Modeling cold soak evaporative vapor emissions from gasoline-powered automobiles using a newly developed method

ABSTRACT

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) evaporate and vent from a vehicle’s fuel tank to its evaporative control system when the vehicle is both driven and parked. VOCs making it past the control system are emissions. Driving and parking activity, fuel volatility, and temperature strongly affect vapor generation and the effectiveness of control technologies, and the wide variability in these factors and the sensitivity of emissions to these factors make it difficult to estimate evaporative emissions at the macro level. Established modeling methods, such as COPERT and MOVES, estimate evaporative emissions by assuming a constant in-use canister condition and consequently contain critical uncertainty when real conditions deviate from that standard condition. In this study, we have developed a new method to model canister capacity as a representative variable, and estimated emissions for all parking events based on semi-empirical functions derived from real-world activity data and laboratory measurements. As compared to chamber measurements collected during this study, the bias of the MOVES diurnal tank venting simulation ranges from ?100% to 129%, while the bias for our method’s simulation is 1.4% to 8.5%. Our modeling method is compared to the COPERT and MOVES models by estimating evaporative emissions from a Euro-3/4/5 and a Tier 2 vehicle in conditions representative for Chicago, IL, and Guangzhou, China. Estimates using the COPERT and MOVES methods differ from our method by ?56% to 120% and ?100% to 25%, respectively. The study highlights the importance for continued modeling improvement of the anthropogenic evaporative emission inventory and for tightened regulatory standards.

Implications: The COPERT and MOVES methodologies contain large uncertainties for estimating evaporative emissions, while our modeling method is developed based on chamber measurements to estimate evaporative emissions and can properly address those uncertainties. Modeling results suggested an urgent need to complete evaporative emissions inventories and also indicated that tightening evaporative emission standards is urgently needed, especially for warm areas.     

Molecular and physiological characterization of fluoroquinolone resistance in relation to uropathogenicity among Escherichia coli isolates isolated from Wenyu River, China

Increasing antibacterial resistance and pathogenicity in the environment is of growing concern due to its potential human risk. In the present study, 236 Escherichia coli isolates were collected from Wenyu River in China on drugless (48 isolates) and quinolone-containing plates (189 isolates). Their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined ranging from 0.125 μg mL⁻¹ to 128 μg mL⁻¹. Mutation points related to fluoroquinolone resistance were observed at S83 to L and D87 to N or Y in the GyrA subunit and S80 to R or I and E84 to G in the ParC subunit. Generally, MICs of LEV and GAT are dependent on the patterns of these mutation points. The profile with three mutation points was related to LEV-resistant E. coli isolates, and the (S83L, D87N + S80I) mutation profile was most prevalent (65.7%) in LEV-resistant isolates, while a large proportion of isolates, even those with three mutation points, were susceptive to GAT. The incidence of virulence factors in LEV-resistant isolates (44.7%, 59/132) was much higher than in nonresistant isolates (23.1%, 24/104) (χ² = 11.925, 1° of freedom, p < 0.001) indicating that fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli would pose a potential risk. A similar distribution was also found in isolates resistant to GAT (χ² = 7.843, 1° of freedom, p = 0.0079).     

Toxicological effect of MPA-CdSe QDs exposure on zebrafish embryo and larvae

Cadmium selenium (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor nanocrystals that hold wide range of applications and substantial production volumes. Due to unique composition and nanoscale properties, their potential toxicity to aquatic organisms has increasingly gained a great amount of interest. However, the impact of CdSe QDs exposure on zebrafish embryo and larvae remains almost unknown. Therefore, the lab study was performed to determine the developmental and behavioral toxicities to zebrafish under continuous exposure to low level CdSe QDs (0.05-31.25 mg L⁻¹) coated with mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). The results showed MPA-CdSe exposure from embryo to larvae stage affected overall fitness. Our findings for the first time revealed that: (1) The 120 h LC₅₀ of MPA-CdSe for zebrafish was 1.98 mg L⁻¹; (2) embryos exposed to MPA-CdSe resulted in malformations incidence and lower hatch rate; (3) abnormal vascular of FLI-1 transgenic zebrafish larvae appeared after exposure to MPA-CdSe including vascular junction, bifurcation, crossing and particle appearance; (4) larvae behavior assessment showed during MPA-CdSe exposure a rapid transition from light-to-dark elicited a similar, brief burst and a higher basal swimming rate; (5) MPA-CdSe induced embryos cell apoptosis in the head and tail region. Results of the observations provide a basic understanding of MPA-CdSe toxicity to aquatic organisms and suggest the need for additional research to identify the toxicological mechanism.     

Photodegradation of quinestrol in waters and the transformation products by UV irradiation

Quinestrol is synthetic estrogen used in contraceptive and hormone replacement therapy and occasionally for treating breast cancer and prostate cancer. It can make its way into the environment through sewage discharge and waste disposal produced by human excretions. In this study, the photodegradation kinetics of quinestrol in various conditions was investigated by UV and solar irradiation. The affecting factors were studied including concentration of hydrogen peroxide, different water types, and the initial concentrations of quinestrol. Concurrently, the transformation products and presumed pathways of quinestrol in distilled water by UV irradiation were identified and proposed. The results showed that the degradation of quinestrol in both irradiation conditions followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. More rapid degradation was observed by UV irradiation (k = 0.018 min⁻¹) than solar irradiation (k = 0.004 h⁻¹), and the photodegradation rate of quinestrol depended on the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, the initial concentration of quinestrol and water types. The transformation products of quinestrol in distilled water were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. When exposed to UV irradiation, quinestrol in aqueous solution was rapidly degraded, giving at least ten photodegradation products. The chemical structures of ten degradation products were identified on the basis of mass spectrum interpretation and literature data.     

Influence of root-exudates concentration on pyrene degradation and soil microbial characteristics in pyrene contaminated soil

The effect of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) root-exudates concentration on pyrene degradation and the microbial ecological characteristics in the pyrene contaminated soil was investigated by simulating a gradually reducing concentration of root exudates with the distance away from root surface in the rhizosphere. Results showed that, after the root-exudates were added 15 d, the pyrene residue in contaminated soil responded nonlinearly in the soils with the same pyrene contaminated level as the added root-exudates concentration increased, which decreased first and increased latter with the increase of the added root-exudates concentration. The lowest pyrene concentration appeared when the root exudates concentration of 32.75 mg kg(-1) total organic carbon (TOC) was added. At the same time, changes of microbial biomass carbon (MBC, C(mic)) and microbial quotient (C(mic)/C(org)) were opposite to the trend of pyrene degradation as the added root-exudates concentration increased. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis revealed that bacteria was the dominating microbial community in pyrene contaminated soil, and the changing trends of pyrene degradation and bacteria number were the same. The changing trend of endoenzyme-dehydrogenase activity was in accordance with that of soil microbe, indicating which could reflect the quantitative characteristic of detoxification to pyrene by soil microbe. The changes in the soils microbial community and corresponding microbial biochemistry characteristics were the ecological mechanism influencing pyrene degradation with increasing concentration of the added root-exudates in the pyrene contaminated soil.     

单级与二级BAF工艺除碳硝化效能的对比研究

在总曝气量、HRT、水温、进水水质相同的条件下,对比研究了单级(BAF C/N)和二级曝气生物液池(BAF C+N)处理生活污水的除碳硝化效能。结果表明,将除碳和硝化分级有利于提高BAF工艺的处理效能。分级后,C柱较C/N柱具有更高的COD去除容积负荷,且出水COD浓度稳定低于50 mg/L;二级BAF工艺出水NH4+-N浓度由单级BAF的5～12 mg/L降至5 mg/L以下,且N柱在pH<6.3时依然能够进行硝化;N柱中下部具有较高的微生物活性,平均比耗氧速率为32 mg O2/(g VAS·h)。二级BAF中C柱的反冲洗周期和强度与单级BAF相同,而N柱的反冲洗周期则延长至5～7 d,能够降低反冲洗能耗和用水量。     

简单芽孢杆菌产高效微生物絮凝剂

通过从绿化植物根际土壤和污水处理厂的活性污泥中分离筛选絮凝剂产生菌,得到一株稳定高效的微生物絮凝剂产生菌PS1,根据形态学特征、生理生化实验以及16S rDNA序列分析将其鉴定为简单芽孢杆菌(Bacillus simplex)。对菌株PS1产生絮凝剂的最佳培养时间、絮凝活性分布以及pH、CaCl2、絮凝剂投量对絮凝效果的影响进行了研究,并考察了其对实际废水的絮凝效果。结果表明,菌株PS1产絮凝剂的最佳培养时间为36 h,产生的絮凝活性物质全部存在于发酵液离心后的上清液中;当pH为7.0～8.5、CaC12投量为0.25～0.35 g/L、发酵液投加量的体积分数为1.5%～2.5%时,菌株PS1发酵液对4 g/L的高岭土悬浊液的絮凝效果最佳,絮凝率达到97%。菌株PS1所产絮凝剂对城市污水、啤酒废水、淀粉废水、医院废水的絮凝率可达90%以上。     

凹凸棒石粘土固定辣根过氧化物酶处理含酚废水

采用凹凸棒石粘土、可溶性淀粉和工业水玻璃作为制备凹凸棒石粘土基颗粒的材料,并将制备的凹凸棒石粘土基颗粒进行改性,得到了改性后的凹凸棒石基多孔材料,并将其作为固定辣根过氧化物酶的载体,再应用于含酚废水的处理研究,取得了良好的效果。实验结果表明,辣根过氧化物酶的最佳固定化条件为:单位酶活载体量1 mg、固定化时间1.5小时、固定pH值5。并且在固定化酶循环使用6次后,苯酚去除率仍能达到62.3%。     

苏中通州二甲镇产业结构定位研究

合理的产业结构是小城镇整体经济协调发展的基础和小城镇建设健康发展的标志。在社会主义市场经济条件下,解决好小城镇产业结构与产业结构调整速度问题,对农村经济乃至整个国民经济的发展都具有重要意义。从实际调研出发,分析了中国产业状况,着重对江苏苏中通州二甲镇产业结构及其现状提出了建议与展望。     

Cross-reactivity of anti-Salmonella egg-yolk antibodies to Salmonella serovars

The cross-reactivity of egg yolk antibodies specific to antigens of Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium to killed bacterial cells of common Salmonella serovars were tested using an indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Egg yolk antibodies were produced against purified fimbriae, flagella and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of S. Enteritidis strain ATCC13076 and flagella, LPS and outer membrane proteins (OMP) of S. Typhimurium strain ATCC13311. For immunological specificity of egg yolk antibodies against killed bacterial cells, we found that the titers of the anti-S. Enteritidis egg yolk antibodies were higher than those of the anti-S. Typhimurium antibodies. In the evaluation of cross-reactivity of these egg yolk antibodies to various Salmonella serovars, we observed that the anti-S. Enteritidis antibodies exhibited more specific affinity than those of the anti-S. Typhimurium antibodies. All S. Enteritidis strains reacted specifically with the anti-S. Enteritidis fimbrial and flagellar egg yolk antibody whereas anti-S. Enteritidis LPS and anti-S. Typhimurium LPS, OMP and flagellar antibodies displayed non-specific reactivity to all Salmonella serovars used in this study. This finding suggests that it may be possible to design a anti-fimbrial egg yolk antibody of S. Enteritidis as a diagnostic tool and a cocktail of OMP and LPS antigens of S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium could be used for administering broad spectrum passive immunity to protect against the colonization of pathogenic Salmonella strains in food animals.