Mechanism and characterization of microplastic aging process: A review

● Methods for estimating the aging of environmental micro-plastics were highlighted. ● Aging pathways & characterization methods of microplastics were related and reviewed. ● Possible approaches to reduce the contamination of microplastics were proposed. ● The prospect and deficiency of degradable plastics were analyzed. With the increasing production of petroleum-based plastics, the problem of environmental pollution caused by plastics has aroused widespread concern. Microplastics, which are formed by the fragmentation of macro plastics, are bio-accumulate easily due to their small size and slow degradation under natural conditions. The aging of plastics is an inevitable process for their degradation and enhancement of adsorption performance toward pollutants due to a series of changes in their physiochemical properties, which significantly increase the toxicity and harm of plastics. Therefore, studies should focus on the aging process of microplastics through reasonable characterization methods to promote the aging process and prevent white pollution. This review summarizes the latest progress in natural aging process and characterization methods to determine the natural aging mechanism of microplastics. In addition, recent advances in the artificial aging of microplastic pollutants are reviewed. The degradation status and by-products of biodegradable plastics in the natural environment and whether they can truly solve the plastic pollution problem have been discussed. Findings from the literature pointed out that the aging process of microplastics lacks professional and exclusive characterization methods, which include qualitative and quantitative analyses. To lessen the toxicity of microplastics in the environment, future research directions have been suggested based on existing problems in the current research. This review could provide a systematic reference for in-depth exploration of the aging mechanism and behavior of microplastics in natural and artificial systems.     

China’s carbon neutrality: an extensive and profound systemic reform

● China has pledged ambitious carbon peak and neutrality goals for mitigating global climate change. ● Major challenges to achieve carbon neutrality in China are summarized. ● The new opportunities along the pathway of China’s carbon neutrality are discussed from four aspects. ● Five policy suggestions for China are provided. China is the largest developing economy and carbon dioxide emitter in the world, the carbon neutrality goal of which will have a profound influence on the mitigation pathway of global climate change. The transition towards a carbon-neutral society is integrated into the construction of ecological civilization in China, and brings profound implications for China’s socioeconomic development. Here, we not only summarize the major challenges in achieving carbon neutrality in China, but also identify the four potential new opportunities: namely, the acceleration of technology innovations, narrowing regional disparity by reshaping the value of resources, transforming the industrial structure, and co-benefits of pollution and carbon mitigation. Finally, we provide five policy suggestions and highlight the importance of balancing economic growth and carbon mitigation, and the joint efforts among the government, the enterprises, and the residents.     

Approaching the upper boundary of driver-response relationships: identifying factors using a novel framework integrating quantile regression with interpretable machine learning

● A novel framework integrating quantile regression with machine learning is proposed. ● It aims to identify factors driving observations to upper boundary of relationship. ● Increasing N:P and TN concentration help fulfill the effect of TP on CHL. ● Wetter and warmer decrease potential and increase eutrophication control difficulty. ● The framework advances applications of quantile regression and machine learning. The identification of factors that may be forcing ecological observations to approach the upper boundary provides insight into potential mechanisms affecting driver-response relationships, and can help inform ecosystem management, but has rarely been explored. In this study, we propose a novel framework integrating quantile regression with interpretable machine learning. In the first stage of the framework, we estimate the upper boundary of a driver-response relationship using quantile regression. Next, we calculate “potentials” of the response variable depending on the driver, which are defined as vertical distances from the estimated upper boundary of the relationship to observations in the driver-response variable scatter plot. Finally, we identify key factors impacting the potential using a machine learning model. We illustrate the necessary steps to implement the framework using the total phosphorus (TP)-Chlorophyll a (CHL) relationship in lakes across the continental US. We found that the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio (N׃P), annual average precipitation, total nitrogen (TN), and summer average air temperature were key factors impacting the potential of CHL depending on TP. We further revealed important implications of our findings for lake eutrophication management. The important role of N׃P and TN on the potential highlights the co-limitation of phosphorus and nitrogen and indicates the need for dual nutrient criteria. Future wetter and/or warmer climate scenarios can decrease the potential which may reduce the efficacy of lake eutrophication management. The novel framework advances the application of quantile regression to identify factors driving observations to approach the upper boundary of driver-response relationships.     

电子废弃物中持久性有机污染物分析检测方法的研究进展

针对目前电子废弃物中持久性有机污染物(POPs)尚未形成有效快速分析检测方法的问题,介绍了溶剂萃取、固相萃取、微波萃取和超临界流体萃取等POPs前处理技术的研究进展,总结了POPs的分析方法,如:气相色谱、液相色谱、气相色谱-质谱法、高分辨率气相色谱-高分辨质谱法等化学分析方法,以及生物传感器测定法、表面胞质团共振检测法、酶联免疫检测法等生物分析方法。分析了各方法的优劣,并提出了展望。     

利用粉煤灰处理生活污水的试验研究

以火电厂贮灰场粉煤灰为吸附剂,以生、活污水为吸附对象,通过间歇吸附试验,分析了各因素对粉煤灰吸附性能的影响,并找出了粉煤灰对生活污水中化学耗氧物质(COD)的吸附规律。     

晋城古书院矿区自燃煤矸石山灭火治理及植被实践

介绍了晋城古书院矿预防治理自燃煤矸石、植被绿化现状,结合煤矸石结构理化特性,采取注浆法固化,黄土覆盖,并融会贯通周围环境植被工程实践.     

船舶污染案件中国家损失索赔的法律问题

针对我国船舶污染案件中国家损失索赔出现的一些法律问题进行了较详细讨论。认为属于国家损失赔偿的项目有:污染直接造成的国有自然资源的损害和国家保护环境产生的费用,即采取的合理复原措施的费用以及预防措施的费用;国家损失赔偿请求的权利依据为环境管理权,该环境管理权不仅具有公法性质,也具有民事属性,可以由特定的部门行使;针对目前国家损失由不同部门进行索赔比较混乱的现状,建议我国成立一个综合性的组织或部门代表国家对国家海洋环境损失进行索赔,并明确规定专款专用。     

三峡水库入库溪流中麦氏花翅蜉(蜉蝣目:四节蜉科)的生活史研究

开展水生昆虫生长过程研究对掌握研究区域水生生物的生物学特征和研究区域生态环境状况等均具有重要作用,可为构建和完善研究区域河流生态环境保护体系提供科学参考。于2017年逐月对香溪河库湾入库支流(螃蟹溪)中的一种水生昆虫——麦氏花翅蜉(Baetiella macani)的种群进行了研究,基于大小频率法、幼虫期有效积温条件进行了生活史性状分析和验证。结果显示:麦氏花翅蜉为三化性昆虫,包含一个冬季世代和两个夏季世代。冬季世代幼虫的发育历期为3~4个月,所需有效积温为1 286 ℃;夏季世代幼虫的发育历期为1~2个月,所需有效积温为757 ℃。研究结果丰富了中国地区水生昆虫的生活史性状信息,并首次呈现了花翅蜉属的生活史特征。     

电脑散热风扇灰尘中多溴二苯醚的污染特征和环境健康风险评价

不同模型对土壤污染物空间分布预测精度具有重要影响,针对现有方法不能较好模拟土壤污染物较强的空间变异特征以及缺乏对影响污染物空间分布的关键环境因子识别,本研究基于随机森林（RF）模型,通过融合多源环境要素,开展了某冶炼厂周边农田土壤砷含量空间分布预测研究,并与反距离加权（IDW）和逐步线性回归模型（STEPREG）相比较.结果表明,研究区农田土壤砷污染范围较广,污染严重区域主要分布在研究区南部,3种模型模拟的砷污染空间分布虽总体趋势相似,但局部区域差异明显,IDW和STEPREG模型不能很好地反映研究区土壤污染的强空间变异特征,RF模型模拟结果较好的表达局部高污染区域的细部变化.不同环境要素对农田土壤砷含量空间分布影响的重要性不同,研究区环境变量和地形变量是影响土壤砷含量空间分布的关键环境因子.交叉验证结果表明,RF模型相对IDW和STEPREG模型具有最小的均方根误差（RMSE）、平均绝对误差（MAE）、平均误差（ME）和最大的R²,RF模型的RMSE、MAE、ME较IDW模型分别降低了10.8%、5.5%和88.1%,较STEPREG模型分别降低了17.8%、18.4%和94.7%,表明采用RF模型对研究区农田土壤砷含量预测精度最高,取得了最优的预测效果.本研究结果能够为土壤重金属污染空间分布制图提供方法学参考.     

Volatilization of heavy metals during incineration of municipal solid wastes

Incineration experiments with MSW, which had been impregnated with heavy metals, were presented to obtain information on the volatilization behavior of the elements cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) under different conditions. Experiments were carried out in a bubbling fluid bed system connected to a customized inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy(ICP-OES) for analyzing metals in the flue gas. The results indicated that the combustion temperature, the gas atmosphere, and the chlorine content in the flue gas could affect the volatilization behavior of heavy metals. In the fluidized bed combustion, a large surface area was provided by the bed sand particles, and they may act as absorbents for the gaseous ash-forming compound. Comparer with the metals Cd and Pb, the vaporization of Zn was low. The formation of stable compounds such as ZnO.Al2O3 could greatly decrease the metals volatilization. The presence of chlorine would enhance the volatilization of heavy metals by increasing the formation of metal chlorides. However, when the oxygen content was high, the chlorinating reaction was kinetically hindered, which heavy metals release would be delayed.