Acute and chronic toxicity of organophosphate monocrotophos to Daphnia magna

The acute and chronic toxicity of monocrotophos (MCP), the binary joint toxicity of MCP and bifenthrin (BF), and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) to Daphnia magna (D. magna) was evaluated. The 24 h-median effective concentration (24 h-EC₅₀) and 48 h-median lethal concentration (48 h-LC₅₀) of MCP towards D. magna were 161 and 388 μ g/L, respectively. In addition, the lowest-observed effective concentration (LOEC) and non-observed effective concentration (NOEC) of MCP to D. magna were 10 and 5 μ g/L, respectively. Furthermore, the chronic value (ChV) of MCP against D. magna was 7 μ g/L and the acute chronic ratio (ACR) was 55. The number of offspring per female and the intrinsic rate of natural increase (r) were identified as the parameters that were most sensitive to MCP. In addition, toxic unit (TU) analysis was employed to evaluate the joint toxicities. The calculated TU_mix values of binary equitoxic mixtures of MCP + BF and MCP + SDBS were 1.47 and 1.63, respectively, which suggests that both equitoxic mixtures exert a limited antagonistic effect. The results of this study revealed that the toxic threshold of MCP towards D. magna is higher than its reported highest residue (4 μ g/L) in the ordinary aquatic environment, and that concurrent exposure to BF or SDBS may exert a slight antagonistic effect.     

An interprovincial cooperative game model for air pollution control in China

The noncooperative air pollution reduction model (NCRM) that is currently adopted in China to manage air pollution reduction of each individual province has inherent drawbacks. In this paper, we propose a cooperative air pollution reduction game model (CRM) that consists of two parts: (1) an optimization model that calculates the optimal pollution reduction quantity for each participating province to meet the joint pollution reduction goal; and (2) a model that distribute the economic benefit of the cooperation (i.e., pollution reduction cost saving) among the provinces in the cooperation based on the Shapley value method. We applied the CRM to the case of SO₂ reduction in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region in China. The results, based on the data from 2003–2009, show that cooperation helps lower the overall SO₂ pollution reduction cost from 4.58% to 11.29%. Distributed across the participating provinces, such a cost saving from interprovincial cooperation brings significant benefits to each local government and stimulates them for further cooperation in pollution reduction. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed using the year 2009 data to test the parameters’ effects on the pollution reduction cost savings.

Implications: China is increasingly facing unprecedented pressure for immediate air pollution control. The current air pollution reduction policy does not allow cooperation and is less efficient. In this paper we developed a cooperative air pollution reduction game model that consists of two parts: (1) an optimization model that calculates the optimal pollution reduction quantity for each participating province to meet the joint pollution reduction goal; and (2) a model that distributes the cooperation gains (i.e., cost reduction) among the provinces in the cooperation based on the Shapley value method. The empirical case shows that such a model can help improve efficiency in air pollution reduction. The result of the model can serve as a reference for Chinese government pollution reduction policy design.     

动态污水处理过程的多模型动态矩阵控制

针对活性污泥法污水处理系统的强耦合和动态变化特性,提出一种用于前置反硝化脱氮工艺的多模型动态矩阵(DMC)解耦控制方法;通过K-均值聚类分析法对外界入水中氨氮浓度进行聚类,获得以聚类中心为入水氨氮浓度的静态模型集合,分别设计线性DMC解耦控制器;再以当前时刻外界进水氨氮浓度和聚类中心为基本元素,构造切换函数,实现多模型切换。将该方法应用于活性污泥1号模型(ASM1)中,获得了较好的动态仿真效果。     

Toxicological effect of MPA-CdSe QDs exposure on zebrafish embryo and larvae

Cadmium selenium (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor nanocrystals that hold wide range of applications and substantial production volumes. Due to unique composition and nanoscale properties, their potential toxicity to aquatic organisms has increasingly gained a great amount of interest. However, the impact of CdSe QDs exposure on zebrafish embryo and larvae remains almost unknown. Therefore, the lab study was performed to determine the developmental and behavioral toxicities to zebrafish under continuous exposure to low level CdSe QDs (0.05-31.25 mg L⁻¹) coated with mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). The results showed MPA-CdSe exposure from embryo to larvae stage affected overall fitness. Our findings for the first time revealed that: (1) The 120 h LC₅₀ of MPA-CdSe for zebrafish was 1.98 mg L⁻¹; (2) embryos exposed to MPA-CdSe resulted in malformations incidence and lower hatch rate; (3) abnormal vascular of FLI-1 transgenic zebrafish larvae appeared after exposure to MPA-CdSe including vascular junction, bifurcation, crossing and particle appearance; (4) larvae behavior assessment showed during MPA-CdSe exposure a rapid transition from light-to-dark elicited a similar, brief burst and a higher basal swimming rate; (5) MPA-CdSe induced embryos cell apoptosis in the head and tail region. Results of the observations provide a basic understanding of MPA-CdSe toxicity to aquatic organisms and suggest the need for additional research to identify the toxicological mechanism.     

Arsenic accumulation and speciation in the submerged macrophyte Ceratophyllum demersum L.

Introduction

Ceratophyllum demersum L. is a widespread submerged macrophyte in aquatic environments.

Methods

Simulation experiments were conducted in the laboratory to investigate arsenic (As) accumulation, speciation, and efflux of C. demersum exposed to arsenate and arsenite solutions.

Results

Plant shoots showed a significant accumulation of As with a maximum of 862 and 963???g?As?g^?1 dry weight after 4?days of exposure to 10???M arsenate and arsenite, respectively. Regardless of whether arsenate or arsenite was supplied to the plants, arsenite was the predominant species in plant shoots. Furthermore, a dramatically higher influx rate of arsenate compared with arsenite was observed in C. demersum exposed to As solutions without the addition of phosphate (P). Arsenate uptake was considerably inhibited by P in this study, suggesting that arsenate is taken up by C. demersum via the phosphate transporters. However, arsenite uptake was unaffected by P and markedly reduced in the presence of glycerol and antimonite (Sb), indicating arsenite shares the aquaporin transport pathway. In addition, C. demersum rapidly reduces arsenate to arsenite in the shoot of the plant and extrudes most of them (>60?%) to the external solutions. The efflux of arsenite was much higher than that of arsenate; the former is supposed to be both active and passive processes, and the latter through passive leakage.

Conclusion

C. demersum is a strong As accumulator and an interesting model plant to study As uptake and metabolism due to the lack of a root-to-shoot translocation barrier.     

Enhanced mercuric chloride adsorption onto sulfur-modified activated carbons derived from waste tires

A number of activated carbons derived from waste tires were further impregnated by gaseous elemental sulfur at temperatures of 400 and 650 degrees C, with a carbon and sulfur mass ratio of 1:3. The capabilities of sulfur diffusing into the micropores of the activated carbons were significantly different between 400 and 650 degrees C, resulting in obvious dissimilarities in the sulfur content of the activated carbons. The sulfur-impregnated activated carbons were examined for the adsorptive capacity of gas-phase mercuric chloride (HgC1) by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The analytical precision of TGA was up to 10(-6) g at the inlet HgCl2 concentrations of 100, 300, and 500 microg/m3, for an adsorption time of 3 hr and an adsorption temperature of 150 degrees C, simulating the flue gas emitted from municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerators. Experimental results showed that sulfur modification can slightly reduce the specific surface area of activated carbons. High-surface-area activated carbons after sulfur modification had abundant mesopores and micropores, whereas low-surface-area activated carbons had abundant macropores and mesopores. Sulfur molecules were evenly distributed on the surface of the inner pores after sulfur modification, and the sulfur content of the activated carbons increased from 2-2.5% to 5-11%. After sulfur modification, the adsorptive capacity of HgCl2 for high-surface-area sulfurized activated carbons reached 1.557 mg/g (22 times higher than the virgin activated carbons). The injection of activated carbons was followed by fabric filtration, which is commonly used to remove HgCl2 from MSW incinerators. The residence time of activated carbons collected in the fabric filter is commonly about 1 hr, but the time required to achieve equilibrium is less than 10 min. Consequently, it is worthwhile to compare the adsorption rates of HgCl2 in the time intervals of < 10 and 10-60 min.     

菱镁矿尾矿制备高活性MgO的性能表征

菱镁矿尾矿经预处理后,在一定条件下制备高活性MgO。使用热重-差热分析仪,分析菱镁矿尾矿的分解温度,应用X射线衍射、SEM分析不同煅烧温度、保温时间对MgO晶体结构的影响,并根据Scherrer公式计算MgO晶粒的尺寸。通过电导率仪测定MgO水化电导率,分析不同条件下的MgO活性,探讨煅烧温度、保温时间、颗粒细度与MgO活性之间的关系。结果发现:煅烧温度在1 050℃,保温时间60 min时,菱镁尾矿完全分解,MgO活性最佳;煅烧温度越高,保温时间越长,MgO的活性越差;MgO颗粒细度越小,活性越高。     

玉米深加工废水的混凝实验

在室温条件下,分别选用聚合氯化铝(PAC)、聚合氯化铝铁(PAFC)及三氯化铁(FeCl3)对玉米深加工废水进行混凝实验。综合考虑各种混凝剂对磷、COD以及SS的去除效果,最终选取PAC作为混凝剂。采用PAC和聚丙烯酰胺(PAM)作为复合混凝剂,对其去除效果做进一步研究,并确定了最佳投加量及pH值。实验结果表明,在PAC投加量25mg/L,PAM投加量0.5 mg/L,pH为8条件下,混凝效果最佳。磷、COD、SS去除率可分别达到90.1%、53.3%和88.2%,对应的出水质量浓度分别为0.41、26.8和2 mg/L。     

纳米生态基对水产养殖污水的处理效果

采用三因子四水平的正交设计,实验研究了纳米生态基在不同温度、溶解氧和水力停留时间下对水产养殖污水的处理效果,确定了纳米生态基处理养殖污水的最佳条件。结果表明,含氨氮和亚硝氮浓度较高的模拟养殖污水用纳米生态基挂膜,所需时间约为22 d。纳米生态基对氨氮的去除效果明显,平均去除率达到93.5%。对氨氮去除率的影响程度,水力停留时间>温度>溶解氧。当温度为30℃,DO为5.43 mg/L,HRT为0.33 h时,纳米生态基对氨氮的处理能力最佳,去除率达到94.6%。纳米生态基对亚硝氮的平均去除率为69.3%。对亚硝氮去除率的影响程度,水力停留时间>溶解氧>温度。当温度为21℃,DO为6.40 mg/L,HRT为0.33 h时,纳米生态基对亚硝氮的处理能力最佳,去除率为71.5%。纳米生态基处理养殖污水的最佳条件:温度为30℃,DO为6.40 mg/L,HRT为0.33 h。     

简单芽孢杆菌产高效微生物絮凝剂

通过从绿化植物根际土壤和污水处理厂的活性污泥中分离筛选絮凝剂产生菌,得到一株稳定高效的微生物絮凝剂产生菌PS1,根据形态学特征、生理生化实验以及16S rDNA序列分析将其鉴定为简单芽孢杆菌(Bacillus simplex)。对菌株PS1产生絮凝剂的最佳培养时间、絮凝活性分布以及pH、CaCl2、絮凝剂投量对絮凝效果的影响进行了研究,并考察了其对实际废水的絮凝效果。结果表明,菌株PS1产絮凝剂的最佳培养时间为36 h,产生的絮凝活性物质全部存在于发酵液离心后的上清液中;当pH为7.0～8.5、CaC12投量为0.25～0.35 g/L、发酵液投加量的体积分数为1.5%～2.5%时,菌株PS1发酵液对4 g/L的高岭土悬浊液的絮凝效果最佳,絮凝率达到97%。菌株PS1所产絮凝剂对城市污水、啤酒废水、淀粉废水、医院废水的絮凝率可达90%以上。