Co-composting of livestock manure with rice straw: Characterization and establishment of maturity evaluation system

Composting is considered to be a primary treatment method for livestock manure and rice straw, and high degree of maturity is a prerequisite for safe land application of the composting products. In this study pilot-scale experiments were carried out to characterize the co-composting process of livestock manure with rice straw, as well as to establish a maturity evaluation index system for the composts obtained. Two pilot composting piles with different feedstocks were conducted for 3 months: (1) swine manure and rice straw (SM–RS); and (2) dairy manure and rice straw (DM–RS). During the composting process, parameters including temperature, moisture, pH, total organic carbon (TOC), organic matter (OM), different forms of nitrogen (total, ammonia and nitrate), and humification index (humic acid and fulvic acid) were monitored in addition to germination index (GI), plant growth index (PGI) and Solvita maturity index. OM loss followed the first-order kinetic model in both piles, and a slightly faster OM mineralization was achieved in the SM–RS pile. Also, the SM–RS pile exhibited slightly better performance than the DM–RS according to the evolutions of temperature, OM degradation, GI and PGI. The C/N ratio, GI and PGI could be included in the maturity evaluation index system in which GI > 120% and PGI > 1.00 signal mature co-composts.     

Causes of decreased reference evapotranspiration and pan evaporation in the Jinghe River catchment, northern China

This study focused on the changes of reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) and pan evaporation (ET_pan) to study the impacts of climate change on the hydrological cycle in the Jinghe River catchment. Based on the Penman–Monteith equation, the ET₀ was calculated. The temporal trend and spatial distribution of ET₀ and E_pan measured with a 20-cm pan were examined at the 14 stations during 1957–2005. The effects of meteorological factors on the variation of ET₀ were determined by analyzing the trends in themselves with comparison between original climate and detrended climate scenarios and then their sensitivity to ET₀. Both the ET₀ and E_pan showed remarkable decreasing trends from 1957 to 2005 and their decreasing rate was 40.9 and 17.7 mm per 10 years, respectively. Trend analysis of meteorological factors exhibited that the reduction in ET₀ and ET_pan was principally caused by both significant decreases in wind speed and sunshine hours. Furthermore, the decreasing trend of ET₀ was mainly dominated by the significant decrease in wind speed with high sensitivity, to a less extent, by the decrease in net radiation. Although relative humidity is one of the most sensitive variables, its effect on ET₀ was negligible because of its temporal constancy. The contribution of wind speed reduction to decreased ET₀ has increased from 50 to 76.1%, but net radiation, by contrast, decreased from 50 to 23.9%.     

Toxicological effect of MPA-CdSe QDs exposure on zebrafish embryo and larvae

Cadmium selenium (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor nanocrystals that hold wide range of applications and substantial production volumes. Due to unique composition and nanoscale properties, their potential toxicity to aquatic organisms has increasingly gained a great amount of interest. However, the impact of CdSe QDs exposure on zebrafish embryo and larvae remains almost unknown. Therefore, the lab study was performed to determine the developmental and behavioral toxicities to zebrafish under continuous exposure to low level CdSe QDs (0.05-31.25 mg L⁻¹) coated with mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). The results showed MPA-CdSe exposure from embryo to larvae stage affected overall fitness. Our findings for the first time revealed that: (1) The 120 h LC₅₀ of MPA-CdSe for zebrafish was 1.98 mg L⁻¹; (2) embryos exposed to MPA-CdSe resulted in malformations incidence and lower hatch rate; (3) abnormal vascular of FLI-1 transgenic zebrafish larvae appeared after exposure to MPA-CdSe including vascular junction, bifurcation, crossing and particle appearance; (4) larvae behavior assessment showed during MPA-CdSe exposure a rapid transition from light-to-dark elicited a similar, brief burst and a higher basal swimming rate; (5) MPA-CdSe induced embryos cell apoptosis in the head and tail region. Results of the observations provide a basic understanding of MPA-CdSe toxicity to aquatic organisms and suggest the need for additional research to identify the toxicological mechanism.     

Photodegradation of quinestrol in waters and the transformation products by UV irradiation

Quinestrol is synthetic estrogen used in contraceptive and hormone replacement therapy and occasionally for treating breast cancer and prostate cancer. It can make its way into the environment through sewage discharge and waste disposal produced by human excretions. In this study, the photodegradation kinetics of quinestrol in various conditions was investigated by UV and solar irradiation. The affecting factors were studied including concentration of hydrogen peroxide, different water types, and the initial concentrations of quinestrol. Concurrently, the transformation products and presumed pathways of quinestrol in distilled water by UV irradiation were identified and proposed. The results showed that the degradation of quinestrol in both irradiation conditions followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. More rapid degradation was observed by UV irradiation (k = 0.018 min⁻¹) than solar irradiation (k = 0.004 h⁻¹), and the photodegradation rate of quinestrol depended on the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, the initial concentration of quinestrol and water types. The transformation products of quinestrol in distilled water were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. When exposed to UV irradiation, quinestrol in aqueous solution was rapidly degraded, giving at least ten photodegradation products. The chemical structures of ten degradation products were identified on the basis of mass spectrum interpretation and literature data.     

Comparison of homologous and heterologous formats in nanocolloidal gold-based immunoassays for parathion residue determination

The effectiveness of homologous and heterologous formats in a nanocolloidal gold-based immunoassay for pesticide residue determination was investigated. Parathion, one of the most toxic organophosphorus pesticides, was used as the target analyte. One-step homologous and heterologous test strips based on a nanocolloidal gold-labeled monoclonal antibody were developed for the rapid detection of parathion residues. The results showed that the heterologous format was more effective than the homologous format, being more sensitive, more specific to parathion and more tolerant of matrix interferences. The best competitive hapten was found to have a moderate heterology and the opposite electronic distribution to the immunizing hapten. The detection limits for parathion using the preferred heterologous strip were 1 μg/L in water samples and 5 μg/kg in soil and food samples.     

Enhanced degradation of azo dye alizarin yellow R in a combined process of iron–carbon microelectrolysis and aerobic bio-contact oxidation

Purpose

With the aim of enhanced degradation of azo dye alizarin yellow R (AY) and further removal of the low-strength recalcitrant matter (LsRM) of the secondary effluent as much as possible, our research focused on the combination of aerobic bio-contact oxidation (ABO) with iron/carbon microelectrolysis (ICME) process.

Materials and methods

The combined ABO (with effective volume of 2.4?l) and ICME (with effectively volume of 0.4?l) process were studied with relatively short hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 4 or 6?h.

Results

At the HRT of 6?h with the reflux ratio of 1 and 2, the AY degradation efficiency in the final effluent was >96.5%, and the total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency were 69.86% and 79.44%, respectively. At the HRT of 4?h and the reflux ratio of 2, TOC removal efficiency and AY degradation efficiency were 73.94% and 94.89%, respectively. The ICME process obviously enhanced the total AY removal and the generated micromolecule acids and aldehydes then that wastewater backflow to the ABO where they were further biodegraded.

Conclusion

The present research might provide the potential options for the advanced treatment azo dyes wastewater with short HRT and acceptable running costs.     

不同粒径零价铁（ZVI）对污水污泥H_2S和CH_4释放速率的影响

考察了不同粒径零价铁（ZVI）,包括200目普通铁粉（200m-ZVI）、800目超细铁粉（800m-ZVI）和纳米铁粉（nZVI,粒径=20 nm）,对污水污泥的硫化氢和甲烷释放速率的影响。研究发现：（1）在22 d内,添加0.1%的200m-ZVI使污泥的硫化氢释放速率提高48.0%,而添加0.1%的800-ZVI和nZVI,则使污泥的硫化氢释放速率分别降低33.1%和77.1%;（2）不同粒径ZVI均可以提高污泥沼气中的甲烷浓度,且依次为nZVI〉800m-ZVI〉200m-ZVI;（3）在23 d内,添加0.1%的200m-ZVI和nZVI使污泥的甲烷累计产生量分别提高了15.5%和40.6%,而添加0.1%800m-ZVI则使甲烷产生量降低了12.5%。nZVI可以有效控制污泥的硫化氢释放,并显著提升污泥在厌氧发酵过程的产甲烷速率。     

VFAs、TOC及COD作为生物除磷能力指标的探讨

在实际生活污水的处理中,研究了通过A/O运行模式对生物除磷过程中磷的变化情况及在厌氧释磷过程中COD、TOC与VFAs变化之间的关系。结果表明,在厌氧释磷过程中VFAs的变化更能准确地反映系统内释磷进程,实际生活污水中能直接用于磷释放的有机物含量占COD的13.33%,并且释放1 mg P所需VFAs为1.401 mg,此值明显低于前期研究结果。通过对COD、TOC和VFAs 3种组分的分析,可将实际生活污水中的有机底物分为3类:易生物降解含碳有机物、难降解的含碳有机物和水中存在的无机性还原物质,含量分别占COD的13.33%、31.7%和54.97%,其中只有13.33%的含量对生物释磷有直接作用,并可对实际生活污水除磷有指导意义。     

微波诱导AC/Cu、AC/Fe催化非均相Fenton 反应催化降解垃圾渗滤液

采用活性炭载体负载Cu、Fe为催化剂,在微波诱导作用下,对垃圾渗滤液污染物进行降解。实验结果表明,活性炭负载金属前经适当浓度硝酸浸泡处理后,催化剂对COD去除率提高可超过15%,过高硝酸盐浓度对COD去除有不利影响;催化剂对COD去除率随Cu、Fe金属负载量增加呈先增加后降低的趋势,催化剂对Cu、Fe的最佳负载量分别为质量百分比2.11%和1.12%。对于AC-Cu体系,在初始pH=3,H2O2投加量为4.98×103mg/L,催化剂用量为5.0×103mg/L,420 W功率下微波辐射10 min时,垃圾渗滤液COD去除率可达到84.13%;对于AC-Fe体系,当H2O2投加量为0.33×103mg/L,催化剂AC-Fe用量为2.0×104mg/L,420 W功率下微波作用10 min时,垃圾渗滤液COD去除率为60.16%。分析2种催化剂对COD去除差异的原因,可能是催化剂AC-Cu表面单分子分布的阈值比AC-Fe高。降解液的pH值对AC-Cu体系、AC-Fe体系COD去除影响存在拐点,最高COD去除率点对应的降解液pH值为3。微波辐射功率较低时,体系COD去除率随辐射功率增加而增加;辐射功率较高时,高温下垃圾渗滤液中有机硫化物分解成小分子硫化物,对催化剂活性存在一定抑制作用。     

A competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunoassay for lead ion measurement using mAbs against the lead-DTPA complex

Immunoassays for quantitative measurement of environmental heavy metals offer several advantages over other traditional methods. To develop an immunoassay for lead, Balb/c mice were immunized with a lead-chelate-protein conjugate to allow maximum exposure of the metal to the immune system. Three stable hybridoma cell lines were obtained through spleen cells fusion with Sp2/0 cells. One cell line, 2A11D11, produced mAbs with preferential selectivity and sensitivity for Pb-DTPA than DTPA, exhibiting an affinity constant of 3.34 ± 0.24 × 10⁹ M⁻¹. Cross reactivity (CR) with other metals were below 1%, except for Fe(III) with a CR less than 5%. This quantitative indirect ELISA for the lead ion was used to detect environmental lead content in local water sources; importantly, the results from the immunoassay were in excellent agreement with those from ICP-MS. Development of immunoassays for metal ions may thus facilitate the detection and regulation of environmental pollution.