Wastewater reuse: modeling chloroform formation

The chloroform is a substance that presents a significant risk to or via the aquatic environment. Thus, the emissions, discharges and losses of this substance need to be controlled during wastewater disinfection for reclamation and reuse purposes. Due to its carcinogenetic potential, multiple studies have been carried out on drinking and surface/natural waters but less consideration has been directed to the wastewater disinfection. The focus of this work studied the formation of chloroform during chlorination in prepared waters or artificial matrices that intended to simulate wastewaters stored in landscape ponds for green areas irrigation. The relation between reaction time, chlorine dose, and chloroform formation and the variation of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content during the reaction was assessed. A two-variant model was proposed to simulate breakpoint chlorination practices (when chlorine dose is equal or lower than chlorine demand) and super chlorination techniques (when chlorine dose tends to surpass chlorine demand). The model was validated by the application of actual data from working conditions of six wastewater treatment plants located in Algarve, Portugal, including other data obtained in previous research studies that were not used in the model development, and by comparing the predicted values with real measured ones.     

Nuclear power in the 21st century: Challenges and possibilities

The current situation and possible future developments for nuclear power—including fission and fusion processes—is presented. The fission nuclear power continues to be an essential part of the low-carbon electricity generation in the world for decades to come. There are breakthrough possibilities in the development of new generation nuclear reactors where the life-time of the nuclear waste can be reduced to some hundreds of years instead of the present time-scales of hundred thousand of years. Research on the fourth generation reactors is needed for the realisation of this development. For the fast nuclear reactors, a substantial research and development effort is required in many fields—from material sciences to safety demonstration—to attain the envisaged goals. Fusion provides a long-term vision for an efficient energy production. The fusion option for a nuclear reactor for efficient production of electricity has been set out in a focussed European programme including the international project of ITER after which a fusion electricity DEMO reactor is envisaged.     

Changing ideas in forestry: A comparison of concepts in Swedish and American forestry journals during the early twentieth and twenty-first centuries

By combining digital humanities text-mining tools and a qualitative approach, we examine changing concepts in forestry journals in Sweden and the United States (US) in the early twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Our first hypothesis is that foresters at the beginning of the twentieth century were more concerned with production and less concerned with ecology than foresters at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Our second hypothesis is that US foresters in the early twentieth century were less concerned with local site conditions than Swedish foresters. We find that early foresters in both countries had broader—and often ecologically focused—concerns than hypothesized. Ecological concerns in the forestry literature have increased, but in the Nordic countries, production concerns have increased as well. In both regions and both time periods, timber management is closely connected to concerns about governance and state power, but the forms that governance takes have changed.     

Reducing the risk of invasive forest pests and pathogens: Combining legislation,targeted management and public awareness

Intensifying global trade will result in increased numbers of plant pest and pathogen species inadvertently being transported along with cargo. This paper examines current mechanisms for prevention and management of potential introductions of forest insect pests and pathogens in the European Union (EU). Current European legislation has not been found sufficient in preventing invasion, establishment and spread of pest and pathogen species within the EU. Costs associated with future invasions are difficult to estimate but past invasions have led to negative economic impacts in the invaded country. The challenge is combining free trade and free movement of products (within the EU) with protection against invasive pests and pathogens. Public awareness may mobilise the public for prevention and detection of potential invasions and, simultaneously, increase support for eradication and control measures. We recommend focus on commodities in addition to pathways, an approach within the EU using a centralised response unit and, critically, to engage the general public in the battle against establishment and spread of these harmful pests and pathogens.     

Nitrogen dynamics in managed boreal forests: Recent advances and future research directions

Nitrogen (N) availability plays multiple roles in the boreal landscape, as a limiting nutrient to forest growth, determinant of terrestrial biodiversity, and agent of eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems. We review existing research on forest N dynamics in northern landscapes and address the effects of management and environmental change on internal cycling and export. Current research foci include resolving the nutritional importance of different N forms to trees and establishing how tree–mycorrhizal relationships influence N limitation. In addition, understanding how forest responses to external N inputs are mediated by above- and belowground ecosystem compartments remains an important challenge. Finally, forestry generates a mosaic of successional patches in managed forest landscapes, with differing levels of N input, biological demand, and hydrological loss. The balance among these processes influences the temporal patterns of stream water chemistry and the long-term viability of forest growth. Ultimately, managing forests to keep pace with increasing demands for biomass production, while minimizing environmental degradation, will require multi-scale and interdisciplinary perspectives on landscape N dynamics.     

过硫酸钾-偶氮复合引发体系合成杂化高分子絮凝剂PACS-PAM及其表征

采用过硫酸钾(K2S2O8)-偶氮二异丁咪唑啉盐酸盐(VA-044引发剂)复合引发体系合成了聚硫氯化铝-聚丙烯酰胺(PACS-PAM)杂化高分子絮凝剂。以特性黏度为指标,考察了引发剂配比、引发剂总用量、单体质量浓度、总铝浓度(AlT)、反应温度和反应时间等因素对杂化絮凝剂PASC-PAM的合成影响,结果表明,杂化絮凝剂PACS-PAM的最佳合成条件为引发剂K2S2O8与偶氮VA-044质量比为3:1、引发剂总用量为单体总质量的0.2%、单体质量浓度为0.21 g/mL、总铝浓度(AlT)为0.15 mol/L、反应温度为50 ℃、反应时间为3 h,在最佳条件下合成的杂化高分子的特性黏度为14.70 dL/g。电导率分析、红外光谱(FTIR)分析和热重-差热(DTA-TGA)分析表明,杂化絮凝剂中有机组分同无机组分是通过PAM分子链端的硫酸根离子(—SO42-)的桥连作用以离子键形式连接的。对黄泥悬浊液的絮凝效果研究表明,杂化絮凝剂PASC-PAM的絮凝效果优于复配絮凝剂PASC-PAM。     

紫外-Fenton法处理高盐有机废水

以某电镀厂水回用系统产生的高盐有机废水为对象,对比研究了Fenton、UV-Fenton等工艺去除COD性能,考察了初始pH、H2O2投加量、Fe2+与H2O2摩尔比、反应时间等参数对处理效果的影响。结果表明:UV-Fenton工艺的最佳条件为初始pH=3.0,H2O2的投加量3 mmol/L,RFe2+:H2O2=1:1,反应时间30 min;在此条件下,COD去除率可达到60%以上,分别较Fenton和UV-H2O2工艺提高23.0%和39.3%。UV-Fenton工艺中,Fenton与UV表现出良好的协同效果,其处理效果较单独Fenton和单独UV处理效果之和高14.7%。UV的引入促进Fe(II)/Fe(Ⅲ)循环,可以提高·OH生成量以及Fe2+与H2O2利用率。UV-Fenton是处理高盐有机废水的可行工艺之一。     

强化除磷型A/O-MBR工艺运行稳定性

采用缺氧/好氧膜生物反应器(A/O-MBR)处理合成的生活污水,考察了投加不同浓度的聚合氯化铝(PAC)对该工艺在除磷效能及运行稳定性方面的影响。结果表明,投加PAC可以有效降低出水TP的浓度;在投加量为150 mg/L时,TP的去除率达到最优,为90.1%,出水浓度维持0.48 mg/L左右,达到《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》(GB18918-2002)的一级A标准。投加一定量的PAC可以有效提高微生物的活性;此外,可以降低污泥絮体的Zeta电位,增大污泥絮体的粒径,降低胞外聚合物(EPS)中多糖的浓度,进而有效延缓膜污染的速率。     

铁屑耦合生物麦饭石的PRB系统修复含铬酸根与硝酸根地下水

针对污染地下水中铬酸根和硝酸根迁移速度快,可渗透反应墙(PRB)常规活性材料修复效果差等问题,以铁屑、麦饭石和硫酸盐还原菌(SRB)为活性材料,构建4组耦合PRB动态柱修复地下水中Cr(Ⅵ)和NO3--N。结果表明,4#(铁屑、麦饭石和SRB)柱修复效果较1#(麦饭石)、2#(铁屑、麦饭石)和3#(麦饭石和SRB)柱好,且稳定,对Cr(Ⅵ)和NO3--N平均去除率分别是97.7%和97.34%,可见,以铁屑、麦饭石和硫酸盐还原菌为活性材料的耦合PRB系统修复地下水中Cr(Ⅵ)和NO3--N具有有效性与可行性。