Comparison of particulate mass, chemical species for urban, suburban and rural areas in central Taiwan, Taichung

Aerosol samples for PM2.5, PM(2.5-10) and TSP were collected from June to September 1998 and from February to March 1999 in central Taiwan. Ion chromatography was used to analyze the acidic anions: sulfate, nitrate and chloride in the Universal samples. The ratios of fine particle concentrations to coarse particle concentrations displayed that the fine particle concentrations are almost greater than that of coarse particle concentrations in Taichung area. The average concentrations of PM2.5, PM(2.5-10) and TSP in urban sites are higher than in suburban and rural sites at both daytime and night-time. Chloride dominated in the coarse mode in daytime and in fine mode in night-time. Nitrate can be found in both the coarse and fine modes. Sulfate dominated in fine mode in both daytime and night-time.     

Status of water use and potential of rainwater harvesting for replacing centralized supply system in remote mountainous areas: a case study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The failure of the centralized water supply system forced XY community to become more dependent on uncertain and unstable water sources. The results...     

Insight into the dynamic microbial community and core bacteria in composting from different sources by advanced bioinformatics methods

Microbial communities are important for high composting efficiency and good quality composts. This study was conducted to compare the changes of physicochemical and bacterial characteristics in composting from different raw materials, including chicken manure (CM), duck manure (DM), sheep manure (SM), food waste (FW), and vegetable waste (VW). The role and interactions of core bacteria and their contribution to maturity in diverse composts were analyzed by advanced bioinformatics methods combined sequencing with co-occurrence network and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicated that there were obviously different bacterial composition and diversity in composting from diverse sources. FW had a low pH and different physiochemical characteristics compared to other composts but they all achieved similar maturity products. Redundancy analysis suggested total organic carbon, phosphorus, and temperature governed the composition of microbial species but key factors were different in diverse composts. Network analysis showed completely different interactions of core bacterial community from diverse composts but Thermobifida was the ubiquitous core bacteria in composting bacterial network. Sphaerobacter and Lactobacillus as core genus were presented in the starting mesophilic and thermophilic phases of composting from manure (CM, DM, SM) and municipal solid waste (FW, VW), respectively. SEM indicated core bacteria had the positive, direct, and the biggest (>?80%) effects on composting maturity. Therefore, this study presents theoretical basis to identify and enhance the core bacteria for improving full-scale composting efficiency facing more and more organic wastes.

     

Decolorizing of lignin wastewater using the photochemical UV/TiO2 process

Studies on applying the photochemical UV/TiO2 oxidation process to treat the lignin-containing wastewater for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), color and reducing A254 (the absorption at the wavelength of 254 nm) have been carried out. The data obtained in this study demonstrate that the UV/TiO2 process is effective in oxidizing the lignin thus reducing the color and DOC of the wastewater treated. The combined UV/TiO2 treatment can achieve better removal of DOC and color than the UV treatment alone. Color removal, based on American Dye Manufacture Index (ADMI) measurement, is greater than 99% if the pH is maintained at 3.0 with the addition of 1 g l(-1) TiO2. When 10 g l(-1) TiO2 is applied, the oxidation reduction potential (ORP) value is reached to result in an 88% removal of both DOC and color. A model was developed based on the variation of ORP during the photochemical reaction to simulate the decoloring process. The proposed model can be used to predict the color removal efficiency of the UV/TiO2 process.     

Abatement of sulfur hexafluoride emissions from the semiconductor manufacturing process by atmospheric-pressure plasmas

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is an important gas for plasma etching processes in the semiconductor industry. SF6 intensely absorbs infrared radiation and, consequently, aggravates global warming. This study investigates SF6 abatement by nonthermal plasma technologies under atmospheric pressure. Two kinds of nonthermal plasma processes--dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and combined plasma catalysis (CPC)--were employed and evaluated. Experimental results indicated that as much as 91% of SF6 was removed with DBDs at 20 kV of applied voltage and 150 Hz of discharge frequency for the gas stream containing 300 ppm SF6, 12% oxygen (O2), and 40% argon (Ar), with nitrogen (N2) as the carrier gas. Four additives, including Ar, O2, ethylene (C2H4), and H2O(g), are effective in enhancing SF6 abatement in the range of conditions studied. DBD achieves a higher SF6 removal efficiency than does CPC at the same operation condition. But CPC achieves a higher electrical energy utilization compared with DBD. However, poisoning of catalysts by sulfur (S)-containing species needs further investigation. SF6 is mainly converted to SOF2, SO2F4, sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxygen difluoride (OF2), and fluoride (F2). They do not cause global warming and can be captured by either wet scrubbing or adsorption. This study indicates that DBD and CPC are feasible control technologies for reducing SF6 emissions.     

Simultaneous removal of nitrogen oxide/nitrogen dioxide/sulfur dioxide from gas streams by combined plasma scrubbing technology

Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) [nitrogen oxide (NO) + nitrogen dioxide (NO2)] and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are removed individually in traditional air pollution control technologies. This study proposes a combined plasma scrubbing (CPS) system for simultaneous removal of SO2 and NOx. CPS consists of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and wet scrubbing in series. DBD is used to generate nonthermal plasmas for converting NO to NO2. The water-soluble NO2 then can be removed by wet scrubbing accompanied with SO2 removal. In this work, CPS was tested with simulated exhausts in the laboratory and with diesel-generator exhausts in the field. Experimental results indicate that DBD is very efficient in converting NO to NO2. More than 90% removal of NO, NOx, and SO2 can be simultaneously achieved with CPS. Both sodium sulfide (Na2S) and sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) scrubbing solutions are good for NO2 and SO2 absorption. Energy efficiencies for NOx and SO2 removal are 17 and 18 g/kWh, respectively. The technical feasibility of CPS for simultaneous removal of NO, NO2, and SO2 from gas streams is successfully demonstrated in this study. However, production of carbon monoxide as a side-product (approximately 100 ppm) is found and should be considered.     

Combined toxicity of imidacloprid,acetochlor, and tebuconazole to zebrafish ( Danio rerio ): acute toxicity and hepatotoxicity assessment

Compound pollution refers to two or more kinds of pollutants with different properties, a pollutant from different sources, or the simultaneous existence of two or more different types of pollutants in the same environment. In this study, we aimed to investigate the individual and combined toxicity of the insecticide imidacloprid (IMI), the herbicide acetochlor (ACT), and the fungicide tebuconazole (TBZ) to zebrafish. The acute toxicity test results showed that the 96-h LC50 values of IMI, ACT, and TBZ were 276.84 (259.62–294.35) mg active ingredient (a.i.) L−1, 1.52 (1.34–1.74) mg a.i. L−1, and 8.16 (7.7–8.6) mg a.i. L−1, respectively. The combinations of IMI, ACT, and TBZ with toxicity ratios of 1:2:2, 1:4:4, 2:4:1, and 4:1:4 displayed synergistic toxic effects on zebrafish, while the toxicity ratios of 1:1:1, 1:1:2, 2:1:2, 2:2:1, and 4:2:1 of IMI, ACT, and TBZ, respectively, exhibited antagonistic toxic effects on zebrafish. The following experiments were performed with a toxicity ratio of 1:4:4 (IMI:ACT:TBZ). The activities of four enzyme biomarkers related to oxidative stress in the liver, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were evaluated in each exposure group on days 7, 14, 21, and 28. Compared with those of the control group, the activities of CAT, SOD, and GST and the MDA content were significantly altered at different time points in the individual and combined exposure groups. Additionally, the activities of CAT, SOD, and GST and the MDA content were significantly altered in the combined group compared with those of the individual group after 14 days or 21 days of exposure. Therefore, it was confirmed that combined toxicity studies are indispensable in risk assessment.     

Immobilization of fungal laccase onto a nonionic surfactant-modified clay material: application to PAH degradation

Nonionic surfactant-modified clay is a useful absorbent material that effectively removes hydrophobic organic compounds from soil/groundwater. We developed a novel material by applying an immobilized fungal laccase onto nonionic surfactant-modified clay. Low-water-solubility polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (naphthalene/phenanthrene) were degraded in the presence of this bioactive material. PAH degradation by free laccase was higher than degradation by immobilized laccase when the surfactant concentration was allowed to form micelles. PAH degradation by immobilized laccase on TX-100-modified clay was higher than on Brij35-modified clay. Strong laccase degradation of PAH can be maintained by adding surfactant monomers or micelles. The physical adsorption of nonionic surfactants onto clay plays an important role in PAH degradation by laccase, which can be explained by the structure and molecular interactions of the surfactant with the clay and enzyme. A system where laccase is immobilized onto TX-100-monomer-modified clay is a good candidate bioactive material for in situ PAHs bioremediation.     

表面活性剂增效电动技术修复多环芳烃污染土壤

研究了电动修复过程中修复时间和表面活性剂Triton X-100、鼠李糖脂对多环芳烃芘污染土壤的修复效果的影响。结果表明,在电动修复过程中,随着修复时间的增加,芘的去除率相应提高。通过向电解液中添加表面活性剂Triton X-100,芘的去除率从11.64%提高到了23.42%,当在电解液中添加浓度为40倍CMC的鼠李糖脂后去除率升高至36.29%,阳极附近土壤甚至达到了92.49%,这表明Triton X-100和鼠李糖脂均能促进土壤中芘的溶解和迁移,鼠李糖脂的促进作用高于Triton X-100。     

强化除磷型A/O-MBR工艺运行稳定性

采用缺氧/好氧膜生物反应器(A/O-MBR)处理合成的生活污水,考察了投加不同浓度的聚合氯化铝(PAC)对该工艺在除磷效能及运行稳定性方面的影响。结果表明,投加PAC可以有效降低出水TP的浓度;在投加量为150 mg/L时,TP的去除率达到最优,为90.1%,出水浓度维持0.48 mg/L左右,达到《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》(GB18918-2002)的一级A标准。投加一定量的PAC可以有效提高微生物的活性;此外,可以降低污泥絮体的Zeta电位,增大污泥絮体的粒径,降低胞外聚合物(EPS)中多糖的浓度,进而有效延缓膜污染的速率。