Characteristics of molecular weight distribution of dissolved organic matter in bromide-containing water and disinfection by-product formation properties during treatment processes

The characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and bromide ion concentration have a significant influence on the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs). In order to identify the main DBP precursors, DOM was divided into five fractions based on molecular weight (MW), trihalomethane formation potential and haloacetic acid formation potential were determined for fractions, and the change in contents of different fractions and total DBPs during treatment processes (pre-chlorination, coagulation, sand filtration, disinfection) were studied. Moreover, the relationship between bromide concentration and DBP generation characteristics in processes was also analyzed. The results showed that the main DBP precursors were the fraction with MW < 1 kDa and fraction with MW 3−10 kDa, and the DBP''s generation ability of lower molecular weight DOM (< 10 kDa) was higher than that of higher molecular weight DOM. During different processes, pre-chlorination and disinfection had limited effect on removing organics but could alter the MW distribution, and coagulation and filtration could effectively remove organics with higher MW. For DBPs, trihalomethanes (THMs) were mainly generated in pre-chlorination and disinfection, while haloacetic acids (HAAs) were mostly generated during pre-chlorination; coagulation and sand filtration had little effect on THMs but resulted in a slight removal of HAAs. In addition, the results of ANOVA tests suggested that molecular sizes and treatment processes have significant influence on DBP formation. With increasing bromide concentration, the brominated DBPs significantly increased, but the bromine incorporation factor in the processes was basically consistent at each concentration.     

Are current Chinese national ambient air quality standards on 24-hour averages for particulate matter sufficient to protect public health?

With rapid economic development and urbanization in recent decades, China has experienced the worsening of ambient air quality. For better air quality management to protect human health, Chinese government revised national ambient air quality standards(NAAQS) for particulate matter(PM) in 2012(GB3095-2012). To assess the effectiveness of current NAAQS for PM on public health in Chinese population, we conducted a metaanalysis on published studies examining the mortality risk of short-term exposure to PM with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 and 2.5 μm(PM_(10) and PM_(2.5)) in China. The reported24-hour concentrations of PM_(10) and PM_(2.5) in studies ranged from 43.5 to 150.1 μg/m~3 and 37.5 to 176.7 μg/m~3. In the pooled excess, mortality risk estimates of short-term exposure to PM.In specific, per 10 μg/m~3 increase in PM_(10), we observed increases of 0.40%(95%CI: 0.33%,0.47%), 0.57%(95%CI: 0.44%, 0.70%) and 0.49%(95%CI: 0.40%, 0.58%) in total, respiratory and cardiovascular mortality, per 10 μg/m~3 increase in PM_(2.5), we observed increases of 0.51%(95%CI: 0.38%, 0.63%), 0.62%(95%CI: 0.52%, 0.73%) and 0.75%(95%CI: 0.54%, 0.95%) in total,respiratory and cardiovascular mortality. Finally, we derived 125 μg/m~3 for PM_(10) and 62.5 μg/m~3 for PM_(2.5) as 24-hour recommendation values based on the pooled estimates. Our results indicated that current Chinese NAAQS for PM could be sufficient in mitigating the excess mortality risk from short-term exposure to ambient PM. However, future research on longterm exposure cohort studies in Chinese population is also essential in revising annual averages for PM in Chinese NAAQS.     

Insights into the formation of secondary organic carbon in the summertime in urban Shanghai

To investigate formation mechanisms of secondary organic carbon(SOC) in Eastern China,measurements were conducted in an urban site in Shanghai in the summer of 2015. A period of high O_3 concentrations(daily peak 120 ppb) was observed, during which daily maximum SOC concentrations exceeding 9.0 μg/(C·m~3). Diurnal variations of SOC concentration and SOC/organic carbon(OC) ratio exhibited both daytime and nighttime peaks. The SOC concentrations correlated well with O_x(= O_3+ NO_2) and relative humidity in the daytime and nighttime, respectively, suggesting that secondary organic aerosol formation in Shanghai is driven by both photochemical production and aqueous phase reactions. Single particle mass spectrometry was used to examine the formation pathways of SOC. Along with the daytime increase of SOC, the number fraction of elemental carbon(EC) particles coated with OC quickly increased from 38.1% to 61.9% in the size range of 250–2000 nm, which was likely due to gas-to-particle partitioning of photochemically generated semi-volatile organic compounds onto EC particles. In the nighttime, particles rich in OC components were highly hygroscopic, and number fraction of these particles correlated well with relative humidity and SOC/OC nocturnal peaks. Meanwhile, as an aqueous-phase SOC tracer, particles that contained oxalate-Fe(III) complex also peaked at night. These observations suggested that aqueous-phase processes had an important contribution to the SOC nighttime formation. The influence of aerosol acidity on SOC formation was studied by both bulk and single particle level measurements, suggesting that the aqueous-phase formation of SOC was enhanced by particle acidity.     

A green method to synthesize flowerlike Fe(OH)3 microspheres for enhanced adsorption performance toward organic and heavy metal pollutants

Dyestuffs and heavy metal ions in water are seriously harmful to the ecological environment and human health.Three-dimensional(3 D) flowerlike Fe(OH)_3 microspheres were synthesized through a green yet low-cost injection method,for the removal of organic dyes and heavy metal ions.The Fe(OH)_3 microspheres were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis(TGA),Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) techniques.The adsorption kinetics of Congo Red(CR) on Fe(OH)_3 microspheres obeyed the pseudo-second-order model.Cr~(6+) and Pb~(2+) adsorption behaviors on Fe(OH)_3 microspheres followed the Langmuir isotherm model.The maximum adsorption capacities of the synthesized Fe(OH)_3 were 308,52.94,and 75.64 mg/g for CR,Cr~(6+),and Pb~(2+) respectively.The enhanced adsorption performance originated from its surface properties and large specific surface area of 250 m~2/g.The microspheres also have excellent adsorption stability and recyclability.Another merit of the Fe(OH)_3 material is that it also acts as a Fenton-like catalyst.These twin functionalities(both as adsorbent and Fenton-like catalyst) give the synthesized Fe(OH)_3 microspheres great potential in the field of water treatment.     

Behaviors and kinetics of toluene adsorption‐desorption on activated carbons with varying pore structure

This work was undertaken to investigate the behaviors and kinetics of toluene adsorption and desorption on activated carbons with varying pore structure. Five kinds of activated carbon from different raw materials were selected. Adsorption isotherms and breakthrough curves for toluene were measured. Langmuir and Freundlich equations were fitted to the equilibrium data, and the Freundlich equation was more suitable for simulating toluene adsorption. The process consisted of monolayer, multilayer and partial active site adsorption types. The effect of the pore structure of the activated carbons on toluene adsorption capacity was investigated. The quasi-first-order model was more suitable for describing the process than the quasi-second-order model. The adsorption data was also modeled by the internal particle diffusion model and it was found that the adsorption process could be divided into three stages. In the external surface adsorption process, the rate depended on the specific surface area. During the particle diffusion stage, pore structure and volume were the main factors affecting adsorption rate. In the final equilibrium stage, the rate was determined by the ratio of meso-and macro-pores to total pore volume. The rate over the whole adsorption process was dominated by the toluene concentration. The desorption behavior of toluene on activated carbons was investigated,and the process was divided into heat and mass transfer parts corresponding to emission and diffusion mechanisms, respectively. Physical adsorption played the main role during the adsorption process.     

邻苯二甲酸二异癸酯对小鼠学习记忆的影响

为研究增塑剂邻苯二甲酸二异癸酯（DIDP）对小鼠学习和记忆能力的影响,以白藜芦醇（Res）作为保护剂,将42只雄性昆明小鼠随机分为6组,每组7只,分别为：生理盐水组、1.5,15,150mg/（kg·d） DIDP组、20mg/（kg·d） Res组、150mg/（kg·d） DIDP+20mg/（kg·d） Res组.连续灌胃染毒9d,期间同时进行Morris水迷宫实验.第10d将小鼠处死,取出脑组织,检测活性氧簇（ROS）、谷胱甘肽（GSH）、丙二醛（MDA）、8-羟基脱氧鸟苷（8-OHdG）、肿瘤坏死因子（TNF-α）、白细胞介素1β（IL-1β）的含量.并对小鼠海马体切片进行H&E染色,观察病理变化.结果显示,15,150mg/（kg·d） DIDP染毒可导致小鼠的学习和记忆能力显著低于对照组,同时可诱发脑组织产生氧化应激,并促进炎症因子释放,而Res能有效减弱脑组织氧化应激水平.由上可得,DIDP致小鼠学习和记忆能力下降可能与其引起的脑组织中海马体的氧化损伤有关,同时Res可能通过降低DIDP引起的氧化应激进而减轻其对小鼠造成的学习记忆损伤.     

深圳市城区和郊区黑碳气溶胶对比研究

为了解深圳地区黑碳气溶胶（BC）的污染特征,使用深圳市西涌（XC）站点（郊区）和竹子林（ZZL）站点（城区）2014年1月1日~2015年6月30日测得的BC浓度及常规气象资料,对比研究了深圳地区两个不同代表性站点的BC变化特征.结果表明：在观测期间,郊区XC和城区ZZL站点BC小时平均浓度分别为（1.12±0.90）,（2.58±2.00）μg/m³,本底浓度分别为（0.27±1.31）,（1.07±0.85）μg/m³,气溶胶吸收系数σ_abs分别为（5.87±4.81）,（13.47±10.50） Mm^-1,城区站点值均高于郊区站点.两站点BC浓度分布均为对数正态分布,且都呈现干季高、湿季低的季节变化特点.日变化分析表明ZZL站点BC浓度呈现明显的双峰结构,XC站点日变化不明显.通过计算两地的气溶胶波长吸收指数AAE值,发现两地AAE值均接近1,说明两地BC污染主要来源于化石燃料的燃烧.进一步分析可知XC站点西北方向32km处是世界第三大集装箱码头,当西北风达到一定程度时（10~20m/s）,码头排放的污染物将严重影响XC站点的BC浓度.后向轨迹聚类分析结果表明,XC站点主要受中远距离输送影响,ZZL站点主要受周边及本地污染源排放影响.     

芳香酯类富勒烯衍生物的制备及光电性能研究

以PCBM为初始原料,经过水解、酯化反应,生成3类富勒烯衍生物,采用红外光谱(FT-IR)、核磁共振(1H NMR和13C NMR)、元素分析仪、质谱(MS)对产物结构进行了表征;并通过紫外可见光谱、循环伏安法等手段研究了目标物的光学与电化学性能,结果表明,目标物PCBTE、PCBBE、PCB(4-MOB)M的LUMO能级分别为-3.91 V、-3.88 V、-3.94 V。     

萃取膜生物反应器处理苯酚废水的试验研究

从经过驯化的活性污泥中筛选出苯酚降解菌.制备成菌悬液,对比活性污泥体系和菌悬液体系的萃取膜生物反应器(EMB)对苯酚废水的处理效果,考察了料液苯酚浓度、反应器温度等因素对膜萃取速率及生物降解效果的影响.结果表明,通过以苯酚为唯一碳源,逐渐提高苯酚浓度的方法对活性污泥进行驯化.当进水苯酚浓度为700 mg·L-1时,苯酚去除率达99%以上;适当提高反应器温度和料液初始浓度有利于提高膜萃取速率;当初始料液苯酚浓度为2000 mg·L-1时,膜萃取速率高于生物降解速率,生物相中产生苯酚积累;菌悬液体系EMB的生物膜厚度明显小于活性污泥体系,且水力反冲洗可有效控制生物膜厚度.对苯酚生物降解产物的GC-MS分析结果表明,苯酚的生物降解较彻底,基本无苯酚中间产物的残留.