Quantitative analysis of microplastics in coastal tidal-flat reclamation in Dongtai,China

• Reclamation projects are important disturbances on microplastic risk in coasts. • Tidal-flat reclamation area is a large storage medium for sedimentary microplastics. • Aging and distribution features of soil microplastics show spatial heterogeneity. • Coastal weathered engineering geotextiles are a significant threat to marine health. Coastal tidal flats have received considerable attention in recent years, as they provide a direct channel for the discharge of terrestrial microplastics into the ocean. Land reclamation is occurring increasingly frequently in coastal tidal-flats; however, the environmental impacts of these activities remain unclear. Therefore, this pioneering study assessed the microplastic emission characteristics of reclamation geotextiles and performed a risk assessment accordingly. Morphological characterization of geotextile samples collected from five sites in Dongtai, China, provided evidence of sedimentary weathering. Based on several assumptions, the average abundance of microplastics in soil covered by geotextiles was estimated to reach 349±137 particles/kg dry weight, with the total microplastic load in the reclaimed area estimated to be 20.67±8.06 t. Compared with previous studies, this research demonstrates that coastal reclamation areas store a high concentration of microplastics, aggravating marine microplastic pollution. Moreover, conditional fragmentation model results revealed that the weathering and distribution characteristics of soil microplastics in coastal tidal-flat areas exhibit spatial heterogeneity, being more easily affected by natural factors (such as tides) than those in inland areas. As a result of tides, the annual discharge of geotextile-originating microplastics from the studied areas into the ocean was approximately 2465.52±960.77 t. These findings prove that the risks posed by engineering-microplastics are significant, indicating that further investigations are required on the precise laws of transfer and migration, as well as the toxicity mechanisms, in order to improve analytical techniques and policies in this field.     

Sampling and analysis of ambient dioxins in northern Taiwan

In this study, ambient air samples were taken concurrently in the vicinity area of a large-scale municipal waste incinerator (MWI) and the background area for measuring polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) concentrations from November 1999 through July 2000 in northern Taiwan. The results obtained from eighteen ambient air samples indicate that the mean PCDD/F concentration of seventeen 2,3,7,8-substituted congeners in wintertime (188–348 fg-I-TEQ/m³) is significantly higher than that measured in summertime (56–166 fg-I-TEQ/m³). In addition, the seasonal PCDD/F concentrations are compared with the ambient air quality data including CO, NO₂, PM₁₀ and TSP sampled from Taipei area to gain better insights. It indicates that the variation of ambient air PCDD/F concentrations is closely correlated with that of PM₁₀ concentrations. Besides, the results indicate that the I-TEQ concentration of ambient air in sampling site B (directly downwind of the MWI) is of the highest while the sampling site A (upwind of MWI) is of the lowest among all sampling sites. This implies that existing MWI can be a significant emitter of PCDD/Fs in this area. Furthermore, the patterns of the PCDD/F congener distribution at all sampling sites (including the background site in Taoyuan) are quite similar. OCDD concentration is of the highest among seventeen PCDD/F congeners investigated and accounts for about 35% of the total concentration. As for the I-TEQ concentrations, 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF is the most significant contributor, generally being responsible for 30–45% of the total I-TEQ values depending on the sampling sites and seasons.     

Biodegradation of nonylphenol in soil

We investigated the effects of various factors (brij 30, brij 35, yeast extract, hydrogen peroxide and compost) on the aerobic degradation of nonylphenol (NP) in soil and characterized the structure of the microbial community in that soil. Residues of NP were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and a change of microbial communities was demonstrated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The results showed that Taichung sandy clay loam had higher NP degradation rate than Kaoshiung silty clay. The addition of compost, yeast extract (0.5 mg/l), brij 30 (55 microM), or brij 35 (91 microM) enhanced NP degradation, while the addition of hydrogen peroxide (1.0 mg/l) inhibited its degradation. We also found that the addition of various substrates changed the microbial community in the soils. Cytophaga sp. and Ochrobactrum sp. were constantly dominant bacteria under various conditions in the soil.     

Photocatalytic oxidation of gaseous DMF using thin film TiO2 photocatalyst

The heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation of gaseous N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF) widely used in the manufacture of synthetic leather and synthetic textile was investigated. The experiments were carried out in a plug flow annular photoreactor coated with Degussa P-25 TiO2. The oxidation rate was dependent on DMF concentration, reaction temperature, water vapor, and oxygen content. Photocatalytic deactivation was observed in these reactions. The Levenspiel deactivation kinetic model was used to describe the decay of catalyst activity. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was used to characterize the surface and the deactivation mechanism of the photocatalyst. Results revealed that carbonylic acids, aldehydes, amines, carbonate and nitrate were adsorbed on the TiO2 surface during the photocatalytic reaction. The ions, NH4+ and NO3-, causing the deactivation of catalysts were detected on the TiO2 surface. Several treatment processes were applied to find a suitable procedure for the regeneration of catalytic activity. Among these procedures, the best one was found to be the H2O2/UV process.     

Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by a mixed culture

We investigated the potential biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by an aerobic mixed culture utilizing phenanthrene as its carbon source. Following a 3-5 h post-treatment lag phase, complete degradation of 5 mg/l phenanthrene occurred within 28 h (optimal conditions determined as 30 degrees C and pH 7.0). Phenanthrene degradation was enhanced by the individual addition of yeast extract, acetate, glucose or pyruvate. Results show that the higher the phenanthrene concentration, the slower the degradation rate. While the mixed culture was also capable of efficiently degrading pyrene and acenaphthene, it failed to degrade anthracene and fluorene. In samples containing a mixture of the five PAHs, treatment with the aerobic culture increased degradation rates for fluorene and anthracene and decreased degradation rates for acenaphthene, phenanthrene and pyrene. Finally, it was observed that when nonionic surfactants were present at levels above critical micelle concentrations (CMCs), phenanthrene degradation was completely inhibited by the addition of Brij 30 and Brij 35, and delayed by the addition of Triton X100 and Triton N101.     

新乡市城市污水对泥鳅的生理毒性与遗传毒性研究

采用鱼体外周血细胞微核技术研究新乡市城市污水对泥鳅的遗传毒性,实验各组(A组、B组、C组、D组)中微核率明显高于对照组(P<0.01).以黄嘌呤氧化酶法检测泥鳅肝组织中的超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)酶活力变化,以赖氏法检测肝组织和血清中的谷草转氨酶(GOT)和谷丙转氨酶(GPT)酶活力变化,研究该污水对泥鳅的生理毒性.结果表明,实验各组肝组织中SOD、GOT和GPT酶活力均低于对照组.且随城市污水浓度升高而减小;血清中的SOD、GOT和GPT酶活力均高于对照组,且随城市污水浓度升高而增强.由此可知,直接排放的城市污水对泥鳅有显著的遗传毒性与生理毒性,水样中有致突变酶活力物质存在.     

Effects of aerosol species on atmospheric visibility in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

Visibility data collected from Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, for the past two decades indicated that the air pollutants have significantly degraded visibility in recent years. During our study period, the seasonal mean visibilities in spring, summer, fall, and winter were only 5.4, 9.1, 8.2, and 3.4 km, respectively. To ascertain how urban aerosols influence the visibility, we conducted concurrent visibility monitoring and aerosol sampling in 1999 to identify the principal causes of visibility impairments in the region. In this study, ambient aerosols were sampled and analyzed for 11 constituents, including water-soluble ions and carbon materials, to investigate the chemical composition of Kaohsiung aerosols. Stepwise regression method was used to correlate the impact of aerosol species on visibility impairments. Both seasonal and diurnal variation patterns were found from the monitoring of visibility. Our results showed that light scattering was attributed primarily to aerosols with sizes that range from 0.26 to 0.90 pm, corresponding with the wavelength region of visible light, which accounted for approximately 72% of the light scattering coefficient. Sulfate was a dominant component that affected both the light scattering coefficient and the visibility in the region. On average, (NH4)2SO4, NH4NO3, total carbon, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-remainder contributed 53%, 17%, 16%, and 14% to total light scattering, respectively. An empirical regression model of visibility based on sulfate, elemental carbon, and humidity was developed, and the comparison indicated that visibility in an urban area could be properly simulated by the equation derived herein.     

Performance of a constructed wetland treating intensive shrimp aquaculture wastewater under high hydraulic loading rate

A water treatment unit, mainly consisting of free water surface (FWS) and subsurface flow (SF) constructed wetland cells, was integrated into a commercial-scale recirculating aquaculture system for intensive shrimp culture. This study investigated performance of the treatment wetlands for controlling water quality. The results showed that the FWS-SF cells effectively removed total suspended solids (55-66%), 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (37-54%), total ammonia (64-66%) and nitrite (83-94%) from the recirculating water under high hydraulic loading rates (1.57-1.95 m/day). This led to a water quality that was suitable for shrimp culture and effluent that always satisfied the discharge standards. The area ratios of wetlands to culture tank being demonstrated (0.43) and calculated (0.096) in this study were both significantly lower than the reported values. Accordingly, a constructed wetland was technically and economically feasible for managing water quality of an intensive aquaculture system.     

Effects of surfactants on extraction of phenanthrene in spiked sand

Problems associated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated site in environmental media have received increasing attention. To resolve such problems, innovative in situ methods are urgently required. This work investigated the feasibility of using surfactants to extract phenanthrene on spiked sand in a batch system. Phenanthrene was spiked into Ottawa sand to simulate contaminated soil. Six surfactants, Brij 30 (BR), Triton X-100 (TR), Tergitol NP-10 (TE), Igepal CA-720 (IG), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB) were used. Adjusting the extraction time, mixing speed and surfactant concentration yielded the optimum extracting conditions. The concentration of phenanthrene was identified with HPLC. Under the experimental conditions, results indicated that those surfactants were highly promising on site remediation since the residual phenanthrene concentration was effectively reduced. The optimum operating conditions were obtained at 30 min, 125 rpm and surfactant concentrations in 4%.     

Dissolved organic matter with multi-peak fluorophores in landfill leachate

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) sampled from municipal landfill leachate of different ages with/without anoxic or aerobic treatment, was intensively fractionated via size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and hydrophobic resins, and was studied with fluorescence excitation and emission matrix (EEM). Six fluorophores with multiple EEM peaks (fluorophore A-F) were identified based on the collected EEM spectra and validated by bi-variate analysis, principal component analysis, and parallel factor analysis, as follows (excitation wavelength Ex and emission wavelength Em): (Ex 240, 310, 360 nm, Em 460 nm), (Ex 220, 280 nm, Em 340 nm), (Ex 220, 270 nm, Em 300 nm), (Ex 220, 280 nm, Em 360 nm), (Ex 230, 320 nm, Em 420 nm) and (Ex 220, 310 nm, Em 400 nm). The spectral characteristics of these fluorophores were discussed using fractional EEM and apparent molecular weight (AMW) data obtained via SEC analysis. The triple peak flurophore A was pointed at a hydrophobic acid or hydrophobic neutral compound with a pyrenyl functional group of AMW 2500-3500 Da, which displayed an excitation wavelength at 360 nm and a fluorescence intensity ratio of 6.70(+/-1.79):1.70(+/-0.41):1 (fluorescent intensities of Ex 240:Ex 310:Ex 360 nm at Ex 460 nm). This compound is observed to be refractory in landfilling or in anoxic/aerobic treatments, and is specific to this leachate contamination. This paper revealed that the coupling of SEC and EEM can be useful to track the fluorescent DOM fraction in landfill leachate.