Development of a static test apparatus for evaluating the performance of three PM2.5 separators commonly used in China

PM_(2.5) separator directly affects the accuracy of PM_(2.5) sampling.The specification testing and evaluation for PM_(2.5) separator is particularly important,especially under China's wide variation of terrain and climate.In this study,first a static test apparatus based on polydisperse aerosol was established and calibrated to evaluate the performance of the PM_(2.5) separators.A uniform mixing chamber was developed to make particles mix completely.The aerosol concentration relative standard deviations of three test points at the same horizontal chamber position were less than 0.57%,and the particle size distribution obeyed logarithmic normal distribution with an R~2 of 0.996.The flow rate deviation between the measurement and the set point flow rate agreed to within ± 1.0% in the range of -40 to 50℃.Secondly,the separation,flow and loading characteristics of three cyclone separators(VSCC-A,SCC-A and SCC112) were evaluated using this system.The results showed that the 50% cutoff sizes(D_(50)) of the three cyclones were 2.48,2.47 and 2.44 μm when worked at the manufacturer's recommended flow rates,respectively.The geometric standard deviation(GSD) of the capture efficiency of VSCCA was 1.23,showed a slightly sharper than SCC-A(GSD = 1.27),while the SCC112 did not meet the relevant indicator(GSD = 1.2 ± 0.1) with a GSD = 1.44.The flow rate and loading test had a great effect on D_(50),while the GSD remained almost the same as before.In addition,the maintenance frequency under different air pollution conditions of the cyclones was summarized according to the loading test.     

Synergistic effects of Cu species and acidity of Cu-ZSM-5 on catalytic performance for selective catalytic oxidation of n-butylamine

In this work, a series of Cu-ZSM-5 catalysts with different SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios (25, 50, 100 and 200) were synthesized and investigated in n-butylamine catalytic degradation. The n-butylamine can be completely catalytic degradation at 350°C over all Cu-ZSM-5 catalysts. Moreover, Cu-ZSM-5 (25) exhibited the highest selectivity to N₂, exceeding 90% at 350°C. These samples were investigated in detail by several characterizations to illuminate the dependence of the catalytic performance on redox properties, Cu species, and acidity. The characterization results proved that the redox properties and chemisorption oxygen primarily affect n-butylamine conversion. N₂ selectivity was impacted by the Brønsted acidity and the isolated Cu²⁺ species. Meanwhile, the surface acid sites over Cu-ZSM-5 catalysts could influence the formation of Cu species. Furthermore, in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectra was adopted to explore the reaction mechanism. The Cu-ZSM-5 catalysts are the most prospective catalysts for nitrogen-containing volatile organic compounds removal, and the results in this study could provide new insights into catalysts design for VOC catalytic oxidation.     

UV/H2O2 oxidation of tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate: Intermediate products, degradation pathway and toxicity evaluation

Tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) with the initial concentration of 5 mg/L was degraded by UV/H₂O₂ oxidation process. The removal rate of TCEP in the UV/H₂O₂ system was 89.1% with the production of Cl^? and PO₄^3? of 0.23 and 0.64 mg/L. The removal rate of total organic carbon of the reaction was 48.8% and the pH reached 3.3 after the reaction. The oxidative degradation process of TCEP in the UV/H₂O₂ system obeyed the first order kinetic reaction with the apparent rate constant of 0.0025 min^?1 (R²=0.9788). The intermediate products were isolated and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. The addition reaction of HO? and H₂O and the oxidation reaction with H₂O₂ were found during the degradation pathway of 5 mg/L TCEP in the UV/H₂O₂ system. For the first time, environment risk was estimated via the “ecological structure activity relationships” program and acute and chronic toxicity changes of intermediate products were pointed out. The luminescence inhibition rate of photobacterium was used to evaluate the acute toxicity of intermediate products. The results showed that the toxicity of the intermediate products increased with the increase of reaction time, which may be due to the production of chlorine compounds. Some measures should be introduced to the UV/H₂O₂ system to remove the highly toxic Cl-containing compounds, such as a nanofiltration or reverse osmosis unit.     

Photodegradation of Hexafluoropropylene Oxide Trimer Acid under UV Irradiation

As a novel alternative to traditional perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), hexafluoroproplyene oxide trimer acid (HFPO-TA) has been detected worldwide in surface water. Moreover, recent researches have demonstrated that HFPO-TA has stronger bioaccumulation potential and higher hepatotoxicity than PFOA. To treat these contaminants e.g. PFOA and PFOS, some photochemical techniques by adding exogenous substances had been reported. However, there is still no report for the behavior of HFPO-TA itself under direct UV irradiation. The current study investigated the photo-transformation of HFPO-TA under UV irradiation in aqueous solution. After 72 hr photoreaction, 75% degradation ratio and 25% defluorination ratio were achieved under ambient condition. Reducing active species, i.e., hydrated electrons and active hydrogen atoms, generated from water splitting played dominant roles in degradation of HFPO-TA, which was confirmed by different effects of reaction atmospheres and quenching experiments. A possible degradation pathway was proposed based on the products identification and theoretical calculations. In general, HFPO-TA would be transformed into shorter-chain PFASs, including hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), perfluoropropionic acid (PFA) and trifluoroacetate (TFA). This research provides basic information for HFPO-TA photodegradation process and is essential to develop novel remediation techniques for HFPO-TA and other alternatives with similar structures.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in benthos of the northern Bering Sea Shelf and Chukchi Sea Shelf

Eighteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in benthos collected onboard the ‘Snow Dragon’ in the Northern Bering Sea Shelf and Chukchi Sea Shelf during the 6^th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 2014). Σ₁₈PAHs for all biota samples ranged from 34.2 to 128.1 ng/g dry weight (dw), with the highest concentration observed in fish muscle (Boreogadus saida) samples close to St. Lawrence Island. The PAH composition pattern was dominated by the presence of lighter 3 ring (57%) and 2 ring (28%) PAHs, indicating oil-related or petrogenic sources as important origins of PAH contamination. Concentrations of alkyl-PAHs (1-methylnaphthalene and 2-methylnaphthalene) were lower than their parent PAH (naphthalene) in all biological tissue, and their percentage also decreased significantly (p<0.05) compared with those in the corresponding sediment. There were no significant relationships between PAH concentrations and trophic levels, which is possibly due to the combined results of the complex benthic foodweb in the subarctic/Arctic shelf region, as well as a low assimilation/effective metabolism for PAHs. According to toxic potency evaluation results from TCDD toxic equivalents (TEQs) and BaP-equivalent (BaPE) values, whelk (Neptunea heros) and starfish (Ctenodiscus crispatus) are two macroinvertebrate species showing relatively higher dioxin-like toxicity and carcinogenic risk.     

Optimal range of plug-in electric vehicles in Beijing and Shanghai

Both China’s national subsidy policies for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) purchasers and passenger cars corporate average fuel consumption and new vehicle credit regulation (dual-credit policy) favor long-range 300+ km battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 80+ km plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). However, these electric vehicles tend to have lower energy efficiency and higher purchase and operation costs. Vehicle with larger batteries can also be less equitable because the subsidies are often provided to more expensive vehicles and wealthier owners. This study takes advantage of a novel dataset of daily driving data from 39,854 conventional gasoline vehicles in Beijing and 4999 PHEVs in Shanghai to determine the optimal range of BEVs and PHEVs within their respective cities. We simulate a model to explore ranges with which PEVs emit less GHGs than that of a baseline hybrid and conventional gasoline vehicle while ensuring that all daily travel demands are met. Our findings indicate that in both cities, the optimal ranges to balance cost and travel demand for BEVs are 350 km or less and for PHEVs are 60 km or less in Beijing and 80 km or less in Shanghai. We also find that to minimize carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, the ranges are even lower 10 km in Beijing and 30 km in Shanghai. Our study suggests that instead of encouraging long-range PEVs, governments should subsidize PEV models with shorter ranges. Parallel efforts should also be made to both increase renewable energy over fossil fuels and expand charging facilities. Although individual mobility demand varies, the government could reduce occasional long-distance driving by subsidizing alternative transportation choices. Providing week-long driving trials to consumers before their purchases may help decrease the demand of very long range PEVs by alleviating the range anxiety through a learning process.

     

Green innovation efficiency across China’s 30 provinces: estimate,comparison, and convergence

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Considering government and market failure of environmental regulation to combat increasing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, green innovation...     

Regionalization based on spatial and seasonal variation in ground-level ozone concentrations across China

Owing to the vast territory of China and strong regional characteristic of ozone pollution,it's desirable for policy makers to have a targeted and prioritized regulation and ozone pollution control strategy in China based on scientific evidences. It's important to assess its current pollution status as well as spatial and temporal variation patterns across China.Recent advances of national monitoring networks provide an opportunity to insight the actions of ozone pollution. Here, we present rotated empirical orthogonal function(REOF)analysis that was used on studying the spatiotemporal characteristics of daily ozone concentrations. Based on results of REOF analysis in pollution seasons for 3 years' observations, twelve regions with clear patterns were identified in China. The patterns of temporal variation of ozone in each region were separated well and different from each other, reflecting local meteorological, photochemical or pollution features. A rising trend in annual averaged Eight-hour Average Ozone Concentrations(O_3-8 hr) from 2014 to 2016 was observed for all regions, except for the Tibetan Plateau. The mean values of annual and 90 percentile concentrations for all 338 cities were 82.6 ± 14.6 and 133.9 ± 25.8 μg/m~3,respectively, in 2015. The regionalization results of ozone were found to be influenced greatly by terrain features, indicating significant terrain and landform effects on ozone spatial correlations. Among 12 regions, North China Plain, Huanghuai Plain, Central Yangtze River Plain, Pearl River Delta and Sichuan Basin were realized as priority regions for mitigation strategies, due to their higher ozone concentrations and dense population.     

基于短时傅里叶变换的干扰信号识别方法

目的提高无线电引信识别欺骗式干扰的能力。方法根据炮弹弹体自旋的特点,使得采用连续波线极化天线的无线电引信所收到的干扰信号呈现出有别于地面回波的周期性幅度调制特征,通过对此特征进行短时傅里叶变换后进行识别,可以作为无线电引信是否受到欺骗式干扰的判断依据。结果通过仿真和试验对方法的可行性进行了验证,表明该识别方法可以很好地提高连续波无线电引信的识别欺骗式干扰的能力。结论基于短时傅里叶变换检测旋转调制的对地旋转弹无线电引信欺骗干扰识别的方法可以对干扰信号特征进行识别,算法处理时间短,能够作为引信是否受到干扰的一种判断依据。     

广东省生活垃圾焚烧设施环境与健康风险评估构架研究

生活垃圾焚烧设施的建立是解决城市生活垃圾逐年增多的有效方式之一,但其所引发的环境与健康问题成为公众关注的热点。基于广东省对生活垃圾焚烧设施的研究,以环境管理为目标,结合国内外在该领域的研究现状,提出广东省生活垃圾焚烧设施环境与健康风险评估构架。通过该构架的多年实践,总结了广东省生活垃圾焚烧设施环境与健康风险评估研究所取得的成效,有望将该成果推而广之,从而使该行业实现绿色生态的蓬勃发展。