Increasing the recovery of heavy metal ions using two microbial fuel cells operating in parallel with no power output

The present study aimed to improve the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) by using an intermittent connection period without power output. Connecting two MFCs in parallel improved the voltage output of both MFCs until the voltage stabilized. Electric energy was accumulated in two MFCs containing heavy metal ions copper, zinc, and cadmium as electron acceptors by connection in parallel for several hours. The system was then switched to discharge mode with single MFCs with a 1000-Ω resistor connected between anode and cathode. This method successfully achieved highly efficient removal of heavy metal ions. Even when the anolyte was run in sequencing batch mode, the insufficient voltage and power needed to recover heavy metals from the cathode of MFCs can be complemented by the developed method. The average removal ratio of heavy metal ions in sequencing batch mode was 67 % after 10 h. When the discharge time was 20 h, the removal ratios of zinc, copper, and cadmium were 91.5, 86.7, and 83.57 %, respectively; the average removal ratio of these ions after 20 h was only 52.1 % for the control group. Therefore, the average removal efficiency of heavy metal ions increased by 1.75 times using the electrons stored from the bacteria under the open-circuit conditions in parallel mode. Electrochemical impedance data showed that the anode had lower solution resistance and polarization resistance in the parallel stage than as a single MFC, and capacitance increased with the length of time in parallel.

     

Influence of filtration velocity on DON variation in BAF for micropolluted surface water treatment

Biological aerated filters (BAFs) are widely used for the treatment of micropolluted surface water. However, the biological process produces dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), which, as precursors of nitrogenous disinfection by-products, pose potential threats to drinking water safety. Therefore, to control DON in BAF effluent, it is necessary to study the influence of BAF operation parameters on DON production. In this study, the influence of filtration velocity in a BAF on DON production was investigated. Under different filtration velocity (0.5, 2, and 4 m/h) conditions, profiles of DON concentrations along the media layer were measured. The profile at a filtration velocity of 0.5 m/h showed a decreasing trend, and the ones under filtration velocities of 2 and 4 m/h fluctuated in a small range (from 0.1 to 0.4 mg/L). Moreover, the relatively high filtration velocities of 2 and 4 m/h resulted in a lower level of DON concentration. Additionally, 3D excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy was used to characterize DON. It is found that the patterns of DON at a relatively high filtration velocity condition (4 m/h) were obviously different from the ones under low filtration velocity conditions (0.5 and 2 m/h).     

长江中游城市群经济与生态成本空间演化模式分析

综合运用变异系数、泰尔指数及ESDA-GIS多种方法,在充分考虑传统经济影响因子的基础上,尝试引入经济发展生态成本指标,分析长江中游城市群经济综合发展水平与生态成本的空间匹配及演化模式。研究表明:经济综合发展水平高低聚集特征明显,空间极化现象是导致区域经济发展不平衡的主要原因;生态成本空间集聚现象以高高集聚和低低集聚为主,且呈现出高高集聚减少、低低集聚增多的现象,生态成本消耗有所改善;2001~2012年长江中游城市群市域经济综合发展水平与生态成本表现出越来越显著的差异化空间格局,呈现出由低经济综合发展水平-低生态成本过渡到高经济综合发展水平-高生态成本,进而发展到高经济综合发展水平-低生态成本的空间匹配模式的阶段性特征;高经济综合发展水平-高生态成本的经济发展模式仍在大部分城市中存在,经济与生态空间协调发展的潜力仍然很大。     

Pollination ecology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eomecon chionantha</Emphasis> Hance (Papaveraceae), an endemic species in China

Eomecon chionantha Hance, the only species in the genus Eomecon, is an angiosperm species endemic to China. Here we investigated the pollination syndrome, pollinator generalization of E. chionantha. Our results showed that the individual flower longevity of E. chionantha was 3–5 days. The flowering phenology of E. chionantha can be divided into five phases. We found significant differences in the pollination efficiency of the different insects visiting E. chionantha with bees and flies being the most efficient pollinators. This, in addition to floral morphology and phenology, suggests that E. chionantha is generalized on bees and flies and possesses an outcrossing, partially self-compatible and pollinator-dependent breeding system.     

Decoupling of nonferrous metal consumption from economic growth in China

Nonferrous metal is an important basis material for the development of the national economy, and its consumption directly affects economic development. It has great significance in the effective utilization of nonferrous metals, development of an environment-friendly society, and investigation of the decoupling of nonferrous metal consumption and GDP growth. The decoupling indicators for nonferrous metal consumption and GDP growth (D _r) in China from 1995 to 2010 were calculated in this study, and the results were analyzed. A productive model based on BP neural network was established. Then, the decoupling indicators for nonferrous metal consumption and GDP growth in China for the period of 2011–2020 were predicted. For the period of 1995–2010, the annual average decoupling indicators were <1 for copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, and nickel, except for tin, which was 0.21. The analysis showed that the decoupling of nonferrous metal consumption and GDP growth is in a less optimistic situation to copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, and nickel in China from 1995 to 2010. The annual average decoupling indicator for tin was 0.21, which indicates relative decoupling. For the period of 2011–2020, the predicted decoupling indicators for copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, nickel, and tin were between 0 and 1. This finding indicates the implementation of relative decoupling. However, the total consumption of nonferrous metals did not decouple from GDP growth.     

Evaluating anthropogenic N inputs to diverse lake basins: A case study of three Chinese lakes

The environmental degradation of lakes in China has become increasingly serious over the last 30 years and eutrophication resulting from enhanced nutrient inputs is considered a top threat. In this study, a quasi-mass balance method, net anthropogenic N inputs (NANI), was introduced to assess the human influence on N input into three typical Chinese lake basins. The resultant NANI exceeded 10 000 kg N km⁻² year⁻¹ for all three basins, and mineral fertilizers were generally the largest sources. However, rapid urbanization and shrinking agricultural production capability may significantly increase N inputs from food and feed imports. Higher percentages of NANI were observed to be exported at urban river outlets, suggesting the acceleration of NANI transfer to rivers by urbanization. Over the last decade, the N inputs have declined in the basins dominated by the fertilizer use but have increased in the basins dominated by the food and feed import. In the foreseeable future, urban areas may arise as new hotspots for nitrogen in China while fertilizer use may decline in importance in areas of high population density.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0638-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

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.     

福州市城市化进程与大气污染关系研究

以福州市为研究区域,选取福州市1996—2012年的时间序列数据,将大气污染物浓度作为被解释变量,城市化水平作为解释变量,分别设定二次曲线模型和三次曲线模型,通过比较PM10、SO2、NO2浓度与城市化水平的二次曲线和三次曲线模型的回归拟合效果,得出福州市大气污染与城市化水平之间的演化规律。结果表明,1996—2012年,福州市城市化水平平稳上升,城市的大气污染程度与城市化水平之间的关系并不完全符合"倒U型"的环境库兹涅茨曲线,不同的污染物类型具有不同的演化规律。PM10、SO2与城市化水平呈"倒N型"的曲线关系;NO2与城市化水平之间呈现"倒U型"曲线关系。由于研究的时间序列较短,因而研究结果可能只是真实曲线的一部分,福州市的大气污染与城市化水平之间的关系还有待进一步研究。     

石油降解菌Pseudomonas stutzeri TH-31的分离与降解条件优化

使用稀释富集法,从大港油田采油废水处理站生化池中定向快速的分离出多株高效石油降解菌株。对分离获得的1株优势菌株进行生理生化和分子生物学鉴定,显示属于Pseudomonas stutzeri的1个新菌株,命名为Pseudomonas stutzeri TH-31。通过批次实验,对菌株TH-31的生长条件和石油降解条件进行了优化,经过条件优化,P.stutzeri TH-31在初始p H 7,原油投加量为300 mg/L,35℃培养5 d后,获得最高石油烃降解率92.7%。