BTEX pollution caused by motorcycles in the megacity of HoChiMinh

Monitoring of benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTEX) was conducted along with traffic counts at 17 roadside sites in urban areas of HoChiMinh. Toluene was the most abundant substance, followed by p,m-xylenes, benzene, o-xylene and ethylbenzene. The maximum observed hour-average benzene concentration was 254 μg/m3 . Motorcycles contributed to 91% of the traffic fleet. High correlations among BTEX species, between BTEX concentrations and the volume of on-road motorcycles, and between inter-species ratios in air and in gasoline indicate the motorcycle-exhaust origin of BTEX species. Daily concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, p,m-xylenes and o-xylene were 56, 121, 21, 64 and 23 μg/m 3 , respectively. p,m-xylenes possess the highest ozone formation potential among the BTEX family.     

Serious BTEX pollution in rural area of the North China Plain during winter season

Atmospheric BTEX compounds(benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) in a rural site of the North China Plain(NCP) were preliminarily investigated in winter, and the outdoor concentrations(25.8–236.0 μg/m3) were found to be much higher than those reported in urban regions. The pollution of BTEX inside a farmer's house was even more serious, with combined concentrations of 254.5–1552.9 μg/m3. Based on the ratio of benzene to toluene(1.17 ± 0.34) measured, the serious BTEX pollution in the rural site was mainly ascribed to domestic coal combustion for heating during the winter season. With the enhancement of farmers' incomes in recent years, coal consumption by farmers in the NCP is rapidly increasing to keep their houses warm, and hence the serious air pollution in rural areas of the NCP during winter, including BTEX, should be paid great attention.     

Remote sensing of the urban heat island and its changes in Xiamen City of SE China

World-wide urbanization has significantly modified the landscape, which has important climatic implications across all scales due to the simultaneous removal of natural land cover and introduction of urban materials. This resulted in a phenomenon known as an urban heat island(UHI). A study on the UHI in Xiamen of China was carried out using remote sensing technology. Satellite thermal infrared images were used to determine surface radiant temperatures. Thermal remote sensing data were obtained from band 6 of two Landsat TM/ETM^ images of 1989 and 2000 to observe the UHI changes over l l-year period. The thermal infrared bands were processed through several image enhancement technologies. This generated two 3-dimension-perspective images of Xiamen‘s urban heat island in 1989 and 2000, respectively, and revealed heat characteristics and spatial distribution features of the UHI. To find out the change of the UHI between 1989 and 2000, the two thermal images were first normalized and scaled to seven grades to reduce seasonal difference and then overlaid to produce a difference image by subtracting corresponding pixels. The difference image showed an evident development of the urban heat island in the 11 years. This change was due largely to the urban expansion with a consequent alteration in the ratio of sensible heat flux to latent heat flux. To quantitatively compare UHI, an index called Urban-Heat-Island Ratio Index(URI) was created. It can reveal the intensity of the UHI within the urban area. The calculation of the index was based on the ratio of UHI area to urban area. The greater the index, the more intense the UHI was. The calculation of the index for the Xiamen City indicated that the ratio of UHI area to urban area in 2000 was less than that in 1989. High temperatures in several areas in 1989 were reduced or just disappeared, such as those in old downtown area and Gulangyu lsland. For the potential mitigation of the UHI in Xiamen, a long-term heat island reduction strategy of planting shade trees and using light-colored, highly reflective roof and paving materials should be included in the plans of the city planers, environmental managers and other decision-makers to improve the overall urban environment in the future.     

Pollution characteristics and health risk assessment of benzene homologues in ambient air in the northeastern urban area of Beijing, China

Ambient benzene homologues were measured at a site in the northeastern urban area of Beijing, China, from August 24 to September 4, 2012 by SUMMA canister sampling followed by laboratory determination using cryogenic cold trap pre-concentration-GC-MS/FID, and their health risks were also assessed. Daily total benzene homologues ranged from 0.99 to 49.71 μg/m3with an average of 11.98 μg/m3. Benzene homologues showed higher concentrations in the morning and evening than that at noontime. Comparison with previous studies revealed a trend of decrease for ambient benzene homologues probably due to the efective emission control in Beijing in recent years. Vehicular exhaust was the main source while volatilization of paints and solvents also made substantial contributions. Health risk assessment showed that BTEX(benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m-xylene and p-xylene) and styrene had no appreciable adverse non-cancer health risks for the exposed population, while benzene has potential cancer risk of 1.34E-05. Available data from cities in China all implied that benzene imposes relatively higher cancer risk on the exposed populations and therefore strict control measures should be taken to further lower ambient benzene levels in China.     

Commuter exposure to BTEX in public transportation modes in Bangkok, Thailand

Measurements and monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been conducted in the metropolitan Bangkok. However, in-vehicle levels of VOCs are still lacking. This study investigated VOCs concentrations in four public transportation modes in Bangkok, Thailand during two rush hour periods (7:00-9:00 a.m. and 4:00-7:00 p.m.). The four modes included an air-conditioned bus (A/C bus), non-air-conditioned bus (non-A/C bus), electric sky train, and a passenger boat traveling along the canal. Comparison among three important bus routes was also studied. In-vehicle air samples were collected using charcoal sorbent tubes and then analyzed by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. Results showed that the transportation modes significantly influenced the abundance of in-vehicle benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and m,p-xylene (BTEX). Median concentrations of BTEX were 11.7, 103, 11.7, and 42.8 μg/m3 in A/C bus; 37.1, 174, 14.7, and 55.4 μg/m3 in non-A/C bus; 2.0, 36.9, 0.5, and 0.5 μg/m3 in sky train; and 3.1, 58.5, 0.5, and 6.2 μg/m3 in boat, respectively. Wilcoxon rank sum test indicated that toluene and m,p-xylene in the sky trains were statistically lower than that in the other three modes at a p-value of 0.05. There were statistical differences in TEX concentrations among the bus routes in the non-A/C buses. In addition, the benzene to toluene ratios implied that tail-pipe emissions were important contributor to the abundance of in-vehicle VOCs.     

A review on the generation, determination and mitigation of Urban Heat Island

Urban Heat Island （UHI） is considered as one of the major problems in the 21st century posed to human beings as a result of urbanization and industrialization of human civilization. The large amount of heat generated from urban structures, as they consume and re-radiate solar radiations, and from the anthropogenic heat sources are the main causes of UHI. The two heat sources increase the temperatures of an urban area as compared to its surroundings, which is known as Urban Heat Island Intensity （UHII）. The problem is even worse in cities or metropolises with large population and extensive economic activities. The estimated three billion people living in the urban areas in the world are directly exposed to the problem, which will be increased significantly in the near future. Due to the severity of the problem, vast research effort has been dedicated and a wide range of literature is available for the subject. The literature available in this area includes the latest research approaches, concepts, methodologies, latest investigation tools and mitigation measures. This study was carded out to review and summarize this research area through an investigation of the most important feature of UHI. It was concluded that the heat re-radiated by the urban structures plays the most important role which should be investigated in details to study urban heating especially the UHI. It was also concluded that the future research should be focused on design and planning parameters for reducing the effects of urban heat island and ultimately living in a better environment.     

Determination of VOCs in groundwater at an industrial contamination site using a homemade low-density polyethylene passive diffusion sampler

A home-made inexpensive passive diffusion bag （PDB） sampler, prepared by filling deionized water in low-density polyethylene （LDPE） tubes, was evaluated for volatile organic compounds （VOC） sampling in groundwater at industrial contamination sites. Impacts of environmentally relevant conditions on the sampling equilibration time and partitioning of VOCs between the sampler and the water sample were investigated. Sample salinity, agitation and temperature can influence the equilibration time, but generally sampling equilibration was obtained in 14 days under real field sampling of VOCs in groundwater. Both laboratory study and field testing in a contaminated site showed that the VOC concentrations in the developed sampler were equal to those in the water samples at equitibrium. Coupled with a purge and trap concentrator-gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer （P＆T-GC-MS）, the developed PDB sampler provided a low-cost sampling device for routine monitoring of VOCs in groundwater in wells, with LODs in the range of 2.9-10 μg/L. The proposed PDB was applied to determine VOCs in groundwater at an industrial contamination site, and the present results agreed well with those determined using conventional pump-and-sample monitoring. All the studied 13 VOCs were tested in the four wells in the industrial contamination sites, with their concentrations in the range of 12-73660 μg/L. In addition, while benzene and toluene were heavily contaminated up to a maximum concentration of 74000 μg/L and 6000 μg/L, respectively, 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene and bromobenzene had relatively low contamination levels （below 25 μg/L）.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in urban soil from Beijing, China

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （EPA-PAHs） in the urban surface soils from Beijing were determined using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry （GC-MS）. It is significantly complementary for understanding the PAHs pollution in soil of integrated Beijing city on the basis of the information known in the outskirts. The total concentration of 16 EPA-PAH was from 0.467 to 5.470 μg/g and was described by the contour map. Compound profiles presented that the 4-, 5- and 6-ring PAHs were major compositions. The correlation analysis showed that PAHs have the similar source in the most sampling sites and BaP might be considered as the indicator of PAHs. Characteristic ratios of anthracene （An）/（An＋ phenanthrene （Phe））, fluoranthene （Flu）/（Flu/ pyrene （Pyr）） and benzo[a]pyrene （BaP）/laenzo[g,h,i]perylene （BghiP） indicated that the PAHs pollutants probably mainly originated from the coal combustion and it was not negligible from vehicular emission. The level of PAHs in our study area was compared with other studies.     

Characterization of surface runoff from a subtropics urban catchment

Characteristics of surface runoff from a 0.14-km^2 urban catchment with separated sewer in Macau was investigated. Water quality measurements of surface runoff were carried out on five rainfall events during the period of August to November, 2005. Water quality parameters such as pH, turbidity, TSS, COD, TN, Zn, Pb, and Cu were analyzed. The results show that TN and COD are the major pollutants from surface runoff with mean concentration of 8.5 and 201.4 mg/L, both over 4-fold higher compared to the Class V surface water quality standard developed by China SEPA. Event mean concentration （EMC） for major pollutants showed considerable variations between rainfall events. The largest rainfall event with the longest length of antecedent dry weather period （ADWP） produced the highest EMC of TN, TSS and COD. From the pollutographs analysis, the peak concentration of TN precedes the peak runoff flow rate for all three rainfall events. The tendency of the concentration of TSS, turbidity and COD changing with runoff flow varies between rainfall events. The relationship between TSS and other parameters were analyzed to evaluate the efficiency of the physical treatment process to control the surface runoff in the urban catchment. Based on the correlation of parameters with TSS, high treatment efficiency of TSS, TN and COD was expected. The most significant event in term of first flush is the one with the strongest rainfall intensity and longest length of ADWP. TN always showed first flush phenomenon in all three rainfall events, which suggested that the surface runoff in the early stage of surface runoff should be dealt with for controlling TN losses during rainfall events.     

Remove cooking fume using catalytic combustion over Pt/La-Al2O3

Five monolithic catalysts with low noble metal content were prepared by irnmerge method （Pt/γ=Al2O3, Pt/La-Al2O3, Pt/YSZ-AI203, Pt＋Pd/La-Al2O3 and Pd/La-Al2O3） and their activity measurements were carried out in a conventional fixed-bed flow reactor. The results show that La-Al2O3 can promote activity of the prepared catalysts and can decrease the complete conversion temperature of cooking fume. The Pt/La-Al2O3 catalyst has the highest activity and can be applied in wide range of gas hourly space velocity （GHSV）. Some characterizations （XRD, TPR） were carried out with the objective to explain differences in catalytic behaviors. The prepared catalyst showed a great potential for application.     

长沙市环境空气中BTEX的污染特征及健康风险

BTEX(苯、甲苯、乙苯、二甲苯等)是对空气质量和人体健康具有重要影响的挥发性有机物.为研究长沙市城市大气BTEX污染特征,选择2个典型城市站点(采样点S和W)于2017年8月进行了连续采样分析.结果显示:2个采样点BTEX平均浓度分别为(9.84±5.44),(6.35±4.68)μg/m3;其中间/对-二甲苯是占比...     

2012年夏季天津城区BTEX污染特征与臭氧潜势分析

采用AMA GC5000BTX在线色谱仪监测天津城区2012年夏季大气中苯、甲苯、乙苯、邻二甲苯和间-对二甲苯(苯系物,BTEX)的浓度,并结合其最大增量活性因子(MIR)计算各组分的最大臭氧生成潜势量.结果表明,观测期间BTEX浓度均值为38.72μg/m3,其中甲苯和间-对二甲苯浓度最高,乙苯和苯次之,邻二甲苯最低, BTEX存在明显的日变化特征,受大气光化学反应和边界层扩散能力共同影响,午后浓度最低,夜间BTEX浓度维持在较高水平,各BTEX日变化趋势一致.苯与甲苯质量浓度的比值为0.77,表明机动车排放是BTEX的主要来源,但石油化工和涂料挥发等因素也对其存在影响.经计算,间-对二甲苯的最大臭氧生成潜势量最高,甲苯、乙苯和邻二甲苯相当,苯最低, 表明BTEX中间-对二甲苯的光化学反应活性最强.     

北京市道路空气中挥发性有机物时空分布规律

为研究城市交通道路空气中挥发性有机化合物(VOCs)的污染状况、变化规律和不同道路类型的浓度特点,于2008年5月—2009年7月对北京市3种典型道路(街道峡谷、交叉道路和开阔道路)进行空气质量监测. 采用气相色谱法测定道路空气中非甲烷烃(NMHCs)、苯系物(苯、甲苯和二甲苯)的质量浓度. 结果表明:北京市道路空气中挥发性有机化合物污染比较严重,其中ρ(NMHCs)日均值为1.0～3.3 mg/m3,ρ(苯系物)日均值为8.8～80.0 μg/m3. 污染物浓度日变化多呈现双峰型. 选取1,4,7和10月为不同季节的代表月份,7月的ρ(NMHCs)和ρ(苯系物)均最高,10月最低. 3种典型道路中,街道峡谷的污染物质量浓度高于另外2种道路. 道路附近的挥发性有机物质量浓度主要受到机动车排放、气象条件和地形条件等的影响.      

大学校园室内BTEX浓度水平变化规律及健康风险

采用Tenax-TA吸附/热脱附-气相色谱法(TD-GC)对大学校园室内外空气中5种苯系物(BTEX,苯、甲苯、乙苯、间/对-二甲苯和邻二甲苯)的平均浓度进行了检测。检测结果显示,5种苯系物的平均浓度均低于国家标准值。被测空气的苯系物中甲苯所占比例最大,为27.9%～32.0%。室内BTEX浓度稍高于室外,多数采样点的室内浓度与室外浓度比值(CI/CO)大于1.0。通风可有效降低空气中苯系物浓度。大学校园室内空气中的苯对学生的致癌风险为3.67×10-7～1.09×10-6。     

不同化学氧化剂对焦化污染场地苯系物的修复效果

采用自制全封闭模拟装置比较研究了Fenton试剂、类Fenton试剂、高锰酸钾以及活化过硫酸钠4种常用的化学氧化剂对焦化工业污染场地中苯系物的去除效果.结果表明,去除土壤BTEX效果较好的是Fenton试剂和类Fenton试剂,在最佳剂量条件下分别能使BTEX的浓度降低83%和73%,且反应过程中经挥发进入到回收液中的...     

沈阳地区地表水、浅层地下水及沿岸土壤中苯

对沈阳地区主要地表水(浑河、细河、蒲河、沈抚灌渠)及其沿岸地下水和土壤中苯系物(BTEX)的污染特点和分布特征进行了研究.结果表明:细河和沈抚灌渠地表水中BTEX检出率较高(33%～67%),苯和甲苯是该区域的主要污染物,ρ(苯)和ρ(甲苯)分别为<0.30～24.90和<0.30～354.00 μg/L;地表水检出的BTEX均未超过《生活饮用水卫生标准》(GB5749—2006)的限值(1 510 μg/L). 细河两岸的浅层地下水在一定程度上受到BTEX的污染,苯和甲苯的检出率分别为25%～33%和13%～25%,二甲苯和乙苯检出率较低(0～20%). 彰驿镇19个监测井中有2个浅层地下水监测井中的ρ(苯)超过GB5749—2006限值(10 μg/L),夏季ρ(苯)最大值为236.00 μg/L. 沿岸附近土壤中5种BTEX全部被检出,检出率均高于相应的河水. 研究区包气带土壤层虽具有良好的防污性能,但也具有储存和阻碍BTEX挥发和降解的负面效应,对当地的生态系统和人类健康构成了潜在的威胁.      

生物活性炭去除水中挥发性苯系物的基础研究

采用连续流生物活性炭(BAC)工艺处理水中挥发性苯系物(BTEX,包括苯、甲苯、乙苯、二甲苯),评价进水负荷、活性炭炭型等因素对于BAC处理性能的影响.研究表明,在40d的处理时间内,除苯之外,其余BTEX的BAC出水中均未检出苯系物(进水为6mg/L).为了检验BAC在高BTEX负荷情况时的处理效果,将进水浓度设定为19~32mg/L左右,在EBCT为1.2min条件下同样只有苯的出水浓度上升至10mg/L(C/Cin为0.45),然后略有下降,最终保持在5~10mg/L(C/Cin为0.3以下),其余苯系物出水浓度均一直保持小于5mg/L.这表明BAC可以有效地处理高负荷BTEX(8.68~12.9kgTOC/(m3·d))的进水.生物活性炭对于活性炭吸附容量的恢复有比较明显的作用,煤质炭和椰壳炭的生物再生效率分别为53.6%和26.6%,煤质炭再生效率高的原因可能是其具备更多的大型中孔和大孔.     

天津城区夏冬季典型污染过程中BTEX变化特征及其健康风险评估

利用GC955在线气相色谱仪分别于2019年7月和2020年1月在天津市区开展苯系物（BTEX,包括苯、甲苯、乙苯、间/对-二甲苯和邻-二甲苯）实时在线观测,对典型污染过程中BTEX的浓度水平、组成及演化机制进行了研究,并运用特征物种比值法对BTEX的来源进行了定性分析,最后运用US EPA的人体暴露分析评价方法对BTEX健康风险进行评估.结果表明,臭氧和霾污染过程中BTEX体积分数平均值分别为1.32×10^-9和4.83×10^-9,其中苯的体积分数占比最大,其次是甲苯、乙苯和二甲苯占比最小.2020年1月BTEX体积分数很大程度上受到西南方向短距离传输的影响,而在2019年7月BTEX浓度受到本地排放的影响.BTEX浓度水平在2019年7月受到温度和相对湿度的共同影响,而在2020年1月当温度较低时BTEX浓度对相对湿度的变化更敏感.天津市区BTEX在霾污染过程中受生物质燃烧/化石燃料燃烧/燃煤排放的影响较大,而在臭氧污染过程中除了受到燃烧排放源影响,交通源排放在很大程度上也有影响.臭氧污染和霾污染过程中BTEX的HI分别为0.072和0.29,均处于EPA认定的安全范围内.苯的致癌风险在清洁天和污染过程中均高于EPA规定的安全阈值,需引起高度重视.     

不同下垫面苯系物的挥发行为研究

结合石油化工区挥发性污染物泄漏控制的需要,选取淄博地区代表性的砂土、壤土和水3种下垫面,对苯系物的挥发行为进行试验研究,得到了不同类型下垫面中苯系物单组分及其混合物的挥发动力学曲线、最优拟合公式和挥发动力学模型.结果表明,3种下垫面中,苯系物组分及混合物的挥发速率大小依次为:苯>甲苯>BTEX>二甲苯>乙基苯;而苯系物在静水面上的挥发最快,砂土中次之,壤土中挥发最慢.另外,3种下垫面中苯系物的挥发速率常(系)数与蒸气压的关系均呈线性正相关,挥发速率系数随着组分蒸气压的增大而明显增大.下垫面对苯系物挥发的影响机制主要表现为对挥发面积和介质在挥发扩散过程中可利用孔隙通量的影响.