Evaluation of nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate on nitrogen leaching in undisturbed soil columns

The application of nitrogen fertilizers leads to various ecological problems such as nitrate leaching. The use of nitrification inhibitors (NI) as nitrate leaching retardants is a proposal that has been suggested for inclusion in regulations in many countries. In this study, the efficacy of the new NI, 3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate (DMPP), was tested under simulated high-risk leaching situations in two types of undisturbed soil columns. The results showed that the accumulative leaching losses of soil nitrate under treatment of urea with 1.0% DMPP, from columns of silt loam soil and heavy clay soil, were 66.8% and 69.5% lower than those soil columns tested with regular urea application within the 60 days observation, respectively. However, the losses of ammonium leaching were reversely increased 9.7% and 6.7% under the former treatment than the latter one. Application of regular urea with 1.0% DMPP addition can reduce about 59.3%-63.1% of total losses of inorganic nitrogen via leaching. The application of DMPP to urea had stimulated the inhibition effects of DMPP on the ammonium nitrification process in the soil up to 60 days. It is proposed that the DMPP could be used as an effective NI to control inorganic N leaching losses, minimizing the risk of nitrate pollution in shallow groundwater.     

Comparison of China’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law with the European Union (EU) EIA Directive

In this paper, we first review the development of China’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system in the past 30 years. Then we compare the framework and operational procedures of China’s new EIA law with those of the EU EIA Directive. We also compare public participation, as well as sanctions and control in the two EIA systems. In addition, we identify where the processes in both EIA systems are similar or different from one another. By comparison, we noted that there are at least three obvious weaknesses in China’s EIA system: (1) the application of new models for EIA legislation; (2) the improvement of EIA guidance and education; and (3) the enhancement of public participation in EIA process. Our study indicates that these three major shortcomings should be overcome and improved in China’s EIA system, when compared with the EU EIA system.     

Sorption and desorption behavior of benzidine in different solvent-sediment systems

The sorption and desorption behavior of benzidine in eight solvent-sediment systems were studied using a batch method. The solvents tested included deionized water (DI), calcium chloride solution (CaCl2), sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH), acetonitrile (ACN), a mixture of acetonitrile and ammonium acetate solution (ACN-NH4OAc), methanol (MeOH), ammonium acetate solution (NH4OAc) and hydrochloric acid solution (HCl). Three sets of sorption isotherm experiments were conducted separately in these eight solvents with seven days, three weeks, and two months of contact times, respectively. The results demonstrated nonlinear benzidine sorption phenomena in all eight solvents with higher sorption affinities for sediment sites in the aqueous solvents than in the organic solvents. The results from the desorption experiments revealed that the benzidine desorption efficiencies in the solvents decreased in an order, which was approximately the reverse order of its sorption affinity. Results also suggested that hydrophobic partitioning and covalent binding processes dominated in the desorption experiments, while cation exchange process had little effect on desorption of benzidine. A three-stage model was subsequently applied to simulate the desorption data in the selected solvents of ACN, ACN-NH4OAc and NaOH, respectively. The rapidly desorbing initial fractions were about 0.13-0.20, 0.15-0.26, and 0.18-0.25 for ACN, ACN-NH4OAc and NaOH, respectively. Finally, the sorbed concentrations of benzidine in slowly and very slowly desorbing domains in the selected solvents were correlated with the maximum sorption capacities obtained from the Langmuir sorption isotherm model. The maximum sorption capacities of benzidine were found to be comparable to the amount of benzidine residing in the slowly and very slowly desorbing domains.     

Toward better understanding and feasibility of controlling greenhouse gas emissions from treatment of industrial wastewater with activated sludge

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been recognized as important sources for anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. The objective of the study was to thoroughly investigate a typical industrial WWTP in southern Taiwan in winter and summer which possesses the emission factors close to those reported values, with the analyses of emission factors, mass fluxes, fugacity, lab-scale in situ experiments, and impact assessment. The activated sludge was the important source in winter and summer, and nitrous oxide (N₂O) was the main contributor (e.g., 57 to 91 % of total GHG emission in a unit of kg carbon dioxide-equivalent/kg chemical oxygen demand). Albeit important for the GHGs in the atmosphere, the fractional contribution of the GHG emission to the carbon or nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment was negligible (e.g., less than 1.5 %). In comparison with the sludge concentration or retention time, adjusting the aeration rate was more effective to diminish the GHG emission in the activated sludge without significantly affecting the treated water quality. When the aeration rate in the activated sludge simulation was reduced by 75 %, the mass flux of N₂O could be diminished by up to 53 % (from 9.6 to 4.5 mg/m²-day). The total emission in the WWTP (including carbon dioxide, methane, and N₂O) would decrease by 46 % (from 0.67 to 0.36 kg CO₂-equiv/kg COD). However, the more important benefit of changing the aeration rate was lowering the energy consumption in operation of the WWTP, as the fractional contribution of pumping to the total emission from the WWTP ranged from 46 to 93 % within the range of the aeration rate tested. Under the circumstance in which reducing the burden of climate change is a global campaign, the findings provide insight regarding the GHG emission from treatment of industrial wastewater and the associated impact on the treatment performance and possible mitigation strategies by operational modifications.

     

Toxicity of sediment cores from Yangtze River estuary to zebrafish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Danio rerio</Emphasis>) embryos

Toxicity evaluation is an important segment in sediment quality monitoring in order to protect aquatic organisms and human health. The purpose of this study is to assess the toxicity of sediments from three sediment cores in Yangtze River Estuary, China, using the zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo tests. Fertilized zebrafish eggs were exposed to both whole sediments and sediment organic extracts prepared from collected sediments, in order to provide a comprehensive and realistic insight into the bioavailable toxicity potential of the sediments. As end points, development parameters (mortality, hatching rate, and abnormality) in the developing embryos were recorded during the 96-h exposure. The results showed that some samples increased mortality, inhibited the hatching of embryos, and induced morphological abnormalities. The embryonic toxicities presented serrated changes and irregular distribution with depth, which may be related to hydrodynamic effect and unstable environmental input. However, lethal and sub-lethal effects were more significant at the sub-surface sediments (10～40 cm), which indicated that the pollution is more serious in recent decades.     

铜绿微囊藻胁迫对宽叶香蒲叶片光呼吸特性的影响

采用共生培养的实验方法,通过追踪测定宽叶香蒲(Typha latifolia)叶片中叶绿素含量、净光合速率、光呼吸速率及乙醇酸氧化酶(GO)、谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)及过氧化氢酶(CAT)的活性,研究不同初始密度铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa)对宽叶香蒲叶片光呼吸特性的影响。结果表明,铜绿微囊藻初始密度为1.0×104ind/m L时,宽叶香蒲叶片叶绿素含量、净光合速率、光呼吸速率及GO、GS及CAT的活性增加,说明低密度铜绿微囊藻对宽叶香蒲叶片的光合作用及光呼吸具有促进作用;铜绿微囊藻初始密度为1.0×107ind/m L时,宽叶香蒲叶片净光合速率、光呼吸速率及GO、GS及CAT的活性呈现先增加后降低的趋势,表明经过一段时间培养后,高密度铜绿微囊藻对宽叶香蒲叶片的光合作用和光呼吸呈现出抑制作用。但是在净光合速率急剧降低的时候,光呼吸速率在短时间内仍然维持在一个较高水平,说明宽叶香蒲可能通过维持或增强光呼吸在一定程度上抵抗逆境胁迫。     

盐效萃取法从电子产品清洗废液中回收异丙醇

用盐效萃取法从电子产品清洗废液中回收片丙醇,考察了碳酸钾水溶液与该清洗废液的质量比对脱水率的影响,测定了异丙醇-水-碳酸钾体系存40℃时的液液相平衡数据,用Pitzer理论和NRTL方程对液液相平衡数据进行了理论计算。结果表明：当质量分数为60．00％的碳酸钾水溶液与该废液的质晕比为2．00时,脱水率高达90．00％;将有机相进行精馏可得到质量分数为99．50％的异丙醇;计算值与实测值接近,水相和有机相的绝对平均偏差分别为0．62％和0．46％。     

Investigation of PM2.5 pollution during COVID-19 pandemic in Guangzhou, China

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness about various environmental issues,including PM_2.5 pollution.Here,PM_2.5 pollution during the COVID-19 lockdown was traced and analyzed to clarify the sources and factors influencing PM_2.5 in Guangzhou,with an emphasis on heavy pollution.The lockdown led to large reductions in industrial and traffic emissions,which significantly reduced PM_2.5 concentrations in Guangzhou.Interestingly,the trend of PM_2.5     

无过氧化氢添加Fenton氧化法降解有机物的可行性研究

Fenton反应可以氧化分解有机物,在反应中的关键氧化剂羟基自由基(HO·)是通过亚铁离子与过氧化氢作用生成的,因此,传统的Fenton氧化必须由外部添加过氧化氢.研究了一种新的方法,即采用Nafion膜固定化亚铁离子,并通过光催化反应提供Fenton氧化所需的过氧化氢,使得Fenton反应在不添加过氧化氢的条件下也能够连续进行.结果表明,以甲酸为代表有机物,该方法可以在不添加过氧化氢的条件下起到分解甲酸的作用.而且,通过对负载亚铁离子Nafion膜的再生,可以使该方法的降解能力保持在稳定的范围.