Removal of elemental mercury by KI-impregnated clay

This study described the use of clay impregnated by KI in gas phase elemental mercury (Hg^o) removal in flue gas. The effects of KI loading, temperature, O₂, SO₂ and H₂O on Hg^o removal were investigated using a fixed bed reactor. The Hg^o removal efficiency of KI-clay with 3% KI loading could maintain at a high level (approximately 80 %) after 3 h. The KI-clay demonstrated to be a potential adsorbent for Hg^o removal when compared with activated carbon based adsorbent. O₂ was found to be an important factor in improving the Hg^o removal. O₂ was demonstrated to assist the transfer of KI to I₂ on the surface of KI-clay, which could react with Hg^o directly. NO and SO₂ could slightly improve Hg^o removal, while H₂O inhibited it greatly. The results indicated that after adsorption, most of the mercury escaped from the surface again. Some of the mercury may have been oxidized as it left the surface. The results demonstrated that the chemical reaction primarily occurred between KI and mercury on the surface of the KI-clay.     

A photolysis coefficient for characterizing the response of aqueous constituents to photolysis

UV photolysis and UV based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are gaining more and more attention for drinking water treatment. Quantum yield (ø) and molar absorption coefficient (ε) are the two critical parameters measuring the effectiveness of photolysis of a compound. The product of the two was proposed as a fundamental measure of a constituent’s amenability to transformation by photolysis. It was shown that this product, named the photolysis coefficient, k _p , can be determined using standard bench tests and captures the properties that govern a constituent’s transformation when exposed to light. The development showed the photolysis coefficient to be equally useful for microbiological, inorganic and organic constituents. Values of k _p calculated by the authors based on quantum yield and molar absorption coefficient data from the literature were summarized. Photolysis coefficients among microorganisms ranged from 8500 to more than 600000 and are far higher than for inorganic and organic compounds, which varied over a range of approximately 10 to 1000 and are much less sensitive to UV photolysis than the microorganisms.     

Multiphase redistribution differences of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) between two successive sediment suspensions

Successive sediment suspensions often happen in estuary, yet little research has probed into the difference in the release behaviors of organic compounds among different suspensions. This study took polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as typical organic contaminants and investigated the release behaviors between two successive suspensions with a particle entrainment simulator (PES). Results showed that successive sediment suspensions lowered the concentration of dissolved PAHs in the overlying water via facilitating the re-adsorption of dissolved PAHs onto the suspended particles. Fast-release and slow-release periods of PAHs were successively observed in the both suspensions. The concentration changes of dissolved PAHs in the second suspension were generally similar with but hysteretic to those in the first suspension. More vigorous desorption and re-absorption of PAHs were induced in the second suspension. Successive sediment suspensions obviously decreased the concentrations of mineral composition and organic matters in the overlying water, which significantly affects multiphase distribution of PAHs.     

Changes of microbial composition during wastewater reclamation and distribution systems revealed by high-throughput sequencing analyses

This study employed 454-pyrosequencing to investigate microbial and pathogenic communities in two wastewater reclamation and distribution systems. A total of 11972 effective 16S rRNA sequences were acquired from these two reclamation systems, and then designated to relevant taxonomic ranks by using RDP classifier. The Chao index and Shannon diversity index showed that the diversities of microbial communities decreased along wastewater reclamation processes. Proteobacteria was the most dominant phylum in reclaimed water after disinfection, which accounted for 83% and 88% in two systems, respectively. Human opportunistic pathogens, including Clostridium, Escherichia, Shigella, Pseudomonas and Mycobacterium, were selected and enriched by disinfection processes. The total chlorine and nutrients (TOC, NH₃-N and NO₃-N) significantly affected the microbial and pathogenic communities during reclaimed water storage and distribution processes. Our results indicated that the disinfectant-resistant pathogens should be controlled in reclaimed water, since the increases in relative abundances of pathogenic bacteria after disinfection implicate the potential public health associated with reclaimed water.     

Characteristics of residual organochlorine pesticides in soils under different land-use types on a coastal plain of the Yellow River Delta

The residual levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were examined in soils covering five types of land use along a salinity gradient on the Yellow River Delta. The most prominent OCPs were dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (∑DDT, arithmetic mean = 5.11 μg kg^?1), hexachlorocyclohexane (∑HCH, 1.69 μg kg^?1) and ∑endosulfan (10.4 μg kg^?1). The spatial variability of OCPs composition shifted from γ-HCH and o,p′-DDT dominated pesticides in coastal soils to p,p′-DDE dominated pesticides in inland soils. In different land-use types, the percentages of β-HCH and p,p′-DDE are characterized by more recalcitrant components in decreasing order of vegetable fields, cereal fields, cotton fields, wetlands and tidal flats with increasing soil salinity. However, the less recalcitrant components, γ-HCH and o,p′-DDT, showed an opposite trend. Endosulfan sulfate predominated in all land-use types. Residual levels of β-HCH were affected by soil organic matter. The correlations between γ-HCH and clay content and between p,p′-DDE, o,p′-DDT and salinity might associate with the influence of sediment cotransport by the Yellow River and the density of anthropogenic activities in coastal region. Depth distribution of the OCPs in typical soil profiles also implied that local historical usage and sediment transport by the Yellow River both affected the OCPs residual in this region.     

Improving simulations of sulfate aerosols during winter haze over Northern China: the impacts of heterogeneous oxidation by NO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

We implemented the online coupled WRF-Chem model to reproduce the 2013 January haze event in North China, and evaluated simulated meteorological and chemical fields using multiple observations. The comparisons suggest that temperature and relative humidity (RH) were simulated well (mean biases are–0.2K and 2.7%, respectively), but wind speeds were overestimated (mean bias is 0.5 m?s^–1). At the Beijing station, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) concentrations were overpredicted and sulfate concentrations were largely underpredicted, which may result from uncertainties in SO₂ emissions and missing heterogeneous oxidation in current model. We conducted three parallel experiments to examine the impacts of doubling SO₂ emissions and incorporating heterogeneous oxidation of dissolved SO₂ by nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) on sulfate formation during winter haze. The results suggest that doubling SO₂ emissions do not significantly affect sulfate concentrations, but adding heterogeneous oxidation of dissolved SO₂ by NO₂ substantially improve simulations of sulfate and other inorganic aerosols. Although the enhanced SO₂ to sulfate conversion in the HetS (heterogeneous oxidation by NO₂) case reduces SO₂ concentrations, it is still largely overestimated by the model, indicating the overestimations of SO₂ concentrations in the North China Plain (NCP) are mostly due to errors in SO₂ emission inventory.

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酰胺类除草剂对铜绿微囊藻的生长影响及氧化损伤效应

酰胺类除草剂的广泛使用对水生生态环境构成了潜在风险。为探究其对藻类的毒性作用,以铜绿微囊藻为对象,分别从藻类生长和氧化损伤效应角度探讨了甲草胺、乙草胺和丁草胺对铜绿微囊藻的毒性影响。实验结果显示,酰胺类除草剂对藻类的影响存在明显的滞后效应和剂量–效应关系,低浓度暴露组刺激藻类增长,高浓度表现为抑制作用;3种酰胺类除草剂增加了铜绿微囊藻的氧化压力,并随着暴露时间的延长和浓度的增加而增强。其中,藻体内过氧化脂质降解产物丙二醛(MDA)含量明显增加,同时超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)和过氧化物酶(POD)活性也显著增强。经96 h暴露后,甲草胺(32.0 mg·L~(-1))、乙草胺(32.0 mg·L~(-1))和丁草胺(15.0 mg·L~(-1))暴露溶液中相对MDA含量分别为138%、204%和154%,相对SOD活性分别为116%、87%和115%,相对POD活性分别475%、278%和627%。结合生物量及氧化损伤效应实验结果可知,3种除草剂对铜绿微囊藻的毒性大小顺序为丁草胺乙草胺甲草胺。     

燃煤型砷中毒的最低有效累积暴露剂量初探

以陕南燃煤型砷中毒病区的5个自然村为调查采样点,通过现场流行病学调查和环境样品的分析测定,分析砷暴露人群的砷暴露途径,估算各暴露途径(呼吸、饮水和食物)的暴露剂量及对总暴露的贡献率,探讨引发燃煤型地方性砷中毒发病的最低有效暴露剂量。研究结果表明,除对照村外,采暖季各村的烤火间和卧室空气砷含量均有不同程度的超标,水和粮食未受燃煤砷污染。在采暖季,高砷煤燃烧污染的空气是人群砷暴露的主要来源;在非采暖季消化道砷暴露是各村的主要摄砷途径;表明消化道暴露对累积砷暴露的贡献不容忽视。结合问卷调查和流行病学调查结果,估算陕南病区引发燃煤型砷中毒的最低累积暴露剂量在1 712 mg左右。     

彗星电泳法测定双酚A对雄性幼龄小鼠脑细胞的DNA损伤

双酚A是一种日常生活中无处不在的环境雌激素,具有生殖和神经毒性,但低剂量长期暴露对发育期青少年的危害性常常被低估或忽视。本研究以4周龄雄性清洁级小鼠为实验对象,以茶油作为溶媒对照,分别以双酚A浓度为0μg·m L-1、0.1μg·m L-1、10μg·m L-1和1 000μg·m L-1的茶油灌胃小鼠8周,然后利用彗星电泳法检测各组小鼠脑细胞的DNA损伤。结果显示,不同浓度双酚A暴露8周后,彗星电泳图像显示小鼠脑细胞DNA出现不同程度的损伤,随着暴露剂量的增加,带有彗尾的脑细胞比率从对照组小鼠的9.5%分别升高到暴露组小鼠的34.5%、36.0%和50.5%,细胞总体的尾部DNA含量、尾长和尾矩也都逐渐增加,而且各双酚A暴露组小鼠与溶媒对照组小鼠脑细胞都具有显著性差异(P0.01),这说明中长期双酚A暴露(包括低浓度环境暴露)会导致雄性幼龄小鼠脑细胞的DNA损伤。