Habitat changes in the most important stopover sites for the endangered red-crowned crane in China: a large-scale study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) is an endangered bird species that has been listed as one of the Class I National Key Protected Wild Animals...     

Insight into selected emerging micropollutant interactions with wastewater colloidal organic carbon: implications for water treatment and analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study reports how adding a membrane filter (0.45-μm cellulose nitrate filter) between a glass fibre filter and the solid phase extraction...     

Soil contamination in Colombian playgrounds: effects of vehicles,construction, and traffic

The presence of potentially hazardous elements (PHEs) in playground soils is generally associated with anthropogenic sources such as vehicle traffic, industries, construction sites, and biomass burning. Studies indicate that PHEs are harmful to human health and may even be carcinogenic. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical, morphological, and mineralogical properties of soil samples from three public playgrounds located in the cities of Bogota, Medellin, and Barranquilla. Besides, the possible impacts caused by the aerodynamics of particles in Colombian cities were verified. The morphology, composition, and structure of the nanoparticles (NPs) (< 100 nm) present in these soils were evaluated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) equipped with high-precision field emission (FE) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Soil samples were predominantly feldspar, quartz, and, to a lesser extent, clay minerals, carbonates, and hematites. The average content of PHEs was anthropogenically enriched in relation to the upper continental crust. As and Sn showed a large spatial variation, indicating the influence of local sources, such as vehicle traffic and industries. There is an inverse relationship between the total concentrations of some elements and their leachable fractions. The accumulation of traffic-derived PHEs has a negative impact on human health and the environment, which is alarming, especially for elements such as Pb, Sb, or As. Therefore, the presence of PHEs should receive greater attention from public health professionals, and limits should be set and exposures controlled. This study includes the construction of a baseline that provides basic information on pollution, its sources, and exposure routes for humans in the vicinity of Colombia’s major cities, characterized by their increasing urbanization and industrialization.

     

Removal efficiency of emerging micropollutants in biofilter wastewater treatment plants in tropical areas

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We studied the removal of 61 emerging micropollutants, including illicit drugs, in a biofilter wastewater treatment plant located in the French Indies...     

On the elemental composition of the Mediterranean euhalophyte Salicornia patula Duval-Jouve (Chenopodiaceae) from saline habitats in Spain (Huelva,Toledo and Zamora)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A complete survey is presented on the inorganic composition of the euhalophyte annual succulent species Salicornia patula (Chenopodiaceae), including...     

Removal of perfluorinated surfactants from wastewater by adsorption and ion exchange——Influence of material properties,sorption mechanism and modeling

Perfluorooctane sulfonate(PFOS) has attracted increasing concern in recent years due to its world-wide distribution, persistence, bioaccumulation and potential toxicity. The influence of sorbent properties on the adsorptive elimination of PFOS from wastewater by activated carbons, polymer adsorbents and anion exchange resins was investigated with regard to their isotherms and kinetics. The batch and column tests were combined with physicochemical characterization methods, e.g., N_2 physisorption, mercury porosimetry, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, titrations, as well as modeling. Sorption kinetics was successfully modelled applying the linear driving force(LDF) approach for surface diffusion after introducing a load dependency of the mass transfer coefficient βs.The big difference in the initial mass transfer coefficient βs,0, when non-functionalized adsorbents and ion-exchange resins are compared, suggests that the presence of functional groups impedes the intraparticle mass transport. The more functional groups a resin possesses and the longer the alkyl moieties are the bigger is the decrease in sorption rate.But the selectivity for PFOS sorption is increasing when the character of the functional groups becomes more hydrophobic. Accordingly, ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction were found to be involved in the sorption processes on resins, while PFOS is only physisorptively bound to activated carbons and polymer adsorbents. In agreement with the different adsorption mechanisms, resins possess higher total sorption capacities than adsorbents. Hence, the latter ones are rendered more effective in PFOS elimination at concentrations in the low μg/L range, due to a less pronounced convex curvature of the sorption isotherm in this concentration range.     

博斯腾湖西岸表流人工湿地水体脱盐效果研究

针对博斯腾湖日益严重的盐污染问题,以博斯腾湖西岸表面流人工湿地为研究对象,引当地排渠水进入人工湿地,对人工湿地的进水和出水进行连续7个月的水质监测,对比分析进水和出水中8种离子(Ca~(2+)、Na~+、K~+、Mg~(2+)、Cl~-、SO_4~(2-)、CO_3~(2-)、HCO_3~-)和矿化度的变化,结果表明:人工湿地进水含盐量较高,8种离子的浓度和矿化度波动较大,4月和10月进水为微咸水,5—9月进水为咸水,而出水含盐量相对较低,8种离子的浓度和矿化度波动较小,各月出水均为微咸水。经计算分析可知,人工湿地对水体总盐的平均去除率为51%,水体盐分的去除率与温度呈正相关,且随季节性温度变化而发生变化。     

On the effect of Fe(III) on proliferation of Microcystis aeruginosa at high nitrate and low chlorophyll condition

The impact of Fe concentrations on the growth of Microcystisaeruginosa in aquatic systems under high nitrate and low chlorophyll conditions was studied. The responses of cell density, total and cell chlorophyll-a intracellular Fe content and organic elemental composition of M. aeruginosa to different concentration gradients of Fe(III) in the solutions were analysed. The results showed that the proliferation speeds of M. aeruginosa were: (1) decelerated when the Fe(III) concentration was lower than 50 μg/L in the solutions, (2) promoted and positively related to the increase of Fe(III) concentration from 100 to 500 μg/L in the solutions over the experimental period, and (3) promoted in the early stage but decelerated in later stages by excess adsorption of Fe by cells when the Fe(III) concentration was higher than 500 μg/L in the solutions. The maximum cell density, total and cell chlorophyll-a were all observed at 500 μg Fe(III)/L concentration. The organic elemental composition of M. aeruginosa was also affected by the concentration of Fe(III) in the solutions, and the molecular formula of M. aeruginosa should be expressed as C_7–7.5H₁₄O_0.8–1.3N_3.5–5 according to the functions for different Fe(III) concentrations. Cell carbon and oxygen content appeared to increase slightly, while cell nitrogen content appeared to decrease as Fe(III) concentrations increased from 100 to 500 μg/L in the solutions. This was attributed to the competition of photosynthesis and nitrogen adsorption under varying cell Fe content.     

Study of cyanide removal from contaminated water using zinc peroxide nanomaterial

The present study highlights the potential application of zinc peroxide(ZnO_2)nanomaterial as an efficient material for the decontamination of cyanide from contaminated water. A process patent for ZnO_2 synthesis has been granted in United States of America(US Patent number 8,715,612; May 2014),South Africa,Bangladesh,and India. The ZnO_2 nanomaterial was capped with polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP)to control the particle size. The PVP capped ZnO_2nanomaterial(PVP-ZnO_2)before and after adsorption of cyanide was characterized by scanning electron microscope,transmission electron microscope,X-ray diffractometer,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry. The remaining concentration of cyanide after adsorption by PVP-ZnO_2 was determined using ion chromatograph. The adsorption of cyanide over PVP-ZnO_2 was also studied as a function of p H,adsorbent dose,time and concentration of cyanide. The maximum removal of cyanide was observed in p H range 5.8–7.8 within 15 min. The adsorption data was fitted to Langmuir and Fruendlich isotherm and it has been observed that data follows both the isotherms and also follows second order kinetics.     

Arsenic biotransformation and an arsenite S-adenosylmethionine methyltransferase in plankton

<正>Arsenic(As)is a well-recognized toxicant and carcinogen.Chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic causes a range of human cancers(e.g.,skin,bladder,and lung)and increases the risk of developing diabetes,hypertension,and cardiovascular and neurological diseases.The prevalence of arsenic species and the severity of their health effects continue to drive and demand for extensive research(Carlin et al.,2016).