zn） uptake by several rice genotypes. The experiment was carried out as a 2×2×4 factorial with four rice genotypes and two levels of Cu and Cd in nutrient solution. Plants were grown in a growth chamber with controlled environment. The results showed a significant difference between the biomass of different rice genotypes （P 〈 0.001）. The Cd and Cu concentration in the solution had no significant effect on the biomass. The addition of Cu significantly decreased Cd uptake by shoots and roots of rice （P 〈 0.001）. The Cd concentration did not significantly influence Ca uptake by plants, whereas the Cu concentration did （P = 0.034）. There was a significant influence of Cd on Fe uptake by shoots and roots （P 〈 0.001, P = 0.003, respectively）. Zn uptake decreased significantly as the addition of Cd and Cu increased in shoots. We concluded that Cu had significant influence on Cd uptake. The possible mechanisms were discussed.     

Single and multiple stressor effect of road deicers and Cu on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) alevins from hatching till swim-up

Road salts are frequently used for deicing of roads in the Nordic countries. During snow-melt, the road run-off containing high concentrations of road salt and various metals such as Cu remobilized from sand, silt and dust may negatively influence organisms in downstream receiving water bodies. The present work focuses on the impact of road salt(NaCl) and Cu, separately and in mixtures on Atlantic salmon alevins from hatching till swim-up. The results showed that high road salt concentrations could induce a series of negative effects in alevins such as reduced growth, deformities, delayed swim-up and mortality. For alevins exposed to all tested road salt concentrations(100–1000 mg/L),mortality was significantly higher compared to control. In exposure to Cu solutions(5–20 μg Cu/L), no effects on growth, morphology, swim-up or mortality of alevins compared to control were observed. In mixture solutions(road salt and Cu), ultrafiltration of the exposure water demonstrated that only 20%–40% of Cu was present as positively charged low molecular mass(LMM) Cu species assumed to be bioavailable. When exposed to road salt and Cu mixtures, negative effects in alevins such as reduced growth, deformities,delayed swim-up and mortality were observed. The overall results indicated that the road salt application could seriously affect sensitive life stages of Atlantic salmon, and application of road salt should be avoided during the late winter–early spring period.     

Changes of Cu, Zn, and Cd speciation in sewage sludge during composting

The potential toxicity risks from heavy metals depend on their chemical speciation. The four stages of the Tessier sequential extraction method were employed to investigate changes in heavy metal speciation （Cu, Zn, and Cd） of sewage sludge during forced aeration composting, and then to identify whether the composting process would reduce or enhance their toxicities. Throughout the composting process, the exchangeable, carbonate-bound, Fe-Mn oxide-bound, and organic matter-bound fractions of Cu were converted to the residual Cu fraction. The organic matter-bound Cu fraction greatly contributed to this transformation. Residual Zn fraction was transformed to the Fe-Mn oxide-bound and organic matter-bound fractions after composting. The residual Zn fraction was a major contributor to the organic matter-bound Zn fraction. The availability of Cu and Zn was reduced by composting such that the risk of heavy metal toxicity decreased with prolonged treatment times. Additionally, attention should be paid to the increased availability of Cd in sewage sludge after composting treatment.     

Combined effects of adsorption and photocatalysis by hybrid TiO2/ZnO-calcium alginate beads for the removal of copper

The use of nanosized titanium dioxide(TiO_2) and zinc oxide(ZnO) in the suspension form during treatment makes the recovering and recycling of photocatalysts difficult.Hence,supported photocatalysts are preferred for practical water treatment applications.This study was conducted to investigate the efficiency of calcium alginate(CaAlg) beads that were immobilized with hybrid photocatalysts,TiO_2/ZnO to form TiO_2/ZnO-CaAlg.These immobilized beads,with three different mass ratios of TiO_2:ZnO(1:1,1:2,and 2:1) were used to remove Cu(Ⅱ) in aqueous solutions in the presence of ultraviolet light.These beads were subjected to three cycles of photocatalytic treatment with different initial Cu(Ⅱ) concentrations(10-80 ppm).EDX spectra have confirmed the inclusion of Ti and Zn on the surface of the CaAlg beads.Meanwhile,the surface morphology of the beads as determined using SEM,has indicated differences of before and after the photocatalytic treatment of Cu(Ⅱ).Among all three,the equivalent mass ratio TiO_2/ZnO-CaAlg beads have shown the best performance in removing Cu(Ⅱ) during all three recycling experiments.Those TiO_2/ZnO-CaAlg beads have also shown consistent removal of Cu,ranging from 7.14-52.0 ppm(first cycle) for initial concentrations of10-80 ppm.In comparison,bare CaAlg was only able to remove 6.9-48 ppm of similar initial Cu concentrations.Thus,the potential use of TiO_2/ZnO-CaAlg beads as environmentally friendly composite material can be further extended for heavy metal removal from contaminated water.