Effect of environmental forcing on the fate of nutrients, dissolved organic matter and heavy metals released by a coastal wastewater pipeline

Discharges of nutrients, urea, dissolved organic matter and heavy metals by a sewage underwater pipeline are analysed in comparison to environmental conditions in a shallow coastal zone. Variable thermo-haline stratifications of the water column and currents in upper (2.62-34.97 cm s^-1) and deeper (0.83-10.91 cm s^-1) layers drive vertical diffusion and lateral transport of wastewaters. Loads of reactive phosphorus (0.13 tons d^-1) and ammonium (1.62 tons d^-1) by the pipeline are not negligible compared to the major river loads in the gulf. High concentrations of urea (≤11.51 μmol N dm^-3) were found in the area of wastewater release. Ammonium uptake (6.14-534 nmol N dm^-3 h^-1) strongly exceeded nitrate uptake (0.19-138 nmol N dm^-3 h^-1), indicating that discharges of ammonium by the pipeline are actively assimilated by plankton community even at low levels of light. Distribution of Zn (≤27.7 ppb), Cu (≤25.6 ppb), Cd (≤0.80 ppb) and Pb (≤13.5 ppb) in the water column and the measurement of their complex-forming capacity in seawater did not indicate a persistent perturbation of the pelagic environment due to heavy metals.     

Integrated geophysical surveys on waste dumps: evaluation of physical parameters to characterize an urban waste dump (four case studies in Italy).

Geophysical surveys were carried out on different waste dumps to evaluate key geometric and physical parameters. Depending on the dump dimensions and physical characteristics different geophysical techniques were used. Vertical electrical sounding, electrical resistivity tomography, induced polarization and seismic refraction techniques were integrated to eliminate the non-uniqueness of solutions and for a better understanding of the results. Physical parameters inside and outside the dumps were compared. The change of physical parameters such as resistivity, chargeability, and P-wave velocity allowed evaluation of waste dump geometry, leachate saturation levels, and thickness of waste. Furthermore, in illegal dumps, the size and waste type disposed could be evaluated. Calculated results were compared with plans and book-keeping from the dumps investigated.     

Microbial biomass yield and turnover in soil biodegradation tests: carbon substrate effects

Most of the standardized biodegradation tests used to assess the ultimate biodegradation of environmentally degradable polymers are based solely on the determination of net evolved carbon dioxide. However, under aerobic conditions, it has to be considered that heterotrophic microbial consortia metabolize carbon substrates both to carbon dioxide and in the production of new cell biomass. It is generally accepted that in the relatively short term, 50% of the carbon content of most organic substrates is converted to CO₂, with the remaining carbon being assimilated as biomass or incorporated into humus. The latter is particularly important when the metabolism of the organic matter occurs in a soil environment. A straightforward relationship between the free-energy content of a carbon substrate (expressed as the standard free-energy of combustion) and its propensity for conversion to new microbial biomass rather than mineralization to CO₂ has been established. This can potentially lead to underestimation of biodegradation levels of test compounds, especially when they consist of carbon in a fairly low formal oxidation state and relatively high free-energy content. In the present work, the metabolism of different kind of carbon substrates, especially in soil, is reviewed and compared with our own experimental results from respirometric tests. The results show that conversion of highly oxidized materials, such as the commonly used reference materials, cellulose or starch, to CO₂ may be significantly overestimated. The addition of glucosidic material to soil leads to greatly increased respiration and is accompanied by a very low conversion to biomass or humic substances. In contrast, relatively less oxidized substrates metabolize more slowly to give both CO₂ and biomass to an extent which may be significantly underestimated if glucosidic materials are used as the reference. The need for an overall carbon balance taking into account both the carbon immobilized as biomass and that volatized as CO₂ must be considered in standard respirometric procedures for assessing the biodegradability of slowly degrading macromolecules.     

Ultrafine particle emission characteristics of diesel engine by on-board and test bench measurement

This study investigated the emission characteristics of ultrafine particles based on test bench and on-board measurements. The bench test results showed the ultrafine particle number concentration of the diesel engine to be in the range of (0.56-8.35) × 10⁸ cm^-3. The on-board measurement results illustrated that the ultrafine particles were strongly correlated with changes in real-world driving cycles. The particle number concentration was down to 2.0 × 10⁶ cm^-3 and 2.7 × 10⁷ cm^-3 under decelerating and idling operations and as high as 5.0 × 10⁸ cm^-3 under accelerating operation. It was also indicated that the particle number measured by the two methods increased with the growth of engine load at each engine speed in both cases. The particle number presented a "U" shaped distribution with changing speed at high engine load conditions, which implies that the particle number will reach its lowest level at medium engine speeds. The particle sizes of both measurements showed single mode distributions. The peak of particle size was located at about 50-80 nm in the accumulation mode particle range. Nucleation mode particles will significantly increase at low engine load operations like idling and decelerating caused by the high concentration of unburned organic compounds.     

恶臭假单胞菌好氧降解高氯联苯的蛋白质组分析

利用固相pH梯度双向凝胶电泳分离恶臭假单胞菌以葡萄糖和Aroclor1260作为营养基质生长的菌株总蛋白,凝胶经银蓝显色后,采用PDQuest图像分析软件比较、分析识别差异表达蛋白,应用MOLDI-TOF-MS得到相应的肽质量指纹图谱,然后搜索数据库鉴定部分差异蛋白点.结果表明,获得了分辨率较高、重复性较好的不同营养基质条件下菌株蛋白的双向凝胶电泳图谱,比较分析共发现80个差异蛋白点,成功鉴定14个差异表达蛋白,包括应激应答蛋白、蛋白质生物合成、运载体和代谢相关酶类.提示与葡萄糖作为生长基质相比,菌体以多氯联苯作为碳源和能源生长时,产生应激,通过增强应激响应蛋白、蛋白质生物合成相关蛋白和相关代谢酶类的表达使细胞在胁迫条件下维持自身的稳定性与生长代谢.     

适冷微生物研究进展及应用现状

适冷微生物(包括嗜冷微生物、耐冷微生物)是在低温下仍具有生存和繁殖的能力的一类微生物,低温会对微生物产生如酶活性降低、膜流动性变差、蛋白质冷变性、不适当的蛋白质空间折叠和低温下细胞内部构造破坏等不利影响。适冷微生物能克服低温带来的消极影响,并能在极端环境下生长及代谢。随着宏基因组测序、蛋白质组学以及其它分析手段在环境微生物中的应用,作者对低温微生物的一些适应性改变有了新的认识。酶活性中心结构的改变、膜中脂质成分含量的增加,冷适应蛋白的快速表达等都被证明在对低温适应中起着重要作用。文章综述了适冷微生物的适冷机理及其在污染控制领域的应用,为适冷微生物的实际工程应用提供参考,为适冷微生物在环境工程中的进一步广泛应用奠定基础。     

北京地区大气消光特征及参数化研究

为了研究大气消光系数的特征及规律,从2013~2014年在北京地区对大气能见度、气溶胶质量浓度、气溶胶散射系数、黑碳质量浓度、反应性气体以及气象要素开展了系统加强观测,并对已发表的气溶胶光散射吸湿增长因子[f(RH)]拟合方案进行了对比,系统分析了大气消光特征和影响大气消光能力的关键因子,最终建立了大气消光系数参数化模型,探讨不同季节、不同污染条件下参数化方案的特征.结果表明,气溶胶散射作用占环境总消光作用的94%以上,在夏秋季,相对湿度可以使气溶胶的散射能力提升70%~80%.包含气溶胶质量浓度和相对湿度两个因子的参数化模型,可以较好地体现出气溶胶和相对湿度对大气消光系数的影响机制,以及消光能力的季节差异.