Long-term study of heavy metal pollution in the northern Hangzhou Bay of China: temporal and spatial distribution,contamination evaluation,and potential ecological risk

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Coastal ecosystem is vulnerable to heavy metal contamination. The northern Hangzhou Bay is under intensifying impact of anthropogenic activities. To...     

Migration and transformation of heavy metals in hyperaccumulators during the thermal treatment: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The pollution of heavy metals (HMs) in the soil has become one of the important factors affecting the national environment and human health....     

Multifunctional rural transition along China’s Yangtze River Transect: Spatial differentiation and economic relevance

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To understand rural sustainability, it is necessary to scrutinize the relationship between rural transition and economic growth. The article uses...     

Knowledge spillovers and subsequent innovation in green energy: the role of public R&D

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

The permeability of dredged material-bentonite backfills

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Extensive attention has been paid to the treatment and disposal of dredged material, and there is a need to clarify the feasibility of recycling...     

Exploring soil erosion trajectories and their divergent responses to driving factors: a model-based contrasting study in highly eroded mountain areas

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Soil erosion threatens environmental sustainability worldwide. Exploring the trajectories of soil erosion and associated drivers is of great...     

Metal distribution characteristic of MSWI bottom ash in view of metal recovery

Bottom ash is the major by-product of municipal solid waste incineration(MSWI), and is often reused as an engineering material, such as road-base aggregate. However, some metals(especially aluminum) in bottom ash can react with water and generate gas that could cause expansion and failure of products containing the ash; these metals must be removed before the ash is utilized. The size distribution and the chemical speciation of metals in the bottom ash from two Chinese MSWI plants were examined in this study, and the recovery potential of metals from the ash was evaluated. The metal concentrations in these bottom ashes were lower than that generated in other developed countries. Specifically, the contents of Al,Fe, Cu and Zn were 18.9–29.2, 25.5–32.3, 0.7–1.0 and 1.6–2.5 g/kg, respectively. Moreover,44.9–57.0 wt.% of Al and 55.6–75.4 wt.% of Fe were distributed in bottom ash particles smaller than 5 mm. Similarly, 46.6–79.7 wt.% of Cu and 42.9–74.2 wt.% of Zn were concentrated in particles smaller than 3 mm. The Fe in the bottom ash mainly existed as hematite, and its chemical speciation was considered to limit the recovery efficiency of magnetic separation.     

Research on the degradation mechanism of pyridine in drinking water by dielectric barrier discharge

Pyridine, an important chemical raw material, is widely used in industry, for example in textiles,leather, printing, dyeing, etc. In this research, a dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) system was developed to remove pyridine, as a representative type of nitrogen heterocyclic compound in drinking water. First, the influence of the active species inhibitors tertiary butanol alcohol(TBA),HCO_3~-, and CO_3~(2-)on the degradation rate of pyridine was investigated to verify the existence of active species produced by the strong ionization discharge in the system. The intermediate and final products generated in the degradation process of pyridine were confirmed and analyzed through a series of analytical techniques, including liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry(LC–MS), high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), ion chromatography(IC), total organic carbon(TOC) analysis, ultraviolet(UV) spectroscopy, etc. The results showed that the degradation of pyridine was mainly due to the strong oxidizing power of ozone and hydroxyl radical produced by the DBD system. Several intermediate products including 3-hydroxyl pyridine, fumaric acid, 2, 3-dihydroxypyridine, and oxalic acid were detected. Nitrogen was removed from the pyridine molecule to form nitrate. Through analysis of the degradation mechanism of pyridine, the oxidation pathway was deduced. The study provided a theoretical and experimental basis for the application of DBD strong ionization discharge in treatment of nitrogen heterocyclic compounds in drinking water.     

Effect of oxide nanoparticles on the morphology and fluidity of phospholipid membranes and the role of hydrogen bonds

Engineered oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are widely applied in insulators, catalyzers, paints, cosmetic products, textiles and semiconductors. Their attachment on cell membrane may lead to cytotoxicity. The effects of Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, SiO₂, TiO₂ and ZnO NPs on membrane integrity and fluidity were studied using giant or small unilamellar vesicles in this study. Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ NPs disrupted the oppositely charged membrane, indicating the important role of electrostatic attraction. However, Fe₂O₃, TiO₂ and ZnO NPs did not cause serious membrane disruption as Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ NPs. Membrane fluidity was evaluated by the generalized polarity (GP) values of Laurdan fluorescent emission. SiO₂ NPs induce the membrane gelation of both positively and negatively charged membrane. Al₂O₃ and ZnO NPs induced the gelation of the oppositely charged membrane, but did not cause obvious membrane gelation to the like charged membrane. The phospholipid molecular structural changes after NP exposure were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. FT-IR spectra revealed the hydrogen bond formation between NPs and the carbonyl/phosphate groups of phospholipids. Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ NPs showed strongest evidence of hydrogen bonding on their FT-IR spectra. It was consistent with the microscopic observation and fluorescent data that Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ NPs caused more serious membrane disruption and gelation. This study on membrane damage provides further knowledge on the cytotoxicity of nanomaterials and the safety of NP application.     

紫外消毒对城市污水处理厂耐药菌去除的影响研究

通过选取假单胞杆菌、鲍曼不动杆菌以及芽孢杆菌3种耐药菌作为研究对象,研究紫外光变化对这3种耐药菌的去除效果,得出较好的紫外消毒条件,应用到实际的污水处理厂消毒过程中。结果表明,紫外消毒对3种耐药菌都有很好的灭活效果。