Radiation modeling of a photo-reactor using a backward ray-tracing method: an insight into indoor photocatalytic oxidation

This article aims to understand the radiation behavior within a photo-reactor, following the ISO 22197-1:2007 standard. The RADIANCE lighting simulation tool, based on the backward ray-tracing modeling method, is employed for a numerical computation of the radiation field. The reflection of the glass cover in the photo-reactor and the test sample influence the amount of irradiance received by the test-sample surface in the photo-reactor setup. The reflection of a white sample limits the irradiance reduction by the glass cover to 1.4 %, but darker samples can lead to an overestimation up to 9.8 % when used in the same setup. This overestimation could introduce considerable error into the interpretation of experiments. Furthermore, this method demonstrates that the kinetics for indoor photocatalytic pollutant degradation can be refined through radiation modeling of the reactor setup. In addition, RADIANCE may aid in future modeling of the more complex indoor environment where radiation affects significantly photocatalytic activity.     

Mercury accumulation and tissue-specific antioxidant efficiency in the wild European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) with emphasis on seasonality

The main goal of this study was to assess both mercury (Hg) accumulation and organs’ specific oxidative stress responses of gills, liver and kidney of Dicentrarchus labrax with emphasis on seasonality. Fish were collected in cold and warm periods in three stations: reference, moderated and highly contaminated sites. Our results showed that seasonal factors slightly influenced Hg accumulation between year periods (cold and warm) and strongly affected organs’ response basal levels. In contrast, seasonality seemed not to influence oxidative stress responses, since similar response patterns were obtained for both year periods, and moderate degree of antioxidant responses was obtained. Moreover, the oxidative stress profile may be attributed to Hg contamination degree, which showed organ-specific response and accumulation patterns. Hence, gills showed to be able to adapt to Hg contamination, and in opposition, kidney and liver demonstrated some vulnerability to Hg toxicity. The critical Hg concentrations indicated specific threshold limits for each organ. Overall, seasonality should be taken into account in monitoring programmes, helping to characterize the individuals’ reference values of response and thus to discriminate between the effects induced by natural causes or by contamination.     

Carbon Sequestration Function of Check-Dams: A Case Study of the Loess Plateau in China

Check-dams are the most common structures for controlling soil erosion in the Loess Plateau. However, the effect of check-dams on carbon sequestration, along with sediment transport and deposition, has not been assessed over large areas. In this study, we evaluated the carbon sequestration function of check-dams in the Loess Plateau. The results indicate that there were approximately 11 000 check-dams distributed in the Loess Plateau, with an estimate of the amount of sediment of 21 × 10⁹ m³ and a soil organic carbon storage amount of 0.945 Pg. Our study reveals that check-dams in the Loess Plateau not only conserve soil and water but also sequester carbon.     

Enhancement of anaerobic biodegradability of flower stem wastes with vegetable wastes by co-hydrolysis

The vegetable wastes and flower stems were co-digested to evaluate the anaerobic hydrolysis performance of difficultly biodegradable organic wastes by introducing readily biodegradable organic wastes. The experiments were carried out in batches. When the vegetable wastes were mixed with the flower stems at the dry weight ratio of 1 to 13, the overall hydrolysis rate increased by 8%, 12%, and 2% according to the carbon, nitrogen, and total solid （TS） conversion rate, respectively. While the dry weight ratio was designed as 1 to 3, there was a respective rise of 5%, 15%, and 4% in the conversion rate of carbon, nitrogen, and TS. The enhancement of anaerobic hydrolysis from the mixed vegetable wastes and flower stems can be attributed to the formation of volatile fatty acids （VFA） and nutrient supplement like nitrogen content. The maximum VFA concentration can achieve 1.7 g/L owing to the rapid acidification of vegetable wastes, loosing the structure of lignocellulose materials. The statistic bivariate analysis revealed that the hydrolysis performance was significantly related to the physical and biochemical compositions of the feeding substrate. Especially, the soluble carbon concentration in the liquid was significantly positively correlated to the concentration of nitrogen and hemicellulose, and negatively correlated to the concentration of carbon and lignocellulose in the feeding substrate, suggesting that the regulation and control of feedstock can have an important influence on the anaerobic hydrolysis of organic wastes.     

氮对酵母菌-SBR系统效能及酵母形态的影响研究

在酵母菌-SBR系统处理高含油废水中研究了氮添加对酵母细胞形态、沉降性、废水处理效果的影响及恢复能力.结果表明,氮添加量直接影响到系统中酵母菌的生物量,沉降性、pH和处理效果;氮缺乏诱发某些酵母菌菌株细胞由酵母形态向真菌丝形态转化,进而影响到酵母菌的沉降性;从系统运行效果和稳定性方面综合考虑,运行时最佳的进水BOD/N为20/1;恢复最佳氮添加能提高不同程度缺氮系统的处理效果,并可使轻度菌丝化系统快速恢复酵母形态为主,但在短期内对高度菌丝化系统的恢复效果不明显.     

典型海洋生态系统服务功能及价值评估——以桑沟湾为例

系统分析了生态系统服务功能及价值评估的研究进展,探讨了海洋生态系统服务功能及价值的内涵.以桑沟湾为例,对该生态系统的渔业生产、气体调节、污水处理、空气净化、滨海旅游、文化价值等服务功能的价值以2004年为评价基准年份进行了评价.评价结果为,2004年桑沟湾生态系统服务功能的价值为10.51×108元.其中直接经济价值(渔业生产)6.86×108元,占总服务价值的65.29%,表征桑沟湾是一个典型的养殖型海湾.这与人们对于桑沟湾的一般认识是一致的.同时我们注意到,桑沟湾生态系统的其他服务价值总和为3.65×108元,该数值占总服务价值的34.71%.作者认为,本文所得结果是桑沟湾也已实现了的生态服务价值,是对桑沟湾生态服务价值的保守估计.     

2003～2004年大亚湾澳头养殖区水域浮游植物群落结构及数量变动特征

2003年4月至2004年4月对大亚湾赤潮高发区澳头海域进行了浮游植物群落周年调查和分析.共鉴定浮游植物57属118种.其中硅藻为优势类群,共42属84种,占总种类数的71.2%;甲藻11属27种.浮游植物数量分别在春末夏初,秋末冬初出现两个高峰值,年均值为5.68×105 /L.角毛藻属为全年优势属,平均占浮游植物数量的35.4%.Shannon-Weaver多样性指数和均匀度的年平均值分别为2.0和0.44.该海域共发现赤潮生物58种,锥状斯氏藻是最常见的甲藻赤潮生物,2003年8月该藻与海洋卡盾藻在澳头海域首次引发甲藻和针胞藻双相型赤潮.     

Improved speciation of dissolved organic nitrogen in natural waters: amide hydrolysis with fluorescence derivatization

The objective of this study was to improve primary-amine nitrogen (1°-N) quantification in dissolved organic matter (DOM) originating from natural waters where inorganic forms of N, which may cause analytical interference, are commonly encountered. Efforts were targeted at elucidating organic-N structural criteria influencing the response of organic amines to known colorimetric and fluorescent reagents and exploring the use of divalent metal-assisted amide hydrolysis in combination with fluorescence analyse...     

Runoff and sediment losses from 27 upland catchments in Southeast Asia: Impact of rapid land use changes and conservation practices

Rapid changes in upland farming systems in Southeast Asia generated predominantly by increased population pressure and ‘market forces’ have resulted in widespread land degradation that has been well documented at the plot scale. Yet, the links between agricultural activities in the uplands and downstream off-site effects remain largely unknown because of the difficulties in transferring results from plots to a larger scale. Many authors have thus pointed out the need for long-term catchment studies. The objective of this paper is to summarize the results obtained by the Management of Soil Erosion Consortium (MSEC) over the last 5 years from 27 catchments in five countries (Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). The purpose of the study was to assess the impacts of cultivation practices on annual runoff and erosion rates. Initial surveys in each catchment included topography, soils and land use. Monitoring included climatic, hydrologic and erosion (total sediment yield including bed load and suspended sediment load) data, land use and crop yields, and farmers’ income. In addition, new land management options were introduced through consultations with farmers and evaluated in terms of runoff and erosion. These included tree plantations, fruit trees, improved fallow with legumes, maize intercropped with legumes, planted fodder, native grass strips and agro-ecological practices (direct sowing and mulch-based conservation agriculture). Regressions analyses showed that runoff during the rainy season, and normalized runoff flow coefficient based on erosive rainfall during the rainy season (rainfall with intensity exceeding 25 mm h⁻¹) increase with the percentage of the catchment covered by maize. Both variables decrease with increasing soil depth, standard deviation of catchment slope (that reflects terrain roughness), and the percentages of the catchment covered by fallow (regular and improved), tree plantations and planted fodder. The best predictors of sediment yield were the surface percentages of maize, Job's tears, cassava and footpaths. The main conclusions generated from this study were: (i) soil erosion is predominantly influenced by land use rather than environmental characteristics not only at the plot scale but also at the catchment scale; (ii) slash-and-burn shifting cultivation with sufficiently long rotations (1 year of cultivation, 8 years of fallow) is too often unjustly blamed for degradation; (iii) in its place, continuous cropping of maize and cassava promotes high rates of soil erosion at the catchment scale; (iv) conservation technologies are efficient in reducing runoff and total sediment yield at the catchment scale; (v) the adoption of improved soil management technologies by upland farmers is not a function of the degree of intensification of their farming system and/or of their incomes. The results suggest that if expansion of maize and cassava into already degraded upland systems were to occur due to increased demand for biofuels, there is a risk of higher runoff and sediment generation. A failure to adopt appropriate land use management strategies will result in further rapid resource degradation with negative impacts to downstream communities.     

种植密度和降水对冬小麦田N2O排放的影响

为研究种植密度对农田N2O排放的影响和探讨N₂O排放季节性波动的原因,于1999～2000年小麦生长季在南京市郊江宁县进行了不同播种量(0、90、180和270kg/hm²)的大田试验.观测分析结果表明:在相同的气象条件和田间管理下,播种～越冬阶段的N₂O排放不受播种量的影响,返青～成熟阶段的N₂O排放通量与播种量成正比.裸地条件下的N₂O排放与播量为90kg/hm²下的排放无明显差异.造成该生长季内N₂O排放季节性波动的主要原因是降水,返青～成熟阶段的N₂O排放通量随观测日前6d的加权平均降水量呈指数增加.