Continuous biohydrogen production from diluted molasses in an anaerobic contact reactor

An anaerobic contact reactor (ACR) system comprising a continuous flow stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with settler to decouple the hydraulic retention time (HRT) from solids retention time (SRT) was developed for fermentative hydrogen production from diluted molasses by mixed microbial cultures. The ACR was operated at various volumetric loading rates (VLRs) of 20–44 kgCOD·m^-3·d^-1 with constant HRT of 6 h under mesophilic conditions of 35°C. The SRT was maintained at about 46–50 h in the system. At the initial VLR of 20 kgCOD·m^-3·d^-1, the hydrogen production rate dropped from 22.6 to 1.58 L·d^-1 as the hydrogen was consumed by the hydrogentrophic methanogen. After increasing the VLR to 28 kgCOD·m^-3·d^-1 and discharging the sludge for 6 consecutive times, the hydrogentrophic methanogens were eliminated, and the hydrogen content reached 36.4%. As the VLR was increased to 44 kgCOD·m^-3·d^-1, the hydrogen production rate and hydrogen yield increased to 42.1 L·d^-1 and 1.40 mol H₂·molglucose-consumed^-1, respectively. The results showed that a stable ethanol-type fermentation that favored hydrogen production in the reactor was thus established with the sludge loading rate (SLR) of 2.0–2.5 kgCOD·kgMLVSS^-1·d^-1. It was found that the ethanol increased more than other liquid fermentation products, and the ethanol/acetic acid (mol/mol) ratio increased from 1.27 to 2.45 when the VLR increased from 28 to 44 kgCOD·m^-3·d^-1, whereas the hydrogen composition decreased from 40.4% to 36.4%. The results suggested that the anaerobic contact reactor was a promising bioprocess for fermentative hydrogen production.     

Co-fermentation of waste activated sludge with food waste for short-chain fatty acids production: effect of pH at ambient temperature

Effect of pH ranging from 4.0 to 11.0 on co-fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS) with food waste for short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production at ambient temperature was investigated in this study. Experimental results showed that the addition of food waste significantly improved the performance of WAS fermentation system, which resulted in the increases of SCFAs production and substrate reduction. The SCFAs production at pH 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0 and fermentation time of 4 d was respectively 5022.7, 6540.5, 8236.6, and 7911.7 mg COD·L^-1, whereas in the blank tests (no pH adjustment, pH 8.0 (blank test 1), no food waste addition, pH 8.0 (blank test 2), and no WAS addition (blank test 3)) it was only 1006.9, 971.1, and 1468.5 mg COD·L^-1, respectively. The composition of SCFAs at pH from 6.0 to 9.0 was also different from other conditions and propionic acid was the most prevalent SCFA, which was followed by acetic and n-butyric acids, while acetic acid was the top product under other conditions. At pH 8.0 a higher volatile suspended solids (VSS) reduction of 16.6% for the mixture of WAS and food waste than the sole WAS indicated a synergistic effect existing in fermentation system with WAS and food waste. The influence of pH on the variations of nutrient content was also studied during anaerobic fermentation of the mixture of WAS and food waste at different pH conditions. The release of NH4+-N increased with fermentation time at all pH values investigated except 4.0, 5.0 and in blank test one. The concentrations of soluble phosphorus at acidic pHs and in the blank test one were higher than those obtained at alkaline pHs. Ammonia and phosphorus need to be removed before the SCFAs-enriched fermentation liquid from WAS and food waste was used as the carbon source.     

基于人均生态承载力的安徽省资源环境公平性研究

通过对人均生态承载力内涵的扩展,提出了生态承载系数的概念。从多个时间断面出发,计算2001—2010年安徽省17个地市的人均生态承载力,并选取能源消耗、水资源消耗、SO2排放和COD排放4个评价因子,构建基于人均生态承载力的安徽省资源环境基尼系数和生态承载系数的计算与评价方法。结果表明:(1)安徽省SO2排放的资源环境基尼系数高于0.4的警戒线,能源消耗的资源环境基尼系数接近0.4的警戒线,水资源消耗和COD排放的资源环境基尼系数均处于相对平均等级。(2)总体来看,省内资源型城市马鞍山、淮南,经济较发达城市合肥和沿江工业城市安庆、芜湖是安徽省资源消耗和污染物排放不公平性的主要因子,需要优化资源环境分配;皖南山区城市黄山、池州和宣城是安徽省资源消耗和污染物排放公平性的主要因子。该研究可为安徽省资源环境安全性评估和分配提供理论依据。     

江西钨矿周边土壤重金属生态风险评价:不同评价方法的比较

对江西省大余县某钨矿区周边的农田土壤进行调查分析,并采用不同的方法对土壤进行评价,结果表明,土壤As、Pb、Zn、Cu和Ni的含量范围分别为15.33—154.65 mg·kg-1、156.29—346.98 mg·kg-1、47.73—277.72 mg·kg-1、19.06—210.24 mg·kg-1和12.00—35.11 mg·kg-1,一些土壤样点的As、Pb、Zn和Cu含量已超过国家土壤环境质量二级标准.利用地累积指数法对土壤进行评价,结果表明土壤均受到As、Pb、Zn、Cu和Ni不同程度的污染;根据CPI(综合污染指数)评价标准,65.7%的土壤处于污染状态;利用TCLP法对土壤生态风险进行评价,结果显示所有土壤并未受到重金属的污染,以内梅罗综合污染指数法对土壤进行综合评价,结果表明该农田土壤重金属生态风险处于安全范围;以潜在生态危害指数法评价,发现Pb、As和Cu达到或超过中等生态风险的样点分别占37.14%、25.72%和2.86%,其他重金属污染风险均属轻微以下.不同评价方法得出的评价结果有差异,人们在评价重金属污染土壤时要根据评价的目的慎重选择合适的评价方法.     

Biocompatible self-healing hydrogels based on boronic acid-functionalized polymer and laponite nanocomposite for water pollutant removal

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Global water pollution by organic dyes and metals may be solved by adsorption. In particular, hydrogel adsorbents display unique...     

A fast antibiotic detection method for simplified pretreatment through spectra-based machine learning

• A spectral machine learning approach is proposed for predicting mixed antibiotic. • Pretreatment is far simpler than traditional detection methods. • Performance of the model is compared in different influencing factors. • Spectral machine learning is promising in the detection of complex substances. Antibiotics are widely used in medicine and animal husbandry. However, due to the resistance of antibiotics to degradation, large amounts of antibiotics enter the environment, posing a potential risk to the ecosystem and public health. Therefore, the detection of antibiotics in the environment is necessary. Nevertheless, conventional detection methods usually involve complex pretreatment techniques and expensive instrumentation, which impose considerable time and economic costs. In this paper, we proposed a method for the fast detection of mixed antibiotics based on simplified pretreatment using spectral machine learning. With the help of a modified spectrometer, a large number of characteristic images were generated to map antibiotic information. The relationship between characteristic images and antibiotic concentrations was established by machine learning model. The coefficient of determination and root mean squared error were used to evaluate the prediction performance of the machine learning model. The results show that a well-trained machine learning model can accurately predict multiple antibiotic concentrations simultaneously with almost no pretreatment. The results from this study have some referential value for promoting the development of environmental detection technologies and digital environmental management strategies.     

Product identification and toxicity change during oxidation of methotrexate by ferrate and permanganate in water

• Oxidation of methotrexate by high-valent metal-oxo species was first explored. • Fe(VI) presented a higher reactivity to MTX than Mn(VII) at pH 8.0. • Ketonization and cleavage of peptide bond were two initial reaction pathways. • Products of MTX were not genotoxic, neurotoxic, or endocrine-disrupting chemicals. • The less biodegradable products exhibited developmental and acute/chronic toxicity. Accompanying an annual increase in cancer incidence, the global use of anticancer drugs has remarkably increased with their worldwide environmental prevalence and ecological risks. In this study, the oxidation of methotrexate (MTX), a typical anticancer drug with ubiquitous occurrence and multi-endpoint toxicity, by ferrate(VI) (Fe(VI)) and permanganate (Mn(VII))) was investigated in water. Fe(VI) exhibited a higher reactivity with MTX (93.34 M⁻¹ s⁻¹) than Mn(VII) (3.01 M⁻¹ s⁻¹) at pH 8.0. The introduction of Cu(II) and Fe(III) at 1.0 mM improved the removal efficiency of 5.0 μM MTX by 100.0 μM Fe(VI) from 80% to 95% and 100% after 4 min, respectively. Seven oxidized products (OPs) were identified during oxidative treatments, while OP-191 and OP-205 were characterized as specific products for Fe(VI) oxidation. Initial ketonization of the L-glutamic acid moiety and cleavage of the peptide bond of MTX were proposed. Additionally, a multi-endpoint toxicity evaluation indicated no genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, or endocrine-disrupting effects of MTX and its OPs. Particularly, serious developmental toxicity in zebrafish larvae was observed in the treated MTX solutions. Based on the acute and chronic aquatic toxicity prediction, OP-190, OP-192, OP-206, and OP-208 were deemed toxic or very toxic compared to harmful MTX. Furthermore, the reduced biodegradability index from 0.15 (MTX) to −0.5 to −0.2 (OP-192, OP-206, and OP-468) indicated the formation of lower biodegradable OPs. Overall, this study suggests that Fe(VI) and Mn(VII) oxidation are promising treatments for remediating anticancer drug-contaminated water. However, the environmental risks associated with these treatments should be considered in the evaluation of water safety.     

Functional flax fiber with UV-induced switchable wettability for multipurpose oil-water separation

● A PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber with UV-induced switchable wettability was developed. ● The property of flax fiber could be switched from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity. ● The mechanism of the acquired UV-induced switchable wettability was discussed. ● The developed flax fiber was successfully used for multipurpose oil-water separation. The large number of oily wastewater discharges and oil spills are bringing about severe threats to environment and human health. Corresponding to this challenge, a functional PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber with UV-induced switchable wettability was developed for efficient oil-water separation in this study. The developed flax fiber was obtained through PAA grafted polymerization and then ZnO-HDTMS nanocomposite immobilization. The as-prepared PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber was hydrophobic initially and could be switched to hydrophilic through UV irradiation. Its hydrophobicity could be easily recovered through being stored in dark environment for several days. To optimize the performance of the PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber, the effects of ZnO and HDTMS concentrations on its switchable wettability were investigated. The optimized PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber had a large water contact angle (~130°) in air and an extremely small oil contact angle (~0°) underwater initially. After UV treatment, the water contact angle was decreased to 30°, while the underwater oil contact angle was increased to more than 150°. Based on this UV-induced switchable wettability, the developed PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber was applied to remove oil from immiscible oil-water mixtures and oil-in-water emulsion with great reusability for multiple cycles. Thus, the developed flax fiber could be further fabricated into oil barrier or oil sorbent for oil-water separation, which could be an environmentally-friendly alternative in oil spill response and oily wastewater treatment.