Influence of root-exudates concentration on pyrene degradation and soil microbial characteristics in pyrene contaminated soil

The effect of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) root-exudates concentration on pyrene degradation and the microbial ecological characteristics in the pyrene contaminated soil was investigated by simulating a gradually reducing concentration of root exudates with the distance away from root surface in the rhizosphere. Results showed that, after the root-exudates were added 15 d, the pyrene residue in contaminated soil responded nonlinearly in the soils with the same pyrene contaminated level as the added root-exudates concentration increased, which decreased first and increased latter with the increase of the added root-exudates concentration. The lowest pyrene concentration appeared when the root exudates concentration of 32.75 mg kg(-1) total organic carbon (TOC) was added. At the same time, changes of microbial biomass carbon (MBC, C(mic)) and microbial quotient (C(mic)/C(org)) were opposite to the trend of pyrene degradation as the added root-exudates concentration increased. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis revealed that bacteria was the dominating microbial community in pyrene contaminated soil, and the changing trends of pyrene degradation and bacteria number were the same. The changing trend of endoenzyme-dehydrogenase activity was in accordance with that of soil microbe, indicating which could reflect the quantitative characteristic of detoxification to pyrene by soil microbe. The changes in the soils microbial community and corresponding microbial biochemistry characteristics were the ecological mechanism influencing pyrene degradation with increasing concentration of the added root-exudates in the pyrene contaminated soil.     

Persistence of repeated triadimefon application and its impact on soil microbial functional diversity

The effects of repeated applications of the fungicide triadimefon in agricultural soil on the microbial functional diversity of the soil and on the persistence of the fungicide in the soil were investigated under laboratory conditions. The degradation half-lives of triadimefon at the recommended dosage, simulated by a first-order kinetic model, were 23.90, 22.95, and 21.52 days for the first, second, and third applications, respectively. Throughout this study, no significant inhibition of the Shannon-Wiener index (H') was observed. However, the Simpson index (1/D) and the McIntosh index (U) were obviously reduced (p ≤ 0.05) during the initial 3 days after the first triadimefon application and thereafter, gradually recovered to or exceeded the level of the control soil. A similar trend in variation but with a faster recovery in the 1/D and U was observed after the second and third triadimefon applications, respectively. Taken together, the above results indicate that the repeated application of triadimefon enhanced the degradation rate of the fungicide and the recovery rate of the soil microbial functional diversity. It is concluded that repeated triadimefon applications in soil have a transient or temporary inhibitory effect on soil microbial communities.     

An integrated method for removal of harmful cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic lakes

As the eutrophication of lakes becomes an increasingly widespread phenomenon, cyanobacterial blooms are occurring in many countries. Although some research has been reported, there is currently no good method for bloom removal. We propose here a new two-step integrated approach to resolve this problem. The first step is the inactivation of the cyanobacteria via the addition of H(2)O(2). We found 60 mg/L was the lowest effective dose for a cyanobacterial concentration corresponding to 100 μg/L chlorophyll-a. The second step is the flocculation and sedimentation of the inactivated cyanobacteria. We found the addition of lake sediment clay (2 g/L) plus polymeric ferric sulfate (20 mg/L) effectively deposited them on the lake bottom. Since algaecides and flocculants had been used separately in previous reports, we innovatively combined these two types of reagents to remove blooms from the lake surface and to improve the dissolved oxygen content of lake sediments.     

Origin and distribution of trace elements in high-elevation precipitation in southern China

Introduction

During a 2009 investigation of the transport and deposition of trace elements in southern China, 37 event-based precipitation samples were collected at an observatory on Mount Heng, China (1,269?m asl).

Methods

Concentrations of trace elements were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma?Cmass spectrometry and the wet deposition fluxes were established. A combination of techniques including enrichment factor analysis, principal component analysis, and back trajectory models were used to identify pollutant sources.

Results

Trace element concentrations at Mount Heng were among the highest with respect to measured values reported elsewhere. All elements were of non-marine origin. The elements Pb, As, Cu, Se, and Cd were anthropogenic, while Fe, Cr, V, Ba, Mn, and Ni were of mixed crustal/anthropogenic origin. The crustal and anthropogenic contributions of trace elements were 12.8 % (0.9?~?17.4 %) and 87.2 % (82.6?~?99.1 %), with the maximum crustal fraction being 17.4 % for Fe. Coal combustion, soil and road dust, metallurgical processes, and industrial activities contributed to the element composition.

Conclusions

Summit precipitation events were primarily distant in origin. Medium- to long-range transport of trace elements from the Yangtze River Delta and northern China played an important role in wet deposition at Mount Heng, while air masses from south or southeast of the station were generally low in trace element concentrations.     

Urbanisation and human health in China: spatial features and a systemic perspective

Background, aims and scope

Current studies have paid little attention to the dynamism in urban spatial expansion and its possible environmental and health effects or to the health effects of rapid urban environmental change at different points along the urbanisation gradient. This study adopts a public health ecology approach to systematically understand the relationship between urbanisation, urban environmental change and human health in China.

Method

Remote sensing image analysis, based on night light data at five different time periods in recent decades, was used to determine changes to the overall urban area. Through a review of the evidence on the relationships between environmental health, urbanisation and health, we advance a pathway framework for explaining urban human health ecology. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to measure the correlation between disease prevalence and urbanisation level, adding a further dimension to a systemic understanding of urban health.

Results and conclusions

Urban areas have been increasing spatially, but unevenly, in recent decades, with medium and small cities also expanding rapidly in the past decade. Urbanisation and urban expansion result in changes to land use/coverage change, the urban environment and the residents?? lifestyle, which result in human health problems. Regions with the highest urbanisation level were more inclined to have a high prevalence of chronic disease in recent decades. An ecological public health approach provides insights into the multiple types of data which need to be routinely collected if human disease is not to become a barrier to social and economic development.     

Enhanced degradation of azo dye alizarin yellow R in a combined process of iron–carbon microelectrolysis and aerobic bio-contact oxidation

Purpose

With the aim of enhanced degradation of azo dye alizarin yellow R (AY) and further removal of the low-strength recalcitrant matter (LsRM) of the secondary effluent as much as possible, our research focused on the combination of aerobic bio-contact oxidation (ABO) with iron/carbon microelectrolysis (ICME) process.

Materials and methods

The combined ABO (with effective volume of 2.4?l) and ICME (with effectively volume of 0.4?l) process were studied with relatively short hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 4 or 6?h.

Results

At the HRT of 6?h with the reflux ratio of 1 and 2, the AY degradation efficiency in the final effluent was >96.5%, and the total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency were 69.86% and 79.44%, respectively. At the HRT of 4?h and the reflux ratio of 2, TOC removal efficiency and AY degradation efficiency were 73.94% and 94.89%, respectively. The ICME process obviously enhanced the total AY removal and the generated micromolecule acids and aldehydes then that wastewater backflow to the ABO where they were further biodegraded.

Conclusion

The present research might provide the potential options for the advanced treatment azo dyes wastewater with short HRT and acceptable running costs.     

Enhanced mercuric chloride adsorption onto sulfur-modified activated carbons derived from waste tires

A number of activated carbons derived from waste tires were further impregnated by gaseous elemental sulfur at temperatures of 400 and 650 degrees C, with a carbon and sulfur mass ratio of 1:3. The capabilities of sulfur diffusing into the micropores of the activated carbons were significantly different between 400 and 650 degrees C, resulting in obvious dissimilarities in the sulfur content of the activated carbons. The sulfur-impregnated activated carbons were examined for the adsorptive capacity of gas-phase mercuric chloride (HgC1) by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The analytical precision of TGA was up to 10(-6) g at the inlet HgCl2 concentrations of 100, 300, and 500 microg/m3, for an adsorption time of 3 hr and an adsorption temperature of 150 degrees C, simulating the flue gas emitted from municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerators. Experimental results showed that sulfur modification can slightly reduce the specific surface area of activated carbons. High-surface-area activated carbons after sulfur modification had abundant mesopores and micropores, whereas low-surface-area activated carbons had abundant macropores and mesopores. Sulfur molecules were evenly distributed on the surface of the inner pores after sulfur modification, and the sulfur content of the activated carbons increased from 2-2.5% to 5-11%. After sulfur modification, the adsorptive capacity of HgCl2 for high-surface-area sulfurized activated carbons reached 1.557 mg/g (22 times higher than the virgin activated carbons). The injection of activated carbons was followed by fabric filtration, which is commonly used to remove HgCl2 from MSW incinerators. The residence time of activated carbons collected in the fabric filter is commonly about 1 hr, but the time required to achieve equilibrium is less than 10 min. Consequently, it is worthwhile to compare the adsorption rates of HgCl2 in the time intervals of < 10 and 10-60 min.     

Effects of nano-copper(II) oxide and nanomagnesium oxide particles on activated sludge

Effects of nano-copper(II) oxide (nano-CuO) and nanomagnesium oxide (nano-MgO) particles on activated sludge endogenous respiration (aerobic digestion), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) biodegradation, and nitrification were investigated through respiration rate measurement. For comparison, the effects of Cu(II) and Mg(II) ions on activated sludge were also studied. Results indicated that soluble Cu(II) has half maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 19, 5.5, 53, and 117 mg Cu/L for endogenous respiration, BOD biodegradation, ammonium oxidation, and nitrite oxidation, respectively. However, nano-CuO only inhibited BOD biodegradation at 240 mg Cu/L or more, and its associated toxicity was primarily caused by soluble Cu(II). In contrast, soluble Mg(II) was not toxic to activated sludge in the experimental concentration range, but nano-MgO inhibited BOD biodegradation and nitrification with IC50 values of 70 and 143 mg Mg/L, respectively. Further study indicated that the toxicity of nano-MgO resulted primarily from increased pH following MgO hydrolysis.     

VFAs、TOC及COD作为生物除磷能力指标的探讨

在实际生活污水的处理中,研究了通过A/O运行模式对生物除磷过程中磷的变化情况及在厌氧释磷过程中COD、TOC与VFAs变化之间的关系。结果表明,在厌氧释磷过程中VFAs的变化更能准确地反映系统内释磷进程,实际生活污水中能直接用于磷释放的有机物含量占COD的13.33%,并且释放1 mg P所需VFAs为1.401 mg,此值明显低于前期研究结果。通过对COD、TOC和VFAs 3种组分的分析,可将实际生活污水中的有机底物分为3类:易生物降解含碳有机物、难降解的含碳有机物和水中存在的无机性还原物质,含量分别占COD的13.33%、31.7%和54.97%,其中只有13.33%的含量对生物释磷有直接作用,并可对实际生活污水除磷有指导意义。     

人工湿地构筑根孔作用下土壤物质分布状况

嘉兴市石臼漾湿地应用人工构筑根孔技术,以玉米秸秆和油菜秸秆按比例混合埋植于土壤亚表层,作为湿地的基质/填料。在湿地运行一年半后,按照正交设计表,以埋植秸秆的种类(S)、填埋的土壤层次(L)、距离秸秆外环的远近(D)和秸秆周围土壤的表观颜色(C)作为实验因素,对秸秆周围养分物质浓度、土壤酶活性以及铁含量进行采样分析。实验结果显示:玉米秸秆和油菜秸秆腐烂较充分,分别形成较发达的粗根孔和细根孔;根孔周围土壤呈中度还原状态;粗根孔具有较强的优先流效应,其周围土壤具有较高的养分物质含量和较低的Fe2+/Fe3+比。粗根孔周围土壤具有较高的磷酸酶活性,而细根孔周围具有较高的β-葡糖苷酶活性和脲酶活性。综合比较,人工湿地构建初期,径级较大秸秆腐烂后形成的粗根孔发挥着更高的水分传导效率和更强的物质截留效应。