Ecosystem-inspired model and artificial intelligence predicts pollutant consumption capacity by coagulation in drinking water treatment

Conventional methods for water and wastewater treatment are energy-intensive, notably at the stage of coagulation–flocculation, calling for new strategies to predict pollutant reduction because the amount of energy consumed is related to how much of the pollutant is treated. Here we developed a model, named Bio-logic, inspired by ecosystems, where pollutants represent organisms, coagulants are food, and the wider environmental conditions are the living environment. Artificial intelligence was used to learn the biological behavior, which enabled an accurate prediction of the amount of pollutant reduction. Results show that pseudo-biological objects that have a strong affinity for biological food, such as turbidity, total phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen and the potassium permanganate index, induced a strong correlation, between measured pollutant consumption capacity and predicted values. For instance, R² correlation coefficients are 0.97 for turbidity and 0.92 for the potassium permanganate index in the laboratory; and 0.99 for turbidity, 0.90 for total phosphorus, 0.75 for ammonia nitrogen and 0.63 for the potassium permanganate index in water treatment plants. Overall, our findings demonstrate that artificial intelligence can use the water Bio-logic model to predict the pollutant consumption capacity.

     

Cause analysis of the fire and explosion during crude oil desulfurization in China

A serious fire and explosion accident that resulted in massive crude oil leakage and severe environmental pollution occurred on 16 July, 2010, in Dalian Port, China. To investigate the root cause of accident and conduct a wide-range investigation, desulfurizing agent JH02, which has a similar ingredient to the desulfurizing agent HD used in Dalian Port, and TS02 were employed in this study to determine the role of desulfurizing agents in the accident. The thermal behavior of crude oil, desulfurizing agents, and their mixtures was measured by using a C80 calorimeter. By using the calorimetric data, the kinetic parameters of the chemical reaction, such as activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and self-accelerating decomposition temperature of crude oil, as well as JH02, TS02, and their mixtures, were calculated and compared. The results indicated that the direct cause of the accident was the thermal runaway initiated by the increasing instability of the crude oil–desulfurizing agent mixture. Excess pressure in the oil pipeline triggered the physical explosion, but it alone was not enough to cause a serious damage. Furthermore, a stable desulfurizing agent such as TS02 could not ensure a safe desulfurizing process. The results of this study would benefit the safety management of desulfurizing processes during production and storage.     

香根草和黑麦草对重金属铅的生理响应及累积性研究

以香根草(Vetiveria zizanioides)和黑麦草(Lolium perenne)为材料,通过水培研究了0,5,10,50,200,500 mg/L铅处理对两种植物生长、生物量的影响及铅在植物根、茎叶中的累积特征,结果表明,(1)铅浓度10 mg/L以下,香根草和黑麦草能够正常生长;铅浓度为5 mg/L条件...     

The risks of sulfur addition on cadmium accumulation in paddy rice under different water-management conditions

Recently, the application of sulfur (S) has been recommended to control the accumulation of cadmium (Cd) in rice in contaminated paddy soil. However, the effects of exogenous S on Cd transfer in paddy rice systems under different water-management practices have not been systematically investigated. Pot experiments were performed to monitor the composition of soil pore water and the Cd accumulation in iron plaque and rice tissue were compared under different S (0 and 200 mg/kg Na₂SO₄) and water (continuous and discontinuous flooding) treatments. Sulfur application significantly increased Cd concentrations in soil pore water under discontinuous flooding conditions, but slightly reduced them under continuous flooding. Moreover, the oxidation/reduction potential (Eh) was the most critical factor that affected the Cd levels. When the Eh exceeded −42.5 mV, S became the second critical factor, and excessive S application promoted Cd dissolution. In addition, S addition elevated the Cd levels in iron plaque and reduced the Cd transfer from the iron plaque to rice roots. In rice, S addition inhibited Cd transfer from the rice roots to the straw; thus, more Cd was stored in the rice roots. Nevertheless, additional S application increased the Cd content in the rice grains by 72% under discontinuous flooding, although this effect was mitigated by continued flooding. Under simulated practical water management conditions, S addition increased the risk of Cd contamination in rice, suggesting that S application should be reconsidered as a paddy fertilization strategy.     

Inactivation and subsequent reactivation of Aspergillus species by the combination of UV and monochloramine: Comparisons with UV/chlorine

Ultraviolet (UV)/monochloramine (NH₂Cl) as an advanced oxidation process was firstly applied for Aspergillus spores inactivation. This study aims to: i) clarify the inactivation and photoreactivation characteristics of UV/NH₂Cl process, ii) compared with UV/Cl₂ in inactivation efficiency, photoreactivation and energy consumption. The results illustrated that UV/NH₂Cl showed better inactivation efficiency than that of UV alone and UV/Cl₂, and could effectively control the photoreactivation. For instance, the inactivation rates for Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigatus in the processes of UV/NH₂Cl (2.0 mg/L) was 0.034, 0.030 and 0.061 cm²/mJ, respectively, which were higher than that of UV alone (0.027, 0.026 and 0.024 cm²/mJ) and UV/Cl₂ (0.023, 0.026 and 0.031 cm²/mJ). However, there was no synergistic effect for Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus. As for Aspergillus niger, the best synergistic effect can reach 1.86-log₁₀. This may be due to their different resistance to disinfectants, which were related to the size, an outer layer of rodlets (hydrophobins) and pigments. After UV/NH₂Cl inactivation, the degree of cell membrane damage and intracellular reactive oxygen species were higher than that of UV alone. UV/NH₂Cl had the advantages of high inactivation efficiency and inhibition of photoreactivation, which provides a new entry point for the disinfection of waterborne fungi.     

Photocatalytic degradation of C. I. Reactive Red 24 solution with K6SiW11O39SnII

Environmental friendly materials, K₆SiW₁₁O₃₉Sn (SiWSn), was synthesized. SiWSn photocatalytic decomposition of C. I. Reactive Red 24 (RR24) with the UV-lamp (253.7 nm, 20 W), Xenon lamp filtered less than 390 nm light (500 W) and sun light was investigated. The results showed that RR24 solution could be effectively decolorized with the SiWSn photocatalyst. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of RR24 with SiWSn was affected by the initial concentration of RR2 solution, the amount of SiWSn and the photolysis time. It is demonstrated that the process of photodegradation of RR24 with SiWSn is a pesudo first-order reaction, which can be described by Langmuir-Hinshelwood equation. Hydroxyl radicals and holes are both the main oxidants in the photocatalytic reaction of RR24 with SiWSn.     

降低煤气吹脱解吸剩余氨水中碱耗量的研究

针对目前煤气吹脱解吸法处理焦化剩余氨水的过程中,碱的耗量较高的现状,结合具有专利技术的复合解吸塔,通过现场中试试验,研究了增加保温装置,改变加碱的位置,并适当增加了废水的停留时间的影响。最佳操作条件为:中位加碱,吹脱次数n=3,煤气温度T g=70℃,废水温度T w=90℃,pH=11,表面活性剂加入量ρ=10 mg/L,气液比q=350∶1,处理后的废水氨氮含量为248.2 mg/L,氨氮去除率可达到92.75%。最终的碱耗量为5.9 kg/m3,比原来的碱耗量降低了46.36%。     

改性GAC联合H2O2去除氨苄青霉素钠的研究

文章研究了用Fe（NO3）3NaOH改性的活性炭联合过氧化氢对水溶液中氨苄青霉素钠的处理效果．确定了它们的优化处理条件,并对两者的处理效果作了相应比较。在T=30℃,pH：3．0,青霉素初始浓度为200mg／L条件下,投加5．0g／LFe（N03）3改性活性炭和80mg/LH202,反应120min后,COD、TOC去除率分别可以达到88．5％和77．9％;在T=30℃,pH=70,青霉素200mg／L条件下,投加8．0g／LNaOH改性活性炭和80mg／LH202,反应120rain后,COD、TOC去除率分别可以达到85．2％和76．4％。