Partitioning of water soluble organic carbon in three sediment size fractions： Effect of the humic substances

Water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in sediments plays an important role in transference and transformation of aquatic pollutants. This article investigated the inherent mechanisms of how sediemnt grain size affect the partitioning coeffcient (k) of WSOC. Influences of NaOH extracted humic substances were particularly focused on. Sediments were sampled from two cross-sections of the middle Yellow River and sieved into three size fractions (< 63 μm, 63-100 μm, and 100--300 μm). The total concentration of WSOC in sediments (CWSOC) and k were estimated using multiple water-sediment ratio experiments. Results show that CWSOC ranges from 0.012 to 0.022 mg/g, while k ranges from 0.8 to 3.9 L/kg. Correlations between the spectrum characteristics of NaOH extracted humic substances and k were analyzed. Strong positive correlations are determined between k and the aromaticity indicators of NaOH extracted humic substances in different sediment size fractions. Comparing with finer fractions (< 63 μm), k is higher in larger size fractions (63--100 and 100--300 μm) related to higher aromaticity degree of NaOH extracted humic substances mostly. While negative relationship between k and the area ratio of fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) at 3400 and 1430 cm-1 implied that the lowest k was related to the highest concentration of the acidic humic groups in particles < 63 μm. WSOC in finer fractions (< 63 μm) is likely to enter into pore water, which may further accelerate the transportation of aquatic contaminants from sediment to water.     

Combined alkaline and ultrasonic pretreatment of sludge beforeaerobic digestion

Alkaline and ultrasonic sludge disintegration can both be used as pretreatments of waste activated sludge (WAS) for improving the subsequent anaerobic or aerobic digestion. The pretreatment has been carried out using different combination of these two methods in this study. The effect was evaluated based on the quantity of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) in the pretreated sludge as well as the degradation of organic matter in the following aerobic digestion. For WAS samples with combined pretreatment, the released COD was in high level than those with ultrasonic or alkaline treatment. When combined with the same ultrasonic treatment, NaOH treatment resulted in more solubilization of WAS than Ca(OH)2. For combined NaOH and ultrasonic treatments with different sequences, the released COD were in the order: simultaneous treatment > ultrasonic treatment following NaOH treatment > NaOH treatment following ultrasonic treatment. For simultaneous treatment, low NaOH dosage (100 g/kg dry solid), short duration (30 min) of NaOH treatment, and low ultrasonic specific energy (7 500 kJ/kg dry solid) were beneficial for sludge disintegration. Using combined NaOH and ultrasonic pretreatment with the optimium parameters, the degradation efficiency of organic matter was increased from 38.0% to 50.7%, which is much higher than with ultrasonic (42.5%) or with NaOH pretreatment (43.5%) in the subsequent aerobic digestion at the same retention time.     

Can phosphate compounds be used to reduce the plant uptake of Pb and resist the Pb stress in Pb-contaminated soils？

The effects of di erent phosphate-amendments on lead (Pb) uptake, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the levelof malondialdehyde (MDA) in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) in contaminated soils with 2500, or 5000 mg P2O5/kg soil ofhydroxyapatite (HA), phosphate rock (PR), single-superphosphate (SSP) and the mix of HA/SSP (HASSP) were evaluated in potexperiments. Results showed that the Pb concentrations in shoots and roots decreased by 18.3%–51.6% and 16.8%–57.3% among thetreatments respectively compared to the control samples. The e ciency order of these phosphate-amendments in reducing Pb uptakewas as follows: HASSPt HA > SSP t PR.With the addition of SSP, HA and the mix of HA/SSP, the SOD activity in shoot was reducedmarkedly (P < 0.05) compared with that in the control group. For example, the SOD activities in shoot by the treatments of HASSP,SSP, and HA in 5000 mg P2O5/kg were found to be only 51.3%, 56.2%, and 56.7%, respectively. Similar e ects were also observed onthe level of MDA in the shoots with a decrease in 24.5%–56.3%. The results verified the inference that phosphate compounds could beused to reduce the plant uptake of Pb and resist the Pb stress in the plant vegetated in Pb-contaminated soils.     

Bioaccumulation and depuration of chromium in the selected organs andwhole body tissues of freshwater fish Cirrhinus mrigala individuallyand in binary solutions with nickel

Contamination of aquatic ecosystems with heavy metals has been receiving increased worldwide attention due to their harmful e ectson human health and other organisms in the environment. Most of the studies dealing with toxic e ects of metals deal with singlemetal species, while the aquatic organisms are typically exposed to mixtures of metals. Hence, in order to provide data supportingthe usefulness of freshwater fish as indicators of heavy metal pollution, it has been proposed in the present study to investigate thebioaccumulation and depuration of chromium in the selected organs of freshwater fingerlings Cirrhinus mrigala, individually and inbinary solutions with nickel. The results show that the kidney is a target organ for chromium accumulation, which implies that it is alsothe “critical” organ for toxic symptoms. The results further show that accumulation of nickel in all the tissues of C. mrigala is higherthan that of chromium. In addition, the metal accumulations of the binary mixtures of chromium and nickel are substantially higherthan those of the individual metals, indicating synergistic interactions between the two metals. Theoretically the simplest explanationfor an additive joint action of toxicants in a mixture is that they act in a qualitatively similar way. The observed data suggest that C.mrigala could be suitable monitoring organisms to study the bioavailability of water-bound metals in freshwater habitats.     

Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis in removal of pollutantin Taihu Lake, China

Two plant populations of Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis grown in gravel and sediment substrate were studied to assess their capabilities for purifying polluted water in Taihu Lake, China. The substrate displayed most significant effects on the suspended matter (P < 0.01), with the reduction of 76%-87% and 52%-63% for P. australis, and 83%-86% and 45%-62% for T. orientalis in gravel substrate and sediment substrate, respectively. Both species and substrates significantly decreased the N and P conc...     

Using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model animal for assessing thetoxicity induced by microcystin-LR

Among more than 75 variants of microcystin(MC),microcystin-LR(MC-LR) is one of the most common toxins.In this study,the feasibility of using Caenorhabditis elegans to evaluate MC-LR toxicity was studied.C.elegans was treated with MC-LR at different concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 80 μg/L.The results showed that MC-LR could reduce lifespan,delay development,lengthen generation time,decrease brood size,suppress locomotion behavior,and decreases hsp-16-2-gfp expression.The endpoints of generation time,brood...     

Combined fluorescence and electrochemical investigation on the bindinginteraction between organic acid and human serum albumin

Human serum albumin (HSA) is a plasma protein responsible for the binding and transport of fatty acids and a variety of exogenous chemicals such as drugs and environmental pollutants. Such binding plays a crucial role in determining the ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) and bioavailability of the pollutants. We report investigation on the binding interaction between HSA and acetic acid (C2), octanoic acid (C8) and dodecanoic acid (C12) by the combination of site-specific fluorescent probe, tryptophan intrinsic fluorescence and tyrosine electrochemistry. Two fluorescent probes, dansylamide and dansyl-L-proline, were employed in the displacement measurement to study fatty acid interaction with the two drug-binding sites on HSA. Intrinsic fluorescence of tryptophan in HSA was monitored upon addition of the fatty acids into HSA. Electrocatalyzed response of the tyrosine residues in HSA by a redox mediator was used to investigate the binding interaction. Qualitatively, observations made by the three approaches are very similar. HSA did not show any change in either fluorescence or electrochemistry after mixing with C2, suggesting there is no significant interaction with the short-chain fatty acid. For C8, the measured signal dropped in a single-exponential fashion, indicative of independent and non-cooperative binding. The calculated association constant and binding ratio is 3.1×106 L/mol and 1 with drug binding Site I, 1.1×107 L/mol and 1 with Site II, and 7.0×104 L/mol and 4 with the tryptophan site. The measurement with C12 displayed multiple phases of fluorescence change, suggesting cooperativity and allosteric effect of C12 binding. These results correlate well with those obtained by the established methods, and validate the new approach as a viable tool to study the interactions of environmental pollutants with biological molecules.     

One century record of contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsand polychlorinated biphenyls in core sedimentsfrom the southern Yellow Sea

Sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 28 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured at a 2-cm interval in a core sample from the middle of the southern Yellow Sea for elucidating their historical variations in inflow and sources. The chronology was obtained using the 210Pb method. PAHs concentrations decreased generally with depth and two climax values occurred in 14–16 cm and 20–22 cm layers, demonstrating that the production and usage of PAHs might reach peaks in the periods of 1956–1962...     

A novel aminated polymeric adsorbent for removing refractory dissolvedorganic matter from landfill leachate treatment plant

Refractory dissolved organic matter (DOM) from landfill leachate treatment plant was with high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content. An aminated polymeric adsorbent NDA-8 with tertiary amino groups and sufficient mesopore was synthesized, which exhibited high adsorption capacity to the DOM (raw water after coagulation). Resin NDA-8 performed better in the uptake of the DOM than resin DAX-8 and A100. Electrostatic attraction was considered as the decisive interaction between the adsorbent and adsorbate. Special attention was paid to the correlation between porous structure and adsorption capacity. The mesopore of NDA-8 played a crucial role during uptake of the DOM. In general, resin in chloride form performed a higher removal rate of DOC. According to the column adsorption test, total adsorption capacity of NDA-8 was calculated to 52.28 mg DOC/mL wet resin. 0.2 mol/L sodium hydroxide solution could regenerate the adsorbent efficiently.     

Acid deposition critical loads modeling for the simulation of sulfur exceedanceand reduction in Guangdong, China

The current acid deposition critical loads in Guangdong, China were calculated using the PROFILE model with a 3 km × 3 km resolution. Calculations were carried out for critical loads of potential acidity, actual acidity, sulfur and nitrogen, with values in extents of 0–3.5, 0–14.0, 0–26.0 and 0–3.5 kmol/(hm2·year), respectively. These values were comparable to previously reported results and reflected the influences of vegetation and soil characteristics on the soil acid buffering capacity. Simulations of S...