Microbial Potential for the Anaerobic Transformation of Simple Homocyclic and Heterocyclic Compounds in Sediments of the Tsengwen River

The ability of microbial populations to mediate the anaerobic transformation of four aromatic compounds (aniline, benzoic acid, pyridine, and quinoline) in sediments of the Tsengwen River was examined. Along the river, from a freshwater (0.0° salinity) to an oceanic (37.0° salinity) environment, five sampling stations were chosen to collect the sediment. Sediment slurries were incubated in an anaerobic mineral salts medium that was amended with multiple electron acceptors, including manganese (IV) and ferric (III) oxides, and the concentrations of the aromatic substrates were followed over a 3- to 4-month period. Most sediment samples showed a complete loss of benzoic acid and quinoline (0.12–0.21 mM) within approximately three months. Pyridine was transformed after a lag period of 53 days in the sediment slurries from the freshwater environment which had been amended with both metal oxide (either Fe (OH)₃ or MnO₂) and inhibitor (either BESA or molybdate). Pyridine was not transformed in other sediment slurries. No significant metabolism of aniline was apparent in any of the sediments.     

Decomposition of perfluorooctanoic acid by microwaveactivated persulfate: Effects of temperature, pH, and chloride ions

Microwave-hydrothermal treatment of persistent and bioaccumulative perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in water with persulfate (S₂O ₈ ^2? ) has been found effective. However, applications of this process to effectively remediate PFOA pollution require a better understanding on free-radical scavenging reactions that also take place. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of pH (pH = 2.5, 6.6, 8.8, and 10.5), chloride concentrations (0.01?C0.15 mol·L^?1), and temperature (60°C, 90°C, and 130°C) on persulfate oxidation of PFOA under microwave irradiation. Maximum PFOA degradation occurred at pH 2.5, while little or no degradation at pH 10.5. Lowering system pH resulted in an increase in PFOA degradation rate. Both high pH and chloride concentrations would result in more scavenging of sulfate free radicals and slow down PFOA degradation. When chloride concentrations were less than 0.04 mol·L^?1 at 90°C and 0.06 mol·L^?1 at 60°C, presence of chloride ions had insignificant impacts on PFOA degradation. However, beyond these concentration levels, PFOA degradation rates reduced significantly with an increase in chloride concentrations, especially under the higher temperature.     

风暴潮风险研究进展

中国沿海是全球少数几个风暴潮风险最大的区域之一。受全球气候变暖和海平面上升的影响,沿海地区风暴潮灾害风险水平呈显著上升的趋势。从灾害风险理论出发,在对风暴潮风险的认识、风暴潮危险性评估、风暴潮易损性评估,以及风暴潮综合风险评估等四个方面,系统地总结了目前风暴潮风险研究的最新成果、研究进展和存在的主要问题。总体来看,现阶段风暴潮风险评估研究还比较薄弱,未来的风暴潮风险研究应该由单要素评估走向综合评估,加强风暴潮风险评估的综合性和系统性。随着沿海地区社会经济的发展,应充分考虑全球变化和海平面上升对未来风暴潮风险的影响,完善风暴潮综合风险评估体系,提升风暴潮预报预警能力,为风暴潮灾害的防灾减灾工作提供科学依据。     

Recycling MSWI bottom and fly ash as raw materials for Portland cement

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) ash is rich in heavy metals and salts. The disposal of MSWI ash without proper treatment may cause serious environmental problems. Recently, the local cement industry in Taiwan has played an important role in the management of solid wastes because it can utilize various kinds of wastes as either fuels or raw materials. The objective of this study is to assess the possibility of MSWI ash reuse as a raw material for cement production. The ash was first washed with water and acid to remove the chlorides, which could cause serious corrosion in the cement kiln. Various amounts of pre-washed ash were added to replace the clay component of the raw materials for cement production. The allowable limits of chloride in the fly ash and bottom ash were found to be 1.75% and 3.50% respectively. The results indicate that cement production can be a feasible alternative for MSWI ash management. It is also evident that the addition of either fly ash or bottom ash did not have any effect on the compressive strength of the clinker. Cement products conformed to the Chinese National Standard (CNS) of Type II Portland cement with one exception, the setting time of the clinker was much longer.     

Evaluation of marine outfall with three-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality modeling

Numerical models are often used to evaluate the potential impact of human alternation of natural water bodies and to help the design of the alternation to mitigate its impacts. In the past decade, three-dimensional hydrodynamic and reactive transport modeling has matured from a research subject to a practical analysis technology. This paper presents a practical study in which a three-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality model [hydrodynamic eutrophication model (HEM-3D)] was applied to determine the optimal location for treated wastewater discharged from marine outfall system in the Keelung harbor and the adjacent coastal sea. First, model validation was conducted with respect to surface elevation, current, and water quality variables measured in the Keelung harbor station and its coastal sea. The overall performance of the model was in qualitative agreement with the available field data. The model was then used to evaluate several scenarios of the locations from marine outfall system. Based on model simulation results, a location at the northeast of Ho-Ping Island was recommended for adoption because the environmental impact is smaller than any other alternative.

Fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during vitrification of incinerator ash in a coke bed furnace

Fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the vitrification of fly ash and bottom ash from the municipal waste incinerator in a coke bed furnace was investigated. In this system, both coke and lime were added to enhance the melting reaction. The major PAH sources in this system were ash and coke, which respectively contributed 97% and 3% of PAHs in the input-mass. During vitrification process, low molecular PAHs (LM-PAH, 2-3-ring), median molecular PAHs (MM-PAH, 4-ring) and high molecular PAHs (HM-PAH, 5-7-ring) mass respectively accounted for >99%, >99% and 84% of the output-mass emitted as the stack flue gas; while those discharged from the slag were <1%, <1% and 16%, respectively. The O/I (output-mass/input-mass) ratio of LM-, MM- and HM-PAHs were 0.063, 0.002 and <0.001, respectively. The high distribution in flue gas and O/I ratio of LM-PAHs is reasonable since they are more easily evaporated, hence difficult to be removed by air pollution control devices. On the contrary, the HM-PAHs, having lower vapor pressure, primarily stays mainly in slag. Based on the 21 total PAH content in feeding ash and slag, the reduction efficiency of the coke bed furnace was >99.9%. To minimize the risk of secondary pollution, the efficiency of coke bed furnace should be improved to reduce the PAH emission into ambient air.     

Bacterial diversity in paclobutrazol applied agricultural soils

The aim of this study was to investigate the bacterial communities on paclobutrazol [(2RS, 3RS)-1-(4-Chlorophenyl)-4, 4-dimethyl-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) pentan-3-ol]–applied agricultural soils by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified 16S rDNA gene fragments. Three different agricultural soil samples were collected from paclobutrazol applied mango and waxapple orchards, peanut fields and untreated rice fields as a control for DGGE analysis. The DGGE pattern of PCR- generated 16S rDNA gene fragments indicated that the bacterial populations from four paclobutrazol–applied soils of peanut fields were closely related to each other and two paclobutrazol–applied soils of mango and waxapple orchards harbored closely related bacterial communities. But, paclobutrazol–free agricultural soils comprised relatively a different bacterial group. However, the bacterial populations of mango and waxapple orchard are completely different from the bacterial communities of peanut field. Further purification and sequence analysis of 40 DGGE bands followed by phylogenetic tree assay showed similar results that soil bacteria from paclobutrazol applied mango and waxapple orchard are phylogenetically related. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, the clone M-4 was clad 100 % (bootstrap value) with Mycobacterium sp. The Mycobacterium sp. has been proved to degrade the phenolic compounds such as phenol, 4-chlorphenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol and paclobutrazol molecule containing chlorobenzene ring.     

Bird species migration ratio in East Asia, Australia, and surrounding islands

Bird migration and its relationship with the contemporary environment have attracted long-term discussion. We calculated the avian migration ratio (the proportion of breeding species that migrate) in the areas from 70°E to 180°E and examined its relationship with the annual ranges of ambient temperature, primary productivity (estimated by the Enhanced Vegetation Index), and precipitation, along with island isolation and elevational range. The avian migration ratio increased with increasing latitude in general but varied greatly between the two hemispheres. Additionally, it showed minimal differences between continents and islands. Our analyses revealed that the seasonality of ambient temperature, which represents the energy expenditure of birds, is the dominant factor in determining bird species migration. Seasonality in primary productivity and other environmental factors play an indirect or limited role in bird species migration. The lower avian migration ratio in the Southern Hemisphere can be attributed to its paleogeographical isolation, stable paleoclimate, and warm contemporary environment. Under current trends of global warming, our findings should lead to further studies of the impact of warming on bird migration.     

基于蒙特卡洛模拟与PMF模型的黄河流域沉积物重金属污染评价及源解析

沉积物是河流的重要组成部分,而沉积物中重金属的富集严重威胁着水环境安全.黄河流域沿程分布着众多工业城市,且流域水土流失量大,泥沙携带重金属进入河流导致沉积物重金属污染问题日趋严重,研究黄河流域沉积物中重金属污染状况对流域生态安全具有重要意义.收集2000~2020年发表的关于黄河流域沉积物中重金属（铅、镉、铬、砷、锌、铜、镍和汞）含量的数据,首先基于描述性统计及地统计法分析重金属的空间分布特征,进一步采用蒙特卡洛法进行地累积指数（I_geo）、潜在生态风险及毒性单位概率的评价,最后结合正定矩阵因子分解模型（PMF）与Pearson相关性分析确定污染源个数及贡献率.结果发现,黄河流域沉积物中ω（Pb）、ω（As）、ω（Zn）、ω（Ni）、ω（Cu）、ω（Hg）、ω（Cr）和ω（Cd）的均值分别为26.92、11.78、87.17、31.13、24.96、0.07、73.36和0.58 mg·kg^-1,分别超过黄河流域各省土壤背景值均值1.27、1.08、1.26、1.05、1.09、2.32、1.14和5.95倍,其中Cd超标倍数最大,应当引起重视;I_geo：Cd>Hg>Cr>Cu>Pb>Zn>As>Ni,Cd和Hg存在中度-严重污染;数据表明黄河流域上、中和下游沉积物重度生态风险占比分别为18.6%、15.7%和7.1%,呈递减趋势;黄河流域沉积物中重金属处于低毒性状态;溯源分析表明黄河流域沉积物重金属的4个来源分别是矿业源（42.2%）、自然活动（38.3%）、农业活动（11.6%）和电镀废水（7.9%）.研究结果可为黄河流域制定相关污染防控措施提供依据.