Vehicular volatile organic compounds losses due to refueling and diurnal process in China: 2010–2050

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are crucial to control air pollution in major Chinese cities since VOCs are the dominant factor influencing ambient ozone level, and also an important precursor of secondary organic aerosols. Vehicular evaporative emissions have become a major and growing source of VOC emissions in China. This study consists of lab tests, technology evaluation, emissions modeling, policy projections and cost-benefit analysis to draw a roadmap for China for controlling vehicular evaporative emissions. The analysis suggests that evaporative VOC emissions from China's light-duty gasoline vehicles were approximately 185,000 ton in 2010 and would peak at 1,200,000 ton in 2040 without control. The current control strategy implemented in China, as shown in business as usual (BAU) scenario, will barely reduce the long-term growth in emissions. Even if Stage II gasoline station vapor control policies were extended national wide (BAU + extended Stage II), there would still be over 400,000 ton fuel loss in 2050. In contrast, the implementation of on-board refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) on new cars could reduce 97.5% of evaporative VOCs by 2050 (BAU + ORVR/BAU + delayed ORVR). According to the results, a combined Stage II and ORVR program is a comprehensive solution that provides both short-term and long-term benefits. The net cost to achieve the optimal total evaporative VOC control is approximately 62 billion CNY in 2025 and 149 billion CNY in 2050.     

Significance of adverse outcome pathways in biomarker-based environmental risk assessment in aquatic organisms

In environmental risk assessments (ERA), biomarkers have been widely used as an early warning signal of environmental contamination. However, biomarker responses have limitation due to its low relevance to adverse outcomes (e.g., fluctuations in community structure, decreases in population size, and other similar ecobiologically relevant indicators of community structure and function). To mitigate these limitations, the concept of adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) was developed. An AOP is an analytical, sequentially progressive pathway that links a molecular initiating event (MIE) to an adverse outcome. Recently, AOPs have been recognized as a potential informational tool by which the implications of molecular biomarkers in ERA can be better understood. To demonstrate the utility of AOPs in biomarker-based ERA, here we discuss a series of three different biological repercussions caused by exposure to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and selenium (Se). Using mainly aquatic invertebrates and selected vertebrates as model species, we focus on the development of the AOP concept. Aquatic organisms are suitable bioindicator species whose entire lifespans can be observed over a short period; moreover, these species can be studied on the molecular and population levels. Also, interspecific differences between aquatic organisms are important to consider in an AOP framework, since these differences are an integral part of the natural environment. The development of an environmental pollutant-mediated AOP may enable a better understanding of the effects of environmental pollutants in different scenarios in the diverse community of an ecosystem.     

Development of EMC-based empirical model for estimating spatial distribution of pollutant loads and its application in rural areas of Korea

An integrated approach to easily calculate pollutant loads from agricultural watersheds is suggested and verified in this research. The basic concepts of this empirical tool were based on the assumption that variations in event mean concentrations (EMCs) of pollutants from a given agricultural watershed during rainstorms were only attributable to the rainfall pattern. Fifty one sets of EMC values were obtained from nine different watersheds located in the rural areas of Korea, and these data were used to develop predictive tools for the EMCs in rainfall runoff. The results of statistical tests of these formulas show that they are fairly good in predicting actual EMC values of some parameters, and useful in terms of calculating pollutant loads for any rainfall event time span such as daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. This model was further checked in for its field applicability in a reservoir receiving stormwater after a cleanup of the sediments, covering 17 consecutive rainfall events from 1 July to 15 August in 2007. Overall the predicted values matched the observed values, indicating the feasibility of this empirical tool as a simple and useful solution in evaluating timely distribution of nonpoint source pollution loads from small rural watersheds of Korea.     

Diurnal and spatial variations of soil NOx fluxes in the northern steppe of China

NOx emissions from biogenic sources in soils play a significant role in the gaseous loss of soil nitrogen and consequent changes in tropospheric chemistry. In order to investigate the characteristics of NOx fluxes and factors influencing these fluxes in degraded sandy grasslands in northern China, diurnal and spatial variations of NOx fluxes were measured in situ. A dynamic flux chamber method was used at eight sites with various vegetation coverages and soil types in the northern steppe of China in the summer season of 2010. Fluxes of NOx from soils with plant covers were generally higher than those in the corresponding bare vegetation-free soils, indicating that the canopy plays an important role in the exchange of NOx between soil and air. The fluxes of NOx increased in the daytime, and decreased during the nighttime, with peak emissions occurring between 12:00 and 14:00. The results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the diurnal variation of NOx fluxes was positively correlated with soil temperature (P < 0.05) and negatively with soil moisture content (P < 0.05). Based on measurement over a season, the overall variation in NOx flux was lower than that of soil nitrogen contents, suggesting that the gaseous loss of N from the grasslands of northern China was not a significant contributor to the high C/N in the northern steppe of China. The concentration of NOx emitted from soils in the region did not exceed the 1-hr National Ambient Air Quality Standard (0.25 mg/m³).     

三峡库区库中干流及支流水体夏季二氧化碳分压及扩散通量

以三峡库区库中干流以及主要支流——梅溪河为研究区,于2013年5月对该区域水体中溶解二氧化碳分压(pCO2)进行了走航观测.结果表明,夏季梅溪河表层pCO2为6.8~7.5 Pa,三峡库区库中长江干流表层pCO2为201.4~210.2 Pa.在库区干、支流交汇的过渡区水体剖面上,表层水体pCO2最低为53.5 Pa,随着水深增加,pCO2急剧增大,在3 m处达到约210Pa后基本保持不变.通过计算,库区支流梅溪河和库区干流表层水体的CO2释放通量分别为-7.48 mmol·(m2·d)-1和39.58 mmol·(m2·d)-1.结果表明,库区支流梅溪河表现为大气中CO2的"汇",而库区干流表现为CO2的"源",库区干、支流水体在CO2的释放上有显著差异.     

A comparative study on the alternating mesophilic and thermophilic two-stage anaerobic digestion of food waste

An alternating mesophilic and thermophilic two stage anaerobic digestion(AD) process was conducted. The temperature of the acidogenic(A) and methanogenic(M) reactors was controlled as follows: System 1(S1) mesophilic A-mesophilic M;(S2) mesophilic A-thermophilic M; and(S3)thermophilic A-mesophilic M. Initially, the AD reactor was acclimatized and inoculated with digester sludge. Food waste was added with the soluble chemical oxygen demand(SCOD) concentrations of41.4–47.0 g/L and volatile fatty acids of 2.0–3.2 g/L. Based on the results, the highest total chemical oxygen demand removal(86.6%) was recorded in S2 while S3 exhibited the highest SCOD removal(96.6%). Comparing S1 with S2, total solids removal increased by 0.5%; S3 on the other hand decreased by 0.1 % as compared to S1. However, volatile solids(VS) removal in S1, S2, and S3was 78.5%, 81.7%, and 79.2%, respectively. S2 also exhibited the highest CH4 content, yield, and production rate of 70.7%, 0.44 L CH4/g VSadded, and 1.23 L CH4/(L·day), respectively. Bacterial community structure revealed that the richness, diversity, evenness, and dominance of S2 were high except for the archaeal community. The terminal restriction fragments dendrogram also revealed that the microbial community of the acidogenic and methanogenic reactors in S2 was distinct. Therefore,S2 was the best among the systems for the operation of two-stage AD of food waste in terms of CH4production, nutrient removal, and microbial community structure.     

Anoxic gas recirculation system for fouling control in anoxic membrane reactor

Anoxic gas recirculation system was applied to control the membrane fouling in pilot-scale 4-stage anoxic membrane bioreactor(MBR). In the anaerobic-anoxic-anoxic-aerobic flow scheme,hydrophilic polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) membrane(0.2 μm, 7.2 m2/module) was submerged in the second anoxic zone. During 8 months operation, the average flux of the membrane was 21.3L/(m2·hr). Chemical cleaning of the membrane was conducted only once with sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite. Dissolved oxygen(DO) concentration in the second anoxic zone was maintained with an average of 0.19 ± 0.05 mg/L. Gas chromatography analysis showed that the headspace gas in the second anoxic reactor was mainly consisted of N2(93.0% ± 2.5%), O2(3.8% ± 0.6%), and CO2(3.0% ± 0.5%), where the saturation DO concentration in liquid phase was 1.57 mg/L. Atmospheric O2 content(20.5% ± 0.8%) was significantly reduced in the anoxic gas. The average pH in the reactor was 7.2 ± 0.4. As a result, the recirculation of the anoxic gas was successfully applied to control the membrane fouling in the anoxic MBR.     

Comparison of biochemical characteristics between PAO and DPAO sludges

A successful enhanced biological phosphorus removal(EBPR) was observed in both anaerobicaerobic sequencing batch reactor(An-Ox SBR) to induce growth of phosphorus accumulating organism(PAO) and anaerobic-anoxic(An-Ax) SBR to induce growth of denitrifying PAO(DPAO).Although the EBPR performance of An-Ox SBR was higher by 11.3% than that of An-Ax SBR,specific phosphorus release rates in the An-Ax SBR(22.8 ± 3.5 mg P/(g VSS·hr)) and the An-Ox SBR(22.4 ± 4.8 mg P/(g VSS·hr)) were similar. Specific phosphorus uptake rates under anoxic and aerobic conditions were 26.3 ± 4.8 mg P/(g VSS·hr)(An-Ax SBR) and 25.6 ± 2.8 mg P/(g VSS·hr)(An-Ox SBR), respectively, which were also similar. In addition, an analysis of relationship of poly-β-hydroxyalkanoates(PHA) synthesized under anaerobic conditions with phosphorous release(Preleased/PHAsynthesized) and of PHA utilized under anoxic and aerobic conditions with phosphorous uptake(Puptaked/PHAutilized) verified that biological activities of EBPR per unit biomass between DPAO and PAO were similar. An analysis of the specific denitrification rate of DPAO showed that NO-3-N can be denitrified at a rate that does not substantially differ from that of an ordinary denitrifier without additional consumption of organic carbon when the PHA stored inside the cell under anaerobic conditions is sufficiently secured.     

Development and application of a GIS-based sediment budget model

Accelerated erosion and increased sediment yields resulting from changes in land use are a critical environmental problem. Resource managers and decision makers need spatially explicit tools to help them predict the changes in sediment production and delivery due to unpaved roads and other types of land disturbance. This is a particularly important issue in much of the Caribbean because of the rapid pace of development and potential damage to nearshore coral reef communities. The specific objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a GIS-based sediment budget model; (2) use the model to evaluate the effects of unpaved roads on sediment delivery rates in three watersheds on St. John in the US Virgin Islands; and (3) compare the predicted sediment yields to pre-existing data. The St. John Erosion Model (STJ-EROS) is an ArcInfo-based program that uses empirical sediment production functions and delivery ratios to quantify watershed-scale sediment yields. The program consists of six input routines and five routines to calculate sediment production and delivery. The input routines have interfaces that allow the user to adjust the key variables that control sediment production and delivery. The other five routines use pre-set erosion rate constants, user-defined variables, and values from nine data layers to calculate watershed-scale sediment yields from unpaved road travelways, road cutslopes, streambanks, treethrow, and undisturbed hillslopes. STJ-EROS was applied to three basins on St. John with varying levels of development. Predicted sediment yields under natural conditions ranged from 2 to 7Mgkm(-2)yr(-1), while yield rates for current conditions ranged from 8 to 46Mgkm(-2)yr(-1). Unpaved roads are estimated to be increasing sediment delivery rates by 3-6 times for Lameshur Bay, 5-9 times for Fish Bay, and 4-8 times for Cinnamon Bay. Predicted basin-scale sediment yields for both undisturbed and current conditions are within the range of measured sediment yields and bay sedimentation rates. The structure and user interfaces in STJ-EROS mean that the model can be readily adapted to other areas and used to assess the impact of unpaved roads and other land uses sediment production and delivery.     

Effects of water characteristics on nitrate reduction by the Fe0/CO2 process

In this study, CO2 was bubbled into Fe0-contained solution to create an acidic environment favorable to reduction of aqueous nitrate under various water qualities. Results showed that nitrate of 30 mg l(-1) could be removed from solutions almost completely within 30 min under the conditions of 2 g Fe0 l(-1) and CO2 bubbling flow rate of 200 ml min(-1). It was observed from the Fe0/CO2 system that one mole of nitrate reduced by Fe0 led to the formation of 6.6 mol of ferrous ions. The removal of nitrate increases with increasing Fe0 dosage, however, the removal makes no difference as the Fe0 is applied at a relatively higher dosage. In the system with various water qualities, nitrate removal was inhibited significantly in the presence of humic acid. Calcium ions strongly retard nitrate removal, whereas chloride ions promote the reduction of nitrate in a significant way. Sodium ions impose only slight inhibitive effect on nitrate removal. Water molecule in the studied system can be of significance due to its competitive capability of electrons released from Fe0.