Characterization of the archaeal community fouling a membrane bioreactor

Biofilm formation, one of the primary causes of biofouling, results in reduced membrane flux or increased transmembrane pressure and thus represents a major impediment to the wider implementation of membrane bioreactor(MBR) technologies for water purification. Most studies have focused on the role of bacteria in membrane fouling as they are the most dominant and best studied organisms present in the MBR. In contrast, there is limited information on the role of the archaeal community in biofilm formation in MBRs. This study investigated the composition of the archaeal community during the process of biofouling in an MBR. The archaeal community was observed to have lower richness and diversity in the biofilm than the sludge during the establishment of biofilms at low transmembrane pressure(TMP). Clustering of the communities based on the Bray–Curtis similarity matrix indicated that a subset of the sludge archaeal community formed the initial biofilms. The archaeal community in the biofilm was mainly composed of Thermoprotei, Thermoplasmata,Thermococci, Methanopyri, Methanomicrobia and Halobacteria. Among them, the Thermoprotei and Thermoplasmata were present at higher relative proportions in the biofilms than they were in the sludge. Additionally, the Thermoprotei, Thermoplasmata and Thermococci were the dominant organisms detected in the initial biofilms at low TMP, while as the TMP increased, the Methanopyri, Methanomicrobia, Aciduliprofundum and Halobacteria were present at higher abundances in the biofilms at high TMP.     

Genomic analyses of metal resistance genes in three plant growth promoting bacteria of legume plants in Northwest mine tailings,China

To better understand the diversity of metal resistance genetic determinant from microbes that survived at metal tailings in northwest of China, a highly elevated level of heavy metal containing region, genomic analyses was conducted using genome sequence of three native metal-resistant plant growth promoting bacteria(PGPB). It shows that: Mesorhizobium amorphae CCNWGS0123 contains metal transporters from P-type ATPase, CDF(Cation Diffusion Facilitator), Hup E/Ure J and CHR(chromate ion transporter) family involved in copper, zinc, nickel as well as chromate resistance and homeostasis. Meanwhile, the putative Cop A/Cue O system is expected to mediate copper resistance in Sinorhizobium meliloti CCNWSX0020 while Znt A transporter, assisted with putative Czc D, determines zinc tolerance in Agrobacterium tumefaciens CCNWGS0286. The greenhouse experiment provides the consistent evidence of the plant growth promoting effects of these microbes on their hosts by nitrogen fixation and/or indoleacetic acid(IAA) secretion,indicating a potential in-site phytoremediation usage in the mining tailing regions of China.     

寒冷地区分散性生活污水处理适用技术推荐

寒冷的气候条件制约着我国北方地区分散性生活污水处理技术的发展。针对北方地区气候条件及经济技术条件,结合国内外研究成果及相关工程实例,对3种污水处理技术进行分析,得出2种适合寒冷地区分散性生活污水处理的实用技术:厌氧滤池/生物接触氧化池净化槽组合、厌氧滤池/人工湿地处理技术组合。     

特长公路隧道火灾烟气沉降特性对人员疏散影响的研究*

为研究特长公路隧道火灾烟气沉降对人员疏散安全的影响,通过数值模拟方法,对0,1.0,1.5 m/s和临界风速值4种不同纵向通风风速下隧道火灾烟气沉降特征进行研究,并分析不同风速下烟气沉降对人员疏散的影响。研究结果表明:在无纵向风时,烟气沉降现象较为明显,烟气下沉造成的不均匀烟气温度、能见度分布,提前终止人员疏散的进行;随着纵向风速的增加,沉降现象仍存在,但沉降点后移,对人员疏散的影响减小;在1.5 m/s的纵向通风条件下,火源下游500 m范围内烟气基本不发生沉降且能维持分层,此时几乎不影响火灾下游人员疏散。在实际应用中,火灾初期可先以1.5 m/s的分层风速值进行通风,待下游人员疏散后,再施加临界风速加快烟气排出。研究结果可为特长公路隧道火灾防治和疏散救援提供参考。     

Ozone episodes during and after the 2018 Chinese National Day holidays in Guangzhou: Implications for the control of precursor VOCs

The impact of reducing industrial emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on ozone (O₃) pollution is of wide concern particularly in highly industrialized megacities. In this study, O₃, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and VOCs were measured at an urban site in the Pearl River Delta region during the 2018 Chinese National Day Holidays and two after-holiday periods (one with ozone pollution and another without). O₃ pollution occurred throughout the 7-day holidays even industrial emissions of VOCs were passively reduced due to temporary factory shutdowns, and the toluene to benzene ratios dropped from ∼10 during non-holidays to ∼5 during the holidays. Box model (AtChem2-MCM) simulations with the input of observation data revealed that O₃ formation was all VOC-limited, and alkenes had the highest relative incremental reactivity (RIR) during the holiday and non-holiday O₃ episodes while aromatics had the highest RIR during the non-pollution period. Box model also demonstrated that even aromatics decreased proportionally to levels with near-zero contributions of industrial aromatic solvents, O₃ concentrations would only decrease by less than 20% during the holiday and non-holiday O₃ episodes and ozone pollution in the periods could not be eliminated. The results imply that controlling emissions of industrial aromatic solvents might be not enough to eliminate O₃ pollution in the region, and more attention should be paid to anthropogenic reactive alkenes. Isoprene and formaldehyde were among the top 3 species by RIRs in all the three pollution and non-pollution periods, suggesting substantial contribution to O₃ formation from biogenic VOCs.     

Water incubation-induced fluctuating release of heavy metals in two smelter-contaminated soils

The soil moisture regime can affect the release of heavy metals in soil. In the previous studies, slightly polluted soils or artificially contaminated soil samples were considered to investigate the effect of soil moisture. We used highly smelter-contaminated and aged soils to study the release of typical heavy metals(Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) induced by water incubation in batch experiments with characterization via speciation and X-ray diffraction analyses(XRD). The results show that the leachable concentrations of the heavy metals increased slightly in the first 30 days, decreased drastically between 30 and 90 days, and immobilized relatively constant thereafter. The fluctuation was ascribed to the changes of soil Eh and pH, the reductive dissolution of crystalline iron oxides, the formation of new amorphous iron oxides, the absorption of dissolved organic matter and the precipitation of metal sulfide. Speciation analysis indicated that a proportion of the soil heavy metals was transformed from an exchangeable fraction to a less labile fraction after water incubation. And the presence of a lead iron oxide phase and the peak increasing of zinc sulfide were observed via XRD analyses. Finally, water incubation restrained the release of heavy metals after 180 days of incubation, and reduced the leachability of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb by as much as 1.61%–7.21% for soil A and 0.43%–3.36% for soil B, respectively. The study findings have implications for the formulation of risk control and management strategies for heavy metals in smelter-contaminated soils.     

武汉市无公害蔬菜生产的问题与对策

介绍了我国部分城镇在粮食作物和蔬菜产品受化学农药等有害化学物污染简况和无公害蔬菜的研究进展。调查分析了武汉市目前蔬菜生产中农药污染的现状与问题，提出了在武汉市实施无公害蔬菜生产示范工程项目的建议和对策，并进行了讨论。     

测定模拟月壤物理和力学性质的室内试验方法研究

模拟月壤的物理和力学性质是月球科学研究的重要内容,但是由于模拟月壤具有含水率低、孔隙比大的特性,不易采用一般的室内土工试验方法进行测定。通过改进制样方法,即通过环刀和击实后试样高度严格控制模拟月壤试样的质量和密实度,得到了测定模拟月壤物理和力学性质较为准确的室内试验方法,并探讨了模拟月壤的抗剪强度指标与密实度和粒径的关系以及模拟月壤的含水率对其抗剪强度的影响。试验结果表明:模拟月壤的天然密度与粒径大小有关,其抗剪强度指标与密实度和粒径大小有关。该试验方法具有操作简单、准确性好、成本低的优点,也适用于其他与模拟月壤类似的低含水率、高孔隙比土样的物理和力学性质的室内测定。