Distributions, sources and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in topsoil at Ji’nan city, China

Surface soil (0-5 cm) samples from 17 sampling sites including different functional areas at Ji'nan city in Shandong Province of China were collected and analyzed for 16 EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The total PAH concentrations were in the range from 1.31 mg kg(-1) to 254.08 mg kg(-1) (dry weight), and the average level of total PAHs was 23.25 mg kg(-1). The highest total PAHs concentrations were found in steel and iron plant at industrial areas. The total PAHs concentrations in industrial areas were markedly higher than those in other different functional areas. According to comparing total PAHs concentration in Ji'nan city to that of other urban areas, it was found that total PAHs concentrations were 6 to 137 times higher than other areas because of some specific sampling sites such as steel and iron plant and one main roadside. The results showed that PAHs in topsoil of Ji'nan city were suffered from strong pyrogenic influence, especially in industrial areas. However about 52.9% soil samples were mainly originated from both pyrogenic and petrogenic mixed sources based on Flu/Pyr ratios and Phe/Ant ratios. Furthermore, It was found that all individual PAHs except Fle were significantly correlated (P < 0.01) with LMW, HMW, total PAHs and SOM, and individual PAHs except Fle in soils were significantly correlated (P < 0.01) with each other. The nemerow composite index to assess the environmental quality showed that the soil sample of steel and iron plant in industrial areas and one main roadside were heavy pollution of PAHs, and about 47% soil sampling sites were safety, about 53% soil sampling sites were got different grades of PAHs pollution.     

Comprehensive study of endocrine disrupting compounds using grab and passive sampling at selected wastewater treatment plants in South East Queensland, Australia

Chemical (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, GC-MS) and biological (E-Screen assay) analyses were used to determine the concentrations of 15 endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and estrogen equivalent (EEq) in grab and passive samples from five municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in South East Queensland, Australia. EEq concentrations derived by E-Screen assays for the grab samples were between 108-356 ng/L for the influents and < 1-14.8 ng/L for the effluents with the exception of one effluent sample which was at 67.8 ng/L EEq. The EDC concentrations and EEq values for the passive samples were several times lower than those of the grab samples: a decrease probably caused by, but not limited to biofouling, low flow rate, biodegradation and temperature which can progressively reduce the uptake of compounds into the sampler. At this stage, grab sampling is the most reliable method for field monitoring; nevertheless, passive sampler is a useful sampling tool but the method requires more research to ensure that the information obtained can be interpreted appropriately. Although alkylphenols and phthalates were detected at higher concentrations in the wastewater samples as compared to natural hormones, the environmental risk may be negligible as their estrogenic potencies are several orders of magnitude lower than that of the natural estrogens. In most wastewater samples, the natural estrogens contributed to 60% or more of the EEq value. Removal efficacy of most estrogenic and xenoestrogenic compounds from the conventional activated sludge or biological nutrient removal (BNR) WWTPs monitored in this study was in the range of 80-> 99%. The efficiency of the WWTPs in removing estrogenic activity was > 95%. The EEqs of the E-Screen and those calculated from the results of extensive chemical analyses using the estradiol equivalency factors were comparable for most of the WWTPs samples.     

黄浦江水环境污染风险的模糊数学综合评价

采用模糊综合评价模型对2005年黄浦江6个监测断面水质状况进行评价。结果表明：2005年间黄浦江6个监测断面水质均属于V（严重污染）类,其主要污染物为氮磷营养物。     

生态保护是建设生态文明的重要基础

十七大提出建设生态文明的奋斗目标,具有极其重大的意义.生态保护在建设生态文明中具有保护生存条件、保障生态安全、保护自然资源及生产力、保障可持续发展、促进生态文明观念在全社会牢固树立等重要作用.因此,生态保护是建设生态文明的物质基础、实现生态现代化的前提、建设生态道德的重要载体.     

Effect of mean cell residence time on the performance and microbial diversity of pre-denitrification submerged membrane bioreactors

The effect of mean cell residence time (MCRT) (5, 8.3, 16.7, and 33.3d) on domestic wastewater treatment performance had been investigated using four bench-scale pre-denitrification submerged membrane bioreactors (MBR) operated in parallel. The 33.3-d MCRT MBR had the lowest microbial activities in terms of specific oxygen uptake rate, specific denitrification rate and observed sludge yield. Excellent COD removal efficiency (more than 95%) and nitrification (more than 97%) were observed in all the four MBRs investigated. Even though high nitrification can be achieved in all the MBRs, total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency was found to be affected by MCRT with a maximum of 77% at 33.3-d MCRT. Better TN removal efficiency achieved in the 33.3-d MCRT MBR was due to the combined effect of high mixed liquor concentration and lower dissolved oxygen concentration in the recycled mixed liquor. A comparison of terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (T-RFLP) fingerprints based on 16S rRNA and nirS gene revealed that the microbial communities of 5- and 8.3-d MCRT are grouped under the same branch while 16.7- and 33.3-d MCRT are grouped in another branch. T-RFLP based on amoA gene shows that members from the Nitrosomonas genus were more dominant under shorter MCRT operating environment. Clustering analysis did not show any correlation with the organic and nitrogen removal performance obtained in this study.     

Study of atrazine degradation in subsurface flow constructed wetland under different salinity

To evaluate the treatment capability of subsurface flow constructed wetland (SFCW) and the effect of salinity on the degradation of atrazine, the degradation of atrazine in SFCW was studied. Under the static condition, the degradation of atrazine in SFCW followed first-order kinetics: c=0.09679 exp(-0.0396t) (c, residue concentration, mg l(-1); t, retention time, d), with a half-life of approximately 17.5 days. The atrazine degradation kinetic functions were established for salinities of 1.5, 3.0, 5.0, 10.0 and 15.0 g l(-1), respectively, which appeared to approach first-order kinetics. The effect of salinity on the atrazine treatment efficiency showed an exponential inhibition: lnk=3.204+0.04991 C (k, degradation constant; C, NaCl concentration, mg l(-1)). The attenuation of atrazine in SFCW cannot be a result of hydrolysis or sorption process. It was considered that some bacteria in the wetland system degraded atrazine into deethylatrazine (DEA) and deisopropylatrazine (DIA) and sequentially into CO(2) and H(2)O. Salinity impacted on the growth of bacteria resulting in a switch of the microbial community. With the increase of salinity, Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index in the SFCW system declined. The relationship between atrazine degradation constant (k) and Shannon Index was established as shown in linear phase, y=-0.07286+0.0363x. The positive correlation between them indicated that microbial community played an important role in the atrazine degradation process.     

Photolysis of low concentration H2S under UV/VUV irradiation emitted from microwave discharge electrodeless lamps

The photolysis of simulating low concentration of hydrogen sulfide malodorous gas was studied under UV irradiation emitted by self-made microwave discharge electrodeless lamps (i.e. microwave UV electrodeless mercury lamp (185/253.7 nm) and iodine lamp (178.3/180.1/183/184.4/187.6/206.2 nm)). Experiments results showed that the removal efficiency (eta H2S) of hydrogen sulfide was decreased with increasing initial H2S concentration and increased slightly with gas residence time; H2S removal efficiency was decreased dramatically with enlarged pipe diameter. Under the experimental conditions with pipe diameter of 36 mm, gas flow rate of 0.42 standard l s(-1), eta H2S was 52% with initial H2S concentration of 19.5 mg m(-3) by microwave mercury lamp, the absolute removal amount (ARA) was 4.30 microg s(-1), and energy yield (EY) was 77.3 mg kW h(-1); eta H2S was 56% with initial H2S concentration of 18.9 mg m(-3) by microwave iodine lamp, the ARA was 4.48 microg s(-1), and the EY was 80.5mg kW h(-1). The main photolysis product was confirmed to be SO4(2-) with IC.     

Contamination levels of selected organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides in the Selangor River, Malaysia between 2002 and 2003

In Malaysia, rivers are the main source of public water supplies. This study was conducted from 2002 to 2003 to determine the levels of selected organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides in the Selangor River in Malaysia. Surface water samples have been collected seasonally from nine sites along the river. A liquid-liquid extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique was used to determine the trace levels of these pesticide residues. The organochlorine pesticides detected were lindane, heptachlor, endosulfan, dieldrin, endosulfan sulfate, o,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDT, o,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDE whereas for organophosphate pesticides, they were chlorpyrifos and diazinon. At the river upstream where a dam is located for public water supply, incidents of pesticide levels exceeding the European Economic Community Directive of water quality standards have occurred. Furthermore, the wetland ecosystems located at the downstream of the river which houses the fireflies community is being threatened by occasional pesticide levels above EPA limits for freshwater aquatic organisms. The occurrence of these residual pesticides in the Selangor River can be attributed to the intense agriculture and urban activity.     

Synthesis, characterization and application of a novel chemical sand-fixing agent-poly(aspartic acid) and its composites

A novel sand-fixing agent-poly(aspartic acid) and its composites were synthesized to improve sand particles compressive strength and anti-wind erosion properties. The relationship between the concentration of sand-fixing agent and the sand-fixing properties was studied by three kinds of aging tests. Some composites were choose to improve the sand-fixing property and the composition of 40% xanthan gum and 60% ethyl cellulose were chosen to compare sand-fixing property with lignosulfonate. The results showed that the sand-fixing and water-retaining properties of xanthan gum and ethyl cellulose composites were better than that of lignosulfonate. The biodegradability experiment showed that the PASP and its composites were environment-friendly products and the field test showed that the PASP composites could improve wind erosion disturbance.     

混凝试验搅拌器的研制

影响混凝效果的因素众多,混凝沉淀烧杯试验是进行水的混合、絮凝、沉淀工艺研究、设计和生产指导的最有效方法之一,阐述了智能型混凝试验搅拌器的设计原理和技术性能.