Discovery of emerging organic pollutants in the atmosphere through an omics approach

● We review the framework of discovering emerging pollutants through an omics approach. ● High-resolution MS can digitalize atmospheric samples to full-component data. ● Chemical features and databases can help to translate untargeted data to compounds. ● Biological effect-directed untargeted analyses consider both existence and toxicity. Ambient air pollution, containing numerous known and hitherto unknown compounds, is a major risk factor for public health. The discovery of harmful components is the prerequisite for pollution control; however, this raises a great challenge on recognizing previously unknown species. Here we systematically review the analytical techniques on air pollution in the framework of an omics approach, with a brief introduction on sample preparation and analysis, and in more detail, compounds prioritization and identification. Through high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS, typically coupled with chromatography), the complicated environmental matrix can be digitalized into “full-component” data. A key step to discover emerging compounds is the prioritization of compounds from massive data. Chemical fingerprints, suspect lists and biological effects are the most vital untargeted strategies for comprehensively screening critical and hazardous substances. Afterward, compressed data of compounds can be identified at various confidence levels according to exact mass and the derived molecular formula, MS libraries, and authentic standards. Such an omics approach on full-component data provides a paradigm for discovering emerging air pollutants; nonetheless, new technological advancements of instruments and databases are warranted for further tracking the environmental behaviors, hence to evaluate the health risk of key pollutants.     

Elevated atmospheric deposition and dynamics of mercury in a remote upland forest of southwestern China

Mt. Gongga area in southwest China was impacted by Hg emissions from industrial activities and coal combustion, and annual means of atmospheric TGM and PHg concentrations at a regional background station were 3.98 ng m⁻³ and 30.7 pg m⁻³, respectively. This work presents a mass balance study of Hg in an upland forest in this area. Atmospheric deposition was highly elevated in the study area, with the annual mean THg deposition flux of 92.5 μg m⁻² yr⁻¹. Total deposition was dominated by dry deposition (71.8%), and wet deposition accounted for the remaining 28.2%. Forest was a large pool of atmospheric Hg, and nearly 76% of the atmospheric input was stored in forest soil. Volatilization and stream outflow were identified as the two major pathways for THg losses from the forest, which yielded mean output fluxes of 14.0 and 8.6 μg m⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively.     

改性氧化铝微波诱导催化氧化处理高浓度苯酚废水的研究

采用微波诱导催化氧化技术,以改性氧化铝为催化剂,对高浓度模拟苯酚废水进行氧化处理。考察了微波功率、催化剂投加量、H202投加量、废水pH值和微波反应时间等因素对苯酚去除效果的影响。实验结果表明,处理30mL质量浓度为1 100mg/L的苯酚模拟废水,在微波功率500W,催化剂加入量1 g(液固比30∶1),30％双氧水...     

Nationwide monitoring of atmospheric PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in South Korea

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) were measured in ambient air samples collected from different parts of South Korea in 2008, and the measured levels were used for assessing the spatial and temporal distribution of atmospheric PCDDFs and DL-PCBs in South Korea. The average concentrations of atmospheric PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs among the 37 sites were 28 fg I-TEQ m⁻³ (ND ∼ 617) and 1 fg WHO-TEQ m⁻³ (ND ∼ 0.016). Elevated atmospheric levels of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs observed at residential/industrial sites and in the north-west of Korea, indicated a potential contribution and impacts of anthropogenic sources of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs. These levels were similar or lower than those previously reported in other ambient air surveys. Average concentrations of PCDD/Fs showed small seasonal variations (ANOVA analysis, p = 0.144). The highest concentrations of PCDD/Fs were observed during winter, followed by spring, autumn and summer. Atmospheric PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in South Korea rapidly decreased during the last 10 years (1998-2008), demonstrating the efficiency of stricter regulations and the application of best available technologies/best environmental practices at emission sources. Comparison of the congener profiles and principal component analysis showed that current atmospheric PCDD/Fs are mostly influenced by industrial sources and PCBs from old commercial PCB uses. Nationwide POPs monitoring will continue and allows an effective evaluation of the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on POPs.     

不同混凝剂处理松花江低温水

东北松花江地区冬季有将近6个月的冰封期,低温季节水源水处理难度大。为了保证东北地区冬季饮用水供应,研究几种混凝剂在处理冬季松花江低温水时的混凝效果。实验结果表明,NPAC1和NPAC2水解产物中具有较高的Alb和Alc成分,拥有较高的电中和、吸附和网捕卷扫性能,高效聚铝铁(PAF)水解产物Fe(OH)3具有比表面积大、吸附架桥作用较强的优点。这3种混凝剂无论是在控制出水浊度还是在对水体有机物去除能力方面均优于目前水厂所使用的PAC和聚合氯化铝铁(水厂PAF);NPAC2的投加量达到50 mg/L时,出水浊度达到最优;当混凝剂投加量达到50 mg/L时,NPAC1的浊度去除率逐渐超过NPAC2,剩余浊度低于3.0 NTU;NPAC1、NPAC2和PAF 3种混凝剂对有机物的去除能力大致相当,当混凝剂投加量为50 mg/L时,这3种混凝剂处理后的水的UV254的值均低于0.06,而水厂使用的2种混凝剂处理后的水的UV254仍高于0.1;结合其对浊度去除的情况,可以判断55 mg/L的投药量为NPAC1的最优投药点,PAF的最佳投药量为65 mg/L;投加适量的粉末活性碳可以有效地提高氨氮的去除率,当粉末活性炭的投加量为30 mg/L时,氨氮的去除率基本达到最大(51.27%)。表面负荷对混凝效果具有重要的影响,合理降低沉淀池的表面负荷对于提高出水水质具有重要作用。     

Predicting the bioavailability of sediment-associated polybrominated diphenyl ethers using a 45-d sequential Tenax extraction

A 45-d Tenax extraction was used to evaluate the bioavailability of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in three spiked sediments. The effect of aging on desorption kinetics of PBDEs was investigated by incubating one of the sediments for 7, 14, 30 and 60 d at room temperature. Desorption kinetics were well described by a three-compartment model. The fraction of very slow desorption (Fvs) contributed the most of the desorbed PBDEs from sediments. The total desorption amount of PBDEs decreased with the increase of total organic carbon in the sediments, suggesting that organic matter is an important factor controlling the partition of PBDEs in sediments. The total desorption amount of PBDEs decreased while log [(Fslow+Fvs)/Frap] increased with logKow of PBDE congeners, indicating that the bioavailability of PBDEs in sediment decreases with logKow of the congeners. As the residential time of PBDEs in the sediment increased from 7 to 60 d, Frap of individual PBDE congeners decreased gradually with simultaneous increase of Fvs. There was a good positive correlation between Frap and F6/F24, indicating that either 6 h or 24 h Tenax extraction could be a proxy for Frap and bioavailability. In general, the results in present study suggest that the bioavailability of nona- and deca-BDEs in sediment is very low due to their strong hydrophobicity and large molecular size.     

Efficiency of surfactant-enhanced desorption for contaminated soils depending on the component characteristics of soil-surfactant--PAHs system

The sorption of surfactants onto soils has a significant effect on the performance of surfactant enhanced desorption. In this study, the efficiency of surfactants in enhancing desorption for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminated soils relative to water was evaluated with a term of relative efficiency coefficient (REC). Since the sorption of surfactants onto soils, surfactants only enhanced PAH desorption when REC values were larger than 1 and the added surfactant concentration was greater than the corresponding critical enhance desorption concentration (CEDC), which was defined as the corresponding surfactant concentration with REC=1. A model was utilized to describe and predict the REC and CEDC values for PAH desorption. The model and experimental results indicated that the efficiency of surfactants in enhancing PAH desorption showed strong dependence on the soil composition, surfactant structure and PAH properties. These results are of practical interest for the selection of surfactant to optimize soil remediation technologies.     

共代谢基质对芽孢杆菌Y-4降解异喹啉的影响

以吡啶,葡萄糖和邻苯二甲酸作为共代谢基质,研究了它们对芽孢杆菌Y_4降解异喹啉的影响。实验结果表明各降解过程均遵循二级反应动力学方程：-dS／dt=K2S2＋K1S＋K0。吡啶的加入会抑制异喹啉的降解,并且吡啶的浓度越高,抑制作用越明显。反应体系中葡萄糖的浓度为100-800mg／L时,葡萄糖的加入会促进异喹啉的降解,且葡萄糖浓度越大,异喹啉降解速率P越大,当葡萄糖的浓度为800mg／L时,其降解率速率P可由未加葡萄糖的0．1924h。上升为0．2255h-1。适宜浓度的邻苯二甲酸会对异喹啉的降解产生促进作用,邻苯二甲酸的浓度为50mg／L时,异喹啉的降解速率可由原来的0．1924h-1增加到0．2145h-1,邻苯二甲酸浓度过高反而会抑制异喹啉的降解。     

CAS工艺与AOE工艺曝气池水质信息场的测量与分析

为了研究曝气池空间内水质的分布及变化规律,采用了YSI6600 V2多参数水质检测仪对成都市三瓦窑污水处理厂的一期工程传统污泥法(CAS)、二期工程缺氧、好氧和内源呼吸(AOE)工艺中的曝气池分别进行了包括DO、NH3-N、NO3--N、pH、氯化物和温度等水质指标的场的检测,通过分析这些数据,揭示了曝气池内部水质变化的规律,并比较了CAS工艺与AOE工艺内水质处理效果的差别。结果表明,(1)溶解氧沿池深方向呈现出一定的分布规律,CAS工艺中随池深增加,溶解氧增加,AOE工艺中随着池深的增加,溶解氧降低;(2)AOE工艺对氨氮在O区的去除率可达97.64%,明显高于CAS工艺的41.76%;(3)沿曝气池长度测量溶解氧空间分布规律,参照理论曲线及依据水质处理要求,调整曝气量的方法具有长期运行经济、水质处理效果好的特点。     

Well water contaminated by acidic mine water from the Dabaoshan Mine, south China: chemistry and toxicity

An investigation into well water quality was carried out in a rural area subject to irrigation with acidic mine water from the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine, southern China. The results of water pH measurements from 112 wells in two different seasons suggest that the well water has been contaminated to varying degrees in the investigated Shangba floodplain (approximately 11km south of the Guangdong Dabaoshan Mine). There is a trend that well water pH increased southwards, suggesting that the impacts of acidic irrigation water on groundwater decreased with increasing distance to the entry point of acidic irrigation water. Water quality monitoring results of the selected wells show that Cu and Cd in the water exceeded the limits set in the Chinese National Standards for Drinking Water (GB 5749-85) for the wells close to the irrigation water source. If the World Health Organization (WHO) standard was considered, Cd in some wells was almost 10 times as high as the WHO guideline value (0.003mg l(-1)). Water collected from the location closest to the acidic irrigation water source was acutely toxic to the test organism (Daphnia carinata) even after 51 time dilution. It is likely that the extremely high mortality rate of the local population reported for the study area is at least partly related to the high levels of heavy metals, particularly Cd in the drinking well water.