Numerical and experimental studies of turbulence in vegetated open-channel flows

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - A numerical model based on the double-averaged (spatial and ensemble averaged) method has been developed to simulate vegetated free surface flows. The classical $$k...     

Inhibition character of crotonaldehyde manufacture wastewater on biological acidification

• The inhibition of the main organic pollutions in CMW was demonstrated. • Variations of AK and BK showed a high correlation with the SAA of Ac and n-Bu. • The inhibitory degree was in the order of Ac>n-Bu for individual toxicants. • Biodegradation products of the main toxicants were analyzed. This work aims to investigate the inhibitory effect of crotonaldehyde manufacture wastewater (CMW) on biological acidification. To reveal the inhibitory effect of wastewater to the anaerobic granular sludge (AnGS), variations of the specific acidogenic activity (SAA) and activities of key enzymes were investigated. The results indicated that the dosage of CMW causing a 50% effect concentration (EC₅₀) on the activity of total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) production was 380 mg COD/g VSS. The inhibitory effect of individual toxicants in CMW on the activity of TVFA production were in the order of crotonaldehyde>ethyl sorbate>(E,E)-2,4-hexadienal, and their inhibitory degrees on individual VFA products were acetic acid (Ac)>n-butyric acid (n-Bu), which could correspond to the variations in the activities of acetate kinase (AK) and butyrate kinase (BK). Furthermore, the combined effect of three toxicants on the activity of TVFA production was significantly higher than that of any individual toxicant, and the contribution of the relative toxicity to CMW was 77.27%. Additionally, the biodegradation products of the main toxicants indicated that the removal of crotonaldehyde and (E,E)-2,4-hexadienal was primarily due to the hydrogenation of alkene and aldehyde and the oxidation of aldehyde. Nevertheless, the removal of ethyl sorbate was primarily based on adsorption. In conclusion, biological acidification has a limited ability to treatment CMW, therefore, a further pretreatment technology should be used to remove the main toxicant of wastewater.     

Remediation of arsenic contaminated soil by sulfidated zero-valent iron

• Sulfidation significantly enhanced As(V) immobilization in soil by zerovalent iron. • S-ZVI promoted the conversion of exchangeable As to less mobile Fe-Mn bound As. • Column test further confirmed the feasibility of sulfidated ZVI on As retention. • S-ZVI amendment and magnetic separation markedly reduced TCLP leachability of As. In this study, the influences of sulfidation on zero-valent iron (ZVI) performance toward As(V) immobilization in soil were systemically investigated. It was found that, compared to unamended ZVI, sulfidated ZVI (S-ZVI) is more favorable to immobilize As(V) in soil and promote the conversion of water soluble As to less mobile Fe-Mn bound As. Specifically, under the optimal S/Fe molar ratio of 0.05, almost all of the leached As could be sequestrated by>0.5 wt.% S-ZVI within 3 h. Although the presence of HA could decrease the desorption of As from soil, HA inhibited the reactivity of S-ZVI to a greater extent. Column experiments further proved the feasibility of applying S-ZVI on soil As(V) immobilization. More importantly, to achieve a good As retention performance, S-ZVI should be fully mixed with soil or located on the downstream side of As migration. The test simulating the flooding conditions in rice culture revealed there was also a good long-term stability of soil As(V) after S-ZVI remediation, where only 0.7% of As was desorbed after 30 days of incubation. Magnetic separation was employed to separate the immobilized As(V) from soil after S-ZVI amendment, where the separation efficiency was found to be dependent of the iron dosage, liquid to soil ratio, and reaction time. Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) tests revealed that the leachability of As from soil was significantly reduced after the S-ZVI amendment and magnetic separation treatment. All these findings provided some insights into the remediation of As(V)-polluted soil by ZVI.     

Optimization of the O3/H2O2 process with response surface methodology for pretreatment of mother liquor of gas field wastewater

• Real ML-GFW with high salinity and high organics was degraded by O₃/H₂O₂ process. • Successful optimization of operation conditions was attained using RSM based on CCD. • Single-factor experiments in advance ensured optimal experimental conditions. • The satisfactory removal efficiency of TOC was achieved in spite of high salinity. • The initial pH plays the most significant role in the degradation of ML-GFW. The present study reports the use of the O₃/H₂O₂ process in the pretreatment of the mother liquor of gas field wastewater (ML-GFW), obtained from the multi-effect distillation treatment of the gas field wastewater. The range of optimal operation conditions was obtained by single-factor experiments. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on the central composite design (CCD) was used for the optimization procedure. A regression model with Total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency as the response value was established (R² = 0.9865). The three key factors were arranged according to their significance as: pH>H₂O₂ dosage>ozone flow rate. The model predicted that the best operation conditions could be obtained at a pH of 10.9, an ozone flow rate of 0.8 L/min, and H₂O₂ dosage of 6.2 mL. The dosing ratio of ozone was calculated to be 9.84 mg O₃/mg TOC. The maximum removal efficiency predicted was 75.9%, while the measured value was 72.3%. The relative deviation was found to be in an acceptable range. The ozone utilization and free radical quenching experiments showed that the addition of H₂O₂ promoted the decomposition of ozone to produce hydroxyl radicals (·OH). This also improved the ozone utilization efficiency. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that most of the organic matters in ML-GFW were degraded, while some residuals needed further treatment. This study provided the data and the necessary technical supports for further research on the treatment of ML-GFW.     

Aerosol transmission,an indispensable route of COVID-19 spread: case study of a department-store cluster

• Aerosol transmission is an indispensable route of COVID-19 spread. • Different outbreak sites have different epidemiologic feature. • SRAS-CoV-2 can exist for a long time in aerosol. • SRAS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected in aerosol in diverse places. • Some environmental factors can impact SARS-CoV-2 transportation in aerosol. Patients with COVID-19 have revealed a massive outbreak around the world, leading to widespread concerns in global scope. Figuring out the transmission route of COVID-19 is necessary to control further spread. We analyzed the data of 43 patients in Baodi Department Store (China) to supplement the transmission route and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in a cluster outbreak. Incubation median was estimated to endure 5.95 days (2–13 days). Almost 76.3% of patients sought medical attention immediately upon illness onset. The median period of illness onset to hospitalization and confirmation were 3.96 days (0–14) and 5.58 days (1–21), respectively. Patients with different cluster case could demonstrate unique epidemiological characteristics due to the particularity of outbreak sites. SRAS-CoV-2 can be released into the surrounding air through patient’s respiratory tract activities, and can exist for a long time for long-distance transportation. SRAS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected in aerosol in different sites, including isolation ward, general ward, outdoor, toilet, hallway, and crowded public area. Environmental factors influencing were analyzed and indicated that the SARS-CoV-2 transportation in aerosol was dependent on temperature, air humidity, ventilation rate and inactivating chemicals (ozone) content. As for the infection route of case numbers 2 to 6, 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 23, we believe that aerosol transmission played a significant role in analyzing their exposure history and environmental conditions in Baodi Department Store. Aerosol transmission could occur in some cluster cases when the environmental factors are suitable, and it is an indispensable route of COVID-19 spread.     

Neighborhood form and CO2 emission: evidence from 23 neighborhoods in Jinan, China

To understand the household C02 emission level in China, as well as how much the neighborhoods＇ socio-economic or design factors could influence the CO2 emission, 23 neighborhoods in Jinan were investigated in 2009 and 2010. These neighborhoods fall into four different types： superblock, enclave, grid and traditional. The household CO2 emission includes sources of both in- home energy use and passenger transportation. The average CO2 emission per household is 7.66 t.a^-1, including 6.87 t in-home operational emission and 792 kg transportation emission. The household CO2 emission by neighborhood categories is 10.97, 5.65, 6.49, 5.40 t-household-1. a-1 for superblock, enclave, grid and tradi- tional respectively. Superblock has the highest average emission and also the highest percent （more than 25%） of transportation emission among four different types of neighborhoods. The residential CO2 emission of superb- lock neighborhoods in Jinan has already reached the level in developed countries nearly ten years ago. It is predictable that more superblock neighborhoods would be built in China with the fast urbanization. How to avoid the rapid household CO2 emission growth in the future would be a systematic issue. The study also found that in addition to income and apartment area, household density, land use mix and accessibility to public transportation are three primary factors which have significant impacts on CO2 emission. High density, mixed land use and convenient accessibility to public transportation tend to reduce household CO2 emission.     

Eco-environmental water demands for the Baiyangdian Wetland

In recent years, the hydrological characters of Baiyangdian Wetland have changed greatly, which, in turn, influence the biotic component, the structure and function of the wetland ecosystem. In order to determine the demands for water resources of ecological wetland system, a method of ecological water level coefficient was suggested to calculate the water resources demands for wetland environment use. This research showed that the minimum coefficient is 0.94 and the optimal coefficient is more than 1.10. According to these two coefficients, the ecological water level and water quantity can be estimated. The results indicate that the amount of the minimal and optimal eco-environmental water requirements are 0.87 × 10⁸ and 2.78 × 10⁸ m³ in average monthly, respectively, with the maximum eco-environmental water requirement in summer and the minimum in winter. The annual change of eco-environment water demand is in according with the climate change and hydrological characters. The method of ecological water level emphasizes that wetland ecosystem adapts to the hydrological conditions, so it can be used in practice well.     

昆仑山木孜塔格峰北坡藏羚繁殖地的自然植被

通过对阿尔金山国家级自然保护区内藏羚产羔繁殖期的野外考察,研究了昆仑山木孜塔峰北坡藏羚繁殖地的自然植被及其分布,从繁殖地的自然生态特征按摩了藏羚与其繁殖期栖息生之间的关系。结果表明,藏羚对产羔繁殖地的选择不是基于植被条件,而是选择更加安全的区域作为其产羔繁殖地。     

"老龄期"填埋场渗滤液COD蒸发规律研究

"老龄期"填埋场渗滤液由于可生化性差而难于处理.采用常规蒸发、减压蒸发和载气蒸发处理不同pH值的"老龄期"渗滤液.实验结果表明,3种蒸发方式下,冷凝液COD下降过程中均存在明显的浓度转折点,转折点之后COD维持较低水平,为"老龄期"渗滤液的"三分处理法"提供理论依据.与常规蒸发相比,减压蒸发和载气蒸发的前期冷凝液COD较高,且浓度转折点偏后.     

N2 fixation in urbanization area rivers: spatial-temporal variations and influencing factors

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - While nitrogen (N2) fixation is an important process in nitrogen (N) biogeochemical cycling, supplying a significant portion of the N in natural...