苯酚对活性污泥活性及微型动物群落结构的影响

为了探究苯酚对污泥活性及微型动物群落结构的影响,以SBR工艺的活性污泥为研究对象,分析苯酚对污泥TTC-ETS活性、INT-ETS活性和微型动物群落结构及其动态变化的影响.结果表明,污泥TTC-ETS活性较之INT-ETS活性能够更有效表征有机毒害物质苯酚对污泥活性的影响,且随着进水苯酚浓度的增大,苯酚对污泥活性的抑制越明显:进水浓度在50mg·L-1时,苯酚对污泥活性的抑制率为(20.75±10.43)%.进水苯酚浓度为100 mg·L-1时,抑制率为(39.73±26.92)%,且波动较大.在300 mg·L-1进水运行后期,苯酚对污泥活性的抑制率稳定在40%左右;苯酚对活性污泥微型动物群落结构的影响随浓度的增大而增大,且对不同微型动物类群影响不同:在低浓度苯酚进水条件下,只有单个微型动物类群(有壳变形虫)受到明显的抑制,而当浓度增大至100 mg·L-1和300 mg·L-1时,对多个微型动物类群(固着型纤毛虫、有壳变形虫、匍匐型纤毛虫、肉食性纤毛虫等)产生抑制,对少数类群(鞭毛虫、线虫等)产生促进作用;苯酚影响下的污泥活性与微型动物之间存在一定的关联性,针棘匣壳虫(Centropyxis aculeata)、多变斜板虫(Plagiocampa mutabilis)等可作为含酚废水处理过程中污泥活性低的指示生物,湖累枝虫(Epistylis lacustris)、软波豆虫(Bodo lens)、跳侧滴虫(Pleuromonas jaculans)等可作为污泥活性高的指示生物.     

基于快速聚类方法分析常州市区PM2.5的统计特性

运用统计方法研究常州市区2013~2014年6个国控点六项基本污染物(SO_2、NO_2、CO、O_3、PM_(2.5)和PM_(10))月平均浓度变化,结果表明,除O_3外,其它五项污染物月平均浓度夏季较低冬季较高.颗粒物与风速之间的关系为PM_(2.5)浓度随风速的升高一直降低,PM_(10)随风速的升高浓度先降低后升高.采用快速聚类分析(k-means)并运用SWV和DIV指数对六项基本污染物进行分类,得到4个样本分类.与依据颗粒物化学成分或粒径谱对PM进行源解析方法不同,本研究更多是从PM_(2.5)与其它污染物相关关系以及污染程度等角度按照欧式距离进行分类.不同类中PM_(2.5)来源明显不同,类1中PM_(2.5)与化石燃料燃烧排放密切相关,类2与O_3密切相关,类3与城市不完全燃烧排放、区域灰霾污染密切相关,类4可以归类于城市"背景"类.快速聚类分析结果也表明常州市区PM_(2.5)有着复杂的来源.     

Beyond hypoxia：Occurrence and characteristics of black blooms due to the decomposition of the submerged plant Potamogeton crispus in a shallow lake

Organic matter-induced black blooms(hypoxia and an offensive odor) are a serious ecosystem disasters that have occurred in some large eutrophic shallow lakes in China. In this study, we investigated two separate black blooms that were induced by Potamogeton crispus in Lake Taihu, China. The main physical and chemical characteristics, including color- and odor-related substances, of the black blooms were analyzed. The black blooms were characterized by low dissolved oxygen concentration(close to 0 mg/L), low oxidation-reduction potential, and relatively low pH of overlying water. Notably higher Fe2+and∑S2-were found in the black-bloom waters than in waters not affected by black blooms. The black color of the water may be attributable to the high concentration of these elements, as black FeS was considered to be the main substance causing the black color of blooms in freshwater lakes. Volatile organic sulfur compounds, including dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide, were very abundant in the black-bloom waters. The massive anoxic degradation of dead Potamogeton crispus plants released dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide, which were the main odor-causing compounds in the black blooms. The black blooms also induced an increase in ammonium nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus levels in the overlying waters. This extreme phenomenon not only heavily influenced the original lake ecosystem but also greatly changed the cycling of Fe, S, and nutrients in the water column.     

Biostability in distribution systems in one city in southern China：Characteristics, modeling and control strategy

This study investigated the bacterial regrowth in drinking water distribution systems receiving finished water from an advanced drinking water treatment plant in one city in southem China. Thirteen nodes in two water supply zones with different aged pipelines were selected to monitor water temperature, dissolved oxygen （DO）, chloramine residual, assimilable organic carbon （AOC）, and heterotrophic plate counts （HPC）. Regression and principal component analyses indicated that HPC had a strong correlation with chloramine residual. Based on Chick-Watson＇s Law and the Monod equation, biostability curves under different conditions were developed to achieve the goal of HPC 100 CFU/mL. The biostability curves could interpret the scenario under various AOC concentrations and predict the required chloramine residual concentration under the condition of high AOC level. The simulation was also carded out to predict the scenario with a stricter HPC goal （≤50 CFU/mL） and determine the required chloramine residual. The biological regrowth control strategy was assessed using biostability curve analysis. The results indicated that maintaining high chloramine residual concentration was the most practical way to achieve the goal of HPC ≤ 100 CFU/mL. Biostability curves could be a very useful tool for biostability control in distribution systems. This work could provide some new insights towards biostability control in real distribution systems.     

Reaction mechanism and metal ion transformation in photocatalytic ozonation of phenol and oxalic acid with Ag+/TiO2

Photocatalytic ozonation of phenol and oxalic acid （OA） was conducted with a Ag^＋/TiO2 catalyst and different pathways were found for the degradation of different compounds. Ag^＋ greatly promoted the photocatalytic degradation of contaminants due to its role as an electron scavenger. It also accelerated the removal rate of OA in ozonation and the simultaneous process for its complex reaction with oxalate. Phenol could be degraded both in direct ozonation and photolysis, but the TOC removal rates were much higher in the simultaneous processes due to the oxidation of hydroxyl radicals resulting from synergetic effects. The sequence of photo-illumination and ozone exposure in the combined process showed quite different effects in phenol degradation and TOC removal. The synergetic effects in different combined processes were found to be highly related to the properties of the target pollutants. The color change of the solution and TEM result confirmed that Ag＋ was easily reduced and deposited on the surface of Tit2 under photo-illumination, and dissolved again into solution in the presence of ozone. This simple cycle of enrichment and distribution of Ag^＋ can greatly benefit the design of advanced oxidation processes, in which the sequences of ozone and photo-illumination can be varied according to the needs for catalyst recycling and the different properties of pollutants.     

Reduction and characterization of bioaerosols in a wastewater treatment station via ventilation

Bioaerosols from wastewater treatment processes are a significant subgroup of atmospheric aerosols. In the present study,airborne microorganisms generated from a wastewater treatment station(WWTS) that uses an oxidation ditch process were diminished by ventilation.Conventional sampling and detection methods combined with cloning/sequencing techniques were applied to determine the groups,concentrations,size distributions,and species diversity of airborne microorganisms before and after ventilation. There were 3021 ± 537 CFU/m3 of airborne bacteria and 926 ± 132 CFU/m3 of airborne fungi present in the WWTS bioaerosol.Results showed that the ventilation reduced airborne microorganisms significantly compared to the air in the WWTS. Over 60% of airborne bacteria and airborne fungi could be reduced after4 hr of air exchange. The highest removal(92.1% for airborne bacteria and 89.1% for fungi) was achieved for 0.65–1.1 μm sized particles. The bioaerosol particles over 4.7 μm were also reduced effectively. Large particles tended to be lost by gravitational settling and small particles were generally carried away,which led to the relatively easy reduction of bioaerosol particles0.65–1.1 μm and over 4.7 μm in size. An obvious variation occurred in the structure of the bacterial communities when ventilation was applied to control the airborne microorganisms in enclosed spaces.     

Experimental study on filtration and continuous regeneration of a particulate filter system for heavy-duty diesel engines

This study investigated the filtration and continuous regeneration of a particulate filter system on an engine test bench, consisting of a diesel oxidation catalyst（DOC） and a catalyzed diesel particulate filter（CDPF）. Both the DOC and the CDPF led to a high conversion of NO to NO2 for continuous regeneration. The filtration efficiency on solid particle number（SPN） was close to100%. The post-CDPF particles were mainly in accumulation mode. The downstream SPN was sensitively influenced by the variation of the soot loading. This phenomenon provides a method for determining the balance point temperature by measuring the trend of SPN concentration.     

Inhibitory effects of nisin-coated multi-walled carbon nanotube sheet on biofilm formation from Bacillus anthracis spores

Multi-walled carbon nanotube（MWCNT） sheet was fabricated from a drawable MWCNT forest and then deposited on poly（methyl methacrylate） film. The film was further coated with a natural antimicrobial peptide nisin. We studied the effects of nisin coating on the attachment of Bacillus anthracis spores, the germination of attached spores, and the subsequent biofilm formation from attached spores. It was found that the strong adsorptivity and the super hydrophobicity of MWCNTs provided an ideal platform for nisin coating. Nisin coating on MWCNT sheets decreased surface hydrophobicity, reduced spore attachment, and reduced the germination of attached spores by 3.5 fold, and further inhibited the subsequent biofilm formation by 94.6% compared to that on uncoated MWCNT sheet. Nisin also changed the morphology of vegetative cells in the formed biofilm.The results of this study demonstrated that the anti-adhesion and antimicrobial effect of nisin in combination with the physical properties of carbon nanotubes had the potential in producing effective anti-biofilm formation surfaces.     

Molecular characterization and developmental expression patterns of thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) and their responsiveness to TR agonist and antagonist in Rana nigromaculata

Considering some advantages of Rana nigromaculata as an experimental species, we propose that this species, like Xenopus laevis, could be used to assay thyroid hormone（TH） signaling disrupting actions. To validate the utilizability of R. nigromaculata, we investigated the responsiveness of R. nigromaculata to a TH receptor（TR） agonist（T3） and antagonist（amiodarone） by analyzing expression, based on characterizing TR cDNA and developmental expression patterns. With high levels of identity with the corresponding genes in X. laevis, both TRα and TRβ in R. nigromaculata exhibited roughly similar developmental expression patterns to those of X. laevis, in spite of some species-specific differences. Both TRα and TRβ expression had greater changes in the liver and intestine than in the tail and brain during metamorphosis. T3 exposure for 2 days induced more dramatic increases of TRβ expression in stage 27 than in stage34 tadpoles but not in stage 42 tadpoles, showing that the responsiveness of R. nigromaculata to TH decreased with development and disappeared at the onset of metamorphic climax.Corresponding to greater changes of TRβ expression in the liver and intestine than in the tail and brain during metamorphosis, the liver and intestine had higher responsiveness to exogenous T3 than the tail and brain. Amiodarone inhibited T3-induced TRβ expression. Our results show that R. nigromaculata can be used as a model species for assaying TH signaling disrupting actions by analyzing TRβ expression, and intestine tissues at stage 27 are ideal test materials due to high responsiveness and easy accessibility.     

Unregulated emissions from diesel engine with particulate filter using Fe-based fuel borne catalyst

The alteration and formation of toxic compounds and potential changes in the toxicity of emissions when using after-treatment technologies have gained wide attention. Volatile organic compound（VOC）, carbonyl compound and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon（PAH） emissions were tested at European Steady State Cycle（ESC） to study unregulated emissions from a diesel engine with a fuel-borne catalyst and diesel particulate filter（FBC–DPF）. An Fe-based fuel-borne catalyst was used for this study. According to the results, brake specific emissions of total VOCs without and with DPF were 4.7 and4.9 mg/kWh, respectively, showing a 4.3% increase. Benzene and n-undecane emissions increased and toluene emission decreased, while other individual VOC emissions basically had no change. When retrofitted with the FBC–DPF, total carbonyl compound emission decreased 15.7%, from 25.8 to 21.8 mg/kWh. The two highest carbonyls, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, were reduced from 20.0 and 3.7 to 16.5 and 3.3 mg/kWh respectively. The specific reactivity（SR） with DPF was reduced from 6.68 to 6.64 mg/kWh. Total particle-phase PAH emissions decreased 66.4% with DPF compared to that without DPF. However, the Benzo[a]pyrene equivalent（BaPeq） with DPF had increased from 0.016 to 0.030 mg/kWh.Fluoranthene and Pyrene had the greatest decrease, 91.1% and 88.4% respectively. The increase of two- and three-ring PAHs with DPF indicates that the fuel-borne catalyst caused some gas-phase PAHs to adsorb on particles. The results of this study expand the knowledge of the effects of using a particulate filter and a Fe-based fuel-borne catalyst on diesel engine unregulated emissions.