City-specific vehicle emission control strategies to achieve stringent emission reduction targets in China's Yangtze River Delta region

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region is one of the most prosperous and densely populated regions in China and is facing tremendous pressure to mitigate vehicle emissions and improve air quality. Our assessment has revealed that mitigating vehicle emissions of NOx would be more difficult than reducing the emissions of other major vehicular pollutants (e.g., CO, HC and PM_2.5) in the YRD region. Even in Shanghai, where the emission control implemented are more stringent than in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, we observed little to no reduction in NOx emissions from 2000 to 2010. Emission–reduction targets for HC, NOx and PM_2.5 are determined using a response surface modeling tool for better air quality. We design city-specific emission control strategies for three vehicle-populated cities in the YRD region: Shanghai and Nanjing and Wuxi in Jiangsu. Our results indicate that even if stringent emission control consisting of the Euro 6/VI standards, the limitation of vehicle population and usage, and the scrappage of older vehicles is applied, Nanjing and Wuxi will not be able to meet the NOx emissions target by 2020. Therefore, additional control measures are proposed for Nanjing and Wuxi to further mitigate NOx emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles.     

Pesticide exposures and respiratory health in general populations

Human exposures to pesticides can occur in the workplace, in the household and through the ambient environment. While several articles have reviewed the impact of pesticide exposures on human respiratory health in occupational settings, to the best of our knowledge, this article is the first one to review published studies on the association between pesticide exposures and human respiratory health in the general populations. In this article, we critically reviewed evidences up to date studying the associations between non-occupational pesticide exposures and respiratory health in general populations. This article also highlighted questions arising from these studies, including our recent analyses using the data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), for future research. We found few studies have addressed the impact of environmental pesticide exposures on respiratory health, especially on lung function, in general populations. In the studies using the data from CHMS Cycle 1, exposures to OP insecticides, pyrethroid insecticides, and the organochlorine pesticide DDT were associated with impaired lung function in the Canadian general population, but no significant associations were observed for the herbicide 2,4-D. Future research should focus on the potential age-specific and pesticide-specific effect on respiratory health in the general population, and repeated longitudinal study design is critical for assessing the temporal variations in pesticide exposures. Research findings from current studies of non-occupational pesticide exposures and their health impact in general population will help to improve the role of regulatory policies in mitigating pesticide-related public health problems, and thereafter providing greater benefit to the general population.     

Numerical simulation of flow hydrodynamics of struvite pellets in a liquid–solid fluidized bed

Phosphorus recovery in the form of struvite has been aroused in recent decades for its dual advantages in eutrophication control and resource protection.The usage of the struvite products is normally determined by the size which is largely depended on the hydrodynamics.In this study,flow behavior of struvite pellets was simulated by means of Eulerian–Eulerian two-fluid model combining with kinetic theory of granular flow in a liquid–solid fluidized bed reactor(FBR).A parametric study including the mesh size,time step,discretization strategy,turbulent model and drag model was first developed,followed by the evaluations of crucial operational conditions,particle characteristics and reactor shapes.The results showed that a cold model with the mesh resolution of 16 × 240,default time step of 0.001 sec and first order discretization scheme was accurate enough to describe the fluidization.The struvite holdup profile using Syamlal–O'Brien drag model was best fitted to the experimental data as compared with other drag models and the empirical Richardson–Zaki equation.Regarding the model evaluation,it showed that liquid velocity and particle size played important roles on both solid holdups and velocities.The reactor diameter only influenced the solid velocity while the static bed height almost took no effect.These results are direct and can be applied to guide the operation and process control of the struvite fluidization.Moreover,the model parameters can also be used as the basic settings in further crystallization simulations.     

Relationship between nutrients and plankton biomass in the turbidity maximum zone of the Pearl River Estuary

Nutrients, dissolved and particulate organic carbon and plankton (bacterio-, phyto- and zoo-) were compared in the turbidity maximum zone (TMZ) and adjacent areas (non-TMZ) in the Pearl River estuary. Our results showed that high levels of suspended substances had marked effect on dynamics of nutrients and plankton in the TMZ. Based on the cluster analysis of total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations, all stations were divided into two groups, TMZ with average TSS of 171 mg/L and non-TMZ of 45 mg/L. Suspended substances adsorbed PO₄^3 − and dissolved organic carbon, resulting in higher particulate phosphorus and organic carbon (POC) and lower PO₄^3 − and DOC in the TMZ, compared to the non-TMZ. However, suspended substances had limited effect on nitrogenous nutrients. Phytoplankton growth was light-limited due to high concentrations of suspended substances in the TMZ and a peak of phytoplankton abundance appeared in the non-TMZ. In contrast, the highest bacterial abundance occurred in the TMZ, which was likely partly responsible for low DOC levels. Two peaks of zooplankton abundance observed in the TMZ and non-TMZ in the Pearl River estuary were primarily supported by bacteria and phytoplankton, respectively. Our finding implied that high levels of suspended solids in the TMZ affect the trophic balance.     

Drinking water treatment using a submerged internal-circulation membrane coagulation reactor coupled with permanganate oxidation

A submerged internal circulating membrane coagulation reactor(MCR) was used to treat surface water to produce drinking water. Polyaluminum chloride(PACl) was used as coagulant,and a hydrophilic polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) submerged hollow fiber microfiltration membrane was employed. The influences of trans-membrane pressure(TMP), zeta potential(ZP) of the suspended particles in raw water, and KMnO_4 dosing on water flux and the removal of turbidity and organic matter were systematically investigated. Continuous bench-scale experiments showed that the permeate quality of the MCR satisfied the requirement for a centralized water supply, according to the Standards for Drinking Water Quality of China(GB 5749-2006), as evaluated by turbidity(1 NTU) and total organic carbon(TOC)(5 mg/L)measurements. Besides water flux, the removal of turbidity, TOC and dissolved organic carbon(DOC) in the raw water also increased with increasing TMP in the range of 0.01–0.05 MPa. High ZP induced by PACl, such as 5–9 mV, led to an increase in the number of fine and total particles in the MCR, and consequently caused serious membrane fouling and high permeate turbidity.However, the removal of TOC and DOC increased with increasing ZP. A slightly positive ZP, such as 1–2 mV, corresponding to charge neutralization coagulation, was favorable for membrane fouling control. Moreover, dosing with KMnO_4 could further improve the removal of turbidity and DOC, thereby mitigating membrane fouling. The results are helpful for the application of the MCR in producing drinking water and also beneficial to the research and application of other coagulation and membrane separation hybrid processes.     

台州市工业危险固废产生及处置情况和对策研究

文章分析了2014年台州市工业危险固废产生情况,介绍了该市现有危险固废处理设施的区域分布情况,同时对主要行业危险固废处理能力进行调查和分析.文章指出现有工业危险固废存在回收体系不完善、处置能力不均衡、二次污染问题日益突出、环境监管能力薄弱等问题,并针对性地提出增强人们环保意识和观念、完善环境保护相关法律法规、加大基础环保设施的投入、进一步加强管理能力、探索和创新更好的处理方式、引进国内外先进的处理方法等解决措施,以期科学合理处置工业危险固废.     

Pt颗粒尺寸对Pt/CeO2催化氧化甲苯性能影响

使用乙二醇还原法制备了一系列不同尺寸的Pt-x纳米颗粒(x=1.41、1.57、1.79、1.95、2.12、2.32 nm),将其负载于棒状(rod)CeO_2载体上.考察了不同尺寸的Pt颗粒催化剂Pt-x/CeO_2-rod在甲苯催化氧化反应中的催化性能.结果显示,随着Pt颗粒尺寸的增加,催化剂活性先升高后降低.其中,Pt颗粒尺寸为1.79 nm时催化剂催化活性最好,T90=133℃.一般认为,Pt颗粒尺寸增加其分散度减小,导致催化活性降低.然而本实验结果表明,随Pt尺寸增加催化活性先升高后降低,并且基于催化剂表面Pt原子计算的TOFs(turnover frequencies)随Pt尺寸增加逐渐变大.紫外拉曼光谱(UV Raman)、XRD、XPS显示,随着Pt颗粒尺寸增加,催化剂Pt-x/Ce-rod表面氧空位的浓度逐渐增加.氧空位有效提高了催化剂晶格氧的流动,促进了氧气的吸附活化及传递过程.Pt/Ce催化剂催化氧化甲苯反应活性是Pt分散度以及CeO_2表面氧空位浓度双重作用的结果.     

硅铝比和NiO对ZSM-5协同低温等离子体降解甲苯的影响

研究了不同硅铝比的ZSM-5与Ni/ZSM-5分子筛协同低温等离子体技术对甲苯降解性能的影响.以Ni O(Nickel Oxide)为活性组分,采用浸渍法对ZSM-5分子筛进行改性,利用氮气吸附脱附(BET)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱分析(XPS)、H_2程序升温还原(H_2-TPR)、NH_3程序升温脱附(NH_3-TPD)、Toluene程序升温脱附(Toluene-TPD)等技术表征样品的物理化学性质.考察了硅铝比对ZSM-5与Ni/ZSM-5分子筛体系中甲苯的吸附性能,研究了不同放电电压下硅铝比对甲苯降解率、碳平衡及二氧化碳选择性的影响,并采用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)分析了催化剂表面的有机产物.结果表明:硅铝比不但影响分子筛本身的物理化学特性(比表面积、氧化还原性能、表面酸性、疏水性等),还会影响Ni的负载形态和方式,更高的硅铝比与Ni O的负载能促进甲苯深度氧化,减少副产物,提高碳平衡和二氧化碳选择性.     

中国居民家庭消费碳足迹近20年增长情况及未来趋势研究

近年来,伴随着社会经济的快速发展,我国已成为全球温室气体排放量最大的经济体,而居民消费活动造成的碳排放始终是可持续消费领域的研究热点.本研究综合采用基于投入产出的生命周期评价、结构分解分析、截面分析等方法,并借助EORA数据库,系统研究了近20年中国居民消费碳足迹的总量与组成、驱动因素贡献及未来增长趋势.结果表明,居民消费碳足迹的快速上升通道已经形成,且内在结构演化也呈现规律性,即间接排放和城镇居民排放已占主导地位并且该趋势仍在加强.驱动因素方面,人口增长、城市化进程、消费水平提高是推动碳足迹增长的主要正向力量,同时另外三因素(排放强度、消费结构及经济结构)则构成了延缓碳足迹过快增长的减排力量.截面分析结果显示,未来中国居民消费跨越世界平均水平时其碳排放总量将达到2010年基数的1.45倍,当接近于美国人均消费水平时将达到5.45倍.可以预期,未来我国居民消费碳足迹将会加速增长.     

一株碳酸盐矿化菌的分离鉴定及其对Cu的固定作用

有机肥的大量使用使得菜田土壤重金属含量呈快速的累积趋势,对蔬菜安全生产构成了严重的威胁.本文从长期施加鸡粪猪粪等农家肥的大棚蔬菜根际土壤中筛选出了一株能降解尿素释放碳酸根,进而通过生物矿化作用固结重金属的细菌,系统发育分析和生理生化特征表明该菌株为氧化木糖无色杆菌,将其命名为LAX2.菌株LAX2可在含尿素的培养基中快速生长,所产脲酶的活力可达140 U·m L~(-1),发酵液的pH可达9.06.菌株LAX2可耐受浓度高达115 mg·L~(-1)的铜离子.X-射线衍射分析(XRD)、傅里叶红外光谱分析(FTIR)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和能谱(EDS)分析表明菌株LAX2可通过生物矿化作用形成微球形的Cu_2(OH)_2CO_3,其直径可达2μm.菌体细胞吸附、生物矿化和化学沉淀对溶液中Cu~(2+)的去除率分别为93%、85%和72%.菌株LAX2对土壤中有效态Cu的固定作用呈现适应-快速-慢速3个阶段,培养5、10和30 d后土壤有效态Cu的含量分别下降了52.3%、73.7%和87.4%.与菌体细胞吸附和化学沉淀相比,生物矿化作用固定的Cu对短期内的淹水和反复冻融具有很强的抗性作用.以上结果表明菌株LAX2可通过生物成矿作用形成性质较稳定的碳酸铜矿物,在土壤铜污染修复方面具有重要的应用价值.