利用卫星遥感评估广西壮族自治区SO_2减排成效

基于2005—2012年OMI卫星遥感PBL SO2柱浓度数据分析了广西壮族自治区SO2污染的时空格局和变化特征,并结合燃煤火电厂SO2排放模型估算与工业经济增长数据,在时间、空间尺度上分析了自治区内不同区域的SO2污染对火电厂烟气脱硫政策的响应以及所呈现出的减排成效。结果表明,广西因火电厂脱硫政策驱动的SO2污染改善具有显著的空间异质性,自治区内高污染区的SO2浓度在2011—2012年出现了显著下降,而低污染区的SO2浓度则在8年中持续增长;排放模型估算结果显示,烟气脱硫驱动的火电厂SO2减排贡献将在2008年后持续下降,而遥感观测结果显示,广西全区SO2半年浓度均值总体呈现波动上升趋势,2005—2012年浓度增加了8.6%、年均增长约0.9%;综合工业经济增长数据发现,近年来其他工业源的增量排放已给广西SO2减排带了新挑战,而这一变化仍未得到相关决策部门关注,存在明显缺陷的SO2统计排放量数据尚未得到修正。针对上述污染变化新特征,政府相关部门应引起足够重视,尽快更新完善污染源信息并启动针对其他污染源的限排措施,以确保环境持续改善。     

Recycling of WEEE plastics: a review

Electric and electronic equipment (EEE) is swiftly growing in volume, level of sophistication, and diversity. Also, it evolves briskly, moved by innovation and technical change, and draws on numerous and at times rare resources. Waste EEE (WEEE) has evolved into an important societal problem. Recycling and treating WEEE implies occupational as well as environmental hazards that are still incompletely documented. Still, second hand EEE has been exported and treated in Africa, China, and India in a precarious informal context. In developed countries, EEE recycling has been sustained by a wide range of initiatives and motives, such as sustainability, creating jobs, and the value of precious or rare metals. Current EU Directives require a steep reduction of WEEE plastics (WEEP) going to landfill. Mechanical, thermal, and feedstock recycling of WEEP are analysed and some options confronted. Plastics recycling should be weighed against the eventual risks related to their hazardous ingredients, mainly legacy brominated fire retardants and heavy metals. Another paper is related to a somewhat similar problem, yet involving a different mix of plastics: recycling plastics from automotive shredder residue.     

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.     

Distribution features of biological hazardous pollutants in residential environments in Korea

This research has been conducted continuously since 2009 as part of a cohort of studies examining relationships between asthma and genetic factors, dietary habits, and environmental factors. Based on data from environmental research on house dust mites and endotoxins, which are widely known as pollutants in bedding that cause asthma in pregnant women and children, this work was conducted to obtain basic data that can be used in future cohort studies that analyze links between distribution of biological hazards and physical features of residential environments. The detection rates of house dust mite allergens, Der p1 and Der f1, were 52.7 and 86.5 %, respectively, indicating that Der f1 is a dominant species in domestic indoor environments. According to comparisons between concentrations of house dust mites and endotoxins in bedding of pregnant women and children, Der p1 and endotoxins showed significantly lower concentrations in bedding of pregnant women compared with those in bedding of children, whereas Der f1 showed no significant difference in concentration according to bedding.     

Physicochemical and biological quality of soil in hexavalent chromium-contaminated soils as affected by chemical and microbial remediation

Chemical and microbial methods are the main remediation technologies for chromium-contaminated soil. These technologies have progressed rapidly in recent years; however, there is still a lack of methods for evaluating the chemical and biological quality of soil after different remediation technologies have been applied. In this paper, microbial remediation with indigenous bacteria and chemical remediation with ferrous sulphate were used for the remediation of soils contaminated with Cr(VI) at two levels (80 and 1,276 mg kg^?1) through a column leaching experiment. After microbial remediation with indigenous bacteria, the average concentration of water-soluble Cr(VI) in the soils was reduced to less than 5.0 mg kg^?1. Soil quality was evaluated based on 11 soil properties and the fuzzy comprehensive assessment method, including fuzzy mathematics and correlative analysis. The chemical fertility quality index was improved by one grade using microbial remediation with indigenous bacteria, and the biological fertility quality index increased by at least a factor of 6. Chemical remediation with ferrous sulphate, however, resulted in lower levels of available phosphorus, dehydrogenase, catalase and polyphenol oxidase. The result showed that microbial remediation with indigenous bacteria was more effective for remedying Cr(VI)-contaminated soils with high pH value than chemical remediation with ferrous sulphate. In addition, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was proven to be a useful tool for monitoring the quality change in chromium-contaminated soils.     

The influences of pH and ionic strength on the sorption of tylosin on goethite

As one of the widely used antibiotics in the world, the environmental risks of tylosin (TYL) received more and more attention. In order to assess its environmental fate and ecological effects accurately, it is necessary to understand the sorption properties of TYL on the soils/sediments. The sorption of TYL on goethite at different pH and ionic strength conditions were measured through a series of batch experiments and the sorption data of TYL were fitted by Freundlich and dual-mode sorption models. It was obvious that sorption was strongly dependent on pH and ionic strength. Sorption capacity of TYL increased as the pH increased and ionic strength decreased. The pH and ionic strength-dependent trends might be related with complexation between cationic/neutral TYL species and goethite. The sorption affinity of TYL on goethite decreased as ionic strength increased, which only occurred at higher TYL concentrations, suggested that inner complex might have dominated process at low concentrations and outer complex might occur at higher concentrations of TYL. Spectroscopic evidence indicated that tricarbonylamide and hydroxyl functional groups of TYL might be accounted for the sorption on mineral surfaces. The experimental data of TYL sorption could be fitted by surface complexation model (FITEQL), indicating that ≡FeOH with TYL interaction could be reasonably represented as a complex formation of a monoacid with discrete sites on goethite. The sorption mechanism of TYL might be related with surface complexation, electrostatic repulsion, and H-bounding on goethite. It should be noticed that the heterogeneous of sorption affinity of TYL on goethite at various environment to assess its environment risk.     

Simazine biodegradation and community structures of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in bioaugmented soil: impact of ammonia and nitrate nitrogen sources

The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of ammonia and nitrate nitrogen sources on simazine biodegradation by Arthrobacter sp. strain SD1 and the community structures of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) in non-agricultural soil. Soil microcosms with different treatments were constructed for herbicide biodegradation test. The relative abundance of the strain SD1 and the structures of AOA and AOB communities were assessed using quantitative PCR (q-PCR) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), respectively. The co-existence of two inorganic nitrogen sources (ammonia and nitrate) had certain impact on simazine dissipation by the strain SD1. Bioaugmentation could induce a shift in the community structures of both AOA and AOB, but AOA were more responsive. Nitrogen application had significant impacts on AOA and AOB communities in bioaugmented soils. Moreover, in non-bioaugmented soil, the community structure of AOA, instead of AOB, could be quickly recovered after herbicide application. This study could add some new insights towards the impacts of nitrogen sources on s-triazine bioremediation and ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in soil ecosystem.     

Stability of 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate in advanced oxidation processes: degradation kinetics and pathway

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a widely used mist suppressant in hard chrome electroplating industry, has been listed in the Stockholm Convention for global ban. 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2 FTS) acid and salts have been adopted as alternative products in the market, but no data about their abiotic degradation has been reported. In the present study, the degradability of 6:2 FTS potassium salt (6:2 FTS-K) was evaluated under various advanced oxidation processes, including ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, UV with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), alkaline ozonation (O₃, pH = 11), peroxone (O₃/H₂O₂), and Fenton reagent oxidation (Fe²⁺/H₂O₂). UV/H₂O₂ was found to be the most effective approach, where the degradation of 6:2 FTS-K followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The intermediates were mainly shorter chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acid (C₇ to C₂), while sulfate (SO₄ ^2?) and fluoride (F^?) were found to be the final products. The high yields of SO₄ ^2? and F^? indicate that 6:2 FTS-K can be nearly completely desulfonated and defluorinated under UV/H₂O₂ condition. The degradation should firstly begin with the substitution of hydrogen atom by hydroxyl radicals, followed by desulfonation, carboxylation, and sequential “flake off” of CF₂ unit. Compared with PFOS which is inert in most advanced oxidation processes, 6:2 FTS-K is more degradable as the alternative.     

Concentrations,atmospheric partitioning,and air–water/soil surface exchange of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran along the upper reaches of the Haihe River basin,North China

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran (PCDD/PCDF) were overall measured and compared in ambient air, water, soils, and sediments along the upper reaches of the Haihe River of North China, so as to evaluate their concentrations, profiles, and to understand the processes of gas–particle partitioning and air–water/soil exchange. The following results were obtained: (1) The average concentrations (toxic equivalents, TEQs) of 2,3,7,8-PCDD/PCDF in air, water, sediment, and soil samples were 4,855 fg/m³, 9.5 pg/L, 99.2 pg/g dry weight (dw), and 56.4 pg/g (203 fg TEQ/m³, 0.46 pg TEQ/L, 2.2 pg TEQ/g dw, and 1.3 pg TEQ/g, respectively), respectively. (2) Although OCDF, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF, OCDD, and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD were the dominant congeners among four environmental sinks, obvious discrepancies of these congener and homologue patterns of PCDD/PCDF were observed still. (3) Significant linear correlations for PCDD/PCDF were observed between the gas–particle partition coefficient (K _p) and the subcooled liquid vapor pressure (P _L ⁰) and octanol–air partition coefficient (K _oa). (4) Fugacity fraction values of air–water exchange indicated that most of PCDD/PCDF homologues were dominated by net volatilization from water into air. The low-chlorinated PCDD/PCDF (tetra- to hexa-) presented a strong net volatilization from the soil into air, while high-chlorinated PCDD/PCDF (hepta- to octa-) were mainly close to equilibrium for air–soil exchange.     

The adsorption process during inorganic phosphorus removal by cultured periphyton

To explain the detailed process involved in phosphorus removal by periphyton, the periphyton dominated by photoautotrophic microorganisms was employed in this study to remove inorganic phosphorus (P _i ) from wastewater, and the removal kinetics and isotherms were then evaluated for the P _i removal process. Results showed that the periphyton was capable of effectively removing P _i that could completely remove the P _i in 24 h at an initial P _i concentration of 13 mg P L^?1. Furthermore, the P _i removal process by the periphyton was dominated by adsorption at initial stage (~24 h), which involved physical mechanistic process. However, this P _i adsorption process was significantly influenced by environmental conditions. This work provides an insight into the understanding of phosphorus adsorption by periphyton or similar microbial aggregates.