Degradation of the potential rodent contraceptive quinestrol and elimination of its estrogenic activity in soil and water

Quinestrol has shown potential for use in the fertility control of the plateau pika population of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. However, the environmental safety and fate of this compound are still obscure. Our study investigated degradation of quinestrol in a local soil and aquatic system for the first time. The results indicate that the degradation of quinestrol follows first-order kinetics in both soil and water, with a dissipation half-life of approximately 16.0 days in local soil. Microbial activity heavily influenced the degradation of quinestrol, with 41.2 % removal in non-sterile soil comparing to 4.8 % removal in sterile soil after incubation of 10 days. The half-lives in neutral water (pH 7.4) were 0.75 h when exposed to UV light (λ?=?365 nm) whereas they became 2.63 h when exposed to visible light (λ?>?400 nm). Acidic conditions facilitated quinestrol degradation in water with shorter half-lives of 1.04 and 1.47 h in pH 4.0 and pH 5.0 solutions, respectively. Moreover, both the soil and water treatment systems efficiently eliminated the estrogenic activity of quinestrol. Results presented herein clarify the complete degradation of quinestrol in a relatively short time. The ecological and environmental safety of this compound needs further investigation.     

Effects of cadmium on the photosynthetic activity in mature and young leaves of soybean plants

Cadmium (Cd) is a widely spread pollutant and can be easily taken up by crop from soil, resulting in a serious health issue for humans. The objective of this study was to comparatively investigate the photosynthetic activity, chlorophyll a fluorescence, chlorophyll contents, and spectral reflectance in mature and young leaves of soybean plants after being treated with different concentrations of Cd for 10 days. The photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll contents, actual photochemical efficiency of PSII, and photochemical quenching in the young leaves decreased more significantly with increasing concentrations of Cd in the nutrient solution, compared with those in the mature leaves, though the young leaves had less Cd concentrations. Thus, there was more excessive excited energy produced in the young leaves than that in the mature leaves. In the young leaves, due to more excessive excited energy, more reactive oxygen species may be generated, which further damaged the photosynthetic apparatus. It was supported by the fact that the decrease of reflectance in near-infrared wavelengths of the young leaves was more noticeable than that of the mature leaves. In addition, the chlorophyll a fluorescence transients of the young leaves was significantly different from that in the mature leaves, indicating that the electron transport of young leaves were inhibited much more severely than that of the mature leaves. These observations imply that the responses of photosynthetic activity of soybean leaves to Cd stress depend on their growth stage, and the Cd-induced inhibition of photosynthetic activity might be attributed to the decrease in chlorophyll contents and the decrease in mesophyll CO₂ assimilation ability cause by the Cd, which further decreased the consumption of ATP and NADPH, leading to accumulation of NADPH on the acceptor sides of the PSI, and then feedback inhibited electron transport in chloroplasts.     

Enhanced degradation of ortho-nitrochlorobenzene by the combined system of zero-valent iron reduction and persulfate oxidation in soils

ortho-Nitrochlorobenzene (o-NCB) in soil poses significant health risks to human because of its persistence and high toxicity. The removal of o-NCB by both zero-valent iron (ZVI) and chemical oxidation (persulfate) was investigated by batch experiments. The o-NCB removal rate increases significantly from 15.1 to 97.3 % with an increase of iron dosage from 0.1 to 1.0 mmol g^?1. The o-NCB removal rate increases with the decrease of the initial solution pH, and a removal efficiency of 90.3 % is obtained at an initial pH value of 6.8 in this combined system. It is found that temperature and soil moisture could also increase the o-NCB removal rate. The o-NCB degradation rate increases from 83.9 to 96.2 % and from 41.5 to 82.4 % with an increase of temperature (15 to 35 °C) and soil moisture (0.25 to 1.50 mL g^?1), respectively. Compared to the persulfate oxidation system and ZVI system, the persulfate–iron system shows high o-NCB removal capacity. o-NCB removal rates of 41.5 and 62.4 % are obtained in both the persulfate oxidation system and the ZVI system, while the removal rate of o-NCB is 90.3 % in the persulfate–iron system.     

Simazine biodegradation and community structures of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in bioaugmented soil: impact of ammonia and nitrate nitrogen sources

The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of ammonia and nitrate nitrogen sources on simazine biodegradation by Arthrobacter sp. strain SD1 and the community structures of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) in non-agricultural soil. Soil microcosms with different treatments were constructed for herbicide biodegradation test. The relative abundance of the strain SD1 and the structures of AOA and AOB communities were assessed using quantitative PCR (q-PCR) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), respectively. The co-existence of two inorganic nitrogen sources (ammonia and nitrate) had certain impact on simazine dissipation by the strain SD1. Bioaugmentation could induce a shift in the community structures of both AOA and AOB, but AOA were more responsive. Nitrogen application had significant impacts on AOA and AOB communities in bioaugmented soils. Moreover, in non-bioaugmented soil, the community structure of AOA, instead of AOB, could be quickly recovered after herbicide application. This study could add some new insights towards the impacts of nitrogen sources on s-triazine bioremediation and ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in soil ecosystem.     

Biodegradation of methyl red by Bacillus sp. strain UN2: decolorization capacity,metabolites characterization,and enzyme analysis

Azo dyes are recalcitrant and refractory pollutants that constitute a significant menace to the environment. The present study is focused on exploring the capability of Bacillus sp. strain UN2 for application in methyl red (MR) degradation. Effects of physicochemical parameters (pH of medium, temperature, initial concentration of dye, and composition of the medium) were studied in detail. The suitable pH and temperature range for MR degradation by strain UN2 were respectively 7.0–9.0 and 30–40 °C, and the optimal pH value and temperature were respectively 8.0 and 35 °C. Mg²⁺ and Mn²⁺ (1 mM) were found to significantly accelerate the MR removal rate, while the enhancement by either Fe³⁺ or Fe²⁺ was slight. Under the optimal degradation conditions, strain UN2 exhibited greater than 98 % degradation of the toxic azo dye MR (100 ppm) within 30 min. Analysis of samples from decolorized culture flasks confirmed biodegradation of MR into two prime metabolites: N,N′dimethyl-p-phenyle-nediamine and 2-aminobenzoic acid. A study of the enzymes responsible for the biodegradation of MR, in the control and cells obtained during (10 min) and after (30 min) degradation, showed a significant increase in the activities of azoreductase, laccase, and NADH-DCIP reductase. Furthermore, a phytotoxicity analysis demonstrated that the germination inhibition was almost eliminated for both the plants Triticum aestivum and Sorghum bicolor by MR metabolites at 100 mg/L concentration, yet the germination inhibition of parent dye was significant. Consequently, the high efficiency of MR degradation enables this strain to be a potential candidate for bioremediation of wastewater containing MR.     

Bioaccumulation and tissue distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in freshwater fishes: a case study performed in Poyang Lake,China’s largest lake

Concentrations and tissue distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in different tissues of freshwater fish, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), collected from Poyang Lake, China’s largest shallow lake, and were studied. OCPs were detected with the observed concentrations ranging from 280.67 to 1,006.58 ng/g wet weight (ww) for bighead carp and from 67.28 to 930.06 ng/g ww for silver carp. Composition analysis demonstrated OCPs in both fish were from the same polluted environment, and then, the species-specific bioaccumulation might be mainly due to the different fish age as well as the different feeding habits elucidating from the stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope analysis. Tissue distribution indicated that dietary intake was the major exposure route of OCPs for both fish and higher accumulation potency of OCPs by the hepatobiliary-related tissues (such as liver, kidney, bile, and heart). The higher metabolic activities of these tissues elucidating from the higher values of δ¹⁵N might be the potential-determined factor responsible for the tissue-specific accumulation.     

臭氧联用技术深度处理腈纶废水的效果对比

将臭氧分别与超声波、H2O2、紫外光等联用,深度处理干法腈纶生产厂生化池出水,对各种联用技术的处理效果进行了研究。实验结果表明：在进水流量2 L/min、反应时间30 min、臭氧加入量3.5 g/（L?h）的条件下,当超声功率为300 W时,臭氧-超声联用技术的COD去除率为30.0%;当H2O2加入量为0.4 mL/L时,臭氧-H2O2联用技术的COD去除率为50.7%;当紫外灯功率为40 W时,臭氧-紫外光联用技术的COD去除率为49.9%;在各种联用技术中,臭氧-H2O2联用技术的运行成本最低（为7.5 元/t）,且处理后出水COD为143 mg/L,达到《<污水综合排放标准>（GB8978—1996）中石化工业COD标准值修改单》中的一级排放标准。综合考虑,臭氧-H2O2联用技术是深度处理干法腈纶废水的最优工艺。     

Mn/γ-Al2O3催化剂的制备及头孢合成废水的催化臭氧氧化法深度处理

对Mn/γ-Al₂O₃催化剂的制备条件及头孢合成废水的催化臭氧氧化法深度处理工艺条件进行了优化。实验结果表明：以Mn（NO₃）₂溶液为浸渍液,Mn/γ-Al₂O₃催化剂的最优制备条件为浸渍液浓度0.10 mol/L、浸渍时间9 h、焙烧温度400 ℃、焙烧时间2 h;在反应时间为30 min、废水pH为9.0、臭氧通量为4.6 mg/min、催化剂加入量为5 g/L的条件下,当进水COD、BOD₅、ρ（氨氮）和色度分别为220~250 mg/L,8~10 mg/L,10~12 mg/L和60~70倍时,出水COD、BOD₅、ρ（氨氮）和色度的平均去除率分别为53%,30%,33%和93%,出水水质满足GB 21904—2008《化学合成类制药工业水污染物排放标准》的要求。     

活性炭纤维负载TiO2催化剂的制备及其电催化性能

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了活性炭纤维负载TiO₂催化剂（TiO₂/ACF）,并通过SEM和XRD等手段对TiO₂/ACF进行了表征。以邻苯二甲酸二甲酯（DMP）为目标降解物,考察了催化材料的电催化活性。实验结果表明：在反应温度为25 ℃、初始DMP质量浓度为100.0 mg/L、电解质Na₂SO₄质量浓度为100 mg/L、电流密度为62.5 mA/cm²、电极板间距为4 cm的条件下,经过40 min的降解,DMP质量浓度为1.8 mg/L,DMP去除率为98.2%;TiO₂/ACF在反应过程中可以原位再生,经6次重复使用后仍保持很高的催化活性,对DMP的去除率仍达90%以上。     

氯化镁复配硫酸铝混凝性能及絮体特性

在研究氢氧化镁混凝特性的基础上,复配氯化镁和硫酸铝作为混凝剂,以高岭土配水水样为研究对象,运用iPDA在线监测技术对混凝过程絮体形成进行监测,探讨了单独使用氯化镁和硫酸铝以及二者复配使用的混凝效果和絮体特性,确定复配使用的各种条件。结果表明,对于浊度20 NTU,pH 11.5的高岭土配水水样,氯化镁、硫酸铝最佳投加量分别为7.2 mg/L(Mg2+计)和3 mg/L(Al3+计);硫酸铝跟氯化镁复配使用时,先投加硫酸铝,间隔30 s后投加氯化镁,混凝效果较好;在镁离子最佳投加量7.2 mg/L时,铝和镁最佳质量比在1∶3~1∶2之间;镁铝复配时其FI值明显大于单独作用时,即絮体尺寸大小:二者复配硫酸铝氯化镁,而且复配条件下Zeta电位值在零电势左右浮动,浮动范围小,更利于聚集沉淀;镁铝复配时发生了协同效应,弥补了单独使用氯化镁混凝过程的不足。