Influences of adding easily degradable organic waste on the minimization and humification of organic matter during straw composting

To find a better composting process with low greenhouse gas emission and high humus production, the effect of adding kitchen waste on reduction and humification of organic matter during straw composting was studied. Three processes were compared, consisting of different ratios of straw and kitchen waste (1:2, 1:1, and 2:1). At four time points over a 62-d incubation, the reduction and humification of compost was evaluated by measuring the total mass, carbon content, and humic material content of the compost. Treatment 1 (straw/kitchen waste ratio of 1:2) reduced the total mass of compost the most. Treatment 2 (straw/kitchen waste ratio of 1:1) reduced the total carbon content the most, reflecting the highest emission of greenhouse gas. Treatment 3 produced the most humic acid material and released the lowest amount of carbon. Hence, from the point of view of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing stable organic matter such as humus and humic acid during composting, treatment #3 was optimal. The three treatments resulted in significant differences in microbial biomass and enzyme activity during composting. The highest amount of active microbial biomass was associated with the largest reduction in compost mass (treatment 1). Higher proportions of straw (treatments 2 and 3), which contains more lignin, were associated with greater β-glycosidase activity, which may generate more humus that can improve soil quality. Dehydrogenase activity seemed to be the most important microbial factor in organic carbon catabolism or humification.     

Properties of Pyrolytic Chars and Activated Carbons Derived from Pilot-Scale Pyrolysis of Used Tires

Abstract

Used tires were pyrolyzed in a pilot-scale quasi-inert rotary kiln. Influences of variables, such as time, temperature, and agent flow, on the activation of obtained char were subsequently investigated in a laboratory-scale fixed bed. Meso-porous pores are found to be dominant in the pore structures of raw char. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surfaces of activated chars increased linearly with carbon burnoff. The carbon burnoff of tire char achieved by carbon dioxide (CO₂) under otherwise identical conditions was on average 75% of that achieved by steam, but their BET surfaces are almost the same. The proper activation greatly improved the aqueous adsorption of raw char, especially for small molecular adsorbates, for example, phenol from 6 to 51 mg/g. With increasing burnoff, phenol adsorption exhibited a first-stage linear increase followed by a rapid drop after 30% burnoff. Similarly, iodine adsorption first increased linearly, but it held as the burnoff exceeded 40%, which implied that the reduction of iodine adsorption due to decreasing micro-pores was partially made up by increasing mesopores. Both raw chars and activated chars showed appreciable adsorption capacity of methylene-blue comparable with that of commercial carbons. Thus, tire-derived activated carbons can be used as an excellent mesoporous adsorbent for larger molecular species.     

自洁式三级串联的水样在线过滤系统的研制和应用

基于玻璃纤维对小颗粒物的截留和微孔过滤,以及超声波辅助清洗等方法原理,设计和制作了带反冲洗自洁功能的三级串联在线过滤系统,将滤网（初级）、超声波作用下装填有玻璃纤维的过滤器（二级）、微孔滤管（三级）串联,对较高浊度的环境水样进行在线过滤。评估了模拟水样和实际水样中浊度的去除效果,证明该系统对水样中颗粒物有很好的去除并大幅降低水样浊度。在优化的条件下,原始浊度范围在4～100NTU的水样经过滤后,浊度均能降至1NTU以下。以标准方法测定的典型水质指标（活性磷、铵氮、亚硝酸盐氮和硝酸盐氮）的浓度为基准,计算水样经所设计的过滤系统处理后,这4种营养盐的回收率一般在85％-130％之间,说明本系统的使用基本不影响目标物的测定。     

Carbon/nitrogen ratio as a major factor for predicting the effects of organic wastes on soil bacterial communities assessed by DNA-based molecular techniques

Background, aim, and scope  

Current Australian legislation permits the beneficial application of grease trap waste (GTW) to agricultural soil, viewing it as a beneficial source of organic matter and soil conditioner containing no/low amounts of metals or pathogenic organisms. However, little is known about the influence of GTW on soil bacterial community. A field experiment was established at Menangle in south western Sydney in Australia to quantitatively assess the impacts of different types (GTW CO and GTW CL) and amounts of GTW application on the soil bacterial community and diversity. Furthermore, a municipal solid waste (MSW) compost was simultaneously examined to compare against the other organic wastes. Knowledge about the shifts in microbial community structure and diversity following the applications of organic wastes could help to evaluate the ecological consequences on the soil and thus to develop sound regulatory guidelines for the beneficial reuse of organic wastes in agricultural lands.     

维生素和酮苷生产废水中难降解污染物的溯源研究

研究了维生素和酮苷生产过程中各生产工段排水的生物降解特性,评价了各生产工段对生产废水中难降解有机物的贡献率,追溯了可能的难降解特征污染物。结果表明,维生素生产废水中的难降解物质主要来自W1-1、W1-3、W1-5和W1-6生产工段,甲醛、丁烯酮、醛酮聚合物和吡啶可能是导致生产废水难降解的重要原因;酮苷生产废水中的难降解物质主要来自W2-1、W2-3和W2-7生产工段,氯代有机溶剂和苯环类物质可能是导致生产废水难降解的重要原因。建议根据具体生产工段排水的水质特征,有针对性地进行物化处理,提高废水可生化性。     

Synthesis of hybrid carbon nanotubes using Brassica juncea L. application to photodegradation of bisphenol A

Hyperaccumulators contain tubular cellulose and heavy metals, which can be used as the sources of carbon and metals to synthesize nanomaterials. In this paper, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), Cu_0.05Zn_0.95O nanoparticles, and CNTs/Cu_0.05Zn_0.95O nanocomposites were synthesized using Brassica juncea L. plants, and the ultraviolet (UV)-light-driven photocatalytic degradations of bisphenol A (BPA) using them as photocatalysts were studied. It was found that the outer diameter of CNTs was around 50 nm and there were a few defects in the crystal lattice. The synthesized Cu_0.05Zn_0.95O nanocomposites had a diameter of around 40 nm. Cu_0.05Zn_0.95O nanocomposites have grown on the surface of the CNTs and the outer diameter of them was around 100 nm. The synthesized hybrid carbon nanotubes using B. juncea could enhance the efficiency of photocatalytic degradation on BPA. The complete equilibration time of adsorption/desorption of BPA onto the surface of CNTs, Cu_0.05Zn_0.95O nanoparticles, and CNTs/Cu_0.05Zn_0.95O nanocomposites was within 30, 20, and 30 min, and approximately 14.9, 8.7, and 17.4 % BPA was adsorbed by them, respectively. The combination of UV light irradiation (90 min) with CNTs, Cu_0.05Zn_0.95O nanoparticles, and CNTs/Cu_0.05Zn_0.95O nanocomposites could lead to 48.3, 75.7, and 92.6 % decomposition yields of BPA, respectively. These findings constitute a new insight for synthesizing nanocatalyst by reusing hyperaccumulators.     

Application of 15N–18O double stable isotope tracer technique in an agricultural nonpoint polluted river of the Yangtze Delta Region

One strategy to combat nitrate (NO₃-N) contamination in rivers is to understand its sources. NO₃-N sources in the East Tiaoxi River of the Yangtze Delta Region were investigated by applying a ¹⁵N–¹⁸O dual isotope approach. Water samples were collected from the main channel and from the tributaries. Results show that high total N and NO₃-N are present in both the main channel and the major tributaries, and NO₃-N was one of the most important N forms in water. Analysis of isotopic compositions (δ ¹⁸O, δD) of water suggests that the river water mainly originated from three tributaries during the sampling period. There was a wide range of δ ¹⁵N-NO₃ (?1.4 to 12.4 ‰) and a narrow range of δ ¹⁸O-NO₃ (3.7 to 9.0 ‰) in the main channel waters. The δ ¹⁵N and δ ¹⁸O-NO₃ values in the upper, middle, and lower channels along the river were shifted as 8.2, 3.5, and 9.5 ‰, and 9.0, 4.2, and 6.0 ‰, respectively. In the tributary South Tiao, the δ ¹⁵N and δ ¹⁸O-NO₃ values were as high as 9.5 and 7.0 ‰, while in the tributaries Mid Tiao and North Tiao, NO₃-N in most of the samples had relatively low δ ¹⁵N and δ ¹⁸O-NO₃ values from 2.3 to 7.5 ‰ and 4.7 to 7.0 ‰, separately. Our results also suggest that the dual isotope approach can help us develop the best management practice for relieving NO₃-N pollution in the rivers at the tributary scale.     

Removal of sulfamethoxazole and sulfapyridine by carbon nanotubes in fixed-bed columns

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and sulfapyridine (SPY), two representative sulfonamide antibiotics, have gained increasing attention because of the ecological risks these substances pose to plants, animals, and humans. This work systematically investigated the removal of SMX and SPY by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in fixed-bed columns under a broad range of conditions including: CNT incorporation method, solution pH, bed depth, adsorbent dosage, adsorbate initial concentration, and flow rate. Fixed-bed experiments showed that pH is a key factor that affects the adsorption capacity of antibiotics to CNTs. The Bed Depth Service Time model describes well the relationship between service time and bed depth and can be used to design appropriate column parameters. During fixed-bed regeneration, small amounts of SMX (3%) and SPY (9%) were irreversibly bonded to the CNT/sand porous media, thus reducing the column capacity for subsequent reuse from 67.9 to 50.4 mg g^?1 for SMX and from 91.9 to 72.9 mg g^?1 for SPY. The reduced column capacity resulted from the decrease in available adsorption sites and resulting repulsion (i.e., blocking) of incoming antibiotics from those previously adsorbed. Findings from this study demonstrate that fixed-bed columns packed with CNTs can be efficiently used and regenerated to remove antibiotics from water.     

4种人工湿地基质对马拉硫磷的吸附特性

通过基质对马拉硫磷的等温吸附和吸附动力学实验,研究天然土壤、煤渣、沸石、砾石对马拉硫磷的吸附特性,为人工湿地处理含马拉硫磷废水提供理论依据.结果表明:马拉硫磷浓度为2.25 ～ 90 mg/L条件下,Langmuir和Freundlich方程均能较好地拟合4种基质对马拉硫磷的等温吸附过程,并且Freundlich方程的拟合效果要好于Langmuir方程.马拉硫磷的理论饱和吸附量大小依次为天然土壤(9.9304 mg/g)＞煤渣(1.6173 mg/g)＞沸石(0.6039 mg/g)＞砾石(0.3965 mg/g).4种基质对马拉硫磷的缓冲能力大小依次为天然土壤＞煤渣＞沸石＞砾石,即当进水马拉硫磷浓度波动较大时,作为湿地基质天然土壤使人工湿地系统维持稳定出水水质的能力最强.马拉硫磷浓度为4.5 mg/L条件下,吸附动力学模型Elovich方程能较好地拟合4种基质对马拉硫磷的吸附动力学特征,说明4种基质对马拉硫磷的吸附是表面吸附和内部扩散吸附共同作用的结果.因此,天然土壤和煤渣适宜作为处理含马拉硫磷废水的人工湿地基质.     

Effects of pH and ionic strength on sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin transport in saturated porous media

Many antibiotics regarded as emerging contaminants have been frequently detected in soils and groundwater; however, their transport behaviors in soils remain largely unknown. This study examined the transport of two antibiotics, sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), in saturated porous media. Laboratory columns packed with quartz sand was used to test the effects of solution pH and ionic strength (IS) on their retention and transport. The results showed that these two antibiotics behaved differently in the saturated sand columns. In general, SMZ manifested a much higher mobility than CIP for all experimental conditions tested. Almost all SMZ transported through the columns within one pore volume in deionized water (i.e., pH=5.6, IS=0), but no CIP was detected in the effluents under the same condition after extended column flushing. Perturbations in solution pH (5.6 and 9.5) and IS (0 and 0.1M) showed no effect on SMZ transport in the saturated columns. When pH increased to 9.5, however, ~93% of CIP was eluted from the sand columns. Increase of IS from 0 to 0.1M also slightly changed the distribution of adsorbed CIP within the sand column at pH 5.6, but still no CIP was detected in the effluents. A mathematical model based on advection-dispersion equation coupled with equilibrium and kinetic reactions successfully simulated the transport of the antibiotics in water-saturated porous media with R(2)=0.99.