Efectiveness of national air pollution control policies on the air quality in metropolitan areas of China

Understanding the efectiveness of national air pollution controls is important for control policy design to improve the future air quality in China. This study evaluated the efectiveness of major national control policies implemented recently in China through a modeling analysis. The sulfur dioxide(SO2) control policy during the 11th Five Year Plan period(2006–2010) had succeeded in reducing the national SO2emission in 2010 by 14% from its 2005 level, which correspondingly reduced ambient SO2and sulfate(SO4 2) concentrations by 13%–15% and 8%–10% respectively over east China. The nitrogen oxides(NOx) control policy during the 12th Five Year Plan period(2011–2015) targets the reduction of the national NOx emission in 2015 by 10% on the basis of 2010. The simulation results suggest that such a reduction in NOx emission will reduce the ambient nitrogen dioxide(NO2), nitrate(NO3), 1-hr maxima ozone(O3) concentrations and total nitrogen deposition by 8%, 3%–14%, 2% and 2%–4%, respectively over east China. The application of new emission standards for power plants will further reduce the NO2, NO3, 1-hr maxima O3concentrations and total nitrogen deposition by 2%–4%, 1%–6%, 0–2% and 1%–2%, respectively. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the inter-provincial impacts of emission reduction in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Yangtze River Delta, which indicated the need to implement joint regional air pollution control.     

Compositions and sources of organic acids in fine particles (PM2.5) over the Pearl River Delta region, south China

Organic acids as important constituents of organic aerosols not only influence the aerosols' hygroscopic property, but also enhance the formation of new particles and secondary organic aerosols. This study reported organic acids including C14–C32fatty acids, C4–C9dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids in PM2.5collected during winter 2009 at six typical urban, suburban and rural sites in the Pearl River Delta region. Averaged concentrations of C14–C32fatty acids, aromatic acids and C4– C9 dicarboxylic acids were 157, 72.5 and 50.7 ng/m3, respectively. They totally accounted for 1.7% of measured organic carbon. C20–C32fatty acids mainly deriving from higher plant wax showed the highest concentration at the upwind rural site with more vegetation around, while C14–C18fatty acids were more abundant at urban and suburban sites, and dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids except 1,4-phthalic acid peaked at the downwind rural site. Succinic and azelaic acid were the most abundant among C4–C9dicarboxylic acids, and 1,2-phthalic and 1,4-phthalic acid were dominant aromatic acids. Dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids exhibited significant mutual correlations except for 1,4-phthalic acid, which was probably primarily emitted from combustion of solid wastes containing polyethylene terephthalate plastics. Spatial patterns and correlations with typical source tracers suggested that C14–C32fatty acids were mainly primary while dicarboxylic and aromatic acids were largely secondary. Principal component analysis resolved six sources including biomass burning, natural higher plant wax, two mixed anthropogenic and two secondary sources; further multiple linear regression revealed their contributions to individual organic acids. It turned out that more than 70% of C14–C18fatty acids were attributed to anthropogenic sources, about 50%–85% of the C20–C32fatty acids were attributed to natural sources, 80%–95% of dicarboxylic acids and 1,2-phthalic acid were secondary in contrast with that 81% of 1,4-phthalic acid was primary.     

Fast increasing of surface ozone concentrations in Pearl River Delta characterized by a regional air quality monitoring network during 2006-2011

Based on the observation by a Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network including 16 monitoring stations, temporal and spatial variations of ozone(O3), NO2and total oxidant(Ox) were analyzed by both linear regression and cluster analysis. A fast increase of regional O3concentrations of 0.86 ppbV/yr was found for the annual averaged values from 2006 to 2011 in Guangdong, China. Such fast O3increase is accompanied by a correspondingly fast NOx reduction as indicated by a fast NO2 reduction rate of 0.61 ppbV/yr. Based on a cluster analysis, the monitoring stations were classified into two major categories – rural stations(non-urban) and suburban/urban stations. The O3concentrations at rural stations were relatively conserved while those at suburban/urban stations showed a fast increase rate of 2.0 ppbV/yr accompanied by a NO2 reduction rate of 1.2 ppbV/yr. Moreover, a rapid increase of the averaged O3 concentrations in springtime(13%/yr referred to 2006 level) was observed, which may result from the increase of solar duration, reduction of precipitation in Guangdong and transport from Eastern Central China. Application of smog production algorithm showed that the photochemical O3production is mainly volatile organic compounds(VOC)-controlled. However, the photochemical O3production is sensitive to both NOx and VOC for O3pollution episode. Accordingly, it is expected that a combined NOx and VOC reduction will be helpful for the reduction of the O3 pollution episodes in Pearl River Delta while stringent VOC emission control is in general required for the regional O3 pollution control.     

Arsenic removal from groundwater by acclimated sludge under autohydrogenotrophic conditions

Arsenic in the environment is attracting increasing attention due to its chronic health effects. Although arsenite(As(III)) is generally more mobile and more toxic than arsenate(As(V)), reducing As(V) to As(III) may still be a means for decontamination, because As(III) can be removed from solution by precipitation with sulfide or by adsorption or complexation with other metal sulfides. The performance of As(V) bio-reduction under autohydrogenotrophic conditions was investigated with batch experiments. The results showed that As(V) reduction was a biochemical process while both acclimated sludge and hydrogen were essential. Most of the reduced arsenic remained in a soluble form, although 20% was removed with no addition of sulfate, while 82% was removed when sulfate was reduced to sulfide. The results demonstrated that the reduced arsenic was re-sequestered in the precipitates, probably as arsenic sulfides. Kinetic analysis showed that pseudo first-order kinetics described the bio-reduction process better than pseudo second-order. In particular, the influences of pH and temperature on As(V) reduction by acclimated sludge under autohydrogenotrophic conditions and total soluble As removal were examined. The reduction process was highly sensitive to both pH and temperature, with the optimum ranges of pH 6.5–7.0 and 30–40°C respectively. Furthermore, Arrhenius modeling results for the temperature effect indicated that the As(V) reduction trend was systematic. Total soluble As removal was consistent with the trend of As(V) reduction.     

Characterization of extracellular polymeric substances in the biofilms of typical bacteria by the sulfur K-edge XANES spectroscopy

A combined approach of physicochemical extraction and sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure（XANES） spectroscopy was applied to characterize the extracellular polymeric substances（EPS） of typical bacterial biofilms in this study. Physicochemical analysis showed variation of the contents of DNA,polysaccharide and protein in different fractions of EPS in different mediums. The sulfur K-edge XANES analysis yielded a variety of spectra.Spectral fitting of the XANES spectra utilizing a large set of model compounds showed that there was more reduced sulfur in both LB-EPS（loosely bound EPS） and TB-EPS（tightly bound EPS） of all the biofilms in LB medium than in R2 A medium. More oxidized sulfur was identified in LB-EPS than that in TB-EPS,suggesting different niches and physiological heterogeneity in the biofilms. Our results suggested that the sulfur K-edge XANES can be a useful tool to analyze the sulfur speciation in EPS of biofilms.     

Phytoremediation of levonorgestrel in aquatic environment by hydrophytes

Adsorption and degradation of levonorgestrel （LNG） by two hydrophytes, Cyperus alternfolius （CA） and Eichhornia crassipes （EC）, were investigated under light-shielding conditions in the water column. Variations of LNG concentrations in water, plant root epidermis, root, stem and leaf of the plants were analyzed. The results indicated that the removal efficiency of LNG by hydrophytes over the period of 50 days was significantly greater than the blank control （p 〈 0.05）, with the removal rates of 79.80%± 3.10% and 78.86% ± 2.55% for CA and EC, respectively. Compared with bio-adsorption, bio-conversion of LNG was found to be the dominant elimination pathway, evidenced by relatively high conversion rates （77.31% ±2.68% for CA and 77.82% ± 2.95% for EC）, while the adsorption rates were lower （1.77% ± 0.90% for CA and 1.05% ± 0.40% for EC）. The bio-adsorption and conversion of LNG showed no significant differences between the two hydrophytes. Additionally, the mineralization on root epidermis played an important role in the reduction of LNG in water.     

胡敏酸改性膨润土钝化污染土壤Pb&Cd及机理

通过盆栽试验,探讨了胡敏酸改性膨润土对重金属铅、镉污染土壤的钝化效果及机理。结果表明,铅、镉污染土壤中施加胡敏酸改性膨润土能显著降低小白菜中Pb、Cd的含量,在添加Cd(3 mg/kg)/Pb(250 mg/kg)污染土壤和Cd(1 0 mg/kg)/Pb(5 00 mg/kg)污染土壤上小白菜地上部分Pb含量分别比对照降低19.08%和47.91%,Cd含量分别比对照降低9.79%和14.89%。土壤本身对添加的重金属Pb/Cd有一定的耐受力和自我净化能力,在添加重金属后,添加的Pb/Cd元素大部分直接转化为较为稳定的碳酸盐结合态和铁锰氧化结合态。相关性分析显示小白菜的鲜重与小白菜Pb/Cd含量极显著负相关,进一步说明胡敏酸改性膨润土是通过提高小白菜的生物量,从而降低Pb/Cd在小白菜中的含量。     

电厂燃煤锅炉颗粒物分段去除效率及成因分析

选取某大型发电企业进行实测,根据测试数据计算颗粒物去除装置对颗粒物的分段去除效率。结果表明:静电除尘器除尘效率为99.91%、湿法脱硫装置除尘效率为60.51%、湿法脱硫装置出口相对静电除尘器进口的颗粒物去除效率为99.61%、湿法脱硫装置出口颗粒物浓度是静电除尘器出口颗粒物浓度的4.18倍。此外,也依据计算结果并结合实际情况分析了影响各除尘段颗粒物去除效率的主要成因,这些成因主要包括各除尘段功能、脱硫剂与脱硫副产品的颗粒物、脱硫装置运行平稳性等,期望本研究成果能对电厂燃煤锅炉大气污染控制设施关系调整、重新设计及大气环境污染治理思路调整提供重要科学依据与指导。     

生活垃圾资源化有效利用性分析

本文对生活垃圾资源化处理进行分析,垃圾中重金属的存在直接影响其有效利用,不断强化人们的环保意识,将分拣垃圾落实到实际行动中,生活垃圾能够变废为宝。     

国内建设项目环境监理的发展态势、存在问题与对策一对西藏自治区开展环境监理的认识与思考

当前,我国的建设项目环境监理仍处于起步阶段。环境监理管理体系尚不完备。对西藏自治区而言,建设项目环境监理工作在许多行业领域尚属空白,法律法规仍不健全。本文通过介绍国内环境监理的发展态势及各省建设项目环境监理试点工作的经验。结合西藏自治区生态环境特征,借鉴青藏铁路环境监理试点工程取得的宝贵经验,对西藏自治区环境监理工作的开展进行探讨,以期为相关部门制定决策提供参照,尽快摸索出一条适合西藏自治区的环境监理模式,逐步使建设项目环境监理制度化,并在西藏自治区范围内成功实施。