Mechanical and Barrier Properties of Biodegradable Films Made from Chitosan and Poly (Lactic Acid) Blends

Biodegradable film blends of chitosan with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were prepared by solution mixing and film casting. The main goal of these blends is to improve the water vapor barrier of chitosan by blending it with a hydrophobic biodegradable polymer from renewable resources. Mechanical properties of obtained films were assessed by tensile test. Thermal properties, water barrier properties, and water sensitivity were studied by differential scanning calorimeter analysis, water vapor permeability measurements, and surface-angle contact tests, respectively. The incorporation of PLA to chitosan improved the water barrier properties and decreased the water sensitivity of chitosan film. However, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of chitosan decreased with the addition of PLA. Mechanical and thermal properties revealed that chitosan and PLA blends are incompatible, consistent with the results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis that showed the absence of specific interaction between chitosan and PLA.     

Green roof stormwater retention: effects of roof surface, slope, and media depth

Urban areas generate considerably more stormwater runoff than natural areas of the same size due to a greater percentage of impervious surfaces that impede water infiltration. Roof surfaces account for a large portion of this impervious cover. Establishing vegetation on rooftops, known as green roofs, is one method of recovering lost green space that can aid in mitigating stormwater runoff. Two studies were performed using several roof platforms to quantify the effects of various treatments on stormwater retention. The first study used three different roof surface treatments to quantify differences in stormwater retention of a standard commercial roof with gravel ballast, an extensive green roof system without vegetation, and a typical extensive green roof with vegetation. Overall, mean percent rainfall retention ranged from 48.7% (gravel) to 82.8% (vegetated). The second study tested the influence of roof slope (2 and 6.5%) and green roof media depth (2.5, 4.0, and 6.0 cm) on stormwater retention. For all combined rain events, platforms at 2% slope with a 4-cm media depth had the greatest mean retention, 87%, although the difference from the other treatments was minimal. The combination of reduced slope and deeper media clearly reduced the total quantity of runoff. For both studies, vegetated green roof systems not only reduced the amount of stormwater runoff, they also extended its duration over a period of time beyond the actual rain event.     

Cadmium contamination in orchard soils and fruit trees and its potential health risk in Guangzhou, China

This study examines cadmium (Cd) contamination in orchard soils and fruit trees in Guangzhou, China, and assesses its potential health risk. Soils and tissues samples of three species of fruit trees were collected from three orchards. The average soil Cd concentration was 1.27, 1.84 and 0.68 mg/kg in orchards I, II, and III, respectively. The carambola (Averrhoa carambola) accumulated exceptionally high concentrations of Cd (7.57, 10.84, 9.01 and 2.15 mg/kg dw in root, twig, leaf and fruit, respectively), being 6.0-24 times and 4.0-10 times the corresponding tissue Cd in the longan (Dimocarpus longan) and wampee (Clausena lansium), respectively. Furthermore, all Cd concentrations (0.04-0.25 mg Cd/kg fw) of the fruits exceeded the tolerance limit of cadmium in foods of PR China (0.03 mg/kg fw). Our results indicate that the carambola tree has high Cd accumulation capacity and might be a Cd accumulator; and its fruit, among the three species of fruits studied, also poses the highest potential health risk to local residents.     

Influence of clay minerals on the reduction of Cr6+ by citric acid

The influence of clay minerals on the reduction of Cr6+ by citric acid was investigated at pH values 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 at 25 degrees C. The results indicate that montmorillonite and illite greatly accelerate the reduction reactions at pH 4.0 and 4.5, but their effects are dramatically reduced at pH 5.0. The role of clay minerals in accelerating the reactions is in the order: illite>montmorillonite>kaolinite, which has a positive correlation with the amount of Mn2+ adsorbed on the surfaces of these minerals. With light, Fe(3+) also significantly increases reaction rates. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) greatly suppresses the acceleration of the reduction reactions by these minerals, indicating that EDTA competes with citric acid for Mn2+. Thus, the formation of complexes between Mn(2+) and citric acid could be a prerequisite for the acceleration of the reductions of Cr6+ by clay minerals. In addition, there is no relationship between the specific surface area of clay minerals and the reduction rate of Cr6+ by citric acid.     

Comprehensive temperature monitoring in an in-vessel forced-aeration static-bed composting process

Comprehensive temperature monitoring was done in an in-vessel forced-aeration static-bed composting process using sewage sludge. The three layers that divided the compost pile horizontally showed different temperature distributions. The temperature of the top layer appeared not to be influenced by the ambient temperature. The temperature of the center area of the top layer was taken to be the representative temperature for evaluating composting start-up performance. The temperature of the bottom layer was strongly influenced by the ambient temperature, and the temperature of the center area of the bottom layer was taken to be the representative temperature for pathogen control as it was the minimum temperature in the reactor. Composting start-up performance was influenced by several factors when the ambient temperature was either below or above 20°C. When the ambient temperature was below 20°C, the time taken to reach 65°C (T ₆₅) was influenced by the temperature of inflowing air, but when the temperature was higher than 20°C, it was influenced by the ratio of sewage sludge to seed compost (F/S). T ₆₅ was least when F/S was 1–2. Received: January 9, 2001 / Accepted: October 10, 2001     

Environmental risk mapping of accidental pollution and its zonal prevention in a city

Accidental releases of pollution can have severe environmental, societal, economic, and institutional consequences. This paper considers the use of risk mapping of accidental pollution events, and zonal prevention measures for alleviating the impact on large urban areas. An Environmental Pollution Accident Risk Mapping (EPARM) model is constructed according to a mapping index system supported by quantitative sub-models dedicated to evaluating the risk arising from different sources of potential accidental pollution. The EPARM approach consists of identifying suitable indexes, assessment of environmental risk at regional and national scales based on information on previous pollution accidents and the prevailing environmental and social conditions, and use of GIS to map the overall risk. A case study of pollution accidents in Minghang District, Shanghai, China is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model. The paper also proposes a systemic framework for accidental environmental pollution risk prevention, and detailed countermeasures for specific risk zones.     

紫外光催化预处理对生物滤塔二甲苯去除率的影响研究

为评价紫外光催化作为生物滤塔预处理的可行性,系统考察了生物滤塔中二甲苯气体的去除性能及其影响因素.所考察的影响因素包括进口二甲苯浓度和空塔停留时间,实验同时考察了挂膜过程中生物膜的表面形态变化过程.结果表明:顺利挂膜完成后的生物膜中占优势菌种的是长杆菌,有少量的短杆菌;紫外预处理可以有效提高生物滤塔系统处理二甲苯的效率;二甲苯去除率受到其进口浓度和空塔停留时间影响,当进口质量浓度为500 mg/m3,空塔停留时间为70 s时,二甲苯去除率可以达到95.7％.     

滇池流域水资源综合平衡管理研究

随着滇池治理的进展,在今后一个时期内,恢复滇池饮用水环境功能,成为滇池治理的首要目标和任务。围绕滇池流域水资源供求平衡,采用水资源全要素配置框架下的三次平衡分析理论,从整体上分析了滇池流域水资源供求平衡关系及存在的主要问题,提出了以需求为导向,建立滇池流域水资源综合平衡管理目标和措施。分析表明：在滇池治理的基础上,通过建立滇池流域水资源综合平衡管理体系,落实管理措施,从总量平衡的理论上能够充分发挥引水工程的作用,恢复滇池饮用水环境功能,实现水量、水质供求的综合平衡。建议进一步开展量化分析和模拟实验研究,为在滇池流域实施综合平衡管理提供可靠依据和建议     

盐雾试验方墨探讨

分析了不同盐雾试验方法标准对盐溶液配制、试样的处理和检测、试验参数、试验过程控制等方面的不同要求,探讨了盐雾试验的操作技术,提出了必须严格控制盐雾试验过程的建议和不能用不同标准进行的盐雾试验结果进行比较的观点.     

基于面积-高程积分的地下水动态分析——以泾惠渠灌区为例

为了研究泾惠渠灌区的地下水动态特征,探讨面积-高程积分在地下水动态分析中的可行性,利用ArcGIS空间分析工具计算了灌区地下水面积-高程积分数据,绘制了不同时期的地下水面积-高程积分曲线,分析了灌区地下水水位与储存量动态特征。结果显示:1978?—?2012年,泾惠渠灌区地下水面积-高程积分值为0.46、0.44、0.38、0.39,表明地下水水位与储存量整体呈下降趋势;1991?—?2012年,410.00?—?446.19 m水位区间面积由1978年的2.54下降为0,342.51?—?360.00 m水位区间面积多年持续增加,中等水位区间存在演化差异性,反映出不同时期地下水开发强度具有空间变异性;以1978年为基准,至2012年地下水储存量减少约7.08×10~8 m~3;降水、地表水引水量、人工开采是影响泾惠渠灌区地下水动态的重要因素,补排失衡是引起灌区地下水储存量下降的主要原因。研究表明:面积-高程积分曲线可以表征地下水水位空间结构特征和储存量的变化情况,利用面积-高程积分值能够近似估算地下水储存量变化量,证明了面积-高程积分在地下水动态研究中具有一定的实用性。