Effects of anthropogenic activities on chemical contamination within the Grand Canal, China

Contamination of nutrients and heavy metals within aquatic system is of great concern due to its potential impact on human and animal health. The Grand Canal of China, the largest artificial river in the world, is of great importance in supplying water resource, transporting cargo, and recreating resident, as well as great historical heritage. This study assessed and examined the impact of human activities on characters of contamination distribution within the section of the Canal in Taihu watershed. Physicochemical parameters of surface water quality were determined monthly from the year 2004 to 2006 at 11 sites that were influenced by different anthropogenic activities along the Canal. Moreover, contaminations at surface sediments (20 cm) at the same locations were also analyzed in September 2006. Results showed that the Canal had been seriously polluted, which was characterized with high spatial variations in contaminations distribution. The sites influenced mainly by industry and urbanization showed higher contents of nutrients and lower levels of dissolve oxygen than other sites. Concentrations of nitrogen at all studied sites exceeded the worst level of surface water quality according to the National Criterion of Surface Water Quality, China, with the average values varying from 2.27 to 10.34 mg/L. Furthermore, the site influenced mainly by industry (i.e., Site 4) presented the highest contents of cadmium (3.453 mg/kg), chromium (196.87 mg/kg), nickel (87.12 mg/kg), zinc (381.8 mg/kg), and copper (357.32 mg/kg). While sites in vicinity to cities had presented relatively higher contents of metals, especially for the site located downstream of Changzhou City (Site 3) had presented the highest contents of mercury (1.64 mg/kg) and lead (197.62 mg/kg). Copper at Sites 2 to 6, Nickel at Sites 2 to 9 except for Site 7, chromium, lead, and zinc at Sites 3 to 6 had exceeded New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Severe Effect Level (SEL). By multivariate statistical, nutrient variables, companied with V-phen, had contributed the most variation of water quality, while nutrient and metals had explained the most part of total variance of contaminations in sediment. This study indicated that the canal had been polluted severely and urgently need to control.     

Toxicological assessment of TiO2 nanoparticles by recombinant Escherichia coli bacteria

Rapid and efficient methods to assess nanoparticle toxicity are desired in current research. Here we showed that Escherichia coli labeled by green fluorescent protein can be a good model bacterium for assessing acute toxicity of TiO(2) (about 50% inhibition ratios after 135 min exposure). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed that TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) can influence certain protein expression in the recombinant bacterium, and the obvious effects in repressed expression and elevated expression were observed in 30/40, 10/20 μg mL(-1) treated cells, respectively. However, the GFP expression (27 kD) was not influenced by introduced TiO(2) NPs. The change of the fluorescence intensity may be caused by the damage in folding and chromophore formation of the GFP post-translational modification due to generated reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, TiO(2) NPs at higher concentrations decreased their toxicity because of aggregation. 20 μg mL(-1) humic acid (HA) introduced to the medium can decrease the fluorescent inhibition owing to the barrier of steric hindrance it provides between NPs and cells.     

Impact of elevated O3 on visible foliar symptom, growth and biomass of Cinnamomum camphora seedlings under different nitrogen loads

The effects of elevated ozone (O(3)) and enhanced nitrogen (N) on the growth and biomass of Cinnamomum camphora, a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved tree species, were investigated. The seedlings, supplied with N (NH(4)NO(3) solution) at 0, 30 and 60 kg ha(-1) year(-1) (simplified as N0, N30, N60, respectively), were exposed to ambient (AA) or elevated O(3) (AA + 60 nmol mol(-1) and AA + 120 nmol mol(-1), designated as AA + 60 and AA + 120, respectively) for the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons. Symptomatic leaf percentages were significantly increased with O(3) concentration. AA + 120 significantly decreased the mean leaf size and chlorophyll content of both 2009- and 2010-emerged leaves, inhibited the growth of stem height and basal diameter, and reduced biomass accumulation of all plant parts except for leaves. By comparison, only the chlorophyll content of 2009-emerged leaves and root dry weight were significantly reduced under AA + 60. Specific leaf area, total leaf area and foliar biomass were not affected even at a higher O(3) level. On the other hand, N loads, especially N60, exerted significantly positive effects on all variables except mean leaf size and shoot/root ratio. No significant interactions between O(3) and N were detected, suggesting that the N supply at ≤60 kg ha(-1) year(-1) did not significantly modify the response of C. camphora to O(3) in terms of seedling growth and biomass accumulation.     

Changes in the reaction regime during low-temperature oxidation of coal in confined spaces

A study of the initial stage of the low-temperature oxidation of coal is important, not only for the prevention for fires in coal industry, but also in reducing emissions of hazardous gases. A batch reactor was introduced and a series of simulated experiments of coal oxidation was carried out in this paper. The time-dependent rates of CO emission and oxygen consumption during oxidation experiments of coal samples with different particle size ranges were obtained simultaneously from the measurements of CO and O₂ concentration in the reactor. The experimental results show that the rate of CO emission presents three stages in the duration of coal oxidation. Based on the rates of oxygen consumption, the reaction order and reaction rate were obtained from the reaction rate equation. These results indicate that the reaction regime switches during coal oxidation in confined spaces. The initial decrease of reaction rate is due to the decrease of the active sites in coal. While the decrease of reaction rate in the following period of coal oxidation is attributed to the reaction-inhibition mechanism of oxidation products. And it is mainly represented by the chemisorption sequence of coal oxidation. The oxidative activity of coal can be restored when the oxidation products are evacuated. A mechanism of low-temperature oxidation of coal in confined spaces was also suggested.     

Polypropylene microplastics alter the cadmium adsorption capacity on different soil solid fractions

• PP-MPs reduced the adsorption capacity of the bulk soil for Cd in aqueous medium. • The responses of the POM, OMC and mineral fractions to PP-MPs were different. • PP-MPs reduced the adsorption of POM and OMC fractions to Cd. • PP-MPs increased the adsorption of mineral fraction to Cd. • Effect of MPs on soil may be controlled by proportion of POM, OMC and mineral fractions. Microplastics (MPs) are widely present in a variety of environmental media and have attracted more and more attention worldwide. However, the effect of MPs on the the interaction between heavy metals and soil, especially in soil fraction level, is not well understood. In this study, batch experiments were performed to investigate the adsorption characteristics of Cd in bulk soil and three soil fractions (i.e. particulate organic matter (POM), organic-mineral compounds (OMC), and mineral) with or without polypropylene (PP) MPs. The results showed that the addition of PP-MPs reduced the Cd adsorption capacity of the bulk soil in aqueous solution, and the effects varied with PP-MPs dose and aging degree. Whereas, the responses of the three fractions to PP-MPs were different. In presence of PP-MPs, the POM and OMC fractions showed negative adsorption effects, while the mineral fraction showed positive adsorption. For the bulk soil, POM and OMC fractions, the adsorption isotherm fitted to the Langmuir model better than the Freundlich model, whereas, the Freundlich isotherm model is more fitted for the mineral fraction. Combined with the comprehensive analysis of the partitioning coefficients, XRD and FTIR results, it was found that OMC fraction extremely likely play a leading role in the bulk soil adsorption of Cd in this study. Overall, the effect of MPs on adsorption capacity of the bulk soil for Cd may be determined by the proportion of POM, OMC, and mineral fractions in the soil, but further confirmation is needed.     

Zn/Fe体系湿法催化氧化高效脱除沼气中H2S的研究

提出了Zn/Fe体系湿法催化氧化脱除沼气中H2S新工艺,阐述了反应机理、实验装置和工艺流程,考察了各单因素操作条件对H2S脱除效率的影响,在此基础上进行的综合条件实验,脱硫效率都维持在99.6%以上,净化后沼气中H2S含量低于国家标准.过程不消耗任何化工原料,不产生二次污染,体系无降解问题.     

Fe/Cu体系湿式催化氧化一步高效脱除H2S新方法研究

提出了Fe/Cu体系室温湿式催化氧化一步高效脱除H2S废气的新方法,阐述了反应机理、实验装置和工艺流程;考察了Fe3+、Cu2+浓度和H2S入口浓度对H2S脱除效率的影响及Fe3+、H+与添加剂NaCl浓度对CuS氧化浸出的影响,分析了Fe3+、Cu2+、H+浓度和废气中O2含量对fe3+、Cu2+再生的影响;并进行了综合实验.结果表明,当废气中O2体积分数为5%时,新方法中含40g·L-1Cu2+及80g·L-1Fe3+的吸收体系即能对体积分数为1000×10-6的H2S废气100%稳定脱硫,体系除消耗O外,过程不消耗任何原料,不产生二次污染,体系无降解问题.     

太湖流域圩区陆地生态服务价值评估

通过构建生态服务价值评价体系,对太湖流域圩区陆地生态服务价值进行估算,并分析其空间差异性. 结果表明:①圩区陆地生态系统面积为9 196.7 km2,其中农田、居民点与工矿用地、交通用地、林地等4个生态子系统面积所占比例分别为59.1%、34.5%、3.8%、2.5%. ②圩区陆地生态服务价值总量为219.374×108元/a,以间接生态价值(生态调节、生态维持价值)为主,占总量的61.6%. 其中生态服务价值最高的是下游杭嘉湖区(83.007×108元/a),其次为上游浙西区(39.104×108元/a)和湖西区(32.790×108元/a),三者占总量的70.6%;而下游浦西区、浦东区与上游的太湖区生态服务价值相对较低,仅占总量的9.1%. ③圩区单位面积陆地生态系统平均服务价值为2.385元/(m2·a),整体呈西高东低、南高北低的空间格局. ④因生态系统结构和生态效用机制的不同,林地单位面积各项生态服务均明显优于农田. ⑤流域景观综合指数在0.879~1.124之间,呈西高东低的空间分布特点.      

倒置A2O污水处理厂PFOS和PFOA的浓度分布特征及其总量分析

为考察全氟辛烷磺酸(PFOS)和全氟辛酸(PFOA)在倒置A2O污水处理厂各工艺段的浓度分布规律与去除效率,采用固相萃取(SPE)和高效液相色谱-质谱联用(LC-MS/MS)技术,检测分析了北京市卢沟桥污水处理厂夏季和冬季各工艺段污水和污泥中PFOS和PFOA的浓度.结果显示,PFOS在污水与污泥中的浓度均大于PFOA;进水中PFOS和PFOA的浓度分别为113.9~160.6 ng·L-1和14.7~68.1 ng·L-1,出水中的浓度分别为60.1~232.6 ng·L-1和29.9~71.5 ng·L-1;PFOS和PFOA在倒置A2O工艺没有得到有效去除.同时发现,PFOS在污泥中的浓度随季节变化较大,且其在污泥中的分配比高于PFOA;PFOS的质量流在工艺流程的各阶段变化较大,而PFOA没有明显的变化和差别.进水中PFOS和PFOA的质量流经过污水处理厂处理后反而升高,有可能是由于前驱物质降解产生.     

液相络合-铁粉还原酸吸收回收法脱除烟气中NOx的机理研究

提出了“Fe^2 螯合剂吸收．铁粉还原．酸吸收”回收法脱除烟气中NOx的新工艺．通过对脱氮后气、液相组成的分析，重点研究了脱氮的反应机理．结果表明，处理后气体中没有产生N2O，脱氮液中也没有NO2^-和NO3^-形成，脱氮过程中NO全部被铁粉还原成了氨；在无氧的条件下，脱氮量与铁粉消耗量的比值(摩尔比)为2／1，在有氧的条件下，脱氮量与铁粉消耗量的比值为1／2，在此基础上提出了脱氮的化学反应．同时还确定了本实验的在反应条件下脱氮液中氨的平衡浓度。