Transport and fate of mercury under different hydrologic regimes in polluted stream in mining area

Seepage from Hg mine wastes and calcines contains high concentrations of mercury (Hg). Hg pollution is a major environmental problem in areas with abandoned mercury mines and retorting units. This study evaluates factors, especially the hydrological and sedimentary variables, governing temporal and spatial variation in levels and state of mercury in streams impacted by Hg contaminated runo . Samples were taken during di erent flow regimes in theWanshan Hg mining area in Guizhou Province, China. In its headwaters the sampled streams/rivers pass by several mine wastes and calcines with high concentration of Hg. Seepage causes serious Hg contamination to the downstream area. Concentrations of Hg in water samples showed significant seasonal variations. Periods of higher flow showed high concentrations of total Hg (THg) in water due to more particles being re-suspended and transported. The concentrations of major anions (e.g., Cl??, F??, NO3?? and SO4 2??) were lower during higher flow due to dilution. Due to both sedimentation of particles and dilution from tributaries the concentration of THg decreased from 2100 ng/L to background levels (< 50 ng/L) within 10 km distance downstream. Sedimentation is the main reason for the fast decrease of the concentration, it accounts for 69% and 60% for higher flow and lower flow regimes respectively in the upper part of the stream. Speciation calculation of the dissolved Hg fraction (DHg) (using Visual MINTEQ) showed that Hg(OH)2 associated with dissolved organic matter is the main form of Hg in dissolved phase in surface waters in Wanshan (over 95%).     

Remediation of copper polluted red soils with clay materials

Attapulgite and montmorillonite were utilized to remediate heavy metal polluted red soils in Guixi City, Jiangxi Province, China. The e ects of clay minerals on availability, chemical distribution, and biotoxicity of Cu and Zn were evaluated. The results provided a reference for the rational application of clay materials to remediate heavy metal contaminated soils. From the sorption experiment, the maximum adsorbed Cu2+ by attapulgite and montmorillonite was 1501 and 3741 mg/kg, respectively. After polluted red soil was amended with attapulgite or montmorillonite and cultured at 30 and 60 days, soil pH increased significantly compared to the control. An 8% increase in the amount of montmorillonite in soil and 30 days incubation decreased acid exchangeable Cu by 24.7% compared to the control red soil. Acid exchangeable Cu decreased with increasing amounts of attapulgite and montmorillonite, with best remediation e ect reached at a dose of 8%. Results also showed that the Cu poisoning e ect on earthworms was reduced with the addition of attapulgite and montmorillonite. Montmorillonite showed the best e ect, with the addition of a 2% dose the mortality of earthworms decreased from 60% to zero compared to the control. Our results indicated that the bioavailability of Cu in soils was reduced more e ectively with the application of montmorillonite than attapulgite.     

Interspecific competition effects on phosphorus accumulation by Hydrilla verticillata and Vallisneria natans

The competition between submersed plants has been recognized as an important factor influencing the structure of plant communities in shallow lakes. The ability of different species to take up and store nutrients from the surrounding ambience varies, and hence plant community structure might be expected to affect the cycling of nutrients in lake ecosystems. In this study, the uptake of phosphorus by Hydrilla verticillata and Vallisneria natans was studied and compared in monoculture and competitive mixed-culture plantings. Results showed that for both studied species the phosphorus concentrations of different tissues and of whole plants was unaffected by competition. However, the quantity of phosphorus accumulated by whole plants of H. verticillata was significantly higher in mixture culture than in monoculture, while that of V. natans was lower in the mixed culture. The results indicated that H. verticillata has a competitive advantage over V. natans, when the two species are grown in competition, and is able to accumulate a greater quantity of phosphorus.     

Chemical cleaning of fouled PVC membrane during ultrafiltration of algal-rich water

Cleaning of hollow-fibre polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane with di erent chemical reagents after ultrafiltration of algal-rich water was investigated. Among the tested cleaning reagents (NaOH, HCl, EDTA, and NaClO), 100 mg/L NaClO exhibited the best performance (88.4% 1.1%) in removing the irreversible fouling resistance. This might be attributed to the fact that NaClO could eliminate almost all the major foulants such as carbohydrate-like and protein-like materials on the membrane surface, as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. However, negligible irreversible resistance (1.5% 1.0%) was obtained when the membrane was cleaning by 500 mg/L NaOH for 1.0 hr, although the NaOH solution could also desorb a portion of the major foulants from the fouled PVC membrane. Scanning electronic microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses demonstrated that 500 mg/L NaOH could change the structure of the residual foulants on the membrane, making them more tightly attached to the membrane surface. This phenomenon might be responsible for the negligible membrane permeability restoration after NaOH cleaning. On the other hand, the microscopic analyses reflected that NaClO could e ectively remove the foulants accumulated on the membrane surface.     

Modeling assessment for ammonium nitrogen recovery from wastewater by chemical precipitation

Chemical precipitation to form magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) is an effective technology for recovering ammonium nitrogen (NH4 +-N). In the present research, we investigated the thermodynamic modeling of the PHREEQC program for NH4 +-N recovery to evaluate the effect of reaction factors on MAP precipitation. The case study of NH4 +-N recovery from coking wastewater was conducted to provide a comparison. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to assist in understanding the relative significance of reaction factors and the interactive effects of solution conditions. Thermodynamic modeling indicated that the saturation index (SI) of MAP followed a polynomial function of pH. The SI of MAP increased logarithmically with the Mg2+/NH4 + molar ratio (Mg/N) and the initial NH4 +-N concentration (CN), respectively, while it decreased with an increase in Ca2+/NH4 + and CO3 2??/NH4 + molar ratios (Ca/N and CO3 2??/N), respectively. The trends for NH4 +-N removal at different pH and Mg/N levels were similar to the thermodynamic modeling predictions. The RSM analysis indicated that the factors including pH, Mg/N, CN, Ca/N, (Mg/N) (CO3 2??/N), (pH)2, (Mg/N)2, and (CN)2 were significant. Response surface plots were useful for understanding the interaction effects on NH4 +-N recovery.     

Sedimentary record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Lake Erhai, Southwest China

The temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated in a sediment core from Lake Erhal in Southwest China using gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method.The total organic carbon (TOC) normalized total PAHs concentrations (sum of US Environmental Protection Agency proposed 16 priority PAHs) ranged from 31.9 to 269 μg/g dry weight (dw),and were characterized by a slowly increasing stage in the deeper sediments and a sharp increasing stage in the upper sediments.The PAHs in the sediments were dominated by low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs,suggesting that the primary source of PAHs was low- and moderate temperature combustion processes.However,both the significant increase in high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs in the upper sediments and the vertical profile of diagnostic ratios pointed out a change in the sources of PAHs from low-temperature combustion to high-temperature combustion.The ecotoxicological assessment based on consensus-based sediment quality guidelines implied that potential adverse biological impacts were possible for benzo(ghi)perylenelene and most LMW PAHs.In addition,the total BaP equivalent quotient of seven carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (BaA,CHr,BbF,BkF,BaP,DBA and INP) was 106.1 ng/g,according to the toxic equivalency factors.Although there was no great biological impact associated with the HMW PAlls,great attention should be paid to these PAH components based on their rapid increase in the upper sediments.     

Visible light responsive N-F-codoped TiO2 photocatalysts for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol

Visible light responsive N-F-codoped TiO₂ photocatalysts exhibit a higher catalytic activity than N-doped TiO₂ for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol due to the synergistic effect of nonmetal elements.     

Complete catalytic oxidation of o-xylene over Ce02 nanocubes

The activities of CeO2 nanocubes calcined at different temperatures were tested for catalytic oxidation of o-xylene. Using CeO2 nanocubes as catalysts, complete catalytic oxidation of o-xylene was achieved below 210℃. The CeO2 nanomaterials were characterized by means of BET, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). From the TEM images, all Ce02 nanocubes displayed cubic morphology irrespective of calcination temperature. The HRTEM images revealed that these nanocubes were enclosed by reactive {001}planes, which may contribute to the intrinsically catalytic property of o-xylene oxidation. The higher activity of Ce02 nanocubes calcined at 550℃ than those calcined at above 550℃ was attributed to their smaller crystallite size and larger surface area. The influences of reaction conditions were also studied, which found that a higher reaction temperature was necessary for complete catalytic oxidation of o-xylene at higher weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) and o-xylene concentration.     

Decolorization of dye solutions with Ruditapes philippinarum conglutination mud and the isolated bacteria

Application of Ruditapes Philippinarum conglutination mud (RPM) for decolorizing synthetic dye solutions was studied. RPM showed good activity for decolorization of Methylene Blue, Crystal Violet, Malachite Green, and Ink Blue. The amount of the RPM had great effect on the decoloration rate of the dye solutions. However, the decoloration rate did not continue to increase when the amount of mud exceeded the optimum dose. The temperature of the dye solution had a remarkable effect on the decolorization rate of Ink Blue solution, but had little effect on the other three dye solutions. The initial pH of the dye solutions evidently affected the decolorization rate of Malachite Green solution, but had less effect on the other three. The decolorization rate of the dye solutions increased significantly with treatment time within 8 hr, but tended to be steady after 8 hr for Methylene Blue, Crystal Violet and Malachite Green solutions, and after 12 hr for Ink Blue solution. The decolorization efficiencies for the four dye solutions under the optimum conditions were all above 90%. Seventeen strains screened from RPM showed flocculation ability for kaolin clay suspension. Out of them, the flocculation rate of strain ZHT3-9 and strain ZHT4-13 were up to 88.14% and 86.01%, respectively. ZHT3-9 was studied, and its decolorization rate for Methylene Blue, Crystal Violet, and Malachite Green reached 90.02%, 89.21%, and 80.29%, respectively. By morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics analysis and 16S rRNA sequencing, the strain ZHT3-9 was identified as Arthrobacter sp.