Climate change impact on the potential yield of Arabica coffee in southeast Brazil

Regional Environmental Change - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections of global mean temperature rises are worrisome for coffee crop due to the intolerance of the Arabica...     

The cause and influence of self-cementing properties of fine recycled concrete aggregates on the properties of unbound sub-base

The use of coarse recycled concrete aggregates (CRCA) in conjunction with fine recycled concrete aggregates (FRCA) as sub-base materials has been widely studied. Although research results indicate that it is feasible to employ both CRCA and FRCA as granular sub-base, the influence of the unhydrated cement in the adhered mortar of the RCA on the properties of the sub-base materials has not been thoroughly studied. Generally, it is known that the strength of the sub-base materials prepared with RCA increases over time. However, this mechanism, known as the self-cementing properties, is not well understood and is believed to be governed by the properties of the fine portion of the RCA (<5mm). This paper presents an investigation on the cause of the self-cementing properties by measuring X-ray diffraction patterns, pH values, compressive strength and permeability of various size fractions of the FRCA obtained from a commercially operated construction and demolition waste recycling plant. Their influence on the overall sub-base materials was determined. The results indicate that the size fractions of <0.15 and 0.3-0.6mm (active fractions) were most likely to be the principal cause of the self-cementing properties of the FRCA. However, the effects on the properties of the overall RCA sub-base materials were minimal if the total quantity of the active fractions was limited to a threshold by weight of the total fine aggregate.     

生活中的化学阴影

直到化学品污染的新闻不断袭来,不断刺激公众的视听。许多人才知道,原来他们用惯了许多年甚至一辈子的生活用品、吃了一辈子的食物竟隐藏那么多问题。许多为常人所不知的化学物质名称,也慢慢地进入了人们的认知范围。     

校企合作:科研与产业的桥梁--访中山大学环境科学与工程学院李适宇院长

环保新技术、新工艺、新材料的研究、开发和运用,是推动环保事业发展的主要动力,有着无限的前景.如何实现环境科学研究与环保产业化的发展,进行完美的双结合,是当今环保业界一直在探索的课题.其中,校企合作被视为产学研一体化道路的一个发展模式.     

中国露天生物质燃烧的温室气体排放及秸秆禁燃政策的协同减排效应

露天生物质燃烧是温室气体(CO₂、CH₄、N₂O)的重要排放源之一,这些排放可影响本地、区域和全球的大气化学和气候变化,并带来一系列生态环境问题,进而对人类及其他生物的生存环境产生影响.本研究采用卫星火点排放清单(FINN),对2010—2019年中国露天生物质燃烧温室气体排放进行研究,并分析秸秆禁燃政策对温室气体排放的影响,对后续秸秆禁燃政策的制定具有重要参考价值.结果表明,我国2010—2019年平均年温室气体排放量为1.53×10⁸t(将CH₄和N₂O的温室效应换算为同等效应的CO₂当量单位),总体呈波动性下降趋势.温室气体排放量最大的植被类型是森林(7.43×10⁷t)和农作物(3.19×10⁷t),分别占总排放量的48.7%和20.9%.从月分布来看,露天生物质燃烧排放的温室气体集中在2—6月,3月是高峰值.从空间分布上看,排放主要集中在华南、西南和华东地区,占总排放量的72.9%...     

Students' environmental concerns and opinions: a Chinese perspective

This study aims at comparing broadly the environmental concerns and opinions between Hong Kong and Beijing students. This is based on an earlier study in Australia which adopted a qualitative approach, using five open-ended question items. In their written comments the children's environmental opinions and concerns were explored. In general, upper primary students tended to be concerned more about the social environment relating to society, while junior and senior secondary students expressed more concern about the social environment relating to the nation and global issues.     

High fire resistance in blocks containing coal combustion fly ashes and bottom ash

Fire resistance recycled blocks, containing fly ash and bottom ash from coal combustion power plants with a high fire resistance, are studied in this paper by testing different compositions using Portland cement type II, sand, coarse aggregate and fly ash (up to 50% of total weight) and bottom ash (up to 30% of total weight). The fire resistance, physical-chemical (density, pH, humidity, and water absorption capacity), mechanical (compressive and flexural strength), and leaching properties are measured on blocks made with different proportions of fly ash and bottom ash. The standard fire resistance test is reproduced on 28 cm-high, 18 cm-wide and 3 cm-thick units, and is measured as the time needed to reach a temperature of 180 °C on the non-exposed surface of the blocks for the different compositions.The results show that the replacement of fine aggregate with fly ash and of coarse aggregate with bottom ash have a remarkable influence on fire resistance and cause no detriment to the mechanical properties of the product. Additionally, according to the leaching tests, no environmental problems have been detected in the product. These results lead to an analysis of the recycling possibilities of these by-products in useful construction applications for the passive protection against fire.     

Analysis and characterization of cultivable heavy metal-resistant bacterial endophytes isolated from Cd-hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. and their potential use for phytoremediation

This study investigates the heavy metal-resistant bacterial endophytes of Cd-hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. grown on a mine tailing by using cultivation-dependent technique. Thirty Cd-tolerant bacterial endophytes were isolated from roots, stems, and leaves of S. nigrum L. and classified by amplified ribosomal DNA-restriction analysis into 18 different types. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences showed that these isolates belonged to four groups: Actinobacteria (43%), Proteobacteria (23%), Bacteroidetes (27%) and Firmicutes (7%). All the isolates were then characterized for their plant growth promoting traits as well as their resistances to different heavy metals; and the actual plant growth promotion and colonization ability were also assessed. Four isolates were re-introduced into S. nigrum L. under Cd stress and resulted in Cd phytotoxicity decrease, as dry weights of roots increased from 55% to 143% and dry weights of above-ground from 64% to 100% compared to the uninoculated ones. The total Cd accumulation of inoculated plants increased from 66% to 135% (roots) and from 22% to 64% (above-ground) compared to the uninoculated ones. Our research suggests that bacterial endophytes are a most promising resource and may be the excellent candidates of bio-inoculants for enhancing the phytoremediation efficiency.     

The relationship between mixed-liquor particle size and solids retention time in the activated sludge process

Particle size distribution (PSD) analysis was used to evaluate the quality of mixed liquors collected from different activated sludge process modifications (i.e., conventional activated sludge, modified Ludzack-Ettinger, high-purity oxygen, step-anoxic, and oxidation ditch). An experiment protocol was developed to define the allowable sample holding time and provide representative and repeatable results. Samples of 26 treatment plants, with a total of 37 samples, were tested. A new indicator, called mean particle size (MPS), was introduced to describe the integrated mean particle size. The results of MPSs of three cut-off sizes (0.5 to 50, 100, and 200 microm) showed that the average size of mixed-liquor biosolids increased with increasing solids retention time (SRT), and the number of particles in the sedimentation supernatant decreased with increasing SRT. Particle deflocculation occurred after excessive sample holding time, and analysis within 12 hours generally eliminated sample holding problems. The results provide a methodology using PSD for characterizing mixed-liquor biosolids.