Spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments of the Nansi Lake, China

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in surface sediments and dated core sediments from the Nansi Lake of China to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics. The concentrations of 16 kinds priority PAH compounds were determined by GC-MS method. And ²¹⁰Pb isotope dating method was used to determine the chronological age of the sediment as well as the deposition rate. The results indicated that the total PAHs concentration ranges in surface and core sediment samples were 160 ~32,600 and 137 ~ 693 ng/g (dry wt.), respectively. The sediment rate and the average mass sedimentation were calculated to be 0.330 cm·year^???1 and 0.237 g·cm^???2·yr^???1 and the sediment time of the collected core sample ranged from 1899 to 2000. The peak of PAH concentrations came at recent years. The source analysis showed PAHs mainly came from the contamination of low temperature pyrogenic processes, such as coal combustion. The PAHs concentrations were lower than ERL and LEL values for most collected samples. However, in several surface sediment samples especially in estuary sites, the PAHs concentrations were not only higher than ERL and LEL values, but also higher than ERM values.     

Catalytic activity of Ru/Al2O3 for ozonation of dimethyl phthalate in aqueous solution

With dimethyl phthalate as the model pollutant and Ru/Al(2)O(3) as catalyst, this paper systemically investigates the removal of total organic carbon (TOC) of system. Our results have confirmed that Ru/Al(2)O(3) can significantly increase the effect of ozonation. TOC removal in 120 min can reach 72% while only 24% with ozone alone. The optimal catalyst preparing condition was 0.1 wt% Ru content, 600 degrees C calcination temperature, 0.5-1.0mm particle diameter, which is characterized by a high surface area and a large population of surface active sites. The contrasting experiments of ozone alone, catalyst adsorption after ozonation, and catalytic ozonation confirmed that catalytic reaction was the most important process to TOC removal in system with Ru/Al(2)O(3) as catalyst.     

The ageing effect on the bioaccessibility and fractionation of arsenic in soils from China

Ingestion of contaminated soil has been recognized as an important exposure pathway of arsenic for humans, especially for children through outdoor hand-to-mouth activities. An improved sequential extraction procedure was employed in an attempt to reveal the relationship between bioaccessibility and fractionation of As in five soils from China. Arsenic bioaccessibility in acidic ( approximately pH 4.5) soils reached approximately stable levels after a sharp decline within one week of ageing. In contrast, As bioaccessibility in higher pH (>6.0) soils was found to be significantly higher and took two weeks of ageing to reach stable levels. The artificially added As was more labile than indigenous As. The main proportions of added As were found in the specifically sorbed and amorphous and poorly-crystalline hydrous Fe/Al oxide-bound fractions. Correlation analysis shows that the non-specifically and specifically sorbed As are likely to constitute the main proportion of bioaccessible soil As. The soil content of amorphous and crystalline Fe/Al oxides and soil pH appear to be the key factors controlling, not only the time needed to reach a steady state, but also the magnitude of the bioaccessibility of As added to the soils.     

The study of distribution and fate of nitrobenzene in a water/sediment microcosm

In November 2005, an explosion occurred at a petrochemical plant of the Jilin Petrochemical Corporation in Jilin Province, China. A nearby water body was seriously polluted with a large spill of toxic substances made up of a mixture of benzene, aniline, and nitrobenzene (NB). To understand the long term impact of NB on public health and ecosystem around the Songhua River, it was necessary to investigate its fate in the environment. In this study, a microcosm was used to mimic the polluted water system and to study the transport and fate of NB in the river water body. The volatility and biodegradation of NB was investigated and a Markov model was applied to predict the fate of NB in the environment. The simulated results matched very well with the results obtained from the microcosm experiment. The model indicated that at room temperature and after around 500 h, there was only residual NB in the water and sediment. Most of the NB (around 82%) evaporated into the air and 18% was degraded by microorganisms.     

Well water contaminated by acidic mine water from the Dabaoshan Mine, south China: chemistry and toxicity

An investigation into well water quality was carried out in a rural area subject to irrigation with acidic mine water from the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine, southern China. The results of water pH measurements from 112 wells in two different seasons suggest that the well water has been contaminated to varying degrees in the investigated Shangba floodplain (approximately 11km south of the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine). There is a trend that well water pH increased southwards, suggesting that the impacts of acidic irrigation water on groundwater decreased with increasing distance to the entry point of acidic irrigation water. Water quality monitoring results of the selected wells show that Cu and Cd in the water exceeded the limits set in the Chinese National Standards for Drinking Water (GB 5749-85) for the wells close to the irrigation water source. If the World Health Organization (WHO) standard was considered, Cd in some wells was almost 10 times as high as the WHO guideline value (0.003mg l(-1)). Water collected from the location closest to the acidic irrigation water source was acutely toxic to the test organism (Daphnia carinata) even after 51 time dilution. It is likely that the extremely high mortality rate of the local population reported for the study area is at least partly related to the high levels of heavy metals, particularly Cd in the drinking well water.     

Efficiency of surfactant-enhanced desorption for contaminated soils depending on the component characteristics of soil-surfactant--PAHs system

The sorption of surfactants onto soils has a significant effect on the performance of surfactant enhanced desorption. In this study, the efficiency of surfactants in enhancing desorption for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminated soils relative to water was evaluated with a term of relative efficiency coefficient (REC). Since the sorption of surfactants onto soils, surfactants only enhanced PAH desorption when REC values were larger than 1 and the added surfactant concentration was greater than the corresponding critical enhance desorption concentration (CEDC), which was defined as the corresponding surfactant concentration with REC=1. A model was utilized to describe and predict the REC and CEDC values for PAH desorption. The model and experimental results indicated that the efficiency of surfactants in enhancing PAH desorption showed strong dependence on the soil composition, surfactant structure and PAH properties. These results are of practical interest for the selection of surfactant to optimize soil remediation technologies.     

Biohydrogen production through fermentation using liquid swine manure as substrate

In this paper, continuous production of hydrogen through fermentation with liquid swine manure as substrate was researched using a semi-continuously fed fermenter (8 L in total volume and 4 L in working volume). The pH and temperature for the fermenter were controlled at 5.3 +/- 0.1 and 35 +/- 1 degrees C, respectively, throughout the experiment. Three hydraulic retention times (16, 20, and 24 h) were investigated for their impact on the efficiency and performance of the fermenter in terms of hydrogen yields. The results indicate that hydraulic retention time (HRT) has a strong influence on the fermenter performance. An increasing HRT would increase the variation in hydrogen concentration in the offgas. To produce hydrogen with a fairly consistent concentration, the HRT of the fermenter should not exceed 16 h, which, however, did not appear to be short enough to control methanogenesis because the offgas still contained about 5% methane. When methane content in the offgas exceeded 2%, an inverse linear relationship between hydrogen and methane was observed with a correlation coefficient of 0.9699. To increase hydrogen content in the offgas, methane production has to be limited to below 2%. Also, keeping oxygen content in the fermenter below 1.5% would increase the hydrogen concentration to over 15%. The product to substrate ratio was found to be around 50% for the fermenter system studied, evidenced by the observation that for every 6 liters of manure fermented, 3 liters of pure hydrogen were produced, which was significant and encouraging.     

The impact of sewage irrigation on the uptake of mercury in corn plants (Zea mays) from suburban Beijing

The impact of sewage irrigation on the uptake and translocation of mercury (Hg) in corn plants (Zea mays) was investigated. Corn plants were harvested the same day from two nearby fields in suburban Beijing, one irrigated historically with sewage effluent, and one irrigated solely with groundwater. Hg content was analyzed in the soil, roots and stems, while percent moisture and soil organic content were analyzed in the soil samples. The concentration of Hg in the soil and roots, and the soil organic content were not significantly different between the two fields, despite the historic practice of sewage irrigation. Hg content in roots was positively correlated with soil Hg concentration (r=0.95, n=6). The transfer coefficients between roots and stems were significantly higher in the control site (control: 2.06, sewage-irrigated: 0.44, p<0.05), indicating that the barrier effect of the roots was not consistent between the two fields.     

Source analysis of particulate-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in an urban atmosphere of a northern city in China

Particle-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were investigated at six sampling sites in the heating (February to March 2001) and nonheating (August to September 2001) periods in an industrial city in Northern China. Thirteen PAHs were measured. The total average concentrations (nanograms per meter cubed) of PAHs ranged between 78.93 and 214.63 during the heating period and from 31.48 to 102.26 in the nonheating period. Benzo(a)pyrene occurred at the highest level at a site near an industrial area but occurred at low concentrations far from the city center and industrial areas. In addition, ambient PAH profiles were studied. The five and six-ring species occurred in high fractions at the sampling site. By diagnostic ratio analysis, the major source at each sampling site in the city was coal combustion in the heating period; in the nonheating period, the major sources were relatively complex. Finally, the similarities among the six regions were assessed by principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and coefficient of divergence. These multivariate statistical analyses produced similar results, which agreed with the results from the diagnostic ratio analysis.