Health risk assessment of exposure to organic matter from the use of reclaimed water in toilets

To estimate the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of six volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in reclaimed water used for flushing toilets, a probabilistic health risk assessment based on Monte Carlo simulations was used. Before Monte Carlo simulations, the contaminant volatilization model was applied to estimate the concentration of the pollutants in air. Moreover, a questionnaire was used to acquire daily exposure time and the Batch Fit tool of Crystal Ball software was applied to find the best-fitting distribution of a part of the input parameters. The risk analysis indicated that the health risks from six VOCs were lower than the negligible risk level (1?×?10^?8) in all cases, and the health risk for females was slightly higher than that for males. Overall, exposure to organic pollutants in reclaimed water during toilet flushing does not currently pose a significant carcinogenic risk to humans. In this study, we want to provide some information on the health risk from reclaimed water used for toilet flushing in China and hope that it will be useful to promote the application of reclaimed water in water-deficient areas.     

Physiological and biochemical responses of rice seeds to phosphine exposure during germination

Rice seeds (Tianyou, 3618) were used to examine the physiological and biochemical responses to phosphine exposure during germination. A control (0 mg m⁻³) and four concentrations of phosphine (1.4 mg m⁻³, 4.2 mg m⁻³, 7.0 mg m⁻³ and 13.9 mg m⁻³) were used to treat the rice seeds. Each treatment was applied for 90 min once per day for five days. The germination rate (GR); germination potential (GP); germination index (GI); antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT); and lipid peroxidation measured through via malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined as indicators of the physiological and biochemical responses of the rice seeds to phosphine exposure. These indicators were determined once per day for five days. The results indicated that the GR, GP and GI of the rice seeds markedly decreased after phosphine exposure. The changes in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes due to the phosphine exposure were also significant. The exposure lowered the CAT and SOD activities and increased POD activity in the treated rice seeds compared with controls. The MDA content exhibited a slow increase trend with the increase of phosphine concentration. These results suggest that phosphine has inhibitory effects on seed germination. In addition, phosphine exposure caused oxidative stress in the seeds. The antioxidant enzymes could play a pivotal role against oxidative injury. Overall, the effect of phosphine on rice seeds is different from what has been reported previously for insects and mammals.     

固硫灰路面基层材料的性能

以固硫灰作为路面基层材料,研究了固硫灰原灰和经预处理固硫灰路面基层材料的最佳含水量、最大干密度、体积安定性、膨胀率和强度等性能。同时,通过重金属浸出实验评估了固硫灰对土壤环境的影响。结果表明,经预处理固硫灰路面基层材料体积安定性好,膨胀率低,性能良好;此外,固硫灰重金属浸出率低,符合环保要求。     

酸碱联合调节剩余污泥过程中氮、磷和有机质的释放

实现城市污泥的减量化和资源化是污水厂面临的难题之一。通过采用(1)先酸性(pH=3)后碱性(pH=10)、(2)先碱性(pH=10)后酸性(pH=3)的两段控制方式(每段反应8 d),同时做pH不调的对比实验,研究剩余污泥水解酸化过程中氨氮、磷酸盐和溶解性COD(SCOD)、碳水化合物、蛋白质和挥发性脂肪酸(VFAs)等有机质组分的释放。结果表明,酸碱联合调节有利于各组分的释放;氮和磷在酸性条件下的释放量大于碱性,有机质在碱性条件下的释放量大于酸性;采用(2)方式,调为酸性后反应1 d,氨氮的释放量即达到最大(17.28 mg/g TS);采用(1)的调节方式反应7 d,磷酸盐能达到最佳释放量(14.16 mg/g TS);总VFAs的产生受反应时间的影响较大,其余有机质组分在(2)的调节方式下,6 d左右即可达到较大释放量。     

吸附-预沉淀MBR工艺处理生活污水及膜污染控制效果

膜污染是限制膜生物反应器（MBR）广泛应用的主要因素之一。针对MBR处理生活污水过程中存在的硝化效果不稳定与膜污染问题,提出了一种新型的MBR系统：通过吸附-预沉淀实现进水中碳氮的分离和单独处理,不仅提高了污染物去除效果,且能够有效控制膜污染。研究结果表明,吸附-预沉淀可以去除进水中约89.7%的有机物,系统出水COD、NH₄⁺-N平均浓度为24 mg/L、0.78 mg/L,去除率分别为95.9%和98.1%。MBR中碳氮比的降低和硝化细菌比例的增加大大降低了MBR内MLSS、EPS和SMP含量,平均浓度分别为5 185 mg/L、41 mg/g MLSS和2.62 mg/g MLSS。在膜通量为4 L/（m²·h）条件下,TMP可稳定保持在20 kPa左右。通过吸附-预沉淀过程可有效控制MBR中的膜污染。     

活性污泥法处理高钙废水中污泥特性的变化

通过单级SBR法处理模拟高钙废水,研究了活性污泥法处理高钙废水的过程中钙离子对COD,MLVSS,MLSS,SVI,污泥增长速率,污泥形态结构及生物相的影响,揭示活性污泥法处理高钙废水的过程中污泥量巨大的原因。采用逐步增加钙离子浓度的方法,检测到在污泥培养期([Ca2+]=0 mg/L),COD去除率为98.1%,MLVSS和MLSS稳定在4 900~5 500mg/L,污泥增长速率为67 mg/(L·d),SVI为55~60 mL/g;在驯化处理期([Ca2+]=120~2 400 mg/L),COD去除率降至87.37%,MLVSS降至2 500 mg/L,MLSS增加至19 300 mg/L,污泥增长速率为212.31 mg/(L·d),SVI降至25 mL/g;在冲击期([Ca2+]=4 000 mg/L),COD去除率降至69.23%,MLVSS降至1 600 mg/L,MLSS迅速增加至24 200 mg/L,污泥增长速率为816.67 mg/(L·d),SVI降至14 mL/g。经显微镜观察发现,污泥絮体由松散变得密实,生物相由钟虫等指示性微生物变为不适应环境的胞囊结构。结果表明,随Ca2+浓度的增加,COD去除率下降,MLSS迅速增加,MLVSS和SVI急剧缩小,说明活性污泥中的活性微生物逐渐减少,而无机物组分逐渐增多;钙离子的加入促使系统碳酸平衡向右移动,使离子状态的钙大部分转化为难降解的碳酸盐,并附着于污泥絮体上,污泥绒粒被压缩,使污泥颗粒密实度及MLSS迅速增加,导致污泥排放量巨大。     

浓缩脱水污泥水混凝预处理效果及混凝剂的选择

以白龙港污水处理厂浓缩脱水污泥水为处理对象,考察了聚合氯化铝(PAC)对污泥水颗粒物沉降特性和污染物去除效果的影响,比较了PAC、聚合氯化铁(PFC)、阳离子型聚丙烯酰胺(cPAM)和阴离子型聚丙烯酰胺(aPAM)对浓缩脱水污泥水的预处理效果。实验结果表明,PAC的投加可以去除颗粒态污染物和溶解态的磷,但其形成絮体粒径随PAC投加量增大而减小,导致污泥沉降性能恶化。因此,PAC不适合浓缩脱水污泥水的混凝预处理。与PAC相比,投加PFC、cPAM和aPAM均能有效去除颗粒态污染物,并改善污泥水沉降性能,其中cPAM的预处理效果最佳。     

Direct N2O emission from agricultural soils in Poland between 1960 and 2009

Nitrogen fertilization (N) is commonly known as a main source of direct nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission from agricultural soils. An area of 38 % of the total land surface of Poland was covered by agricultural soils in 2009. In this paper, we aimed at analyzing data regarding the land exploitation for 13 selected subareas of Poland between 1960 and 2009. Seven out of the 13 subareas studied are located in the West (area A), and six subareas are located in southeast of Poland (area B). The total area covered by large farms (>20 ha) differed largely, between area A (10.6 %) and area B (0.9 %) in 2009. Both areas varied in terms of the amount of fertilizers used annually, average crop yield and crop structure. Average direct emissions of N₂O from agricultural soils were 1.66 ± 0.09 kg N₂O–N ha^?1 a^?1 for area A, 1.39 ± 0.07 kg N₂O–N ha^?1 a^?1 for area B and 1.46 ± 0.07 kg N₂O–N ha^?1 a^?1 for the whole country between 1960 and 2009.     

The linear accumulation of atmospheric mercury by vegetable and grass leaves: Potential biomonitors for atmospheric mercury pollution

One question in the use of plants as biomonitors for atmospheric mercury (Hg) is to confirm the linear relationships of Hg concentrations between air and leaves. To explore the origin of Hg in the vegetable and grass leaves, open top chambers (OTCs) experiment was conducted to study the relationships of Hg concentrations between air and leaves of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), radish (Raphanus sativus L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). The influence of Hg in soil on Hg accumulation in leaves was studied simultaneously by soil Hg-enriched experiment. Hg concentrations in grass and vegetable leaves and roots were measured in both experiments. Results from OTCs experiment showed that Hg concentrations in leaves of the four species were significantly positively correlated with those in air during the growth time (p?<?0.05), while results from soil Hg-enriched experiment indicated that soil-borne Hg had significant influence on Hg accumulation in the roots of each plant (p?<?0.05), and some influence on vegetable leaves (p?<?0.05), but no significant influence on Hg accumulation in grass leaves (p?>?0.05). Thus, Hg in grass leaves is mainly originated from the atmosphere, and grass leaves are more suitable as potential biomonitors for atmospheric Hg pollution. The effect detection limits (EDLs) for the leaves of alfalfa and ryegrass were 15.1 and 22.2 ng g^–1, respectively, and the biological detection limit (BDL) for alfalfa and ryegrass was 3.4 ng m^–3.     

Removal of anionic azo dye from aqueous solution via an adsorption–photosensitized regeneration process on a TiO2 surface

Textile dye effluents are typically characterized by strong color and recalcitrance, even at very low concentration. The process of enrichment of anionic azo dye on the surface of TiO₂ fibers followed by photosensitization degradation under ambient air conditions was extensively investigated. Adsorption isotherms and zeta potentials were used to describe the “dye/TiO₂ surface” interface, taking into account the effects of pH on the nature and population of the surface groups on the TiO₂ fibers. The extent of the photocatalytic degradation of dye on TiO₂ surface was determined by FTIR. N₂ adsorption isotherms and optical spectra were employed to investigate the effect of photosensitization. The adsorption of dyes on the TiO₂ surface occurs via electrostatic attraction through the formation of single- or multidentate-coordinated surface complexes. Almost complete photobleaching of the absorption band at 534 nm is achieved in ~4 h. Dye-sensitized TiO₂ fiber could absorb part of the visible light spectrum (λ?<?600 nm). Interfacial electron transfer can potentially alter the degradation efficiency. The regenerated TiO₂ fiber could be reused for subsequent decolorization without a decline in adsorption efficiency compared with freshly prepared TiO₂ samples, which may be attributed to preservation of the hierarchical pore structure and restoration of the original surface properties. In summary, we propose an efficient “adsorption–photoregeneration–reuse” process applying TiO₂ fibers for the degradation of dyes in water.