Source characterization of ambient fine particles at multiple sites in the Seattle area

To identify major PM_2.5 (particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter) sources with a particular emphasis on the ship engine emissions from a major port, integrated 24 h PM_2.5 speciation data collected between 2000 and 2005 at five United State Environmental Protection Agency's Speciation Trends Network monitoring sites in Seattle, WA were analyzed. Seven to ten PM_2.5 sources were identified through the application of positive matrix factorization (PMF). Secondary particles (12–26% for secondary nitrate; 17–20% for secondary sulfate) and gasoline vehicle emissions (13–31%) made the largest contributions to the PM_2.5 mass concentrations at all of the monitoring sites except for the residential Lake Forest site, where wood smoke contributed the most PM_2.5 mass (31%). Other identified sources include diesel vehicle emissions, airborne soil, residual oil combustion, sea salt, aged sea salt, metal processing, and cement kiln. Residual oil combustion sources identified at multiple monitoring sites point clearly to the Port of Seattle suggesting ship emissions as the source of oil combustion particles. In addition, the relationship between sulfate concentrations and the oil combustion emissions indicated contributions of ship emissions to the local sulfate concentrations. The analysis of spatial variability of PM_2.5 sources shows that the spatial distributions of several PM_2.5 sources were heterogeneous within a given air shed.     

Characterizing ammonia emissions from swine farms in eastern North Carolina: part 1--conventional lagoon and spray technology for waste treatment

Ammonia (NH3) fluxes from waste treatment lagoons and barns at two conventional swine farms in eastern North Carolina were measured. The waste treatment lagoon data were analyzed to elucidate the temporal (seasonal and diurnal) variability and to derive regression relationships between NH3 flux and lagoon temperature, pH and ammonium content of the lagoon, and the most relevant meteorological parameters. NH3 fluxes were measured at various sampling locations on the lagoons by a flowthrough dynamic chamber system interfaced to an environmentally controlled mobile laboratory. Two sets of open-path Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers were also used to measure NH3 concentrations for estimating NH3 emissions from the animal housing units (barns) at the lagoon and spray technology (LST) sites. Two different types of ventilation systems were used at the two farms. Moore farm used fan ventilation, and Stokes farm used natural ventilation. The early fall and winter season intensive measurement campaigns were conducted during September 9 to October 11, 2002 (lagoon temperature ranged from 21.2 to 33.6 degrees C) and January 6 to February 2, 2003 (lagoon temperature ranged from 1.7 to 12 degrees C), respectively. Significant differences in seasonal NH3 fluxes from the waste treatment lagoons were found at both farms. Typical diurnal variation of NH3 flux with its maximum value in the afternoon was observed during both experimental periods. Exponentially increasing flux with increasing surface lagoon temperature was observed, and a linear regression relationship between logarithm of NH3 flux and lagoon surface temperature (T1) was obtained. Correlations between lagoon NH3 flux and chemical parameters, such as pH, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) were found to be statistically insignificant or weak. In addition to lagoon surface temperature, the difference (D) between air temperature and the lagoon surface temperature was also found to influence the NH3 flux, especially when D > 0 (i.e., air hotter than lagoon). This hot-air effect is included in the statistical-observational model obtained in this study, which was used further in the companion study (Part II), to compare the emissions from potential environmental superior technologies to evaluate the effectiveness of each technology.     

Seasonal variation in dissolved gaseous mercury and total mercury concentrations in Juam Reservoir, Korea

Dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) and total mercury (TM) concentrations were measured in Juam Reservoir, Korea. DGM concentrations were higher in spring (64+/-13pgL(-1)) and summer (109+/-15pgL(-1)), and lower in fall (20+/-2pgL(-1)) and winter (23+/-6pgL(-1)). In contrast, TM concentrations were higher in fall (3.2+/-0.1ngL(-1)) and winter (3.3+/-0.1ngL(-1)) than in spring (2.3+/-0.1ngL(-1)) and summer (2.2+/-0.4ngL(-1)). DGM concentrations were correlated with water temperature (p<0.0001), ORP (p<0.0001), UV intensity (UV-A: p=0.008; UV-B: p=0.003), and DOC concentration (p=0.0107). DGM concentrations varied diurnally with UV intensity. The average summer DGM (109+/-15pgL(-1)) and TM (2.2+/-0.4ngL(-1)) concentrations in Juam Reservoir were higher than the averages for North American lakes (DGM=38+/-16pgL(-1); TM=1.0+/-1.2ngL(-1)), but lower than levels reported for Baihua Reservoir in China.     

Oxidation of elemental mercury using atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma

The oxidation of gas phase elemental mercury (Hg0) by atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma has been investigated at room temperature, employing both dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) of the gas mixture of Hg0 and injection of ozone (O3) into the gas mixture of Hg0. Results have shown that the oxidative efficiencies of Hg0 by DBD and the injection of O3 are 59% and 93%, respectively, with energy consumption of 23.7 J L(-1). This combined approach has indicated that O3 plays a decisive role in the oxidation of gas phase Hg0. Also the oxidation of Hg0 by injecting O3 into the gas mixture of Hg0 proceeds with better efficiency than DBD of the gas mixture of Hg0. These results have been explained by the incorporation of the competitive reaction pathways between the formation of HgO by O3 and the decomposition of HgO back to Hg0 in the plasma environment.     

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium hilA-lacZY fusion gene response to iron chelation or supplementation in rich and minimal media

Virulence expression of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium under iron limited condition was measured by beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) assay using a hilA-lacZY fusion strain and calculated as Miller units. hilA-lacZY beta-galactosidase assays were performed in brain heart infusion (BHI) and minimal media (M9), after iron chelation with 2, 2-dipridyl and iron-supplementation respectively. Before performing virulence assays, concentrations of iron in the media were estimated using ferrozine. Iron content was found to be more in BHI (42.6 microg dL(-1)) as compared to M9 (10.03 microg dL(-1)). beta-gal activity of Salmonella Typhimurium in BHI was generally less than that observed in M9. After exposure to various combinations of iron chelator in BHI, hilA-lacZY activity only increased at the highest concentration of chelator (2001 microM) but decreased in M9 media for all iron concentrations when compared to controls with no iron amendment. These results indicate that iron availability may influence S. Typhimurium hilA expression.     

Arsenic concentration in porewater of an alkaline coal ash disposal site: Roles of siderite precipitation/dissolution and soil cover

The geochemical behavior of As in porewaters of an alkaline coal ash disposal site was investigated using multilevel samplers. The disposal site was in operation from 1983 until 1994 and was covered with 0.3–0.5 m thick soils in 2001 when this study was initiated. Sequential extraction analyses and batch leaching experiments were also performed using the coal ash samples collected from the disposal site. The results suggest the important roles of siderite (FeCO₃) precipitation/dissolution and soil cover, which have been ignored previously. Arsenic levels in the porewater were very low (average of 10 μg L⁻¹) when the site was covered with soil due to coprecipitation with siderite. The soil cover enabled the creation of anoxic conditions, which raised the Fe concentration by the reductive dissolution of Fe-(hydr)oxides. Because of the high alkalinity generated from the alkaline coal ash, even a small increase in the Fe concentration (0.66 mg L⁻¹ on average) could cause siderite precipitation. When the soil cover was removed, however, an oxidizing condition was created and triggered the precipitation of dissolved Fe as (hydr)oxides. As a result, the dissolution of previously precipitated As-rich siderite caused higher As concentration in the porewater (average of 345 μg L⁻¹).     

Numerical simulation of an array of fences in Saemangeum reclaimed land

This paper discusses about the quantitative effect of windbreak fences on wind velocity in the reclaimed land at Saemangeum in South Korea. Windbreak fences were constructed in the reclaimed land to reduce the wind velocity to prevent the generation and diffusion of dust. However, up to this time, no in-depth studies were conducted to quantitatively measure the effect of the windbreak fences on wind velocity thus an optimum windbreak structure is not yet determined. Using CFD simulations, the effects of fence porosity, fence height, and the distance between the adjacent fences were investigated. A wind tunnel experiment was initially conducted and data gathered were used to develop the CFD models. From the experiments and CFD simulations, the overall percentage difference of the measured velocities was 7.20% which is generally acceptable to establishing the reliability of the CFD models. The reduction effect on wind velocity was measured in between the adjacent fences up to a height of 0.6 m from the ground surface. In terms of porosity ( = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6), 0.2 was found to be the optimum value. Conversely, the effect of fence height (0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 m) showed no significant difference; therefore, 0.6 m height is recommended. In addition, the reduction effect of distance between the adjacent fences (2, 4 and 6 m) on wind velocity having a 0.2 porosity has decreased to about 75% regardless of the distance. In the case of the reclaimed land in Saemangeum, a decrease of 75% can prevent the generation and diffusion of dusts. However, the source of dusts is very large. Therefore, constructing an array of windbreak with 6 m distance between them is deemed necessary.     

Improving the activity of Mn/TiO2 catalysts through control of the pH and valence state of Mn during their preparation

In this study, the authors investigated the influence of the valence state of Mn on the efficacy of selective catalytic reduction using a Mn-based catalyst. The nitrogen oxides (NOx) conversion rate of the catalyst was found to be dependent on the type of TiO2 support employed and on the temperature, as the catalyst showed an excellent conversion of > 80% at a space velocity of 60,000 hr(-1) when the temperature was above 200 degrees C. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses confirmed that catalyst displaying the highest activity contained the Mn4+ species and that its valence state was highly dependent on the pH during the catalyst preparation.     

Arsenic species in ecosystems affected by arsenic-rich spring water near an abandoned mine in Korea

The objectives of this study were to quantitatively estimate the distribution of arsenic with its speciation and to identify potential pathways for transformation of arsenic species from samples of water, sediments, and plants in the ecosystem affected by the Cheongog Spring, where As(V) concentration reached levels up to 0.270 mg L⁻¹. After flowing about 100 m downstream, the arsenic level showed a marked reduction to 0.044 mg L⁻¹ (about 84% removal) without noticeable changes in major water chemistry. The field study and laboratory hydroponic experiments with the dominant emergent plants along the creek (water dropwort and thunbergian smartweed) indicated that arsenic distribution, reduction, and speciation appear to be controlled by, (i) sorption onto stream sediments in exchangeable fractions, (ii) bioaccumulation by and possible release from emergent plants, and (iii) transformation of As(V) to As(III) and organic species through biological activities.