Comprehensive and high-resolution emission inventory of atmospheric pollutants for the northernmost cities agglomeration of Harbin-Changchun, China: Implications for local atmospheric environment management

Using a bottom-up estimation method, a comprehensive, high-resolution emission inventory of gaseous and particulate atmospheric pollutants for multiple anthropogenic sectors with typical local sources has been developed for the Harbin-Changchun city agglomeration (HCA). The annual emissions for CO, NOx, SO₂, NH₃, VOC_S, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, BC and OC during 2017 in the HCA were estimated to be 5.82 Tg, 0.70 Tg, 0.34 Tg, 0.75 Tg, 0.81Tg, 0.67 Tg, 1.59 Tg, 0.12 Tg and 0.26 Tg, respectively. For PM₁₀ and SO₂, the emissions from industry processes were the dominant contributors representing 54.7% and 49.5%, respectively, of the total emissions, while 95.3% and 44.5% of the total NH₃ and NOx emissions, respectively, were from or associated with agricultural activities and transportation. Spatiotemporal distributions showed that most emissions (except NH₃) occurred in November to March and were concentrated in the central cities of Changchun and Harbin and the surrounding cities. Open burning of straw made an important contribution to PM_2.5 in the central regions of the northeastern plain during autumn and spring, while domestic coal combustion for heating purposes was significant with respect to SO₂ and PM_2.5 emissions during autumn and winter. Furthermore, based on Principal Component Analysis and Multivariable Linear Regression model, air temperature, relative humidity, electricity and energy consumption, and the urban and rural population were optimized to be representative indicators for rapidly assessing the magnitude of regional atmospheric pollutants in the HCA. Such indicators and equations were demonstrated to be useful for local atmospheric environment management.     

Full-scale blending treatment of fresh MSWI leachate with municipal wastewater in a wastewater treatment plant

Fresh leachate, generated in municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plants, contains various pollutants with extremely high strength organics, which usually requires expensive and complex treatment processes. This study investigated the feasibility of blending treatment of MSWI leachate with municipal wastewater. Fresh MSWI leachate was pretreated by coagulation–flocculation with FeCl₃ 2 g/L and CaO 25 g/L, plate-and-frame filter press, followed by ammonia stripping at pH above 12. After that, blending treatment was carried out in a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) for approximately 3 months. Different operational modes consisting of different pretreated leachate and methanol addition levels were tested, and their performances were evaluated. Results showed that throughout the experimental period, monitored parameters in the WWTP effluent, including COD (<60 mg/L), BOD₅ (<20 mg/L), ammonium (<8 mg/L), phosphorus (<1.5 mg/L) and heavy metals, generally complied with the Chinese sewage discharged standard. Under the experimental conditions, a certain amount of methanol was needed to fulfill TN removal. An estimation of the operation cost revealed that the expenditure of blending treatment was much lower than the total costs of respective treatment of MSWI leachate and municipal wastewater. The outcomes indicated that blending treatment could not only improve the treatability of the MSWI leachate, but also reduce the treatment cost of the two different wastewaters.     

Volcano-related materials in concretes: a comprehensive review

Massive volcano-related materials (VRMs) erupted from volcanoes bring the impacts to natural environment and humanity health worldwide, which include generally volcanic ash (VA), volcanic pumice (VP), volcanic tuff (VT), etc. Considering the pozzolanic activities and mechanical characters of these materials, civil engineers propose to use them in low carbon/cement and environment-friendly concrete industries as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) or artificial/natural aggregates. The utilization of VRMs in concretes has attracted increasing and pressing attentions from research community. Through a literature review, this paper presents comprehensively the properties of VRMs and VRM concretes (VRMCs), including the physical and chemical properties of raw VRMs and VRMCs, and the fresh, microstructural and mechanical properties of VRMCs. Besides, considering environmental impacts and the development of long-term properties, the durability and stability properties of VRMCs also are summarized in this paper. The former focuses on the resistance properties of VRMCs when subjected to aggressive environmental impacts such as chloride, sulfate, seawater, and freezing–thawing. The latter mainly includes the fatigue, creep, heat-insulating, and expansion properties of VRMCs. This study will be helpful to promote the sustainability in concrete industries, protect natural environment, and reduce the impacts of volcano disaster. Based on this review, some main conclusions are discussed and important recommendations regarding future research on the application of VRMs in concrete industries are provided.     

Carbon emission intensity of electricity generation in Belt and Road Initiative countries: a benchmarking analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The scope of this study is to analyze the carbon emissions intensity of electricity generation in “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI)...     

Efficient abatement of an iodinated X-ray contrast media iohexol by Co(II) or Cu(II) activated sulfite autoxidation process

Efficient abatement of an iodinated X-ray contrast media iohexol by an emerging sulfite autoxidation advanced oxidation process is demonstrated, which is based on transition metal ion–catalyzed autoxidation of sulfite to form active oxidizing species. The efficacy of the combination of sulfite and transition metal ions (Ag(I), Mn(II), Co(II), Fe(II), Cu(II), Fe(III), or Ce(III)) was tested for iohexol abatement. Co(II) and Cu(II) are proven to show more pronounced catalytic activity than other metals at pH 8.0. According to the quenching studies, sulfate radical (SO₄^??) is identified to be the primary species for oxidation of iohexol. Increasing dosages of metal ion or sulfite and higher pH values are favorable for iohexol abatement. Inhibition of iohexol abatement is observed in the absence of dissolved oxygen, which is vital for the production of SO₅^?? and subsequent formation of SO₄^??. Overall, activation of sulfite to produce reactive radicals with extremely low Co(II) or Cu(II) concentrations (in the range of μg L^?1) in circumneutral conditions is confirmed, which offers a potential SO₄^??-based advanced oxidation process in treatment of aquatic organic contaminants.

     

Evaluation of combined developmental neurological toxicity of di (n-butyl) phthalates and lead using immature mice

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, the immature mice were taken to assess the potential neurological toxicity of lead (Pb) and di (n-butyl) phthalates (DBP) combination...     

Nitrogen removal performance and bacterial communities in zeolite trickling filter under different influent C/N ratios

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, the degradation performance of nutrients in zeolite trickling filter (ZTF) with different influent C/N ratios and aeration conditions...     

Authentication of emission monitoring data and optimization of desulfurization in the molybdenum roasting process based on BAT-OOPN and the response surface method

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper presents a quantitative pollutant discharge model for a typical molybdenum roasting plant, which combines the best available technology and...     

Geochemistry of heavy metal-contaminated sediments from the Four River inlets of Dongting lake,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The concentrations of major and trace elements in the sediments from the Four River inlets of Dongting Lake were analysed. The results show that the...