Heavy metals in bark of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus massoniana</Emphasis> (Lamb.) as an indicator of atmospheric deposition near a smeltery at Qujiang,China

Goal, Scope and Background Rapid urbanization and the expansion of industrial activities in the past several decades have led to large increases in emissions of pollutants in the Pearl River Delta of south China. Recent reports have suggested that industrial emission is a major factor contributing to the damages in current natural ecosystem in the Delta area. Tree barks have been used successfully to monitor the levels of atmospheric metal deposition in many areas, but rarely in China. This study aimed at determining whether atmospheric heavy metal deposition from a Pb-Zn smeltery at Qujiang, Guangdong province, could be accurately reflected both in the inner bark and the outer bark of Masson pine (Pinus massoniana L.). The impact of the emission from smeltery on the soils beneath the trees and the relationships of the concentrations between the soils and the barks were also analyzed. Methods Barks around the bole of Pinus massoniana from a pine forest near a Pb-Zn smeltery at Qujiang and a reference forest at Dinghushan natural reserve were sampled with a stainless knife at an average height of 1.5 m above the ground. Mosses and lichens on the surface barks were cleaned prior to sampling. The samples were carefully divided into the inner bark (living part) and the outer bark (dead part) in the laboratory, and dried and ground, respectively. After being dry-ashed, the powder of the barks was dissolved in HNO₃. The solutions were analyzed for iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) by inductively coupled plasmas emission spectrometry (ICP, PS-1000AT, USA) and Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS, ZEENIT 60, Germany). Surface soils (0–10 cm) beneath the sample trees were also collected and analyzed for the selected metals. Results and Discussion Concentrations of the selected metals in soils at Qujiang were far above their environmental background values in the area, except for Fe and Mn, whilst at Dinghushan, they were far below their background values, except for Cd and Co. Levels of the metals, in particular Pb and Zn, in the soils beneath the sample trees at Qujiang were higher than those at Dinghushan with statistical significance. The result suggested that the pine forest soils at Qujiang had a great input of heavy metals from wet and dry atmospheric deposition, with the Pb-Zn smeltery most probably being the source. Levels of Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni and Pb at Qujiang, both in the inner and the outer bark, were statistically higher than those at Dinghushan. Higher concentrations of Pb, Fe, Zn and Cu may come from the stem-flow of elements leached from the canopy, soil splash on the 1.5 m height and sorption of metals in the mosses and lichens growing on the bark, which were direct or indirect results from the atmospheric deposition. Levels of heavy metals in the outer barks were associated well with the metal concentrations in the soil, reflecting the close relationships between the metal atmospheric deposition and their accumulation in the outer bark of Masson pine. The significant (p<0.01) correlations of Fe-Cu, Fe-Cr, Fe-Pb, Fe-Ni, Pb-Ni, and Pb-Zn in the outer barks at Qujiang again suggested a common source for the metals. The correlation only occurred between Pb and Ni, Cd and Co in the outer barks at Dinghushan, which suggested that those metals must possibly have other uncommon sources. Conclusions Atmospheric deposition of the selected metals was great at Qujiang, based on the levels in the bark of Pinus massoniana and on the concentrations in the soils beneath the trees compared with that at Dinghushan. Bark of Pinus massoniana, especially the outer bark, was an indicator of metal loading at least at the time of sampling. Recommendations and Perspectives The results from this study and the techniques employed constituted a new contribution to the development of biogeochemical methods for environmental monitoring particularly in areas with high frequency of pollution in China. The method would be of value for follow up studies aimed at the assessment of industrial pollution in other areas similar with the Pearl River Delta.     

成都市城市环境与经济协调发展分析

从城市环境与经济发展的协调度方面分析了成都市１９９０－１９９７年间协调度的变化趋势,评估了成都市城市环境与经济协调发展的类型,得出了成都市属于总体协调发展类环境滞后型的结论。     

抗灾减灾效益估计方法探讨

从综合角度阐述减灾效益的概念,进而以减灾效益内容为基础,提出了估计减灾效益的方法。     

企业环保信用评价的发展历史与现状思考

回顾了国内外企业环保信用评价发展历史,指出与国外相比,我国企业环保信用评价起步较晚,目前各地区评价标准主要以监管性指标和处罚决定为依据,其中以监管性指标评价较全面但操作繁琐,以处罚决定评价更为客观但对中小型企业监管力度较低。提出,我国企业环保信用评价体系还需要进一步优化,统一评价标准,完善动态评价机制,增强企业与责任人的关联,以促进社会信用体系向更为完备的方向发展。     

秦巴山区降雨侵蚀力时空变化特征

降雨侵蚀力时空变化特征的研究对区域土壤侵蚀风险评估及水土保持规划具有重要的意义。利用秦巴山区及周边地区共63个气象站1961~2016年的逐日降雨量数据计算各站的降雨侵蚀力,借助Kriging空间插值法、Mann-Kendall趋势检验、Pettitt突变检验等方法分析了秦巴山区降雨侵蚀力的时空变化特征。结果表明：秦巴山区年均降雨侵蚀力为3 696 MJ·mm/(hm²·h·a),年内变化呈单峰型,7月最大,占全年的26.6%;四季中,夏季最大,冬季最小。代际间,20世纪80年代的降雨侵蚀力最大,90年代最小。年际间,年降雨侵蚀力存在明显的阶段性,但未表现出显著的趋势性和突变性特征。秦巴山区多年平均降雨侵蚀力呈南高北低的分布格局,不同地区年均降雨侵蚀力变化于787~8 858 MJ·mm/(hm²·h·a)之间;整体而言,年降雨侵蚀力随纬度增加而减小,随海拔升高而减小。     

基于资源环境承载力与开发建设适宜性的国土开发强度研究——以江苏省为例

以江苏省为研究区域,运用特尔斐法、线性拟合预测、Kaya分解模型和多要素空间叠置分析等方法,测算未来各地市基于资源环境承载力与开发建设适宜性的可承载国土开发强度,进而识别影响区域建设用地扩张的限制性因素。结果表明：（1）不同资源环境要素对江苏省建设用地扩张的约束作用呈现显著差异,水资源对国土开发的承载水平总体稍高于环境承载水平,而碳峰值承载水平为三者最低;（2）“不适宜”开发区主要分布在湖泊湿地和沿海滩涂地区,“适宜”开发区则以苏锡常环太湖一线、宁镇扬盐沿长江一线和滨海沿线为轴带集聚分布;（3）各地市未来可承载国土开发强度呈现地域性、时间性和结构性差异,苏南地区主要面临环境和碳排放的双重约束,苏中和苏北则受水、环境和碳排放的交替约束。国土开发强度承载水平预测可为制定区域差异化的用地规模调控与生态保护政策提供理论与数据支撑。     

Sustainable Use of Coffee Husks For Reinforcing Polyethylene Composites

The utilization of the coffee husk fiber (CHF) from the coffee industry as a reinforcing filler in the preparation of a cost-effective thermoplastic based composite was explored in this study. The chemical composition and thermal properties of the CHF were investigated and compared with those of wood fiber (WF). CHF proved to be mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, and exhibited similar thermal behavior to WF. High density polyethylene (HDPE) composites with CHF loadings of from 40 to 70% were prepared using melt processing and extrusion. The processing properties, mechanical behavior, water absorption and thermal performance of these composites were investigated. The effect of maleated polyethylene (MAPE) used as a coupling agent on the composite was explored. The experimental results showed that increasing the CHF loading in the HDPE matrix resulted in an increase in the modulus and thermal properties of the composites, but resulted in poor water resistance. The addition of a 4% MAPE significantly improved the interfacial behavior of the hydrophilic lignocellulosic fiber and the hydrophobic polymer matrix.     

Effect of alginate on the aggregation kinetics of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs): bridging interaction and hetero-aggregation induced by Ca<Superscript>2+</Superscript>

The stability of CuO nanoparticles (NPs) is expected to play a key role in the environmental risk assessment of nanotoxicity in aquatic systems. In this study, the effect of alginate (model polysaccharides) on the stability of CuO NPs in various environmentally relevant ionic strength conditions was investigated by using time-resolved dynamic light scattering. Significant aggregation of CuO NPs was observed in the presence of both monovalent and divalent cations. The critical coagulation concentrations (CCC) were 54.5 and 2.9 mM for NaNO₃ and Ca(NO₃)₂, respectively. The presence of alginate slowed nano-CuO aggregation rates over the entire NaNO₃ concentration range due to the combined electrostatic and steric effect. High concentrations of Ca²⁺ (>6 mM) resulted in stronger adsorption of alginate onto CuO NPs; however, enhanced aggregation of CuO NPs occurred simultaneously under the same conditions. Spectroscopic analysis revealed that the bridging interaction of alginate with Ca²⁺ might be an important mechanism for the enhanced aggregation. Furthermore, significant coagulation of the alginate molecules was observed in solutions of high Ca²⁺ concentrations, indicating a hetero-aggregation mechanism between the alginate-covered CuO NPs and the unabsorbed alginate. These results suggested a different aggregation mechanism of NPs might co-exist in aqueous systems enriched with natural organic matter, which should be taken into consideration in future studies.

Open image in new window

Graphical abstract Hetero-aggregation mechanism of CuO nanoparticles and alginate under high concentration of Ca²⁺

     

Rebound effect and its decomposition – an analysis based on energy types in China

Rebound effect derived from energy efficiency improvement has been widely invested. However, most of studies focus on the rebound effect of the energy composite level and neither distinguish nor compare different energy types. We compare the differences in energy saving and energy rebound between primary and secondary energy sources, and further decompose the rebound effect into production rebound part and final demand component. To do so, we add a module for rebound into a comparative state China-CGE model. We design and test two simulation scenarios using the model. In Scenario 1, all production sectors’ energy efficiency of using primary energy increases by 5%. In Scenario 2, all production sectors’ energy efficiency of using secondary energy increases by 5%. The results show that Scenario 2 leads to more GDP growth and more energy saving. Our scenarios show rebound effects range between 9.6% and 27.9%, and in general are higher when energy efficiency of using primary energy sources is improved. Our decomposition analysis shows that improving energy efficiency in production sectors would stimulates energy use of final demand. Indeed, the consumption side has significant contribution to rebound in secondary energy use, especially in crude oil and gas. This study reveals that improving efficiency of using secondary energy is better than improving that of primary energy, both in terms of economic impact and energy rebound. And complementary policies that prevent energy services prices from falling too much can be adopted to reduce rebound. Controlling residential energy use could also be effective in reducing rebound, this has particular implication to economies in which residential energy consumption are far from saturation.     

分子筛吸附法脱除废水中的聚丙烯酰胺

聚丙烯酰胺(PAM)用于油田驱油产生大量难处理的含聚废水。以分子筛为吸附剂处理含聚废水,研究分子筛类型(Y、Beta和ZSM-5,H型和Na型)和物化性质对其吸附PAM性能的影响,并测定吸附等温线。结果表明,吸附性能顺序为BetaYZSM-5,H型优于Na型。H-Beta对PAM的吸附来自分子筛中阳离子与PAM中阴离子的静电作用,Si—O和Al—OH与PAM中酰胺基的氢键作用。H-Beta开放的通道结构,较高的介孔比例和表面积,较强的酸性和良好的酸中心可接近性使其具有优异的吸附性能。Si O2/Al2O3=26的H-Beta对浓度为200 mg/L的PAM溶液,PAM脱除率可达95.2%。在低PAM平衡浓度时,PAM在H-Beta上的吸附符合Langmuir单层吸附特征,饱和吸附量达70.2 mg/g,在高浓度区域则由于PAM疏水缔合作用加强呈现多层吸附。