Human factors and tidal influences on water quality of an urban river in Can Tho, a major city of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

In this study, we focused on water quality in an urban canal and the Mekong River in the city of Can Tho, a central municipality of the Mekong Delta region, southern Vietnam. Water temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, BOD₅, COD_Cr, Na⁺, Cl^?, NH₄ ⁺?N, SO₄ ^2??S, NO₃ ^??N, and NO₂ ^??N for both canal and river, and tide level of the urban canal, were monitored once per month from May 2010 to April 2012. The urban canal is subject to severe anthropogenic contamination, owing to poor sewage treatment. In general, water quality in the canal exhibited strong tidal variation, poorer at lower tides and better at higher tides. Some anomalies were observed, with degraded water quality under some high-tide conditions. These were associated with flow from the upstream residential area. Therefore, it was concluded that water quality in the urban canal changed with a balance between dilution effects and extent of contaminant supply, both driven by tidal fluctuations in the Mekong River.     

安全等级特征量及其计算方法

指出了目前用模糊评价法确定系统的安全等级所存在的问题和不足之处。分别运用模糊随机变量理论和模糊集理论而提出了安全等级模糊随机特征量和安全等级模糊特征量的概念及其计算方法。安全等级特征量及安全等级变量,均为安全等级取值论域上的模糊子集,而并非是一个确定的点。还给出了安全等级的绝对可能性和相对可能性的计算方法。实例表明,笔者所提出的安全等级特征量及可能性的计算方法是科学的、合理的     

“引江济太”过程中塑化剂类污染物的输入特征和环境健康风险评价

为了解"引江济太"过程中塑化剂类污染物对贡湖的输入特征,于2013年8月对14个采样点的7种邻苯二甲酸酯类化合物(PAEs)的浓度进行采样分析,并通过美国环保署(USEPA)推荐的方法,对其环境风险进行评价.结果表明:各采样点邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(DBP)和邻苯二甲酸二环己酯(DCHP)均有检出,除采样点10、11和12外,邻苯二甲酸二乙酯(DEP)也有检出,其余4种均未检出,长江引水经望虞河进入贡湖后,DEP、DBP和DCHP浓度均有不同程度的降低,且其最高浓度均出现在望虞河长江引水处(采样点1),说明在引水过程中长江水对望虞河有明显的PAEs输入,而贡湖锡东水厂DEP浓度高于贡湖其他采样点,南泉水厂DBP和DCHP浓度高于贡湖其他采样点,金墅湾水厂PAEs浓度总体处于较低水平.环境健康风险评价结果显示:DEP的最大非致癌风险值为3.91×10-8a~(-1),未超过国际组织规定范围,而DBP的最大非致癌风险值为1.17×10-5a~(-1),超过英国皇家协会RS规定的1×10-6a~(-1),但均对人体无明显非致癌危害.     

Impact of dissolved organic matter on the photolysis of the ionizable antibiotic norfloxacin

Norfloxacin (NOR), an ionizable antibiotic frequently used in the aquaculture industry, has aroused public concern due to its persistence, bacterial resistance, and environmental ubiquity. Therefore, we investigated the photolysis of different species of NOR and the impact of a ubiquitous component of natural water — dissolved organic matter (DOM), which has a special photochemical activity and normally acts as a sensitizer or inhibiter in the photolysis of diverse organics; furthermore, scavenging experiments combined with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) were performed to evaluate the transformation of NOR in water. The results demonstated that NOR underwent direct photolysis and self-sensitized photolysis via hydroxyl radical (·OH) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) based on the scavenging experiments. In addition, DOM was found to influence the photolysis of different NOR species, and its impact was related to the concentration of DOM and type of NOR species. Photolysis of cationic NOR was photosensitized by DOM at low concentration, while zwitterionic and anionic NOR were photoinhibited by DOM, where quenching of UOH predominated according to EPR experiments, accompanied by possible participation of excited triplet-state NOR and ¹O₂. Photo-intermediate identification of different NOR species in solutions with/without DOM indicated that NOR underwent different photodegradation pathways including dechlorination, cleavage of the piperazine side chain and photooxidation, and DOM had little impact on the distribution but influenced the concentration evolution of photolysis intermediates. The results implied that for accurate ecological risk assessment of emerging ionizable pollutants, the impact of DOM on the environmental photochemical behavior of all dissociated species should not be ignored.     

Potential application of high pressure carbon dioxide in treated wastewater and water disinfection: Recent overview and further trends

Recently emerging disadvantages in conventional disinfection have heightened the need for finding a new solution. Developments in the use of high pressure carbon dioxide for food preservation and sterilization have led to a renewed interest in its applicability in wastewater treatment and water disinfection. Pressurized CO₂ is one of the most investigated methods of antibacterial treatment and has been used extensively for decades to inhibit pathogens in dried food and liquid products. This study reviews the literature concerning the utility of CO₂ as a disinfecting agent, and the pathogen inactivation mechanism of CO₂ treatment is evaluated based on all available research. In this paper, it will be argued that the successful application and high effectiveness of CO₂ treatment in liquid foods open a potential opportunity for its use in wastewater treatment and water disinfection. The findings from models with different operating conditions (pressure, temperature, microorganism, water content, media …) suggest that most microorganisms are successfully inhibited under CO₂ treatment. It will also be shown that the bacterial deaths under CO₂ treatment can be explained by many different mechanisms. Moreover, the findings in this study can help to address the recently emerging problems in water disinfection, such as disinfection by-products (resulting from chlorination or ozone treatment).     

Enhancing anoxic denitrification of low C/N ratio wastewater with novel ZVI composite carriers

External organic carbon sources are needed to provide electron donors for the denitrification of wastewater with a low COD/NO₃^--N（C/N） ratio, increasing the treatment cost. The economic strategy is to enhance the bioactivity and/or biodiversity of denitrifiers to efficiently utilize organic substances in wastewater. In this study, novel zero-valent iron（ZVI） composite carriers were prepared and implemented in a suspended carrier biofilm reactor to enhance the bioactivity an...     

Applying value of information methods to prioritize elements for water quality management with an example of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate in the Yodo River,Japan

Narrowing the decision space is crucial in water quality management at the meso-scale for developing countries, where a lack of data and financial budgets prevent the development of appropriate management plans and result in serious water quality degradation in many rivers. In this study, a framework for handling this task is proposed, comprising a lumped water quality model, with sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, and a management domain, including loss estimation and value of information analysis. Through a case study with linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) in the Yodo River, it is found that non-point sources and flow rate are factors that influence LAS concentration at the hot spot location. By considering the entire process of water quality management planning, we identify that the definition of the cost function of LAS treatment determines the appropriate estimation for the expected loss in reducing LAS under uncertain water quality conditions. The value of information analysis with “expected value of including uncertainty” and “expected value of perfect information” further helps estimate the benefit of including uncertainty in decision-making and the financial cost for obtaining more information regarding inputs that have been previously prioritized.     

Steady performance of a zero valent iron packed anaerobic reactor for azo dye wastewater treatment under variable influent quality

Zero valent iron (ZVI) is expected to help create an enhanced anaerobic environment that might improve the performance of anaerobic treatment. Based on this idea, a novel ZVI packed upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (ZVI-UASB) reactor was developed to treat azo dye wastewater with variable influent quality. The results showed that the reactor was less influenced by increases of Reactive Brilliant Red X-3B concentration from 50 to 1000 mg/L and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from 1000 to 7000 mg/L in the feed than a reference UASB reactor without the ZVI. The ZVI decreased oxidation-reduction potential in the reactor by about 80 mV. Iron ion dissolution from the ZVI could buffer acidity in the reactor, the amount of which was related to the COD concentration. Fluorescence in situ hybridization test showed the abundance of methanogens in the sludge of the ZVI-UASB reactor was significantly greater than that of the reference one. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis showed that the ZVI increased the diversity of microbial strains responsible for high efficiency.     

VOCs气体在活性炭上的二元吸附过程研究

采用穿透曲线法研究了4种VOCs在活性炭上的的二元吸附过程。研究表明:对于甲苯-苯、甲苯-丙酮、甲苯-乙酸乙酯、苯-丙酮、丙酮-乙酸乙酯二元吸附体系,吸附过程存在置换作用,即随着高沸点组分在床层内吸附量的逐渐增加,相对挥发性大的低沸点组分重新汽化而脱附,出现高沸点组分置换低沸点组分的现象,表现为被置换组分的穿透曲线上出现峰值。之后随着高沸点组分吸附趋于饱和,置换作用停止,低沸点组分吸附也趋于平衡。但对于沸点相近的苯-乙酸乙酯二元体系,吸附过程没有明显的置换现象。吸附量的计算结果表明,有机物在二元体系中的吸附量较同等条件时的单组分吸附量均有不同程度的降低,其中被置换组分降低程度较大,但总吸附量可近似按照浓度为二元组分总浓度低沸点组分的平衡吸附量的近似法计算,平均误差为7.9%。     

Complexes of fulvic acid on the surface of hematite, goethite, and akaganeite: FTIR observation

The present work extended our knowledge on the binding and complexation of a fulvic acid (FA) derived from leonardite and the iron oxides (hematite, goethite and akaganeite) by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). As a prerequisite, the iron oxides were firstly prepared and characterized by transmission electron micrograph (TEM). All iron phases were single and well-described crystalloid. The FTIR data obtained by two different sampling preparation methods gave the consisting evidences that under our experimental conditions the interaction mechanism was to the ligand-exchange involving carboxylic functional groups of the FA and the surfaces sites of both hematite and goethite, while no complexation can be evidenced in the case of akaganeite, only surface adsorption. In general, the binding affinities of the iron oxides with the FA was in the order of hematite>goethite>akaganeite. The present method, although associated with some uncertainties, provided an opportunity to increase the knowledge in the field of the humic chemistry.