Effects of different treatments on soil-borne DDT and HCH dynamics and plant uptake

Pot experiments were conducted to examine the effects of various fertilizers, as well as soil dilution treatments on the dynamics of soil-borne DDTs [sum of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), chlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and di- chlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD)] and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs, sum of α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH and δ-HCH) and their subsequent impacts on the uptake of DDTs and HCHs by a test plant. The results show that the soil residual DDTs and HCHs concentrations in the iron-rich fertilizer-treated soil were significantly lower than those in other fertilizer-treated soils. There was a close relationship between the soil residual DDTs and the plant tissue DDTs. This suggests that the uptake rate of DDTs by the plant was dependent on the concentration of soil-borne DDTs. A less close relationship between soil residual HCHs and plant tissue HCHs was also observed. Dilution of pesticide-contaminated soil with the non-contaminated soil not only physically reduced the concentration of pesticides in the soil but also enhanced the loss of soil-borne pesticides, possibly through the improvement of soil conditions for microbial degradation. Soil dilution had a better effect on promoting the loss of soil-borne HCHs, relative to soil-borne-DDTs. The research findings obtained from this study have implications for management of heavily contaminated soils with DDTs and HCHs. Remediation of DDTs and HCHs-contaminated soils in a cost-effective way can be achieved by incorporating treatment techniques into conventional agricultural practices. Applications of iron-rich fertilizer and soil dilution treatments could cost-effectively reduce soil-borne DDTs and HCHs, and subsequently the uptake of these organochlorine pesticides by vegetables.     

Interaction between BSM-contaminated soils and Italian ryegrass

The interaction among the bensulfuron-methyl, growth of Italian ryegrass, and soil chemical/biochemical/microbiological parameters was investigated in a microcosm experiment. The bensulfuron-methyl added to the soil can be rapidly degraded by certain fungi and actinomycetes present in the original paddy rice soil. The growth of Italian ryegrass significantly accelerated the in-soil degradation of bensulfuron-methyl in its rhizosphere. The uptake of bensulfuron-methyl by ryegrass increased with increasing dosage level of bensulfuron-methyl. However, the phytoextraction of bensulfuron-methyl by ryegrass contributed insignificantly to the total removal of the soil bensulfuron-methyl. Within the dosage range set in this study, the root development of ryegrass was not adversely affected by the presence of the soil bensulfuron-methyl although the fresh biomass of shoot was slightly reduced in the higher dosage treatments. This can be attributed to the adsorption of the added bensulfuron-methyl by soil colloids and consequently the reduction of bensulfuron-methyl level in the soil pore water to a concentration sufficiently lower than the toxic level. The growth of ryegrass significantly increased soil pH and the activities of phosphatase and peroxidase but reduced the EC and the activities of urease in the rhizospheric soil.     

The characteristics of nitrate removal by the psychrotolerant denitrifying bacterium Acinetobacter johnonii DBP-3, isolated from a low-temperature eutrophic body of water

A psychrotolerant denitrifying bacterial strain, DBP-3, was isolated from a eutrophic body of water by low-temperature-oriented acclimation culture. Based on its morphologicalandbiochemicalcharacteristics and 16S rDNA gene sequence, the bacterium was identified as belonging to the genus Acinetobacter and closely related to A. johnonii. The satisfactory growth of DBP-3 was observed at 10–30°C and pH 7–9. Strain DBP-3 was able to utilize three types of carbon sources (sodium acetate > sodium citrate > glucose) to support growth and denitrification. DBP-3 grew faster, but with lower nitrate removal efficiency and higher nitrite accumulation, under aerobic conditions than under anoxic conditions. DBP-3 was extremely susceptible to tetracycline and rifampicine and less sensitive to ampicillin and penicillin. The growth of DBP-3 was significantly affected by Hg (II), Cr (VI), Pb (II), Cd (II), and As (III) at 0.32, 0.63, 1.25, 2.5, and 25.0 mg L^?1, respectively. Interestingly, chromium (VI) significantly promoted DBP-3 growth at concentrations lower than 0.32 mg L^?1. These data may be helpful to support the use of strain DBP-3 in the purification of eutrophic water bodies at low temperatures.     

NOx Removal with Combined Selective Catalytic Reduction and Selective Noncatalytic Reduction: Pilot-Scale Test Results

Pilot-scale tests were conducted to develop a combined nitrogen oxide (NO_x) reduction technology using both selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR). A commercially available vanadium- and titanium-based composite honeycomb catalyst and enhanced urea (NH₂CONH₂) were used with a natural-gas-fired furnace at a NO_x concentration of 110 ppm. Changes in SNCR chemical injection temperature and stoichiometry led to varying levels of post-furnace ammonia (NH₃), which acts as the reductant feed to the downstream SCR catalyst. The urea-based chemical could routinely achieve SNCR plus SCR total NO_x reductions of 85 percent with less than 3 ppm NH₃ slip at reductant/NO_x stoichiometries ranging from about 1.5 to 2.5 and SCR space velocities of 18,000 to 32,000 h^?1. This pilot-scale research has shown that SNCR and SCR can be integrated to achieve high NO_x removal. SNCR provides high temperature reduction of NO_x followed by further removal of NO_x and minimization of NH₃ slip by a significantly downsized (high-space velocity) SCR.     

The Adsorptive Capacity of Vapor-Phase Mercury Chloride onto Powdered Activated Carbon Derived from Waste Tires

Abstract

Injection of powdered activated carbon (PAC) upstream of particulate removal devices (such as electrostatic precipitator and baghouses) has been used effectively to remove hazardous air pollutants, particularly mercury-containing pollutants, emitted from combustors and incinerators. Compared with commercial PACs (CPACs), an alternative PAC derived from waste tires (WPAC) was prepared for this study. The equilibrium adsorptive capacity of mercury chloride (HgCl₂) vapor onto the WPAC was further evaluated with a self-designed bench-scale adsorption column system. The adsorption temperatures investigated in the adsorption column were controlled at 25 and 150 °C. The superficial velocity and residence time of the flow were 0.01 m/sec and 4 sec, respectively. The adsorption column tests were run under nitrogen gas flow. Experimental results showed that WPAC with higher Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area could adsorb more HgCl₂ at room temperature. The equilibrium adsorptive capacity of HgCl₂ for WPAC measured in this study was 1.49 × 10^?1 mg HgCl₂/g PAC at 25 °C with an initial HgCl₂ concentration of 25 μg/m³. With the increase of adsorption temperature ≤150 °C, the equilibrium adsorptive capacity of HgCl₂ for WPAC was decreased to 1.×34 10^?1 mg HgCl₂/g PA≤C. Furthermore,WPAC with higher sulfur contents could adsorb even more HgCl₂ because of the reactions between sulfur and Hg²⁺ at 150 °C. It was demonstrated that the mechanisms for adsorbing HgCl₂ onto WPAC were physical adsorption and chemisorption at 25 and 150 °C, respectively. Experimental results also indicated that the apparent overall driving force model appeared to have the good correlation with correlation coefficients (r) >0.998 for HgCl₂ adsorption at 25 and 150 °C. Moreover, the equilibrium adsorptive capacity of HgCl₂ for virgin WPAC was similar to that for CPAC at 25 °C, whereas it was slightly higher for sulfurized WPAC than for CPAC at 150 °C.     

Hydration Properties of Eco-Cement Pastes from Waste Sludge Ash Clinkers

Abstract

Three types of hydraulic cements have been developed by incorporating sludge ash from a primary sewage treatment plant and a water purification plant, as well as slag from steelworks (ferrate), as a partial replacement for clay, silica, alumina, and iron oxide in raw cement meal. The raw meal for the pre-determined recipes was prepared by heating it to 1400 °C for 6 hr in a clinkerization process, using a simulated incinerator and smelter. The major components of ordinary Portland cement, C₃S, C₂S, C₃A, and C₄AF, were all found in the clinkers. Of the three types of eco-cements, the eco-cement A paste was most similar to ordinary Portland cement in terms of composition and compressive strength development, while the eco-cement B paste showed early strength development. The differential thermal analysis species analyses indicated that the hydrates in the eco-cement pastes were mainly calcium hydroxide and CSH gels, like those found in ordinary Portland cement paste. Moreover, the degree of hydration, as determined by nuclear magnetic resonance, increased in all eco-cement pastes with an increasing curing age. The results indicate that it indeed is feasible to use sludge ash and ferrate to replace up to 20% of the mineral components of raw materials for cement.     

Microwave-induced nanoscale zero-valent iron degradation of perchloroethylene and pentachlorophenol

Microwave (MW) is applied to enhance perchloroethylene (PCE) or pentachlorophenol (PCP) removal using zero-valent iron (ZVI; Fe⁰) as the dielectric medium. ZVI has a much higher dielectric loss factor (39.5) than other media; it is capable of absorbing MW radiation rapidly to speed up the release of electrons, leading to rises of the ZVI particle surface temperature. If the MW power is continued, excessive electricity will accumulated inside ZVI particles, resulting in sparks. The results show that during the initial 5 sec (700 W), the linear aliphatic PCE has a faster decomposing rate than the ringed PCP (82.0% vs. 4.8%) because less energy is required for decomposing the linear-chlorine bond (90 kcal mol^?1) than ring-chlorine bonds (95 kcal mol^?1). Later, the removal rate for either PCE or PCP remains the same when the exposure time is between 5 and 60 sec. Without MW irradiation, linear PCE molecules have larger surface area to contact ZVI, and hence they have better removal efficiencies than PCP molecules. Using Fe⁰ as a microwave dielectric medium to treat PCE or PCP is a new and worthwhile treatment technology; it is environmentally friendly, and its use will eliminate the secondary pollution.

Implications Nanoscale iron particles are characterized by high surface-area-to-volume ratios, high specific surface area, and high surface reactivity. With a much higher dielectric loss factor, it is capable of absorbing MW radiation rapidly to speed up the release of electrons, leading to rise in temperature. The time needed to achieve a satisfactory treatment is also reduced, leading to significant saving of energy consumption to make this method cost-effective and also environmentally friendly for the industry to pursuit sustainable development.     

Relationships Between Nitrogen Transformation Rates and Gene Abundance in a Riparian Buffer Soil

Denitrification is a critical biogeochemical process that results in the conversion of nitrate to volatile products, and thus is a major route of nitrogen loss from terrestrial environments. Riparian buffers are an important management tool that is widely utilized to protect water from non-point source pollution. However, riparian buffers vary in their nitrate removal effectiveness, and thus there is a need for mechanistic studies to explore nitrate dynamics in buffer soils. The objectives of this study were to examine the influence of specific types of soluble organic matter on nitrate loss and nitrous oxide production rates, and to elucidate the relationships between these rates and the abundances of functional genes in a riparian buffer soil. Continuous-flow soil column experiments were performed to investigate the effect of three types of soluble organic matter (citric acid, alginic acid, and Suwannee River dissolved organic carbon) on rates of nitrate loss and nitrous oxide production. We found that nitrate loss rates increased as citric acid concentrations increased; however, rates of nitrate loss were weakly affected or not affected by the addition of the other types of organic matter. In all experiments, rates of nitrous oxide production mirrored nitrate loss rates. In addition, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was utilized to quantify the number of genes known to encode enzymes that catalyze nitrite reduction (i.e., nirS and nirK) in soil that was collected at the conclusion of column experiments. Nitrate loss and nitrous oxide production rates trended with copy numbers of both nir and 16s rDNA genes. The results suggest that low-molecular mass organic species are more effective at promoting nitrogen transformations than large biopolymers or humic substances, and also help to link genetic potential to chemical reactivity.     

阿坝州大骨节病和扶贫开发决策中AHP方法的应用

大骨节病防治和扶贫开发试点工作涉及阿坝州的经济、社会、生态等各方面,且州内各县、乡、村情况各异,众多具体措施关系复杂。为了提高决策质量,使试点工作取得“优化举措、重点突破”的效果,应用AHP方法建立了定量模型。