Heavy metals in untreated/treated urban effluent and sludge from a biological wastewater treatment plant

Background, Aim and Scope

The presence of heavy metals in wastewater is one of the main causes of water and soil pollution. The aim of the present study was to investigate the removal of Cd, Cu, Pb, Hg, Mn, Cr and Zn in urban effluent by a biological wastewater treatment, as well as to quantify the levels of As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, Tl, V and Zn in dewatering sludge from the Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant to Ribeirão Preto (RP-BWTP), Brazil.

Materials and Methods

Concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn and Pb in wastewater and those of Ni in sludge were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with graphite furnace atomization. Mercury concentrations in wastewater were measured by hydride generation atomic spectrophotometry, and Zn levels were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry using acetylene flame. In sludge, the levels of As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, Sn, Tl, V and Zn were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.

Results

The percentages of removal efficiency (RE) were the following: Hg 61.5%, Cd 60.0%, Zn 44.9%, Cu 44.2%, PB 39.7%, Cr 16,5% and Mn 10.4%. In turn, the mean concentrations (mg/kg) of metals in dewatering sludge followed this increasing order: Tl (<0.03), Hg (0.31), Be (0.43), As (1.14), Cd (1.34), V (59.2), Pb (132.1), Sn (166.1), Cr (195.0), Mn (208.1), Ni (239.4), Cu (391.7), Zn (864.4) and Fe (20537).

Discussion

The relationship between metal levels in untreated wastewater, as well as the removal efficiency are in agreement with previous data from various investigators, It is important to note that metal removal efficiency is not only affected by metal ion species and concentration, but also by other conditions such as operating parameters, physical, chemical, and biological factors.

Conclusions

Metal values recorded for treated wastewater and sludge were within the maximum permitted levels established by the Environmental Sanitation Company (CETESB), São Paulo, Brazil.

Recommendations

There is an urgent need for the authorities who are responsible for legislation on sludge uses in agriculture of establishing safety levels for As, Be, Hg, Sn, Tl and V.

Perspectives

According to the current metal levels, RP-BWTP sludge might be used for agriculture purposes. However, for an environmentally safe use of sewage sludge, further studies including systematic monitoring are recommended. Annual metal concentrations and predicted variations of those elements in the sludge should be monitored.

     

Dioxin formation in pulp and paper mills of India

Samples of effluents, sludge, pulp, final products (paper) and soil were collected from the identified pulp and paper mills in India. The samples were analysed for 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-dibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) and other dioxin congeners and precursors. Pulp and paper mills using chlorine for the bleaching process showed the presence of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in effluent samples. In the effluent and pulp samples from mills where chlorine dioxide was used as a bleaching agent, the 2,3,7,8-TCDD congener ranged from below the detection limit 0.05 to 0.12 ngL⁻¹/ngg⁻¹. The relative standard deviation of reproducibility and the percent recovery of 2,3,7,8-TCDD were 2.07 and 82.4% in pulp and 2.8 and 92% in effluent, respectively. The 1,3,6,8-TCDD was the only other major dioxin congener found in the treated and untreated effluent and sludge samples. However, dichlorobenzene, trichlorophenyl, and hexachlorobiphenyl were detected in all samples. The formation of dioxins can be minimised by replacing chlorine with chlorine dioxide in bleaching processes in pulp and paper mills.     

Modeling the impact of direct phototransformation on predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) of propranolol hydrochloride in UK and US rivers

There is currently uncertainty on the persistence of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and on their depletion mechanisms in natural surface waters such as rivers, and hence predictions of their fate are often poor. In this study, a beta-adrenergic receptor, propranolol hydrochloride, was selected as a model API to explore the relative significance of direct phototransformation as a potential removal process of hydrophilic APIs in rivers. Phototransformation kinetics of propranolol was measured under simulated solar irradiation in the laboratory, which were then converted to the kinetics applicable in UK and US rivers. The effects of light intensity, light penetration, river size and flow were examined. The extrapolated phototransformation half-lives were applied in the river catchment models of GREAT-ER and PhATE. Results demonstrated that direct phototransformation significantly reduced the predicted environmental concentrations of propranolol in the water phase. Predicted reductions of mean concentrations in the River Aire (UK) were 27% in summer and 3% in winter; and for the US rivers simulated, reductions were 28-68% in summer and 11-41% in winter. The highest reductions were predicted for long rivers with low turbidity and low flow conditions.     

废矿堆中黄铁矿氧化控制新技术--有机盐包膜法

于３０℃时研究了有机盐包膜对湿润和干燥条件下经接氧化亚铁矿杆菌的黄铁矿氧化的控制作用,湿润下经有机盐包膜的矿石样品的氧化程度与对照相比下降了９７．８％;直接添加有机盐的下降了９６．４％,两种淋洗收集液中有关元素的浓度经ＩＣＰ测定明显低于对照。干燥下微生物未能发挥对黄铁矿的氧化作用,但经包膜后的样品与对照相比,氧化程度又下降了７５．２％,这些结果表明,有机盐包膜既有明显的抑制黄铁矿的化学氧化作用,又     

絮凝剂PAN-DCD与甲基橙相互作用中的热力学研究

用平衡渗析法研究了有机高分子絮凝剂ＰＡＮ－ＤＣＤ与甲基橙（ＭＯ）在２０,２５,３０,３５℃下相互作用的热力学,求得结合常数Ｋ和热力学参数△Ｇ,△Ｈ,△Ｓ,在对不同絮凝剂结构进行表征的基础上,探讨了不同ＰＡＮ,ＤＣＤ配比对合成的絮凝剂与ＭＯ相互作用的影响,结果表明：ＰＡＮ－ＤＣＤ与ＭＯ的相互作用中能量作用是主要的：随ＰＡＮ与ＤＣＤ的比值增大,合成的絮凝剂ＰＤ１,ＰＤ２,ＰＤ３在常温下与ＭＯ的结合程试     

Chemical composition of the slippery epicuticular wax blooms on Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) ant-plants

Summary. The stems of many Macaranga ant-plants (Euphorbiaceae) are covered by epicuticular wax crystals rendering the surface very slippery for most insects. These wax blooms act as selective barriers protecting the symbiotic ant partners, which are specialized “wax-runners”, against the competition of other ants. Glaucous stems occur almost exclusively among the ant-plants of the genus Macaranga (). We analyzed the cuticular lipids of 16 Macaranga species by GC-MS and investigated the wax crystal morphology using SEM. Presence of crystalline wax blooms was strongly correlated with high concentrations (52%–88%) of triterpenoids. In contrast epicuticular waxes of glossy Macaranga surfaces contained only 0% to 36% of these dominant components. Therefore we conclude that triterpenoids are responsible for the formation of the thread-like Macaranga wax crystals. In all Macaranga ant-plants investigated, the principal components were epitaraxerol and taraxerone accompanied by smaller portions of taraxerol, β-amyrin and friedelin. Only in the case of the non-myrmecophytic M. tanarius did β-amyrin predominate. Moreover, we found that only in M. tanarius, the dense wax crystal lacework is torn into large mosaic-like pieces in the course of secondary stem diameter growth. Both chemical and macroscopic differences may contribute to a reduced slipperiness of M. tanarius stems and appear to be functionally important. The distribution of wax crystals and their composition amongst different sections of the genus suggests that glaucousness is a polyphyletic character within Macaranga. Received 7 October 1999; accepted 3 December 1999     

化肥氮素在水稻田中迁移与淋失的模拟研究

为了研究氮化肥施入农田对地表水和地下水的影响 ,在一种特殊的大型人工模拟土层和地下水装置中进行试验。研究结果表明 :即使尿素和生物矿质复混肥以中、低施肥量施入水田 ,也会造成地表淹水、耕层土壤和不同深度土层溶液有较高含量的有机 N和 N H3- N,并对地下水补给状况极差的地下水有明显的污染 ;水田中 N O- 3 - N很难长期存在 ,其污染程度可忽略不计     

西部地区加快开发应当克服“资源近视症”

本文从分析我国传统的经济增长方式入手,通过对资源近视症”的表现及后果的分析,提出西部西地区,特别是西部少数民族地区只有树立全面的资源观,立足优势,面向市场,抓住机遇,合理开发资源和利用资源,才能走出一条符合本民族,本地区实际的可持续发展之路。     

湖北农村降水中SO_4~(2-)浓度变化研究

在湖北农村 10个地点 ,利用澳大利亚集雨器自 1996年 1月至 1998年 6月 ,按季度采集大气降水样品测定SO2 - 4浓度 ,并对数据进行统计分析。研究结果表明 ,各地 1997年降水中SO2 - 4浓度年均值比 1996年显著升高 ;大多数地点 1996、1997、1998年 1季度和 2季度降水中SO2 - 4浓度呈逐年升高趋势 ;大多数地点每年 1、4季度降水中SO2 - 4浓度高 ,2、3季度降水中SO2 - 4浓度低 ,说明湖北农村降水中的硫对秋冬作物影响比对春夏作物影响大 ;湖北农村降水中SO2 - 4浓度近两年不仅有时间变化规律 ,而且同一季度内的地区差异也很明显 ,在 1996年和 1997年 8个季度 10个点的降水SO2 - 4浓度最大值中 ,有 4个最大值出现在襄樊 ,它是目前湖北继宜昌市区、恩施市区之后又一个酸雨发展较快的地区     

A study on the factor market distortion and the carbon emission scale effect of two-way FDI

Based on the data of 30 Chinese provinces for the period from 2004 to 2015, this paper expounds the carbon emissions effect of two-way foreign direct investment (FDI) from the perspective of scale effect and factor market distortions. This study uses Kaya identity to decompose carbon emission and construct simultaneous equations model to empirically examine the factor market distortion and the carbon emission scale effect of two-way FDI. The results show that the inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) increase regional carbon emission through scale effect and also exacerbates factor market distortion in China, whereas the outward FDI trends reduce carbon emission and reduces factor market distortions in China. The study also shows that human capital, research and development (R&D), trade openness, and capital accumulation are important determinants of two-way FDI. Therefore, the study proposes that IFDI policies should focus on acquiring green technologies. In addition, the domestic enterprises should be encouraged to participate in global business.