Relative influence of the dissolved humic material on the solid-phase extraction efficiency of pesticides from environmental water

The effect of organic matter on the solid-phase extraction (SPE) efficiency for pesticides belonging to different chemical groups (urea-derivatives, carbamates and triazines) and having different polarities, was simultaneously studied for the first time in pure and simulated water samples. SPE was carried out in precolumns packed with C18 silica or styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer PLRP-S phases on-line coupled to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Retention factors in water (k'(W)) were estimated for 25 compounds and used for the calculation of the theoretical breakthrough volume (Vb(T)) in pure water. Experimental breakthrough volumes (Vb(E)) were first determined using purified and deionized water as the matrix for selected compounds having Vb(T) < 500 mL; then, the same water with an added humic acid sodium salt (HA) at 0.4-5.6 mg/L of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content, was used as the matrix for compounds having VbE < 500 mL in pure water. Several polar pesticides showed negative linear or logarithmic Vb(E) curves depending on HA content; their recoveries were also determined in environmental samples having low dissolved organic carbon values, between 0.5-6.4 mg/L. A similar behavior was observed for these compounds in simulated and natural water samples, where DOC concentration and the percolated volume (Vp) mainly determine the solute recoveries values. However, the variation of recoveries as a function of DOC content could be negative or null depending on the two examined conditions (Vp lower or larger than Vb(E) in pure water). Results demonstrated that breakthrough volume must always be considered to correctly interpret the participation of dissolved humic material on the SPE efficiency of organic micropollutants in water.     

Toluene removal biofilter modeling: Optimization and case study

Based on the model proposed by De Visscher and Van Cleemput for methane oxidation in landfill cover soils, a simulation model for biofiltration of toluene-contaminated air has been developed for biofilters with substrate inhibition. A convenient way to optimize biofilter performance was developed assuming Haldane kinetics. It was calculated that for a typical oilsands operation emitting 200 ton of toluene annually, 90% of the toluene can be removed by a 740 m³ biofilter, if the waste gas sent to the biofilter has a toluene concentration of 2.25 g m⁻³. The optimal initial concentration increases with increasing target efficiency.     

Significance of urinary arsenic speciation in assessment of seafood ingestion as the main source of organic and inorganic arsenic in a population resident near a coastal area

In order to characterize the different sources of exposure to arsenic (As), urinary excretion of total As, the sum of inorganic As+MMA+DMA determined by the hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrophotometry technique, and the species As(3), As(5), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and arsenobetaine were determined in 49 workers at a steel foundry, with presumed occupational exposure to As, and 50 subjects from the general population, all males. No evidence of occupational exposure to As resulted from environmental monitoring performed in the foundry, although the analysis of minerals used as raw materials showed the presence of As, particularly in fossils and fine ores. The urinary concentrations of As(3), MMA, DMA, the sum of inorganic As+MMA+DMA and total As were not different in the two groups, while arsenobetaine appeared significantly higher in the controls than in the workers. The different species of urinary As were all significantly correlated. Urinary excretion of As(3) was associated with the consumption of mineral water and with residence in an industrial zone, while MMA, DMA, arsenobetaine, the sum of inorganic As+MMA+DMA and total As urinary excretion were associated with the consumption of crustaceans and/or shellfish 3 days or less before urine collection. Multiple regression analysis confirmed these results. In conclusion, in populations with a high consumption of seafood, living in areas characterized by coastal/marine As pollution, only speciation of As can identify a prevalent role of environmental sources, like the consumption of seafood contaminated by As, in determining urinary As excretion, and exclude an occupational origin of the exposure.     

Photodegradation of the steroid hormones 17beta-estradiol (E2) and 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in dilute aqueous solution

The photochemical transformation of natural estrogenic steroid 17beta-estradiol (E2) and the synthetic oral contraceptive 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) has been studied in dilute non buffered aqueous solution (pH 5.5-6.0) upon monochromatic (254 nm) and polychromatic (lambda>290 nm) irradiation. Upon irradiation at 254 nm, the quantum yields of E2 and EE2 photolysis were similar and evaluated to be 0.067+/-0.007 and 0.062+/-0.007, respectively. Upon polychromatic excitation, and by using phenol as chemical actinometer, the photolysis efficiencies have been determined to be 0.07+/-0.01 and 0.08+/-0.01 for E2 and EE2, respectively. For both estrogens, photodegradation by-products were identified with GC/MS and LC/MS. In a first step, a model compound--5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthol (THN)--, which represents the photoactive phenolic group, was used to obtain basic photoproduct structural informations. Numerous primary and secondary products were observed, corresponding to hydroxylated phenolic- or quinone-type compounds.     

Influence of Technological Process on Biodegradation of PVA/Waxy Starch Blends in an Aerobic and Anaerobic Environment

Improving biodegradability of PVA/starch blends is a reality already documented by a number of works. Admittedly, mechanical properties of products (for example, tensile strength) are somewhat worse, but suitable composition optimizing or chemical modifying of starch may eliminate the problem to a large degree. This work is an attempt to find another potential effect influencing biodegradability, that of technological procedure for producing films from these blends on an extruder. The procedure with a so-called pre-extrusion step (two-stage) and dry-blend (single-stage) produced blends of slightest differences in achieved biodegradability (virtually within limits of experimental error) in aerobic (76 vs. 79%) as well as anaerobic breakdown (48 vs. 52%). Conversely, morphological analysis exhibited superior homogeneity of films prepared by the two-stage process; their tensile strength was also higher.     

Antibacterial behavior of silver-modified clinoptilolite-heulandite rich tuff on coliform microorganisms from wastewater in a column system

The water disinfecting behavior of silver-modified clinoptilolite–heulandite rich tuff (ZSAg) as an antibacterial agent against coliform microorganisms from water in a continuous mode was investigated. Silver recovery from the disinfected effluents by the sodium-modified clinoptilolite–heulandite rich tuff (ZSNa) was also considered. Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739) and total coliform microorganisms, as indicators of microbiological contamination of water, were chosen to achieve the disinfection of synthetic wastewater or municipal wastewater. Ammonium (NH₄⁺) and chloride (Cl⁻) ions were added to the synthetic wastewater as an interfering chemical species on the disinfection processes. The antibacterial activity of the ZSAg as a bactericide was measured by the coliform concentration as evaluated by the APHA method. The amount of silver in the disinfected effluents was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The inactivation of the ZSAg was calculated from the breakthrough curves based on the model reported by Gupta et al. It was found that when the silver concentration in the effluent is less than 0.6 μg/mL, the bacterial survival percentage increased and the volume of disinfected water diminished. The total silver amounts found in the effluent at the end of the disinfection processes varied depending on the water treated (synthetic or municipal wastewater). The presence of NH₄⁺ ions in synthetic wastewater influent notably improved the disinfected water volume (zero NVC/100 mL), in comparison to the disinfection of the same influent without NH₄⁺ ions. A contrary water disinfection behavior was observed in the presence of Cl⁻ ions. The silver recovery does not depend on the mass of the sodium zeolitic bed according with the wastewater to be treated (synthetic or municipal wastewater) and the presence of NH₄⁺ or Cl⁻ ions in the influent also influenced the silver recovery from wastewater. The ZSNa did not have antibacterial activity. Therefore the amount of bactericide agent (silver-modified natural zeolite), coliform microorganisms from water (E. coli or consort of coliform microorganisms) as well as the water quality (synthetic wastewater or municipal wastewater) influenced both the disinfection process and the silver recovery in a column system.     

Chromosomal evolution in Mugilidae: karyotype characterization of Liza saliens and comparative localization of major and minor ribosomal genes in the six Mediterranean mullets

This study continues a comparative cytogenetic analysis of the fish family Mugilidae, reporting the karyotype characterization of the leaping mullet, Liza saliens, by C-banding, Ag- and fluorochrome-staining, and completing the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-mapping of the 18S and 5S rRNA genes (rDNA) to the chromosomes of the six Mediterranean mullets, namely L. saliens, L. ramada, L. aurata, Mugil cephalus, Chelon labrosus and Oedalechilus labeo. In all species, except M. cephalus, the 5S rDNA sites were localized on a medium-sized acrocentric chromosome pair, which was considered homeologous in all of them. In L. saliens, an additional 5S rDNA site was detected in a location close to the one shown by major ribosomal genes in M. cephalus, i.e. the subtelomeric region of chromosome pair 1. The 5S rDNA site in M. cephalus is located on the smallest chromosome pair of the complement, which, on the other hand, though on a different position, bears 18S rDNA in all the species of Liza and Chelon examined. The heterochromatin composition and the major and minor ribosomal gene locations suggest that the karyotype of L. saliens (subgenus Protomugil) can be considered intermediate between the karyotype of the more primitive M. cephalus and those of the other Liza (subgenus Liza) species and of the representatives of the more derived genera Chelon and Oedalechilus.     

循环流化床锅炉烟气脱硫除尘技术改造

对承德市热电厂CG35／3．82－MX型循环流化术锅炉的脱硫除尘系统进行了改造,解决了原水膜除尘器效率低,烟法排放严重超标的问题,取得了良好的环境效益,社会效益和经济效益。