Impact of pre-oxidation on the formation of byproducts in algae-laden water disinfection: Insights from fluorescent and molecular weight

Pre-oxidation has been reported to be an effective way to remove algal cells in water, but the released algal organic matter (AOM) could be oxidized and lead to the increment in disinfection by-product (DBP) formation. The relationship between pre-oxidation and AOM-derived DBP formation needs to be approached more precisely. This study compared the impact of four pre-oxidants, ozone (O₃), chlorine dioxide (ClO₂), potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) and sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), on the formation of nitrogenous (N-) and carbonaceous (C-) DBPs in AOM chlorination. The characterization (fluorescent properties, molecular weight distribution and amino acids concentration) on AOM samples showed that the characterization properties variations after pre-oxidation were highly dependent on the oxidizing ability of oxidants. The disinfection experiments showed that O₃ increased DBP formation most significantly, which was consistent with the result of characterization properties variations. Then canonical correspondent analysis (CCA) and Pearson's correlation analysis were conducted based on the characterization data and DBP formation. CCA indicated that C-DBPs formation was highly dependent on fluorescent data. The formation of haloacetic acids (HAAs) had a positive correlation with aromatic protein-like component while trichloromethane (TCM) had a positive correlation with fulvic acid-like component. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that low molecular weight fractions were favorable to form N-DBPs. Therefore, characterization data could provide the advantages in the control of DBP formation, which further revealed that KMnO₄ and ClO₂ were better options for removing algal cells as well as limiting DBP formation.     

Short-term inhalation exposure evaluations of airborne antibiotic resistance genes in environments

Antibiotic resistance is a sword of Damocles that hangs over humans. In regards to airborne antibiotic resistance genes (AARGs), critical knowledge gaps still exist in the identification of hotspots and quantification of exposure levels in different environments. Here, we have studied the profiles of AARGs, mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and bacterial communities in various atmospheric environments by high throughput qPCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We propose a new AARGs exposure dose calculation that uses short-term inhalation (STI). Swine farms and hospitals were high-risk areas where AARGs standardised abundance was more abundant than suburbs and urban areas. Additionally, resistance gene abundance in swine farm worker sputum was higher than that in healthy individuals in other environments. The correlation between AARGs with MGEs and bacteria was strong in suburbs but weak in livestock farms and hospitals. STI exposure analysis revealed that occupational intake of AARGs (via PM₁₀) in swine farms and hospitals were 110 and 29 times higher than in suburbs, were 1.5 × 10⁴, 5.6 × 10⁴ and 5.1 × 10² copies, i.e., 61.9%, 75.1% and 10.7% of the overall daily inhalation intake, respectively. Our study comprehensively compares environmental differences in AARGs to identify high-risk areas, and forwardly proposes the STI exposure dose of AARGs to guide risk assessment.     

Chemical characterization and source identification of PM2.5 in Luoyang after the clean air actions

Luoyang is a typical heavy industrial city in China, with a coal-dominated energy structure and serious air pollution. Following the implementation of the clean air actions, the physicochemical characteristics and sources of PM_2.5 have changed. A comprehensive study of PM_2.5 was conducted from October 16, 2019 to January 23, 2020 to evaluate the effectiveness of previous control measures and further to provide theory basis for more effective policies in the future. Results showed that the aerosol pollution in Luoyang in autumn and winter is still serious with the average concentration of 91.1 μg/m³, although a large reduction (46.9%) since 2014. With the contribution of nitrate increased from 12.5% to 25.1% and sulfate decreased from 16.7% to 11.2%, aerosol pollution has changed from sulfate-dominate to nitrate-dominate. High NO₃⁻/SO₄²⁻ ratio and the increasing of NO₃⁻/SO₄²⁻ ratio with the aggravation of pollution indicating vehicle exhaust playing an increasingly important role in PM_2.5 pollution in Luoyang, especially in the haze processes. Secondary inorganic ions contributed significantly to the enhancement of PM_2.5 during the pollution period. The high value of Cl⁻/Na⁺ and EC concentration indicate coal combustion in Luoyang is still serious. The top three contributor sources were secondary inorganic aerosols (33.3%), coal combustion (13.6%), and industrial emissions (13.4%). Close-range transport from the western and northeastern directions were more important factors in air pollution in Luoyang during the sampling period. It is necessary to strengthen the control of coal combustion and reduce vehicle emissions in future policies.     

Identification and characterization of Fe3O4/peroxodisulfate advanced oxidation products from sulfameter

Sulfonamides (SAs) are one of the most widely used antibiotics and their residuals in the environment could cause some negative environmental issues. Advanced oxidation such as Fenton-like reaction has been widely applied in the treatment of SAs polluted water. Degradation rates of 95%-99.7% were achieved in this work for the tested 8 SAs, including sulfisomidine, sulfameter (SME), phthalylsulfathiazole, sulfamethoxypyridazine, sulfamonomethoxine, sulfisoxazole, sulfachloropyridazine, and sulfadimethoxine, in the Fe₃O₄/peroxodisulfate (PDS) oxidation system after the optimization of PDS concentration and pH. Meanwhile, it was found that a lot of unknown oxidation products were formed, which brought up the uncertainty of health risks to the environment, and the identification of these unknown products was critical. Therefore, SME was selected as the model compound, from which the oxidation products were never elucidated, to identify these intermediates/products. With liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS), 10 new products were identified, in which 2-amino-5-methoxypyrimidine (AMP) was confirmed by its standard. The investigation of the oxidation process of SME indicated that most of the products were not stable and the degradation pathways were very complicated as multiple reactions, such as oxidation of the amino group, SO₂ extrusion, and potential cross-reaction occurred simultaneously. Though most of the products were not verified due to the lack of standards, our results could be helpful in the evaluation of the treatment performance of SAs containing wastewater.     

Highly efficient P uptake by Fe3O4 loaded amorphous Zr-La (carbonate) oxides: Electrostatic attraction, inner-sphere complexation and oxygen vacancies acceleration effect

Bimetallic oxides composites have received an increasing attention as promising adsorbents for aqueous phosphate (P) removal in recent years. In this study, a novel magnetic composite MZLCO was prepared by hybridizing amorphous Zr-La (carbonate) oxides (ZLCO) with nano-Fe₃O₄ through a one-pot solvothermal method for efficient phosphate adsorption. Our optimum sample of MZLCO-45 exhibited a high Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of 96.16 mg P/g and performed well even at low phosphate concentration. The phosphate adsorption kinetics by MZLCO-45 fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model, and the adsorption capacity could reach 79% of the ultimate value within the first 60 min. The phosphate adsorption process was highly pH-dependent, and MZLCO-45 performed well over a wide pH range of 2.0-8.0. Moreover, MZLCO-45 showed a strong selectivity to phosphate in the presence of competing ions (Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, HCO₃⁻, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺) and a good reusability using the eluent of NaOH/NaCl mixture, then 64% adsorption capacity remained after ten recycles. The initial 2.0 mg P/L in municipal wastewater and surface water could be efficiently reduced to below 0.1mg P/L by 0.07 g/L MZLCO-45, and the phosphate removal efficiencies were 95.7% and 96.21%, respectively. Phosphate adsorption mechanisms by MZLCO-45 could be attributed to electrostatic attraction and the inner-sphere complexation via ligand exchange forming Zr/La-O-P, -OH and CO₃²⁻ groups on MZLCO-45 surface played important roles in the ligand exchange process. The existence of oxygen vacancies could accelerate the phosphate absorption rate of the MZLCO-45 composites.     

Year-round observation of atmospheric inorganic aerosols in urban Beijing: Size distribution, source analysis, and reduction mechanism

To investigate particle characteristics and find an effective measure to control severe particle pollution, year-round observation of size-segregated inorganic aerosols was conducted in Beijing from January to December, 2016. The sampled atmospheric particles all presented bimodal size distribution at four pollution levels (clear, slight pollution, moderate pollution and severe pollution), and peak values appeared at the size range of 0.7-2.1 μm and >9.0 μm, respectively. As dominant particle compositions, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻, and NH₄⁺ in four pollution levels all showed significant peaks in fine mode, especially at the size range of 1.1-2.1 μm. Secondary inorganic aerosols accounted for about 67.6% (36.3% (secondary sulfates) + 31.3% (secondary nitrates)) of the total sources of fine particles in urban Beijing. Severe pollution of fine particles was mainly caused by the air masses transported from nearby western and southern areas, which are industrial and densely populated region, respectively. Sensitivity tests further revealed that the control measures focusing on ammonium emission reduction was the most effective for particle pollution mitigation, and fine particles all showed nonlinear responses after reducing ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate concentrations, with the fitting curves of y = -120.8x - 306.1x² + 290.2x³, y = -43.5x - 67.8x², and y = -25.8x - 110.4x² + 7.6x³, respectively (y and x present fine particle mass variation (μg/m³) and concentration reduction ratio (CRR)/100 (dimensionless)). Overall, our study presents useful information for understanding the characteristics of atmospheric inorganic aerosols in urban Beijing, as well as offers policy makers with effective measure for mitigating particle pollution.     

微塑料对牟氏角毛藻的毒理效应

本文选取聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET）和聚苯乙烯（PS）微粒作为目标污染物,探讨其不同浓度（50 mg/L、100 mg/L和200 mg/L）和不同粒径（100 μm、175 μm和250 μm）对受试生物牟氏角毛藻（Chaetoceros muelleri）的影响。结果表明,3种粒径和浓度的微塑料（PET 和 PS ）均对微藻细胞密度产生抑制作用,PET（100 μm,200 mg/L）和PS（100 μm,200 mg/L）对微藻产生的最大抑制率分别为 37.3% 和 32.5%。微塑料浓度越大,对藻细胞密度的抑制作用越强;而粒径变化对藻细胞密度的抑制作用未呈现明显规律。PET对牟氏角毛藻细胞干重的影响较小,与对照组相比无显著性差异（P>0.05）,PS则对牟氏角毛藻细胞干重无影响。微塑料对牟氏角毛藻叶绿素a（Chl a）的抑制作用与其类型和暴露时间有关。PET对Chl a起抑制作用,PS则起促进作用。     

基于平面压入技术研究焊接接头单轴应力-应变关系

目的 获取异种金属焊接接头母材和热影响区局部拉伸应力-应变关系。方法 对压水堆机组蒸汽发生器接管安全端异种金属焊接接头(20MND 5-INCONEL 52-Z2 CND 18.12控氮)进行研究,通过金相检验和显微硬度测试,研究DMWJ母材、热影响区、焊缝熔合线位置的金相组织和维氏硬度分布。采用等直圆棒拉伸试验获得DMWJ低合金钢(20MND 5)母材的应力-应变关系,采用基于能量等效理论的平面压入技术获得DMWJ低合金钢母材、热影响区和焊缝局部材料应力-应变关系。结果 DMWJ材料组织、力学性能不均匀,等直圆棒拉伸试验得到的低合金钢母材拉伸应力-应变关系与平面压入技术测得结果较为吻合。结论 基于能量等效理论的平面压入技术可精确测得DMWJ低合金钢母材、热影响区和焊缝局部材料应力-应变关系,对压水堆核电站DMWJ在役检测及结构完整性评价具有重要意义。     

中国公众环境意识的时空差异及影响因素分析

建设生态文明是中华民族永续发展的千年大计,引导和培育公众牢固树立环境保护意识是构建生态环境治理全民行动体系的根本保障。本文以2003年和2013年中国综合社会调查（CGSS）数据为基础,评估了全国28个省（市、自治区）（不含新疆、西藏、海南及港澳台地区）的公众环境意识,综合运用空间自相关分析、标准差椭圆分析和空间计量模型等方法,揭示了中国公众环境意识的时空差异特征,甄别了主要影响因素及其作用。结果表明：（1）2003—2013年中国公众环境意识水平基本维持不变,环境付费能力大幅下降,但公众对环境意识的关注程度有所提高;（2）中国公众环境意识的总体空间演化形态表现为整体分布规模略微缩小,省域公众环境意识空间差异显著,中西部地区环境意识有所增强,东部地区公众环境意识处于较高水平;（3）公众环境意识水平存在显著的空间正相关性,空间集聚程度不断加剧;空间局部特征以高—高型和低—低型最为显著,各省份空间相似度较高;（4）人口密度、工业污染治理投资、教育经费投入、地区环境污染程度及地区城市设施水平等因素均对公众环境意识产生显著影响。