The levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in human milk and exposure risk to breastfed infants in petrochemical industrialized Lanzhou Valley,Northwest China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We investigated in this paper the presence of PAHs in human milk from lactating women residing in Lanzhou, a petrochemical industrialized valley city...     

A case study: An explosion in a milk spray dryer,CAPSA, NW Spain

European Standard EN 14491 (2006): “Dust explosion venting protective systems”, based on German Standard VDI 3673 (2002): “Pressure venting of dust explosions”, Verein Deustcher Ingenieure, specifies the basic design requirements for the selection of dust explosion venting protection systems.In this study an investigation into the efficiency of venting surfaces in accordance with Standard EN 14491 has been undertaken to check the validation of the same. Thus, the application of the standard to an actual case of an explosion in a milk spray dryer has been studied, taking into consideration the explosive characteristics of products treated in this type of installation and their venting requirements.The results obtained indicate that, in specific situations – such as the effects of turbulence, particularly in the cone, or dust layer self-ignition – the European Standard could underestimate the venting surface requirements needed to alleviate possible excess internal pressure in order to avoid injury or structural damage to spray dryers.     

Comparative study of the methodologies based on Standard UNE 60079/10/1 and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to determine zonal reach of gas-generated Atex explosive atmospheres

This study presents two methodologies which can be used to determine the classification and extended area of hazardous zones caused by gas, vapours and mists. The first is based on UNE 60079/10/1: Electrical apparatus for explosive gas atmospheres – Part 10: Classification of hazardous areas, whilst the second is developed on the basis of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) using the FLUENT software application. Both methodologies were applied in the same case study of differing leakage components from a dairy farm steam boiler room fuelled by liquid natural gas (LNG).The results obtained show that CFD methodology is a powerful tool with a significant capacity for determining the size of an explosive atmosphere for a broad range of exhaust sources. This methodology offers more conservative results than those obtained from the analytical methodology recommended in Standard UNE 60079/10/1. Results obtained using CFD are more useful in enabling the study of turbulence phenomena, boundaries, and diverse initial and contour conditions.In contrast, the Standard UNE 60079/10/1 methodology is less conservative and aims at determining the hypothetical volume V_z of the explosive atmosphere. This volume is a measurement of the ventilation efficiency which is in turn proportional to a massive gas release through an exhaust source divided by the number of air changes in the enclosed area.From the results obtained, it can be confirmed that Standard UNE 60079/10/1 should be revised.     

Photocatalytic degradation of C. I. Reactive Red 24 solution with K6SiW11O39SnII

Environmental friendly materials, K₆SiW₁₁O₃₉Sn (SiWSn), was synthesized. SiWSn photocatalytic decomposition of C. I. Reactive Red 24 (RR24) with the UV-lamp (253.7 nm, 20 W), Xenon lamp filtered less than 390 nm light (500 W) and sun light was investigated. The results showed that RR24 solution could be effectively decolorized with the SiWSn photocatalyst. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of RR24 with SiWSn was affected by the initial concentration of RR2 solution, the amount of SiWSn and the photolysis time. It is demonstrated that the process of photodegradation of RR24 with SiWSn is a pesudo first-order reaction, which can be described by Langmuir-Hinshelwood equation. Hydroxyl radicals and holes are both the main oxidants in the photocatalytic reaction of RR24 with SiWSn.     

An improved GC-ECD method for measuring atmospheric N2O

Gas chromatography equipped with an electron capture detector (GC-ECD) has been widely used for measuring atmospheric N2O,but nonlinear response and the influence of atmospheric CO2 have been recognized as defects for quantification.An original GCECD method using N 2 as carrier gas was improved by introducing a small flow rate of CO2 makeup gas into the ECD,which could well remedy the above defects.The N2O signal of the improved method was 4-fold higher than that of the original method and the relative standard deviation was reduced from > 1% to 0.31%.N2O concentrations with different CO2 concentrations (172.2×10-6-1722×10-6mol/mol) measured by the improved GC-ECD method were in line with the actual N2O concentrations.However,the N2O concentrations detected by the original method were largely biased with a variation range of-4.5%～7%.The N2O fluxes between an agricultural field and the atmosphere measured by the original method were greatly overestimated in comparison with those measured by the improved method.Good linear correlation (R2=0.9996) between the response of the improved ECD and N2O concentrations (93×10-9-1966×10-9mol/mol) indicated that atmospheric N2O could be accurately quantified via a single standard gas.Atmospheric N2O concentrations comparatively measured by the improved method and a high precision GC-ECD method were in good agreement.     

南四湖流域水环境承载力评价指标体系构建

针对目前水环境承载力概念及评价指标体系研究中存在的问题,构建了流域水环境承载力概念模型,根据评价指标筛选原则,建立了南四湖流域水环境承载力评价指标体系,包括水环境承载能力、水环境压力、水环境承载状态和社会经济调控能力4部分,共有57个具体指标,从而为制定流域保护规划和管理政策提供技术支持,为寻求流域水环境承载力的提高途径和措施提供科学依据。     

Cd2、Hg2+、Cr6+和pb2对黑点青鳉(Oryzias melastigma)早期生活阶段的毒性效应研究

近岸海域重金属污染不容乐观,作为“一种潜在的海洋模式鱼种”黑点青鳉(marine medaka,Oryzias maelastigma)对不同重金属胁迫的响应水平却鲜有报道.为探究并比较海水鱼种黑点青鳉早期生活阶段对Cd2+、Hg2+、Cr6 +和pb2 +等不同重金属胁迫的响应,在实验室通过半静态方式,对黑点青鳉受精...     

Metallic and bimetallic phosphides-based nanomaterials for photocatalytic hydrogen production and water detoxification: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Providing sustainable energy and cleaning water pollution are actually major societal issues requiring new catalysts. In particular, transition...