西笤溪流域重金属污染磁学研究及多元分析

对西苕溪流域的土壤样品及部分太湖近岸表层底泥样品,进行了环境磁学测试与化学分析.采用指标聚类分析,抽取磁化率、S比值和Cr、Fe、Pb、Sr、Ti、Zn含量等8个典型指标.再应用模糊C均值聚类分析,分辨出了4种不同的样品类型和两种不同的人类活动响应.取自丘陵山地的第一类样品,以强的磁化率、高的S比值和低的Sr、Ni和Zn含量为特征,代表了流域的自然背景.分布在河谷平原农耕区的第二类样品,磁化率、S比值以及重金属含量都很低,反映了农业活动对环境的影响.而分布在滨湖平原和东苕溪流域的第三类样品,Sr、Ni和Zn含量最高,反映了工业活动对环境的影响.代表丘陵与平原过渡带的第四类样品,其磁参数和重金属含量介于丘陵山地与平原之间.由于流域的磁背景场很高,且人类活动多元化,磁与重金属的相关性差,因此单一的磁化率不能直接指示污染状况.     

Biomonitoring of tin and arsenic in different compartments of a limnic ecosystem with emphasis on Corbicula fluminea and Dikerogammarus villosus

Asian clam Corbicula fluminea, the amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus and the macrophyte Nuphar lutea were tested for investigating spatial and temporal variability in the bioavailability of tin and arsenic in the River Lippe, Germany. Samples were collected from September 2002 to May 2003 at a tin polluted site (source pollution) and a reference site. Additional screening sampling was carried out twice in April 2003 to test the extent of As and Sn concentration in periphyton (aufwuchs) samples. Accumulated Sn and As concentrations were measured with ICP-MS after sample processing (dissection, cryo-milling) and digestion. Quality control was performed by parallel analysis of three certified reference materials. Measurable As and Sn contents in plant tissues were only detectable in roots (below 30 microg kg(-1) and 20 microg kg(-1) for As and Sn, respectively). Homogenates from C. fluminea and D. villosus tissues showed site-dependent trace metal contents. Elevated bioavailability of Sn is present downstream of the sewage discharge of the world's biggest producer of tributyltin (TBT) at Luenen (northern Ruhr region). In comparison to C. fluminea, D. villosus shows higher concentrations of tin in samples from both sites. Arsenic concentrations in C. fluminea remain constant with increasing shell size, whereas tin shows a size-dependent accumulation. The results indicate that Corbicula fluminea and Dikerogammarus villosus are suitable passive biomonitoring organisms for Sn, but As levels might be actively regulated. The concentration of tin in the periphyton (aufwuchs) samples was found to be much higher in samples from a contaminated site (428 +/- 63 vs. 1949 +/- 226 microg kg(-1)).     

Interferences of carbonate quantification in municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash: evaluation of different methods

Quantification of carbonate contents in fresh and weathered municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) bottom ash was performed using volumetric and gravimetric methods, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and thermal analysis. Results differ considerably depending on the method applied. Volumetric measurement and thermogravimetry (TG) are based on the determination of CO₂ release by acid or thermal treatment, respectively. Interactions of CO₂ with the mineral matrix and de novo synthesis of carbonates during thermal analysis were observed. In order to find out the contribution of CO₂ released from residual organic matter, an additional experiment was carried out to demonstrate how the material is affected by the heating process in the course of thermal analysis. FT-IR spectroscopy as a non-destructive method seems to provide the most reliable quantitative results.     

How do different process options and evaluation settings affect economic and environmental assessments? A case study on methyl methacrylate (MMA) production processes

We present an investigation on how economic and environmental assessment results change when different process options or evaluation settings are considered. As the main case study the production technology of methyl methacrylate (MMA) is investigated. Six commercial processes using different reaction routes are modelled and evaluated with respect to their economic and environmental performance. On these six base case models different process options and evaluation settings are considered and the resulting impacts on the assessment results are quantified. Major findings of the study are that the more decision-variables become fixed, the smaller becomes the impact of the decisions still to be taken—but not only with respect to the economic performance but also with regard to the environmental assessment result. Along the process development steps the potential impacts on the economic and environmental performance decrease to the same degree. The results obtained for the evaluation settings do not show such a systematic pattern as those for the process options. This finding indicates that decision makers face many options in the economic and especially the environmental assessment of chemical processes which might lead to quite different magnitudes in variability due to either the choice of method or the choice of method parameters. This paper demonstrates that the resulting variability might be crucial with respect to the decision making outcome.     

Oxygen dynamics and transport in the Mediterranean sponge Aplysina aerophoba

The Mediterranean sponge Aplysina aerophoba kept in aquaria or cultivation tanks can stop pumping for several hours or even days. To investigate changes in the chemical microenvironments, we measured oxygen profiles over the surface and into the tissue of pumping and non-pumping A. aerophoba specimens with Clark-type oxygen microelectrodes (tip diameters 18–30 μm). Total oxygen consumption rates of whole sponges were measured in closed chambers. These rates were used to back-calculate the oxygen distribution in a finite-element model. Combining direct measurements with calculations of diffusive flux and modeling revealed that the tissue of non-pumping sponges turns anoxic within 15 min, with the exception of a 1 mm surface layer where oxygen intrudes due to molecular diffusion over the sponge surface. Molecular diffusion is the only transport mechanism for oxygen into non-pumping sponges, which allows total oxygen consumption rates of 6–12 μmol cm⁻³ sponge day⁻¹. Sponges of different sizes had similar diffusional uptake rates, which is explained by their similar surface/volume ratios. In pumping sponges, oxygen consumption rates were between 22 and 37 μmol cm⁻³ sponge day⁻¹, and the entire tissue was oxygenated. Combining different approaches of direct oxygen measurement in living sponges with a dynamic model, we can show that tissue anoxia is a direct function of the pumping behavior. The sponge-microbe system of A. aerophoba thus has the possibility to switch actively between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism by stopping the water flow for more than 15 min. These periods of anoxia will greatly influence physiological variety and activity of the sponge microbes. Detailed knowledge about the varying chemical microenvironments in sponges will help to develop protocols to cultivate sponge-associated microbial lineages and improve our understanding of the sponge-microbe-system.