UV/H2O2 oxidation of tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate: Intermediate products, degradation pathway and toxicity evaluation

Tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) with the initial concentration of 5 mg/L was degraded by UV/H₂O₂ oxidation process. The removal rate of TCEP in the UV/H₂O₂ system was 89.1% with the production of Cl^? and PO₄^3? of 0.23 and 0.64 mg/L. The removal rate of total organic carbon of the reaction was 48.8% and the pH reached 3.3 after the reaction. The oxidative degradation process of TCEP in the UV/H₂O₂ system obeyed the first order kinetic reaction with the apparent rate constant of 0.0025 min^?1 (R²=0.9788). The intermediate products were isolated and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. The addition reaction of HO? and H₂O and the oxidation reaction with H₂O₂ were found during the degradation pathway of 5 mg/L TCEP in the UV/H₂O₂ system. For the first time, environment risk was estimated via the “ecological structure activity relationships” program and acute and chronic toxicity changes of intermediate products were pointed out. The luminescence inhibition rate of photobacterium was used to evaluate the acute toxicity of intermediate products. The results showed that the toxicity of the intermediate products increased with the increase of reaction time, which may be due to the production of chlorine compounds. Some measures should be introduced to the UV/H₂O₂ system to remove the highly toxic Cl-containing compounds, such as a nanofiltration or reverse osmosis unit.     

Will polycentric cities cause more CO2 emissions? A case study of 232 Chinese cities

From 2000 to 2010 China experienced rapid economic development and urbanization. Many cities in economically developed areas have developed from a single-center status to polycentricity. In this study, we used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to identify the population centers, which identified 232 cities in China as having urban centers. COMP was used to represent urban agglomeration, and POLYD (representing how far is the city's sub-centers to the main center), POLYC (representing the number of a city's centers), and POLYP (representing the population distributed between the main center and the sub-centers) were used to indicate urban polycentricity. Night light data were used to determine the CO₂ emissions from various cities in China. A mixed model was used to study the impact of urban aggregation and polycentric data on the CO₂ emission efficiency in 2000 and 2010. The study found that cities with higher compactness were distributed in coastal areas, and the cities with higher multicentricity were distributed in the Yangtze River Delta and Shandong Province. The more compact the city was, the less conducive it was to improving CO₂ emission efficiency. Polycentric development of the city was conducive to improving the CO₂ emission efficiency, but the number of urban centers had no significant relationship with the CO₂ emission efficiency. Our research showed that the compactness and multicentricity of the city had an impact on the CO₂ emission efficiency and provided some planning suggestions for the low carbon development of the city.     

Effect of struvite and organic acids on immobilization of copper and zinc in contaminated bio-retention filter media

Few studies have been carried out to connect nutrient recovery as struvite from wastewater and sustainable utilization of the recovered struvite for copper and zinc immobilization in contaminated soil. This study revealed the effect of struvite on Cu and Zn immobilization in contaminated bio-retention soil in the presence of commonly exuded plant organic acids. The research hypothesis was that the presence of both struvite and organic acids may influence the immobilization of Cu and Zn in soil. The outcome of this research confirmed that more than 99% of Cu and Zn was immobilized in bio-retention filter media by struvite application. Water-soluble Cu and Zn concentrations of struvite treated soil were less than 1.83 and 0.86 mg/kg respectively, and these concentrations were significantly lower compared to the total Cu and Zn content of 747.05 mg/kg in the contaminated soil. Application of struvite to Cu- and Zn-contaminated soil resulted in formation of compounds similar to zinc phosphate tetrahydrate (Zn₃(PO₄)₂?4H₂O) and amorphous Cu and Zn phases. Struvite was effective in heavy metal remediation in acidic soil regardless of the presence of Ca impurities in struvite and the presence of plant organic acids in soil. Overall, this study revealed that struvite recovered from wastewater treatment plants has potential for use as an amendment for heavy metal remediation in contaminated bio-retention soil.     

Responses of nitrification performance, triclosan resistome and diversity of microbes to continuous triclosan stress in activated sludge system

Triclosan(TCS) is commonly found in wastewater treatment plants,which often affects biological treatment processes.The responses of nitrification,antibiotic resistome and microbial community under different TCS concentrations in activated sludge system were evaluated in this study.The experiment was conducted in a sequencing batch reactor(SBR)for 240 days.Quantitative PCR results demonstrated that the abundance of ammonium oxidizing bacteria could be temporarily inhibited by 1 mg/L TCS and then gradually recovered.And the abundances of nitrite oxidizing bacteria(NOB) under 2.5 and 4 mg/L TCS were three orders of magnitude lower than that of seed sludge,which accounted for partial nitrification.When the addition of TCS was stopped,the abundance of NOB increased.The mass balance experiments of TCS demonstrated that the primary removal pathway of TCS changed from adsorption to biodegradation as TCS was continuously added into the SBR system.Moreover,TCS increased the abundance of mexB,indicating the efflux pump might be the main TCS-resistance mechanism.As a response to TCS,bacteria could secrete more protein(PN) than polysaccharide.Three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix revealed that tryptophan PN-like substances might be the main component in PN to resist TCS.High-throughput sequencing found that the relative abundances of Paracoccus,Pseudoxanthomonas and Thauera increased,which could secrete extracellular polymeric substances(EPS).And Sphingopyxis might be the main TCS-degrading bacteria.Overall,TCS could cause partial nitrification and increase the relative abundances of EPS-secreting bacteria and TCS-degrading bacteria.     

Ozone pollution characteristics and sensitivity analysis using an observation-based model in Nanjing, Yangtze River Delta Region of China

Ground-level ozone (O₃) has become a critical pollutant impeding air quality improvement in Yangtze River Delta region of China. In this study, we present O₃ pollution characteristics based on one-year online measurements during 2016 at an urban site in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Then, the sensitivity of O₃ to its precursors during 2 O₃ pollution episodes in August was analyzed using a box model based on observation (OBM). The relative incremental reactivity (RIR) of hydrocarbons was larger than other precursors, suggesting that hydrocarbons played the dominant role in O₃ formation. The RIR values for NO_X ranged from –0.41%/% to 0.19%/%. The O₃ sensitivity was also analyzed based on relationship of simulated O₃ production rates with reductions of VOC and NO_X derived from scenario analyses. Simulation results illustrate that O₃ formation was between VOCs-limited and transition regime. Xylenes and light alkenes were found to be key species in O₃ formation according to RIR values, and their sources were determined using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. Paints and solvent use was the largest contributor to xylenes (54%), while petrochemical industry was the most important source to propene (82%). Discussions on VOCs and NO_X reduction schemes suggest that the 5% O₃ control goal can be achieved by reducing VOCs by 20%. To obtain 10% O₃ control goal, VOCs need to be reduced by 30% with VOCs/NO_X larger than 3:1.     

Chemical characteristics of road dust PM2.5 fraction in oasis cities at the margin of Tarim Basin

In order to understand the compositions characteristics of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) fraction in road dust (RD_2.5) of oasis cities on the edge of Tarim Basin, 30 road dust (RD) samples were collected in Kashi, Cele, and Yutian in the spring, 2018, and RD_2.5 was collected using the resuspension approach. Eight water-soluble ions, 39 trace elements and 8 fractions of carbon-containing species in PM_2.5 were analyzed. Ca²⁺ and Ca were the most abundant ions and elements in RD_2.5 (7.1% and 9.5%). Cl^- in RD_2.5 was affected not only by attributed to saline-alkali soils in oasis cities of the Tarim Basin and dust from Taklimakan Desert but also by human activities. Moreover, the organic carbon/elemental carbon (OC/EC) ratio indicated that carbon components in RD_2.5 in Cele town mainly come from fossil fuel combustion, while those in Yutian and Kashi mainly come from biomass combustion. It is noteworthy that high Ca in RD_2.5 was seriously affected by anthropogenic emissions, and high Na and K contents in RD_2.5 could be derived from soil and desert dust. It was estimated that Cd, Tl, Sn and Cr were emitted from anthropogenic emissions using the enrichment factor. The coefficients of divergence (COD) result indicated that the influence of local emission on road dust emission is greater than that of long-distance transmission. This study is the first time to comprehensively analyze the chemical characteristics of road dust in oasis cities, and the results provides the sources of road dust at the margin of Tarim Basin.     

Investigation to meet China II emission legislation for marine diesel engine with diesel methanol compound combustion technology

In order to reduce the pollutant emission and alleviate the pressure of petroleum resources shortage and greenhouse gas emission at the same time, the use of clean and renewable alternative fuel for marine engines is a promising option. In this study, a marine diesel engine, which was modified to run in diesel methanol compound combustion (DMCC) mode, was investigated. After the diesel injection parameters were calibrated, and combined with a sample after-treatment device DOC (diesel oxidation catalyst), the engine could meet the requirements of China II legislation. The overall MSP (methanol substitute percent) reached 54.1%. The value of each pollutant emission was much lower than that in China II emission legislation, and there was almost no methanol and formaldehyde emissions. When methanol was injected into the inlet manifold, the intake air temperature decreased a lot, as well as the exhaust gas temperature, which were beneficial to increase engine thermal efficiency and improve engine room environment. Compared with the engine running in pure diesel mode, when the engine ran in diesel/methanol dual fuel mode, the combustion phase was advanced, and the combustion duration became shorter. Therefore, the engine thermal efficiency increased, and fuel consumption decreased significantly.     

Sources, distribution, and risk assessment of organochlorine pesticides in Nairobi City, Kenya

The distribution and sources of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in air and surface waters were monitored in Nairobi City using triolein-filled semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs). The SPMDs were extracted by dialysis using n-hexane, followed by cleanup by adsorption chromatography on silica gel cartridges. Sample analysis was done by GC-ECD and confirmed by GC–MS. Separation of means was achieved by analysis of variance, followed by pair-wise comparison using the t-test (p≤ 0.05). The total OCPs ranged between 0.018 – 1.277 ng/m³ in the air and <LOD – 1391.000 ng/m³ in surface waters. Based on the results, the means of Industrial Area, Dandora and Kibera were not significantly different (p≤ 0.05), but were higher (p≤ 0.05) than those of City square and Ngong’ Forest. The results revealed non-significant (p≤ 0.05) contribution of long-range transport to OCP pollution in Nairobi City. This indicated possible presence of point sources of environmental OCPs in the city. The water-air fugacity ratios indicated that volatilization and deposition played an important role in the spatial distribution of OCPs in Nairobi City. This indicated that contaminated surface waters could be major sources of human exposure to OCPs, through volatilization. The incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCR) determined from inhalation of atmospheric OCPs were 2.3745  ×  10^?13 – 1.6845  ×  10^?11 (adult) and 5.5404  ×  10^?13 – 3.9306  ×  10^?11 (child) in the order: Dandora > Kibera > Industrial Area > City Square > Ngong’ Forest. However, these were lower than the USEPA acceptable risks, 10^?6 – 10^?4. This study concluded that atmospheric OCPs did not pose significant cancer risks to the residents.     

短期干旱胁迫对马尾松排放挥发性有机物的影响

为探究干旱环境对BVOCs排放的影响,应用动态封闭式采样系统和热脱附-气相色谱-飞行质谱仪,对短期干旱胁迫作用下马尾松的BVOCs排放进行了实验室测量,定量分析BVOCs排放速率和排放组成的变化.结果表明,干旱胁迫时异戊二烯的排放受到抑制,排放速率降低约50%;单萜烯和倍半萜烯的排放水平增强,排放速率分别为137.85和0.98μg/（m²·h）,是未受胁迫时的2.9和2.0倍.除反式-α-香柠檬烯外,干旱胁迫促进各单萜烯和倍半萜烯化合物的排放,是未受胁迫时的1.3~42.4倍,其中3-蒈烯排放的响应最敏感,α-葑烯、α-水芹烯和石竹烯的响应最弱.干旱胁迫时单萜烯和倍半萜烯的排放组成有所变化,但主导的化合物种类不变,单萜烯以α-蒎烯、香桧烯和β-蒎烯为主,占比分别为48%、17%和17%;倍半萜烯以石竹烯和长叶烯为主,占比分别为57%和34%.     

海水入侵指标对比分析与评价—以珠江口地下水含水层为例

合理评价海水入侵对于地下水含水层管理和居民生活健康有着重要的意义。当前海水入侵评价应用较广泛的为包含单一因子和基于统计分析的多种水化学方法。本文综合阐述了海水入侵评价中所用的水化学指标、原理与方法,包括在国内评价体系中少见的一些方法,并以珠江口地下水含水层为例,对比了各种指标的有效性,评价了各类方法的优缺点以及在实际应用中可能产生的问题。结果显示,以Cl-和TDS作为简单直接的单因子可以快速评价海水入侵,尤其对于大范围的海水入侵评价十分有效。而和Ca2+,HCO₃-,SO₄2-等变化有关的指标具有地域性,在研究区对海水入侵的指示并不是十分敏感。在复杂评价因子中,与离子交换有关SAR,BEX以及GQI_SWI与Cl-相关性较高,可以较好的指示海水入侵及水岩相互作用。经过分析,受到地下含水层和地表水道双重介质入侵的影响,研究区海水入侵范围在过去几个年代有向北推进的趋势。本研究对于高速经济发展下的沿海地下水含水层管理和评价有重要的指导意义。