Solid phase microextraction (SPME) as an effective means to isolate degradation products in polymers

A new sample preparation technique, solid phase microextraction (SPME), was compared with direct headspace-GC-MS with respect to the type and amount of identified compounds. Three types of LDPE films containing photosensitising additives according to the Scott-Gilead patents and pure LDPE were used as model substances. The polyethylene films were thermally aged at 80‡C after the induction period was surpassed by subjecting the materials to 100 h of UV radiation. The new SPME method was developed using nonpolar poly(dimethylsiloxane) and polar carbowax fibers to extract the low molecular weight products formed in the polyethylene films during aging. Many more products were identified after SPME followed by GC-MS than after direct headspace-GC-MS of the samples. The SPME method allowed the identification of homologous series of carboxylic acids, ketones, and furanones, while direct headspace-GC-MS identified only a few carboxylic acids (C1-C6) and small amounts of some ketones and furanones. In general, SPME was more effective in extracting less volatile products, and in particular, the polar carbowax fiber identified also C7-C12 carboxylic acids and 4-oxopentanoic acid. By SEC and FTIR we confirmed that the number and amount of former degradation products correlated well with the decrease in molecular weights and the amount of formed carbonyl compounds.     

Integrating environmental policies into local practices: The politics of agri-environmental and energy policies in Rural Finland

The paper focuses on the interplay between policy implementation and heterogeneous everyday social practices that, we argue, finally determine the success of environmental policies. We compare two empirical case studies to show how the targets of international climate policy and the agri-environmental policy of the EU have been achieved in energy production and agriculture in rural Finland. The focus of our analysis is on the power effects of these policies at the level of local natural resource management practices. Our analysis revealed tensions that arose during the implementation of the policies and showed that the policies modified the local actors' capacities to act. Therefore, we claim that policy practices should be analysed and appreciated as sites for the articulation of conflict and difference, as places of social and cultural contestation.     

Long-range transport episodes of fine particles in southern Finland during 1999–2007

The frequency, strength and sources of long-range transport (LRT) episodes of fine particles (PM_2.5) were studied in southern Finland using air quality monitoring results, backward air mass trajectories, remote sensing of fire hot spots, transport and dispersion modelling of smoke and chemical analysis of particle samples (black carbon, monosaccharide anhydrides, oxalate, succinate, malonate, SO₄^2?, NO₃^?, K⁺ and NH₄⁺). At an urban background site in Helsinki, the daily WHO guideline value (24-h PM_2.5 mean 25 μg m^?3) was exceeded during 1–7 LRT episodes per year in 1999–2007. The 24-h mean maximum concentrations varied between 25 and 49 μg m^?3 during the episodes, which was 3–6 times higher than the local mean concentration (8.7 μg m^?3) in 1999–2007. The highest particle concentrations (max. 1-h mean 163 μg m^?3) and the longest episodes (max. 9 days) were mainly caused by the emissions from open biomass burning, especially during springs and late-summers in 2002 and 2006. During the period 2001–2007, the satellite remote sensing of active fire hot spots and transport and dispersion modelling of smoke indicated that approximately half of the episodes were caused partly by the emissions from wildfires and/or agricultural waste burning in fields in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Other episodes were mainly caused by the LRT of ordinary anthropogenic pollutants, e.g. from energy production, traffic, industry and wood combustion. During those ‘other episodes’, air masses also arrived from Eastern Europe, including Poland. The highest concentrations of biomass-burning tracers, such as monosaccharide anhydrides (levoglucosan + mannosan + galactosan) and K⁺, were observed during open biomass-burning episodes, but quite high values were also measured during some winter episodes due to wood combustion emissions. Our results indicate that open biomass burning in Eastern Europe causes high fine particle concentration peaks in large areas of Europe almost every year.     

2020年南通市大气颗粒物组分和污染特征分析

本次研究以南通市大气颗粒物组成和污染特征为研究对象,利用南通市大气超级站监测数据,分析了2020年南通市PM2.5和PM10浓度水平,时间变化特征和组分特征.结果表明,2020年南通市PM2.5和PM10年均质量浓度分别为34μg/m3和56μg/m3,具有明显的冬高夏低的特征,PM2.5/PM10呈现为冬季>夏季>春季≈秋季.PM2.5中含碳组分和水溶性阴阳离子高低顺序为:NO3->OC>SO2-4>NH4+>EC>Cl->K+>Na+>Ca2+>Mg2+.冬季OC、NH4+、SO2-4和NO3-浓度值显著高于其他三个季节,PM2.5中NO3-、OC、SO2-4和NH4+的占比分别为27.7％、15.4％、15.0％和14.2％.NO3-/SO2-4比值为1.9,表明受移动源影响较大;OC和EC浓度均为冬季最高,夏季最低,四季OC/EC介于3.2～4.6,表明南通全年均受二次有机碳(SOC)的影响,且主要受柴油、汽油车的尾气排放和燃煤排放影响.     

An overview of methods for biodegradability testing of biopolymers and packaging materials

This paper gives an overview of the methods used at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) for the biodegradability testing of solid polymers and packaging materials. Biodegradability of each polymer included in the packaging material should be separately tested. Aquatic aerobic and anaerobic tests and, in specific cases, enzymatic tests are used for screening purposes. The application of aquatic aerobic tests—an automated Sturm test (OECD 301B; ASTM D5209) and a VTT headspace test as well as an anaerobic test (ASTM D5210)—is discussed. Three composting tests and their applications are summarized. These tests are regarded as important because they can be used to simulate the biodegradability under real-life conditions. Several tests are needed to determine the fate of the polymer under real conditions and to study its biodegradability in different environments. The time needed for complete biodegradation of polymers in nature is impossible to predict with laboratory tests and should be studiedin vivo.According to the lecture given in Sweden at the Royal Institute of Technology, at a workshop on polymers from renewable resources and their degradation, November 10–11, 1994.     

A simple screening test for studying the biodegradability of insoluble polymers

The head-space test based on CO₂ measurement was improved as a test for determining of the biodegradability of solid polymers, such as biodegradable plastics. The test can be performed either as closed or aerated cultures depending on the size of the sample and its oxygen demand. The distribution of CO₂ between the gas and liquid phases was also determined during the cultivations. The amount of microbial carbon was determined indirectly by determining the carbon/protein ratio and then using the intracellular protein as an indirect measure of the biomass. The amount of biomass was found to be so low that its determination did not significantly effect the final biodegradation result.     

基于三维石墨烯去除水体中四环素

三维石墨烯具有较大的比表面积和独特的空间孔结构,为捕获抗生素提供大量的活性位点,能够促进抗生素在多孔网络结构的运输。本研究采用化学还原自组装方法制备了有序多孔结构的三维石墨烯(3DG),并将其应用于去除水体中的四环素(TC)。研究结果显示,TC在3DG的吸附过程同时符合伪二级动力学和Langmuir方程。在最佳吸附pH=6时,3DG对TC最大饱和吸附量达到322.58 mg·g^-1,并具备良好的再生性能,经过5次吸附-解吸重复试验后,3DG对水体中TC的去除率仍可达68%。因此,3DG是一种在环境分析领域具有良好应用前景的吸附材料。     

Influence of solar UV radiation on the nitrogen metabolism in needles of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)

Needles of 20-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) saplings were studied in an ultraviolet (UV) exclusion field experiment (from 2000 to 2002) in northern Finland (67 °N). The chambers held filters that excluded both UV-B and UV-A, excluded UV-B only, transmitted all UV (control), or lacked filters (ambient). UV-B/UV-A exclusion decreased nitrate reductase (NR) activity of 1-year-old needles of Scots pines compared to the controls. The proportion of free amino acids varied in the range 1.08-1.94% of total proteins, and was significantly higher in needles of saplings grown under UV-B/UV-A exclusion compared to the controls or UV-B exclusion. NR activity correlated with air temperature, indicating a “chamber effect”. The study showed that both UV irradiance and increasing temperature are significant modulators of nitrogen (N) metabolism in Scots pine needles.