Nitrogen limited biobarriers remove atrazine from contaminated water: laboratory studies

Atrazine is one of the most frequently used herbicides. This usage coupled with its mobility and recalcitrant nature in deeper soils and aquifers makes it a frequently encountered groundwater contaminant. We formed biobarriers in sand filled columns by coating the sand with soybean oil; after which, we inoculated the barriers with a consortium of atrazine-degrading microorganisms and evaluated the ability of the barriers to remove atrazine from a simulated groundwater containing 1 mg L(-1) atrazine. The soybean oil provided a carbon rich and nitrogen poor substrate to the microbial consortium. Under these nitrogen-limiting conditions it was hypothesized that bacteria capable of using atrazine as a source of nitrogen would remove atrazine from the flowing water. Our hypothesis proved correct and the biobarriers were effective at removing atrazine when the nitrogen content of the influent water was low. Levels of atrazine in the biobarrier effluents declined with time and by the 24th week of the study no detectable atrazine was present (limit of detection<0.005 mg L(-1)). Larger amounts of atrazine were also removed by the biobarriers; when biobarriers were fed 16.3 mg L(-1) atrazine 97% was degraded. When nitrate (5 mg L(-1) N), an alternate source of nitrogen, was added to the influent water the atrazine removal efficiency of the barriers was reduced by almost 60%. This result supports the hypothesis that atrazine was degraded as a source of nitrogen. Poisoning of the biobarriers with mercury chloride resulted in an immediate and large increase in the amount of atrazine in the barrier effluents confirming that biological activity and not abiotic factors were responsible for most of the atrazine degradation. The presence of hydroxyatrazine in the barrier effluents indicated that dehalogenation was one of the pathways of atrazine degradation. Permeable barriers might be formed in-situ by the injection of innocuous vegetable oil emulsions into an aquifer or sandy soil and used to remove atrazine from a contaminated groundwater or to protect groundwater from an atrazine spill.     

Assessment of a regulatory model's performance relative to large spatial heterogeneity in observed ozone in Houston, Texas

In Houston, some of the highest measured 8-hr ozone (O3) peaks are characterized by sudden increases in observed concentrations of at least 40 ppb in 1 hr or 60 ppb in 2 hr. Measurements show that these large hourly changes appear at only a few monitors and span a narrow geographic area, suggesting a spatially heterogeneous field of O3 concentrations. This study assessed whether a regulatory air quality model (AQM) can simulate this observed behavior. The AQM did not reproduce the magnitude or location of some of the highest observed hourly O3 changes, and it also failed to capture the limited spatial extent. On days with measured large hourly changes in O3 concentrations, the AQM predicted high O3 over large regions of Houston, resulting in overpredictions at several monitors. This analysis shows that the model can make high O3, but on these days the predicted spatial field suggests that the model had a different cause. Some observed large hourly changes in O3 concentrations have been linked to random releases of industrial volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In the AQM emission inventory, there are several emission events when an industrial point source increases VOC emissions in excess of 10,000 mol/hr. One instance increased predicted downwind O3 concentrations up to 25 ppb. These results show that the modeling system is responsive to a large VOC release, but the timing and location of the release, and meteorological conditions, are critical requirements. Attainment of the O3 standard requires the use of observational data and AQM predictions. If the large observed hourly changes are indicative of a separate cause of high O3, then the model may not include that cause, which might result in regulators enacting control strategies that could be ineffective.     

基于保护的瓷窑型遗址绿化改造研究——以长沙铜官窑遗址为例

瓷窑型遗址由于其埋藏浅、需要恒温恒湿等特点,对绿化的要求与其它遗址不尽相同。基于保护为主的绿化改造是瓷窑型遗址保护的重要内容。文章以长沙铜官窑遗址为例,在分析了长沙铜官窑遗址的植被组成、绿化现状以及现有植被对遗址保护的利弊基础上,提出了基于保护为主的绿化改造总体设想、主要对策措施和技术模式,希望为中国瓷窑型遗址的绿化改造提供借鉴。     

道路交通噪声预测模型研究进展

在介绍道路交通噪声预测模型的基本框架和主要考虑因素的基础上,较全面介绍了国内外道路交通噪声预测模型研究的最新进展.分析了预测模型方面存在的问题,并讨论了这一环境声学领域的未来发展方向.      

中国公路建设项目环境保护管理综述

综述了中国公路建没项目环境保护管理的有关规定，包括环境保护管理的内容与程序、分类管理、环境影响评价市批与环境影响咨洵收费管理等。     

Long-term temporal-spatial dynamics of marine coastal water quality in the Tolo Harbor, Hong Kong, China

IntroductionToloHarborislocatedinthenortheasternpartofHongKong .Itisanearlyland lockedwaterbodywithonlyonenarrowexittotheopenseaatMirsBay(Fig .1) .Itslengthandsurfaceareaareapproximately 15kmand 5 2km2 ,respectively .Theaveragedepthvariesfromlessthan10min…     

太湖水污染近期变动趋势及对策建议

太湖水污染是公众普遍关心的环境问题之一。根据近3年调查资料,对太湖水污染治理措施(工业污染源达标排放、城市污水处理厂的建设、畜禽和水产养殖污水的治理、河道清淤和引水工程、农业面源治理及禁用含磷洗涤剂等)、水质变动趋势及影响太湖水质变化的原因进行了分析,并提出了相应的对策建议,以期为太湖水污染的进一步治理提供科学依据。     

铜铈复合氧化物催化降解甲基橙

采用水热法制备的铜铈复合氧化物能够直接催化降解甲基橙,探究了铜铈摩尔比、pH、投加量对催化降解效果的影响。研究发现,pH=3.5、Cu/Ce=1、投加量1.0 g·L-1时,甲基橙的降解效果最佳。在0.5~1.0 g·L-1之间时,随着投加量的增加,甲基橙的脱色速率加快,脱色率也有所增加。随着溶液中的pH逐渐下降,甲基橙脱色率有所增加,pH=3.5时,甲基橙脱色率最高;而进一步降低pH至3.0时,脱色率反而下降,可能是强酸腐蚀了金属氧化物表层,降低了甲基橙的降解效果。甲基橙主要因其被降解而脱色,促使甲基橙脱色的活性物质为·OH,且与体系中的分子氧有关,反应过程消耗一定的H+。     

Sequestration of organochlorine pesticides in soils of distinct organic carbon content

In the present study, five soil samples with organic carbon contents ranging from 0.23% to 7.1% and aged with technical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) for 15 months were incubated in a sealed chamber to investigate the dynamic changes of the OCP residues. The residues in the soils decreased over the incubation period and finally reached a plateau. Regression analysis showed that degradable fractions of OCPs were negatively correlated with soil organic carbon (SOC) except for α-HCH, while no correlation was found between degradation rate and SOC, which demonstrated that SOC content determines the OCP sequestration fraction in soil. Analysis of the ratio of DDT and its primary metabolites showed that, since it depends on differential sequestration among them, magnitude of (p,p′-DDE + p,p′-DDD)/p,p′-DDT is not a reliable criterion for the identification of new DDT sources.