Even sampling designs generation by charges repulsion simulation

Evenly distributed sampling design is generally considered as an efficient sampling design. It is widely used in sampling for the environmental survey. In this paper, we present a novel method for generating N evenly distributed samples within a given irregular polygon via simulating the movements of some ideal homogeneous point charges. Initially, charges are randomly put into the sampling region; then, they are freed and held orderly; and after enough runs, the charges will finally reach a stable state with all of them having a zero resultant force and velocity; and so they distribute evenly within the region. Their layout can thus be considered as an evenly distributed sampling design. The main advantages of this method are: (1) it is easy to understand and implement; (2) it is efficient in both running and generating better designs. Analysis and experimental results indicate that this method is an efficient and robust method for generating even sampling designs for 2D polygonal sampling region.     

Occurrence and fate of steroid estrogens in the largest wastewater treatment plant in Beijing, China

Concern over steroid estrogens has increased rapidly in recent years due to their adverse health effects. Effluent discharge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is the main pollutant source for environmental water. To understand the pollutant level and fate of steroid estrogens in WWTPs, the occurrence of estrone (E1), 17-β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and 17-β-ethinylestradiol (EE2) was investigated in the Gaobeidian WWTP in Beijing, China. Water samples from influent as well as effluent from second sedimentation tanks and advanced treatment processes were taken monthly during 2006 to 2007. In influent, steroid estrogen concentrations varied from 11.6 to 1.1?×?10(2)?ng/l, 3.7 to 1.4?×?10(2)?ng/l, no detection (nd) to 7.6×10(2)?ng/l and nd to 3.3?×?10(2)?ng/l for E1, E2, E3, and EE2, respectively. Compared with documented values, the higher steroid estrogen concentrations in the WWTP influent may be due to higher population density, higher birthrate, less dilution, and different sampling time. Results revealed that a municipal WWTP with an activated sludge system incorporating anaerobic, anoxic, and aerobic processes could eliminate natural and synthetic estrogens effectively. The mean elimination efficiencies were 83.2%, 96.4%, 98.8%, and 93.0% for E1, E2, E3, and EE2, respectively. The major removal mechanism for natural estrogens and synthetic estrogen EE2 were biodegradation and sorption on the basis of mass balance in water, suspension particles, and sludge. In the WWTP effluent, however, the highest concentrations of E1, E2, E3, and EE2 attained were 74.2, 3.9, 5.1, and 4.6?ng/l, respectively. This is concerning as residual steroid estrogens in WWTP effluent could lead to pollution of the receiving water. Advanced flocculation treatment was applied in the WWTP and transformed the residual estrogen conjugates to free species, which were reduced further by filtration with removal shifting from 32% to 57% for natural estrogen, although no EE2 was removed.     

Changes in the sorption and rate of 17β-estradiol biodegradation by dissolved organic matter collected from different water sources

The potential biodegradation and subsequent transformation of 17β-estradiol (E2) to estrone (E1) were examined in the presence of various dissolved organic matter (DOM) isolated from effluent, river and lake waters. In addition, estrogenicity was estimated in association with the removal of E2 via its sorption onto DOM and biodegradation. The more biodegradable lake-derived DOM promoted more extensive transformation of E2 into E1 than the effluent organic matter through a biodegradation process. Overall, under all conditions, biodegradation dominated the removal of E2 in water. The increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in river and lake-derived DOM (e.g. 6.5 mg C L(-1)) reduced the removal of E2 by decreasing its biodegradation due to the moderate sorption of E2 onto DOM. The effluent organic matter showed greater removal of E2 via biodegradation, as well as significantly high sorption. This was associated with a large amount of hydrophobic fulvic acid (FA)- and humic acid (HA)-like organic components, as shown by the small increase in the specific UV absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA(254)). An increase in the DOC concentration reduced the removal of E2, resulting in high estrogenicity. The present study suggests that both organic composition and DOC concentration influenced the removal of E2 and, therefore, should be fully considered when assessing estrogenicity and its impacts on the aquatic environment.     

Chlorinated and brominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in surface sediment from Taihu Lake, China

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs) in surface sediment samples from Taihu Lake--an important water supply of the Yangtze River Delta, China--were investigated in the present study. Concentrations of PCDD/Fs ranged from 0.91 to 4.8 pg TEQ g(-1) dw (mean: 2.9 pg TEQ g(-1) dw, TEQ: Toxic Equivalent), which were all higher than the threshold effect level established by interim sediment quality guidelines in Canada (0.85 pg TEQ g(-1) dw). The levels of PBDD/Fs ranged from 0.16 to 1.6 pg TEQ g(-1) dw (mean: 0.52 pg TEQ g(-1) dw) and accounted for 5-33% (mean: 14%) of the total PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs TEQ. Comparatively, the abundance of sedimentary PCDD/Fs in the three regions (Meiliang Bay, Gonghu Bay, and Xukou Bay) showed a decreasing trend from the inflow region to the outflow region, while no significant difference was observed among their 2,3,7,8-PBDD/Fs levels, which suggested that the sources of PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs differed in this area. Principal component analysis suggested that the historical production/usage of pentachlorophenol and sodium pentachlorophenate was the dominant source of PCDD/Fs in the sediment of these regions. Although the specific sources of PBDD/Fs in the sediment of Taihu Lake were unclear, it was suspected to be due to atmospheric deposition; however, an additional study is needed to confirm this.     

Understanding the Price Dynamics in the Jiangsu SO2 Emissions Trading Program in China: A Multiple Periods Analysis

Because emissions permits can be considered to be a pseudo-commodity, the permit price in the emissions trading markets has already attracted great interest from the economic literature. This research took the Jiangsu sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions trading program in China as a case study to examine the price dynamics over the next 10 years (2011–2020) based on Jiangsu’s new SO₂ emissions trading policy design. An adaptive agent-based simulation model was developed to estimate the price dynamics as well as the impact of energy price, policy design, and new environmental regulation on the permit price. The results showed that the equilibrium price of the Jiangsu SO₂ emissions trading market is approximately 4.20 CNY/kg, and the permit price will fluctuate around this price if the other conditions are not changed. If the coal price increases during 2011–2016, the permit price will decline to 2.79 CNY/kg by 2020 under China’s current coal–electricity price mechanism. In addition, the banking mechanism will smooth the price fluctuations and the average permit price will be generally higher when banking is not allowed. Finally, the stricter environmental regulation will reduce the market supply of permits and will raise the permit price. According to China’s potential new SO₂ discharge standard, the permit price will jump to 11 CNY/kg. The quantification of the permit price dynamics can help power plants to make decisions on emissions trading.     

绿色交通与环境的可持续发展

汽车尾气是环境污染的重要来源之一。随着社会和人们对环境保护意识的增强,对道路交通汽车尾气的影响及防治越来越受到人们的重视。解决汽车污染问题．必须考虑中国国情,从环境保护、能源结构、城市建设（特别是道路建设）和汽车产业发展等方面入手,统筹使用清洁燃料、清洁的车辆技术,以及可持续的城市道路系统建设、环境管理措施,才能实现城市经济效益、社会效益和生态环境效益三者的统一。     

Predicting vehicle fuel consumption patterns using floating vehicle data

The status of energy consumption and air pollution in China is serious. It is important to analyze and predict the different fuel consumption of various types of vehicles under different influence factors. In order to fully describe the relationship between fuel consumption and the impact factors, massive amounts of floating vehicle data were used. The fuel consumption pattern and congestion pattern based on large samples of historical floating vehicle data were explored, drivers'' information and vehicles'' parameters from different group classification were probed, and the average velocity and average fuel consumption in the temporal dimension and spatial dimension were analyzed respectively. The fuel consumption forecasting model was established by using a Back Propagation Neural Network. Part of the sample set was used to train the forecasting model and the remaining part of the sample set was used as input to the forecasting model.     

Preliminary report on methane emissions from the Three Gorges Reservoir in the summer drainage period

Considerable variations may exist in CH4 emissions from the Three Gorges Reservoir.     

啤酒废水处理站的工程设计

本项目以哈尔滨啤酒(沈阳)有限公司啤酒厂为设计对象,其啤酒废水处理规模为1500m3/d,进水CODCr2000~2800mg/L。采用预处理-预酸化-IC反应器-活性污泥法-过滤为主体工艺,出水达到《辽宁省污水与废气排放标准》(DB21-60-89中一级标准)。为啤酒行业废水综合治理提供了较好的工艺途径。     

焚烧废气处理试验研究

介绍了有毒有害焚烧废气处理的原理及工艺流程,分析了焚烧废气中粉尘、HCl和NOx去除的原理,根据焚烧废气处理的试验结果,探讨了影响处理效果的因素.试验表明,在试验条件下,焚烧废气中的粉尘、NOx、HCl在吸收塔均达到较高的去除效率,其中粉尘的去除效率92%;NOx的去除效率平均58%,高的可达80%;HCl的去除效率平均达87%.随着液气比增大,其各种污染物的去除效率有所增加.