Groundwater contamination and natural attenuation capacity at a petroleum spilled facility in Korea

As a remedial option, the natural attenuation capacity of a petroleum contaminated groundwater at a military facility was examined. Hydrogeological conditions, such as high water level, permeable uppermost layer and frequent heavy rainfall, were favorable to natural attenuation at this site. The changes in the concentrations of electron acceptors and donors, as well as the relevant hydrochemical conditions, indicated the occurrence of aerobic respiration, denitrification, iron reduction, manganese reduction and sulfate reduction. The calculated BTEX expressed biodegradation capacity ranged between 20.52 and 33.67 mg/L, which appeared effective for the reduction of the contaminants levels. The contribution of each electron accepting process to the total biodegradation was in the order: denitrification > iron reduction > sulfate reduction > aerobic respiration > manganese reduction. The BTEX and benzene point attenuation rates were 0.0058-0.0064 and 0.0005-0.0032 day^-1, respectively, and the remediation time was 0.7-1.2 and 2.5-30 years, respectively. The BTEX and benzene bulk attenuation rates were 8.69 × 10^-4 and 1.05 × 10^-3 day^-1, respectively, and the remediation times for BTEX and benzene were 7.2 and 17.5 years, respectively. However, most of the natural attenuation occurring in this site can be attributed to dilution and dispersion. Consequently, the biodegradation and natural attenuation capacities were good enough to lower the contaminants levels, but their rates appeared to be insufficient to reach the remediation goal within a reasonable time frame. Therefore, some active remedial measures would be required.     

The social impact of natural hazards: a multi‐level analysis of disasters and forms of trust in mainland China

This study aimed to assess the multi‐level effects of natural hazards on trust in Chinese society. Drawing on the Chinese General Social Survey conducted in 2012 and provincial disaster damage records, it examined the association between individuals’ past experiences of disasters and province‐level damage (measured by the number of affected people, deaths, and economic loss) and various forms of trust: in‐group; out‐group; generalised; and political. The findings indicate that Chinese individuals with experience of disasters have higher levels of out‐group trust but lower levels of political trust. Similarly, at the province level, damage owing to disasters over the past three years (2009–11) positively impacted on residents’ out‐group trust while negatively affecting their political trust. However, when provincial damage was aggregated for disasters over the past five years (2007–11), which included the devastating Sichuan earthquake on 12 May 2008, only total deaths had a positive effect on generalised trust.     

Fouling distribution in forward osmosis membrane process

Fouling behavior along the length of membrane module was systematically investigated by performing simple modeling and lab-scale experiments of forward osmosis （FO） membrane process. The flux distribution model developed in this study showed a good agreement with experimental results, validating the robustness of the model. This model demonstrated, as expected, that the permeate flux decreased along the membrane channel due to decreasing osmotic pressure differential across the FO membrane. A series of fouling experiments were conducted under the draw and feed solutions at various recoveries simulated by the model. The simulated fouling experiments revealed that higher organic （alginate） fouling and thus more flux decline were observed at the last section of a membrane channel, as foulants in feed solution became more concentrated. Furthermore, the water flux in FO process declined more severely as the recovery increased due to more foulants transported to membrane surface with elevated solute concentrations at higher recovery, which created favorable solution environments for organic adsorption. The fouling reversibility also decreased at the last section of the membrane channel, suggesting that fouling distribution on FO membrane along the module should be carefully examined to improve overall cleaning efficiency. Lastly, it was found that such fouling distribution observed with co-current flow operation became less pronounced in counter- current flow operation of FO membrane process.     

Nitrogen mass balance in a constructed wetland treating piggery wastewater effluent

The nitrogen changes and the nitrogen mass balance in a free water surface flow constructed wetland （CW） using the four-year monitoring data from 2008 to 2012 were estimated. The CW was composed of six cells in series that include the first settling basin （Cell 1）, aeration pond （Cell 2）, deep marsh （Cell 3）, shallow marsh （Cell 4）, deep marsh （Cell 5） and final settling basin （Cell 6）. Analysis revealed that the NH4＋-N concentration decreased because of ammonification which was then followed by nitrification. The NO4＋-N and NO4＋-N were also further reduced by means of microbial activities and plant uptake during photosynthesis. The average nitrogen concentration at the influent was 37,819 kg/year and approximately 45% of that amount exited the CW in the effluent. The denitrification amounted to 34% of the net nitrogen input, whereas the accretion of sediment was only 7%. The biomass uptake of plants was able to retain only 1% of total nitrogen load. In order to improve the nutrient removal by plant uptake, plant coverage in four cells （i.e., Cells 1, 3, 4 and 5） could be increased.     

还原脱氯-生物联合降解2,4-二氯苯氧乙酸

采用Pd/Fe双金属对2,4-二氯苯氧乙酸(2,4-D)进行催化还原脱氯,以活性污泥对2,4-D脱氯产物进行生物氧化,考察初始pH、活性污泥量、污染物初始浓度、温度等因素对生物氧化的影响情况.通过PCR-变性梯度凝胶电泳分析污泥体系菌群变化情况,高效液相色谱测定来推测目标污染物的降解过程.结果表明:1 Pd/Fe双金属可有效还原2,4-D,其主要先还原为2-氯苯氧乙酸(2-CPA),最终顺序脱氯为苯氧乙酸(PA).2 2,4-D具有较大生物毒性,其脱氯产物毒性下降,更易被生物降解.3 pH=7、污泥量50 mL/200 mL、适量的初始PA浓度(14.6 mg·L-1)和30℃均有利于PA的去除.在该条件下反应96 h,PA去除率可达84.3%.     

Fenton氧化去除制药企业活性污泥中AOX的效果研究

用Fenton氧化处理合成制药企业活性污泥混合液,考察了不同Fe~(2+)、H_2O_2投加量和不同反应时间下污泥与上清液中AOX(可吸附有机卤代物)的去除效果,优化了反应条件,探讨了氧化机制.结果表明,Fenton氧化的最佳条件为H_2O_2投加量0.90 mol·L~(-1),Fe~(2+)投加量0.045 mol·L~(-1)[物质的量比为:n(Fe~(2+))∶n(H_2O_2)=1∶20],反应2 h,污泥和上清液中AOX可分别去除70.7%和78.5%.GC-MS分析结果显示,污泥中含有11种有机卤代物,Fenton氧化后有8种不再检出;3种仍有检出,但浓度有所降低,去除率约为40%~50%.与此同时,污泥中对二甲苯、邻苯二甲酸二异丁酯等非有机卤代物类有毒有害有机物也得到有效去除.     

EDTA优化纳米Pd/Fe对2,4-D的催化脱氯研究

采用EDTA优化纳米Pd/Fe催化脱氯水中2,4-二氯苯氧乙酸(2,4-D),并考察了EDTA投加浓度、pH、钯化率、温度等因素对2,4-D还原的影响.结果表明,EDTA的加入络合了纳米Pd/Fe在催化脱氯过程中生成的铁离子,抑制纳米Pd/Fe颗粒表面钝化层的形成,提高了体系的反应活性.适宜的EDTA浓度、低pH、高钯化率、低温等有利于2,4-D的还原脱氯.当EDTA浓度为25.0 mmol·L-1,纳米铁含量为1.0 g·L-1,初始pH=4.3、钯化率为0.5%,温度为25.0℃,搅拌速率为200 r·min~(-1)时,反应50 min,10.0 mg·L-1的2,4-D去除率及苯氧乙酸(PA)生成率均达到100%.     

2013年京津冀重污染特征及其气象条件分析

2013年中国东部地区多次发生持续的重霾污染事件.为探究其气象条件与重污染事件的关系,本文使用欧洲中心2013年东亚地区的逐日气象数据和北京、天津、石家庄的逐时PM_2.5浓度数据以及2013年MICAPS观测数据,分析了重污染事件对应的天气形势,并使用NAQMPS针对2013年1月的重污染事件进行情景模拟.研究结果表明：1北京、天津和石家庄地区PM_2.5浓度,夏秋季节日变化不显著,秋冬季节白天低夜间高;3地PM_2.5浓度均表现为12-1月浓度最高,7月最低;.2500 hPa平直西风气流,850 hPa弱暖平流,地面处于弱高压后部或高压底部高低空配置下的天气系统,对应着重污染事件的高发期;3源强不变的情况下,京津冀地区由弱高压前部控制转为弱高压控制时,地面温度升高0~5℃,相对湿度增加30%~50%,风速下降2~3 m·s^-1,PM_2.5浓度变化可达300 μg·m^-3.     

Estimating the extent and structure of trade in horticultural orchids via social media

The wildlife trade is a lucrative industry involving thousands of animal and plant species. The increasing use of the internet for both legal and illegal wildlife trade is well documented, but there is evidence that trade may be emerging on new online technologies such as social media. Using the orchid trade as a case study, we conducted the first systematic survey of wildlife trade on an international social‐media website. We focused on themed forums (groups), where people with similar interests can interact by uploading images or text (posts) that are visible to other group members. We used social‐network analysis to examine the ties between 150 of these orchid‐themed groups to determine the structure of the network. We found 4 communities of closely linked groups based around shared language. Most trade occurred in a community that consisted of English‐speaking and Southeast Asian groups. In addition to the network analysis, we randomly sampled 30 groups from the whole network to assess the prevalence of trade in cultivated and wild plants. Of 55,805 posts recorded over 12 weeks, 8.9% contained plants for sale, and 22–46% of these posts pertained to wild‐collected orchids. Although total numbers of posts about trade were relatively small, the large proportion of posts advertising wild orchids for sale supports calls for better monitoring of social media for trade in wild‐collected plants.     

Using the land transformation model to forecast vacant land

Growing or shrinking cities can experience increases in vacant land. As urban populations and boundaries fluctuate, holes can open in once tight urban areas. Many cities chase growth-oriented approaches to dealing with vacancies. It is critical to understand land-use alteration to accurately predict transformations of physical change in order to make better informed decisions about this phenomenon. This research utilizes the land transformation model (LTM), an artificial neural networking mechanism in Geographic Information Systems, to forecast vacant land. Variable influence on vacant land prediction and accuracy of the LTM is assessed by comparing input factors and patterns, using time-series data from 1990 to 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Results indicate that the LTM can be useful in simulating vacant land-use changes but more precise mechanisms are necessary to increase accuracy. This will allow for more proactive decisions to better regulate the process of urban decline and regeneration.