Influences of macroalga-derived dissolved organic carbon on the aquatic toxicity of copper and cadmium

In this study, the effect of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) derived from macroalga (Sargassum) on the acute toxicity of copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) to a freshwater cladoceran (Daphnia magna) was investigated. Potassium-loaded macroalga was incubated with ultrapure water to extract macroalgal DOC, which was then spiked with the constituents of the Elendt M7 hard water media. The 48 h median lethal concentration of Cu increased linearly with DOC levels but that of Cd was relatively independent of DOC levels (0-44 mg l(-1)). The independence of Cd toxicity on DOC level might be due to the competitive effect of high calcium concentrations in the media with Cd for the binding sites of DOC. The decreased Cu toxicity was a result of reduced Cu uptake as evidenced in a separate accumulation test. Also, the capability of the macroalgal DOC on reducing Cu toxicity was found to be comparable to DOC tested in other studies. Therefore, the present study suggested that the biosorption treatment process using macroalgae should consider the effect of DOC release from the biomass as a step of modifying the metal toxicity as well as influencing metal biosorption capacity.     

Kinetics on the decomposition of polychlorinated biphenyls with activated carbon-supported iron

The process of destroying polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) generates exhaust gases that contain low quantities of PCBs, which cannot be disposed of easily. Activated carbon (AC) can be used to adsorb residual PCBs after disposal of high-level PCBs. We examined the chemical reactivity of AC-supported iron as a catalyst to decompose PCB-153, and varied three decomposition parameters (temperature, time and iron concentration) under an atmosphere of either air or N(2). We measured the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and pore volume of AC to assess the adsorption capacity of AC before and after decomposition. At low temperatures the adsorption process was more important than the decomposition process. The decomposition process was completed within 30 and 60 min under air and N(2), respectively. The efficiency of PCB-153 decomposition at 350 degrees C for 120 min was approximately 100.0% and 97.1% under air and N(2), respectively. Analysis of inorganic chloride ions revealed that PCB-153 was effectively destroyed during decomposition. The differences between decomposition under air and N(2) reflected differences in BET surface and pore volume.     

Methods for the preparation of a biodesulfurization biocatalyst using Rhodococcus sp

Several methods to prepare a biodesulfurization (BDS) biocatalyst were investigated in this study using a strain of Rhodococcus sp. 1awq. This bacterium could selectively remove sulfur from dibenzothiophene (DBT) via the "4S" pathway. DBT, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), sodium sulphate and mixed sulfur sources were used to study their influence on cell density, desulfurization activity, desulfurization ability, and the cost of biocatalyst production. In contrast to that observed from bacteria cultured in DBT, only partial desulfurization activity of strain 1awq was induced by DBT after cultivation in a medium containing inorganic sulfur as the sole sulfur source. The biocatalyst, prepared from culture with mixed sulfur sources, was found to possess desulfurization activity. With DMSO as the sole sulfur source, the desulfurization activity was shown to be similar to that of bacteria incubated in medium with DBT as the sole sulfur source. The biocatalyst prepared by this method with the least cost could remove sulfur from hydrodesulfurization (HDS)-treated diesel oil efficiently, providing a total desulfurization percent of 78% and suggesting its cost-effective advantage.     

A robust approach for iterative contaminant source location and release history recovery

Contamination source identification is a crucial step in environmental remediation. The exact contaminant source locations and release histories are often unknown due to lack of records and therefore must be identified through inversion. Coupled source location and release history identification is a complex nonlinear optimization problem. Existing strategies for contaminant source identification have important practical limitations. In many studies, analytical solutions for point sources are used; the problem is often formulated and solved via nonlinear optimization; and model uncertainty is seldom considered. In practice, model uncertainty can be significant because of the uncertainty in model structure and parameters, and the error in numerical solutions. An inaccurate model can lead to erroneous inversion of contaminant sources. In this work, a constrained robust least squares (CRLS) estimator is combined with a branch-and-bound global optimization solver for iteratively identifying source release histories and source locations. CRLS is used for source release history recovery and the global optimization solver is used for location search. CRLS is a robust estimator that was developed to incorporate directly a modeler's prior knowledge of model uncertainty and measurement error. The robustness of CRLS is essential for systems that are ill-conditioned. Because of this decoupling, the total solution time can be reduced significantly. Our numerical experiments show that the combination of CRLS with the global optimization solver achieved better performance than the combination of a non-robust estimator, i.e., the nonnegative least squares (NNLS) method, with the same solver.     

Sleepiness among night-time drivers: relationship to blood alcohol concentration and other factors

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to explore the distribution and correlates of subjective sleepiness among the general night-time driving population. METHODS: The survey took place in three British Columbia communities in June 2003 between 21:00 hours to 03:00 hours. Sites and vehicles were selected randomly. Surveyors obtained information on several demographic and situational variables including self-assessed degree of sleepiness and self-reported hours asleep and awake, as well as an objective measure of blood alcohol concentration obtained from a hand-held breath-testing device. RESULTS: The total compliance rate among intercepted drivers was 85%. Among the 2335 drivers responding to the questionnaire, 68.4% indicated that they were wide awake, 27.6% were somewhat sleepy, and 4.1% were very sleepy. Logistic regression quantified the independent contributions of the various factors to subjective sleepiness. Male drivers with positive blood alcohol concentrations under 50 mg% were more likely to report feeling sleepy than those with either higher or with zero blood alcohol concentration. Greater relative risk of sleepiness was also associated with being female, being under age 55, and advanced hour of night. Driving with passengers of the same gender was associated with lower reported sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of night-time drivers are driving while sleepy, especially at late night and early morning hours. The combination of alcohol and sleepiness compounds impairment in experimental studies and deserves greater attention in crash risk studies and as a topic for public education and awareness.     

回收法氧化镁湿法烟气脱硫机理和工艺基础研究

以氧化镁浆液作为吸收液,对空气与SO₂混合气的鼓泡吸收做了全过程的实验观察.测试分析表明,在高效而稳定的脱硫过程中,吸收液的酸化是由HSO₃^-所致;酸化趋势与SO₂水解规律相一致,由初期高pH值下SO₃^2-为主的缓变到低pH值下HSO₃^-为主的剧变;吸收液温度对脱硫率的影响不敏感;MgSO₃相对高的溶解度和易氧化性及MgSO₄良好的水溶性保持了MgO脱硫的高效率(>98%)和高利用率.燃煤烟气脱硫工业试验确认了MgSO₄经吸收液循环可提浓至实验温度(40～50℃)下的饱和浓度而不产生有害影响,脱硫率因脱硫活性物质的富集反而提高,从而显示出回收工艺的技术经济可行性.     

Distribution and dissipation pathways of nonylphenol polyethoxylates in the Yellow River: Site investigation and lab-scale studies

Spatial distribution of nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEOs) and nonylphenol (NP) was investigated in a field study in Lanzhou Reach of the Yellow River. NPEOs and their metabolites were found in the river, with the maximum dissolved concentrations of 6.38 nmol/L for NPEOs, 0.19 nmol/L for nonylphenol ethoxy acetic acids (NPECs) and 0.79 nmol/L for NP, respectively. The maximum concentrations in the sediment and suspended particle samples were 1.50 and 5.09 nmol/g for NPEOs and NP, respectively. The effects of particles, light and microorganism on the dissipation of NPEOs in the river water were investigated based on lab-scale experiments. When natural particles were removed, 72% and 22% degradation of NPEOs were achieved at 120 h in non-sterile and sterile conditions with light, respectively. Different concentrations of NPECs were also observed in these experiments. When suspended particle matters (SPMs) were present, about 38-50% of NPEOs were sorbed to the particulate phase in only 1 h. As a result, the degradation of NPEOs and production of NPECs were inhibited. However, the combined sorption and degradation in the presence of SPMs resulted in lower dissolved NPEO concentrations than those in the absence of SPMs. Biodegradation was the most important pathway for NPEOs degradation in the river water, while NPECs seemed to be produced through both biological and abiological pathways.     

振动加载下转换型密封电磁继电器的性能退化行为研究

目的研究航空用继电器的失效机理。方法通过对电磁继电器进行振动与工作载荷单独施加以及二者综合加载情况下的试验方法及性能退化行为研究,实时监测继电器内部触点间接触电阻等性能参数的变化趋势,并对不同条件下触点表面的微观形貌进行对比分析。结果发现相比较工作载荷单独施加而言,振动应力的加入使得继电器的寿命大幅度降低,并使得触点表面呈现"雪花"一般的形貌。结论振动环境导致了触点之间电弧的变化,以及触点表面接触压力、接触面积和接触超程等,并通过燃弧时间和超程时间的变化趋势对其进行了验证。     

油层注水过程中水质不合要求的危害及保护措施

分析了油田在二次采油注水过程中,对水质的要求,讨论了水质不合格带来的危害并提出了保护措施.     

企业安全评价分析的主成分方法

依据某机车车辆厂的特点,建立了安全性评价指标体系,并应用主成分分析法对数据进行分析处理,求出指标综合表达式和排序结果,从而得到指标的客观权重,并指出了主成分法应用于安全评价中的特点。