Pollution levels and characteristics of phthalate esters in indoor air of offices

The pollution status and characteristics of PAEs(phthalate esters) were investigated in indoor air of offices, and PAEs of both gas-phase and particulate-phase were detected in all the samples. The concentration(sum of the gas phase and the particulate phase) was4748.24 ng/m3, ranging between 3070.09 and 6700.14 ng/m3. Diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate were the most abundant compounds, together accounting for 70% of the ∑ 6PAEs. Dividing the particulate-phase PAEs into four size ranges( 2.5, 2.5–5, 5–10, 10 μm), the result indicated that PAEs in PM2.5were the most abundant,with the proportion of 72.64%. In addition, the PAE concentration in PM2.5correlated significantly with the total particulate-phase PAEs(R2= 0.85). Thus, the amount of PAEs in PM2.5can be estimated from the total amount of particulate-phase PAEs using this proportion. In a comparison between the offices and a newly decorated study room, it was found that pollution characteristics were similar between these two places. Thus, it is implied that the PAE concentration decreased by 50% 2 yr after decorating.     

Do vehicular emissions dominate the source of C6–C8 aromatics in the megacity Shanghai of eastern China?

The characteristic ratios of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) to i-pentane, the indicator of vehicular emissions, were employed to apportion the vehicular and non-vehicular contributions to reactive species in urban Shanghai. Two kinds of tunnel experiments, one tunnel with more than 90% light duty gasoline vehicles and the other with more than 60% light duty diesel vehicles, were carried out to study the characteristic ratios of vehicle-related emissions from December 2009 to January 2010. Based on the experiments, the characteristic ratios of C6–C8aromatics to i-pentane of vehicular emissions were 0.53 ± 0.08(benzene), 0.70 ± 0.12(toluene),0.41 ± 0.09(m,p-xylenes), 0.16 ± 0.04(o-xylene), 0.023 ± 0.011(styrene), and 0.15 ± 0.02(ethylbenzene), respectively. The source apportionment results showed that around 23.3% of C6–C8 aromatics in urban Shanghai were from vehicular emissions, which meant that the non-vehicular emissions had more importance. These findings suggested that emission control of non-vehicular sources, i.e. industrial emissions, should also receive attention in addition to the control of vehicle-related emissions in Shanghai. The chemical removal of VOCs during the transport from emissions to the receptor site had a large impact on the apportionment results. Generally, the overestimation of vehicular contributions would occur when the VOC reaction rate constant with OH radicals(k OH) was larger than that of the vehicular indicator, while for species with smaller k OH than the vehicular indicator, the vehicular contribution would be underestimated by the method of characteristic ratios.     

Enhanced CO2 adsorptive performance of PEI/SBA-15 adsorbent using phosphate ester based surfactants as additives

In this study,a series of polyetherimide/SBA-15: 2-D hexagonal P6 mm,Santa Barbara USA(PEI/SBA-15) adsorbents modified by phosphoric ester based surfactants(including tri(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate(TEP),bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate(BEP) and trimethyl phosphonoacetate(TMPA))were prepared for CO_2 adsorption.Experimental results indicated that the addition of TEP and BEP had positive effects on CO_2 adsorption capacity over PEI/SBA-15.In particular,the CO_2 adsorption amount could be improved by around 20% for 45PEI–5TEP/SBA-15 compared to the additive-free adsorbent.This could be attributed to the decrease of CO_2 diffusion resistance in the PEI bulk network due to the interactions between TEP and loaded PEI molecules,which was further confirmed by adsorption kinetics results.In addition,it was also found that the cyclic performance of the TEP-modified adsorbent was better than the surfactant-free one.This could be due to two main reasons,based on the results of in situ DRIFT and TG-DSC tests.First and more importantly,adsorbed CO_2 species could be desorbed more rapidly over TEP-modified adsorbent during the thermal desorption process.Furthermore,the enhanced thermal stability after TEP addition ensured lower degradation of amine groups during adsorption/desorption cycles.     

Excretion of manure-borne estrogens and androgens and their potential risk estimation in the Yangtze River Basin

The Yangtze River is the longest river in China, and the river basin spans one fifth of the area of the whole country. Based on statistical data, the excretion of manure-borne steroid hormones, including steroid estrogens(SEs) and steroid androgens(SAs), in 10 provinces of China within the region has been estimated. The potential environmental and ecological risk of manure-borne steroid estrogens to the surface water in this region was also assessed. The manure-borne SE and SA excretions in the 10 provinces and municipalities vary in the order: Sichuan Hunan Hubei Yunnan Jiangsu Anhui Jiangxi Chongqing Qinghai Shanghai. The highest increase of manure-borne SEs(1434.3 kg)and SAs(408.5 kg) was found in Hunan and Hubei provinces, respectively, and the total excretion in 2013 was 65% more than 15 years earlier in these two provinces. However, the emissions in Anhui and Shanghai decreased in this 15 year period of time. Swine urine,chicken feces, cattle urine, and laying hen feces were considered the dominant sources of manure-borne E1, βE2, αE2, and SAs, respectively. Although Jiangsu province did not have the largest excretion of manure-borne SEs, it had the highest level of predicted17β-estradiol equivalency(EEQs) value of 16.65 ng/L in surface water because of the limited surface water resources. According to the lowest observable effect level of 10 ng/L for17β-estradiol, the manure-borne SEs in Jiangsu province might potentially pose ecological risk to its wild aquatic organisms.     

澜沧江梯级水电站库区水环境时空差异性研究

根据2008年1—12月澜沧江下游的漫湾水电站、大朝山水电站库区的水质监测资料,对水环境时空差异性进行了分析,结果表明:两库区水质特征变化趋势比较相似,季节性变化明显,两库区水体有机污染程度小,水体氮磷含量较高,属于中—富营养水平,总氮在秋季最高,冬季最低,总磷在夏秋季最高,春季最低。梯级水坝的形成对水体中总氮含量、有机污染的累积效应不明显。     

秸秆沼气综合利用项目运营期的环境影响评价研究

根据环境影响评价的方法和导则,分析了秸秆沼气综合利用项目运营期对环境产生的不良影响,预测和评价了运营期的大气、废水和噪声污染.结果表明,运营期排放的废水可以满足《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》(GB 18918-2002)一级A标准;烟(粉)尘、SO2是大气污染物的主要成分,项目高噪设备在厂界四周的噪声叠加值满足噪声排放标准.同时提出了相应的环保措施,总结了此类项目环境影响评价的特点.     

卫星遥感洞庭湖主汛期水体时空变化特征及影响因子分析

基于1989~2011年的长时间序列卫星遥感数据,利用综合水体信息提取方法提取了洞庭湖区6~9月主汛期的水体信息,通过较高分辨率卫星遥感数据验证,水体面积提取精度达到90%以上。洞庭湖年平均径流入湖量、NCEP再分析资料计算的湖体上空和流域累计月平均降水量分别与水体面积变化的关系进行分析,结果表明: 1989~2011年间洞庭湖水体面积最大值主要分布在7和8月,这两个月也是洞庭湖区域发生洪涝灾情的高风险期;洞庭湖水体面积与年平均径流入湖水量的相关系数为0.67(置信度为95%);2003年以前,洞庭湖主汛期间水体面积波动比较大,2003年三峡水库运行后,洞庭湖的面积波动有所减少;洞庭湖上空累计月平均降水量对于水体面积存在正相关性,相关系数为0.68(置信度为99%);2003年以前,洞庭湖流域累计月平均降水量和水体面积相关系数为0.50(置信度为90%),2003年三峡水库运行后,两者相关性有所减弱。     

含铁地下水的危害及处理措施

地下水中铁的超标会给社会生产和生活带来一定的危害性。本文综合分析了现今的地下水除铁技术,主要有空气自然氧化法、锰砂除铁法、氯氧化法、接触氧化法和生物法等,对其特点进行总结,对地下水的防治具有较强的指导意义。     

江苏省暴雨洪涝灾害特征分析

通过引入灾度模型,对2004-2013年江苏省253次暴雨洪涝灾情进行了综合评估,给出了灾害等级的划分标准,分析了暴雨洪涝灾害发生频率与降雨量间的关系,确定了临界雨量,构建了灾度预测模型。结果显示:江苏省的暴雨洪涝灾害以轻灾及中灾居多。灾害多发且较重的区域位于西北部、东部及长江沿江地区;灾害少发且较轻的区域位于沿淮及苏南地区。梅雨锋引发的灾害频次最多,热带系统引发的暴雨灾害的灾度最大,而中小尺度对流系统所引发的灾害频次最少、灾度最小。引发暴雨洪涝灾害的临界雨强是18~20 mm/h,过程最大24 h降水量的临界值为35~40 mm。通过选用降水量因子建立的逐步回归方程对轻灾及中灾的空报率偏高,但对大灾及重大灾害的预测结果还是可以接受的。     

Leaching-induced migration and compositional form change of Cu,Zn, and Cd from sludge to loess

Land utilization of sewage sludge has become one of the major issues in environmental mitigation in China. This is particularly important in the Loess Plateau of Northwest China. Sludge enriched with organic matter and nutrients might effectively help to resolve the problems of silty loess soils as evidenced by porosity defect, structural alterations and absence of fertility. After sludge flows into the loess, irrigation water contains heavy metals that leach and migrate into sludge and consequently related human health risks may occur that raise concerns; and this situation needs to be rectified. The characteristics of the vertical migration and composition form change of Cu, Zn, and Cd from composted sludge to loess, and corresponding influencing factors, were investigated by performing a soil column simulation test under the leaching treatment of a one-year irrigation water capacity. Results demonstrated that: (1) composted sludge significantly improved loess fertility, and irrigation leaching transported only a small quantity of organic matter in sludge in the plough layer; (2) although some of the Cu, Zn, and Cd in composted sludge migrated to and concentrated in the middle and upper layers of the soil column during leaching, these metals were mostly retained in the plough layer; and (3) after the leaching treatment of the one-year irrigation water capacity, the compositions of Cu, Zn, and Cd (particularly Cu and Zn) in both plough layer and loess began to stabilize with low concentrations in the exudate. These findings confirmed the applicability of composted sludge in loess regions. This study provided a new insight into the sludge reuse in alkaline soils in arid and semi-arid region.