Reaction kinetics of waste sulfuric acid using H2O2 catalytic oxidation

The process of recovering waste sulfuric acids using H₂O₂ catalytic oxidation is studied in this paper. Activated carbon was used as catalyst. Main operating parameters, such as temperature, feed rate of H₂O₂, and catalyst dosage, have effects on the removal of impurities from waste sulfuric acids. The reaction kinetics of H₂O₂ catalytic oxidation on impurities are discussed. At a temperature of 90°C, H₂O₂ feeding rate of 50 g (kg waste acid)^?1 per hour, and catalyst dosage of 0.2 wt% (waste acid weight), the removal efficiencies of COD and chrominance were both more than 99%, the recovery ratio of sulfuric acid was more than 95%, and the utilization ratio of H₂O₂ was 88.57%.

Implications: Waste sulfuric acid is a big environmental problem in China. The amount of waste sulfuric acid is huge every year. Many small and medium-sized businesses produced lots of waste acids, but they don’t have an appropriate method to treat and recover them. H₂O₂ catalytic oxidation has been used to treat and recover waste sulfuric acid and activated carbon is the catalyst here. Main parameters, such as temperature, feed rate of H₂O₂, and catalyst dosage, have been investigated. The reaction kinetics are discussed. This method can be economical and feasible for most small and medium-sized businesses.     

Contamination status and potential release of trace metals in a mangrove forest sediment in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam

Can Gio district is located in the coastal area of Ho Chi Minh City, southern Vietnam. Discharge of wastewater from Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces to the rivers of Can Gio has led to concerns about the accumulation of trace metals (As, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the coastal sediments. The main objective of this study was to assess the distribution of As, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn in surface and core sediments and to evaluate the contamination status in relation to local background values, as well as the potential release of these selected trace metals from sediments to the water environment. Sediment characteristization, including determination of fine fraction, pH, organic matter, and major elements (Al, Fe, Ca, K, Mg, and S), was carried out to investigate which parameters affect the trace metal enrichment. Fine fraction and Al contents were found to be the controlling proxies affecting the distribution of trace metals while other sediment characteristics did not show any clear influence on trace metals’ distribution. Although As concentrations in the sediments were much higher compared to its reference value in other areas, the enrichment factor based on local background values suggests minor contamination of this element as well as for Cr, Cu, and Pb. Risk assessment suggested a medium to very high risk of Mn, Zn, and Ni under acidification. Of importance is also that trace metals in sediments were not easily mobilized by organic complexation based on their low extractabilities by ammonium-EDTA extraction.

     

MicroRNA: a novel implication for damage and protection against ionizing radiation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Ionizing radiation (IR) is a form of high energy. It poses a serious threat to organisms, but radiotherapy is a key therapeutic strategy for various...     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and n-alkane pollution characteristics and structural and functional perturbations to the microbial community: a case-study of historically petroleum-contaminated soil

Characterization of the typical petroleum pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes, and indigenous microbial community structure and function in historically contaminated soil at petrol stations is critical. Five soil samples were collected from a petrol station in Beijing, China. The concentrations of 16 PAHs and 31 n-alkanes were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The total concentrations of PAHs and n-alkanes ranged from 973 ± 55 to 2667 ± 183 μg/kg and 6.40 ± 0.38 to 8.65 ± 0.59 mg/kg (dry weight), respectively, which increased with depth. According to the observed molecular indices, PAHs and n-alkanes originated mostly from petroleum-related sources. The levels of ΣPAHs and the total toxic benzo[a]pyrene equivalent (ranging from 6.41 to 72.54 μg/kg) might exert adverse biological effects. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was employed to investigate the indigenous microbial community structure and function. The results revealed that Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were the most abundant phyla, and Nocardioides and Microbacterium were the important genera. Based on COG and KEGG annotations, the highly abundant functional classes were identified, and these functions were involved in allowing microorganisms to adapt to the pressure from contaminants. Five petroleum hydrocarbon degradation-related genes were annotated, revealing the distribution of degrading microorganisms. This work facilitates the understanding of the composition, source, and potential ecological impacts of residual PAHs and n-alkanes in historically contaminated soil.

     

Facile in situ synthesis of silver nanocomposites based on cellulosic paper for photocatalytic applications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this work, various photocatalysts were synthesized with an impregnation-precipitation process to in situ decorate Ag-based nanoparticles (NPs,...     

Bottom-up re-estimations of greenhouse gas and atmospheric pollutants derived from straw burning of three cereal crops production in China based on a national questionnaire

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Crop straw open burning is considered as an important source of greenhouse gas and atmospheric pollutants emissions, which affects global climate...     

开顶式气室原位研究水稻汞富集对大气汞浓度升高的响应

采用开顶式气室熏气实验和土壤加汞培育实验,原位研究水稻各器官汞富集对大气汞质量浓度升高的响应关系.结果表明,水稻根中汞含量与大气汞质量浓度无显著相关性(P0.05),与土壤汞含量呈显著正相关(R=0.998 8,P0.05),表明水稻根中的汞主要来自于对土壤中汞的吸收累积.水稻茎中汞含量随大气汞质量浓度的升高呈线性增加(RB=0.964 6,RU=0.983 1,P0.05),且上部茎中汞含量高于下部茎;茎下部汞含量随土壤汞含量的升高呈线性增加(R=0.990 1,P0.05),茎上部汞含量随土壤汞含量的升高呈二次拟合增加(R=0.998 9,P0.05),且下部茎汞含量高于上部茎,说明茎汞含量受土壤和大气汞浓度的共同影响.水稻叶中汞含量与大气汞质量浓度呈显著正相关(R=0.998 5,P0.05),与土壤汞含量也有很好的线性关系(R=0.998 3,P=0.058 5),表明水稻从大气吸收的汞主要积累在叶片中,从土壤吸收的汞主要富集在根中并通过茎部向叶部传输.利用实验建立的函数关系对水稻地上生物质中汞的大气来源估算,至少60%~94%和56%~77%水稻叶和上部茎中的汞来自大气,而大气对下部茎仅贡献8%~56%.由此水稻地上部分生物质汞主要来自对大气汞的吸收,为区域大气汞的收支及汞循环模型提供理论依据.     

不同湿地模型中根系微生物的多样性

为了研究不同植物和滤料组合的小型湿地模型在处理养殖池塘水体过程中根系微生物群落的特征,并分析植物对根系微生物富集的影响,本研究对两种植物(茭白和慈菇)和两种滤料(石榴石和磁铁矿)进行组合构建了6种不同的湿地模型,并利用高通量测序技术分析湿地植物根系微生物的结构特点和多样性.结果表明:不同湿地模型根系微生物的种类和数量各不相同;所有收集的微生物总体上属于52个门,118个纲,455科,905个属和1 426个种;根据Shannon指数,茭白(平均为5.77)比慈菇(平均为5.29)在微生物富集方面具有更强的能力;但是,慈菇和茭白根系微生物中变形菌门的比例分别平均为61.97%和51.78%,说明慈菇能够更好地富集变形菌.β-变形菌纲为实验期间不同植物根际富集的主要细菌类群.本研究结果为人工湿地植物优化选择提供了理论基础和湿地组合最佳构建提供了基础资料.     

Simulated reaction of formaldehyde and ambient atmospheric particulate matter using a chamber

The reaction of HCHO with Beijing winter's real ambient particulate matter(PM) inside a 3.3 m~3 Teflon Chamber was conducted in this study. NO_2, O_3 and H_2O gases were removed from the ambient aerosol before entering into the chamber. The decays of HCHO were monitored(acetylacetone spectrophotometry method) during the reactions at different PM number concentrations(N_a) and relative humidities(RHs), and the formed particulate formate was detected by IC and XPS techniques. The results showed that when RH was10%–15%, the decay rate of HCHO in the chamber was higher with the existence of PM from relatively clean days(with number concentration(N_a) 200,000 particle/L, 0.35–22.5 μm)compared to dirty days(N_a 200,000 particle/L, 0.35–22.5 μm). When RH increased to 30%–45%, PM can hardly have significant influences on the decay of HCHO. The formations of formate on the reacted PM were consistent with the HCHO decay rates at different ambient PM N_aand RH conditions. This is a first study related to the "real" ambient PM reacted with HCHO and suggested that in the clean and low RH days, PM could be an effective medium for the conversion of HCHO to formate.